Resoln gets demons with each shard. They are really cool. A different sort of demon for each shard type. In the early-mid game these are quite powerful. By the later game you should have more powerful magic units being drafted from your cities.

Nothing, they suck.

Wraith blood also unlocks some unit traits but they suck as well.

Zealot: +3 initiative. -1 hp per level.

Thereby reducing the unit's hp per level to 0. Enough said.

Hallowed Rite: +5 mana per kill.

A half decent reward but your probably better off taking a trait that helps compensate for Wraiths being so weak. You also actually have to have the unit get the final blow, which can be very inconvenient.

I think it will be better if the +3 hp is per hit, not per kill. Thus wraith units can replenish their puny health whenever hitting enemies. Consider them sucking the life energy out of the enemies

ALSO, make Hallowed Rite +mana per hit. If +5 is too much, make it +1 or +2.

Recently i've been RP'ing a reanimated dead faction (as best the in-game tools allow).

Wraith
Binding - free shard monsters
Cult of a Hundred Eyes - Three teirs of spider units with one being available on turn 1
Enchanters - a couple unique weapons and Scrying Pond which adds +1 essence

i take the no armor penalty to RP the weakness of old dead bodies. This race already gets -1hp. One thing i do to make up for that is to found a couple cities with 2 or more essence. Then select the Conclave city upgrade for the free +1 essence. Scyring Pond give +1 more. i've had up to 5 essence in one city. Then there is the Arcane Forge which grants +1 Material per essence! In my conclave cities i'm getting at least +4 Materials. Can crank out uber units to somewhat make up for HP and armor weakness. 

Early game i get mass mana, commerce, and/or research all dependent on what kinds of magic Heros get me. When time to war, ideally i have the city spells which give +1 fire attack per essence, +1 defense, +1 initiative. i've tried with Amarian blood as well. Lots of synergy there. But the wraith fit better my imaginings here. And Zealotry ain't too bad a trait on ranged staff units. And sometimes i'll use it on suicidal fodder units.

The early spiders are huge help. As are the shard monsters. The extra essence is very significant with the right spells. Fun build for now. Not the most competitive set-up perhaps, but when playing for imagination versus pwnage, it works for me. 

For Sovereign i've been picking Warlock and Brilliant, with Death II and Water I. Then choosing the Path of Mage. i'd use Fire magic but thats not how this RP'd faction rolls. Ideally i pick up a Fire using Hero by time i need the +1 fire attack per essence. Adds a quest like aspect to the play.. trying to recruit Air, Fire and Earth heros for their +1 per essence modifiers. 


 

I would like them to have +1 dodge per level and +25% to all elemental resistances to balance them out.  

i think a blanket 25%magic resistance makes sense since they have shattered their physical selves for raw magical power. Procipinee has the knowledge of high ritualistic magic backing her up, but resoln has used dark, transformative magic to reach places of power that procipinee can't imagine. Magic should indeed be a dull blade when used against resoln.

A Wraith race makes me think of wispy near ghostly creatures, hard to hit and damage. But i've yet to learn much Elemental lore so don't know their e-cannon. i agree with those who think the -1HP/level is harsh as things are now. The only thought i've put into tweaking the Wraiths is to give them some minor dodge perks while keeping the HP weakness. 

i don't know why people expect the races to be individually balanced against each other. imo, the faction creator is basically cheating, premade empires, with their race, exist for a reason.

Clearly, the wraith are simply a cursed people. And Oracle Ceresa is the one to unite them, to help overcome their weaknesses. 

Wraith chicks are hot man

You can work around the -1hp/level weakness, the question is why would you? Thing is normal trained units, for all races, are on shaky ground already - they're generally outshined by champions and whatever special units your faction/sovereign/race get (binding demons, henchmen, juggernauts, tamed animals, spiders, etc.). Most games I only use trained units if I get a bonus to them, say Gilden's excellent +1hp/level and armor bonus, or Magnar's fast and cheap slaves; without something like that, it's debatable if unmodified trained units are worth bothering with at all.

For a race that not only gets no meaningful bonus to its trained units, but actually gets the crippling -1hp/level (not to mention lack of armor), why would you waste time training them at all? Why would you look for ways to get around that weakness? There are better things to focus your production/gold/research on - champions, demons, spiders, assuming you're Resoln (no custom faction would choose wraiths). Resoln's racial weakness isn't an extra challenge to overcome, it's a reason to forget about trained units and never look back, it's that bad.

Perhaps the best way to balance the Wraiths would be to give them a 10% tactical spell casting discount. They can remain as fragile as they are today, but their Sovs and Champs will suddenly have a very specific niche: spellcasting glass cannon. Then there would actually be a reason to make a custom faction featuring Wraiths.

Haven't tried them. Are they just melee? +5 mana per kill sounds like a recipe for arcane archers to me. I have monks as per somebody else's suggestions Monk Staff, Monk Robes with all the dodge traits and built in a well enchanted buff fortress city. They kick butt. As the Pariden race I get -1 hp per level I think, doesn't seem to bother these guys.