About The Narrative Universe
Joshua Orsak
Twenty-seven years ago, my friends and I were just a bunch of kids trying to scrape together a way to play 2nd edition D&D with barely any money. After stumbling across a book about tabletop RPGs at a local bookstore, we decided to go our own way, tweaking the rules to build a more narrative-driven, flexible system. We wanted to tell our stories without the need for maps, models, or miniatures. The real game-changer was our use of hundred-sided dice to decide our characters' fates—something we called "rolling our fate".
Fast forward 17 years, and D&D was surging in popularity again. Friends kept asking me to run their games after hearing tales of my sessions. So, I did what I'd always done, running games the way I had back in the day. Word spread quickly, and soon I had more people wanting me to DM than I could handle. The solution? Pro DMing. It wasn't long before I realized there was potential here—not just for myself, but for other talented GMs. I set out to make professional GMing a legitimate career path.
Then, I discovered a small server where text-based RPGs were being played. I'd seen them before, but they often fell flat. This time, though, I saw a chance to blend my skills as a pro GM with this medium—and it worked. Pirate Tom, the one running those games, joined forces with me, and the Narrative Universe was born. Today, we run hundreds of games across several GMs, all dedicated to making TTRPGs more accessible while creating a space where professional GMing can thrive as a true career.
Sean
Almost a decade ago, as a complete noob to TTRPG, I joined a game in what is now the Narrative Universe system run by Josh in his local game studio. The game blew my mind then, and it still continues to do so now after all these years. I spent most of that time as a player, establishing myself in the in game universe with dozens of characters, but also in more recent years as a big part of the ONU community and as a DM myself.
Now, as a full fledged partner in the NU, I run games alongside Josh in both his world and my own. It is a dream to be able to introduce more people to this game and art form, where we're able to encourage creativity, teamwork, and community as we build stories together across vast worlds. I have been lucky to meet and play with some incredible people who have changed my life, and am looking forward to meeting and creating alongside many more!
