THOUSAND YEAR OLD VAMPIRE
Publisher: Tim Hutchings | Designer: Tim Hutchings
There is a tendency among solo RPGs to delve into the dark parts of life. Whether this be abandonment or fear or moral decline, these games lend themselves to introspection and exploration. So of course it comes as little surprise that someone would make a solo RPG that captures the pain and heartbreak and unique experience of being a vampire. In many ways Tim Hutchings' Thousand Year Old Vampire is immediately comparable to the book and film Interview With The Vampire (which is a great way to get some inspiration). You choose some far-off time in history and develop a quick idea of your character’s lot in life. What three skills were most important to them, what three mortals do they know and potentially love, what important memories define them, and what was the immortal that cursed them with this unlife.
And you aren’t straddled with the usual Hollywood vampire archetype here, no, you can be a rat infested creature of the night, a rune marked warrior, a mesoamerican shapeshifter, the possibilities are endless. The only caveat is that you have some of the usual vampire traits like blood drinking and not being able to go into sunlight.
The game itself is incredibly simple, just rolling and answering prompts but Thousand Year Old Vampire has hundreds of unique and interesting prompts that take you on unexpected and fascinating journeys. Especially as it encourages you to go on jaunts through Wikipedia to help make your vampire’s journey feel more authentic. If an educational game could trick me into learning as much about Scottish folklore and Pictish etymology as Thousand Year Old Vampire did, then it’d be a huge success. Sadly there is little space to talk about how beautiful and fitting the scrapbook design is so suffice to say it is a masterpiece.
ANNA BLACKWELL