Gorrum's Children

[Grimgor]

Hello everyone. I have been working for the past year or so on an rpg i call Dosro: Gorrum's Children, an orcish rpg.
The basic idea is that the orcs are the chosen race on this given world and one of the four original ones (the others being black trolls, goblins and forest trolls). From their god Gorrum, they are told that whoever control the entire world will be awarded in his Hallowed Halls (where the dead go) and after that, there's pretty much a power race going on between these four races.
The entire thing focuses on the orcs, whom I have made in a certain way:
At various times during their lives, several blessings from Gorrum manifest themselves. First, the Blessing of the Hunt, which is an abstract blessing concerning the entire concept of hunting (lying in wait, hiding, being quiet, aiming, hitting and so on). Secondly, the Blessing of the Black (blackens the orcs' blood, hence the name) which grants them a slow regeneration (an arm can be regrown in about three months). Thirdly, the Blessing of Tools, giving them skills in various crafts. This is exceptionally slow, taking almost fifty years to fully manifest (and since it doesn't start before age fourty the vast majority never reach it, much less finish it). Finally, the Blessing of Gorrum renders them young again (that blessing manifests around age ninety. Almost no one make it that far as they are old, feeble and senile by then.
Due to the last blessing here, orcs can, theoretically, live forever. One of them, Gorbit, is more than two thousand years old (the second in line is about three hundred and that is practically unheard of). Many years before the time the rpg is set in, there were three great orcish empires, all keeping to the same basic traditions of culture, society and keeping the same religion (almost) with the same myth of creation. They were interchangeably at war and allies for almost a thousand years before dying out, leaving an increasingly fractioned orcish culture that dissolved into tribes and city-states.
Queue the current time. A large part of the knowledge from the empires has died out and the rest is scattered. The religion (worship of Gorrum) has broken up and been changed by local Rhoani (shaman-priestly types) for hundreds of years until little remain of the original material. This of course also causes a lot of tribes warring against each other for religious reasons.
The orcs in the rpg are either a part of a tribe, or builds the tribe itself and plays the leaders. Humans have arisen and is starting to pose a serious risk to the orcs if they don't pull it together, which is what Gorbit (previously mentioned) is trying to do. He is, however, hampered greatly by the numerous tribes hating each others guts and having no wish to convert to the old religion Gorbit goes by.

There's more history to this, but this is the basic stuff. What I want to know is first of all if this is an appealing idea? The idea is of give the players the opportunity to play tribal-managing games, fiddle with socially constructed obstructions to obvious problems, basic tactical wargaming (on a party and tribe-wide level) and, most importantly, to try and go through the classic humans-versus-orcs thing while seeing it from the other side. I'd like this to be as open as possible within the given world I'll be providing (and some tools and help for creating one's own world).
Secondly, I have a very rough 2d12 system for the combat prepared. I want to accomplish two things there: First, base it mostly on counter-attacks and, secondly, make it relatively unforgiving. The basic idea of the rule system is having a stat between -12 and +12 (0 being the starting point), a skill between 0 and 12, adding those to a 2d12 roll and making that your attack score (for example, strength +4, weapon skill +5, roll of 14 gives 23 total). The defender uses the same technique to do a defense score (dexterity this time, say +6 and defense skill +2, roll of 16, total 24). The defender can then choose to counter-attack, adding the difference between attack and defense score (in this case, 1) to her dex score and a 2d12 roll. This counts as an attack, and so the fight continues. The problem is, I have no prior experience in creating rule systems and the problem is currently that the defense outstrips the attack in terms of usefulness. I could really use some input here.
Thanks in advance

[Abkajud]

I would recommend finding the Power 19 list of questions and answer as many of them as you can, for this design.
You may find that you didn't have answers to some of them until you were asked; you may find that, even after you've been asked these questions, you still don't know. That's okay - it's a place to start!

One bit of feedback, though - the Blessings sound really cool! Do orcs bother with medicine, crafts, or military training, given the existence of these things? You said the Blessing of Tools takes a long time to achieve - does that mean that orcs go ahead and figure this stuff out on their own, and pray that they'll live to receive Gorrum's blessings someday?

Neat!

[Grimgor]

Okay, the Power 19. Here goes:
1.) What is your game about?
The game is about the numerous orcish tribes that have sprung up in the wake of three great empires' downfall. The world has become a chaotic and fractured place, where old traditions and knowledge becomes more and more twisted as time passes, or forgotten entirely. The focus of the game is on the tribal societies and the friction between them, religious and more mundane. Conflicts with neighbours about hunting grounds and lakes, temporary alliances against common foes, inter-tribal feuds should be some of the driving points. Mostly, however, I want it to be about the life of the orcs and their way of living and thinking, discovering their roots and their god.

2.) What do the characters do?
The characters are either members of the tribe (ordinary rank-and-file or gifted, depending on the GM (called the Boss) ), or the leaders of the families in the tribe (called packs), making the overall descisions and giving the game a more strategic feel. These could include where to migrate to, wether or not to go to war, manage alliances and friendships and such. Mostly, it will be social roleplaying with a few, decisive battles in it.

3.) What do the players (including the GM if there is one) do?
The players administer either a single character or a group of characters, a pack. The role of the players and GM is very much like traditional rpg's with the GM creating a setting which the players then respond to. Many of the plots will be, at least in part, character-driven as their interactions with nearby tribes will greatly affect the progress of the game, or even the stability of the local region. It is the GM's job to administer these relations.

4.) How does your setting (or lack thereof) reinforce what your game is about?
The ambition for this game grew out of the setting I created. The setting encourages the kind of tribal conflict game I'm going for, revolving very much around the orcs. I have attempted to create possibilities for any kind of game a player group might be interested in. There's small city-states at war with each other, great stretches of tribal country, a growing empire and border skirmishes with the recently risen human race. I am also creating quite a bit of hidden lore that the players can dive into, if that's their fancy. The game focuses on being world-driven/driving so I've found that a premade setting which can be altered by the GM is likely the best for the game.

5.) How does the Character Creation of your game reinforce what your game is about?
The Character Creation is meant to be a simple thing with few inhibitions to let players create whatever character they might want. I'm going to omit charisma and intelligence/wits scores, leaving that to the players. The skills will be Unknown Armies-like, them being entirely up to the player. In addition, a single Gift and two Lifepaths will be cohsen for each character. The Gift is sort of an inborn competence for something. For example, Eyes of the Wolf lets you sense fear, where Friend of the Earth gives you an affinity for plants and herbs. All in all, I'm trying to make the orcs as individual as possible, using the Gifts and Lifepaths to give players several ways of making, for example, a warrior or a hunter.

6.) What types of behaviors/styles of play does your game reward (and punish if necessary)?
Knowing when and how to fight, when to flee and when to talk is an essential part of the game. That being said, the game rewards peaceful, nuanced situations. Allying with a rival tribe will get your tribe and character more cookies than simply tearing the tribe apart. Reinforcing and widening your tribe and character's influence and power is what will cause the most interesting developments in the game (I hope). The game will not award tweaked fighting machines and mindless murder will ultimately alienate everyone from the character, which is also liable to die.

7.) How are behaviors and styles of play rewarded or punished in your game?
The game does not in a rulewise sense reward the desired behaviour, except for ingame-wise. Excessive or unplanned fighting, however, is punished. The rule system is meant to be unforgiving during combat. Injuries can be crippling and easily lethal. This is why battle turtles will be less likely to survive, although it is quite possible to fight and survive battles. Ideally, the players should be hesitant about entering a battle where they're not sure to have the advantage.

8.) How are the responsibilities of narration and credibility divided in your game?
The players are given a good bit of the initiative in this game. The idea is to give them plenty of opportunities to execute personal plots, bring their characters further up the tribal rank ladder and pursure whatever else they might wish to. The GM arranges over-arching plotlines, extra-ordinary events and makes sure to resolve the player-driven plots.

9.) What does your game do to command the players' attention, engagement, and participation? (i.e. What does the game do to make them care?)
IT gives them the opportunity to try out roleplaying in a setting with a few twists compared to the standard settings. It gives them multiple opportunities to affect their environment and leave an imprint on the story as it unfolds. In this game, the players can play a more rough diplomatic game if they wish, with fewer court intrigues. Also, they can build up their tribe as far as possible, creating a real power-base in their local region.

10.) What are the resolution mechanics of your game like?
The game is based on a simple 2d12 system. When a player rolls for something, he adds relevant stat + relevant skill (both of which move between 0-12), making a total score. In the case of combat or other situations with contested scores, the opponent rolls as well and the scores are compared. The winner is the one with the highest score. The degree of succes is determined by the GM. There are no skill lists; they are instead created by the players.

11.) How do the resolution mechanics reinforce what your game is about?
By making the rules very simple and easy to use, I try to move the focus away from the system and over to the game world and the characters themselves. A character shouldn't be called a great general simply because he say the 'Rocks as General' skill. He can be called a great general if he can come up with a strategy that works. The focus on the game should be on the actions and ideas of the players, instead of what the numbers say they're capable of.

12.) Do characters in your game advance? If so, how?
The characters advance, yes, through an xp system where you use the ep as currency to buy up skills and stats. In addition, I'm considering adding meta-levels. It's a kind of level you can advance in, once you've earned (not stored) enough xp together and allows access to some unique advantages. This is not entirely developed yet, though, and it is simply an idea.

13.) How does the character advancement (or lack thereof) reinforce what your game is about?
I want to create a system where the players can see their characters grow stornger, not just in the game, but also reflected in the numbers that determine their competences. As the orcs grow older, they grow more experienced and more dangerous. They learn more about how to defend themselves, how to hunt, find herbs and a multitude of other things and this is reflected through their increased skills.

14.) What sort of product or effect do you want your game to produce in or for the players?
A feeling of progress, obstacles overcome and goals reached. With the combat system, it should be quite possible to establish a paranoid setting where the next blow could easily be the last. Finally, I want to inspire a feeling of curiosity and a wish to uncover old lore and traditions by searching through old libraries and listening to the talk of spirits.

15.) What areas of your game receive extra attention and color? Why?
The setting, it's history and the society of the orcs. This is to create a full world populated by orcs, complete with a creation myth and everything. This is first of all because I have a full world in my head that I want to pass on, and secondly because a lot of the focus is to be on orcish society and their past and, obviously, that society and past needs to be in place.

16.) Which part of your game are you most excited about or interested in? Why?
The orcish society. I'm looking forward to collect and create a functional society with a focus on the big picture, a contrast to the random, bloodthirsty tribes which is still, even after Orkworld and Warcraft 3, the dominating role orcs fall into. Once that's said, a tribal, fractured setting has always interested me and I want to create one like that which is tied together by common roots, but capable of rising in any direction. As said, a tribal society within the big picture.

17.) Where does your game take the players that other games can't, don't, or won't?
Through orcish society. What it was once, what it is now and hints at what it can be. It brings a multi-faceted religious theme and tries to create a classic fantasy world without the concepts of good and evil, and instead tries to use accomplishment and survival. It tries to evolve some classic aspects of the fantasy genre and make it more exciting, newer and more nuanced. Finally, it gives reasons and alternatives to the percieved violent and unthinking stereotype of the orcs.

18.) What are your publishing goals for your game?
I would like to have a book published, but the extent of it, I haven't considered yet.

19.) Who is your target audience?
Those who want social fantasy rp, with possibilities of wargaming and management, with a twist. Also, simply those who want a fantasy world that deals less in good and evil than most does.

[Grimgor]

One bit of feedback, though - the Blessings sound really cool! Do orcs bother with medicine, crafts, or military training, given the existence of these things? You said the Blessing of Tools takes a long time to achieve - does that mean that orcs go ahead and figure this stuff out on their own, and pray that they'll live to receive Gorrum's blessings someday?

Forgot to reply to that: Yes, they figure it out on their own, due to their way of life being highly death-inducing. In the less dangerous parts of the world, though, you will find these very old orcs that are growing young again, filled with all sorts of knowledge. Technically, due to this, an orc is not fully grown until their 100th birthday, but only a fraction reach that age.
The Blessing of Tools doesn't pass on knowledge, specifically, but lays the foundation to work on various crafts and learn a lot from them. So, for example, an orc with the Blessing of the Tools who takes up herbal lore will have a much easier time of it than normally.
This is meant to be another thing people can strive for in the game: To have an orc that lives so long he actually reaches his full potential The timeline for the Blessings is something like this:
20: Blessing of the Hunt manifested.
30: Blessing of the Black begins manifesting.
40: Blessing of the Black fully manifested.
50: Blessing of the Tools begins manifesting.
70: Blessing of Gorrum begins manifesting.
100: Blessing of Gorrum & the Tools fully manifested.
Since few orcs live past thirty, only the elite can enjoy the full benefits of the Black and then only for a few years before age starts setting in and making the whole warrior business an increasingly risky affair.
That's at least the idea so far