Starting off my solo RPG actual plays using Bivius, a simple binary option oracle and roleplaying system created by Riccardo Fregi.

Bivius rules at The Travels of the Lost Pangolin blog.

Oracle Table:

Starting a playthrough:

The barbarian sits outside of a ruined cottage, where nature is in the process of slowly reclaiming. Night has fallen. He quietly sharpens his blade with a whetstone by a low fire. Piercing the silence, he hears the snap of a twig not far off and brings his two-handed sword to the ready.

From the shadows, three figures emerge with menacing faces, advancing towards the muscled barbarian with short swords drawn.

Throlr seems to be at a disadvantage, with three attackers, but he is experienced in fighting and heard them coming. They are equally matched.

One of the men lunge towards Throlr, yelling, but Throlr swings his mighty blade and cuts him down. His body crumples to the ground. The other two look at each other, then press forward toward the warrior.

With a guttural yell, Throlr once again brings his two-handed sword up and swings down to knock the brigand’s sword aside and keep going right through his neck, nearly decapitating him. The last of the attackers does not seem so keen on dying this night, and so turns and flees back into the night and the forest. Throlr lets him go. There is no need to pursue.

The barbarian looks down at his sword, The Untamed. Blood coats most of its length from the damage it did to the unknown assailants. He senses that the sword does not want to be cleaned. It is as wild as he is. And so he leaves the blood to stain the steel.

As he looks down, he notices that there is a piece of parchment sticking out of a pocket of one of the fallen men. He picks it up and unfolds it to reveal the reason he was ambushed at his camp.

The parchment is a map. It details the surrounding area and leads to the dilapidated cottage Throlr now finds himself. It was happenstance that he found himself there making camp for the night. He was not looking for adventure, but it seems that adventure has found him.

The map seems to indicate that there is a captive of some sort. Perhaps this adventure has turned into a rescue mission? Throlr glances toward the crumbling building. There’s no way someone is being held in that small dwelling, especially with the door hanging off its hinges.

He stuffs the map into a pouch secured to his waist and curiously steps toward the doorway, picking up a lit branch from the campfire on the way. The barbarian pokes the torch through the doorway, casting light and shadows across a dirt floor and vine covered walls. He steps inside, peering about. There doesn’t to be anyone or much of anything here. Throlr rest his hand on the table where the previous occupants must have eaten their meals. Leaning a little too hard, the rotted wooden surface breaks off and falls to the floor. Instead of the expected thud on dirt, there is a bit of an echo.

Throlr bends down, bringing the light down, too. Taking his other hand and wiping it across the floor, he reveals that he is actually standing on a covered wooden platform. He pushes the rest of the table over and continues to uncover the platform until he find a handhold. Pulling it up, he reveals a dark, stone staircase descending into the depths below.