Seems like I wasn't the only one to think of a tabletop rpg character struggling to escape their circumstances when seeing this game! I played as a former joke npc, who was meant to be a younger me passing by as the party explored a scene in a thrift store. Unfortunately for him, he got dragged into the plot by the party, and so Aaron Nesterson was the only one left, when that game collapsed. This is his story:
I really gotta say, I enjoyed the heck out of this game! The expansion on the mechanics of Anamnesis were not only well-suited to the theme of the game (intra-narrative struggle, if you will), but also leans into an impulse I consider applying to many other solo ttrpg, that is to say, creatively interpreting the prompt on the page in a way that curves WILDLY from the expected intent. Making it a spendable resource lets me pick and choose when I'm going to play things straight, and when I can really stretch for something outside the standard. I, for one, would suggest that this works great to give a sense of ending for characters stranded in campaigns you can't run or play in anymore, it certainly made me feel like Aaron's story was done and over with by the time I got to that last Defiance.
Also, bonus thought I forgot about while writing this, (but definitely mention in the stream itself) the art in this book is SO fantastic, Victor knocked it out of the PARK with the tarot card of the Author, and the visual design generally in the book is super good, that motif of dripping ink almost evoking the blood of the character? delightful!
I've been on a journalling RPG binge and ended with this one, right up my alley with the chance to get nice and meta!
My author was desperately trying to protect his hero from uncovering the horrible truth that someone he thought was a close friend was actually a responsible for the murder of a loved one, on top of the fact that the friend was merely one of the hero's split personalities. It wasn't a pretty end!
This is phenomenal. I have a Blades in the Dark character that I want to try this with - my Luna wears a reflective mask as if made of a one-way mirror. In reality, Luna can not see anything at all and just waits for the DM to describe the scenery, so she can act through whatever I say she does. She's been itching to break free from this situation.
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Seems like I wasn't the only one to think of a tabletop rpg character struggling to escape their circumstances when seeing this game! I played as a former joke npc, who was meant to be a younger me passing by as the party explored a scene in a thrift store. Unfortunately for him, he got dragged into the plot by the party, and so Aaron Nesterson was the only one left, when that game collapsed. This is his story:
I really gotta say, I enjoyed the heck out of this game! The expansion on the mechanics of Anamnesis were not only well-suited to the theme of the game (intra-narrative struggle, if you will), but also leans into an impulse I consider applying to many other solo ttrpg, that is to say, creatively interpreting the prompt on the page in a way that curves WILDLY from the expected intent. Making it a spendable resource lets me pick and choose when I'm going to play things straight, and when I can really stretch for something outside the standard. I, for one, would suggest that this works great to give a sense of ending for characters stranded in campaigns you can't run or play in anymore, it certainly made me feel like Aaron's story was done and over with by the time I got to that last Defiance.
Also, bonus thought I forgot about while writing this, (but definitely mention in the stream itself) the art in this book is SO fantastic, Victor knocked it out of the PARK with the tarot card of the Author, and the visual design generally in the book is super good, that motif of dripping ink almost evoking the blood of the character? delightful!
I've been on a journalling RPG binge and ended with this one, right up my alley with the chance to get nice and meta!
My author was desperately trying to protect his hero from uncovering the horrible truth that someone he thought was a close friend was actually a responsible for the murder of a loved one, on top of the fact that the friend was merely one of the hero's split personalities. It wasn't a pretty end!
Great prompts and concept, thank you :)
Amazing melancholic game about identity and freedom.
Highly recommended.
This is phenomenal. I have a Blades in the Dark character that I want to try this with - my Luna wears a reflective mask as if made of a one-way mirror. In reality, Luna can not see anything at all and just waits for the DM to describe the scenery, so she can act through whatever I say she does. She's been itching to break free from this situation.