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Solipsist Website Here
Overview
A Solipsist: Someone who holds to the theory that the self can know nothing but its own modifications and that the self is the only existent thing.
The Solipsist RPG: A game where the world is little more than phantoms caused by the smallest particles of matter, Animacules, conforming to to the consensual will of each mind. As a solipsist your sense of self is strong enough to control the Animacule flow and shape reality in your own Vision.
Appearance
The online shop states that Solipsist is a 96 page 5.5"x8.5" perfect-bound book, and it ain't lying. It is said that good things come is small packages and this is true of Solipsist. While the distinctive lime-green cover may possibly be off-putting to some it does make it easy to find on the bookshelf.
The artwork is all B&W and, as befits the setting, varies in style constantly - some beautifully comic scenes through to more dark and gritty pieces. Wonderfully the art is l eyed out so that no two styles sit side-by-side, which is easy on the eye.
The fonts are all clear, the spacing perfect, the sidebars and comment text appropriately placed. If there are any spelling or grammatical errors I'm at a loss to find them. Finally the contents and index pages are comprehensive.
Setting
The world begins as we see it today. However, what if this world is only an illusion? This illusion is created by the smallest particles of creation - Animalcules. Their flow shapes the whole of reality in accordance with the will of peoples minds. Most people do this in small ways, not realising that it is their minds which shape the fabric of the universe. This mass of "sleeping minds" weaves the animacules into the Consensus - our day-to-day version of reality.
However some individuals have a strong enough Vision of what reality should be that they are able to move the animacules at will, changing the nature of reality at their whim. These individuals are Solipsists, walking a balance between fulfilling those things they want - their Obsessions - and those things that hold them close to the consensus - their Limitations.
Some fulfill their Vision and "Ascend" - vanishing into a world of their own devising. Back in the consensus the "sleeping minds" create a logical reason for a person to disappear unexpectedly from reality.
There is also another force of change in the world. Something different to the changes caused by other Solipsists. Eating away at the edges of the consensus. Nobody knows exactly what it is, but many Solipsists call it the Shadow. It is drawn to Solipsists, their changes and the things they hold dear and it works to change, undermine and destroy. It is more powerful than any single Solipsist, and it always comes back.
For that and many personal reasons, some Solipsists try and strike a balance between vanishing alone into their Vision and stay (at least partly) attached to the Consensus, finding other Solipsists to work with to stave off the threat of the Shadow.
The game setting begins in the world of today. By the end of the first session, who knows where it will be!
System
Solipsist is diceless. All actions are either made within the bounds of consensus and require no rules use or are handled by the mechanic for Changing Reality, as you bend it to your desired outcome. It allows a level of shared narration, with players being able to take narrative control when they Change Reality successfully. The GM also has access to veto and ensure play moves smoothly, as well as having some rules for the Shadow in is toolkit. So how does it all work?
Vision
The first thing every Solipsist needs is a Vision. This is a short statement describing the world the Solipsist wants to create. This has to focus on the Solipsist and their place in it, and a sentence or two should suffice.
At this stage one of my friends started to write a short story for his Vision; it hadn't even mentioned how it related to himself. In the end his initial idea and his Vision were two related, but different, things. Thankfully the rulebook is quite clear about what is expected, and has a bucket of examples to help you out.
Using 'Korgoth' as an example Solipsist his vision may be something like:
I want to live in a world of gritty adventure where I am a Warrior-King. Any problems can be solved by my undertaking of a heroic adventure.
Obsessions & Limitations
Next up you have to define the parts of your Solipsist that help and hinder them in making changes to reality. You begin with five Obsessions, splitting 9 points between them (minimum score of 1). These are the the things that, if fully realised, would drag you out of the consensus and into your own Vision. You also select five Limitations, again splitting 9 points between them (as above min score 1). Limitations are the hesitations that cloud your Vision in doubt; the people, places and items that tie you to the consensus; and the private goals and ambitions you wish to achieve before Ascending.
Continuing the above example Korgoth has the following:
Obsessions
I want to be a respected ruler (2)
I want modern technology to vanish (2)
I want to be a mighty warrior (3)
I want great wealth (1)
I want to travel the world (1)
Limitations
I'd miss the internet (2)
Medical conditions would be horrific (2)
I like my home comforts (1)
I have to look after my elderly aunt (3)
I don't like giving orders (1)
As gameplay progresses you can gain 'ticks' beside any Obsession or Limitation, representing your growing fixations or your increasing doubts surrounding your Vision. Ticks are gained when you attempt to change reality and either the Obsessions in question successfully validated or your change, or the Limitation prevented you from shaping reality. When you gain a number of ticks higher than the main score, the level of the Obsession/Limitation is raised by one and you remove any ticks accumulated for that entry.
Infestation, Tears and Ascending
As you will see shortly, there are circumstances when Changing Reality that will take you further from the consensus and drive you closer to Ascending. Two scores can cause this to happen, Infestation and Tears.
Infestation is a score that shows how much the Animacules flock to you. Causing major changes in the consensus gathers them around you, helping to facilitate future changes.
Tears (as in a rip, not the type you cry), are gained when a Change in reality goes wildly overboard, when you push harder than normal to make your Vision real or when one of your Obsessions is satisfied by the reality around you.
If at any point the number of Tears you have PLUS your Infestation divided by 5 is greater than the sum total of all your Limitation then you Ascend. You describe the reality you create for yourself and the Solipsist disappears from the consensus.
If Korgoth gained 8 Tears and 10 Infestation he would Ascend (8+ [10/5 = 2] = 10 against total of 9 points of Limitations)
Changing Reality
So, how exactly do you change reality. Well, simple if you are a Solipsist!
First you describe the change to reality that you are making. Two things must apply to the change: 1) It must some how fit in with your Vision and 2) it must involve you directly.
Next the GM rates the difficulty of the change. Changes that conform with previously stated facts are easier than those that try and work against the current consensus. Also making changes in areas where the Shadow is active is harder. Often a lot harder. Especially if it takes an interest in what you are doing. The minimum difficulty for a Change is 3.
Next now want to try and modify that difficulty so it is zero. If the score remains above zero then your change fails. If it goes bellow zero (into negative numbers) then it has been fulfilled, and then some!
To begin the modification you first add the values of any Limitation that would hold you back from making the intended change to the difficulty. From this new score deduct the value of any Obsessions that wold be fueled by your change coming true.
At this point if you are not at zero there are two things that can be done to try get you there. First up you can spend Infestation points to move your score one step closer to zero/point. You may not tip it above or bellow, but you can move it closer. If have ran out of Infestation and are desperate to make the change you can attempt to Push. This lowers the difficulty by five points and you immediately gain a Tear, as you rip yourself away from reality.
If after all this the difficulty is above zero then the change simply fails. Place a tick beside every Limitation that held you back.
If you hit zero on the spot then you get to narrate the change, adding or removing any element to reality that they feel necessary.
If the score ended up bellow zero then the GM gets to narrate the change as reality slips away from you and you give in to your Obsessions. In these circumstances you always get what you wanted, ut it goes alot further (such as trying to change reality so pigs can fly and ending up with all animals being able to fly, even those that live underground or in the sea). You also gain a Tear as you slip a step closer to Ascending, gain a number of Infestation points equal to the base difficulty of the change as the Animacules flock to you, and place a tick beside every Obsession that aided the change.
Other Stuff
In addition to all the above there are additional rules for Grounding yourself back to reality between stories, GM rules for the Shadow and how to fight it and rules for how to Change Reality when more than one Solipsist is involved, either passively or actively helping/hindering.
Conclusion
An awesome game with elegant mechanics. Bursting with ideas and all bound within 96 pages. So unbelievably good! I would strongly urge anyone interested in WW's Changeling or Mage and those who enjoy Nobilis or Amber to give this a try - I doubt you'll go back unchanged. All in all a joy to read.
As a final word I quote from the book itself:
"The world does not have enough sparkling pigeons."
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