The Scroll of Many Glances (TSoMG) is an experimental app-supported masterless fantasy RPG thought for mobile devices and inspired by PbtA tabletop role-play games such as Dungeon World.
It works like a simple note-taking application with a few templates, so it won't drive the game in any way as computer RPGs usually does. Instead, the game reads your notes and suggests fitting Oracles (randomized events and elements) and Moves (actions success and outcome) you may follow or not.
There isn't a right way to play TSoMG: you can play the role of one of the characters, follow the adventures of a group, or be just a benevolent, malevolent, or impartial judging god. Just follow your creativity and let the Black Panel inspire you - you'll find your way as you discover how the game works.
The Black Panel sits on the bottom of the game screen and suggests fitting Oracles or Moves depending on the row pointed by the black arrow on the left side of the screen. Just scroll the list up and down to change the Black Panel suggestions context.
You may search for specific terms on the search bar or switch between Oracles/Moves by hitting the button on the right of the bar.
To follow a suggestion just select a result: the Black Panel will perform it and suggest some story or Scroll changes. You may select these changes one by one to let the Black Panel apply them, apply them manually following your own rules, or ignore them. It's up to you.
Oracles are random tables from which the Black Panel can randomly pick events or elements that may start, change, or end the story. Oracles can suggest creatures, characters, names, events, items, facts, traps, organizations, and much more. When you need a pinch of inspiration to keep your story unpredictable, ask the Black Panel to consult an Oracle for you.
In TSoMG, Moves are actions that places and characters may perform to change the story. They usually imply a Move success check, that's done by rolling 2 6-sided dice and adding a bonus depending on a character statistic value, which is previewed by the Move's search results row. Depending on this check the Move may end with a success, a partial success, or a failure - each one with its outcome. Character interactions, such as fighting, defending, or charming someone else, are usually Moves. But eating food, using an item for healing, buying something, camping, or even gaining a new level and dying are also Moves.
Keep in mind that these events may happen and be resolved in your story without using a Black Panel's Move: you may decide the outcome on your own. But if you want to see how the characters in your story fare, just ask the Black Panel for a Move.
The Scroll tracks two main lists: the People list and the Places list. You may add and remove elements to these lists as you please as the story goes on.
The People list tracks any creature, from main characters to simple enemies, that are part of the story. Each character has the same set of attributes:
- Strength (STR): It determines how much physical strength this character has. It is useful for resolving a fight but also when lifting heavy weights and so on.
- Dexterity (DEX): It determines how much agility this character has. Allows him to sneak up behind enemies, perform stunts, etc.
- Constitution (CON): It determines the physical resilience, resistance, and the character's good health in general. It allows him to resist efforts, poisons, and so on.
- Charisma (CHA): It determines how easily this character makes friends and to what extent you can get others to do what you want.
- Damage and Damage bonus (DMG/DMG+): It tracks the dice rolled when this character inflicts damage and a base bonus that's added to the rolled value. You may want to give some Damage bonus when the character holds a special or signature weapon or accessory or it has a special blessing. The Black Panel may use these statistics when suggesting the character attack Moves outcomes and the inflicted damage.
- Experience Points and Level (XP/LV): You may assign experience points to a character when it performs something remarkable or kills enemies. Usually, when a character reaches a reasonable amount of XPs it may level up and improve one of its statistics. You may follow the Level Up Move suggested by Black Panel to do that.
- Health and Maximum Health (HP/Max HP): The damage this character can take before dying. What happens when a character dies is up to you - you may follow the Die Move from the Black Panel for main characters or simply remove them from the list.
The Black Panel Oracles can suggest even full character sheets. You've just to ask and accept them.
The Name box tracks this character's name. I suggest you also add an evocative title when it's a key character, like Dalfgan the Wizard. The Black Panel Oracles can suggest names for your characters.
You can select a Place from a list to track where this character is. On this item, the Black Panel may suggest you fitting Oracles and Moves about that character being at the selected place. You don't have to keep it updated: it's just a quick way to get fitting suggestions from the Black Panel when a character is going to stay in a place for long.
The Tags box allows you to track a few keywords about the character to keep your creativity spot on. Is it a farmer or a warrior? Is it a beast or a beauty? You don't have to write everything: you may just write down a spaced list of 2/3 words that characterizes it. That's also a key resource for the Black Panel: it will inspire it on painting an icon near the character name on the list, it will help it on suggesting Oracles and Moves in multiple contexts, and so on.
The Notes box tracks various thoughts about the character. It's for your eyes only and you may write anything you want: its nemesis name, a short bio, a place to reach, its god's name, etc. The Black Panel won't read this box but its Oracles may suggest you a new note to add.
The Inventory tracks what this character is carrying and how many units of it. You just need to fill in a few words to describe an item, such as apple, sword, or sacred hammer. You may use the amount counter to track ammunition, like the arrows for a bow. The Black Panel may suggest a Move the character may perform with that item or an Oracle that decides which item is it.
You can quickly access the Health and Maximum health stats from the People list, selecting the rounded HP tracker on each row.
The Places list tracks any place that is part of the story, from tight roads to huge castles.
Places have a Name, Tags, and Notes box as the characters in the People list and they mainly work the same. There also is a Visitors list that tracks which character is in that place: you can show them to the Black Panel to quickly see Moves and Oracles fitting that character being at that place. You can also quickly let a character leave that place hitting the X on its Visitors list row.
Every adventure in TSoMG is called glance, which starts with a blank Scroll for you to be filled.
On the bottom of the Black Panel, there is a semicircle timer that tracks the time left for the current glance. When the time is up, it turns red... and that's it. TSoMG suggests you create a new glance from time to time to keep your adventures compact and intense and your Scroll uncluttered. But it's up to you: you may continue your adventure as long as you please or accept the Black Panel suggestion and start a new glance from scratch.
- Take your time to explore how The Scroll works: start a glance just to hit buttons, browse lists, and write words to see what happens.
- In TSoMG you're a god, so you don't need to use an Oracle or a Move when you already know what's going to happen, like when you want the story to go in a specific direction or an action outcome is obvious (i.e. an expert thief will always pick a common lock, a strong warrior will always be able to break a thin wooden door, etc.). Just make it happen.
- Use a Black Panel's person, place, or item Oracle just after adding an empty element to let the panel fill it for you.
- Add key character features to its Tags to make the Black Panel more handy. Is a thief particularly athletic? Add the athletic word to its Tags and the Black Panel will suggest agility-based actions more often when it's pointed. Is a bard very convincing? Add the convincing keyword to let the Black Panel suggest charisma-based actions.
- You may use narrative Oracles in the middle of long fights or explorations to add interesting twists. You can find these Oracles by searching the event or similar keywords in the Black Panel.
- You may use the Level stat to track groups of simple enemies. For example, a level 3 Circle of Cultists must be defeated 3 times to get rid of all of them.
- Tags are useful to interact with the Black Panel, but they're also very handy for you to shape the story. Quickly scroll thru them to get some inspiration.
- If you can't find the right Oracle or Move... that means that it's a decision only a god can answer - so, it's up to you. You can transform the decision into a yes/no question and ask the Black Panel to consult the "Tell me yes or no" Oracle.
- Your first glances may be about simple stories, like a wizard shopping around a village or a warrior fighting monsters in a dungeon. As you'll get better with the Scroll and your creativity unlocks, your glances will become more intense, telling surprising stories in the same amount of time.
TSoMG saves the current Scroll state on your device shortly after any change and stops the timer when you close the game, so you can suspend and take back your glance anytime.
You can read an article about this game design on GitHub.