Rules

Appendix III — Black Sword Hack for the Lone Adventurer

TOOLS FOR ALL GMS: All the tools we present here can be used by GMs for their regular games. So even if you're not into solo roleplaying, keep reading!

This isn't just a game. Playing Black Sword Hack solo is a great experience for both players and GMs. It's not a lesser version of the game, or a clutch for GMs deprived of players. It's an exercise in pure creativity that will develop your improvisation muscles. Imagination is a skill, these rules are your weapon master. Nothing can be too absurd, too far-fetched or too crazy. You have no audience but yourself. You can make mistakes, experiment with new things without anyone looking over your shoulder. Be kind, be open-minded, and these qualities will follow you to the gaming table once your personal adventures are over.

1 - Find a title

The best way to learn is to start doing it. Grab a pen and a sheet of paper or notebook, and give a title to your adventures. Look at your RPG or books collection, mix and match words until something sounds right, meaning be damned. Here are a few examples (or roll a d8): 1. The Dark Fate of the Wind Howlers; 2. This Axe is Mine, an Executioner's Tale; 3. Devious Drusk, King of the Wasteland; 4. Five Swords Against the Blood God; 5. Night of the Bladespawns; 6. The Twisted Destiny of the Scarlet Princess; 7. Oksana: Thief, Gladiator, Queen; 8. Trials and Tribulations of a Former Chaos Priest

2 - Create a character

Now go back to page 10 and create a character. No, not later; do it now or you'll never do it. Trust the dice, do not re-roll, use what you're given. Don't try to make the character fit the title above or your own preconceptions. Tread new paths lest you want your mind to wither.

3 - Create your world

Simply place the names of each nation as you see fit. You don't have to draw anything, you just need a rough idea of where they all are relative to each other. Roll a d6 on your map: the adventure starts here, use the result to select your prologue (see below).

4 - Prologue

How does your adventure start? For your first adventure we'll help you kickstart your campaign. Use the result of the d6 you dropped on your map to learn how this all begins:
1. You just got out of your cell in your father's castle...
2. You wake on a beach, the image of your brother pushing you off a cliff still vivid in your mind...
3. You hide in the sewers as your city burns, you hear footsteps approaching...
4. Someone's banging at your door, there's a dead body in your bed and a blade in your hand...
5. Your bounty took refuge in forbidden ruins; you reach them at sunset...
6. The card reader told you you'll die in a week, killed by a headless monster. Now what do you do?

5 - Now play!

Act as your character would. When dice and rules are needed, use them; when you have a question, ask the Dark Gods' Oracle (see p. 98). There's not much more to it. There's no "right" way to do this: you're right as long as you're engaged and want to know what happens to your character.

Pacing

Play a scene, encounter, or fight – anything that keeps you engaged. Once you've reached a conclusion, move on. Maybe you'll run a trek through the jungle in agonising detail, hoping that your hero reaches civilisation before succumbing to the fever, or maybe you'll resolve it with one roll because your character has more important matters to attend to.

Trust your instincts

Never listen to thoughts telling you what your story should be like. Just run it. Don't second guess yourself, the power of solo roleplaying is that it frees you of any preconception you (or your players) might have about what an RPG session should be. If the Oracle gives you an answer that keeps you guessing for more than 10 seconds, roll again or go where your instinct tells you to. You may be wrong, but mistakes are the only way to learn and improve.

NPCs

There's usually no need to roll on any table to create an NPC. You're in a village? You'll meet farmers, a tavern owner, a travelling merchant, a hunter... Same goes in a city. The only thing you need is a list of names. If you're looking for something oddly specific (an inquisitor, your bounty, a weapon master...), ask the Oracle! Only define the NPCs your hero is interacting with. Make a Charisma roll to determine an NPC's attitude towards you if it is unclear.

Enemies and monsters

Don't try to balance encounters, just respect the logic of the world. Enemies try to surprise and outnumber you. Monsters are dangerous. There are two principles that must guide your combat encounters: firstly, people don't want to die, and seeing that someone is armed can be enough to prevent a fight. Secondly, fleeing is always an option. If your character dies at the hands of highwaymen because you didn't want to give them your money, that's your choice, not a bug in the game.

Companions

Black Sword Hack is simple enough to let you run several characters through a solo campaign. Create them as you would any character, picking Origins and Backgrounds that fit and switching attribute scores as needed. Companions also provide replacement heroes if your main character bites the dust or let you tell spin-off stories if you feel like a change of pace.

Character death

You can create a new character and move on, but you can also play this character as they find themselves in the netherworld, desperately looking for a way back to the world of the living.

Appendix VI — The Dark Gods' Oracle

When to use the Oracle? The purpose of this procedure is to drive your character's story in unpredictable directions, to keep you on your toes. The Oracle brings danger, unexpected friendships, shocking treason... It isn't here to tell you if you can buy a sword in the city – but if you want to know if a secret society sells vampire-slayer swords, you might want to roll the die.

Asking the right questions

This is more of an art than a science, and you'll learn by experimenting. The question must be framed as a yes-or-no question and both answers must keep the story moving… so don't back yourself into a corner. This is a useful skill to develop for a GM.

Refining things up a bit

Are there things likely to influence the answer? If so, consider the probability of a positive answer:

• Don't think so: roll 3 dice and keep the lowest
• Unlikely: roll 2 dice and keep the lowest
• Who knows? roll one die
• Probably: roll 2 dice and keep the highest
• Definitely: roll 3 dice and keep the highest

Rolling doubles

An unexpected event occurs! Is it positive or negative for the protagonist? Roll d66 twice to learn about the theme and subject of the event.