Adventure Capital - Incunabuli Inspired Solo RPG
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Milites Requiescentes (Soldiers at Rest) c. 1555/1557 by Johannes and Lucas van Doetechum after Pieter Bruegel the Elder. |
Do you like cash? Investments? Paperwork? What about sending people to their death?
Adventure Capital is a 7 page solo RPG where the player takes on the helm of a bank which specializes in hiring mercenaries, known as cutters, to go out into the world and bring back treasure. You have limited start up capital, what will you spend it on?
Gameplay, a spreadsheet waiting to happen
Gameplay includes managing both your own investments as well as the actions of a varying number of cutters under your command. Each turn, representing a week, will consist of tracking your own currency, investments, and events, but mainly each of your cutter groups and their distinct actions. You will send them into the world, tracking their progress both in the field and tending to Opportunities. Opportunities being the interesting locations throughout the map which, while dangerous, are filled with treasure. Each one will consist of three main qualities, Danger, Commitment, and Yield. Danger representing the guardians, traps, or enemies found, not to mention the modifier to dice rolls. Commitment being the number of successful rolls to clear said opportunity. And Yield being the level of treasure found. While these traits are not immediately known, you will be able to send cutters to investigate and bring back intel. Or if one is feeling impatient, you could send a cutter to seize an opportunity wholly site-unseen.
Amidst the finding of opportunities and development of cutter groups, you'll find small writing prompts throughout. These are to fill in the world and develop a sense of connection to the happenings that otherwise are represented purely by numbers on the page. Examples include: For each new location found, you'll roll 2d6 to learn what it is, but naming/describing it is up to you. (Is it just a beehive, or an old tower now glistening with honeycombs?) For a few events you'll be asked to write a 1-2 sentences on what exactly transpires. For cutters, you're asked to name each group. But only after they come back alive from their first task. The most effective bank doesn't care about names, nor the ephemera of stories that transpire during jobs, but you might.
Inspiration
During this years One-Page RPG jam I found myself really inspired by the mechanics and level of scope found in many of the thoughtful games submitted this year. While the game I have on offer isn't a single page, I would thank that community for some of the kindling that led to this.
Lastly, anyone familiar with the Adventure Gothic TTRPG Incunabuli is going to immediately pick up on what this game is about. As a longtime friend of that game, I hold a deep appreciation of what Benton has on offer, not only the game but also the delightful world and fiction alongside it. My own Adventure Capital is an imagining of what the mechanics might look like if one was playing the very banks that hire the player characters of that game. And as such, would not exist without that game authors own Adventure Capital.
TLDR: Spreadsheet game.
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