The Fog Revised

by
J. Edward Tremlett
In the spirit of revising things so they work better, or better reflect the realities and
mechanics of the game system, The Fog is undergoing a bit of a facelift. Wraith
Storytellers will hopefully find these rules add a bit more realism to the game, as well as
give ordinary mortal characters a slightly better chance of fighting back.
For the purposes of Wraith: Revised, use these rules instead of the ones found on pp 240
- 241 of Wraith: The Oblivion 2nd ed. Note that what it says on page 240, concerning
"other supernatural denizens of the World of Darkness" being able to see through the
Shroud with a Perception + Alertness roll, is nullified. There are some people who can
do this, noted under "Animals, Madmen and Innocents," below, but other "Awakened"
denizens have to use whatever powers they may have, within their systems, to do that.
There is also a Merit and a Flaw that deal with immunity to the Fog. They are located at
the end of the article, and are subject to ST approval prior to taking them for your
character.
The Fog
"We're mere human beings - we die
it's destined - destined"
"Human beings" - Seal
The Fog, for Wraiths, is the strange, Delirium-like state that affects the Quick when in
contact with the Dead.
Mortals have a hard time accepting the fact that they are one day going to die. When
they are faced with proof of this fact -- via sight of a ghost, or being targeted by its
Arcanoi -- their minds tend to respond with immediate fear, followed by a rearrangement
of memory. For those of sufficiently low Willpower, The Fog's activation will render
them helpless, babbling or fleeing in the opposite direction, and remove or seriously
alter their memories a short time later. Conversely, those of high enough Willpower
could be able to act in a rational manner at the time, and would remember the event
fairly clearly later on.
The Fog is triggered by sight of what can only be a Wraith, or spooky and blatant uses
of Arcanoi. Some Arcanoi might not cause The Fog right away, but have the potential
for it to kick in: a Wraith who's Embodied with "Life in Death" would not invoke The
Fog unless she was proven to be something other than a pale human, perhaps by using
Moliate, or being split open from navel to neck and bleeding gray jelly, yet fighting on.
The Lucky Ones:
Some folks are not subject to the ravages of The Fog. They are:
 · Other "Awakened" creatures: Vampires, Mages, Shifters, Changelings, Kuei-Jin,
Mummies, Fomori and the like are all immune to The Fog, though they might
well be frightened by some unpleasant uses of Arcanoi.
· The various Half breeds and subsidiaries of "Awakened" creatures: Kinfolk,
Kinain, Ghouls, Dhampirs, Revenants and Sorcerers are immune. Some Consors
might be immune while others would not (Storytellers' discretion on a case by
case basis)
· Merit-based Mediums are immune, as are those who have Numina that allow
them to see or speak with the dead.
· Those who are, or ever have been, a knowing Consort are immune. By
"knowing," we mean those who were fully aware that they were receiving the
special attentions of a Wraith. Meat puppets who were hijacked and dumped in
the inner city, and then chalked the whole experience up to too many wine
spritzers on an empty stomach, do not count.
· Those who have derangements that refuse to allow them to believe in the
supernatural at all (Panzaism), ascribe supernatural origins to everything seen and
experienced (Quixotism), or have some abnormal and ghoulish love of the
macabre that transcends the boundaries of sanity and common sense
(Spectrophilia, Necrophilia, etc.) are also immune. This may not be the best
thing...
· Animals, the innocent and the utterly insane are immune (See "Animals,
Madmen and Innocents," below).
The Fog Ratings Chart
The following is the reworked chart for The Fog. It gives the Immediate Effect that the
stricken person will endure, how long she will be in that state, and how her recollection
of the event will be. This is just a guideline: Storytellers should go beyond these
numbers and apply their best judgment on a case by case basis.
Most Mortals have a Willpower somewhere between one and three, and it is these
people who are most affected by The Fog. These tend to be the sorts of folks who run in
a blind panic when the Pandemonium hits their brainpan. Very few people have a
Willpower higher than eight, but it is these folks who are the best equipped to deal with
Wraiths and their tricks. In between those two extremes is a gradual progression that
replaces fear, and loss of memory, with the ability to reason at the time, and remember
later.
Note that there is a zero point listed here. No mortal has a Willpower of zero: this level
is meant to govern those whose effective levels get taken down past one from various
causes. Anyone who suffers this fate chances psychological damage (see "Fighting
One's Fear," below).
Zero
Immediate Effect: Assumes a fetal position; goes catatonic and non-verbal
Duration: Indefinite (Storyteller's discretion)
Memory: Merciful and total amnesia
Willpower: One
Immediate Effect: Drops to the ground and gibbers, might be able to crawl away in fear
Duration: Indefinite (Storyteller's discretion)
Memory: Total amnesia of that time
Willpower: Two
Immediate Effect: Is rooted to the spot in mortal terror, but might be able to back away
Duration: The rest of the Scene, and one more past its' end
Memory: Partial amnesia, with all supernatural goings-on forgotten
Willpower: Three
Immediate Effect: Runs screaming in the opposite direction, unable to stay or fight back,
and will trample anything or anyone in the way
Duration: The rest of the Scene
Memory: Very spotty memory of that time, with all supernatural goings-on forgotten
Willpower: Four
Immediate Effect: Will make an orderly retreat, and may try to throw things or fire
ranged weapons at the sight on the way out
Duration: The duration of the Art in question
Memory: Will remember only the immediate aftermath -- what's left of the visitation --
and will not remember its supernatural origins at all
Willpower: Five
Immediate Effect: Will retain some self-control, but will probably wish to put space
between herself and the apparition.
Duration: The duration of the Art, or until she's far enough away from its center of origin
(Storyteller's discretion)
Memory: Will vaguely remember the gist of happened, but will not remember specific
things. Will not ascribe supernatural causes to it, preferring to find some kind of rational
explanation
Willpower: Six
Immediate Effect: Will be afraid, but able to stay and address the thing if she so desires
Duration: The duration of the Art
Memory: Will remember most large details, but will lose sight of all fine points. Might
be willing to claim it was supernatural, but could also believe it was all a con
Willpower: Seven
Immediate Effect: Partially conquering her fear, she acts rationally and respectfully, and
is able to talk to the Wraith as long as it doesn't get too hairy
Duration: One Turn for each success the Wraith got on her roll for activating the
Arcanoi
Memory: Can remember all large details and some small ones, but could remain fuzzy
on finer points. Totally open to supernatural origins.
Willpower: Eight
Immediate Effect: Perhaps more curious than afraid, the mortal stands her ground and
doesn't feel as much of a need to budge unless obviously threatened
Duration: One Turn.
Memory: Can remember the overwhelming majority of details, even small ones, with
clarity
Willpower: Nine
Immediate Effect: Even if threatened, the mortal won't budge, and will fight back tooth
and claw if she thinks she needs to, or can
Duration: N/A
Memory: Remembers it as she would remember any other interesting and unusual thing
Willpower: Ten
Immediate Effect: Mortals at this level are effectively Immune to The Fog, and could be
extremely blase about the whole thing, too
Duration: N/A
Memory: Full and total recollection, as though the event were burned into the mind
Fighting One's Fear:
When a mortal is in a situation where she would be hit by The Fog, she can choose to
either default to her behavior on the Fog Ratings chart, or fight The Fog to gain more
control over her actions. This accounts for how ordinary people can sometimes
persevere against otherworldly forces,
To attempt this, a mortal may spend a point of Temporary Willpower and roll her Wits +
Occult at a Difficulty of 7. She may do this only once, unless she has cause to try again
(see below).
Each success on this roll allows her to add one level to her normal spot on the Fog
Ratings chart, as though she had a higher Permanent Willpower than she really does.
She may then act in accordance with that spot on the Fog Ratings chart for the duration
of that Scene.
A failure on this roll means that she defaults to her normal behavior. If her Willpower is
higher than four, she may try again, but will have to spend another point of Temporary
Willpower, and the difficulty will be one higher. If her Willpower is four or less, she
does not have that option. A botched result makes her act as though her Permanent
Willpower were one level less for each "1" rolled. If this subtraction takes her below
one, then default to the zero rating.
Any time that a person's spot on the Fog Ratings chart goes below one, there is a chance
that some notable psychological damage has been done. The victim should roll her
Permanent Willpower at a Difficulty of 10 minus her Permanent Willpower. If a single
success is scored, she's shaken but will recover. Failure means she has developed a
suitable Derangement -- one that might be overcome via roleplaying. A Botch means she
goes permanently insane, gaining a Derangement that can never be removed or undone
by conventional psychological practices.
 For example, Sally has a Willpower of 3. When confronted by a Haunter intent on
driving her from its haunt, her player decides that Sally will try to stay her ground. She
spends a point of Temporary Willpower, and rolls her Wits + Occult at Difficulty 7. She
gains two successes on that roll, which means that she can act as though her Willpower
was 5 instead of 3. This means she'll be able to hold onto her wits enough to leave in a
sensible fashion, rather than running out into the street yelling "ghosts!" If she'd gotten
another success, she could have stayed in the house. If she'd failed she'd have acted as
she normally should have -- by running away -- and wouldn't have been able to try
again. And if she'd botched, each "1" would have taken her down a level, making her
more afraid than she should have been. A Wraith may try to employ an Art more than
once, or try new tricks if the old ones fail to run the Skinbags out. If the Mortal has
successfully resisted The Fog in that Scene, then she will not have to roll again for the
rest of that Scene unless the Wraith scores more successes on a subsequent Arcanos roll,
or takes an extra point of Angst to make her antics more frightening. A mortal wishing
to resist The Fog must make the roll each and every time a Wraith attempts to make
herself more frightening as outlined in "Making the Audience more Terrified," below.
Ghosts might also be acting in concert, each one using its own Arts to add to the horror.
In cases like this, the mortal rolls once, and only has to roll again if the highest number
of successes previously rolled is exceeded by any of the participants, or someone
decides to take some Angst for her pains.
Making the Audience more Terrified:
Whenever a Wraith utilizes an Art that has the potential to cause The Fog's immediate
invocation, she can choose to make the attack seem more terrifying than normal in the
hopes of lessening her audience's resistance. Doing this requires no extra Pathos or
Willpower expenditure, but gives the Wraith a point of Temporary Angst above and
beyond any normal Angst she'd get for doing it. In this case, each success the Wraith
gets past the first on her Arcanos roll reduces the mortal onlookers' willpower by one.
Once The Fog is invoked, the Wraith can always employ more Fog-invoking Arts at her
whim, and may even succeed in making her audience more afraid than before. Those
affected by The Fog will act as though they were under the effects of the Art with the
highest number of successes rolled for that Scene, regardless of how many total
successes are scored altogether. There is also the danger of suddenly becoming less
terrifying: an Arcanos roll botch at any time during that scene adds one level to the Fog
Ratings of those witnessing it for each "1" rolled, and this increase may take the
witnesses up past their normal level of Permanent Willpower.
For example: A Haunter decides to try and scare the unholy bejeezus out of a mortal
who's come to stay in her haunt. She takes an extra point of Angst, and gains three
successes on one roll for one Art. So, her mortal witness will act as though she had two
fewer levels of Permanent Willpower than she did, for however long indicated by the
Duration on that level of the Fog Chart. If the Haunter rolls again with the same Art, or a
different one, and scores three successes, there is no change. If she scores five
successes, then the mortal witness acts as though she had four fewer levels of Permanent
Willpower than she did, as the Haunter's gone two over her previous success. If the
Haunter wishes to keep employing more Arcanoi, she can, but unless she scores more
than five successes, she can't make the victim any more frightened than she is. And if
she botches, each "1" will add levels to her victim's Fog Rating. There are some Arts
that are so mind-blastingly terrifying that a Wraith does not have to take Angst to break
down a Mortal's resistance to The Fog. One prominent example is the Level 5 Argos Art
"Maelstrom Bridge" from Wraith: The Great War, pg. 116, which has onlookers act as
though their Willpower was four less than normal. There may be others, of course, and
Storytellers should feel free to invent and unleash them if needed.
Animals, Madmen and Innocents:
Animals are largely unaware of death's nature. They don't tend to have the brainpower to
ruminate on its effects, or be unjustly scared of the great unknown it represents. That's
not to say that they aren't bothered by dying, but they seem more afraid of the natural
predators that could kill them than whatever state of being comes after.
Perhaps for that reason, and perhaps because their senses have remembered things that
mortal man has forgotten, they are able to sense the presence of nearby Wraiths. This
sense takes the form of a general feeling of uneasiness, which most animals would
prefer to deal with by slinking away. Some animals, most notably insects, arachnids and
reptiles, don't seem to mind their presence so much.
They can make a Perception + Alertness roll at Difficulty 6 to see them, though their
perceptions will be fairly fuzzy. The Shadowlands those Wraiths dwell in will not be
revealed by this roll. Anyone who has assumed control of the body of an animal, or is
sharing sensory contact with an animal, will sense the presence of Wraiths nearby -- but
might not know what they are -- and will only see the Wraiths if they make the
Perception + Alertness roll at a Difficulty of 8, and using the animal's die pool rather
than their own.
And then there are those mortals whose minds have not been touched by death, or have
been warped to the point where it cannot bother them at all. Innocent children and the
truly insane are immune to The Fog, as its effects cannot find purchase in their minds.
They can, when in the presence of Wraiths, make a Perception + Alertness roll
(Difficulty 8) to see and hear these ghosts, but such visions will always be slightly hazy.
The Shadowlands those Wraiths dwell in will not be revealed by this roll.
In order to be considered "Innocent," a child must never have had "the talk" about death,
or else has failed to understand what their parents were on about. Death must be a
faraway concept in their minds -- one that invites no significant curiosity, or fear. They
might know that people die, of course, and may even have suffered a death in the family,
but death's nature is something they don't quite understand: they still believe that
Grandpa's gone to sleep for a long, long time and might one day wake up, or some
similar lie or false reassurance.
This blessed state of innocence is usually over with by the time a child is old enough to
attend grammar school. If it's not gone by then -- which is extremely rare -- the onrush of
puberty will tend to send such childhood notions away, as sex and death are inextricably
linked in a way we cannot fully fathom. But there are those rare, rare individuals who
never truly "grow up," and these carry this state of innocence -- and immunity to The
Fog -- with them into their rather odd "adult" lives.
The utterly insane are a different kettle of fish. Though anyone who has a derangement
is technically "insane," there are those whose mental and emotional states are so
imbalanced that they cannot be cured. Such permanently insane people could be able to
ignore the Fog, and see Wraiths, provided their insanity fits that sort of vision. As for
what sorts of madness those could be, such adjudications are best left to the Storyteller
to decide as fits her game. The best example given was that a person whose madness
was such that he thought he was Dan Quayle was highly unlikely to see ghosts.
Merits & Flaws:
Immune to The Fog (+4 Supernatural Merit)
Your mortal character is completely immune to The Fog. No matter what she sees, or
what a Wraith or Spectre might do to scare her, The Fog will not factor into her actions.
She will retain a crystal-clear memory of the events in question. This sort of condition is
very rare, to put it mildly, as it has no bearing on a person's strength of will, or beliefs on
death.
Those who have it often find themselves blessed -- or cursed -- with a lot of
Shadowlands attention, as word of such Quick tends to spread. Enterprising Wraiths like
to strike up deals with such persons, and the Hierarchy always liked to keep tabs on
them, just because. They might also be targeted by up-and-coming Haunters, too, just to
see if they can earn respect by busting the Skinbag's Fog cherry wide open...
The utterly insane, and innocent children, need not take this Merit.
Blueberry Gumdrop Skies Forever (-3 mental Flaw)
Your mortal character is one of those extremely few people whose understanding of
death never came around at all. Death, the afterlife and any real contemplation of the
whole matter has never crossed her mind, save as a far-off concept not worth thinking
about. Like a teeny-tiny country once memorized for a geography quiz, and then never
mentioned again, death "exists" but is of no importance to her whatsoever.
However, this childishness is not limited to concepts of death: the character's mindset
has never gone past that of a six year old, and her emotional makeup resembles that of a
bright but naive child. She has no desire to have a job, no concept of sexuality, no
thoughts of consequences to her actions and the like. Those who have to endure her
presence often wonder if she's mentally retarded, and those who know better wish she'd
just... well... grow up?
This childishness brings with it an immunity to The Fog, and the ability to see and hear
Wraiths with a successful Perception + Alertness roll at Difficulty 8. In order to maintain
this state, the character must do NOTHING that would indicate personal growth and
maturity. She cannot seek employment, hold a job, have a sex life, make responsible
decisions or the like. If she should ever start to act or think like a mature adult -- which
may happen on its own, or due to psychological intervention -- then this Flaw will fade
away, and she will "grow up" and lose her ability to see Wraiths and resist The Fog. Her
old Wraith friends become relegated to childhood's trappings, and anything she might
have learned in that time becomes as hazy and insubstantial as a longago dream.