Penning a Special Letter in the Solo RPG World of Quill
Write a heartfelt letter with the correct use of language and penmanship to impress its intended recipient with Quill.
Over the years, I’ve mainly collected board games. Yet there are plenty of solo RPG books, or even PDFs, that I’ve been intrigued by! Quill: A Letter-Writing Roleplaying Game for a Single Player finally made it to my table after I eyed it for ages. The concept of writing an important letter seemed quick and fun. What would be the result of my plea to the king?
Game Overview
Game Name: Quill
Publication Year: 2016
Designer: Scott Malthouse
Artist: Uncredited
Publisher: Trollish Delver Games
Solo Mode: Designed for Solo (Included in the Base Game)
By choosing a character type and scenario, the entire game takes place on a sheet of paper with a few dice rolls. There are simple rules for calculating how successful each paragraph is, leading to the ultimate outcome. It’s a quick and short sort of solo RPG of an entirely unique sort!
First Play
April 9, 2022
Complexity
1
Latest Play
April 9, 2022
Expansions
5
Setup Time
Almost None
Lifetime Plays
1
Play Time
30 Minutes
High Score
7
Game Area
18" x 14"
Low Score
7
A Letter to the King
In a rather hilarious twist, penmanship is a random value that determines how legible or artistic the style is. My own handwriting is notoriously good… So I had to pretend. Ha!
I chose to write a letter to King Gerald V, warning him of a suspicious figure I assumed to be a spy.
This was kind of unusual in that I didn’t feel that connected to my character. At first, it didn’t seem like I was doing more than adding words to a piece of paper.
Yet after the first couple of bumbling paragraphs, I started to get into it and made my pleas to the king stronger.
Poetic License
Within the original game, there are a number of character types to play as, each with their own general statistics for penmanship, language, and heart. I chose the poet!
This also explained why I started off in almost comical, vaguely rhyming tone. Hard to thwart those instincts, or so it seemed. Definitely felt like I had a character.
In this way, the scenarios can play out a little differently depending on which sort of character writes each letter.
Maybe it isn’t unlimited variability, yet I could certainly see myself trying this same scenario with another voice!
Words from Pictures
I knew I was going to struggle with the very free-form sort of nature about writing this letter. Only 5 paragraphs were allowed, yet I wasn’t sure how to begin.
This seemed like the perfect opportunity to use a new tool called the Storyteller Cards: Fantasy. Usually, the art style wouldn’t quite align with my tastes. But not today!
Each card formed the basis for the paragraphs, and I liked the challenge of finding story details within the cards.
These have gone overlooked in my collection for ages, yet they have a lot going on and plenty of potential.
Signed, Maud Bosby
It wasn’t until it was time for me to end this letter that I had a clear picture of my poet, and that was Maud Bosby.
This special meeple was given to me by a kind friend from the 1 Player Guild, and it seemed very fitting to have her nearby! I do believe she embodied my concerned poet.
I wrote feverishly, imagining the urgency of getting this letter to the king as soon as possible. All sorts of twists came up… Including suspiciously missing poison.
Rather realistically, it sounded a bit incoherent. But the danger! I could only hope that the letter arrived in time.
Discovering a Character While Roleplaying
There are many ways to approach tabletop roleplaying games, with endless systems and settings. In a lot of cases, I’ve become accustomed to at least getting a fairly good idea of my character before even setting out. Maybe I don’t know all the specifics, yet I understand the basics and even a few top-level motivations. I love the character creation process!
In other cases, like here, a character really doesn’t materialize early on. Granted, this is designed to be a pretty quick experience that wouldn’t benefit from an involved character sheet. Yet it still presents its own enjoyable challenge of figuring out more about a character through the act of roleplaying. I had no idea who my character was at first!
This sort of exploration is definitely best utilized with shorter solo RPGs, but it still got me thinking. What if I went into some of the deeper RPGs with only a vague sense of my character, then learned more as I went along? It often happens that way naturally, although it’s not a method I’ve used that often. Now, it seems like I’ll be exploring it some more!
Session Overview
Play Number: 1
Solo Mode: Designed for Solo (Included in the Base Game)
Play Details: The King Scenario as the Poet
Outcome: 7 Points
So close! The royal guard dismissed my concerns, and the letter never did reach the king. An epilogue is more of an optional matter, yet I would like to assume that Maud Bosby was correct and was bitter when the king’s reign came to an abrupt end. She warned him! I had even thought about a little twist where the suspicious person was actually the letter-writer… Perhaps next time!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
8
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
7
Originality
Design & Theme
8
Quality
Components & Rules
8
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
5
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
8
+ Pros (Positives)
- The idea of writing a letter as a roleplaying experience is quite unique and features many different scenarios.
- Bad dice rolls can be interpreted in many ways, often comical, so that the final outcome makes some sense.
- Many different character types and scenarios may be used for a good deal of variability and entertainment.
- Play time can be as short as it takes to write a letter, and not too much effort needs to go into choosing the words.
- There can be an interesting progression as a character comes to life by the time the letter comes to an end.
- Rules provide a framework for the general success or failure, yet the rest is left up to fun, creative interpretation.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Random dice rolls can feel extremely random after putting a lot of effort into crafting a well-worded paragraph.
- It can take a little time to get into the theme and character building, often partially through writing the letter.
- The list of words to use in the Ink Pot and word flourishes don’t necessarily feel like a challenge to incorporate.
- Writing the last paragraph can feel a little pointless when it’s obvious which scoring tier the letter will fall into.
Victory Conditions
None
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Complete at least 1 game as the Poet.
Complete the King Scenario.
Continue the Conversation
Have you written any letters while playing Quill: A Letter-Writing Roleplaying Game for a Single Player? Do you have a favorite scenario or character type? With a lot of solo journaling RPGs out there, this one strikes me as a nice entry point with little effort. I had a great time and have a lot of other scenarios to look at exploring in the future!
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