Freelance
TravellerA Solo Traveller-Themed Game
This article originally appeared in the January/February 2023 issue.
This game is an unabashed ripoff and redecorating of the one-page RPG Potato by Oliver Darkshire.
| Daily Doings | |
|---|---|
| 1D | What Happens? |
| 1 or 2 | Dealing With Things |
| 3 or 4 | Dealing With People |
| 5 or 6 | Reports have the war going badly. From now on, it costs an additional kCr from your Nest Egg to bribe the authorities to avoid the Draft (this is cumulative). |
| Dealing With Things | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1D | What Happens? | Score |
| 1 | Nothing much happens; it’s a good day. | +1 kCr |
| 2 | You avoid a visitor by going into your workshop | +1 kCr +1 Activism |
| 3 | A stranger has been seen in the area | +1 Activism +1 Draft |
| 4 | Your property is vandalized. You don’t know who. | +1 Draft -1 kCr |
| 5 | You buy that thing you’ve wanted for a while. | -1 kCr |
| 6 | A windfall comes your way. Maybe you cry with joy. | +2 kCr |
| Dealing With People | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1D | What Happens? | Score |
| 1 | That annoying relative wants to ‘borrow’ some money. They may tell the ‘press gang’ where you are. | +1 Draft |
| 2 | An unsavory-looking stranger approaches you to donate to the cause. You tell them you gave at the office. | +1 Activism |
| 3 | A politician holds a rally in your neighborhood. You make it a point to not go. | +1 Activism +1 Draft |
| 4 | There seems to be a blackout on war news. You spend some money to try to find out what’s going on. | +2 Draft -1 kCr |
| 5 | Somehow, you’re on someone’s mailing list. | +1 Activism |
| 6 | A sympathetic neighbor who’s getting out leaves you some nice stuff. | +2 kCr |
You are trying to manage day-to-day while also trying to save enough of a nest egg to be able to get started on a new world. There is a war going on, but you’re hiding from the draft (‘press gang’); all you’re likely to do as a soldier is become a casualty.
How To Play
You have three scores, all of which start at 0:
- Activism, representing how involved in politics—mostly against your better judgement—you get.
- Nest Egg, measured in kCr, and representing how close you are to having enough money to get started on a new world.
- Draft, representing the likelihood that your number comes up, and you’ll have to go to war.
| Activism | ||||||||||
| Nest Egg | ||||||||||
| Draft |
Turn By Turn
Each day, roll 1D on the “Daily Doings” and adjust your score(s) as indicated in the table or subtable. Repeat until one of the following happens:
If your Activism reaches 10, you’re appointed to a high-profile position in the government, whether you want to be or not.
If your Nest Egg reaches 10 kCr, you have enough to buy a low passage to another world, and have some ‘seed money’ to get set up there.
If your Draft reaches 10, the ‘press gang’ has found you, and put you in a uniform to become cannon fodder.
If two scores reach 10 together, Nest Egg beats Draft beats Activism.
Hiding Better
At any time, you may reduce your Draft by 1 by reducing your Nest Egg by 1 kCr (in bribes). Note that this cost can change.