Video summary

Creating Rules that Flow

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Art and Creativity

Summary of the video (subtitles)

The creator explains how to design “connected rules” in a solo tabletop role-playing game by making each gameplay phase both affect and be affected by the next. They use their recently finished solo journaling horror RPG, Waste Not Want Not, as a working example.

The game is framed as a doomed expedition: you play “Cookie,” a chuck wagon operator in 1816 (the “year without summer”), trying to feed 12 travelers as famine and harsh conditions steadily erode the caravan. The design goal is a story of failure—intentionally nudging the player toward worsening outcomes—while still allowing occasional success.

To achieve this, the game uses three daily phases, each producing outcomes that feed directly into the next:

1) Cooking Phase (deck-of-cards / blackjack-like)

  • Draws from a limited card supply (2–10 across suits) to hit a target meal score based on the number of travelers.
  • Meal quality upgrades/downgrades the caravan’s skills, patience, and passion dice (e.g., d10-based—dice can climb or drop).
  • Starvation reduces performance; good meals improve it—meaning this phase sets the success chances for later phases.

2) Event Phase (2d6 with fixed success tiers + event-specific effects)

  • Roll 2d6 and consult event tables; outcomes range from disaster → hardship → success → triumph.
  • Triumph and success can permanently upgrade the caravan.
  • Disasters can cause harm/death.
  • This phase depends on the dice states established by the Cooking phase; low dice values restrict which tiers are reachable.

3) Omen Phase (corruption-weighted dreaming table)

  • Roll 2d6 with corruption added to each die to look up an omen from a weighted dream table.
  • Omen imagery grows worse as corruption increases.
  • Reaching the upper threshold ends the game (“lost to darkness”).
  • Corruption rises through multiple pathways, including deaths and disturbing events.

The connectivity loop: waste not

A key feedback loop is created via waste not:

  • When a traveler dies (especially after second harm), the player can choose to “waste not” by placing the traveler’s face card onto the supply deck.
  • This can improve future cooking (better dice upgrades), but it raises corruption.
  • Higher corruption makes future omens darker, effectively locking the player into an intentional death spiral.

The creator emphasizes that the system uses a simple toolkit (cards, dice, clocks) but connects it into an elegant cause-and-effect chain, designed for guided journaling rather than open-ended combat simulation.

They also briefly mention design inspiration (e.g., Cold Dark and solo design YouTubers) and then promote other creators/projects discussed in the video.

Artistic techniques / creative concepts shown

  • Connected rules / feedback loops: Each subsystem changes core stats that govern later subsystems.
  • Intentional doom scripting: The rules are designed to evoke a “failure story” through worsening consequences.
  • Phase-based narrative facilitation: Structured daily phases prompt journaling tied to mechanical outcomes.
  • Mechanics-to-theme mapping
    • Cooking success supports survival, but starving/decline increases corruption risk.
    • Corruption directly worsens the dream/omen table visuals, aligning theme (descent) with mechanics.
  • Resource constraint as storytelling
    • A limited, non-shuffling card supply forces cautious play and reinforces scarcity.
  • Binary meaningful choices with tradeoffs
    • “Waste not” improves survival odds while costing moral/spiritual deterioration (corruption).

Design steps / process described (from their walkthrough)

  1. Start with a narrative goal

    • Decide the story should emphasize failure and create a death spiral rather than rewarding guaranteed success.

  2. Define daily structure

    • Create three phases per day: Cooking → Events → Omens.

  3. Make each phase modify the next

    • Cooking determines skill/patience/passion die sizes, gating event outcomes.
    • Event outcomes can increase harm/death and corruption.
    • Corruption influences the omen table severity, escalating toward game-ending darkness.

  4. Implement a looping “escape-cost” mechanic

    • Add Waste Not as an option triggered by deaths:
      • Converts a fallen traveler into deck support (potentially better cooking outcomes),
      • But increases corruption, worsening omens.

  5. Tie targets to the number of survivors

    • Adjust meal targets based on remaining travelers so survival mechanics reinforce the narrative of dwindling mouths and progressing decline.

  6. Keep variability without added complexity

    • Use simple card/dice math plus table lookups.
    • Add lightweight extra rules (e.g., pairings/patterns) to create richer outcomes without increasing system complexity.

Creators / contributors mentioned (at end)

  • Davidson Cole (Posthuman Studios) — creator of The Snarl
  • Lauren Mix (YouTuber)
  • Man Alone (YouTuber)
  • Reference for inspiration: Cold Dark (including its “Hints and Hijinks” system)
  • RPG Traders (mentioned as platform/bundle context)
  • Tales from Elsewhere (channel/host branding mentioned)

Original video