Orical: A Generic Storytelling System for
Use with RPG Characters & Settings

 (c) 2007, Talzhemir

This is a way to roleplay and have complete adventures. It can supplement the more casual roleplaying in a "persistent" RP environment such as a tavern. It can be done without a Dream. It can be done with your favorite RPG's character generation or it can be done with Orical's own simple and very fast system.

(If you put two ten-siders in a mug and cover the top with plastic wrap, you can also easily play this game in a car, provided you have at least two people.)

1. HOW MANY CAN PLAY?

Get some players together. We recommend 2-4. More than that is a little sluggish online. You need at least two 10-sided dice to play.

2. WHAT EXACTLY IS THIS...?

This is a storytelling game. When you're just learning to play, it doesn't have as much "roleplaying". When you get to be good at it, though, speaking and posing in the first and second person comes back, and it gets to be like "roleplaying" again. It's somewhat similar to cooperative fiction, in which everyone describes what their character does. But, it's also similar to roleplaying, in that everyone may speak as their character ("first person") from time to time, and the outcomes are not freely made up by the players.

When there is a question of what happens, all the players give their input into what's most likely. Then, dice are rolled to see if that's how it comes out. The story tends to make sense because the players constrain the wackiness when they set the odds.

3. HOW DO WE DO THIS?

Essentially, the players agree on questions to ask about what happens next. They assign odds, and dice are rolled. At first, the dice-rolling will seem obtrusive. After awhile, you get used to it and you no longer pay much attention to it. Also, the game will go slowly at first; this is normal. As you play more, you'll all become more skilled. Relax and let the tale unfold. You'll soon find that the journey will be as important as the destination, and everybody's mind is engaged.

4. DOES EVERYBODY DO GENERALLY THE SAME THING?

Yes and no.... A traditional pencil/paper/dice/tabletop roleplaying game ("RPG") has 'players' and a 'game master' ("GM") who's like a referee who doesn't get to play. This is different. In the Furre! Storytelling game, everybody gets to have a character that they control. However, there are a few special out-of-character ("OOC") roles that somebody might take, to help make it smoother for everyone.

5. WHAT OTHER JOBS ARE THERE?

The "Arbiter" is somebody trusted to have the final say on what question will get asked, and what the odds will be. This is the closest there is to a GM in this kind of roleplay. The Arbiter doesn't know all the answers in advance, though. He/she is findings things out just like everybody else. When things happen, they are as much a surprise to the Arbiter. Thus, the Arbiter can play a character just like everyone else, with no unfair advantage.

The Arbiter is the only special position that needs to be filled.

The "Dicer" is somebody chosen to make die rolls when the Arbiter requests. Should there be combat, everybody rolls dice for their own character. When there are questions affecting everybody directly, though, then the Dicer makes the roll. The Dicer always include a "reason" on the same line as a dice roll. TH is short for 'to hit'. For example
   ROLL 2d10 Splicer th Theus 12
(Translation: 2 ten-sided dice are rolled and added together for Splicer to hit Theus on a 12 or less.)

The "Chronicler" takes general notes on what's happened. As new characters enter the game, the Chronicler gives them an appropriate name. Not every character needs a name; generally, characters that talk meaningfully to the PCs get names. Naming NPCs is a way to hint at their personalities, so even thugs in a gang sent to ambush our heroes should get names. A Chronicler can make the names up or they can use random name generators, easily found online. Chronicling is more important than it might seem at first.

The "Scripter" writes poses and dialog for the NPC's. He/she doesn't make major decisions about how the NPCs behave; if there's a question about what happens, it's still decided by the whole group & the dice. A good Scripter gives the NPCs natural reactions that enforce a sense of the game world, helping to bring it to life. Sometimes, the way the NPCs talk will nudge a PC into a particular course of action. (A Scripter is on their honor to treat their own character the same as everyone else's.)

6. WHAT IS THE GAME ABOUT?

YOU, the players, decide where and when the game is taking place! Plot Assumption: your characters know each other and are already friends. What world, what country, what city? Pick something you generally all like.

Once you have a fairly good idea what the game is about, the Chronicler should take this info down. The Arbiter should bear in mind a sense of how realistic or unrealistic this particular game world is supposed to be. The Scripter should be a bit familiar with how people of that day and age talk and behave.

* DO agree on a "movie rating" sort of standard. Players should know what level of violence is likely to be described. It can be very vague or "in good taste"; it might be in gory detail. You'll be more comfortable when they you how "extreme" the action is supposed to get.

7. DOES MY CHARACTER HAVE TO DIE JUST BECAUSE THE DICE SAID SO?

This is your choice-- but it's a choice that all the players need to decide before the Adventure begins. Read over the following settings, and decide if your game is going to be Softball or Hardball. Players do need to pick one or the other together. Letting some be Softball while others play Hardball is not fair to the Hardball players.

This choice is a big part of your "commitment to Continuity". By this I mean, how far are the players (OOC) willing to go, to sacrifice the well-being of their characters, in order to keep the game world feeling more believable, exciting, and dramatic?

There are lots of different levels of commitment to Continuity possible, but the whole game group should opt in to just one. Before you choose, you should all know about what IC death can mean to your game!

Here's some Con's of letting characters die:

IC death is very destructive to the Continuity. Relationships in the game world resemble a net made of connections between characters, both PC's and NPC's. This is sometimes called the "social fabric". If a PC dies, connections are severed and in many cases, not repaired by the survivors. Losing even one PC causes a gaping hole to appear.

Once the character dies, the player can make somebody new up, but it will never be quite the same. Players tend to have OOC feelings, even just a little bit, for these fictional characters.

It takes a lot of work to develop and play a character. The game may go on but the character's death will probably mean that at least their part of the story ended on a sour note. No matter how mature you are, after your favorite character dies, there's a good chance you will not want to play again. Being around all your former character's friends can be OOCly unpleasant.

So why, then, would ANYBODY want to play Hardball...?
Here's some Pro's of letting characters die:

There are some Continuities where the credibility would be hurt if the heroes kept facing death but just kept bouncing back to life. Too many deaths can destroy the social fabric, but too few can make the story world feel cheap and hollow. The death of a character is an OOC sacrifice, made by a player, in favor of making the game world feel more realistic.

Continuities involving "intrigue" work better as Hardball. When a character is captured and tortured, whether or not they reveal secrets is too easy when the player knows they can't be maimed or killed. A game about rival organized crime gangs should probably be "hardball". A "horror" genre game needs to be "hardball" to feel worthwhile.

...Then again, there is nothing wrong with the players all agreeing that this Continuity has classic horror concepts or elements, but isn't going to actually be that "dark". That said, here are two possible settings. Our assumed default is "Softball".

"Softball"-- At this level, characters can be injured, but not permanently scarred or maimed. They can only die if the player truly wishes that. There's no obligation to "take a death"; the character must simply wait out the Adventure and not participate. Instead of being killed, characters are 'Defeated'. Softball characters may not kill, nor engineer the death of, another PC.

Asking questions OOC like, "Is this character going to attack mine?" is more appropriate to Softball than Hardball. Softball gives the player a bit more control over their character than is realistic. Pre-arranging the general scene to follow is a Softball trait. In general, when playing Softball, the ruling philosophy is that In Character Actions should yield OOCly FAIR In Character Consequences. Suppose your character kicks a little boy in the shin, and the little boy turns out to be a terrifying and very powerful demon- but you, as player, had no way to know this was going to happen... With Softball play, if your character gets into trouble through no fault of your own, your character should not have to suffer that much, and IC consequences are sometimes waived.

"Hardball"-- Players all consent to harsher outcomes as Continuity and dice decree. That includes "ickier" outcomes such as being permanently psychologically altered. Some game settings pretty much have to be Hardball. If your character risks dying and being made into a vampire who has loses all emotional feelings towards their former companions, that's playing Hardball. When playing Hardball, OOC questions about your character's abilities, motives, etc. are strictly not allowed. You may not pre-arrange in advance, OOC, how a scene is going to go, when playing Hardball. The ruling theory of Hardball is that In Character Actions should yield In Character Consequences, and if they aren't fair, well, that's just too bad. Hardball is best suited for players who can accept that.

(If you can come up with your own custom setting and the players all agree, that's fine.)

8. HOW POWERFUL CAN OUR CHARACTERS BE?

You can also use an existing paper/pencil/dice game's character generation (such as AD&D/d20, GURPS, BESM, etc.)

Use the following guidelines:

a. Give the character an actual 'profession'. (Police officer; chef; hit man; stage magician; etc.) Professions allow you to perform the related skills at a dice-roll target number of 13 or less.

b. Give the character three hobbies in which they are 'experienced.' Like Professions, Hobbies are not powers or special abilities. Hobbies are performed at a dice-roll target number of 11 or less. ACCEPTABLE: Listen, Search, Karate. NOT ACCEPTABLE: Acute Hearing, Danger Sense, Darkness Vision.

c. Give the character one major power, usable once per real-life day. (Some examples: regeneration over a period of minutes; healing from death; extreme shapeshifting; opening a gate to another dimension; transmuting materials; raising the dead; mind-control of NPCs)

Your Major Power may be usable in combat only if it's a defensive ability (examples: Invisibility; teleportation; mist-body). If your Major Power is a defensive ability, you may use it as follows: The first time someone attacks you, they are at -3. The next attack on you is at -2. The next is at -1. You may only use one Major Power at a time.

d. Give the character one minor power, usable twice per real-life day. (Some examples: Flight; psychometry; regeneration over a period of hours; mostly-cosmetic shapeshifting; starting ordinary fires; webbed hands and feet and breathing water; mind-reading)

Your Minor Power may be a special damage-dealing combat ability (Examples: Spell-casting; an enchanted weapon; a machine gun; laser-beam eyes; a bow that shoots bolts of energy; deadly Kung Fu hands).

Using your Minor Power during a fight gives you a +1 to hit and +1 to damage the first time you use it. The next time you get a +2/+2, and the third time, a +3/+3. (When this is used up, you just go back to your normal Combat Skill and damage.) You may only use one Minor Power at a time.

Any exceptional character trait that makes the character above-average in some way must be purchased as minor or major power. Every player-character is assumed to be attractive. Being very beautiful or handsome is a Minor Power. Being amazingly strong is a Minor Power.

9. HOW DOES THE GAME START?

To save time and hassle, there are three things that you should all assume from the start.

Plot Assumption #1: All of the player characters must be on friendly enough terms that, should one of them encounter an adventure lead, the rest would naturally go along. As a plot assumption, there's some reason your characters want to pursue the matter.

Plot Assumption #2: At the start of the game, your characters are in a place that they (together) more or less own. It can be a mansion; it can be a castle; it can be a tavern and inn; it can be an office building; it can be a hotel. Make something up. This place might even help give your group a sort of name.

Plot Assumption #3: Temporary resources to get to your destination will be provided somehow. For example, if you rolled 'Investigate a Crime' and the location was 'Jungle', you can assume that the person who sent you to investigate is also giving you plane tickets, sending you on a military transport helicopter, or something similar.

The adventure begins with choosing an Adventure Seed. Adventure seeds should be vague. Players can each contribute one or two, until you have ten. They should be appropriate to what your characters do together. Roll a 10 sided dice. Here's an example table of events to help inspire you.

EVENTS
1 You've been sent to investigate a crime.
2 You've been sent to a far-away place to bring something special back.
3 A good friend of yours is missing, and you have to rescue them.
4 Something very strange has happened at the house of one of the heroes.
5 You've just run out of something important supply, such as food or gas.
6 Some sort of disaster is happening and a friend of yours needs help.
7 An enemy has stolen something that belongs to all of you.
8 Someone you know needs you to bring him/her something very rare.
9 An enemy is threatening a location that means something to all of you.
10 You've all been invited to something wonderful.


Once you have an event, the next thing you need is a location. Depending on what your group and your story is about, you might be able to find a random location selector online. Or, have everybody contribute some, and make a list. Here's an example to help you inspire you.

LOCATIONS
1 oddly close to where you are when the story begins
2 a desolate abandoned ruin
3 a very large and important city
4 a tiny village miles away
5 somewhere in some mountains
6 somewhere in a swamp
7 somewhere in a desert
8 somewhere in a forest
9 somewhere in a jungle
10 hostile enemy territory such as a known enemy's lair!


It is assumed that an NPC gives you the above information. It's helpful to know who this person is. Everybody can roll a d10, with the highest roller being the one who gets the initial message. (It's assumed that they relate this to everybody else in the group.) You can roll d10 on the following table to help establish the identity of the messenger. Roll a d10 for gender if needed (1-5 male, 6-10 female).
MESSENGERS
1 an information contact to the PC (bartender, informant, hairdresser, etc.)
2 friend of the PC, and a close relative of a victim
3 a close relative of the PC, and a friend of the victim
4 a young person the PC likes, who looks up to the PC
5 somebody who is a mentor to the character
6 somebody the PC is romantically interested in
7 an old friend of the PC to whom they are indebted
8 a mysterious stranger who somehow knows this PC
9 somebody of worldwide importance (the king's messenger, a CIA chief, a head wizard, etc.)
10 No messenger- the PC has somehow happened to come across some correspondence.
10. THEN WHAT DO WE DO?
Now you're either ready to start clarifying the situation by asking questions OOC or you might need to go into a "Brainstorm". This is a very spontaneous kind of game and many things about the setting and the adventure aren't pre-decided. In this style of play, everyone is a storyteller and has a partial say in shaping the world.

Brainstorming is a phase in which the Arbiter asks for concepts and impressions of what might be going on. The Arbiter may need to remind the other players that this is not deciding what is going to happen, it's just a moment to pool your creativity. Questions are not asked and dice aren't rolled at this point; Brainstorms are just stages when you are sharing inspiration, and opening up ways the story might go.

Your very first Brainstorm is likely to be "What kind of characters do we want to play, in what kind of setting / genre / game world?" Finish up your character generation at this point.

When the Arbiter feels there has been enough Brainstorming, they must choose a question (or "family" of related questions) to pursue. Anyone can suggest a question.

11.WHAT QUESTIONS CAN WE ASK?
The questions should be "Yes/No". It's important to remember that you can only ask a question if there's an IC ("in character") way for the characters to know the answer. For example, you can only ask, "Are we going to lose our next battle?" if a character has an infallible ability to see the future. (And, because it would be alot less fun, we strongly recommend not letting any player character have this particular power.)

You can probably ask more immediate things like, "Are we being watched right now?", "Is there a sporting goods store pretty close to this garage?", and "Do we smell something burning?"

12. HOW DO WE ANSWER QUESTIONS?
Arbiter, ask the questions which are most likely to come out 'yes' first, as this will save time in the long run.

Ask the questions that will help answer later questions first. For example, you would probably ask questions about someone's identity before you asked about their motives, because if you know who they are, you can set better odds for their motives.

Answer questions with respect for Plot Assumptions and the results of previous questions. Let the past form the present, which, in turn, forms the future. In-character actions should lead to appropriate in-character consequences.

Next, the Arbiter asks everyone to contribute reasons why a particular question should come out yes or no: "I'm calling for reasons the answer should be yes or no." Tell everyone at the start, "It's okay to say, you don't know, and it's okay to give reasons for both the yes and the no answer."

Five minutes is usually more than enough time to get the answers. If someone is idle, it's okay; they will not get a say in that question. It is usually more important that the game be kept moving. (Arbiter, please use your best judgment whether or not to wait.)

At that point, the Arbiter says, "Okay, enough discussion. Everybody please throw in your odds." It's good to post the following as a reminder:
Almost_Impossible:3 Very_Unlikely:5 Pretty_Unlikely:7 Unlikely:9 Toss-up:11 Likely:13 Probable:15 Almost_Sure_Thing:17

The Arbiter adds everyone's numbers, including their own, and divides by the number of players, to get an average. Simply drop any remainder. Then the Arbiter tells the Dicer, "The target number for a yes is #; please roll."

(For example, three players are playing. One says, "Pretty Unlikely", one says "Toss-Up", and one says "Likely." The numbers are 7, 11, and 13. They add up to 31. 31 divided by 3 is 10.3 so we ignore the .3. "The target number for a yes is 10; please roll."

Dicer, make sure to wait for the Arbiter's instructions on when to roll. This ensures that everybody has given input on the odds. (If the Dicer rolls too early, the roll has to be thrown out.)

The Dicer types   ROLL 2d10 for (reason).  
On a roll of that number or less, the outcome is 'yes'.

A (reason) is important: it makes it easier to read the scrollback.

If everybody agrees something obviously should happen, then it just does; there's no need for a dice roll.

3 Almost Impossible
5 Very Unlikely
7 Pretty Unlikely
9 Unlikely
11 Toss-up
13 Likely
15 Probable
17 Almost Sure Thing
13. DO OUR CHARACTERS HAVE SKILLS?

Yes, and this, too, may affect what question you can ask.

When a question depends on a character performing a skill effectively (for instance, researching on the Internet), you must succeed at the task before you may ask the question.

For example: Some characters are at the scene of a crime; a body lays on the grass. They wish to know if there was a struggle.

* This game system works well with an existing traditional paper/pencil/dice/"tabletop" roleplaying game (RPG). If there is a game system being used, all the characters who can, make a tracking or search type skill roll to find appropriate clues. At least one character must succeed, or else, the characters just can't tell if there was a struggle or not.

If no external game system is being used, you may use a 2d10 roll and this scale:
Character is totally unfamiliar: 9 or less
Character is experienced at this: 11 or less
This is the character's profession: 13 or less

14. WHAT ARE NPC'S?

NPC stands for "non player character". The term includes all the people and creatures you might meet, including monsters you fight

. Pets, relatives, pals, allies, the doorman at your hotel, the henchmen who tried to kidnap you at the hotel, these are all NPC's. NPC's do not accompany player characters unless they are purchased with experience points. You don't get NPC companions free with a Power.

As the game progresses, non-player characters may become significant to the players. The Chronicler should write them down diligently because they can recur. If treated well, NPC's may become friends who may even accompany the heroes.

Enemy: Depending on your character, you may or may not have an enemy. Enemies can be thrown at you just by the ordinary course of your adventurous life. If you deliberately solve a major problem for an Enemy, they become a Hostile on a 13 or less. Otherwise, they remain an enemy. Enemies hate you and want to do you harm.

Hostile: This is somebody you meet that you've come into contact with in less than ideal circumstances. They're probably working for the Enemy. Or, they could be a former Enemy whose attitude towards you has softened for some story reason. Hostiles don't like you and do their best to avoid you.

Acquaintance: You know their name and profession. You could somehow contact them with a couple of hours of effort. You would probably recognize them and know their name if you saw them again. An Acquaintance won't accompany you on an adventure.

Friend: You know them by their first name. You know their hobbies. You've probably been over to their house, and vice-versa. You occasionally do things together- going for a walk, going to the library, going shopping, playing a sport or game together, etc. If invited, they accompany you on an adventure on a roll of 8 or less.

Good friend: You know things like their birthday, what foods they like and hate. You know their *middle* name. Girlfriends and boyfriends that you date but don't live with, count as 'good friends'. Good friends will accompany you on an adventure on a roll of 11 or less.

Housemate: This is somebody you're permanently involved with, maybe a lover or spouse, but not necessarily. A Housemate will accompany you on an adventure on a roll of 14 or less.

15. HOW DO WE GET AHEAD IN THE GAME OVERALL?

After each game, decide together whether that was a so-so, good, or excellent game. For a so-so game, everybody gets 1 Experience Point. For a Good game, award yourselves 2. For an Excellent game, award 3. Scenes that mainly advance personal relationships are always worth -half- a point.

The maximum amount of experience you can earn in a real-life week is 5 points.

There's a number ways your characters can improve by spending experience points..

* There's personal advancement. You can improve your abilities or even acquire new powers. Whether or not you can get the new power should be something the whole group agrees is appropriate. Consider what the game world is supposed to be like, your group's financial situation, etc., etc.

A new Hobby: 5
Upgrading a Hobby to a Profession: 5

A +1 in Combat: 10 Each subsequent +1 costs 5 more: 15, 20, 25 etc. (Always use this mechanic to represent abilities such as super-fast reflexes.)

+1 Hit Point: 10 Each subsequent Hit Point costs 5 more: 15, 20, 25, etc. (Always use this mechanic to represent abilities such as super-thick skin.)

Upgrading a Minor to a Major power: 15

A second new Minor Power: 20
A second new Major Power: 30

A third new Minor Power: 25
A third new Major Power: 35

* There's Twists of Fate These are OOC perks that let you, as player (not character) affect what's happening. You buy them with points and, once you spend them, those points are gone forever.

Twists of Fate: For experience points paid in advance, you can buy Twists of Fate, which force a re-roll of one dice roll. The first one you purchase costs 10 points. Each twist of fate costs more than the last, by 5 points.

* There's social advancement. The characters become more able to borrow the help of NPCs. As the adventures progress, you'll tend to meet non-player characters (NPC's). Their relationship to the players defaults to Stranger. After the players speak to them, they become Acquaintances. One NPC at a time may accompany a PC. (NPCs default to 10 Hit Points and a Combat Skill of 10.)

Sometimes you want your character to be on better terms with an NPC. It can be assumed your character is probably spending time with these NPC's "offstage", between game sessions.

Change a Hostile to an Acquaintance for 10.

Upgrade a Stranger to an Acquaintance for 3. (This can be done anytime it seems appropriate.)

Upgrade an Acquaintance to a Friend: 5

Upgrade a Friend to a Good Friend: 10

You may attempt to upgrade a Good Friend to a Housemate once per game session. You must roll a 14 or less on 2d10. If you succeed, you may pay 15 points and upgrade them.

You may spend your own Experience Points to buy stats and powers for Friends, Good Friends, and Housemates. However, they may not exceed your own character. For example, if you have 1 Minor Power, and so does your NPC friend, you can't buy them a second Minor Power until you've bought such for yourself. If you have a 12 Combat, they can't have a 13.

* Finally, there's assets. In this Storytelling game, you can assume your character automatically has a fair amount of clothing, their own apartment, and tools appropriate to their profession.
A cheap vehicle (such as a bicycle or a goat-cart): 3
A typical vehicle (such as a used car): 5
A snazzy vehicle (a hot car, a sport boat: 7
A commercial-grade vehicle (a semi truck, plane or jet): 10
A house: 10
A mansion, a tract of forest: 15
A fortified dwelling, mountain cave complex, palace, etc.: 20

16. HOW DO WE RESOLVE FIGHT SCENES? You *could* decide to make up the ending. You probably don't want to do that, because making up the ending tends to get boring after a while. (The problem is that, while it may be a surprise for some characters, it's not a surprise for everyone involved, and that detracts from the overall shared experience and drama.)

Fights in this Storytelling game are a BIG DEAL. They should be rare.

Combat goes according to an existing game system or it goes as follows.

There should be one NPC opponent for each PC. Roll d10 on the following table for each one:

1 *none* 2 HP:6 ToHit:8 Damage 1/2/2 (such as a little kid or a pet)
3-4 HP:7 ToHit:9 Damage:1/2/3 (such as a weak unarmed person)
5-6 HP:8 ToHit:10 Damage:2/3/4 (such as a person armed with a stick)
7 HP 9 ToHit:11 Damage:2/3/4 (competent person with a dagger)
8 HP:10 ToHit:12 Damage:2/3/4 (a henchman with a club)
9 HP:11 ToHit:13 Damage:3/4/5 (a henchman with small sword)
10 Roll d10 again on the table below:

1-8 Major Villain: HP:11 ToHit:11 Damage:3/4/5
9 as above, and, he/she uses one Minor Power in combat
10 as above, and, he/she uses one Major Power in combat
* Your group may wish to make their own NPC encounter chart, customized for your adventures and game world. I recommend doing this; it adds alot to the play!

Randomly roll a d10 for your "Initiative" for a fight. Dice off ties to establish the Initiative Roster. The Chronicler writes this down.

Characters act when their turn comes up, counting down from 10.

Each character may, on their turn, attack one other character once. To hit, you must roll beneath your Combat Score on 2d10.

If you are successful, you inflict damage (measured in "Hit Points"). Roll a d10:
1-2=3 points damage
3-8=4 points damage
9-10=5 points damage

Each player character starts with 10 Hit Points.
If your Hit Points reach 0, then you go unconscious. You must take a "time out" of 15 RL minutes and you may bring in a new character. It's a Plot Assumption that the new character has reasons to like and help the other Player Characters.

Alternately, you may take up temporarily playing an existing NPC as your new PC.

Enemy and Hostile NPCs that reach 0 are unconscious. If the players "win the field" so there are conscious PC's but no conscious foes, then the players may choose to kill them. (If the genre is less harsh, assume they're sent to prison, etc. instead.)

17. WHAT IF THE PLAYERS ARE DEFEATED IN COMBAT?

If the PCs and their allies are defeated, they will awaken with a new Adventure seed which goes, "You've all been captured..." When you come to a conflict, you'll face any surviving opponents from the last encounter, plus one.

Characters can only die in TSG if their player wants them to die.

18. WHAT IF THE RULES DON'T COVER SOMETHING?

When the rules don't cover something- make something up. The overall goals of this Storytelling game are for everybody to be treated fair, and to all experience a meaningful and satisfying story. Always keep these two ideas in mind:

  • You're amongst friends.
  • When something goes wrong, relax. We will all try to fix it.
    In general, most roleplayers like 'simulationism' and prefer when 'in character actions yield in character consequences'. However, this Storytelling game isn't meant to be as harsh as you can possibly make it. This is your time, and your game. It's up to you to instate or abolish the rules that work best for YOU, as a group, and you can decide to override this document's written instructions at any time, of course!

    Expect to build up your own unique collection of "house rules" to customize things; this is an art and you're all the artists. Treat each other with respect and the game will go smoothly.

    19. "I HAVE THIS REALLY GREAT IDEA FOR WHAT'S GOING ON..."

    Sometimes a story suggests itself from the clues, kind of like the way stars in a constellation suggest something. You might see a great place for a player to give input to the plot, but there's no way to make that the story. When this happens, it's okay to describe this as a kind of OOC "theory" of what's going on, but you shouldn't expect the "coolness" of a potential explanation to make it more likely.

    Nobody should feel obligated to go along with anything more than what the information you currently have, suggests. If that happens alot, it may start to feel like that player is "writing the story". That's not "bad" but it's a different sort of game experience.

    In this game, it's okay to favor an outcome a little because you think it makes a better, more enjoyable story. But, if this urge isn't kept limited, then the game becomes too much like just arbitrary storytelling. Remember that what keeps this exciting and special and challenging is that this is also a "simulation" that's not quite under any one participant's control.

    OPTIONAL RULE: Everybody gets one 'Cool Plot' Reroll point per session. If you really like someone else's theory, and a dice roll disqualifies that as a possibility, then you may spend that point to call for a 'Cool Plot' Reroll. But other than the use of Cool Plot Reroll points, interesting ideas should only "come true" by passing the legitimate questions.

    Try hard to let the story tell itself, and you'll be rewarded by a sense of "shared reality" instead of "shared fiction".

    20. WHEN DO NPC'S SHOW UP?
    When a question is asked and it comes up doubles, that means someone shows up immediately after the question has been answered. If the doubles are an EVEN number, then it's a friend who's appeared.

    All players roll d10. Highest roller then chooses one of their friends, and does a 2d10 check. On an 11 or less, it is that friend. They may invite that friend to join them if they wish. If the highest roller doesn't succeed, then the next highest roller checks, and so on. If none of the players succeeds, then roll as if rolling for an enemy NPC, but instead, make it an ally.

    The Chronicler gives them a name. The Scripter comes up with the most plausible story for why they were in the area (perhaps they were secretly researching on their own?). This newcomer NPC will accompany the heroes on a roll of 8 or less, up through their next fight.

    If the doubles are an ODD number, then it's a foe who's appeared. Use the random foe table.

    The Dicer rolls a d10:
    On a 1-2, it is just a single foe.
    On a 3-8, there is one foe for each PC, minus one.
    On a 9-10, there is a foe for each PC *and* each accompanying NPC.

    20. HOW DOES IT END?

    It ends when the players decide they are done, and the game may take place over multiple sessions, picking up where the last one left off. The heroes might resolve the plot in their favor and accomplish what they set out to do regarding the Adventure Seed.

    Then again, they might not. The Adventure Seed gives an initial direction to the story, but other stories may arise, which the players would rather pursue. Or, perhaps the players feel that the heroes are not up to the challenge they have come across, and must, for their own good, abandon it. On rare occasions, the storyline will end in an abrupt and strange manner.

    Unlike traditional tabletop roleplaying games, Orical doesn't force the characters to finish "an" adventure. Nor is there any guarantee that what fate has presented, is a resolvable issue. This has the potential to feel far more like simulation than going through a scripted "gauntlet" of encounters. This is a living breathing adventure world, not a story in a world written "for" or "around" the characters.

    There may or may not be a cataclysmic clash with a powerful enemy. Sometimes, the story "arc" (which goes from the receipt of the starting information, to the resolving of the Adventure Seed) will even conclude without combat.

    21. WHERE DO WE GO NEXT?

    This game system lets the players take the game in directions that a typical GM-run game might not.

    For example, future "Adventure Seeds" can be supplied by the players, to help fulfill and "back up" their experience point spending. For example, suppose Space Captain Spiff's player has saved up 10 experience points. He wants to defeat some space pirates and take over their ship. If he can talk some other players into coming along, the acquisition of his new ship could be an in-character adventure, not just an off-stage off-screen event.

    Ideally, this is a game that doesn't end. Experience points aren't the goal, they are icing on the cake. The goal is the enjoyment of the journey, the shared moments of discovery as you reveal and shape the world in which your characters live.

    There may come a time when you have grown tired of a character. That's okay. Then it is time to honorably retire them. Let them live on in glory, and start a shiny new young hero. You will be intrigued to see YOUR game world through entirely new and different eyes.

    ========== This game was inspired in part by several games. I thank them by recommending them to you all!
    Mythic Game Master Emulator
    Living Legends Superhero RPG
    Pocket Universe Generic RPG
    To:
Diremoon and Direclaw
Youlanda
Valgar
#SN Nash #SN
Exodus/Veyd
Darrell Maurina
Christopher Cox
Edmond Meinfelder
Jon Peterson
Avi Cherry
Janet Swisher
Jason Rosenblum
Jeff Dee
and to all the Furres of Furcadia