Orpheus (role play)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Orpheus
publication
Author (s) Bryan Armor,
John Chambers, Genevieve Cogman,
Richard E. Dansky, BD Flory,
Harry L. Heckel, Ellen Kiley, James Kiley,
Matthew McFarland, Dean Shomshak,
Colin A. Suleiman
Original publisher White wolf
Original publication September 2, 2003
original language English
World and system
genre horror
Game world World of darkness
Basic system Storyteller system
Ascent Experience point purchase system
cube W10 (storyteller system)

Orpheus is a pen & paper role-playing game that is set in the fictional game world World of Darkness. The series was published by the US publisher White Wolf . Unlike other games in the series, this game series has a specially scheduled metaplot that spans the predetermined number of books.

The game comes from the "Classic World of Darkness" and deals exclusively with ghosts and spirits. Within the “new World of Darkness”, Geist: The Sin-Eaters and the source volume Ghost Stories deal with a comparable topic.

Although the game uses the same rules mechanics as the other "World of Darkness" games, the introduction of other supernatural beings from the game world into the events of Orpheus is strongly discouraged and the background of the other games is virtually ignored in Orpheus . The only exception is the game series Wraith: The Oblivion , which also dealt with the afterlife and was previously discontinued. Some of the events in Orpheus' metaplot are directly related to events described in Ends of Empire , the final source book in the Wraith: The Oblivion series.

Volumes

The Orpheus series consists of a total of six books. The first volume (title: Orpheus ) is the main set of rules, which contains the rules of the series and describes the game world. The five following books describe specific, but optional, actions. They also provide more information about the role play. The books are in chronological order:

Book name White Wolf
Product Number		 ISBN number
Orpheus WW21000 ISBN 1-58846-600-0
Crusade of Ashes WW21001 ISBN 1-58846-601-9
Shades of Gray WW21010 ISBN 1-58846-602-7
Shadow Games WW21011 ISBN 1-58846-603-5
Orphan grinders WW21012 ISBN 1-58846-604-3
End game WW21015 ISBN 1-58846-605-1

Orpheus is remarkable in that it is White Wolf's first game with an already limited number of additional books. This concept was adopted in the "New World of Darkness" and shaped the game series Promethean: The Created , Changeling: The Lost , and Hunter: The Vigil , all of which were designed as limited series.

There is an anthology on Orpheus called Orpheus: Haunting the Dead (WW11905 / ISBN 1-58846-837-2 ).

Characters

Characters in Orpheus are either living people who have mastered astral projection (either via meditation or through technical or medical near-death states), or the spirits of the recently deceased. The characters are believed to work for the Orpheus Group, a company that uses projectors and ghosts to investigate and eliminate ghostly activity, as well as other tasks that would be difficult for those without access to the world of the dead. The way a character appears as a ghost is called a lament - two laments are based on projection while two others are based on the character being dead. The Laments are character options in the game.

  • Skimmers use drugs and meditation to temporarily separate their minds from their bodies. They can get in and out of the realm of the dead relatively quickly, but the close association with their bodies means that damage to their minds is carried over to their bodies.
  • Sleepers are frozen until death sets in. After that, drugs are used to prevent necrosis . Since the body expelled the soul on its own at the time of death, there is no strong connection and the damage that the spirit suffers is not transmitted to the body. While resuscitation is possible, the freezing and thawing process takes much longer than the skimmer method.
  • Spirits are the souls of the deceased who still have unfinished business and are therefore “stuck”. Most of the spirits who work for Orpheus have a strong will during their lifetime, which also makes their spirit appear largely independent in death.
  • Hues are the spirits of the deceased who took the drug pigment before they died . They are more fragile than the other spirits and closer to their dark side. It is often pigment that holds them in the world, not their willpower.

Every character has a special set of values, a so-called shade , which determines which ghost powers they have and how they use or cannot use their ghost powers (called horrors ). Five of the Shades were introduced in the land register, three more in additional books.

  • Banshees are empathic shades, full of compassion. Through their voice they develop their abilities of emotional manipulation, physical damage and knowledge of the future.
  • Haunters care about things more than people. This focus allows them to control inanimate objects and machines.
  • Poltergeists are usually full of anger. This allows them to move things without touching them and violently deforming their own selves.
  • Skinriders are “control freaks”. You can influence and take possession of others' bodies.
  • Wisps can manipulate ghostly objects, quickly disappear, and attract the attention of others.
  • Phantasms , introduced in Shades of Gray , can affect the dreams of the living. You are a dreamer or an artist yourself.
  • Orphan-Grinders , introduced in The Orphan-Grinders , are ghosts who gave in to their dark side but were able to free themselves again. They use the capabilities of the Specter.
  • Marrow , introduced to End Game , can adapt to any situation. They are shape shifters and have a connection with animals.

Antagonists

In addition to ghosts as antagonists, there are also rival projection companies like Terrel and Squib, as well as a new designer drug called pigment or black heroin that allows users to see the ghosts of the dead. There are also evil spirits known as Specters , some of them are corrupted spirits or Hues, others come from an unknown powerful source. Specters are the predominant dangers and challenges for players whose game masters stick to the series' metaplot.

References

  1. ↑ Ends of Empire ( ISBN 1-56504-618-8 )