My Best Enemy: Tips for Creating Shadows for Wraith

This article originally appeared on Ex Libris Nocturnis at the URL:

http://www.nocturnis.net/articles/wraith/default/2000/September/200/page1.html
One of the best features of playing Wraith: The Oblivion is the Shadow: the “dark reflection” of the
main part of the Wraith character, known as the Psyche. While creating a Wraith character, the players
must create both Psyche and Shadow, and it can sometimes be a bit difficult for players to develop
both their characters and those characters’ worst enemies too.
With that in mind, the following suggestions and ideas have been compiled to help make the job a little
easier for newer players. Hopefully they will help make the resulting Shadows more interesting as
well.
THE NATURE OF THE DUAL BEAST
Of course, when talking about Shadows we have to ask the big question: just what is the Shadow,
anyway?
It's no secret that most people have, at one time or another, considered suicide. We have a series of bad
days, things go wrong and then get worse, and we really, truly think that maybe the world would be
better off without us, or we without it.
It's no secret and it's no real shame, it just is what it is: at some time in our lives we will all look in the
mirror and hear that little, insidious voice that says it's alright to want to just drop it all and walk away
in death. Most people can snap themselves out of this before it's too late, either with or without
professional help. Some don't.
At death, for the purposes of Wraith: The Oblivion, that little voice in our heads doesn't just get louder,
but becomes its own separate personality. It's us, yes, but a darker version of what we would call
ourselves: more desperate or bestial, more conniving or whining. It could be whatever we look in the
mirror and despise about ourselves, or it could be that one thing we always wanted to be but never
could and felt inadequate for its absence. And that is the Shadow.
Mr. Self-Destruct:
The Shadow is the death wish made manifest in a being that, if it doesn't do anything too stupid, could
conceivably continue to exist for a long, long time to come. And the Shadow knows this, and hates
this, and wants this existence to end -- now, preferably.
The ultimate goal of every Shadow is its own self-destruction, pure and simple. But to do that, it must
destroy the Psyche. It wants to see itself broken and then flung into Oblivion's maw, and by hook or by
crook that is what it will have. This may be a rather straightforward transaction or it may be very
roundabout and complex, but either way it goes the Shadow will gladly travel its path, dragging the
Psyche along every step of the way.
Beyond Good and Evil:
Is the Shadow the "evil" part of the self? Hardly, but it's easy to think that way. A Shadow does things
to harm the Psyche for no well-deserved reason, at least from the Psyche’s point of view, and in any
other milieu we could call that “evil.”
But that's also sloppy thinking. As some will have noted, some Wraiths have shadows that are much
more "good" than their Psyches are. Some are almost saintly in a strange sort of way when compared
to their dominant halves. And let's not forget that some Shadow Archetypes are weak, clueless and
stupid, making it hard to call them evil except in the most oblique terms.
So, before going any further, let's dispense with the notion that a Shadow MUST be an evil and
hideous thing. Its goal is not to do evil per se, though in the course of breaking itself -- and, through
that, the Psyche -- down it may have to do things that it would consider evil. It might also have to do
things it might consider good or charitable, too. The end, being the ending of the agony of being a
Wraith, is worth whatever roads the Shadow must take. And if that end means it must prolong the
agony by spending a short season of time as a Spectre, prior to being consumed by Oblivion, so be it.
Variations on the Theme:
In fact, constantly envisioning the Shadow as an evil, "devil" figure can blind us to the other
possibilities that are out there for this aspect of Wraith. Why make another stereotypicaly sadistic,
irredeemable and purely evil Shadow when you could make one that's much more fun to play?
Consider the deluded Shadow: the one who's convinced that it and the Wraith are souls suffering in
Purgatory, and that it's on a holy mission to save the Wraith from this? It keeps trying to have the
Psyche get killed to "deliver" him from this punishment. Does it really not know what it is, is it insane
or is this all some kind of sick put-on? Regardless of what the truth of its condition is, the Shadow will
never do anything "evil," per se, but it will destroy the wraith's fetters and try to goad her into
dangerous situations. Come Catharsis, it will go find the nearest Nihil and offer its throat to the
"demons" (Spectres) lurking there.
Also consider the silent shadow: the one who never, ever, ever talks at all. It just plots and plans and
screws up the Psyche's unlife without ever saying word one. Shadow Dice seem to be strange reserves
of strength that come from nowhere. The Psyche's friends all ask what the Shadow says: "Little voice?
What little voice? I never hear anything." During Catharsis it goes about setting up nasty surprises for
the Psyche to find, or maybe it forgoes Catharsis in the hopes of building up Permanent Angst until
one day...
The list could go on for pages and pages, but hopefully you're getting the idea.
ARCHETYPES
Right from the start, while creating the character concept, the idea of the Wraith's Shadow should be
on equal footing with the Wraith's Psyche. Without the Shadow, after all, there is no Wraith to speak
of. It may play a subordinate role, but don't let that fool you into thinking that it's not as important. Put
it another way: if your only contribution to the game could be the part of a Shadowguide, what would
you want to play for the evening?
Choosing the Shadow's Archetype should be done carefully. There are a couple things to think about.
The Psyche's Nature and Demeanor:
What face does the Wraith show to the world and what is hiding behind it? The Shadow may be the
dark reflection of the character's inner nature. It could be the exact opposite, such as a Child Nature
who has the Parent for a Shadow. It could also be the same idea, only just a little more extreme: the
Bravo Nature who has a Monster for the Shadow, or a Martyr Nature with a Martyr Shadow, for
example.
On the other hand, it may be the public face the Wraith puts forward with a sinister or pathetic twist. A
good example is the Wraith who has the Martyr Demeanor, the Survivor Nature, and a Martyr for a
Shadow. The Wraith's Psyche has enough of a balancing act on its own -- which must have caused no
end of hassle while she was alive -- and the Shadow is always trying to get the Psyche to put her
money where her mouth is, often with disastrous results.
The Psyche's Regret:
What is the regret? What one thing, or many things, does the Wraith feel the most wistful about when
looking back at her unfinished business? This doesn't just have to be something for the Psyche to deal
with IC; this could be the basis around which the Shadow is formed.
The Big Question:
As suggested in The Shadow Player's Guide, you might try to look at the Psyche and say "The
character would have been successful and satisfied in life if only s/he hadn't been so _________." Fill
in the blank, take a step back and look at the Shadow Archetypes, and see if there's anything in there
that could fit what's in the blank, or its opposite.
For an example of choosing a Shadow Archetype, let's look at Bob. Bob always lived life as it came,
never planned for the future, and lived in the here and now. His parents spoiled him as a child and then
expected him to suddenly become responsible when he turned 18, which was foolish to say the least.
When good times came he lived them up like there was no tomorrow, and when bad times came he had
to duck for cover and turn to friends and family for help. Eventually his family, finally reaping the
harvest of their bad childrearing, made it known that his presence was no longer welcome. His old
friends dried up and blew away, too, but he always found new ones to leech from. Then he got some
weird disease and croaked during a bad, dry spell when no old friends would return his calls and no
new friends were to be found. In game terms, Bob would be a Bon Vivant Nature, with a Demeanor of
Conniver: the lovable rogue who everyone loved to be around, and loved to be around everyone. So,
one thing that could be done is to give him the Leech as a dark reflection of what he was: a big,
walking sinkhole that took what people had to give. The difference is that while Bob may have
returned the party the Leech will do nothing but plead, whine and then demand even more than before.
We could also play with the regret. If Bob has any one regret, it's that he didn't think to plan ahead and
take some responsibility for himself. Maybe if he had he wouldn't have been found dead in a rat-
infested flophouse with his lungs full of blood and phlegm. The Shadow could be the Perfectionist,
keeping a tight and close watch on each and every thing Bob does from here on out to make sure he
doesn't screw up again. Of course, the Shadow's idea of what constitutes screwing up is not exactly
what Bob might think of. As for the big question, Bob would have been successful and satisfied if he
had been more responsible, so the Perfectionist might still be good for him. On the other hand, if we
turn the clock back a bit and look at why Bob wasn't so responsible, we see that his parents' poor
upbringing is very much to blame. The Shadow could be the Parent then, trying to get Bob to surrender
to its "love." It could also be the Victim, whining endlessly about how his parents did him wrong and
trying to get him to wallow in self-pity. So we have a lot of choices for Bob. The player should pick
the one that sounds the most evocative and interesting, and hopefully this will present lots of
opportunities for play.DARK PASSIONS AND THORNS
After you've decided on an Archetype, it's time to fine-tune the Shadow's operating parameters. We do
this by deciding what emotions the Shadow thrives on, and wishes to engender in the Psyche (Dark
Passions), and what sorts of dirty tricks the Shadow can use to further its aims (Thorns)
This Honest Hate:
Just as it's easy to consider a Shadow to be evil, it's also easy to consider it the mirror image of the
Psyche when it comes time to give it Dark Passions: eg. "protect my boyfriend"(love) becomes "Kill
my boyfriend"(hate) for the shadow, and so on. For some Psyches with certain Shadow Archetypes,
this reversal could make sense, but for most others it's a very artificial process. It's also pretty
predictable and, therefore, boring.
Let's look at Dark Passions from the Shadow's point of view. It has a life of its own, after a fashion, so
why should it have to play second fiddle to the Psyche's own emotions? Its ultimate agenda is getting
the Psyche to dive down into Oblivion, but the outline of its attempts to get him there -- signified by
the Dark Passions -- need not be so closely tied to the Psyche's goals.
We must also consider the Shadow Archetype, as different Archetypes will have different Dark
Passions for different reasons, and even in cases where they might have the same imperatives for those
passions the core emotions might be very different.
To go back to Bob's example, his player decides that Bob should have the following Passions: "Have a
good time no matter what" (joy of life) 5, "Be more responsible than I was" (regret) 4, "Make my
parents realize they screwed up" (anger) 1. If he decides to go with the Leech, then he could try to
play up the Leech's dark reflection of the Psyche's chief Passions. Under the Leech, they could become
"Get others to be responsible FOR me" (weakness) and "Make people want to give me the good time I
want" (desire). The Perfectionist would probably take a different tack, as it's no less demanding but in
an entirely different way. Possible Dark Passions could be "Get him to do his work BEFORE he
parties" (duty) or "make him atone for every mistake he ever made" (regret). The Parent could use
some of these as well, or, on the other hand, it could seek to make him absolve himself of all
 responsibility: "Make him let ME handle things" (hopelessness) or "don't let him be responsible for
himself" (love). The Victim's Dark Passions could all center around his parents' poor upbringing:
"Make my folks pay for screwing me up?"(anger) or, worse, "get him to want to hurt our
folks"(revenge). Other ones could revolve around self-pity and helplessness, trying to make him feel
that way or trying to get others to feel sorry for him. On the other hand, it could do things to engender
that feeling in others, thus making the Psyche feel better from their efforts yet ashamed of his own
inadequacies: any Shadow worth its Angst should have a field day with that one. Dirty Tricks:
A shadow's Thorns should be chosen carefully, as these are the some of the best tools it has to get the
Psyche to gain Angst, aside from Dark Passions and Shadow Dice. Keeping that in mind, Thorns
should be chosen to best-suit, and properly reflect, the Archetype of the Shadow and its goals.
This doesn't mean you have to pick everything to fit in some scheme, of course. It's okay to take some
Thorns because they sound interesting or evocative. But if you're picking things like Pact of Doom
solely so you can explain where your wraith's 2 dots in Mnemosynis came from, or taking Shadowplay
so you can kick ass, the point of the exercise has been sorely missed.
Let's look at Bob's possible Archetypes and Dark Passions one more time. If he decides to go with the
Leech, with Dark Passions like "Get others to be responsible FOR me" (weakness) and "Make people
want to give me the good time I want" (desire), then he'll want Thorns to achieve those ends. Thorns
like Bad Luck or Wrack can be used to handicap him at crucial moments, making others have to pick
up his slack. Van Gogh or Cat Food could make his circle have to concentrate on him, making him the
center of attention whether the Psyche likes it or not. Shadow Call could be useful in that respect as
well... The Perfectionist's Dark Passion "Get him to do his work BEFORE he parties" (duty) could be
taken to sadistic heights with such thorns as Trick of the Light, making a huge job seem like a small
thing when started, and then slowly revealing it to be the monumentous task that it is. Honeyed Tongue
can be used for similar things ("Oh, look... it's just a small stack of paperwork. Do it and be done with
it"). The Parent could stock up on Shadow Traits, making for a clear reason to "Make him let ME
handle things" from hopelessness. If you can't do it, let the Shadow do it for you. Trick of the Light,
again, can be used to make small problems seem large, thus requiring the Shadow's "help." This could
also be a good reason for Shadowplay. The Victim will need to convince the Psyche of his
victimhood, so anything that can be used to feel less than capable is a good thing. Shadow Life could
be used to amusing ends, creating problems for the Psyche to fix or face at strategic moments. Dark
Allies could also be used to enlist help in this. GOALS AND STRATEGIES
So, we have the Shadow's Archetype, Dark Passions and Thorns. That's great, but now..., what do we
do with them?
Remember that even though a Psyche may have no idea what it's doing right away, the Shadow usually
does. It knows its enemy like the back of its hand, mostly because they were once one and the same,
and as a result they can start mapping out the path to Oblivion right from day one.
So, when making the character and its Shadow, it's always a good idea for the player and her
Shadowguide to come up with an overall strategy for the Shadow to follow. The ultimate goal may be
to get the Psyche to go over to Oblivion's clutches, but this could be done in any number of ways and
the final act could be anything from purposeful spectrehood to a swan-dive into a nihil. What's it going
to do? How is it going to do it?
Take your time, be creative, and remember that it does not have to be set in stone! It can always
change or be amended, much as a character's demeanor could change over time, or a wrinkle in
roleplaying could develop. If they remain static they get predictable, after all, so a little change for its
own sake is good from time to time, too.
For doing this sort of thing, I highly recommend using the Shadow Player's Guide. It's got more
information than I could do justice to here, and is also a very fun read on its own.
Dark Things to Consider:
Besides Thorns, Shadows have a few weapons of their own to use as they see fit. Make the most of
them.
* Shadow Dice
The obvious answer to the question “when do I give the Psyche Shadow Dice?” is “whenever the
player asks” which makes for a very cozy relationship between the two halves of the soul. The Shadow
gets a better chance to get Angst and the Wraith’s has a better shot at success. However, not only is this
detrimental to the Psyche, but it also makes for predictable roleplaying. (Some might also say it’s
cheesy, and I wouldn’t argue: Storytellers should be on the lookout for these kinds of abuses.)
Shadow Dice are best used when the Shadowguide and Psyche’s player have had some time to discuss
their use. Much like the Shadow may offer but the Psyche doesn’t have to take, just because the Psyche
asks doesn’t mean the Shadow has to offer. When would the Shadow be most likely to hand them over,
and when would it withhold them?
One way to look at this is to consider the Shadow’s Archetype. For example, a Monster Shadow
probably wouldn’t want to hand over dice to help its Psyche build a house out of relic matchsticks, but
if the Wraith has to kick butt, or destroy something, it’s probably going to fork it over. A Martyr might
only offer them if there’s no real chance that the deed could produce a dangerous situation, as it’s
wanting the wraith to go out in a blaze of self-immolated glory.
Another thing to consider is the Shadow’s Dark Passions. It might gladly give Shadow Dice away in a
situation where success would give the Wraith a feeling the Shadow could milk for Angst. And it
might decline to hand them over when defeat or failure would give an equally tasty feast.
* "Information"
Shadows sometimes know more about a given situation than a wraith will especially early on in the
relationship. The Shadow can then, if it's got a mind to, take advantage of that disparity and mosey the
Wraith down the primrose path. Certain Thorns can be used to help this along, but sometimes they
aren't needed.
Later, when the Wraith's a little more worldsmart, the Shadow may have to use those thorns to fool the
wraith like it used to. However, there's always lots more things the Wraith DOESN'T know about that
the Shadow can fool the Wraith about.
This technique usually works best when the Shadow knows more IC than the Psyche’s player knows
OOC -- it makes it a lot easier to believe a lie when the player is just as bamboozled.
* Engineering Angst
Shadows harvest Angst for their own needs, and can use it to power thorns, or edge the wraith towards
Catharsis, or another dot of Permanent Angst.
It pays to decide how the Shadow is going to spend its Angst. Is it going to use it to power thorns
whenever it can, or save up for that nice, juicy Angstburger it can wolf down when it reaches ten? Why
or why not?
* Catharsis
Those times where a Shadow can take over the wraith's form and go walking about in it are rare
occasions, and should be treasured. An obvious question is "What will the Shadow do?" But we should
also ask "When will it do it?" and "How will it prepare?"
Take some time to plan these out ahead of time. Have the Shadow set things up for easy and
convenient use while using that precious time. Having Dark Allies helps, sometimes, though such a
ploy should be run past the Storyteller sometime before it’s used so she has time to plan for it.