Using The World of Porn Nation
The world of Porn Nation can be played in a number of different ways, depending on your group's preferences. Here are a few ideas:
The Conspiracy Years
This type of game takes place in the first half of the 1990s, before the general public knows the truth about what happened in Junction City. Possible character groups include conspiracy theorists attempting to uncover and expose the truth, government operatives attempting to understand and control the spread of orgone sickness, and moral crusaders attempting to save victims' souls and/or cash in on the misfortune caused by the bomb.
Dear Penthouse
This more light-hearted version of the game fits best in the late Clinton years, when orgone sickness is understood and its potentially detrimental effects are being kept under control. This version of the world, where sex is much more accepted, can be seen as the ficton in which all porno movies are set, and the game centers largely around sex. In this world, pizza delivery guys, patients attended to by hot nurses, and plumbers are among the luckiest (and happiest) people in the world. This type of game should only be played by groups who are comfortable discussing (and possibly graphically describing) sex.
Pornocalypse
This modern-day version of the game takes place in an America that's a lot like the one we live in today, only even more polarized and closer to the brink of destruction. The areas most strongly affected by orgone radiation are lawless, poverty-stricken wastelands. Even those who manage to escape these areas face being labeled Fiends and suffering worse treatment than a Middle Eastern migrant-working Katrina victim who happens to be gay.
In the few unaffected areas (and the many mildly affected areas), sexual freedom (or at least public acknowledgment of it) is almost non-existent and people live in fear of being brutalized by wild-eyed Sex Fiends. Of course, that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of fucking going on--American upper middle class hypocrisy is as strong as it's ever been, so "good, decent people" who suffer from orgone sickness are seen as somehow different from those dirty Fiends, much like cokehead lawyers are seen in a different light than crack addicts. The people holding orgies in their gated communities are just having a little well-deserved fun. They're not filthy deviants who are going to rape your dog.
There are lots of game possibilities in this type of world, from disenfranchised Fiends attempting to survive the horrors of the orgone wasteland to holier-than-thou evangelicals "doing God's work" (hunting down and killing Fiends).
Spreading The Disease
Orgone Fallout
Orgone fallout does not follow a predictable, wind-based pattern like nuclear fallout. Initially, the orgone moved out from Junction City in a more-or-less circular pattern, but the direction of the fallout soon became unpredictable. Eventually it was confirmed that orgone fallout moves toward places that naturally collect orgone energy. Some of these orgone hot spots--called "O-Zones," a term that has since broadened to refer to all orgone-affected areas--occur naturally. Others are the result of zoning ordinances; having all of those strip clubs and sex shops in one place caused a build-up of orgone energy. At the time the Orgone Bomb hit Kansas, the highest concentrations of orgone in the country were California's San Fernando Valley; Las Vegas, Nevada; Times Square in New York City; and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The bulk of the fallout moved towards these places, but some of it was siphoned off by smaller O-Zones along the way.
If the orgone had simply moved into the O-Zones and stayed there, those areas could have been been evacuated and the orgone problem solved. Unfortunatley, when too much orgone accumulates in a particular area, the energy eventually "goes supernova," releasing a wave of concentrated orgone energy similar to (but much less effective than) the Soviet bomb. In fact, it has since been discovered that the Orgone Bomb was actually a very powerful version of Reich's orgone box which through some as-yet-undiscovered mechanism allowed the orgone to become hyper-concentrated before exploding. This phenomenon has resulted in a chain reaction, with smaller versions of the Orgone Bomb going off around the country. These orgone explosions (the first confirmed one happened in Las Vegas in 1993) do not (usually) lead to orgies in the street like the original Orgone Bombs. They just cause everyone in the area to become incredibly horny for a few weeks.
The amount of orgone required to cause an explosion seems to vary from place to place, and scientists have not yet found an accurate way to determine a particular O-Zone's "climax point." It has been discovered, however, that certain measures can be taken to divert orgone energy away from a particular areas. Rudolph Giuliani's famed clean-up of Times Square in the early 90s was in fact a government-backed experiment to test this theory. After the clean-up, the orgone that had been moving toward New York began to disperse, with many smaller waves moving towards other targets. When this phenomenon was made public after the Orgone Bomb was exposed, most unaffected cities started implementing bans on adult business. Proprietors of existing strip clubs, porn shops, and the like were strongly encouraged--often through violent means--to either get out of town or find another line of work. In a few places (especially in the South), riots broke out, with adult establishments burned to the ground and their owners and employees killed or run out of town.
Orgone sickness
Orgone sickness only occurs when a person is exposed to very high concentrations of orgone (like an orgone explosion) or lives in a high-orgone area for a prolonged period of time. Spending a few days or weeks in most O-Zones just results in horniness, and for this reason many "tourists" (especially young people) can often be found enjoying the freedom of the less dangerous O-Zones. Government scientists constantly measure the background levels of orgone radiation in O-Zones and rate them using a color-coded scale similar to the one used to measure terrorist threat levels. The color codes determine how much time a person can safely spend in an O-Zone before orgone sickness is likely to result, as shown below.
Color Code | Orgone Level | Safe Time | Example |
Blue | Low. Orgone levels are below normal. | No risk of orgone sickness. | Mayberry, NC |
Green | Normal | No risk of orgone sickness. | Peoria, IL |
Yellow | Elevated.Above-average orgone level. | One year. | Pre-bomb Las Vegas |
Orange | High. Orgone levels are far above the national average. | One month. | The Grotto at The Playboy Mansion. |
Red | Severe. Dangerous orgone levels. | One week. | The Bunny Ranch |
Purple | Deadly. Orgone explosion imminent. | One day. | Charlie Sheen's house. |
In addition to exposure, orgone sickness can be contracted through sexual contact with an infected person. Safe sex practices can prevent an orgone carrier from spreading the disease.
There is no known cure for orgone sickness, but avoiding sexual temptation and high-orgone areas can help relieve the symptoms of the condition. In the early days, medical experts sought to treat orgone sickness as if it were simple sexual addiction, but talking about the problem just made victims that much hornier, turning group therapy sessions into impromptu orgies. The psychological route was quickly abandoned. For reasons that are not yet understood, drugs that decrease sex drive in unaffected people don't seem to have any measurable effect on victims of orgone sickness. Castration and intense hormone therapy (which often has severe side-effects) are effective, but most victims are unwilling to take such extreme measures.
Game Mechanics
Entering the O-Zone
People who spend time in an O-Zone (any area rated Yellow or higher) will become distracted, suffering a penalty to all rolls, if they do not have sex (or at least masturbate) regularly. The amount of time a person can go without release before suffering any ill effects, and the penalty suffered, depends on the orgone level of the area, as shown on the table below.
Orgone Level | Sexual Release is Required... | Horniness Penalty |
Yellow | Daily | -1 |
Orange | Every 12 Hours | -2 |
Red | Every 6 Hours | -3 |
Purple | Every 3 Hours | -4 |
A character's horniness penalty increases by 1 for every additional increment of time the character goes without sexual release. So a person in a Red zone suffers no penalty during the first six hours he's there, a -3 penalty during the next six hours, a -4 penalty after 12 hours, etc.
Anyone whose horniness penalty reaches -8 must make a Nerve roll every round. If the Nerve roll fails, the character goes into a sexual frenzy and will attempt to have sex with the nearest suitable partner (contrary to what some people claim, orgone does not alter a person's sexual preference). If the character cannot find a suitable (and consenting, unless the character is willing to commit rape) partner within 2 rounds, he masturbates uncontrollably for a number of rounds equal to the failure degree of the roll.
It should be noted that, since government scientists still don't completely understand the workings of O-Zones, their assessment of an area's orgone level are not guaranteed to be correct. Furthermore, because of limited resources, the orgone levels in some places may not be measured regularly, which could lead to outdated orgone assessments.
Contracting Orgone sickness
Any person who spends too much time in O-Zones runs the risk of contracting orgone sickness. For every increment of "safe time" spent continuously in an O-Zone (yearly for Yellow zones, monthly for Orange zones, etc.) the character must make a Body roll. If the roll fails, the character contracts orgone sickness, which is treated as a Weakness with a Number equal to the failure degree of the roll. Characters who already suffer from the condition must also make Body rolls for spending too much time in contaminated areas. If the roll fails, the character's Weakness Number is increased by 1.
A character can avoid having to roll for contamination by spending at least one week in an area with a lower orgone level before the safe time has expired. Traveling to higher orgone areas during this time period does not affect the roll for the lower level area, but may require its own rolls. (For example, if a character lives in Yellow zone, he must roll yearly. If he goes to a Red zone for a day, he will have to make the Red zone roll in addition to the Yellow zone roll).
Orgone sickness is also spread through sexual contact. Anyone who has unprotected sex with an infected person must make a Body roll, resisted by the carrier's Weakness. If the disease wins, the sexual partner gains the "Orgone Sickness" Weakness with a Number equal to the difference of the rolls.
A person with orgone sickness needs sex more often than a normal person, and is more distracted when he or she doesn't get it. Orgone sufferers treat Blue and Green zones as if they were Yellow zones. Yellow, Orange, and Red zones are treated as if they were one level higher. An orgone-infected person in a Purple zone needs sex hourly, and suffers a -5 horniness penalty if he doesn't get any.
Orgone Explosions
Once an O-Zone reaches the Purple level, there is a chance that an orgone explosion will occur. Every day, the GM should make a d20 roll. If the roll is 15 or higher, an orgone explosion happens. Everyone caught in the explosion immediately receives a -8 horniness penalty (meaning they need to either get laid or start spanking the monkey immediately). Additionally, everyone caught in the explosion must make a Body roll. Failure results in orgone sickness with a Weakness Number equal to the degree of failure plus 2. Characters who already suffer from the condition have their Weakness Number increased by 2 if they fail the Body roll.
Resisting Temptation
Whenever a character in an orgone-affected area is the target of sexual advances by a person of the appropriate gender, he or she must make a Nerve roll to resist accepting the offer (a character may choose to skip the roll and get freaky, if so inclined). Normal horniness modifiers apply to the roll, and the GM may assign additional modifiers according to the situation. Some suggestions are given below.
Bonuses
● Seducer is not victim's "type," is unattractive, is obviously disease-ridden, etc.
● Victim doesn't really have time for sex right now.
● Proposed location of encounter is filthy or otherwise unsuitable (dirty alley, bathroom stall, subway, etc.) (Exhibitionists do not get this bonus for public places).
● Victim has strong moral or religious code that prohibits casual sexual encounters (only applies if the character actually follows said code on a regular basis).
● Victim is in a happy, monogamous relationship (additional modifier if spouse or significant other is present).
● Seducer suggests kinky sex that victim is not into.
● Victim is a close relative of seducer.
Penalties
● Seducer is victim's "type," is very attractive, shows no obvious signs of disease, etc.
● Romantic setting. What qualifies varies from person to person, but satin sheets, candlelight, and Barry White music are pretty typical.
● Victim is under the effects of drugs or alcohol.
● Victim has recently been exposed to sexually-stimulating activities or materials (just visited a strip club, watched a porno, etc.)
● Victim has had sex with seducer in the past.
● Victim is indebted to seducer in some way.
● Victim hasn't had sex in a while.
● Seducer suggests kinky sex that the victim IS into.
Characters who suffer from orgone sickness must make a Weakness roll even if their Nerve roll succeeds. If the Weakness takes effect, they take the seducer up on the offer. It should also be noted, that victims of orgone sickness must make rolls to avoid sex even if they're in a Blue or Green zone (since for them it's considered a Yellow zone). Also, sufferers tend to see sexual advances where there are none. If a situation could be misconstrued as a sexual advance, the orgone-poisoned character may make a Brain roll to realize that they're reading too much into the situation. Otherwise, they must make the usual Nerve roll. If the roll fails, embarrassment (and possible violence or legal action) will no doubt follow.
QAGS Rules For Sex (with Bill and Trixie)
Well that's about all the time we have for this supplement...
Inspirational Material
● The porn movie of your choice. (Vivid tends to have the best production values, but it's really a matter of personal tastes).
● Boogie Nights (for creepy porn industry vibes).
● The Girl Next Door (the scene where he thinks she's blowing his dad is how orgone sufferers see the world).
● Sex, Lies, and Politics by Larry Flynt (can be useful for getting a grip on the hypocrisy angle of the Pornocalypse version of the game).
● Unerathed Arcana by E. Gary Gygax (from what we understand, it's got rules for blowjobs).
● Hex Games' Adult Gaming panel (coming soon to a convention near you).