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projects:solo_rpg:renso [2025/04/12 21:52] – kymkiprojects:solo_rpg:renso [2025/05/15 18:06] (current) – kymki
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-====== Timeline Resonance ======+====== Renso ======
 A Solo Journaling RPG of Poetic Parallel Lives A Solo Journaling RPG of Poetic Parallel Lives
  
 ===== Introduction ===== ===== Introduction =====
  
-Timeline Resonance is a solo journaling roleplaying game where you explore parallel timelines of a character's life through the lens of evolving poetry. As you navigate decision points and branch realities, you'll create haikus that both reflect and influence the stability of these timelines. The game balances narrative exploration with poetic creation, each inspiring the other in an endless feedback loop of creativity.+Renso is a solo journaling roleplaying game where you explore parallel timelines of a character's life through the lens of evolving poetry. As you navigate decision points and branch realities, you'll create haikus that both reflect and influence the stability of these timelines. The game balances narrative exploration with poetic creation, each inspiring the other in an endless feedback loop of creativity.
  
 At its core, this game explores how small decisions create rippling effects across possible lives, and how poetry can capture the essence of experience across different realities. At its core, this game explores how small decisions create rippling effects across possible lives, and how poetry can capture the essence of experience across different realities.
 +
 +The timelines develop and destabilise we view them and develop haiku chains (Renso) to interpret their progression. Ultimately, spending time on multiple timelines make them destabilise. Our renso devolves into meaningless symbols, and the timeline fades.
 +
 +The renso is a channel from the player to the player character. It allows the player to influence timelines through poetic interpretation and also use their mechanics to affect game play. 
  
 ===== Core Concepts ===== ===== Core Concepts =====
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   1. Select a timeline to focus on   1. Select a timeline to focus on
-  2. Write a narrative entry describing events or decisions +  2. Generate a new haiku verse for this timeline based on current stability 
-  3. Record any actions taken and adjust stability accordingly +  3. Write a narrative entry describing events or decisions 
-  4. Generate a new haiku verse for this timeline based on current stability+  4. Record any actions taken and adjust stability accordingly
   5. Resolve any triggered effects from the haiku   5. Resolve any triggered effects from the haiku
   6. Move to the next timeline or continue in the current one   6. Move to the next timeline or continue in the current one
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   10. **Quantum Entanglement**: Actions in this timeline now affect another one directly   10. **Quantum Entanglement**: Actions in this timeline now affect another one directly
  
-===== Example of Play =====+===== Ending The Game =====
  
-==== Initial Setup ====+A game of Renso can end in several ways:
  
-**Character**: Maya Chen, architectural designer +==== Natural Conclusion ==== 
-**Core Values**: Creativity, Family, Growth +Play until you feel your character's story has reached a satisfying conclusion across the various timelines. This might be when: 
-**Decision Point**: Whether to accept a job offer abroad or stay in her hometown +  * A central question has been answered in multiple ways 
-**Background**: Recently completed graduate degree, has family ties locally but dreams of international experience+  * Character growth has occurred across timelines 
 +  * A natural endpoint has been reached in the narrative
  
-**Root Haiku**: +==== Causal Collapse ==== 
-<code> +If any timeline reaches 0 Stability and remains there for three consecutive actions, that timeline undergoes complete collapse. You may: 
-blueprints unfurled wide +  * End that timeline with a final collapse haiku 
-possibilities on paper +  * Allow it to "reset" to a previous decision point 
-choices solidify +  * Let it merge with another timeline
-</code>+
  
-==== Timeline Creation ==== +==== Timeline Convergence ==== 
-Maya creates two initial timelines: +Through careful play and the creation of resonance points, you may engineer a convergence where multiple timelines merge back together. This is considered a special form of victory and can be marked with a final convergence haiku that incorporates elements from all merged timelines.
-  * Timeline A: "New Horizons" - Accepts international job +
-  * Timeline B: "Roots" - Remains in hometown+
  
-==== First Play Cycle ====+==== Ideas ====
  
-**Timeline A: Stability 10** +Echo chamber - repeating words, motifs and themes in the renso of different timelines create "Echo Chambers" that bridge the timelines at these points. What is communicated across the bridge? How can it be used by the player? Something that increases stability. 
-*Narrative Entry:* Maya accepts the job in Singapore. She packs her belongings, says difficult goodbyes to family, and boards the plane with a mixture of excitement and trepidation.+
  
-*Action:* "Relocate to Singapore" (Major Action, -3 Stability) +When identical words, motifs, or thematic elements recur across multiple timeline haikus, they create "Echo Chambers" – metaphysical spaces where realities intersect. These aren't merely passive connections but active narrative engines with unique properties. 
-*New Stability:* 7+Echo Formation
  
-*Haiku Generation:*  +Resonance Tracking Matrix: A dedicated tracking sheet divided into categories (Words, Images, Themes, Emotions) 
-  * Setting Line: Roll 18 = "Train whistle calling" +Echo Threshold: When an element appears in haikus from 3+ different timelines, it forms an "Echo" 
-  * Development Line: Roll 4 = "while shadows grow longer" +Chamber Creation: When 3+ related Echoes exist, they form an Echo Chamber with specific properties determined by the elements that created it
-  * Turn Line: Roll 7 = "patterns repeat twice"+
  
-*Modified Haiku for Timeline A:* +Chamber Types & Gameplay Impacts 
-<code> +The nature of the words/themes that form the Echo Chamber determines its type and capabilities: 
-Plane engines humming +1. Memory Chambers (Formed from past-oriented elements)
-while shadows grow longer now +
-patterns repeat twice +
-</code>+
  
-**Timeline B: Stability 10** +Transfer Mechanic: Allow direct access to past experiences across timelines 
-*Narrative Entry:* Maya declines the international offer and instead accepts a position at a local firm. She feels relief at staying close to family but wonders what she might be missing.+Stability Effect: Can "replay" a previous decision with new awareness 
 +Player Usage: Once per game session, revert one action and its stability cost
  
-*Action:* "Accept local position" (Moderate Action, -2 Stability) +2. Anchor Chambers (Formed from stability-related elements)
-*New Stability:* 8+
  
-*Haiku Generation:* +Transfer Mechanic: Allow objects/concepts to exist identically across timelines 
-  * Setting Line: Roll 9 = "Moonlight on water" +Stability Effect: +1 Stability to all connected timelines each cycle 
-  * Development Line: Roll 10 = "among forgotten keepsakes" +Player Usage: Designate one element as "anchored" - it cannot be altered by instability effects
-  * Turn Line: Roll 16 = "questions go unanswered"+
  
-*Modified Haiku for Timeline B:* +3. Possibility Chambers (Formed from future-oriented elements)
-<code> +
-Moonlight on water +
-among familiar faces +
-questions go unanswered +
-</code>+
  
-==== Second Play Cycle ====+Transfer Mechanic: Allow glimpses of potential future developments 
 +Stability Effect: Once per chamber, prevent a triggered instability effect 
 +Player Usage: Roll twice on any table and choose preferred result
  
-**Timeline A: Stability 7** +4. Identity Chambers (Formed from self-related elements)
-*Narrative Entry:* After three weeks in Singapore, Maya struggles with isolation but is exhilarated by the architectural innovation surrounding her. She debates whether to join a community group to make connections.+
  
-*Action:* "Join ex-pat social group" (Minor Action, -1 Stability) +Transfer Mechanic: Allow character aspects to transfer between timelines 
-*New Stability:* 6+Stability Effect: Character gains composite understanding/skills 
 +Player Usage: Import one character trait/ability from another timeline
  
-*Haiku Generation:* (Moderate Instability) +The Echo Mapping Ritual 
-  * Setting Line: Roll 3 & 15 = "City lights flicker" & "Starlight pierces through" +When an Echo Chamber forms, the player performs the "Echo Mapping Ritual":
-  * Development Line: Roll 2 = "beneath stormy gray skies" +
-  * Turn Line: Roll 11 = "secrets stay buried" +
-  * Line Order Roll: 3 = Standard order+
  
-*Modified Combined Haiku:* +Create the Echo Haiku: Write a new haiku using only elements that formed the chamber 
-<code> +Chamber Classification: Based on the Echo Haiku's dominant elements, determine chamber type 
-City stars flicker +Manifestation Roll: Roll on the "Chamber Manifestation Table" to determine additional properties 
-beneath unfamiliar skies +Activation Cost: Must sacrifice one minor action to fully open the chamber
-secrets stay buried +
-</code>+
  
-**Timeline B: Stability 8** +Advanced Echo Mechanics 
-*Narrative Entry:* Maya settles into her local position but feels understimulated. She considers proposing an ambitious project that would either impress or alienate her superiors.+Echo Cultivation 
 +Players can intentionally cultivate Echo Chambers by strategically repeating elements:
  
-*Action:* "Propose risky innovative design" (Moderate Action, -2 Stability) +Echo Seeds: Designate up to three words in each haiku as "Echo Seeds" 
-*New Stability:* 6+Cultivation Challenge: Echo Seeds require one fewer appearance to form Echoes 
 +Chamber Planning: By planning Echo Seeds across multiple timelines, players can engineer specific chamber types
  
-*Haiku Generation:* (Moderate Instability) +Chamber Degradation 
-  * Setting Line: Roll 4 & 12 = "Mountain peak rises" & "Old clock ticking down" +Echo Chambers don't persist indefinitely:
-  * Development Line: Roll 17 = "beyond rational thinking" ⚡ +
-  * Turn Line: Roll 19 = "paths converge again" +
-  * Line Order Roll: 6 = Setting → Turn → Development +
- +
-*Modified Haiku:* +
-<code> +
-Ambition rises +
-paths converge again +
-beyond comfortable thinking +
-</code> +
- +
-*Unstable Trigger:* Roll 4 = "Divergence Node" +
-*Effect:* A new timeline branch forms unexpectedly +
- +
-**Timeline C: "Risk" (Branches from B)** +
-*Narrative Entry:* In this new branch, Maya's proposal is rejected so strongly that she impulsively quits her job, creating a third timeline where she must rebuild. +
- +
-*Starting Stability:* 5 (inherits instability from parent timeline) +
- +
-This play cycle would continue with the player exploring all three timelines, writing narrative entries, generating haikus, and watching as causal stability gradually decreases, creating increasingly strange and interconnected experiences across the parallel lives of their character. +
- +
-===== Ending The Game ===== +
- +
-A game of Timeline Resonance can end in several ways: +
- +
-==== Natural Conclusion ==== +
-Play until you feel your character's story has reached a satisfying conclusion across the various timelines. This might be when: +
-  * A central question has been answered in multiple ways +
-  * Character growth has occurred across timelines +
-  * A natural endpoint has been reached in the narrative +
- +
-==== Causal Collapse ==== +
-If any timeline reaches 0 Stability and remains there for three consecutive actions, that timeline undergoes complete collapse. You may: +
-  * End that timeline with a final collapse haiku +
-  * Allow it to "reset" to a previous decision point +
-  * Let it merge with another timeline +
- +
-==== Timeline Convergence ==== +
-Through careful play and the creation of resonance points, you may engineer a convergence where multiple timelines merge back together. This is considered a special form of victory and can be marked with a final convergence haiku that incorporates elements from all merged timelines.+
  
-===== Optional Rules =====+Structural Integrity: Chambers have 3 "integrity points" 
 +Usage Cost: Each chamber usage costs 1 integrity point 
 +Reinforcement: Players can reinforce chambers by creating new haikus with all chamber elements
  
-==== Fate Tokens ==== +Echo Collapse Effect 
-Begin with 3 Fate Tokens that allow you to: +When a chamber runs out of integrity points:
-  * Reroll any dice result +
-  * Automatically stabilize a timeline (+2 Stability) +
-  * Prevent a causal ripple effect +
-  * Force timelines to resonate+
  
-==== Character Traits ==== +Final Resonance: Roll on the "Chamber Collapse Table" 
-Assign your character 3-5 traits with values from 1-5. When taking actions related to those traits, reduce stability impact by trait value ÷ 5 (rounded down).+Reality Merge: Small aspects of connected timelines permanently merge 
 +Stability Shift: Connected timelines experience a final stability effect (beneficial or detrimental)
  
-==== Expanded Timelines ==== +Strategic Depth: Chamber Networks 
-For a more complex game, create up to 5 timelines and track relationships between them (Converging, Diverging, Parallel, or Entangled).+Multiple chambers can connect to form "Chamber Networks" with enhanced capabilities:
  
-==== Meta-Stability ==== +Network Types: Linear, Radial, or Circuit configurations 
-Track an overall "meta-stability" score affected by the average stability of all timelines. When meta-stability drops below certain thresholds, roll on the "Universal Paradox" table for events that affect all timelines simultaneously.+Meta-Stability: Networks provide broader stability benefits 
 +Reality Engineering: With sufficient chambers in specific configurations, players can work toward controlled timeline convergence