Timeline Resonance

A Solo Journaling RPG of Poetic Parallel Lives

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.

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.

Your character exists across multiple parallel timelines branching from key decision points. Each timeline represents a different path taken at critical junctures.

Each timeline has a stability rating from 10 (perfectly stable) to 0 (complete causal collapse). As you take actions within a timeline, especially significant ones, stability decreases. Lower stability creates unpredictable effects in both the narrative and the poetry you generate.

Each timeline begins with a root haiku that evolves into a linked chain of poems (renso) reflecting developments in that reality. The structure and content of these poems both reflect and influence timeline stability.

As stability decreases, the predictable flow of cause and effect begins to break down. Actions may resolve out of order, create paradoxes, or resonate across timelines.

• Journal or digital document for tracking timelines
• This rulebook with lookup tables
• Two twenty-sided dice (2d20)
• One six-sided die (1d6)
• Stability trackers for each timeline (can be simple number notations)

Begin by establishing your character with these elements:

• A name and basic identity
• Three core values or traits
• A significant decision they face (this will create your first branch)
• A background situation that contextualizes their choice

Create a root haiku that encapsulates your character and their initial situation. This serves as the poetic anchor for all timelines. You may write this yourself or generate it using the Haiku Lookup Tables.

A haiku consists of three lines:

• Setting Line (5 syllables): Establishes place, time, or initial image
• Development Line (7 syllables): Expands or develops the initial concept
• Turn Line (5 syllables): Provides a shift, conclusion, or new perspective

Example:

morning tea steams up
old photograph reflects back
choices not yet made

• Create your first narrative entry describing the character's situation
• Identify the pivotal choice that will cause the timeline to branch
• Create 2-3 separate timelines based on different choices
• Each timeline starts with a Stability Rating of 10

1. Select a timeline to focus on
2. Write a narrative entry describing events or decisions
3. Record any actions taken and adjust stability accordingly
4. Generate a new haiku verse for this timeline based on current stability
5. Resolve any triggered effects from the haiku
6. Move to the next timeline or continue in the current one

Actions represent significant choices, events, or developments in a timeline. When recording actions:

1. Name the action (e.g., "Confront the stranger," "Accept the job offer")
2. Assign an impact level:
   * Minor (-1 Stability): Everyday decisions with limited consequences
   * Moderate (-2 Stability): Significant choices affecting relationships or circumstances
   * Major (-3 Stability): Life-altering decisions that fundamentally change direction
3. Place the action in the timeline's resolution queue
4. Resolve according to current stability level

• Stable (7-10): Actions resolve in the order placed
• Wavering (4-6): Roll 1d6 for each action; on a 1-2, it resolves out of sequence
• Unstable (1-3): Randomize resolution order using 1d20 for each action
• Collapse (0): Roll on the Causal Collapse table for each action

Use the standard Haiku Lookup Tables:

1. Roll 1d20 for each line on the appropriate table
2. Lines appear in standard order: Setting → Development → Turn
3. Modify words slightly to better fit your narrative if desired

1. Roll 1d20 twice for each line and choose one result or combine elements
2. Roll 1d6 to determine line order:
   * 1-4: Standard order
   * 5: Development → Setting → Turn
   * 6: Setting → Turn → Development
3. Check for Unstable Triggers (⚡) in the results

1. Roll on the Paradox Tables instead of standard tables
2. Roll 1d6 for each line to determine order (completely random)
3. Apply one text effect from the Reality Distortion Table to the haiku

1. Roll on the Collapse Tables for all lines
2. Apply two text effects from the Reality Distortion Table
3. Roll 1d6: On a 1-2, duplicate one line at random

When you roll an entry marked with ⚡ (Unstable Trigger):

1. Roll 1d20 on the Causal Ripple Table
2. Apply the effect to both the narrative and future haikus
3. Note the ripple effect in your journal

You may attempt to restore stability by crafting a specialized haiku:

1. Sacrifice your next action
2. Roll or select from the Anchoring Tables
3. Craft a haiku using at least two elements from these tables
4. Increase stability by 1-3 points depending on how well the haiku addresses current timeline issues (you decide)

Certain elements can create resonance between parallel timelines:

When you repeat specific words or phrases across three consecutive haikus in a timeline, they become “anchored” and remain consistent even during instability.

When identical or very similar phrases appear in haikus across different timelines, mark them as Echo Points. These create thin spots between realities where:

• Information might leak between timelines
• Objects could appear in multiple realities
• Characters might experience déjà vu or glimpses of other paths

To check for echoes:

1. After creating a new haiku, compare it with recent haikus from other timelines
2. Mark any matching words, images, or themes
3. When three or more matches occur, roll on the Echo Manifestation Table

1. Morning frost sparkles ⚡
2. Autumn leaves falling
3. City lights flicker
4. Mountain peak rises
5. Ocean waves breaking
6. Evening shadows grow
7. Cherry blossoms fall
8. Distant thunder rolls ⚡
9. Moonlight on water
10. First snowflake drifting
11. Summer heat ripples
12. Old clock ticking down
13. Rain taps on windows
14. Broken mirror shows ⚡
15. Starlight pierces through
16. Empty room echoes
17. Garden pathway winds
18. Train whistle calling
19. Desert sand shifting ⚡
20. River current flows

1. across the silent meadow
2. beneath stormy gray skies
3. in memories long buried
4. while shadows grow longer
5. between moments of stillness
6. through years of wondering why ⚡
7. as time unravels slowly
8. where pathways intersect twice
9. despite warnings unheeded
10. among forgotten keepsakes
11. like whispers from the past
12. during unexpected pauses
13. beneath layers of meaning ⚡
14. against all expectations
15. within circles of knowing
16. around corners once hidden
17. beyond rational thinking ⚡
18. until dawn breaks through darkness
19. after promises were made
20. without looking backwards once

1. time stands still
2. truth reveals itself
3. hearts find peace
4. journey begins now
5. nothing remains same
6. choices multiply ⚡
7. patterns repeat twice
8. doors close forever
9. worlds collide softly
10. memories return
11. secrets stay buried
12. destiny awakens ⚡
13. reality shifts gears
14. yesterday returns
15. tomorrow dissolves
16. questions go unanswered
17. answers prompt questions ⚡
18. mirror shows stranger
19. paths converge again
20. light finds a way through

1. Future already past
2. Unremembered memory
3. Shadows cast by light
4. Silence screams loudly
5. Empty fullness spills
6. Forgotten remembrance
7. End before beginning
8. Brightness dims vision
9. Present yet absent
10. Winter's summer heat
11. Whispers deafen ears
12. Living while dying
13. Known yet mysterious
14. Distance draws closer
15. Stationary movement
16. Chaotic pattern forms
17. Singular multitude
18. Lost when found again
19. Invisible presence felt
20. Elsewhere and nowhere

1. where endings function as beginnings
2. through doorways that weren't there before
3. despite happening tomorrow instead
4. yet occurred before it was thought of
5. as memories from futures not chosen
6. within spaces between heartbeats hung
7. though causes follow their effects now
8. while same moment repeats differently
9. between versions of self contradicting
10. as linear time folds onto itself
11. when both alive and dead simultaneously
12. through eyes that see what isn't there
13. despite branches that grow from no roots
14. while truth and falsehood merge as one
15. where absence makes presence stronger felt
16. though words unspoken resonate loud
17. as circles that somehow have endpoints
18. when stillness generates movement unseen
19. though never meeting yet always together
20. where impossible becomes necessary

1. here yet never was
2. both yes and no
3. forgotten memories
4. created destroys all
5. unchanging transforms
6. broken becomes whole
7. ends where it begins
8. contradictions align
9. always yet never
10. nothing contains all
11. outside lies within
12. truth reveals falsehood
13. separation unites
14. emptiness fills up
15. absence makes present
16. closed path leads out
17. finished just starting
18. one becomes many
19. loss creates gain
20. stranger is self

1. Fr_gmented re_lity
2. T-me-l-ne c-ll-ps-ng
3. CausalChainBroken
4. SYSTEM:ERROR:404
5. [REDACTED] exists
6. Quantum wave crashed
7. Reality unw#@&!ing
8. Schrödinger'sTimeline
9. P̴a̷r̶a̸d̷o̵x̸ ̴d̷e̴t̶e̸c̵t̸e̴d̵
10. Recursion recursion

1. where where where where where where where
2. as causality.exe has stopped working
3. while [ERROR: REFERENCE NOT FOUND]
4. through cracks in perception widening
5. across dimensions folding impossibly
6. when past/present/future/converge.now
7. yet never existed in first timeline
8. despite logical contradictions mounting
9. between ∞ possibilities collapsing
10. within the void that consumes itself

1. never was will be
2. END/BEGIN/REPEAT
3. ŗ̷̻̌e̵̘̅̕a̸̭̅̒l̸̢̩̊i̷̳͝t̸̯̿̍y̵̧̤̏̄ ̴̜̣̊f̴̢̧̛a̷̪̻̓l̶̛̠̎l̸̳͋̽s̷̙̀
4. [SYSTEM RESTORED]
5. mirrors shatter self
6. infinite loop trap
7. divided by zero
8. logic breaks apart
9. < no data found >
10. ...

1. Reverse one line completely (write backwards)
2. Replace vowels with symbols (a=@, e=&, i=!, o=%, u=^)
3. Insert random spaces between syllables
4. Remove all punctuation and write in all caps
5. Repeat one word three times in sequence
6. Replace one key word with [REDACTED]

1. **Temporal Echo**: An event from another timeline manifests briefly in this one
2. **Paradox Point**: Two contradictory versions of an event occur simultaneously
3. **Reality Glitch**: A previously established fact changes retroactively
4. **Divergence Node**: A new timeline branch forms unexpectedly
5. **Causal Inversion**: An effect precedes its cause
6. **Timeline Bleed**: Characters experience memories from other timelines
7. **Object Duplication**: Something exists in two places simultaneously
8. **Phantom Person**: Someone appears who doesn't belong in this timeline
9. **Temporal Loop**: Events repeat exactly the same way
10. **Probability Storm**: Multiple versions of next action play out
11. **Quantum Observer**: Character becomes aware of timeline instability
12. **Decision Echo**: Character must remake a previous choice
13. **Timeline Convergence**: Two previously separate timelines begin to merge
14. **Causal Knot**: Actions become impossibly interconnected
15. **Reality Anchor**: One element becomes fixed and unchangeable
16. **Temporal Displacement**: An event from far future/past appears
17. **Manifestation**: A concept from a haiku becomes literal reality
18. **Ghost Action**: An action was taken but leaves no consequence
19. **Deja Vu**: Character has perfect foreknowledge of next event
20. **Stability Cascade**: -2 additional Stability (timeline deteriorates rapidly)

1. Foundation
2. Certainty
3. Pattern
4. Bedrock
5. Center
6. Constant
7. Truth
8. Connection
9. Grounded
10. Balance

1. Mountain
2. Root
3. Keystone
4. Thread
5. Bridge
6. Pillar
7. Horizon
8. Compass
9. Anchor
10. Path

1. Continuity
2. Harmony
3. Symmetry
4. Cycle
5. Order
6. Structure
7. Clarity
8. Resonance
9. Alignment
10. Framework

1. **Memory Transfer**: Character gains knowledge from another timeline
2. **Object Crossover**: An item from another timeline appears briefly
3. **Emotional Resonance**: Character feels emotions from their alternate self
4. **Skill Echo**: Character temporarily gains abilities from another timeline
5. **Message Across Realities**: Clear communication between timeline versions
6. **Causal Reinforcement**: +2 Stability as timelines align briefly
7. **Merged Moment**: Character experiences two timelines simultaneously
8. **Inspiration Flash**: Insight about how to resolve a problem from alternate path
9. **Timeline Vision**: Brief glimpse of how another timeline develops
10. **Quantum Entanglement**: Actions in this timeline now affect another one directly

Character: Maya Chen, architectural designer Core Values: Creativity, Family, Growth Decision Point: Whether to accept a job offer abroad or stay in her hometown Background: Recently completed graduate degree, has family ties locally but dreams of international experience

Root Haiku:

blueprints unfurled wide
possibilities on paper
choices solidify

Maya creates two initial timelines:

• Timeline A: “New Horizons” - Accepts international job
• Timeline B: “Roots” - Remains in hometown

Timeline A: Stability 10 *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) *New Stability:* 7

*Haiku Generation:*

• Setting Line: Roll 18 = “Train whistle calling”
• Development Line: Roll 4 = “while shadows grow longer”
• Turn Line: Roll 7 = “patterns repeat twice”

*Modified Haiku for Timeline A:*

Plane engines humming
while shadows grow longer now
patterns repeat twice

Timeline B: Stability 10 *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.

*Action:* “Accept local position” (Moderate Action, -2 Stability) *New Stability:* 8

*Haiku Generation:*

• Setting Line: Roll 9 = “Moonlight on water”
• Development Line: Roll 10 = “among forgotten keepsakes”
• Turn Line: Roll 16 = “questions go unanswered”

*Modified Haiku for Timeline B:*

Moonlight on water
among familiar faces
questions go unanswered

Timeline A: Stability 7 *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) *New Stability:* 6

*Haiku Generation:* (Moderate Instability)

• Setting Line: Roll 3 & 15 = “City lights flicker” & “Starlight pierces through”
• Development Line: Roll 2 = “beneath stormy gray skies”
• Turn Line: Roll 11 = “secrets stay buried”
• Line Order Roll: 3 = Standard order

*Modified Combined Haiku:*

City stars flicker
beneath unfamiliar skies
secrets stay buried

Timeline B: Stability 8 *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.

*Action:* “Propose risky innovative design” (Moderate Action, -2 Stability) *New Stability:* 6

*Haiku Generation:* (Moderate Instability)

• Setting Line: Roll 4 & 12 = “Mountain peak rises” & “Old clock ticking down”
• Development Line: Roll 17 = “beyond rational thinking” ⚡
• Turn Line: Roll 19 = “paths converge again”
• Line Order Roll: 6 = Setting → Turn → Development

*Modified Haiku:*

Ambition rises
paths converge again
beyond comfortable thinking

*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.

A game of Timeline Resonance can end in several ways:

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

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

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.

Begin with 3 Fate Tokens that allow you to:

• Reroll any dice result
• Automatically stabilize a timeline (+2 Stability)
• Prevent a causal ripple effect
• Force timelines to resonate

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).

For a more complex game, create up to 5 timelines and track relationships between them (Converging, Diverging, Parallel, or Entangled).

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.

Timeline Resonance was created by [Your Name]

This game draws inspiration from:

• The tradition of Japanese haiku poetry
• Modern solo journaling games
• Theories of parallel universes and quantum mechanics
• The philosophical concept that poetry can capture truths across all possible worlds

Thanks to all playtesters who explored their own parallel timelines and created beautiful poetry along the way.

Special thanks to Claude for assistance in developing the game mechanics and tables.