You are Orc Troupers!

Play a band of marred Troupers with a mystical link to the stars. Live on the edge of society, scorned for your appearance and lifestyle yet celebrated as freak show acts. You are given a rare chance to save a deeply flawed, corrupt, disgusting, and hedonistic world through wickedness and heroism. 

This is Orc–Astra, currently on Kickstarter. 

A Powered by the Apocalypse role-playing game with boisterous shows, reckless Frenzies, elven disdain and orcish pride.

Becoming an orc is a “cursed” journey for an elf, and during this transformation, your Path is identified. You can be a natural-born performer called a Keenhowler or a mystic seer dealing with truths called a Wyrdguiser, among others. Your Path defines what specific features you are good at. Your Path is a “playbook” that helps you with direction on how to act in your character. 

As you would expect from a PbtA game, it's played with 2 regular six-sided dice, moves, stats (called HUMORS), and hosted by the Master of Ceremonies. However, a few terms are unique to Orc–Astra. 

• TAINTS are physical marks that are considered “deformities” in the elven society. The appearance of orcs are heavily influenced by them. 
• Your NAME is something to hold tightly, as it holds magic. During character creation, you can roll to select the magic effect with a d66. 
• Your URGE is a drive unique to your Path, which grants +1 Up if fulfilled. 
• UP is XP with a twist: you roll when you Spend The Night to improve or heal, and expend Up to get a modifier.
• GLOW is a gift from the stars. When you activate your very own, it’s a single-use power that can change the scene.

So Let's Put On A Wicked Show!

Orcs are supposed to be the bad guys, right? They’re aggressive, ruthless, and unpredictable. But why not tell a story from their perspective? Why not step into the skin of the “bad guys” for the sake of a game, to search for and understand what motivates them, what their inner drives are?

Orc–Astra assumes that even monsters are sentient beings, capable of connecting with each other and finding some way to accept their place in the world… somehow. The world where they live rejects them, making their fate seem predetermined. Yet, the events that sweep them along may change their situation. Through their adventures, they might even transform the entire world. And what if they’re not the real bad guys, after all?

Alvenp’el is a feudal and oppressive elven realm. The exclusive culture of elves thrives in wealth, grandeur, and decadence, while orcs are cast to the fringes of society, usually living a criminal life in troupes. However, the story of the Troupers may reveal that orcs long for acceptance and faith after all, and perhaps for breaking the unjust existing order.

This isn’t a game primarily about winning, although shaking up the world seems like a worthy goal. The aim is to portray, in a grotesque way or even as a burlesque, the relationships between orcs and elves, and within the troupe. The Troupers start from a severely disadvantaged position, but over the course of their adventures, they may earn respect and status for themselves and their troupe.

The world is a blend of medieval fantasy and dieselpunk, both chaotic and contradictory. To highlight the grotesque nature of the theme, and to balance out the violent tone, it’s worth handling the Troupers’ wild desires, outbursts, and rampages with humor. Not everything has to be taken seriously.

What's That Gorgeous Vintage Art?

Illustrations are from Project Gutenberg, The Vision and Creed of Piers Ploughman by William Langland, and from the constructivist wrappers of Tsirk I Estrada. This avant-garde 1920s Russian periodical directly sparked the idea of the Troupers. While I was browsing its uncanny depictions of clowns, it called back an early period of circus where the unusual and weird were on spectacle.

One of the Kickstarter stretch goals is cover art,  I plan to ask Tony Tran to do it. Another stretch goal is to try Affinity for the layout, and make it look super pro. (Until then I'm 100% happy with working within the boundaries of Google Docs and Slides.) 

What Did I Read, Watch, And Play For This?

Literary touchstones are The Tempest and A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare, The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, The Threepenny Opera and Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock, and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. 

Films like The Seventh Seal by Ingmar Bergman, The Elephant Man and Twin Peaks by David Lynch, and Pan’s Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro served as inspiration. 

There are many games that influenced this one. I probably played an orc first in Shadowrun 2nd Edition in around 1996. It was a blast. And I’m not shitting you, big hitting 90s video games like Warcraft II and Heroes of Might and Magic III had a sleeper impact on this game because of how they handle orcs. Some say orcs were “rehabilitated” with World of Warcraft, but their depiction doesn’t really strike me as being the “good guys.”

In terms of role-playing game concepts and systems, this is a Powered by the Apocalypse game based on the system introduced in Apocalypse World by D. Vincent Baker and Meguey Baker. World of Dungeons ©1979 by John Harper with Chris McDowell, The Sprawl by Hamish Cameron, Masks by Brendan Conway, and Blades in the Dark by John Harper are the ones I should mention as influences.

To get in the mood, listen either to the haunting, otherworldly music of Tom Waits, especially the albums he created while working with Robert Wilson’s theatre: Alice, Blood Money or The Black Rider or to anything between Scatterbrain by Django Reinhardt and Balrog Boogie by Diablo Swing Orchestra. Your choice will lead you to distinctly different ways of approaching Orc–Astra.

What's Next?

I'm running the Kickstarter to see if there are people who find the vibe interesting, a like-minded bunch who will test the boundaries of their imagination, and look for ways to express resistance. I'm not asking much, and if you back it, I will be just much more amped to finish it.

The game is almost done. The 48-page text is currently being edited by the generous Noah Moore, and playtesting is underway by various Discord communities. I expect some bits will need fix, but so the game will look, read, and play better than it is today. Expect the full product by April 2025.

Until then, check the Player's Quick Reference and the Role Sheets, give me feedback and let me know if you would want to help playtesting!