Introduction
What is Loner?
Loner is a minimalist Solo Role Playing Game designed to be played with only one character (the Protagonist). You'll guide them through the story that will unravel during the game, asking closed questions to an Oracle which will help you overturn your expectations. Every now and then you will be surprised with an unexpected twist!
Loner follows the following design principles:
- Portable: to play you will need a few common (six-sided) dice and writing materials. Anything else is optional and not essential.
- Rules-Light: the game relies on a few rules and only one solving mechanic, easy to learn and eventually to memorize.
- Tag-based: characters and situations are defined only by qualitative descriptors and no quantitative characteristics.
- Generic: you can play anything, yet the game is not universal. It is designed for quick resolutions, without tactical depth or simulationist ambitions.
What is a Role Playing Game (RPG)?
A role-playing game (RPG) is a type of game in which players assume the roles of fictional characters and act out their actions and decisions within a narrative or imaginary setting. The outcome of these actions and decisions is often determined by a set of rules and game mechanics, such as dice rolls or statistical attributes of the characters. Players may also collaborate to create a shared story or narrative through their characters' actions and interactions.
What is a Solo RPG?
In a solo RPG a single player takes on the roles of one or more characters, while also simultaneously managing some elements of the game world. These games typically involve the use of a rule system and game mechanics to determine the outcome of actions taken by the player-controlled characters. Unlike a gamebook (such as the Fighting Fantasy, Lone Wolf, and Tunnels & Trolls series) a solo RPG is not a form of interactive, forked narrative in which outcomes are pre-determined and limited by the author's choices.
Through the interaction of player, oracle, tools, and prompts, the character's actions will build an emergent narrative within whose boundaries anything can be attempted, without predetermined limits.