Serenity RPG

I found The Almanac of Sanguine Paths by Rori Montford pretty early in my journey with solo RPGs. The game was still in early access on itch.io. My first partial playthrough was with the demo version and I had an absolute blast. This then led to me trying Dead Letter Society and a slew of other solo RPGs.

Both of Dead Letter Society and The Almanac of Sanguine Paths are designed as Duets but can easily be transformed into a solo adventure. I love this aspect of the game, because I can easily play with a friend or family member, but I can also enjoy the story I create on my own.

The book guides you through the creation of the world and character and then uses tarot cards or a dice roll/table to get prompts to further the story. Each “cycle” of the game involves a letter phase, an interaction phase, and a chronicle phase. Basically your character has been signed up for a pen pal program with other werewolves/vampires. In the letter phase you are writing a letter to the other character. In the interaction phase this is how you interact with the world around you or the almanac/society. Finally, in the chronicle phase you “receive” a letter back from your pen pal.

Like I said earlier, this game is designed as a duet. However, there are rules at the back of the book that can make the game a solo RPG in some interesting ways. I usually float between some of these rules, not necessarily staying in one specific rule set for the entire game. I believe that is part of the beauty of a solo run through, because you really can do whatever you want with the story.