There comes a time when adventurers will want to set up a base of operations in the world, a stronghold. Owning land is one thing, but it's what players do with that property that counts. Building a home out in the wilds of the world? Trying to create a frontier village or town? A silver mine to trade with other local cities and towns? All of this is possible once you have the coin to begin your operations and the ability to deal with whatever creatures or profane tribes have currently claimed the land. Some buildings generate income, while others offer your holdings defensive advantages or give your character specific benefits. Some structures allow you to start to form your own factions and guilds in the world as well.

​Will you be a well liked lord, welcome among the streets of the commoners? Perhaps you will focus on your status as a noble and trade information to oust others of their wrong doings so that you can take their positions of power. It is up to you. 

Torches in the Dark remains the primary project for the Ohr Gaming Network, a unique system crafted by our staff and community members that combines ideology of old school gaming with more modern conventions. We have numerous documents that are already up for download, including a new 70+ page booklet dedicated to the rules and character creation process for Torches in the Dark. The next major projects related to Torches is to finish the new Stronghold Rules and to create a bestiary that has more than 40 foes inside that game masters can throw at their players.

Infinite Darkness is a world set in the far future, where mankind has spread to the stars via a combination of its own ingenuity and piggybacking upon alien technology -- both that which has been traded for and that which has been discovered and is still being understood. With a game world containing a myriad of systems with an endless variety of planets, there's no one single thing that sessions and campaigns tend to involve, but in general you can expect to be exploring things from ancient ruins to planet-wide sprawls, struggling against the ever-present stifling grip of corporations that span across multiple systems or working in the shadows for them, working with sentient alien life or fleeing from hybridized experiments made with it, and even conducting trade missions or being involved with the Galactic Defense Force.

​You will need a team with a diverse skill set in order to survive -- being able to fire a gun is well and good, but you need more than just broad shoulders and a big gun. Your team needs technicians to investigate ancient, forgotten technology; it needs engineers to rig lifts or reprogram robots in subterranean complexes you're breaking into; it needs pilots to hijack that ship off the moon you're being pursued across; it needs infiltration agents to contort through ducts and slip locks; it needs slick, suited fast-talkers to broker deals with the powerful and insinuate their way into secure locations; it needs medics to patch up claw-rent limbs and laser burns; it needs biologists to diagnose the strange illness your away team comes back with upon exploring a new planet... and much, much more. Combat will be a part of what you do, but it will be far from all you do, and remember that just because you can fight something, doesn't mean there's even a chance that you might win -- discretion is the better part of valor, because if there's one universal truth about the future, it's this: life is cheap.

Infinite Darkness is a heavily modified 5th Edition campaign that will hopefully begin sometime in May. Work is ongoing, but content and world building is being completed everyday.

Great deeds are remembered as legends, and are all the greater because of the rawness of the world. Ayotha is closer to its beginnings, and old powers, many of them malignant, still throb with hidden life. Night, in particular, brings them forth and allows them to flourish. Out of profound depths, from forest and sea, from hillock and cave, from rock and shadow crawl creatures of the nocturne, a cruel and ghastly host searching for victims among intruding humankind. These beings are vestiges of chaos, remnants of a formless time older than human reckoning. They have survived many centuries into the era of man, preying on the late coming race in a variety of ways. Some invade human bodies and turn their hosts into night stalking animals, some invade the bodies of the dead and transform the corpses into terrible beings that gnaw on human flesh and drink human blood, and some still are unable to cross human thresholds and must wait for an unwary victim who ventures abroad into the horrid night. Though all are sons and daughters of darkness, freed only after the sun has set and blackness creeps across the land.

The lands of Ayotha are mythical and legendary, inspired by old legends and ancient myths this setting is based on a fantastical version of our own world, though shaped and changed during the times 'After God' or AG. This is our newest world building project and one that will see many updates and changes as we push forward. This is a Fantasy Age game setting.

LORE UPDATES When the updated version of the booklet launches, it will be totally free for all users. Additional Patreon rewards will be offered, and all current patrons will receive bonus patron points for supporting us. Many new features, weapons, and abilities are being created with the idea of online play in mind. Some weapons may have strange die combinations or otherwise. Classes have been redesigned for faster gameplay, combat will be furious and will often times end quickly and violently. Combat time is tracked in 'minutes' or a minute, each segment or 'round' is 15 seconds long. IE: If you have an ability that lasts for 1 minute, it lasts 4 rounds. In Torches in the Dark the players have: 1 Major Action, 1 Minor Action, 1 Quick Action. Each of these actions will be defined in the booklet and what you can use them to do. Major Actions can be downgraded into another minor action. Scale and movement will not be referenced in the book very often, but when it is, players will have movements of 1-8 squares. (5 feet squares). Generally the standard movement is that there isn't a standard form of movement. It's more theater of the mind. The book will also contain numerous bits of lore, adventure zone locations, a description of the different human cultures, potential backgrounds that are based in-world and more.(edited)

Ridrith02/22/2020UPDATES: The Final Classes: Warrior, Marauder, Wytch, Cultist, Thief. Experience charts have been reworked. Warrior/Marauder/Thief share experience values. Cultist and Wytch share their experience values. Lore section is nearly finished in the booklet, includes details about the races of men and the current timeline.

Ridrith02/23/2020LORE CONTENTS: The new booklet contains the following lore information: 5 pages dedicated to the timeline of Ohr, detailing some of the major events of the last six eras, including a semi-new cosmology. Details of the Mezoark Empire and the Dragons of Ohr. Hastur and The Mist make a return as the main villains of the overall storyline/plot. The God Binder Empire reigns and collapses. The human cultures are each given a general description for character selection. Demi-humans are listed and talked about, they exist but they are not playable. Many of those races have been changed and are more in-line with mythology and folklore. The Elves for instance, have no backs and are hollow. Their bodies are interwoven and stringed together like an intricate bit of lattice work. They're expert swordsman and warriors, but rarely take to combat. They exist outside of time and basically fae. Rare enough to be considered legends or myth. As far as most everyone is concerned, elves don't actually exist. Dwarves have sealed themselves in their Ty'cerrigs and have not been seen for thousands of years. Though their ruined cities still jut out of the earth, it's impossible to breach the enchanted doors and secret passageways. Monsters are extremely rare, and there are no 'Hydras' there is only THE Hydra. Many creatures are legendary one offs, especially when it concerns magical beasts or legendary monsters. Serpent-Men, Primordial beasts (cave bears, sabertooth cats, raptors, mammoths, giant toads, crocodiles), hell spawn, cannibal tribes, ape-men, and other strange creatures exist. There are cults and gods, theocracies exist, but often times many of these religions are regional versus worldly.(edited)
[8:32 AM]
A small village may very well have its own god/gods that they worship and the village or tribe ten miles down the road will have never heard of it or worship an entirely different pantheon of gods.

Ridrith02/24/2020UPDATES: Currently the plan is to have nine different human races to choose from, these include: Thanasi, Oronok, Thorimund, Selha, Hwn, Komuh, Briagothian, New Kingdoms, Okma. But, but, but... why only humans?! : Mostly because besides "looking different" a vast majority of characters simply roleplay their characters as humans regardless. Even if they're giant dragon men, or a creature of the fae... Basically they're humans with scales or pointed ears. It's difficult to get into the mind set of something outside of the human experience seeing as how that's the only thing we have to go on. I've left just enough room in the wording in the new booklet to not rule out players using another race besides humans, but much like in some of the earliest iterations of Ohr, especially when it concerned magic it will be allowed on a case by case basis. A player will need to have a phenomenal ability to characterize something that is generally altogether alien. Right now I'm going back and forth on how to do equipment, we already have an extensive list of equipment created with unique keywords and unique armors. On the other end of the spectrum, this could easily be changed and allow for simplicity without needing to balance around the idea of everything being "balanced". Basically shit nobody cares about. (As there's always going to be that optimal choice regardless of how much you think that isn't the case.) I'm leaning towards simplicity. I'm writing too much lore and reading too many articles, wikis, and books on old world mythology. It's going to show. Sorry in advance.


Ridrith02/28/2020COMBAT RULES New combat rules are nearly complete, Torches in the Dark is getting away from 5th edition as much as possible where it makes sense. Combat is going to be fast, brutal, and deadly. It's going to be gritty and highly tactical. New additions to combat: Strain, Trauma, Fatal Wounds and Savagery. You can choose to gain strain to push yourself to the limits, gaining strain will slowly begin to exhaust you but it can be used to take additional actions, special attacks or to find renewed vigor in a fight. Trauma is gained when you see terrible things on the field of battle or as you explore the world, eventually your mind won't be able to take the horrors that you witness. Trauma can bring about bouts of madness. Reaching zero wounds no longer always means that you're on the ground dead/dying. Instead you roll on a table, you may very well die then and there, you might also lose a limb, have an eye torn from your head, or remain steadfast but injured. Savagery is the momentum of combat, for every foe or ally that dies savagery increases, causing you and your foes to deal additional damage and have a greater chance to hit. States of combat: Once you have engaged or been engaged in melee combat, you are 'LOCKED' into combat. You'll have to burn your major action to attempt to break free (50%), or spend strain to guarantee that you're capable of breaking free.(edited)
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Ridrith02/28/2020COMBAT RULES #2 Players will be able to make numerous different types of attacks, each of which do something different. The basic attack action will cause damage to wounds if hit but armor resistance will count towards reducing the damage. Power attacks cause strain, but if the hit is a success you ignore armor resistance. Hewing attacks allow you to attempt to shatter/splinter enemy shields. Called shots are attacks that allow you to aim for a specific body part, you make these attacks at a base D20 roll. On a success you deal normal weapon damage but a GM determined result of the targeted body part. You can use your minor action to make a 'quick attack', which is a base D20 roll with no modifiers. If you and one other ally are flanking a single target that is your size or smaller, you gain a +2 to your attack. If you and two other allies are flanking a single target that is your size or smaller you are granted a +3 to your attack roll. If 4 or more targets are locked into combat with a single target of any size smaller than huge, you are granted a +4 to your attack bonus. You must use a minor action to raise your shield to gain the benefits of the shield, that includes both AC and AR bonuses. You will be able to use a minor or major action to aim ranged attacks, granting a +1 and +2 attack bonus respectively.

Ridrith02/28/2020
COMBAT RULES #3 If you attempt to escape from a locked combat without using your major action to fall back and fail, the enemy gets to make a retreating attack against you. A retreating attack is made with a +4 attack and damage bonus and you remain locked in combat. Armors grant both Armor Class and Armor Resistance. Armor Class is the target number that you must match or beat to hit the target. Armor Resistance is the amount of damage reduction that the particular piece of armor grants. ^ None of this is new when it concerns armor, if you've played in any of our games for the last six years we've been using this system for much of that time. But to those who are new there you go. Hit Points have been renamed to 'Wounds'. Starting wounds are rolled every level, including 1st. Enemies do not gain strain, instead if they use strain based attacks or abilities they take damage equal to the amount of strain that they would have otherwise gained.

Ridrith02/28/2020CLASSES ARE COMPLETED Warrior. Marauder. Thief. Cultist. Wytch.

Ridrith02/29/2020COMBAT RULES #4 Stances - Similar to the stances found on our homebrew Katana, these will now be a universal option while fighting with weapons. There will be multiple different types of stances that a player can choose to take over the course of the fight. Each stance provides benefits and negatives and the action to use a stance varies from major to minor actions. ------------------------- Blade Stances: Two-Handed or Versatile The Ox Stance - The blade is aligned in a somewhat downward motion with the tip of blade aiming for the opponent's face or throat. This allows the greatest chance for a 'window' strike, to end the fight as quickly as possible. This stance grants a +4 damage bonus but a -2 attack bonus. (Minor Action) The Plow Stance - The blade is lowered to the middle guard, allowing for you to aim at your opponent's shoulder, chest, or throat while providing you with a much better defensive posture. You gain a +1 to your AC, and a +1 to your attack but suffer a -4 damage penalty. (Minor). The Fool Stance - Holding the blade point down and between your legs, this guard is sometimes called the 'middle iron door'. This stance is deceptively open and allows for quick counter strikes. Any enemy that makes an attack against you and misses leaves themselves open to a quick attack from you. (Major) The Roof Stance - The blade is held high above your shoulder, but not over your head and turned slightly. This position is stable and allows for devastating downward swings, though your defensive options are extremely limited. This stance grants a +10 damage bonus, but your AC is considered 10 and not modified by dexterity or armor. (Minor) -------------------------(edited)

Ridrith02/29/2020General Stances: Parry Stance - Taking a primarily defensive posture you ready your weapon to parry incoming strikes from the enemy. This stance allows you to parry one attack made against you, a successful parry reduces damage done by 1/2. (Minor) Raise Shield - When using a shield you will need to raise it to gain both the AC and AR benefits granted by the shield. (Minor) Dueling Stance - Using a one-handed weapon allows you a greater level of versatility, as long as you engaged with only a single target your AC is increased by 2 from the front. Any attacks made against you from behind ignore the AC bonus. (Major) Crushing Stance - Using both your major and minor actions you make a devastating strike against the enemy, if the hit is a success the target must save vs. fortitude or be knocked to the ground. (Major & Minor - Make one normal attack.)(edited)

Ridrith02/29/2020WEAPONS & ARMOR Weapons and armor are being reworked, multiple new keywords are being added to weapons as well. Damage values for weapons will generally be increasing. New Keyword Example: Slow - Generally taking the place of 'heavy' for high damage two-handed weapons. Slow means you act last in a combat round, regardless of your initiative. New Keyword Example: Bracing - Generally placed on polearms or spear like weapons. Charging monsters/foes take double damage. Armor has been changed with armor resistance being lowered all around. Light - Medium - Heavy armors, generally heavy armor is just all around better in comparison to the other types of armor. Historically unless terrain permitted you wanted heavy armor. There's a reason knights could whip the shit out of a group of peasants who were unarmored in padded gear while their attacks glanced off of heavy armor.

Ridrith03/03/2020ADDITIONAL UPDATE NOTES: A sample bestiary section will be added, detailing a few creatures from Ohrros and the types of abilities you can expect to find in game. The lore section is being updated currently, detailing the races of men and some of the other races that exist (though are not playable) on Ohrros. This file will act as a living document for the living campaign, detailing player actions and keeping track of things that are going on in the world. Weapon damage values have been updated/changed. A rules page is nearly completed, detailing the action economy and the types of actions that you can use with your Major/Minor actions. Durability rules now have a section. Armor and weapons can break/become useless unless maintained.

Ridrith03/13/2020@here PLAYTEST UPDATES The Wolfgroom has been added as the newest class. Multiple new spells for the Wolfgroom. Updated values on numerous other spells. Nerfs and buffs.

March 16, 2020Ridrith03/16/2020SPECIALITY CLASSES: Wolfgroom, Blackguard, Inquisitor and Ronin. Specialty classes have minimum stat requirements before you are able to choose one of those classes. Humans who get extremely good rolls during character creation may be able to start the game as a specialty class! Outside of choosing to be a specialty class at first level because of rolled attributes, once a character has gained enough experience to train/leveled enough to spend their attributes they can then choose to leave their current class behind and to become one of the specialty classes. A character who switches to a specialty class keeps 50% of their total experience earned. They lose all abilities and features of their current class and instead gain the new benefits and features of the specialty class. Not all base classes can choose a specialty class to transfer to.(edited)

Ridrith04/08/2020Strongholds 2.0 Key design goals: Simple rules, functional, sensible abilities and features, hirelings, automated. Larger focus on RP aspects versus mechanical benefits, some mechanical benefits will still exist. The focus on Strongholds acting as a pseudo RTS will remain.(edited)

Ridrith04/18/2020Strongholds 2.0 - Updates Currently updating the old Strongholds booklet. New rewards track system for Stronghold owners, choosing options and talents as they level their Stronghold. Stronghold tiers are from 1-10, allowing for larger population and resource caps. Structures and math currently being revamped. Random tables for: Crime, travel, stronghold events, and enemy spawns and quests.

Ridrith05/06/2020Website Updates Going to be working on a new Ohr Gaming Network logo. The website is going to be re-organized, with new sections dedicated to Torches in the Dark, Infinite Darkness, and Player Created Content. A website store is in the works, but this will take some time. (This is a very distant update.) Theme Updates & Design - Updates in the pipeline, but nothing too big right now. Might edit the navigation and change a few things here and there.

ROLL20 GAME LINK: https://app.roll20.net/join/5373049/KqJEhg
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To create a character please type !charsheet in the Roll20 chat once you have launched the game. From there, please follow the steps found in the free to download booklet under our downloads section on this website. Torches in the Dark Version 2.0.

ATTENTION: Only HUMAN characters are allowed in the living campaign currently. Demi-Humans are not yet unlocked as playable races.

Creating Your Story is a mandatory part of character creation. After completing this part of your journey, head on over to our #active-characters channel in Discord and post this information there so our other players can learn a little about you! Make sure that you include a picture of your character with your post. Then use that picture to create a token for your character using one of the token borders that we have provided. ATTENTION: Please do not use anime/cartoony pictures for tokens.
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• Occupation & History: In one paragraph, describe your character's occupation and provide a brief historical note that hints at your past. Your occupation can inform your background, and your history can be expanded into your entire backstory. This could potentially be your longest answer, and you should expand on it as much as you need to.

 

• Appearance: In one paragraph, describe your most distinctive physical features. Jewelry, piercings, tattoos, unusual clothing, birthmarks, skin color, hair, or missing limbs are examples of what you could include.

 

• Mannerism: In one paragraph, describe one mannerism that will help other players remember your character. Your mannerism should define your entire character to everyone else in the game. It should mean something for the character.

 

• Interactions with Others: In one paragraph, describe how your character interacts with others. A character's behavior can change depending on who he or she is interacting with. Are they argumentative, arrogant, friendly, honest, quiet, racist, suspicious? You can use up to three key words, which will stand out here and inform how you role-play your character for the length of the campaign.

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• Useful Knowledge: In a paragraph, describe one bit of knowledge you possess that might be of use to the other player characters. You might know something as banal as the best inn in town or as important as a clue needed to solve a murder.

 

• Bonds & Rivals: Using the #bonds-and-rivals channel in Discord to get in contact with other players on the server. Create rivals and bonds between your characters and theirs. Try to find a minimum of at least ONE bond and one rival-though you can have more if you want.

• Campaigns - Run only by Elder Council members, these games are story-driven and push forward the overarching plot of Ohr. These games have a very real and lasting effect on the world at large. Campaigns can be extremely lengthy and challenging, so make sure that if you secure a spot you also have the time set aside to play in real life. Campaigns will be posted in #game-schedules.

• Adventures - Adventures are small-scale games that last for one to three sessions. These are 'canon' and progress you make in the game carries over into major campaign sessions. Adventures have 'flat treasure rewards'. Adventures will be posted in #game-schedules.

 

• Death Marches - Game Masters of any level can choose to take on a 'Death Marches'. DMs are player sponsored sessions, our version of a West Marches style of game. Players can post in the #death-marches channel to gather a group of fellow adventurer's together. After you get a group together @Trial GMs to see if there is anyone willing to run the game on the date that you wish. It is your responsibility to come up with objectives you'd like your group to accomplish, and present your game plan to them. Preferably, the Trial GMs should be given a solid week of planning time for the Death Marches but that isn't always needed.

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• Bounties - A bounty is usually a combat focused session that can last anywhere from ONE to THREE hours. Sometimes bounty missions may go on for longer if the party is taking on a particularly strong foe or dealing with circumstances they didn't expect to come across initially. The available bounties to play are in the #bounties channel. If they are claimed, they will then be posted in #game-schedules.

Stronghold player tables (allow for stronghold owners to run events and progress their strongholds without having to do long-winded quests or wait on a DM will be released sometime in May.)

CLASS CHANGES:
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Cenobite Class Updates:
General Cenobite Changes:

• HP Increase from 2 to 3.

​Level 1 Cenobite:

• Mastery of Staves has been moved from level 2 Cenobite to level 1.
• Student of Faith parrying chance skill increase has been removed, but increases Religious Lore, Diplomacy, and Ceremony skills by 20% instead of the previous 15%.

Level 4 Cenobite:

• Mingul the Earth Spirit (REPLACED): You take on the traits of the great earth spirit, you may plant both feet on the ground and are unable to be moved unless killed. In addition, your staff is treated as a magical weapon for the purposes of bypassing resistances and you can parry against spells that target your AC.

 

• Ancestor Spirit (NEW): You are capable of taking on the traits of one of your ancestors, granting you wisdom and capabilities of those who have come before you. You are granted a +2 bonus to your attack and damage bonuses and your weapon is considered to be ‘magical’ for the purposes of bypassing resistances to normal weaponry. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you’ve finished a long rest.

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Inquisitor Class Updates:
Level 1 Inquisitor:

• ...Destruction! judgment damage increased to 1D8 from 1D6.

Level 2 Inquisitor:

• ...Hellfire! judgment damage increased to 1D6 from 1D4.

Level 4 Inquisitor:

• Word of Law now increases your Intimidation, Law and Ceremony skills by 30% instead of the previous 20%.

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Marauder Class Updates:
Level 1 Marauder:

• Blood Rage: Your damage is now increased by 2 for every 10 health points you are missing instead of the previous 1.
• Gruesome Blow - Using gruesome blow is now an encounter action, you have disadvantage on the attack but deal an additional 1D6 x level in damage.

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Necromancer Class Updates:
Level 1 Necromancer:

• Blood Siphon: Is now used as a bonus ranged attack action, still has disadvantage.

Level 3 Necromancer:

• Rotting Blood: Damage changed from 3D8 to 4D6. Now ages the target 5D10 years instead of 2D10. In addition: If the target ages 40 or more years and they are anything but an elf or dwarf, they have a 10% chance of instantly dying from shock.

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Priest Class Updates:
Level 2 Priest:

• The number of spells that a priest can select from has been decreased to two instead of the normal three.

Level 4 Priest:

• Destroy Foe has been increased to 3D6 from 2D6 hit die.

Priest Spell Updates:

• Surge of Health - Spell target number has been decreased to 13 from 16. The spell heals for 3D6 + the Priest's level in hit points. However the D6s can explode, re-rolling any result of six.
• Greater Shield of Faith - Now requires that the priest has chosen Shield of Faith. Causes the next critical hit against a target to be treated as normal hit instead and instantly heals the target for 1D8 hit points. The target number for Greater Shield of Faith is reduced to 14 from 15.
• Radiant Missile - The spells target number has been increased from 14 to 15.
• Invoke - Wording changed. When an ally that you can see fails a saving throw you can use your reaction to invoke the power of your gods to allow them to re-roll the throw with advantage.
• Prayer of Health - Now grants 4 temporary hit points instead of 10.
• Prayer of Defense - Now grants each party member a +1 AC and AR bonus instead of just an AC bonus.
• Binding Chains - Saves changed from dexterity/strength to spell saves.
• Undaunted - Undaunted lasts up to the priests level in rounds.

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Pugilist Class Updates:
Level 1 Pugilist:

• Uppercut no longer causes the target to be dazed, instead they are knocked prone.

Level 2 Pugilist:

• Ignore Pain - Now grants the pugilist an armor resistance equal to their level.

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Rogue Class Updates:
Level 2 Rogue:

• Skilled Delver - Now increases your traps, lock picking, and searching skills by an additional 10%.

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Warden Class Updates:
New Warden Spells:

• Volatile Shot - A shot that adds a random condition.
• Vine Shot - A high damaging AoE shot.
• Nature's Balm - The warden has the ability to remove the blinded, deafened, poisoned and bleeding conditions.
• Muddy Terrain - A large snare that must be prepared well in advance. Needs specific terrain to use.

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Wytch Blade Class Updates:
Level 3 Wytch Blade:

• Magic Eater: The Wytch Blade is infused with a cabalist rune. Choose which rune at 3rd level and every three levels after. (6, 9, etc).
  • Rune of Elements: Your Wytch Blade now deals an additional 1D4 fire, ice, lighting, or force damage.
  • Rune of Silence: When you strike a spell caster, the TN of their next spell increases by 2.