Play
How To Play
Loner is built on a simple cycle: describe what happens, ask questions when the outcome is uncertain, and let the story surprise you. Everything comes down to tags and the Oracle.
The Basics
01
Build a Character with Tags
Define your protagonist with a few descriptive tags: a Concept, two Skills, a Frailty, some Gear, and a Goal. Tags aren't numbers, just words that matter in play.
02
Ask the Oracle Questions
Whenever you're unsure what happens, ask the Oracle a Yes/No question and roll two dice against each other. One die represents Chance, the other Risk. The result gives you not only an answer, but often a twist.
03
Let the Story Emerge
Each scene flows naturally into the next. Tags provide context, the Oracle introduces surprises, and together they build a story that could never have been written ahead of time.
SkillConcept
SkillSkill
FrailtyFrailty
GearGear
DetailGoal
Try It
Ask the Oracle
Phrase a yes/no question, then roll the Chance Die against the Risk Die.
–
Chance
vs
–
Risk
Yes
What's New in the Fourth Edition
The Oracle, the tag system, and the Twist Counter are unchanged. Fourth Edition adds procedures for longer stories and richer worlds.
Scene Structure
Build the Setup, Framing a Scene, and Closing a Scene give you explicit ways to open and end scenes with intent.
Narrative Tools
Relationships that earn tags through play, a Dead Ends procedure for cold leads, and Meanwhile for cutting away to the wider world.
Conflict Mechanics
Twist Intensity gives guidance for calibrating how hard a Twist lands based on the fiction's accumulated pressure.
Optional Modules
Challenge Tracks, Leverage, and a Status Track for lasting harm: bolt on for longer campaigns, skip for one-shots.
The Living World
A post-adventure procedure for updating NPCs, Locations, and Events so the world remembers what happened.
Learn More
Once you've played a session or two, you may want to dig deeper. These guides expand the core experience without adding complexity:
Character Builder's Guide
Tools for evolving identity, weaving lifepaths, and shaping relationships with allies, rivals, and nemeses.
World Builder's Guide
Frameworks for building reactive settings, factions, and story hooks that push back against your protagonist.