I'll Hold Them Off

Your mage companion warned you that if you went forward with this plan, you were almost certainly doomed. If The Evil didn’t destroy you, the isolation and strain likely would. Both of you hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but alas, it has.

As all battles do, this will end someday. 

You just need to hold on until the bitter end.

I’ll Hold Them Off is a solo journaling RPG written using the Wretched and Alone rules by Chris Bissette and Matt Sanders. You play as a fantasy hero who has been sealed in a magical realm with an ultimate Evil that you couldn’t defeat, trapped in a perpetual duel with them until the seal breaks. You need to keep fighting until the next group of heroes comes prepared to defeat it once and for all. Will you survive long enough to give them a fighting chance and make it home?

This game can be played alone with a standard deck of cards, dice, a way to record your experience, and a few hours of time. It can also be modified to create a sidequest or solo adventure for a player character in a preexisting fantasy campaign.

Content Warnings: Captivity, fear, isolation, betrayal, suspense, false or distorted perceptions of reality, despair, trauma, natural disasters, violence, and death. 

This game was created as part of the Wretched & Alone Game Jam. It was inspired by The Wretched by Chris Bissette, the Wretched & Alone SRD, and was developed with the Make a Wretched Game Template by Litza Bronwyn. Cover designed and laid out in Canva.