My Solo RPG Journey: Riftbreakers 2nd Ed. Tella's Rebirth
A new Actual Play? In Riftbreakers 2nd Edition? Yes, and yes!
Check out Riftbreakers 2nd Edition here.
Check out all Entries of this AP here.
Hello imaginary readers, subscribers, and general gremlins!
Today, I am doing something a little special. And I want to explain why I am doing this actual play, and my plans going forward with this.
I have played and read more than a few of Blackoath Games stuff (I think the only ones I have not touched are Warlords Ascendant which has a new edition coming, and Across a Thousand Dead Worlds), and of all of the ones I have played, Riftbreakers has been my overall favorite. I love Ruthless Heavens, Boundless Fate sure! I think it’s one of his best games, but in terms of overall play?
Riftbreakers is peak. It has a solid d100 based system, classless leveling, and a tight gameplay loop. It’s got everything a person could want in a solo RPG. And it has finally officially been released. Oh, and because it mimics MMO conventions you respawn on death thank god.
If you are not familiar with Riftbreakers 2nd Ed, I suggest you take a look at my Overview here. The game is basically unchanged since I wrote that.
I wanted to run another character in the game, now that it’s out, to celebrate its release and to give myself a game that I can come back to and play when the mood strikes me. Something where I can build a long running character.
But what to do? That’s when I had the idea to bring Tella, my character from Ruthless Heavens Boundless Fate, into Riftbreakers because narratively, your character just SPAWNS into the world with no memory of how they got there.
Now if you are unfamiliar with Tella, and Ruthless Heavens Boundless Fate, I suggest you take a look at the following:
See, Tella died at the end of Part 4 and honestly I was kind of sad. But what if Riftbreakers was the Afterlife? A chance to start again? Where they will seek their memory while trying to build a new life.
So for this post, we are going to run back through character creation and create Tella within the world of Riftbreakers, along with the start of their story. I will not be doing the tutorial “Through Twisting Paths” yet though. I am going to wait for my physical edition of Riftbreakers to come in, which Alex was kind enough to order for me. But yea, this is going to be an ongoing but sporadic AP where we follow Tella through their adventures. A way for me to do AP stuff, with random overviews and short APs in between!
So let’s make Tella! And the fun part of this is that character creation IS narrative!
The feeling of pain faded, and consciousness returned.
Tella was unsure of where they were…or where they came from. As they opened their eyes and saw the unfamiliar stone chamber surrounding them, they tried to piece things together. There had been pain, sure. A flash of…something. Poison? Acid? Screaming and ranting and violence. Then darkness.
And now a stone room. Was it stone though? It looked like some blend of stone and metal.
Tella stood up and started to take stock of their situation. They clearly had no memory of who they were outside of their name. No idea how they got to..wherever the hell they were. No idea what they had been doing, and no idea where to go from here.
But, they were alive. The memory of pain was fading. Things could only improve.
As Tella started to walk towards the only exit they could see, a Mirror caught their eye. They took a glance and realized they were rather plain. Human, slim, fit, with brown hair and brown eyes. Was that how they always looked? They were unsure. But there was something odd. There were…markings. Glowing blue markings that shot through their skin. They pulsated with energy. Were they always there? Tella was not certain, and after a few more moments, they realized they were naked. How could they have missed this?!
So the first thing we do during char gen is set our Ability Pool to 20, our Aether to 10, our Luck to 0, and roll 2d6+15 for starting HP. I got a 6, so 21 starting HP. I also write my name on the sheet, Tella.
As Tella looked around trying to find something to cover themselves with, a pillar suddenly appeared with some clothing, a set of brass knuckles, and two red vials with a cross label. “Healing potions.” Tella murmured. ‘How did I know that?’ they then thought. It was as if the knowledge had simply bubbled to the surface.
Tella started down the corridor, the pillar lowering itself as they left. They made sure to wear the knuckles and the clothing before they left though. After a few minutes, they found themselves in yet another chamber. And in that chamber was an apparition that looked like…
“Are you me?” Tella asked. The apparition, a spitting image of Tella themselves, smiled and then took up a stance. It started to flow through movements, punching, kicking, blocking. Tella felt a stirring of memory, and without thought, began to copy those movements. Time seemed to stop for Tella, as they continued to mimic the ghost versions movements and attacks. It was second nature to Tella, these attacks and motions.
After an indeterminate amount of time, the ghost stopped, and Tella did as well. And it was as if something had returned. Knowledge of combat.
I get to put +60 skill points in one Weapon Skill, and then +40 points in another. The 60 is going into Unarmed, which gives me a 70 total as it starts at 10. The 40 is going into Ranged Weapons.
Tella left the strange room, and soon found themselves in a library. As Tella entered, the door behind them closed, and Tella realized they were stuck in here. There was no visible door out, and after checking, the door they came in was simply not going to budge. “Guess I might as well start reading then.”
Tella grabbed a book, sat down in a chair, and started to read.
So now I get to:
Increase two non-weapon Skills by +40.
Increase three non-weapon Skills by +30.
Increase four non-weapon Skills by +15.
Increase four non-weapon Skills by +10.
These modifiers cannot be applied to the same Skills.
You gain Proficiency with a weapon and an armor of your choice
I know from previous experience how important some things are, especially for combat. So one 40 is going into Perception, giving me a 60. I am going to try to go first as often as possible. The other 40 is going in Agility, giving me a 50 there. Gotta be able to dodge. Literacy, Reason, and Endurance get the 30s, giving me a 30 Literacy and 40 in each Reason and Endurance. Tenacity gets one of the 15’s to get 25 there. Gathering, Insight, and Nature get the other 15’s. Athletics gets a 10, for a 20. Survival, Medicine, and Animal Handling get the other 10’s. For Proficiency, Claw is my weapon (it’s the Unarmed type, does Bludgeoning damage), and for Armor I will take Leather and Scales.
For reference, this is a Roll Under system, and Perception is directly connected to your Initiative Roll (it’s an opposed roll). I want to roll as close to 60 as I can without going over to beat my opponents and go first basically, but Claw weapons are “fast” and get another +10. So I am very likely to hit targets (70 Unarmed) and I am highly likely to go first (70 on Initiative Checks). The trade off is a basic hit with my Unarmed is a d6. One handed weapons do a d6+2 so I am trading a bit of damage for better accuracy. Also I can dual wield, which gives me +2 Aether in a round to spend (normally 10 points). Again, check above for my previous Riftbreakers stuff for a deeper explanation.
Moving on!
How much time had passed yet again? Tella was not sure, but the stack of tomes next to them had to indicate it had been days, at least. But knowledge again had flowed into Tella, things they were certain they had never known about. Plants, Animals, how to dodge, swim, recognize danger. Things once known, and things totally new.
Suddenly, one of the book shelves swung open, and revealed another hallway. “Finally!” Tella exclaimed as they stood and began to walk out.
It was at this point they realized they were not hungry. That was an odd thing to notice, but perhaps that was part of this whole process.
After a few moments of walking, Tella yet again found themselves in a chamber, this time with 4 pedestals. On each one sat a strange crystal in the shape of a heart. As Tella nears one, images flash into their mind, and Tella realizes these strange crystals hold power.
Power that they can absorb, and use.
So normally at this point, you would choose two of four “Crystal Hearts” to gain powers, and specifically in the rules you can choose from Arcane, Might, Shadow, and Restoration. However, my previous character did this the normal way and did Arcane and Might, but I want things to get a little more interesting. See there are actually 12 total Crystal Hearts to choose from. So I am going to roll a d12, 4 times, and those will be the 4 hearts I get to choose from. So let’s do that! I could end up with the normal four, or a mix, or who knows what. I will have to make this work. The order will be the same as in the book (which is Alphabetical order) so a 1 would be Arcane, a 12 Time, etc.
I roll and get:
12: Time
6: Devastation
11: Shadow
4: Blade
As my choices. Well Blade is most likely out, as Tella is an unarmed fighter. I am 100% taking Time as its got some very fun and interesting powers. Shadow really does not do it for me, but Devastation does. And Devastation is all about Bludgeoning damage, which Unarmed strikes do.
So Tella will be taking Time, and Devastation.
After checking each of the Hearts, Tella grabs two of them, and power floods into them. As the power infuses them, they also suddenly feel like knowledge is implanted into their mind, specific instructions on how to use these newfound powers, and to access these instructions the need for Heart Essence.
And as if it was waiting for this, a final pillar rose up as the two unchosen hearts vanished, and on that pillar were 6 small spheres. Tella instantly knew these were the essence they needed. Upon touching them, power was unlocked from within.
Ok so now I get to choose 6 total powers from the two hearts. I am going to take the following.
Devastation:
Brutal (Prime): Until the end of combat, when you deal Bludgeoning damage, you can ignore 1 additional Protection.
Enrage (Prime): Until the end of combat, you deal an additional +2 Bludgeoning damage each time you deal damage.
Bash (Prime): Perform a free Weapon Strike with a melee weapon. If you hit, you deal 3D6 Bludgeoning damage and your target is Stunned (2).
Time:
Accelerate (Prime): Target gains +2 Aether each round for the next 4 rounds.
Read Past (noncombat): You learn the powers of a magic item, allowing you to use it.
Chrono Cascade (Prime): All targets in the chosen Combat Zone suffer D6 Psychic damage and become Dazed for 2 rounds.
I feel I am going to need to really focus on doing as much damage as fast as I can. Accelerate costs 2 and gives me two so it’s free the round I use it. Read Past lets me skip the identify mechanics for magic items which is nice. I will always be able to use what I get.
An important thing to remember is damage types matter. Bludgeoning, for example, ignores a point of Protection which makes it easier to deal damage. Unarmed does Bludgeoning, and with Brutal, I can ignore 2 points of Protection (which means that you need at least 3 points of Protection to avoid damage from me).
Again, check the Riftbreakers Overview for more information.
Power rushed to Tella’s head, and the blue lines in their skin flashed brightly and then glowed a solid deep cyan. Tella knew, instinctively knew, how to use these powers, and what things like skills, aether, and other basic knowledge of this world meant.
Tella left the chambers, and found themselves outside in a valley. There were two moons in the sky, the stars twinkling, and Tella was struck with the realization that where ever they had come from before was certainly not here. Eventually they found themselves facing a strange door out of the valley, and the door whispered in their mind: Choose a path to follow.
Several words shot into Tella’s mind, and the one that stood out was Slaughterer. That seemed fitting somehow to Tella, as if they needed to prove something. They said it aloud. “Slaughterer.” The door opened, and Tella could see a large courtyard beyond it. Confident they could survive this place, they walked forward.
Ok! That is the ending of character creation. Next would be the tutorial zone which I will be doing again, Through Twisting Paths. This will give me some gear, some cash, and some experience in character. Especially since I have to reacquaint myself with how Riftbreakers play.
I hope you all look forward to this AP. Here is Tella’s current character sheet. Now if you excuse me I need to see about making some cards for my powers and my weapon strikes!
Till next time.
I'll be jumping into my first solo experience tonight and decided to start with Riftbreakers, really enjoyed your post and prose!
Sounds like a very cool character!