ToME WikiFubarReturns: This is a relatively complicated and far-reaching proposal, which would probably require some rather deep rewriting. As such, I don't exactly expect its implementation. But, I think it's a neat and very thematic idea.
A caution: Since I'm currently playing Theme rather than straight ToME, some of the below may be Theme-specific, e.g. references to Demon player characters.
For the thematic basis, see the Encyclopedia of Arda entry on the Wraith-world here. Basically, the Wraith-world is an alternate aspect to reality linked to the powers of darkness and death, and specifically to the Ringwraiths. It is the dark "Other Side" of the world, where space and time are warped, places are mere echoes of themselves, and the Eye of Sauron is nigh-omnipresent.
It is not a nice place to be, especially if you're carrying a Ring of Power. However, certain races (Demons, Spectres, and Vampires) and certain classes (Necromancers, Demonologists, and Priests serving Melkor) have their connections to the Wraith-world, or can form them over time. And any character can be tossed into the Wraith-world by the attacks of morgul creatures, certain undead, or various other effects.
To the player, entering the Wraith-world appears as a transformation of the game grid. For the duration of the effect, the grid is overcast with dark and eerie color, and creatures and objects are not what they were. Most trips into the Wraith-world are time limited, so eventually the character will emerge back into the normal world.
The obvious effects of being in the Wraith-world are as follows:
- It looks eerie! The world is overcast in black, gray, and red.
- When you enter the Wraith-world, all nearby hostile undead and demons are aggravated. Likewise, you cannot sneak up on undead or demons in the Wraith-world.
- Non-magical non-humanoid creatures, including all natural animals, are simply missing in the Wraith-world. Lacking magical awareness or immortal souls, they have no existence there. All undeads, demons, and evil-spawned humanoids (orcs, trolls, etc.) are present in the Wraith-world. Elementals are not. Dragons are. Quylthulgs most certainly are.
- The same goes for non-magical items. They are simply missing and cannot be seen, picked up, or used. Corpses, oddly enough, are quite visible.
- It is not possible to eat while in the Wraith-world. Undeads with special food requirements find that they do not require sustenance in this dark otherspace; they are sustained by the world's dark ether. Living creatures, however, cannot survive for any extended length of time under these conditions.
- Any creature in the Wraith-world can walk through normal walls. Some classes of wall, such as magical glass walls, cannot be walked through.
- In normal forests, the trees are treated as walls and can be walked through. In Mirkwood, however, trees may lash out at you as you pass through them, causing damage.
- All physical attacks by non-morgul creatures are reduced to 25% normal damage. In the case of magical weapons, the magic portion of the damage is amplified (see below) but the physical portion diminished. Any time you attack in the Wraith-world there is a chance that you pass through your foe, swapping positions with them.
- All magical attacks do 150% normal damage.
- All morgul, hellfire, and holy fire attacks do 200% normal damage!
All Rings of Power grant the ability to enter the Wraith-world, and some will toss the wearer into that otherspace without so much as a by-your-leave. Any creature which does not serve Melkor and wears a Ring of Power into the Wraith-world has a chance of summoning one or more Nazgul, who will appear within the level and stalk the wearer.
Demons and undeads heal at double normal speed in the Wraith-world. Necromancers and all servants of Melkor regain mana at 150% normal speed.
Human towns, when seen from the Wraith-world, are haunted echoes of themselves, populated by voiceless ghosts. Elven towns are oddly unchanged ....
Player characters who are neither demons nor undead may find their speed oddly distorted in the Wraith-world: it may change by up to +/- 1 per turn, to a maximum modifier of +/- 5.