Themes

Scarce Vistas

The player is not inundated with illustrations, explanations, or exposition. An imagination will have to paint in the whites left reserved by the scenario.

Stern Diktats

The game is designed to be stern, but not cruel. The goal is to challenge the player’s mind and rattle their playstyle, not crush their character in a random or merciless fashion.

Rigid Chances

Like the original homebrew, Fires Far Away: A Solitaire Journey eschews dice rolls as a resolution mechanic whenever possible. A small amount of randomness is present, but the game favors flat success conditions. The outcome of the character’s actions is not dependent on rolling well, but rather playing well to the rolls.

Vorpal Encounters

No scenario should contain any throwaway encounters or 'trash mobs'. Each encounter should be a puzzle in and of itself, pitting the character against a mortal and uniquely challenging threat.

Terminal Consequences

The character will face one-shot encounters which alter the scenario depending on whether they suffered defeat, conquered adversity, or fled in the face of it.

Beleaguered Narratives

The player is not expected to surmount every obstacle or defeat every enemy. A scenario is a story as much as it is a challenge, and every well-told tale traverses both valleys and summits.

Beggared Allowances

All mechanics are based around low arithmetic, making them easily tracked via tokens, coins, pencil marks, beads, or even fingers. No need for an abacus or similar such apparatus.

Convoluted Timelines

Unique to Fires Far Away: A Solitaire Journey, the player is not likely to experience a scenario in any canonical order. The furtive element of randomness rears its head here; each scenario is broken into chapters that are played in order of draw.