ORX FAQ
- So, what's this game about?
- Is this a d20 game? What does it play like?
- Who is this game designed for?
- Why would I be interested in this game? What makes it different?
- Why did you choose a "large print" typeface for use in Orx?
- Will you ever produce a regular print version of Orx?
- What's with the whitespace?
- How come you like orcs so much?
- Did anyone really ask you any of these questions?
- Did anyone ask them FREQUENTLY?
Q. So, what's this game about?
A. Tragedy, willpower, inevitability, strength, the dark
comedy of existance. Seriously. Whether you explore it through
slapstick humor or gothic drear, that primary idea is built right into
the central mechanics of the system. You play orcs. Orcs are doomed
from the moment they are born. Fated to die. Hated by the gods. On the
wrong end of everyone's shit-kickers. Can you stay one step ahead of
fate and death, and for how long?
That's what the game is all
about. That and clever tactical manipulation of your character's dice
against the dice of your friends and the gamemaster.
Q. Is this a d20 game? What does it play like?
A. No, it is not a d20 game, and the way the game is written
to be played, it could not be made into a d20 game -- no more so than
Monopoly could be converted to be played like Poker. They are two
entirely different designs whose mechanics serve different functions.
It's different: try it, you just might like it!
The game play is simple and tactical in the same way chess and
poker are both simple and tactical: there are limited options that
combine in numerous ways. Orx, relying on dice as it does, has
more in common with poker than with chess, particularly in regards to
risk-taking playing a central role, and I've even noted that the game
could be played as just a dice game because it has good, solid
mechanics that do not resort to fiat in order to resolve any part of
play or move it along.
All you need is dice and the rules; creativity can even take a back
seat if you're having a bad night and just feel like chucking dice and
kicking ass.
Q. Who is this game designed for?
A. The short answer: Orx is designed for anyone who likes rolling dice,
taking risks, and making things up. If that sounds like you, then Orx
was written for you. (Note: I haven't mentioned "having fun" because,
well, duh!)
The long answer: Orx is
designed to encourage a type of role-playing not usually seen in
tabletop gaming: actual role-playing. Traditionally in an
RPG, a character behaves and reacts based upon the ego of the
individual running that character. Thus characters never behave
foolishly, stupidly, or display weaknesses or any sort because players
rarely want their characters to look like fools or weaklings. I wanted
to get away from that behavior, from the "But I don't WANT to stutter
or bow to the king, and since I'm playing my character, I don't HAVE
to!" attitude I had been finding in many players.
To achieve this, Orx's
design makes players behave more like actors in the traditional
sense, playing a character whose script they are not writing -- in
this case, the script is being written by the dice. Thus it can be
said that Orx is focused towards the
role-player: the individual who can take what the dice give
him and act it out. This isn't to say the dice tell you everything, only that
you aren't always going to be a sauve-tongued ladies' man or always
have your character doing precisely what you want.
Orx's design also
gives the player ability to add detail and flesh to the world around
their orc. Rather than the player merely reacting to situations and
simply listening to details and plot coming from the gamemaster, the
player is given leave to develop and detail the situations, locales,
and personalities their character deals with as they are dealing with
them -- they become miniature gamemasters in certain
respects.
Finally, Orx is designed such that
the mechanics are central to play. A proper game of
Orx cannot be played by ignoring the rules and
"role-playing" the results. There is no "If you don't like the rules,
dump them!" statement to be found here. The rules are where the
action is. They drive the game. You don't dump the rules in poker,
because then you aren't playing poker, and you don't dump the rules in
Orx.
Q. Why would I be interested in this game? What makes it different?
A. You can take a look at the sample chapter on-line to get some ideas about
the game, but as concrete examples: you can give your character anything as a skill or trait
and not have to worry about game balance, because the rules balance it for you. Even
in a group where one orc has "Bum-leg" and another has "Lord of the Tribe", the
characters end up perfectly balanced because of the manner in which the mechanics work.
You can use Stat and any Skill/Trait/Whatever for anything...and we
mean ANYTHING. Oh sure, I know you've heard that before, but such systems usually fall
back on gamemaster fiat or situational concerns to decide whether it is allowable.
Orx doesn't rely on fiat to decide these things, they really are allowable
for ANYTHING, and no one -- not even the gamemaster -- can say "boo" about it.
So, how do we accomplish that? Oh no, we're not giving away all our secrets
for free! Buy the book and find out. (Yes, that was a cheap schill to get you to buy
the book, but hey, I've got kids to feed.)
The system is intuitive enough that you can pick it up and start playing it in
five minutes. And I mean that. You can plop down in your chair, start playing, and
all without a lick of preparation on the gamemaster's part. Yet the game is robust
enough to easily handle long-term play...it was designed for it, in fact! This isn't
just a "when we're not in the mood to play something else" one-shot. Many of
the finer (and funer) points of the system don't kick in until there has been some long-term
play.
The fact that it can be played in any number of styles -- from light and
humorous to dark and gritty -- without making alterations to the mechanics, makes it
different. Especially when you consider it is not a generic game as traditionally
understood.
Q. Why did you choose a "large print" typeface for use in Orx?
A. I have been a fan of large print books for years,
ever since I read a large print edition of "Child of an Ancient
City" by Tad Williams in high school. It isn't because I have
serious eyesight problems that require me to read large print books, but
rather because I can't stand squinting at pages in game books, knowing
that the whole reason for the layout was because the publisher was
trying to jam as many words into as small a space as possible.
My goal is communication and clarity, readability and usability, not
page count -- either large or small. Large print serves these needs much
better than standard print sizes, or the crammed print of many gamebooks,
while also increasing a product's readability for the user. Studies have
shown that large print increases the physical comfort of reading, and
because of this, retention and comprehension are also increased.
Q. Will you ever produce a regular print version of Orx?
A. Maybe. If enough people request such a thing, but even
then, I do not suggest holding your breath. The layout and redesign of
the book to accommodate such would take quite a bit of work. I would seriously
have to consider whether or not such a project would be worth the effort when
that time could be devoted to writing and producing other projects.
Yes! The print version became
available via Lulu in
January of 2007.
Q. What's with the whitespace?
A. Similar to the above regarding large print -- consider the
reasons college textbooks are written with large amounts of whitespace.
Additionally, the various whitespaces also serve the same function
illustrations would, by creating a "layout memory" or "location
memory" for material in the book. Plus you can draw in it and personalize
your copy with ugly stick figure illustrations
Another reason is that much of the whitespace was designed with
illustrations in mind, as my original intention with Orx was to
have the book fully illustrated. Unfortunately, I did not have the time
to attend to it myself (as I was already dedicated to a number of other
illustration projects), and the artist who promised to provide art for
the book vanished without producing a single image. I only received
a couple illustrations from excellent souls like Ed Heil, but not enough
for illustrating the book, so that part of the project was put aside
though the whitespace remained.
I am hoping to eventually produce or receive enough artwork to fill
in some of the whitespace and re-release the book. Depending on whether
it is just an "artwork added" release, or a second edition
with errata and additions will determine whether previous buyers will
receive the new copy for free or a reduced price (yep, you heard me, buy
it now, get any updated versions for cheap).
Q. How come you like orcs so much?
A. Are you kidding? They're great sautéed with a little butter. Alternatively, it's a Finnish thing. I don't know.
Q. Did anyone really ask you any of these questions?
A. Some of them, yes. Others, by inference only.
Q. Did anyone ask them FREQUENTLY?
A. Um...no, not yet at any rate. And since I've answered them
already, probably not very much later, either. So this is really an OAQ:
Occasionally Asked Questions document, or a PsAQ: Presciently
Asked Questions document.
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