CAUSAL DRIFT: A Solo Timeline Explorer RPG

You are a Temporal Navigator aboard the vessel “Chronoceptor,” traversing unstable branching timelines to prevent “The Causal Collapse” - a catastrophic event threatening all realities. Your actions decrease Causal Stability in each timeline you visit, and revisiting accelerates their deterioration toward inevitable collapse.

• Journal or digital document for recording entries
• Several six-sided dice (d6)
• Two four-sided dice (d4) for stability rolls
• One twelve-sided die (d12) and one twenty-sided die (d20) for timeline generation
• Timeline tracking sheet or map
• Writing implements

1. **Timeline Navigation**: Explore multiple timelines, each with unique properties
2. **Action Resolution**: Actions mutate and resolve in unpredictable orders based on timeline stability
3. **Stability Management**: Each intervention degrades timeline stability
4. **Character Development**: Your Navigator evolves through identity fragments and reflections

Choose one:

• Historian: Better at observing without altering (+1 to stabilization rolls)
• Engineer: Can temporarily reinforce timeline stability (once per timeline)
• Diplomat: Can reduce mutation effects on social interactions
• Scientist: Better at understanding timeline branching points

Distribute 10 points across:

• Precision: Ability to target specific timeline events (1-5)
• Resistance: Personal protection against causal degradation (1-5)
• Influence: Power to affect timeline events (1-5)

Define three critical events from your own past:

• These may appear as echoes across different timelines
• They shape your motivations and reactions

• 6 Chronons (temporal currency)
• Access to 3 initial timelines

• Each timeline has a Causal Stability Rating starting at 10
• Each visit/intervention decreases Stability by 1
• Revisiting a timeline doubles the Stability decrease per intervention
• Timeline collapses permanently at Stability 0

At the beginning of each timeline visit, roll 1d6:

• Each session grants 6 Chronons
• Spending Chronons allows:
  • Re-roll any stability or mutation roll (1 Chronon)
  • Reinforce a timeline (+1 Stability, once per timeline, 2 Chronons)
  • Force a specific event resolution order (2 Chronons)
  • Create a temporary branch point (3 Chronons)

1. **Timeline Selection**: Choose which timeline to visit
2. **Stability Assessment**: Roll on Timeline Stability Table
3. **Event Generation**: Draw from appropriate Event Deck based on current Stability
4. **Action Planning**: State your intended action
5. **Temporal Resolution**: Resolve actions across 6 temporal units with mutations
6. **Journal Reflection**: Document outcomes and personal insights
7. **Timeline Decision**: Continue in current timeline or jump to another

Draw events from different decks based on current timeline Stability:

• Stability 8-10: Subtle Divergence Deck (minor timeline variations)
• Stability 4-7: Significant Anomaly Deck (major timeline disruptions)
• Stability 1-3: Collapse Harbinger Deck (catastrophic timeline events)

Each timeline event spans 6 temporal units divided into three phases:

• Units 1-2: Initial action and immediate results
• Units 3-4: Secondary impacts and complications
• Units 5-6: Final resolution and stability adjustments

After declaring your intended action, roll 1d6:

• 1-2: Action resolves as intended
• 3-4: Partial mutation (action works but with unexpected side effects)
• 5-6: Significant mutation (action drastically changes in context or purpose)

The critical mechanic: as Causal Stability decreases, the certainty of when your actions resolve decreases:

• At Stability 8-10: Events resolve in stated order
  • Your actions occur exactly when intended
  • Write outcomes in sequential order

• At Stability 4-7: Temporal uncertainty begins
  • Roll 1d6 for each temporal unit
  • On 4+, another event from the timeline resolves before yours
  • This may change the context of your action
  • Must adapt your narrative based on these shifts

• At Stability 1-3: Temporal fracturing
  • All unresolved events collapse into a singular chaotic moment
  • Roll 1d6 for each intended action:
    • 1-2: Completely fails
    • 3-4: Partially succeeds with major complications
    • 5-6: Succeeds but with unintended consequences
  • At Stability 0, timeline ruptures after resolution, becoming inaccessible

1. State your intended action: "I attempt to delay the reactor activation"
2. Roll for mutation (affects how your action manifests)
3. Begin resolving across temporal units:
   * At high Stability: Events unfold as described
   * At medium Stability: Other events may resolve first, changing the context
   * At low Stability: Chaos ensues with unpredictable resolution

TEMPORAL LOG: [Session #]
TIMELINE: [Designation]
TEMPORAL COORDINATES: [Date/Time/Branch]
INITIAL STABILITY: [0-10]
CHRONONS AVAILABLE: [Number]
STABILITY ROLL: [Roll Result + Effect]

EVENT: [Drawn from appropriate Stability deck]

INTENDED ACTION: [Your initial plan]
MUTATION ROLL: [Result + Effect]

TEMPORAL UNITS 1-2:
[Describe initial resolution]
Resolution Order Check: [If Stability <8, roll result]
Actual Outcome: [What actually happened after potential reordering]

TEMPORAL UNITS 3-4:
[Describe secondary impacts]
Resolution Order Check: [If Stability <8, roll result]
Actual Outcome: [What actually happened after potential reordering]
Stability Check: [Roll 1d6: 1-2 strengthen, 3-4 neutral, 5-6 weaken]

TEMPORAL UNITS 5-6:
[Describe final resolution]
Resolution Order Check: [If Stability <8, roll result]
Actual Outcome: [What actually happened after potential reordering]

FINAL STABILITY: [New level]
IDENTITY REFLECTION: [How this experience changed your Navigator]
TIMELINE DECISION: [Stay, branch, or jump to another timeline]

Timeline Seeds provide the foundational elements for generating unique timelines. Each timeline is defined by its Divergence Point (when it branched from the “prime” timeline), Core Theme, Technological Level, Societal Structure, and Key Crisis.

Roll on each table in sequence to generate a coherent timeline with interconnected elements. For a truly random timeline, roll on all tables. For a curated experience, choose specific elements and roll for the rest.

Roll 1d20:

Roll 1d12:

Roll 1d10:

Roll 1d10:

Roll 1d12:

Roll 1d10:

Roll 1d6:

Once you've generated the core elements of a timeline, combine them into a seed matrix:

TIMELINE DESIGNATION: [Alpha/Beta/Gamma]-[Number]
DIVERGENCE POINT: [Result from table]
CORE THEME: [Result from table]
TECH LEVEL: [Result from table]
SOCIETAL STRUCTURE: [Result from table]
KEY CRISIS: [Result from table]
KEY FIGURE: [Result from table]
SPECIAL CONDITION: [Result from modifiers table]
INITIAL STABILITY: [Roll 2d4+2 = 4-10]

• Maintain a Timeline Network Map showing relationships between branches
• Each timeline has key properties:
  • Current Stability level
  • Notable events/figures
  • Potential branch points
  • Personal connections

• High Stability timelines: More predictable, good for crucial interventions
• Medium Stability timelines: Challenging but manageable
• Low Stability timelines: Chaotic but may contain critical information

• Special events that allow creation of new timeline branches
• Identified through play or by spending Chronons
• Branching transfers half the current timeline's instability to the new branch

When you discover a new timeline, roll 1d6:

When timelines share elements, roll 1d6:

After significant actions in one timeline, roll 1d6. On a 5-6, an echo appears in 1d3 related timelines. Roll 1d6:

• Your actions create “echoes” that appear across related timelines
• After significant events, roll to determine if an echo appears
• Echoes can be helpful or harmful depending on context

• After each timeline collapse, create a “Fragment of Self”
• These fragments represent how your identity evolves through trauma
• Collect 5 fragments to unlock your true nature and purpose

• Rare events may cause you to experience the same events repeatedly
• Each loop decreases stability but provides more information
• Breaking a loop requires identifying and changing a critical action

1. **Prevention**: Stop The Causal Collapse across a critical mass of timelines
2. **Transcendence**: Gather enough identity fragments to evolve beyond timeline constraints
3. **Stabilization**: Create a new stable "anchor timeline" that can withstand causal degradation

• Three timeline collapses: Write final reflection on your Navigator's legacy
• Average Stability below 3 across all timelines: The multiverse begins final collapse
• Collection of all 5 identity fragments: Reveal your true purpose

• Sessions 1-3: Learn basic timeline navigation
• Discover initial clues about The Causal Collapse
• Establish your Navigator's initial motivations

• Sessions 4-8: Map multiple timeline branches
• Encounter recurring figures across realities
• Begin collecting identity fragments

• Sessions 9-12: Timelines begin collapsing at accelerated rate
• Discover the true nature of The Causal Collapse
• Face ethical dilemmas about timeline preservation

• Sessions 13-15: Make final interventions across critical timelines
• Assemble complete identity
• Determine ultimate fate of the multiverse

Divergence Point: Cold War (Space race led to permanent lunar colonies) Core Theme: Collective Consciousness Tech Level: Transhuman Societal Structure: Technocracy Key Crisis: Temporal (Increasing time dilation events) Key Figure: Your Counterpart (Leading quantum physicist) Special Condition: Quantum Resonance Initial Stability: 8

Divergence Point: Near Future (Climate engineering catastrophically failed) Core Theme: Ecological Integration Tech Level: Uneven Development Societal Structure: Tribal Networks Key Crisis: Environmental (90% of Earth's surface uninhabitable) Key Figure: Visionary Leader (Survivor guiding adaptation) Special Condition: Reality Anchor Initial Stability: 6

Divergence Point: Information Age (Brain-computer interfaces became mandatory) Core Theme: Technological Dominance Tech Level: Advanced Societal Structure: Corporate Dominance Key Crisis: Psychological (Mass consciousness alteration) Key Figure: Technological Architect (Creator of the neural network) Special Condition: Causal Fracturing Initial Stability: 7

1. Choose a timeline to visit (or start with initial timeline)
2. Roll for stability and adjust accordingly
3. Draw event from appropriate stability deck
4. Record initial details in journal

Initial Setup:

• Timeline: Beta-7
• Current Stability: 6
• Event: “Scientist activates experimental reactor with unexpected results”

Action Declaration: “I will intervene to delay the activation”

Mutation Roll: 5 (Significant mutation)

• Your action shifts dramatically: Instead of delaying, you accidentally accelerate the process

Temporal Units 1-2:

• Resolution Order Check: Roll 5 (Another event happens first)
• A security guard notices your tampering before you complete your action
• You must adapt your approach given this new information

Temporal Units 3-4:

• Resolution Order Check: Roll 2 (Your action resolves as expected)
• Your accelerated activation occurs, but security is now present
• Stability Check: Roll 5 (Weaken) - Stability decreases to 5

Temporal Units 5-6:

• Resolution Order Check: Roll 6 (Another event happens first)
• The reactor begins overloading before you can respond
• Your final actions must address this new crisis

Outcome: The timeline remains intact but becomes less stable (Stability 5). Your Navigator gains insight into reactor technology but must decide whether to remain in this increasingly chaotic timeline or jump to another.

1. Generate 3 timeline seeds using the tables 2. Choose one as your starting point 3. Begin your first journal entry describing initial exploration 4. Set Initial Stability for each timeline between 4-10 (2d4+2)

1. When creating a branch point, generate relevant new elements 2. Keep elements that should logically remain from the parent timeline 3. Roll on the Connection Table to establish relationships to other known timelines 4. New timelines inherit half the instability of their parent timeline

As you approach the finale of your campaign: 1. Generate “Nexus Timelines” that connect multiple branches 2. Create a “Prime Timeline” that serves as the origin point for all branches 3. Establish “Collapse Cascades” where failing stability in one timeline threatens connected timelines

This system creates a rich solo journaling experience where temporal uncertainty, action mutations, and decreasing causal stability generate emergent narratives with meaningful player choices and character development.