Malcolm Sheppard brings us this update with some details on how Solo-play works in Wardens of the Blue Rose, and what you can expect.
Take it away, Malcolm!
That’s right. It’s not your parent or guardian’s Blue Rose. We’re taking a different approach because we love the setting, but we’ve noticed barriers to people getting into it. Some of the new things we’ve designed exist to bypass these issues.
One of the big issues I saw repeatedly is people being absolutely dazzled by the core book for Blue Rose: The AGE Roleplaying Game of Romantic Fantasy, which we’ll call the Big Gorgeous Book (BGB) because it is. People would pick up the BGB, be entranced, read, want it!
Then they’d ask their friend or partner, who “runs the games for us,” but “We mostly play” D&D or another traditional fantasy RPG. If the designated GM said no, they’d leave it, even though they really wanted it.
I wanted to free those gamers to play without asking for permission. I wanted to make it easy for them to enjoy it by themselves, and to invite other people to get involved on their own terms. It’s the more inclusive way to do it, and of course, that fits Blue Rose’s revolutionary values (people forget Aldis was founded by rebels).
The basic process is that as Wardens move to a new hex on the map of Aldis, the story generation system provides the terrain, a possible road encounter, and areas of interest before kicking off the story. An oracle mechanic (partly previewed in the Quickstart slice) deals with events by probability, including yes and no questions. When the story concludes, it’s time to record the effects on the area, and if anything fits certain creatures or sets of motifs, it increases the related Arc Meter.
The Arc Meter rules develop a story over multiple adventures. When an event in the hexcrawl relates to a potential long-term story, it progresses along the Arc Meter, adding new events and encounters, leading to a climax.
this map is not final
This makes Wardens of the Blue Rose a game to play by yourself, without asking anyone else for permission—and when you master its easy to learn SAGE System rules, you can invite other people to play with you, whether to help tell the story as a Narrator, play it as a Warden, or both.
~Malcolm Sheppard, Wardens of the Blue Rose developer
