Wanderhome: Exploring a Poignant Solo RPG Experience
Travel across a world inhabited by kind animal-folk on a roleplaying journey about building stories with Wanderhome.
I remember when my print copy of Wanderhome first arrived, and how excited I was to dig into it. Yet it felt like I didn’t understand it, and couldn’t decide how it would work as a solo experience. Fast forward, and as my eyes scanned my library of RPG books, I paused on this colorful tome. Could there be something here? I was drawn to it now, so onto a new journey!
Game Overview
Game Name: Wanderhome
Publication Year: 2021
Designer: Jay Dragon
Artists: S. Bi, G. Bowers, N. Nor, D. Ramsey, & L. Wilson
Publisher: Possum Creek Games
Solo Mode: None (Solo RPG Oracle Required)
There is a foundation for gameplay, although this is very much a world built from scratch. Yet there are insightful ways to create characters, kith, places, and more. It is a land without violence, where exploration goes deeper than putting one paw in front of the other to reach the other side.
My Favorite Oracles
Before I began, I realized I hadn’t used some of my most beloved cards in ages! My Tarot deck is long out of print and worn on some edges with love: The Victorian Fairy Tarot.
I also feel guilty for mentioning them, but StoryWorld cards are phenomenal. These, too, are rarely available and feel lost to time… Yet I wanted to bring them back to my table.
“Hey, a world where animals shepherd bees. Wouldn’t it be neat if I drew the Fortitude card during character creation?!”
Hurray for coincidences! With this seemingly perfect card from a StoryWorld deck, I had myself a shepherd character!
Interpreting Cards
If nothing else, this experience brought me back to the sheer joy of a part of solo RPGs that may not be obvious: Interpretation, and translating card meanings into stories.
Another bit of laughter came up when I drew some cards for a location’s nature. Mushrooms and toadstools aplenty!
My collection of Once Upon a Time: The Storytelling Card Game also came in handy to add even more meaning.
Little by little, my character took shape, as did the world around her. And the story was nothing like I expected it to be. It was emotional, and exactly what I needed at the time.
A Written Log
Look closely, and my enormous notebook with my tiny handwriting can be seen over on the right side! Over the course of a few days, I wrote 5 pages across 10 in-game days.
It was amazing to build this world. On one hand, this asked a lot of me: I had to make decisions, draw a lot of cards, and work with very little to create the setting for myself.
On the other hand, which was much more important, it was brilliant. There were no stat blocks. Just characteristics.
Locations felt alive with their own natures and things they could do, along with little bits of folklore I could explore.
Asking the Questions
My system revolved around rolling dice merely for the sake of fun randomization! I used a d6 to choose a type of card from these stacks, like aspects, events, or written endings.
I used a simple yes or no system when it seemed worth it. “Does my character see anyone on the horizon?” And then I would draw a card, often from an unexpected pile.
This is a game that I think is hard to explain because it’s quite personal. I built everything, and it was simply the best!
I’m starting to see pieces of myself reflected in my RPG characters, and this shepherd was perfectly flawed.
Writing to Keep, Not Necessarily to Share
Since I post about practically all of my adventures at my solo table, RPGs are often approached in a way where I expect to share most of the details. It’s a lot of fun in most cases! Yet I think there are times when a solo RPG ends up feeling rather personal. A solo RPG journal might feel more like a real journal meant for no one else, rather than a log of gameplay events.
During the early part of this adventure, I kept thinking about how I would frame everything and explain all of the details I brought into this world. Then I started to consider how there were a lot of coincidences and that this would never make sense in the context of a book or movie. Time to pause! That’s the sort of thinking that often makes me play less.
So this post may sound rather vague without my usual level of details. That’s intentional, and removed any pressure. I got to “keep” most of this as my own, and that’s a highlight of solo RPGs: Sharing is not required. There are plenty of other adventures to write about, but removing that worry of realism or quality of writing can help nurture creativity.
So Much Loneliness
Another amazing card draw. Ha ha! I kept drawing cards in a way that gave me more and more ideas. This world was already vast in some ways, but I never felt overwhelmed.
When I felt like I was writing a lot and the pace started to get frantic, I made the decision to just allow my character to laze away the day as I wrote a few lines, then kept moving.
There is an air of melancholy and loss at the core, overlaid with an enormous sense of hopefulness and kindness.
I think I wrote something like, “This world is broken, stained, and scratched. And it’s beautiful.” Deep thoughts!
The Arc of the Year
One of the main elements that is fully defined is the calendar with its seasons and holidays. But how long is a month? Another nebulous idea that isn’t set in stone.
With this structure, it’s easy to create a campaign that goes on forever… Or a shorter experience that lasts a season, a month, or maybe even a week. It’s quite laid back!
I also loved a section of the book that talks about how not everything will be known, and saying goodbye is inevitable.
“I’m sorry,” wrote the author in an extremely poignant and personal way. So glad I returned to this book when I did!
Across the Plains
My world evolved into something that I felt was my own, which is why this post is a bit vague. This system was just so much fun, aided by the use of my favorite oracles!
I had a chance to see what it was like to create all different sorts of elements. Places could roleplay. My character could react in unexpected ways. Folklore could come alive again.
Perhaps the greatest lesson of all is that I can return to this if I want to, and if not, I don’t have to know everything.
In a way, that makes my other unfinished solo RPGs feel much less stressful: A short, meaningful story is still a story.
Continue the Conversation
Have you played Wanderhome? Are there any other solo RPGs that felt like you played them at the perfect time? I don’t know if this is the right choice for every player out there. Indeed, I initially wrote it off and never planned to play! Sometimes, it just takes time to find something wonderful, like a sheepdog shepherd with a flock of fuzzy bumblebees!
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