Talented teacher tantalizes fans with tabletop game

Science+Department+Chair+Colleen+O%E2%80%99Rourke+created+a%0Agame%2C+The+Crisp+Line%2C+a+tabletop+RPG%2C+available+online.+

Jordan Tyler Maralit ’21

Science Department Chair Colleen O’Rourke created a game, The Crisp Line, a tabletop RPG, available online.

Jordan Tyler Maralit ’21, Staff Reporter

Colleen O’Rourke, Riordan Science Department chair, recently designed a new game called “The Crisp Line – A World of Adventure for Fate Core System.”

In an interview, O’Rourke revealed the inspiration for her game, and how she created it. She worked hard on its design and development, and was thrilled to share her experience in submitting her game idea. O’Rourke said, “I’ve been playing table-top RPGs for years, but as a writer, I wanted to explore the creation side of games as well. Last year, a fairly large game company called Evil Hat put out a general call for submissions for new ideas so I just took a chance and applied. They liked my idea so I ran with it!”

The Crisp Line builds a near future world of high level genetic engineering and explores the various technological and social issues that could arise from it. The game is built on the foundation of social justice and the strengths of humanity in the face of sweeping change.

In this game, players can change their features and genes drawn from animals or fantasy creatures to create new races or beings. The player is encouraged to use his imagination and decide whether they will embrace their genetic changes or fight against it.

The game is a PDF, which can be downloaded from a table-top RPG website called DriveThruRPG. com. The company Evil Hat uses a “pay what you want” pricing model, which means students can download and initially try out the game for free.

Jojo McAlpin ’21 said, “It’s an interesting game, something very original and very strategic. I would recommend other students try it.”

To play the game, though, students will need to understand the basic rules and instructions called the Fate Core System, which can be downloaded for free from Drive Thru RPG.

O’Rourke has already received praise for her game and was given a rating of 5 stars noted as “Another excellent world of adventure for Fate Core!”