Let me preface this with the elephant in the room. At the start of October, 2023, the Israel–Hamas war became plastered over the news and fresh on everyone’s minds as fear loomed over the horizons. The main reason for this is because of a third-party that got caught in the crossfire: Palestine and the Gaza Strip, as the conflict had killed thousands of Palestinians, many of which were children. What’s worse is that Israel’s war “effort” is the very cause of those casualties, to put extremely lightly.
This, coupled with the last year’s Russia–Ukraine conflict (of which is still ongoing) and even several close calls that had been strung together since the start of 2020, a lot of fear regarding WWIII had increased and, personally, I can’t help but sympathize with the people who are afraid that one day, they’re gonna wake up to hear that war has been declared.
With that and just how recent the event was overall, my thought was to just cancel this year’s Solo RPG Remembrance Day altogether, since war was the last thing on everyone’s mind right now, even compared to last year with the Russia–Ukraine conflict.
However, when I was reviewing last year’s post, I came across this quote from past me:
In hindsight, some may argue that me not doing a solo game surrounding war might be for the best given the real-life war that is going on right now in Ukraine, but isn’t that more of a reason for why I would need to do one, to honor those who are currently fighting to ensure peace for the country?
Though, it’s a blessing in disguise, as I can get these feelings out, because at one point, I also asked myself “why exactly did I keep this tradition going when there were so many others to keep going?” and thanks to this […], I was able to understand why.
It was to recapture some of the nostalgia I had with some movies I watched so long ago and live them out once more in solo roleplaying, but also to step in the boots of those who have fought and died for peace, even if it was behind a screen and some virtual dice.
https://solorpgvoyages.wordpress.com/2022/11/11/why-do-i-do-remembrance-day-posts/
I was put into this exact situation before last year and I found a brand-new meaning by looking back at my old archives. That’s the reason why it’s called Remembrance Day, as it gives us a chance to remember that we’ve been in these situations before where it seemed like the entire world would destroy itself but ultimately peace, freedom, and justice won.
And so, let us not look into the future, but rather the past, with the game Dead Stick. It’s a journalling RPG that puts us in the shoes of, not a solider, but rather a crew mechanic who fixes up the aircraft for soldiers to go off in. Skimming through the PDF, there were some really intriguing moments in here that really speak to me in a style similar to Thousand-Year-Old Vampire.
So without any further delay, let’s get into this game with backstory creation. This is done by answering some questions via coin flips, so, I shall do that right now.
(Flip… TH, HH, TT, HH, TH)
And now to tally the results and to write a backstory for him.
- What country have you grown up in?: A strict autocracy where free thought is rejected
- and people must toil for the state.
- What level of technology is this war being fought with?: Dashing biplanes that were little more than fantasy a decade before.
- How did the war start?: Mistakenly and without intent by either side, as if everyone was sleepwalking into disaster.
- Millions of people from your country either signed up or were forcibly drafted into uniform. How did you end up in the military?: You signed up enthusiastically and patriotically as soon as hostilities started. You couldn’t wait.
- Your aptitude for mechanics gave you the rare option of being able to choose which occupational specialty you would have. Why did you pick aircraft maintenance?: It seemed safer than other jobs on offer. Better than digging trenches or manning a machine gun.
And with that generated, we can begin the game. For the sake of time, we will be doing the shorter war variant, which you will see why later on.
As with most journalling games, the entry begins with rolling a die.
[Roll… 6]
A Raid! Enemy planes dart out of the clouds raining death and destruction down on your airfield. The barracks are hit, you know your friend was sleeping there. But the pilots are yelling at you to get their planes into the sky. Everyone knows the only hope the airfield has is to get those planes into the air.
Where do you run to? The barracks where your friend may be dead or dying, or the flight line to get the aircraft in the air? What consequences does your choice have?
Oooh, this is interesting. I assume this is my first day on the job and already, we have a fight on our hands. I’m going to ask for a detail check (I’m using Foundry’s Mythic plug in by JeansenVaars, so no dice rolls)
(Disfavors thread; Curiously Empty)
… Huh. Alright, I got something.
Dear journal,
There was a raid at my camp. Several planes rained down destruction on the field. On the orders of the training, I chose to ignore a friend I had made, who was sleeping in the barracks when it was hit, to go get the airplanes flying.
Except there was one problem: the planes had no fuel. That odd, because I had filled them up this morning. It seemed like someone had possibly siphoned them? Or… perhaps I might have forgotten? I don’t know what had happened. I did everything as instructed, but somehow the fuel was empty, and so we were sitting ducks for the enemy fighters.
The turrets still worked, however, and we managed to get some of them down, but the damage was done and several casualties were reported, among them was my friend…
Had those planes been fueled up and ready to go, they would have been able to fly and saved so many people that day. Perhaps my own friend may have been saved as a result. While everyone else was convinced there was an enemy infiltrator, I had convinced myself that I may have not done my duty and filled up the fuel.
And so, I had reprimanded myself… As I usually do.
After that, we flip a coin to see how the war is progressing:
(flip)
Heads. Which means a victory. So the way the end game works is that I need to flip six heads (or five more) in order to have either a victory or defeat. There’s another path to end game, but I’ll explain that when we get to it. Onto the next skirmish.
[Roll… 8]
Some of the other ground crews have hooked up a still and brewed some liquor ‘from back home’. You gather around with the other crew as they drink and toast to lost parents, lost comrades, lost loves, and lost memories.
Which person did you lose that you toast to? Are the memories of home happy or depressing?
Oh, you already know what’s going to be on his mind.
Dear journal,
Some of us had celebrated a recent victory we had over the enemy forces and drank to our hearts content. We gave a toast to the people we had lost and, of course, I toasted to the friend I had lost in the attack.
It’s strange, I never even learned his name and yet I am mourning for him. What’s odder is that many of us just shrugged off the loss of life as a stumbling block in the path of victory. Something that was more an inconvenience than an actual thing to be upset about.
Yet… I felt different. Like I should feel more than just celebrating or honoring his death.
As I questioned myself if he did deserve to die so that we may secure a victory.
(flip)
Tails. This is getting interesting so far, as we’re starting to see just how much the war is deteriorating his mind.
[Roll… 3]
The war officially enters its third year with no end in sight. The pilots and groundcrew are all going to the canteen to commiserate the only way they know how to, with lots of drinking.
Do you go with the pilots to drink or do you stay in the barracks alone? Why?
Damn, third year already? Guess the recent events were just before the third year.
Dear Journal,
I drank for the first time. When I had first joined the army, I believed I was fighting for my country, but after recent events, I had begun to doubt myself.
Maybe it’s because I still blame myself for letting the nameless friend die, or perhaps I’m starting to doubt if his death was necessary for the war effort. Whatever the case, it was a pain I needed to numb with alcohol, lots of it.
It’s not gonna be good for me in the morning, I can say that much.
(Flip…)
Heads, another victory.
[Roll… 13]
A new airframe has been delivered and it promises to be the next generation in aircraft design and armament. While it is the better craft in almost every way, you are nostalgic for the older model, which got your pilots through a few tough scrapes since the start of the war.
What do you and your fellow ground crew do to send off the older model?
Now, given the timing of the war (around WWI), it implies this is a WWII-type airframe, but I want to invite Mythic to design the aircraft for me via a detail check.
(Disfavors NPC, the NPC in this context being the ground crew; Bleakly Aromatic)
Ooooooh, this is gonna be rough.
Dear Journal,
A new model of aircraft arrived that’s a new kind of weapon. They won’t be doing a lot of dogfighting anymore, but that means I’ll be doing double duty in supplying the planes with a special gas it will be dusting the battlefield with.
The gas smells like shit and even our commander warned us not to breathe it in if we value our lives, so I don’t know what it’s gonna do to the enemy. If it can help win the war a little sooner though, so be it.
The older models were getting rough around the patches anyways, so while we were told to decommission them, we knew better. These aircrafts we got are special case weapons and eventually the enemies will create their own countermeasures, so as soon as they do, we need these boys back in the air asap.
So, we had them in the old barnyard where no one lives and regularly upgrade them with scraps we get from the battle, hoping one day we use them to win the war.
(Flip)
Tails. We’re 2 for 2 now.
[Roll… 9]
Breakthrough! Word has just come down from command that your nation’s forces have made a significant breakthrough in the stalemate and have advanced. You’ve been living at this airbase for several years now and you’ve come to think of it like a home of sorts.
What about this base will you miss as you pack your equipment and personal items?
This is perfect timing on both levels because the journal just brought up the new airframe and we got a stalemate.
Dear journal,
The new airframe had done wonderfully on the battlefield, wiping out entire battalions at once. This victory meant that we are now advancing our base of operations to a newly occupied city, though, that also means leaving behind the old base.
Obviously, we can’t bring along the old aircraft as it’ll be hard to situate them in the city so they will be sorely missed, but as I left, I looked to the remains of the barracks where that friend had slept and met his end.
Even now, I still think of his demise. I still think of my fault in not preparing the planes. I still think of the countless lives unnecessarily lost during the war.
And as we drove through the battlefield, I almost lost my lunch as we passed through what seemed to be the largest count of bodies from both friend and foe alike…
This… was most definitely the work of the new airframes.
Before we flip a coin, I wanna ask Mythic what the city is like.
(Focus PC; Quaintly Glorious)
So it’s a small villa that seemed to just be surrendered once the planes rolled in, untouched by the gasses.
(Flip…)
And it’s heads. I’d be very surprised if it was tails, but then again, given what I had written up, it might have made sense in a historical standpoint.
[Roll… 9]
Aha! Now here’s where things get interesting. If you roll the same event, which is coincidentally the exact event we have, then it’s going to be a similar event, just more destructive and our coin flip will count as two progresses.
Dear journal,
The aircraft had turned the tide of battle in ways I could never comprehend. While they never publish it in the news, it’s clear that it is the sole contributor to the spike in the death toll in the recent battles. It is indiscriminate to friend and foe alike. For many of us, we gave it the moniker of the Pale Rider, as we later discovered that not even the crops around the battlefield would be able to be grown here.
Yet, we moved to our new base…
(Favors PC; Judgmentally Less)
A city that used to be under our nation’s rule before the enemy seized it. As a result, our war effort liberated them and they had become so grateful as to offer their own homes to us.
Yet, even as I do, I continually wonder if what I’m leaving behind isn’t something material, but rather immaterial:
My devotion to the nation that had been trained into me since I was young.
(Flip…)
And now that’s two defeats. I think these are the moral defeats that I was talking about as now people are realizing that these are serious war crimes that the nation is doing.
[Roll… 8]
Another scene repeat. If we flip tails, it’s all over.
Dear Journal,
We drank and celebrated our recent victories. I had downed a bottle for the first time and it was the first time I had gotten fully drunk. My innermost feelings poured out like wine.
I lashed out at my fellow men, expressing my frustrations of how I was let off of not filling up the airplanes, how we’re expected to just accept fellow men dying if it meant a victory, how we’re to just accept the Pale Rider’s destruction.
The moment I began to outright question the authority of our nation…
[Q: Do the others in the army try to kill him? Odds: Likely. Favored Answer?: No. A: No!)
They surprisingly come forward with their own doubts. Perhaps it was the wine, but they had questioned the nation for a long time, but never truly decided to voice them out for fear of reprisal or worse.
Until now.
I pushed forward, telling them all that desertion is an option. With the Pale Rider, victory was almost assured and so the Autoarch won’t notice a sect of the army missing.
[Q: Do they go with this? Odds: Very Likely. Favored Answer: Yes. A: Yes! With a Random Event!]
(Close Thread; Assist Military)
Instead, one person proposes a different route: we leak the weak points of the Pale Rider to the enemy so that they may have a fighting chance. They have a surefire way to ensure it doesn’t come back to us. As most of us were drunk with rage and wine, we just did it on the spot.
Whatever comes next, the war will be over soon…
Before I flip the coin, you may have noticed that my questioning of Mythic was a little different compared to the other times. That’s because I decided to try out Mythic’s other version of the Fate Chart for once.
I’m a bit of a grognard with Mythic, but had always stuck to CRGE’s Fate Chart, but the simplicity of both the 11 target number and just having the Foundry Plug-in do it automatically were both really easy to use, so it was very much a fresh change of pace compared to OG Mythic’s Fate Chart.
Now then… The flip.
(Flip…)
Tails.
It’s over.
We “lost”.
When the news of the defeat breaks, you know you should be sad or depressed, but truth be told all you feel is relief. At least now the killing and death will stop.
Given how he’s the one who leaked the information, this is extremely accurate.
The armistice calls for all planes and equipment to be turned over to the enemy. You and the rest of the groundcrew refuse and start setting fire to the airbase and the planes.
This not so much, but I think this is more of an Oxygen Destroyer situation where the crew recognizes that the weapon is too destructive in anyone’s hands and so they have to destroy everything.
What do you feel when you watch the planes you so carefully kept running for so long go up in flames?
Considering at this point they were mostly Pale Riders? Most likely satisfaction. The old models are still back at the old base where they’ll most likely be trophies of a better time.
Back home friends and families won’t meet your eye. Maybe they are embarrassed, or ashamed, or disappointed. Of you, your nation, or themselves, you aren’t quite sure. Discontent proliferates as terrible people feed on the anger of the defeated population. How do you respond to these feelings?
Considering that he had that whole “I left a friend to die at the barracks and I may have not even filled up the planes for battle” and how he’s mostly a contributor to the defeat, feeling’s mutual.
After a decade or two, the injustice of the defeat has been too much for your nation to handle. In a fit of rage, led by demagogues with hate in their hearts, your country marches to war again. You are called to serve yet again, this time by a nation you no longer recognize. What do you do?
For this, I think we can do one last journal entry:
Dear journal,
War is looming once more. Blame is put on people who had no crime committed but the sins of their father. What’s worse is that these leaders who would spearhead the battles praised the Pale Riders and worked on improving them in the two decades that had passed.
When the recruitment… No, the conscription came around, I knew that this journal must be left behind for future generations to read, so that others may see the war crimes being committed and know the warning signs before they too suffer the same pain I felt.
As for where I will go, I will not say for fear that they will find me. My only dream is that when they do find me, they will be on the receiving end of a raid from aircraft personally fitted by me…
Signed,
Otto Manfried
And then as a sort of ending stinger, we cut to Otto on the western front working with some allies on a new weapon that could counter the Pale Riders, one that could stop the war before it can even begin.
And with that, we end Dead Stick. It’s a really good journalling game and I put it up there with Thousand-Year-Old Vampire in terms of thought-and-emotion provoking prompts. But what makes this one of the best RPGs to play for Remembrance Day is capturing the essence of what I brought up at the beginning.
The game is written to never, at any point, glorify war but rather show the mental and emotional scars it leaves on even the people who don’t see active combat on the daily. While at first, I believed there was inspiration from WWI, a lot of the wording from the “how did the war begin” and the “lost the war” sections are vague enough that you could justify the inspiration being drawn from any of the wars.
All the prompts are extremely well done with a ton of thought put into them and exceedingly so with how it does repeat rolls. It allows a person to fully immerse themselves into the role and play out the game as they see fit, eventually rolling to one of three conclusions. The fact that they also account for a shorter game is also a great addition to the game.
Overall, it’s an extremely high-quality game to play if you ever want to be in the shoes of a crew mechanic and I’m glad I chose to play this game during this particular Remembrance Day. Bon Voyage, gamers.
Solo RPG Voyages 