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Have you ever tried organising your own tabletop RPG session? It can be a hassle. Learning the rules, figuring out the story, getting everyone together at once for long gaming sessions…there are ample barriers standing the way of the would-be adventurer. To help break down these barriers and unlock some of gaming’s more rewarding moments, Lightforge Games is making Project O.R.C.S, which it hopes will bridge the gap between in-person DnD sessions and video games in a new and novel fashion.

The studio goes so far as to describe its new game – a collaborative RPG in which folks can both play the role of the the heroes and orchestrate the journey much like a game master would for a Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder campaign – as a new subgenre. It’s dubbed a “Collaborative Storytelling RPG” – or CSRPG – by Lightforge Games CEO Matt Schembari, and the team of former Blizzard, Epic Games, and new blood developers behind it are clearly setting their sights on lofty goals. But does the game actually succeed in offering something fresh? I was able to play a bit for myself – and came away convinced of its merits.

I played a 90-minute session as a party of four, with myself and two others being led through a generated quest under Schembari’s guidance. First came character creation – wherein you not only design the aesthetics of your character, you also are able to assign a class and various background perks. I picked a Spirit Knight – a blend between a typical warrior and necromancer able to summon spectral minions by my side. But I was also able to select a background for my character, not only providing stats that’ll prove handy later but help me establish who my character is. It’s got the tone of a character creations sheet in a tabletop RPG, which considering the mission statement of the game is definitely a good sign.

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