Vajra Enterprises
Encyclopedia
Vajra Enterprises is a small role-playing game
publishing company founded in 2001. Vajra's games have a reputation for taking the conventions of more traditional genres and turning them around, into something familiar yet different. For example, at the beginning of Fates Worse than Death there is a page-long list of features differentiating it from traditional cyberpunk
. Vajra strives to create very specific and detailed game settings, as opposed to many other companies which strive to create generic settings with wide appeal.
in the year 2080, where decades of global crisis and war has crippled the city's economic and social structure. The city is plagued with poverty, crime, diseases, and corruption, making it one of the most dangerous ghettos in the world. Players take role of characters belonging to a new generation of people, characterized by the belief that no one but themselves are willing to save them. Tired of wasting their lives in fear, this group aims toward] forming new communities and testing new technology to make the city a better and safer place to live. Even though this group's fights and accomplishments help the city get better, often its members also have to deal with their own personal problems, usually related to drugs, violence, or mental illness.
, In Dark Alleys has a gnostic
cosmological backdrop. A game scenario for In Dark Alleys was included with the Free RPG Day
materials in 2007.
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
publishing company founded in 2001. Vajra's games have a reputation for taking the conventions of more traditional genres and turning them around, into something familiar yet different. For example, at the beginning of Fates Worse than Death there is a page-long list of features differentiating it from traditional cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
. Vajra strives to create very specific and detailed game settings, as opposed to many other companies which strive to create generic settings with wide appeal.
Game System
All Vajra Enterprises releases are based on the Organic Rule Components system, also known as ORC. The publisher offers free licenses to use the ORC system on approval of the subject matter by Vajra Enterprises. The ORC game mechanics have been criticized by reviewers as being too "crunchy". When used in a game system review, the term "crunchy" indicates relatively complex and number-driven game mechanics.Game products
Vajra Enterprises' releases include published books and several games available for download as pdf files.- Fates Worse Than Death, is a cyberpunk game set on island of ManhattanManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in the year 2080. Behind the Eyes of Madness, is a supplemental book for the Fates Worse Than Death game world which contains special rules for charactersPlayer characterA player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
with mental illnesses.
- TibetTibet: The Roleplaying GameTibet: The Roleplaying Game is an independently published historical fantasy role-playing game by Brian St.Claire-King, published by Vajra Enterprises.-Setting:The game is set in Tibet circa 1959 during the Chinese invasion of Tibet that began in 1950...
is a historical fantasy game set in TibetTibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
circa 1950. TibetTibet: The Roleplaying GameTibet: The Roleplaying Game is an independently published historical fantasy role-playing game by Brian St.Claire-King, published by Vajra Enterprises.-Setting:The game is set in Tibet circa 1959 during the Chinese invasion of Tibet that began in 1950...
was translated into Catalan and published under the name Tibet: El Joc de Rol with new artwork in 2008 by the Spanish publishing company Maqui Edicions.
- In Dark Alleys is a modern psychological horror game set in Los Angeles.
- KidWorld , features a post-apocalyptic setting in which children are the only fully functional humans left on Earth.
- Hoodoo Blues is set in the modern day Deep SouthDeep SouthThe Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War period...
, which includes Louisiana, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, and parts of Florida and Texas. Game play may include flashbacksFlashback (narrative)Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
to earlier decades of the characters' lives. Players will typically take on the role of a minority character (usually African American) who has found away to stave off death for decades. The game universe is based on the premise that voodoo and hoodoo philosophies and magic are real, and that minority groups have learned to harness these powers to resist the effects of struggles including discrimination, slavery, and the Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Hoodoo Blues has been praised for the "depth and vitality" of the setting and history section in particular.
Fates Worse Than Death
FWTD takes place on a fictional ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in the year 2080, where decades of global crisis and war has crippled the city's economic and social structure. The city is plagued with poverty, crime, diseases, and corruption, making it one of the most dangerous ghettos in the world. Players take role of characters belonging to a new generation of people, characterized by the belief that no one but themselves are willing to save them. Tired of wasting their lives in fear, this group aims toward] forming new communities and testing new technology to make the city a better and safer place to live. Even though this group's fights and accomplishments help the city get better, often its members also have to deal with their own personal problems, usually related to drugs, violence, or mental illness.
In Dark Alleys
Like the roleplaying game KultKult
Kult is a contemporary fantasy horror role-playing game originally designed by Gunilla Jonsson and Michael Petersén, first published in Sweden by Target Games in 1991. The first English edition was published in 1993 by Metropolis Ltd., a now defunct American publisher...
, In Dark Alleys has a gnostic
Gnosticism
Gnosticism is a scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism , and Neoplatonism.A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis...
cosmological backdrop. A game scenario for In Dark Alleys was included with the Free RPG Day
Free RPG Day
Free RPG Day is an annual promotional effort by the North American Role-playing game industry. Inspired by Free Comic Book Day, Free RPG Day was started in 2007 and is coordinated worldwide by Impressions Advertising and Marketing...
materials in 2007.
External links
- Vajra Enterprises' website
- Discussion forum for Vajra Enterprises games.
- Pen&Paper listing for Vajra Enterprises.