Post originally by the_capuchin at 2004-01-05 10:44:19
Converted from Phorums BB System

Brence Mc Eathen wrote:
"Is it very "needed" to know/read the Wraith books to know what Orpheus plots together or is it like something totally seperate with a little easter egg for the wraith fans ?"

I'd say the latter. And I have to admit, this is one of the things I like the most about Orpheus.
Ok, I realize it's a very different game in any aspect - rules, setting, mood, theme etc. - but I've just finished reading the corebook with the cheerful feeling that we'll have many more 'easter eggs' for Wraith fans when the pre-assorted chronicle develops through the following books. It's not just the little reference to the 6th Great Maelstrom and to the wrong assumption on the part of the Orpheus Group that ghosts have an "expiration date" of three years since they've never encountered one older than that. It's a feeling that we're going to experience a very different type of adventure/drama from the beginning and, through the upcoming books, unfold many layers of ghosts' existence to the point where Wraith established itself: the projectors/new ghosts will discover the Tempest, what really Spectres are for, why the "Shadow" became a separate entity and so on. Maybe I'm wrong, but...

And the most critical argument I can find to assure you that nobody will need to "know" anything about Wraith to play Orpheus is: to a Wraith player, Orpheus is initially a bit confusing itself. It's easy to get messy with the new rules, the new ("mortal") take on the afterlife... And, at the same time, it's difficult to work with these new and simpler views and takes. So I think Orpheus seems even better for people who never played Wraith, and most Wraith fans will have to discard everything they "know" to enjoy it and, maybe, "discover" everything from ground zero again!
If that's the intention of the developer (who, as long as I can remember, was a former writer for the Wraith line), praises to him.