Knight Forlorn: Bare-Bones

Knight Forlorn is a storytelling game about a lone wanderer on a futile quest in a withering world, drawing much inspiration from games such as Dark Souls and Diablo.

Through improvisation and collaboration, you will craft and narrate the story of the knight’s struggles. You’ll shape and portray the world together and take turns portraying the knight as they explore it.

Full version coming to Kickstarter February 2025

Playing the Game

Knight Forlorn weaves together collaborative storytelling and procedural generation. Through this system, no two stories will ever be the same.

This game promotes an improv style of play where you build on each other’s ideas and play to explore what happens next. 

None of you know beforehand what will happen in your story and no single player has a complete picture of the fictional world. You will have to collaborate to create your shared world and to tell your shared story.

Roles

You take turns assuming three different roles:

• THE LEAD: You portray the Knight’s actions, reactions, thoughts, feelings, and speech. You may not portray or craft the game world.
• THE NARRATOR: You portray and craft the game world, and facilitate exploration and adversity. You may not portray the Knight.
• THE CHORUS: You help portray and craft the game world by adding details and mood. You may also portray the Knight’s thoughts and feelings, but not their actions or speech.

The game can still be played duet or solo.

Mechanics

• RANDOM ENCOUNTERS: Card draws unveil encounters with prompts that introduce fearsome foes and mysterious inhabitants lurking in Burghal. Sometimes, familiar cards resurface, perhaps reintroducing challenges, friends, and unsettled conflicts.
• PUNISHING COMBAT: Battles are determined by cards. Players compare the Knight's and adversary's drawn cards; if the Knight falls short, they must either retreat in defeat or make sacrifices to keep fighting. Consequences accumulate and slowly push the Knight towards their perhaps inevitable fate. 
• AIDING ABILITIES: Victory brings rewards. As the Knight prevails over adversaries, they may unlock abilities that enhance their resilience, sharpen their skills, and improve their chances of reaching their ultimate goal.