The Void Explorer's Log

Explorer's Note

Welcome to the miserable wreck that's what's left of the salvage ship The Wretched. This solo journaling RPG has us assuming the role of one of the ship's flight engineers as we try to either get the ship flying again or activate the distress beacon before the alien monster that slaughtered the rest of the crew finally claims us. While the game encourages us to play with a Jenga tower to simulate damage to the ship and its myriad systems, I do not currently own a Jenga tower and am not inclined to go to any particular reality just to buy a Jenga tower, so any and all damage to the ship will simply be narrative and our only threat will be the monster trying to get back inside.

To briefly explain how to play, to see what happens during a day on board the Wretched, I roll a d6. I then shuffle a deck of cards and draw a number of them equal to what I rolled on the d6. These cards tell me which prompts to address during that day's log. Some cards are special and change how the day or the entire playthrough go, such as putting the rest of the day's cards back in the deck or increasing the effective range of the repaired distress beacon. These special cards will be mentioned as an Explorer's Note at the end of their log entry along with what they do. There will also be an Explorer's Note whever we successfully remove a token from the distress beacon's countdown timer.

If you like what you see or want to play along, you can get The Wretched here.

One thing I should note:

• confined spaces
• physical injury
• solitude and abandonment
• death
• descriptions of death
• hopelessness

Additionally, a few of these entries were also posted to my Tumblr blog before I decided the format didn't really fit what I was going for. As such, I've taken the liberty of bringing them over and giving them some updates. This does mean our original Flight Engineer Privyre is being renamed to keep things consistent. :')

Flight Engineer's Log #1

Day 1, salvage ship The Wretched. Flight Engineer Thorn reporting.

The other members of the crew are dead and the engines remain non-operational, though ship integrity remains good and life support systems are still active. I successfully jettisoned the intruder from the airlock, but it remains alive and continues to try to access the ship. With a little luck, I can repair the distress beacon and somebody will pick me up.

This is Thorn, the last survivor of the Wretched, signing off.

Flight Engineer's Log #2

Day 2, salvage ship The Wretched. Flight Engineer Thorn reporting.

I woke up to find yesterday's silence replaced by a loud, unhealthy grinding noise. After a few hours, I was able to identify the source of the grinding: the life support system, though I haven't the foggiest what's wrong with it or how to fix it. If it fails before I can sort it out, I'll be forced into one of the self-contained EVA suits the salvagers use, but without the life support system to recharge them, I'll still be running on borrowed time.

While I was examining the life support system, I could hear the creature banging against the hull nearby, seemingly trying to break its way back into the ship. With limited options at my disposal, I made my way to the cargo bay and jettisoned some of what was left of our non-essential cargo in the hopes the creature would mistake it for one of our escape pods and follow it. While I admit this was a risk, it seems to have worked for now. In the event it returns, however, I made a list of the best hiding places on the ship, just in case:

• Medical (plenty of supplies in case of injuries or illness as well as nutrient solution and water, plus plenty of nooks and crannies to hide in if necessary)
• Cargo Bay (plenty of hiding places, though not much in the way of food, water, and other supplies at this point)
• The Vents (confined space making it more difficult for the creature to follow me in an emergency, though not much room for me to maneuver or store supplies)
• Security (plenty of weapons and ammo, plus stockpiles supplies in the event of a lockdown)
• Mess Hall Kitchen (the ship's a remnant freom the pre-replicator age so it's stocked with plenty of food, water, knives, and hiding spots)

Eventually I found myself beat by the grinding noise in the life support system and decided to set up a second safe space elsewhere in the ship in case my quarters become unavailable for one reason or another. I was able to find an unlocked event room in the main crew quarters, but to my horror, I found it filled with the bodies of several of my now-late crewmates. I was able to identify a number of them, as well as Markus, one of the other engineers. As I began solemnly clearing bodies from the room, I recognized the remains of what normally passes as a cake here on the Wretched smeared all over the table, mixing with the blood splattered across the room. It seems they had all gathered here to celebrate a birthday when the creature attacked. I- I tried to preserve what was left of their dignity as I arranged their bodies in the hallway, but that blasted creature had done enough of a number to them that there wasn't much I could do.

*sigh*

What am I even up against out here? I remember folks saying they swore they saw it shapeshift, so I wonder if it's related to the Greek Lamia? Well, whatever it is, I'd rather not find out first-hand.

Suppose I should try getting at least some sleep, so this is Thorn, the last survivor of the Wretched, signing off.

Explorer's Note: The Ace of Spades was drawn from the deck. Normally, drawing this card would shuffle the King of Spades back into the deck, effectively buying us time against the monster, but we haven't drawn it yet so unfortunately it does nothing.