Cloud Empress Chapter 1: The Dancing Path to Tack Town
Explore a strange and imaginative RPG world of ecological science fantasy with the memorable characters of Cloud Empress.
My initial foray into Cloud Empress saw me following the prologue. I thought about my characters quite a bit, and was excited to take them out into the unknown! With a module to allow solo play, this RPG offers a very unique setting with all sorts of dangers and mysteries. It was definitely time to take my trio out on their first full chapter of adventuring!
Gameward Bound Update
Most of this post was already typed up a few days ago. I’ll be on a short break for 1-3 weeks due to another break… I tripped, fell, and fractured my elbow over the weekend. No worries: I’m on the mend and doing OK! But typing one-handed with my non-dominant hand is a little tricky. I shall return, though, with lots more posts and my usual terrible jokes! Take care!
Spoiler Alert
As a hexcrawl adventure, the descriptions of what each hex contains are included. Although the interpretation and what happens can vastly differ, note that this post includes spoilers for hexes B12, B18, and the surrounding areas. That may be too specific to care, yet if you’re planning to play and know you’ll be headed there shortly, feel free to skip over this post!
Game Overview
Game Name: Cloud Empress
Publication Year: 2023
Designers: Christian Sorrell & watt
Artists: Garin, Juan Gee, imogen, & pbbeta
Publisher: worlds by watt
Solo Mode: Included in the Solo Protocol
In a land ruled by mysterious giant insects, humans struggle to survive… And yet they find ways! A party finds itself in the middle of an adventure, intent on seeking out a main goal and exploring the map. Everything might go wrong, yet this is a story that reveals its own surprises.
Exploring the Map
The prologue adventure took place high above the ground… Yet my characters came crashing down to have a chance to explore this vast map! I added meeples for effect. Ha!
I surrounded my turtle-based party with a bunch of insect meeples, which was perfect. Their ultimate goal was far to the southeast, and the journey there would be a lengthy one.
My solo RPG play style is about as slow as possible, so the turtle was most fitting! Yet that’s how I enjoy storytelling.
It wasn’t about the exact dice rolls or the process of getting to the next roll: It was about the surprising moments.
The Solo Protocol
What makes this one stand out for the solo experience is the way characters are created. It’s less about playing someone to survive or do well, and more about following a party.
I originally envisioned a duo, but a fun roll during creation added on a third character. Welcome back Moody Bubble, Sapphire the Moldy, and Duke Spoon! Can’t forget them!
The strength is in these mood wheels, though. These help determine how a character acts in an unknown situation.
Absolutely fantastic! I didn’t have programmed behaviors, but feelings to apply to each situation per character.
Dance Hall Days
After a rough but relatively safe landing, the party found themselves in a hex defined by a dance hall. Huh? It was the last thing I expected to come across, yet there it was!
With the help of Rory’s Story Cubes and Once Upon a Time: The Storytelling Card Game, this was the greatest!
First, the dance hall’s entrance was down a well. With all the hubbub outdoors, the huddled residents were not in a musical mood and were downright aggressive at first.
Ah, but Duke Spoon and even Moody Bubble knew what to do, courtesy of a little guidance from Sapphire the Moldy.
Animated Corn
One of my favorite character traits of Duke Spoon, aside from his amazingly patient and decisive manner, is how he casts the one spell he knows all the time. All. The. Time.
So when the Bean Barge was falling from the sky in turmoil and chaos, Duke Spoon calmly pulled out the corn he was carrying and animated it. Quick as you like, it was moving!
It never helped before, but at a dance hall with aggressive people? It eased the tension and danced to a corny beat. Ha!
Moody Bubble used her dance skills to inadvertently impress them enough to learn of the secret mine tunnels.
Enjoying the Pace of a Solo RPG Session
As I played through this chapter of my adventure, I was aware of how very slowly everything happened. My characters made it through about half a day in over an hour of actual time. Slow and steady! I appreciate the freedom to go at my own pace. Sometimes, I wonder if I’m moving too slowly… Yet there were all kinds of little moments that came up.
Sapphire the Moldy became the party leader after a few interactions. “Seeing” the scenes in my imagination didn’t come with any action moving forward, but the wonders of this strange world came alive. Interpreting the results and hex information gave me an excellent chance to ponder the possibilities. This was the perfect pace for me this time!
Tack Town Respite
Although it was all too tempting to explore the tunnels that connected to the underground dance hall, Sapphire the Moldy took her leadership role seriously.
After all, she was the only adult in the party! Actually, most assumed her age was advanced… But none were aware of her mysterious curse that gnarled her beyond her years.
On that hot summer afternoon, the trio stepped into the seedier parts of Tack Town to collect information.
It was all most interesting, and if Gulliver can be trusted, there might just be another incentive to reach their goal…
Continue the Conversation
Have you played Cloud Empress? Are there any other solo RPGs you’ve enjoyed for their unique settings? I tend to have a stop-and-go approach with my adventures, although I’m intrigued by what might be out there. My characters continue to develop, and seeing how they react to different situations is awesome… Like solving a crisis with animated corn. Ha ha!
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