A New Story in Roll Player Adventures: Silver Threads of Fate
Explore a parallel storyline at a crucial moment in the main campaign with Silver Threads of Fate and Roll Player Adventures.
With my foray into the Roll Player Adventures campaign complete, I still had some expansions… Not ready to pack everything up just yet, I decided to give Roll Player Adventures: Silver Threads of Fate some time! It was a nice way to use the existing components and offer another story to play through, and I was excited to see what was within the pages!
Spoiler Alert
It’s a little hard not to spoil this adventure, so be aware that there are details about Silver Threads of Fate below. I’ve tried to keep it all pretty vague, yet I would classify this post as riddled with spoilers. Ha ha! Feel free to skip if you plan to play.
Game Overview
Game Name: Roll Player Adventures
Publication Year: 2021
Designers: Keith Matejka, P. A. Ryan, & J. W. Ryan
Artists: Ariosa, Fei, Fedorova, Mammoliti, Petter, & Ribeiro
Publisher: Thunderworks Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Stories place a character in a central role, making choices that affect the overall outcomes. With the Lost Chapters, additional adventures outside of the main campaign add lore and new ways to play, like with a brand new dice puzzle on the map itself! Always a great time adventuring in Nalos.
First Play
December 27, 2021
Complexity
2
Latest Play
February 8, 2026
Expansions
4
Setup Time
10 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
25
Play Time
1 Hour
High Score
N/A
Game Area
46" x 32"
Low Score
N/A
A Lost Chapter Concept
As large as the base game is, the Silver Threads of Fate is the first story that doesn’t introduce new components. Aside from the storybook, it incorporates existing materials.
Very neat! I already was struggling to cart around the main box, particularly with the other expansions. This was quite light, and also has a digital PDF version as another option.
I didn’t expect there to be too much in a single adventure, yet I was swept up in the new story right away. Very neat!
However, I’m not sure how I would feel if I didn’t remember more about the main campaign and the choices I made.
Character Overviews
I appreciated the couple of pages that detailed the story so far, bringing in some of the campaign’s major moments.
Still, I only remembered some of these characters as integral to my plays, so it was interesting to see them all in potentially central roles. But that choice was up to me!
Well, technically. Let’s just say that I ran into that issue again of factions being a lot more important. Characters refused to work together, purely based on their alliances.
There were plenty of neat moments as I came across these individuals, but I felt like I couldn’t create my team of allies.
Threads and Time
I will say that the way the map worked was really clever! It was very unusual in one sense, but tied together with the storyline very well. Loved expanding on the setting!
Collecting threads was also neat, although this was pretty straightforward. New locations… New threads to discover!
The time track was another different element that was tied to the finale, so I tried to make sure to maximize my cubes.
Note, though, that I have never been a fan of the dice puzzles and hand management, so I play in a modified way to focus on the story. That wasn’t exactly possible here.
Final Map Dice Puzzle
Had I known that this was a bit of a shorter adventure that relied on the mechanics I ignored, I would have actually followed the rules. Ha ha! Entirely my own fault, of course.
However, this dice puzzle was rather neat! It was a cool way to use the mechanics in a new way, creating a challenge to work through on the map itself. Very, very clever!
The story felt like it wrapped up in a nice enough way, but in a sense that didn’t change the campaign storyline.
I also lost track of my character and didn’t feel that connected. Still, it was a short chapter with fun moments!
Reading vs. Playing: The Fine Thread Between
As I played through the main campaign and this chapter, I thought more about the tricky parts of building this sort of narrative adventure. There is a real desire to play through the game and experience the chapters, but a lot of that is tied to reading. I often look at writing vs. playing when it comes to solo RPGs, so this adjacent idea got me thinking a lot more.
There is a sense of following a character on their journey when reading a book. No matter what I do, that’s exactly what will happen. I’m currently re-reading Watership Down for at least the tenth time. I know what’s coming up, but that journey is the experience. Even with new books, I have no control over what’s going to happen, yet the joy is in following along.
When it came down to these chapters, there was a real sense of playing for the majority of the campaign. I was in control: It wasn’t just me following along with a character, but taking an active role and shifting the narrative. My decisions mattered. I wasn’t writing the story, but this wasn’t a case of just reading it: This was a story I played through, affecting things.
But there came a point when the decisions my character made didn’t really matter. The finale wrapped up in a way that was very much focused on reading. What I had played through had minor impacts, yet I no longer had control of my character’s choices. Again, I really disliked how I was responsible for the demise of former allies due to top-level faction alliances.
This is an ambitious design, and I don’t mean to harp on the negatives! There were a lot of good times and parts of the campaign I loved, including some moments in this lost chapter. Overall, maybe I’m not as aligned with mixing reading and playing in a narrative sense. Just another useful lesson as I figure out what solo games I’m going to enjoy playing next!
Session Overview
Play Number: 25
Expansion: Roll Player Adventures: Silver Threads of Fate
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Lost Chapter 1
Outcome: Complete
The added lore was certainly interesting and I enjoyed some parts of the chapter. It was nice to see familiar characters, although I still felt a bit boxed into certain decisions. This model is one I like overall, though, as it does a lot more with everything already included in the base game. That’s ideal! Yet for now, this will be my last chapter with the game.
%
20 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
3
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
8
Originality
Design & Theme
7
Quality
Components & Rules
9
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
4
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
4
+ Pros (Positives)
- Re-using components from the base game is an excellent idea, and this is incorporated very well within the storyline.
- Familiar characters and locations from the main campaign are welcome focal points, while their roles are expanded.
- There is an excellent narrative that makes sense in the context of the campaign, offering a new perspective on events.
- A final dice puzzle uses similar mechanics with a totally different element to add something unique to the finale.
- Although playing through part of the main campaign is recommended, this chapter can be completed at any time.
- Having a recap of the characters is helpful and offers a useful overview of the situation going on during the story.
– Cons (Negatives)
- As with the main campaign, faction alliances are the most important and individuals may not always work together.
- The storyline is excellent and adds some lore, but it may not necessarily feel like there is any overall impact.
- Aside from some cards that seem thematic, a new character doesn’t feel all that important or central to the plot.
- Choices have different storylines, but the top-level outcome happens regardless of what a character chooses to do.
Victory Conditions
Complete the Adventure
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Complete Adventures 1-10.
Complete the Adventure Finale.
Complete Sidequest 1.
Complete Lost Chapter 1.
Continue the Conversation
Have you played through Roll Player Adventures: Silver Threads of Fate? Was there a particularly memorable storyline for your character? I loved the use of the base game components, along with the unique way the final dice puzzle worked! Yet I feel pretty happy stopping here to feel like I’ve experienced the majority of the content. Onto something very different!
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