My Solo RPG Journey: RILLEM. The search for Bastian.

Will we be able to find our brother and escape this world? Survey says....

Check out RILLEM here!

It had been a few years since I had received the letter from my brother Bastian. It had said he had been seeking...something. Something more in life? Some treasure perhaps? It did not say exactly. But it gave me directions. Apparently, per the letter, if I had received it that meant he was gone, and may need my help. I found the person who had sent it, a magician of some sort. I did not believe in magic, not like Bastian had.

But that person led me to another, and another, each step in this chain leading me forward till eventually I came upon my brothers “home” for lack of a better term. Stuffed full of mystical trinkets, and a book. Massive, leatherbound, and covered in strange runes. The book had a page marked with a ribbon, and that page indicated directions to a place called Rillem.

I followed the instructions, and that is how I found myself here. This place, this island, this tower. A land clearly crumbling, breaking down, not long for this world. I can see the edges fraying, the world rotting away. But this has to be where my brother is. I have to hope that. I have to find him.

He owes me answers, at the very least. Answers as to why he left. Why he left me, and mom, and dad. What drove him?

Hello there imaginary readers and general gremlins! Today I begin my Actual Play of RILLEM, the solo journaling game of “Myst” like proportions! This will be a full run as the game has a defined end of 3 days and 10 “Hours” (actions) per day, give or take. I am going to break each day up, and while I am going to playing with the physical cards as suggested, I will be doing all my art as required in MS Paint and using a Google Doc Spreadsheet as a map which I will show at the end of the day. But, to show off the physical start, here ya go!

Step 1 is to resolve the Ace of Spades. Now, as a note, the rules do not indicate how backtracking works but it does say that moving between cards costs time. So it seems that to move space to space (card to card) costs time, but you only resolve a card once. So lets start

Ace of Spades / The Tower:

How did I get here? I don’t remember how I accessed this world, but I am here, staring at this tower. This monolith. The locks bar my way, and I am sure the way home is through this thing. I guess my only recourse is to wander the island, to see what I can find, and to see what awaits me.

Told yall I ain’t much of an artist. Lets get moving. I am going to head south.

HOUR 1 / 10 - 10 of Clubs

Well this sucks. So now I lose an hour. Only got 8 left now.

The void is…massive. I can see nothing, and I can only hear the rushing of water down into the depths. I can see more land towards the south, the edge of the island that direction, but there is a river through there that lets the water from the sea come cascading down into this black pit. As I watch, the hole seems to grow, and the water comes faster.

Time is running out.

Glorious MS Paint art! Praise my skills people. Heading south again to the island edge.

HOUR 3 / 10 - 4 of Hearts

The cliff I am standing on looks out over the waves. The river next to me rushing back, feeding the void I had found earlier. I watch, as a large whale like creature, bright green and scaled, is sucked down the fast flowing river. It’s going to go into the void. It’s going to die.

Will I die here? Is my brother already dead? It’s then that I see the building in the water. I can see little bits of its towers sticking up out of the sea. I watch as part of it gets sucked into the river, to go into the void. Its breaking apart. It’s all coming apart here. What was that building? A library? A home? I have no idea. And at this point it no longer matters.

It is at this point I realize I don’t have to move sequentially. I can just hope around card to card. So if you want to follow my path, you will need to review the map. Here is what it looks like so far. I am going to move up and to the left from where I am.

HOUR 4 / 10 - Queen of Diamonds (1st Clue!)

Oh this is exciting. I need to find all 4 Face cards to “locate” my brother, and this is the first I have found. This is also our first “Lock” card. I need to find a Queen of Spades to pair with it to break open one of the 3 “Locks” on the tower.

Why is there a sword here? Who left it here. But I recognize those bells. Those are something I gave Bastian. He loved bells, loved how they rang. Last I saw them, he had turned em into a bracelet but now they are tied to this sword?

I take the sword. It takes some effort to get it out of the tree, but this is the only clue I have right now.

Yea I am so good. ARTIST! XD

HOUR 5 / 10 - Ace of Hearts (CONNECTOR!)

Oh we got ourselves a new ISLAND now baby!

And I get 2 more hours? Nice. So now I have spent 5 hours out of 12, and have 7 remaining.

There is a model here, a perfect model inside a basin that shows the island in detail. I can see another place over the water, that seems to match this model perfectly…except its missing a small tree. I look into the basin and I see that the model has a few spots to place items, and some small items loose. A house, a fountain, and a tree. I take the tree, look at it, and slot it into the spot where it seems like it will fit.

There is a rumbling, and I watch in awe as a metallic bridge rises from the water, connecting the two islands. I decide to walk over, and see what waits for me there. And that is when I notice that the ground here is…steel?

Now importantly, I have to move over to the new island, so that will (As far as I can tell) cost me an hour. However, moving between the islands does NOT cost time once I have established a connection.

HOUR 6 / 12 - 9 of Clubs

As I walk across the bridge, and step onto this new island, the sunlight starts to turn…purple. That’s not normal, and has not been the entire time I have been in Rillem. I look up, and the sun which was slowly starting to set, had a dark crack down the center. One half was still shining the normal yellow, only darker. But the other? The other was dark red, and somehow the combination had cast a purple glow over everything. Things are breaking down, and I wonder how much time I have left.

Well I got 5 hours left now. So this ate up my extra hour! And I am only going to have 4 when I move. Let’s get exploring.

HOUR 8 / 12 - 5 of Diamonds

Well now I get 2 more hours again, so 14 total / 6 remaining right not, until I love of course.

Why is there a giant crystal lens here? It’s turned so a beam of purple light is firing off into the horizon. I have no idea what to make of this, but it seems important. I will have to remember that it is here. Perhaps it is a key to one of those locks. The lens is of a strange shape too…

This requires a SPADES of 5 or higher to use against the 3 locks. So I have another option to crack a lock. The Queen of Diamonds needs its Queen of Spades to crack (As there is no card of a higher suit) but this has options.

HOUR 9 / 14 - 6 of Clubs

The sea is deep purple now. It’s as if the light has stained it. That purple…it was Bastian’s favorite color. He used to obsess over it, called it the color of royalty or something. I never understood it. But why are things turned this color? Its strange. I watch the waves for a while, lost in thought. I have been documenting my journey thus far in this journal, but I wonder if I fail to escape if anyone would even read these words. Hours by hour, step by step, things degrade in this strange place beyond time and reason.

Where is Bastian.

I have 4 hours now until I move. Every single Clubs prompt eats an hour so they are very bad. Let’s continue!

HOUR 11 / 14 - 4 of Clubs (Really?)

I do not under any circumstances like what I am seeing now. The sun is already split in the sky, and now there are CRACKS?! That is unnatural. This world is falling apart at the seams and I have no idea how to get back out. I have no recourse, I have to find Bastian if I can, or at least figure out how to break the locks on the damn Tower!

Why not use the image from before. Its good! Purple sea, creepy sun, and now cracks! 2 hours for this day to go.

HOUR 12 / 14 - 7 of Spades

Well hello 2 extra hours! That puts me at 12 / 16 now, 4 hours to go till I move!

Huh. In the metal leaves on the ground (why are the leaves metal here) I found a small toy. It looks almost like the Tower itself, but with some spots marked on it. I am not sure what this could be for, but I am sure it’s important. I decide to put it in my pack, and carry on. I am sure it will be useful later. It’s the first object I have found that might have a purpose here somewhere else.

So this COULD be used to solve the 5 of Diamonds (Lens) Lock puzzle, but nothing says I cannot save it for now. Since its a 7 I want to hold on to it in case I find something higher than the 5 of Diamonds. The point here is to play it smart and pair this with the highest Diamond I can. Esp if I find a 5 of Spades somewhere, which would pair perfect with the earlier 5 of Diamonds.

HOUR 13 / 16 - 5 of Spades

Speak of the freaking devil! Oh, and it looks like a lot of the Spades give 2 hours extra, so now I am at 13 / 18 (5 remain till I move).

This part of the island has a marble pillar sitting embedded into the metal ground, with a strange open air contraption attached to the top. Its high up, easily 50 feet. I decide to step into the cage and press one of the buttons. The cage starts to rise up and soon I find myself on top of the pillar. I can see everything from up here, and that is when I realize that the Lens below that I found earlier is pointing into open air, the beam going to nothing. But I see it then. On top of this very pillar is another crystal. And it has a clear view to the lens!

I take the elevator back down and rush over to the lens, and with some effort I twist the lens so that it reflects to the light straight to the top of the power. It hits the gem, and is bounced directly towards the tower! I can hear a screeching noise from that direction. Something has to have changed.

Lock 1 of 3 down!

HOUR 14 / 18 - 10 of Hearts

There is a gate here. Its swinging open, into nothingness. The now purple ocean is beyond it, down a good 100 foot drop. I had climbed a hill to get here, and as I approached a beetle, the second living thing I had seen since coming here, flew off into the sky. I wonder if that beetle and the whale from earlier are all that was left other then me. And my brother. I still believe he is out here somewhere. I have that sword, sure, and the bells that I gave him. But so far no other sign has appeared. I realize as well, now, that time seems to be at a standstill. I have spent…I don’t even know how many hours really, wandering this island so far. The sun has barely moved from its position. I think it has moved, somewhat. But it still stays there, hanging and split apart.

This place is unnerving. But I have explored this small island now fully. It’s time to head back to the main island and look around more there.

HOUR 15 / 18 - Ace of Diamonds (A connection!)

Oh hey we got another connecting Warren! And it’s on an edge too again. This is going to require me to move things a bit on my physical version. Let me take a pic for yall to see how spread out this gets.

And importantly, an Ace of Diamonds does NOT count towards a Lock. It does not need to be solved. This also puts me at 15 / 20 hours total now, so when I move I will have 4 left.

What did I just find? It’s a building, and it opens up to a veritable max of pipes and steam and tunnels. But I can clearly see light down there, and as I come down to the bottom of the tunnel system it opens up to a shoreline, and a strange blue portal in front of me. And in the distance, across the purple water, sits another island. I can sort of make out that it is made of…brick? It looks like brick from here. Only one way to find out. I decide to enter the portal.

HOUR 16 / 20 - 9 of Diamonds

As a note, I have exactly 7 cards left in my Isle deck which is perfect. I want to take a moment here to say I am very much enjoying RILLEM and the Carta system. This feels like very much an exploration-based game, and I am enjoying the creativity that the prompts are evoking from me. Also, I realize that with 2 more sets of face cards that have different goals, and 12 non face cards you will not see in a play through, you will have replayablility, at least 2 more runs worth if nothing else. I need to look into more CARTA games. I wonder if any include stats and combat. Anyway!

Ok so now I am at 16 / 22 hours. This is hilarious. I am not doing bad at all for 1 day. I cannot solve this, as the only Spades I have left is the 7. That (my Tower Toy) cannot do a 9 of Diamonds. I need at least a 9 of Spades here. I have no idea if that is even in my isle deck.

As I walk out of the portal, I find myself facing a hill made of red bricks, and a bronze door set in the hillside. I can’t see any easy way to open it either. There is a symbol on it that I have seen previously on the Tower, so clearly this door is connected to the Tower at the center of this madness. Is my brother behind the door? Is Bastian there, waiting for me? I have no answer here, only more questions. I can see a path leading east and west from here, and a portal behind me leading back the way I came. I decide to head west.

HOUR 17 / 22 - 10 of Diamonds (Really?)

I find myself staring at a chasm filled with brick thorns and vines. In the center of the chasm sits another land mass with a bridge raised up and a sphere sitting proud on the pillar. I can see several panels and buttons around, but no idea what to do with them. I try pressing a few, and while I hear some beeps and whirring and noises…I get nothing. This mystery is just going to have to sit here till I sort out how to deal with it. I better move on.

Ok so this diamond does not give me time. So I might finally be running out depending. I got 10 cards I have not explored yet on the map and only 5 hours remaining as of now.

HOUR 18 / 22 - 2 of Diamonds

IS THIS THE GODDAMN MYSTERY ISLAND? At least I can use my 7 of Spades to solve this IF I choose. Anyway, the prompt:

Another mystery! Is this place where all the mechanisms of Rillem exist? The levers are all around me in a ring, each colored differently. Hues of red, orange, blue. But then I notice something. One is missing a lever.

And then it hits me. These levers are all in the shape of the tower! I pull out the weird tower like toy, and walk to the missing spot. I insert it, and it clicks into place. I smile, and pull down on the lever.

I hear grinding from the distance, near the center of the island. Perhaps I have fixed something else. But for now its time to move on.

I realize here that this is lock 2 out of 3, and if I find the Queen of Spades I will be able to fix the last lock and hit 3/3. So I might as well burn the 7 of Spades here and crack it!

HOUR 19 / 22 - Queen of Hearts

How. How did this end up here. Another image of a sword, my name carved into the stone. There are cracks in this object, this monolith, so its been here for a while at least. The stone itself is weathered and worn from the salt spray. It stands on the edge of the shore line, the purple water washing over it every so often. Did Bastian put it here? I loved the sea, he knew that. I wanted to be a marine biologist once, before circumstances made me give that all up. Maybe this is a sign. I am on the right track.

HOUR 20 / 22 - 8 of Hearts

The sky is getting darker now. The sun is finally moving. As a stand near the shore, a star flashing across the night sky, shooting from east to west. The bricks behind me shift colors, from red to blue, and stay that way as the star passes. Curious.

HOUR 21 / 22 - 3 of Diamonds

LOL 2 more hours. I am now at 21 / 24. So once I move I will have 2 hours to go. This is genuinely funny to me. I also don’t NEED to solve this but it is easier then the Queen of Diamonds I have. I only need to solve 3 Lock Pairs and find all 4 Queens. I have found 2 Queens, and solved 2 Locks so far.

This dish is strange. Its making noises and seems to be trying to catch the sea water in it. I do not understand its point, as it’s angled in such a way that the water washes into it and out of it. The water, when it hits, makes it ring. Curious and strange. The sky is darker now. But I still feel like I have time. Strangely, I find I am not hungry or thirsty. How long have I been on these islands?

HOUR 22 / 24 - 5 of Hearts

You cannot make this up. 22/26 hours now.

Why is this waterfall flowing up? That is not how physics work! I might have failed physics in high school but even I know the basics of gravity. There is a small furry thing that seems to be using the floating water droplets to eat insects that are getting trapped there.

I have no idea what to make of this. Bastian, how did you ever find this place?! What brought you here? Nothing so far makes sense. I have explored this small brick island now, and I am going to head back to the center.

HOUR 23 / 26 - 8 of Clubs

Ok well that puts me at 24 / 26 hours spent now. So I have 2 hours left till I move. Am I finally going to end Day 1?

As I wander the central island, I hear noises from above me. I glance up, and I see a group of…things with wings, circling me. They seem to know or sense something I do not. Is my time running out?

HOUR 25 / 26 - 7 of Clubs

This is actually perfect as this will eat my last hour, and after this prompt Day 1 will end.

As I get to the east side of the tower I hear a rumbling above me. I look up and the clouds are a deep red, which is…unnatural to say the least. Then rain starts to fall. Or at least I thought it was rain. Right up until the drops started to hit me and stain my skin red. Blood.

Its raining BLOOD! Why is this happening? I rush back to the Tower, taking shelter under the awning near the massive door.

At this point, I realize that the night is truly upon me. I have spent hours searching the island, and I have no answers now. Only questions. A sword with bells, strange bowls, but as I look back at the door to the Tower I notice that two of the massive locks are open! At least if nothing else I might have a way out of here. Soon.

I open my pack, take out my bedroll, and hunker down to rest.

DAY 1 ENDS

Ok now originally, I had planned to end this entry at the end of Day 1 but honestly? I have 3 cards on the board, 7 in the Isle deck, 2 Locks undone and 2 Queens found. I am pretty sure I can finish this adventure today so we are going into OVERTIME as it were! Let’s find our brother! And no one gets to complain that this entry is “too long”. No one is making you read this.

I do recommend this game though. This is a ton of fun, although I think it would be easier and faster to draw by hand rather then MS Paint. This is how everything look at the end of Day 1, both in person and on my Spreadsheet:

DAY 2 BEGINS

HOUR 1 / 10 - 3 of Clubs

Already going to 2/10 hours! Today is off to a “great” start.

I wake up, and I realize it still looks like night out here. Has time stopped? Does time move? I have no idea. As I get walking, I watch the sky, and I witness stars just blinking out. A constellation…gone from the sky. Things get darker. And more oppressive. Time is running out.

HOUR 3 / 19 - Queen of Clubs

Well now I am going to 4 / 10 hours spent! I got 6 left for today before I even move!

As I walked along the north edge and got near the building that led to the portal, I heard a whistling noise from above. I glanced up and noticed something falling from above. I quickly dove to the side as a sword too massive for any human being to wield slammed into the ground, cleaving it open and tumbling down into the void. I stared as I stood back up, and looked down into the yawning open wound in the earth. What the hell had just happened?! Sword’s do NOT FALL FROM THE SKY! I quickly moved on as more of the earth slowly eroded down into the hole.

Well at least that is 3 out of 4 Queens. The Queen of Spades is all that is left. once I find that, I will both find my brother AND crack the last lock, letting me get out and “win!”

HOUR 5 / 10 - Ace of Clubs (the last Ace)

We get our final connection to our last landmass.

This is gonna cost me another hour, so now I am at 6 / 10. So when I move over I am going to be at 7 / 10 and have 3 hours left.

The final part of the main island is before me, and all I find is a beaten broken archway that leads to nowhere. But then I notice another island, and a strange button next to me. I push it, and a series of stones appear in the water, leading directly to the new land mass. I cautiously, and carefully, make my way across them to this new land.

HOUR 7 / 10 - 4 of Diamonds

The very first thing I see as I get off the rock bridge is a well with a set of scales perched precariously over it. There are weights everywhere as well, and a pulley attached to the scales that goes down into the well. I have no idea what to even make of this. Was Bastian doing experiments here or what? Who would even put such a contraption in a place like this? I fail to see any use for it, and leave.

HOUR 8 / 10 - 7 of Diamonds

Did I somehow end up with almost all of the available Diamond suit in this isle deck? Is that what happened? Upon review I am missing the 6 of Diamonds right now. That is it. King and Jack would not be here and every other available Diamond is in play outside of the 6. That is HILARIOUS.

And now I am at 8 / 12 hours! Hell yea. I only have 5 cards that are unknown, and 4 hours to work with before I move to one of the 5 remaining. That means I will achieve “victory” and escape the island. I got lucky here, but lets see how the story plays out.

I am in a forest now, and its rather pretty. The well I found was right on the edge of this place. As I walk through, the branches start to appear to have grown together, and after a few minutes I end up in a clearing surrounded by trees that have seemingly have grown together. There is a statue of some..beast? Creature? It’s kind of frog like, but massive. There are offerings all around it, as it trying to sate it? I have no idea. And it means very little to me. But this is peaceful. I am still no closer to finding Bastian though.

HOUR 9 / 12 - 8 of Spades

Oh hey! We got a Spades, and it’s large enough to open my 4 of Diamonds, my 7 of Diamonds, or my 3 of Diamonds. This will be the last lock. Lets have a look:

I found an orb, in a track. I am not sure however this is where it belongs. There was that bowl, back on the brick island. I remember that bowl. I check and found that the orb could just be…removed. And so I lifted it and carried it back to that strange bowl that was constantly having sea water tossed into it.

The orb fit perfectly, and when the ocean waves hit it, the sound was new. Clearer. And then I heard the groan of machinery from the main island.

I think I opened the last lock. Now I just need to find Bastian!

So 3/3 Locks are now opened. I can escape once either I flip every card over or find Bastian. It’s my choice really. I will have hours left on Day 3 so I will be able to do this.

HOUR 10 / 12 - 10 of Spades

I am still looking for Bastian. He has to be somewhere here! I find myself back in the woods of this island, and find more strange carvings just hanging from a tree branch. This reminds me of that strange frog altar, perhaps its needed for something there. But honestly, this is not something I think is related to my brother! I am close, I can feel it. He has to be somewhere here in the woodlands!

HOUR 11 / 12 - 2 of Spades

This is not where Bastian is! The music from these stone pillars I found is entrancing, but distracting. He has to be here! The island is falling apart, and I am running out of time. I am going to head back to the tower and rest. I need to find him, and I need to be fresh.

I am going to go ahead and go to Day 3 as I have 1 hour left, and 2 cards. I feel it would make sense to be “fresh” going into my last day. Will I explore every card, or will I choose the Queen?

DAY 3 BEGINS

HOUR 1 / 10 - 3 of Hearts

Looks like I am going to have unveiled the entire fucking island!

I am back on the final island, and in the woods again. I have found a strange broken wall covered in carvings and showing some sort of network of tunnels? And scenes of history, or myth, I am not sure what. This is NOT where my brother is held but…there seems to be an indicator that something is north of me. That is the last area to check, and I have to hold out the hope that Bastian is there, waiting for me. Hurt maybe? Alone? I have no idea.

I am at 1/12 hours now. Not that it matters.

HOUR 2 / 12 - Queen of Spades

I think I know how I want to end this.

I found him. Bastian. I found his body pierced by swords of stone, laying in a field. He was in the shadow of a pillar carved with spirals. I have no idea why he is dead, or how long. His body is preserved well, and in one hand was a letter.

“Dear Vadra,

I am sorry to have left you, and the family. There was a call, a sound, a tugging at the edge of my mind that forced me to leave. I travelled extensively; I am sure you are aware of that by now if you have found this. I was called here to try to halt an ending, but when I arrived it was already breaking down.

I need you to leave me here, and escape. This place is going to fall apart. It’s a pocket dimension, a haven for a people long gone, and no longer maintained. The Tower at the center of all of this is your way back out. It’s held together by 3 locks, and you must find the keys here on the island.

Again. I am sorry for all of this. I miss you.

Bastian”

He is gone. And I am alone. As I opened the door to the Tower and saw the portal I looked behind me to see the island falling apart into the sea. The broken shattered sky and the purple angry ocean ripping the land asunder. I watched as the island where Bastian’s body lay sunk under the waves, and I left.

I am changed by this. No one will ever believe what I have seen. I will hide this journal somewhere in our world.

Goodbye Bastian.

And that is RILLEM! That is an entire run, start to finish. This is what my map looked like in person, and the spreadsheet!

Outside of Brambletrek, this was my first real Journaling style game and it was perfect for where my brain has been. It was nice, interesting, creative, and made me think.

I highly recommend this game if this seemed interesting.

Just next time I will stick to actually hand drawing shit and not trying to figure out how to MSPaint some of this stuff!

Till next time.