i can no longer easily tell humans apart
December 21, 2020 6:47 PM Subscribe
Thousand Year Old Vampire is a solo role-playing game in which you play a vampire gaining and (mostly) losing memories over the course of a millennium, more or less. It won three Ennie awards including a Gold for 'Best Rules' and silver for 'Product of the Year', which probably makes it a contender for the first 'break-out' solo RPG in the already incredibly small world of indie rpgs. What's a solo RPG, you ask, and how do they work? Well, let me spread out some newspapers, and let me explain...
Thousand Year Old Vampire - like many of the solo RPGs I've encountered - is a kind of fictional journaling exercise, driven by writing prompts. For TYOV, each turn you pick a random prompt from around a hundred. Each prompt corresponds to come event in which you form new experiences and memories, pushing other memories out of your very small stack. Which memories will you cling to, and which will you be forced to surrender? For each turn you write a few sentences, update your character's stock of memories and resources, and then move on to the next.
While journal-based games are probably the dominant strand of solo RPGs, other variations exist.
What's that? You want MORE recommendations? Well, I suppose...
Avery Alder's Teen Witch (available in the collection 'Variations on Your Body') is kind of a classic in this sub-sub-genre, described as a 'pervasive game,' to fill the unused corners of your life. As one review put it: "This is, essentially, the experience of being a teenager who tries out spells. [...] There’s something incredibly compelling about the glossy trappings of teen magic that Alder taps into perfectly, and the way that Teen Witch is about exploring your own practice until you make your ritual. Is it a game? I have no idea. Is it roleplay? Yes, for sure. Is it magic? Undoubtedly."
'Four Ways to Die in the Future' is another excellent collection, exploring the penumbral boundary between micro-RPG collection and poetry chapbook. The four games included are for 3-6, 2, 1 and zero players, respectively. (The two-player game was, somewhat presciently, meant to be played via teleconference: the premise is a new technology that allows exactly 30 minutes of communication with a recently deceased loved one: one player is dead, and the other alive.)
And if you want more, here's some appropriately calibrated set of filters for itch.io.
Finally, if you''re ACTUALLY after multi-player RPGs about undead beings played over fantastically long periods of time, I'll point you to 'The Skeletons' by Jason Morningstar.
Thousand Year Old Vampire - like many of the solo RPGs I've encountered - is a kind of fictional journaling exercise, driven by writing prompts. For TYOV, each turn you pick a random prompt from around a hundred. Each prompt corresponds to come event in which you form new experiences and memories, pushing other memories out of your very small stack. Which memories will you cling to, and which will you be forced to surrender? For each turn you write a few sentences, update your character's stock of memories and resources, and then move on to the next.
While journal-based games are probably the dominant strand of solo RPGs, other variations exist.
What's that? You want MORE recommendations? Well, I suppose...
Avery Alder's Teen Witch (available in the collection 'Variations on Your Body') is kind of a classic in this sub-sub-genre, described as a 'pervasive game,' to fill the unused corners of your life. As one review put it: "This is, essentially, the experience of being a teenager who tries out spells. [...] There’s something incredibly compelling about the glossy trappings of teen magic that Alder taps into perfectly, and the way that Teen Witch is about exploring your own practice until you make your ritual. Is it a game? I have no idea. Is it roleplay? Yes, for sure. Is it magic? Undoubtedly."
'Four Ways to Die in the Future' is another excellent collection, exploring the penumbral boundary between micro-RPG collection and poetry chapbook. The four games included are for 3-6, 2, 1 and zero players, respectively. (The two-player game was, somewhat presciently, meant to be played via teleconference: the premise is a new technology that allows exactly 30 minutes of communication with a recently deceased loved one: one player is dead, and the other alive.)
And if you want more, here's some appropriately calibrated set of filters for itch.io.
Finally, if you''re ACTUALLY after multi-player RPGs about undead beings played over fantastically long periods of time, I'll point you to 'The Skeletons' by Jason Morningstar.
Yeah, that's a great thread, especially once the author drops in (who, incidentally, also wrote Teen Witch).
posted by kaibutsu at 9:19 PM on December 21, 2020
posted by kaibutsu at 9:19 PM on December 21, 2020
I saw the shut up and sit down review of thousand year old vampire. It seemed very cool and very interesting, but so not something I'd be able to actively work like you're supposed to.
posted by Carillon at 10:16 PM on December 21, 2020
posted by Carillon at 10:16 PM on December 21, 2020
This is so cool and you've outdone yourself with the comprehensive post. Thanks!
posted by es_de_bah at 5:25 AM on December 22, 2020
posted by es_de_bah at 5:25 AM on December 22, 2020
I love, love, love Thousand Year Old Vampire. It might be my favorite game of the year, in a year filled with lots of great games. I highly recommend reading through some recountings of actual play experiences. Here are a couple:
- "The story follows the existence of Roman politician Lucius Casius from the end of the Republic till the Italian Renaissance."
- "I am Garnier, son of Roland and Isabeau, born in southern Brittany in 14th Century France; I became a monk to avoid poverty but found strength in my faith."
The first time I played, I think I spent 10+ hours straight writing the story of a desert girl who asked for a witch's help to escape a terrible suitor, and became a nameless thing unrecognizable even to herself. My very favorite moment was when she was finally tracked down by her childhood love, who had also undergone the transformation and had spent centuries searching for her. By that time, though, my vamp had long forgotten her former love, her human life, even her own name. The lover left, heartbroken, and they never met again. That moment, and many others from this game, stick with me.
posted by ourobouros at 9:30 AM on December 22, 2020 [4 favorites]
- "The story follows the existence of Roman politician Lucius Casius from the end of the Republic till the Italian Renaissance."
- "I am Garnier, son of Roland and Isabeau, born in southern Brittany in 14th Century France; I became a monk to avoid poverty but found strength in my faith."
The first time I played, I think I spent 10+ hours straight writing the story of a desert girl who asked for a witch's help to escape a terrible suitor, and became a nameless thing unrecognizable even to herself. My very favorite moment was when she was finally tracked down by her childhood love, who had also undergone the transformation and had spent centuries searching for her. By that time, though, my vamp had long forgotten her former love, her human life, even her own name. The lover left, heartbroken, and they never met again. That moment, and many others from this game, stick with me.
posted by ourobouros at 9:30 AM on December 22, 2020 [4 favorites]
(Oh jeez, Brave Sparrow was seven years ago already? That game was a huge part of my transition, even though I was never fully playing it. Time is so weird.)
posted by nebulawindphone at 2:15 PM on December 22, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by nebulawindphone at 2:15 PM on December 22, 2020 [2 favorites]
As someone who has spent a lot of time on more procedurally generated, rules based solo RPGs, but longed for something more story based, thank you! I had no idea about this sub genre.
posted by Flight Hardware, do not touch at 8:31 PM on December 23, 2020
posted by Flight Hardware, do not touch at 8:31 PM on December 23, 2020
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posted by Jeanne at 7:05 PM on December 21, 2020 [3 favorites]