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Orpheus (role-playing game)
Encyclopedia
Orpheus is a role playing game by White Wolf Game Studio
, set in a microcosm of the World of Darkness
. Unlike the other World of Darkness game lines, Orpheus has a specifically planned metaplot and a set number of books that were published. Although it uses the same system as White Wolf's other games, ghosts and spirits are the exclusive focus of this story. Other supernatural creatures in the World of Darkness
are strongly discouraged from entering the events of Orpheus. It is, however, tied with Wraith: The Oblivion
, White Wolf's previous game dealing with the afterlife; some of the events in Orpheus are related to Ends of Empire, the final book in the Wraith: The Oblivion line.
Orpheus is noteworthy in that it led the idea for White Wolf of a series with a limited number of supplements. The concept continues on with new World of Darkness games Promethean: The Created
, Changeling: The Lost
, and Hunter: The Vigil
all of which are planned as similar limited releases.
(via meditation
or cryonics
) or are ghost
s of the recently deceased. It is assumed that characters work for the Orpheus Group, a company that employs the talents of projectors and spirits to investigate and clear ghostly activity and perform other tasks difficult for those without access to the world of the dead. The way a person manifests as a ghost is called the Lament; two Laments are projection-based, while two are based on a person being dead.
Each character has a set of special traits, called a Shade, which determine how they manifest and what ghostly powers (or Horrors) they are able to use and which ones they cannot. There are eight Shades total; the first five were introduced in the Orpheus corebook, while the remaining three were introduced in three of the supplements.
called pigment or black heroin that allows users to see the spirits of the dead. There are also dark spirits called Spectres, some of which are corrupted spirits and hues, and others that have spawned from an unknown but powerful source. These create much of the storyline and challenges the players must face as they move through the series.
White Wolf, Inc.
White Wolf Publishing is an American gaming and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant and White Wolf Magazine, and was initially led by Mark Rein·Hagen of the former and Steve and Stewart Wieck of the latter. Since White Wolf Publishing, Inc. merged with...
, set in a microcosm of the World of Darkness
World of Darkness
"World of Darkness" is the name given to three related but distinct fictional universes created as settings for supernatural horror themed role-playing games. It is also the name of roleplaying games in the second and third settings...
. Unlike the other World of Darkness game lines, Orpheus has a specifically planned metaplot and a set number of books that were published. Although it uses the same system as White Wolf's other games, ghosts and spirits are the exclusive focus of this story. Other supernatural creatures in the World of Darkness
World of Darkness
"World of Darkness" is the name given to three related but distinct fictional universes created as settings for supernatural horror themed role-playing games. It is also the name of roleplaying games in the second and third settings...
are strongly discouraged from entering the events of Orpheus. It is, however, tied with Wraith: The Oblivion
Wraith: The Oblivion
Wraith: The Oblivion is a role-playing game set in the afterlife of White Wolf Game Studio's World of Darkness. In the game, players take on characters who are recently dead and are now ghosts...
, White Wolf's previous game dealing with the afterlife; some of the events in Orpheus are related to Ends of Empire, the final book in the Wraith: The Oblivion line.
Volumes
There are six books total in the Orpheus line; the first is the main rulebook, which hold the rules used throughout the series. The five that follow carry out a specific, albeit optional, plotline, told through fiction and roleplaying, as well as expanding on the roleplaying tools presented in the first game. They are, in chronological order:- Orpheus
- Crusade of Ashes
- Shades of Gray
- Shadow Games
- The Orphan-Grinders
- End Game
Orpheus is noteworthy in that it led the idea for White Wolf of a series with a limited number of supplements. The concept continues on with new World of Darkness games Promethean: The Created
Promethean: The Created
Promethean: The Created is a role-playing game published by White Wolf, set in the new World of Darkness.The game is inspired by the classic tales of Frankenstein's monster, the Golem and other such simulacra. The characters are individuals created by first dismembering and reassembling human...
, Changeling: The Lost
Changeling: The Lost
Changeling: The Lost is the fifth supplementary role-playing game line published by White Wolf, Inc. It uses the Storytelling System for rules and is set in the new World of Darkness setting...
, and Hunter: The Vigil
Hunter: The Vigil
Hunter: The Vigil is a game line from White Wolf, announced on January 2, 2008, and released on August 14, 2008, when the sponsors for the second Free RPG Day were announced. It is the sixth game line to be part of the World of Darkness and the spiritual successor of Hunter: The Reckoning from the...
all of which are planned as similar limited releases.
Character Types
Characters in Orpheus are either living individuals capable of astral projectionAstral projection
Astral projection is an interpretation of out-of-body experience that assumes the existence of an "astral body" separate from the physical body and capable of traveling outside it...
(via meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
or cryonics
Cryonics
Cryonics is the low-temperature preservation of humans and animals who can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine, with the hope that healing and resuscitation may be possible in the future. Cryopreservation of people or large animals is not reversible with current technology...
) or are ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
s of the recently deceased. It is assumed that characters work for the Orpheus Group, a company that employs the talents of projectors and spirits to investigate and clear ghostly activity and perform other tasks difficult for those without access to the world of the dead. The way a person manifests as a ghost is called the Lament; two Laments are projection-based, while two are based on a person being dead.
- Skimmers use drugs and meditative techniques to temporarily eject their souls from their bodies. While they can enter and exit the spirit world quickly, their close connection to their empty shells means damage they take as a ghost manifests on their bodies.
- Sleepers are cryonically frozen; once the body reaches a certain temperature, it is "dead" and ejects the spirit. While in stasis, the body is treated with special drugs to keep necrosisNecrosisNecrosis is the premature death of cells in living tissue. Necrosis is caused by factors external to the cell or tissue, such as infection, toxins, or trauma. This is in contrast to apoptosis, which is a naturally occurring cause of cellular death...
from setting in. While it keeps sleepers from the close connections skimmers have that allows them to be injured, the process means that both entering and leaving the world of ghosts is a slow process. - Spirits are your run-of-the-mill dead person, souls who have unfinished business that allow them to remain on earth. Most who work for Orpheus have a high-degree of independence because of a remarkable willpower they held in life that transitions to death; not all spirits, however, are able to keep their independent attitudes when they die and become doomed to repeat themselves endlessly.
- Hues are spirits with one major difference; while alive, they took the designer drug pigment. Pigment keeps a spirit from feeling ultimately fulfilled, so while a hue may be as stubborn as a spirit, they have more fragile forms and are closer to their dark sides.
Each character has a set of special traits, called a Shade, which determine how they manifest and what ghostly powers (or Horrors) they are able to use and which ones they cannot. There are eight Shades total; the first five were introduced in the Orpheus corebook, while the remaining three were introduced in three of the supplements.
- Banshees are the empathetic shades, full of compassion. They manifest their abilities of emotional manipulationPsychological manipulationPsychological manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the perception or behavior of others through underhanded, deceptive, or even abusive tactics. By advancing the interests of the manipulator, often at the other's expense, such methods could be considered exploitative,...
, physical damage, and looking into the future through their voices. - Haunters are those who care for things over people. This focus allows them to manipulate inanimate objects and machines to a disturbing degree.
- Poltergeists are usually full of rage, either quiet or overt. This allows them to pick up objects without touching them directly, and also to alter their own forms in violent ways.
- Skinriders are control-freaks. They are granted the ability to possess the bodies of others and bend them to their will.
- Wisps are the trickster shade. They have abilities that allow them to draw attention, escape in a flash, or manipulate ghostly items.
- Phantasms, introduced in Shades of Gray, are the artists and dreamers. They can see and manipulate the dreams of the living.
- Orphan-Grinders, introduced in The Orphan-Grinders, are ghosts who gave in to their dark sides, and then came back. They can use the abilities of the dark ghosts, or Spectres.
- Marrow, introduced in End Game, can adapt to any situation. Appropriately, they are shapeshifters and also have a rapport with animals.
Antagonists
Along with ghosts as antagonists, there are also rival projection companies, such as Terrel and Squib, and a new designer drugDesigner drug
Designer drug is a term used to describe drugs that are created to get around existing drug laws, usually by preparing analogs or derivatives of existing drugs by modifying their chemical structure to varying degrees, or less commonly by finding drugs with entirely different chemical structures...
called pigment or black heroin that allows users to see the spirits of the dead. There are also dark spirits called Spectres, some of which are corrupted spirits and hues, and others that have spawned from an unknown but powerful source. These create much of the storyline and challenges the players must face as they move through the series.
External links
- Project Flatline (Fan Site)
- Interview with Lucien Soulban (Orpheus Developer)
- Unofficial White Wolf Wiki - Orpheus