rpg with your eyes closed

daydreamer
diceless paperless solo quickly
rpg system by Val Rijov create and
live exciting,
unexpected
dream
stories X

methods for

characters
roleplay
entirely
in your

dice roll s ye s, it’s

possible!

adventures
head

plottwists
engine of ideas
memorization
O
daydreamer
version 0.4 by Val Ryzhov itsuno@gmail.com
(feel free to ping me about the game).
Hack of Freeform Universal RPG by Nathan Russel.

no dice, no paper, no table. A minimal narrative solo rpg with your eyes closed.
When you want to explore stories while on a train or drifting off to sleep.

Your character has a drive (an attitude, belief or instinct) and 5 tags:
• a concept to define them (descriptor and noun)
E.g. Mystic assassin dancer; Young alien refugee; Disillusioned Shinra special ops ex agent.
• 2 edges to distinguish them (cool abilities)
Yoga master & Enhanced body; Force-sensitive & Guild thief; Way of the Sword & Social camo.
• a memento / gear / familiar to help them (make it iconic)
Set of grapple claw-knives; Weird tele-staff; Intelligent pet cyber bat.
• 1 flaw to hinder them (make it dangerous)
Impractical flashy clothes; Always angry; Tracked by Shinra.

tags may count as helpful (+) or hindering (−) depending on the situation.

Think story beat → scene → episode → story arc. Start each scene in medias res (just
before interesting action). Envision and narrate it like a movie. Pile on pressure. Say
what the truth demands. For surprise factor, skip the first 2 things that come to mind
and use the third one. Move the story beats at a high pace.

action roll: Resolve your action once per story beat when both success and failure
are interesting, by asking: do i achieve x?
All relevant helpful tags and circumstances minus
all relevant hindering tags and circumstances give you the answer:

−2 no, and… (make things much worse)

−1 no, but… (punish, but introduce a silver lining or an opportunity)
0 yes, but… (add a complication or a heavy price)
1 yes, because… (describe and move to the next story beat)
2 yes, and… (make it awesome)

If you get bogged down by details, resolve with a yes, but… (it moves story forward).

Start with 3 drama points. Gain 1 when you follow your drive dramatically, use your
flaw to your benefit (as a +tag) or achieve something amazing. Spend 1 to:
• add a +tag (narrate a helpful circumstance) to a scene when resolving action
• avoid a −tag (hindering condition) that results from your action

Remove conditions narratively. At the start of a new episode set drama points to 3.
After you resolve a story arc, change your drive and flaw and gain a new edge
(+tag). Play out a closing scene, where your character reflects on that.

Clever diceless resolution system from an FU hack I couldn’t find the source of. Please tell me, if you know.
“Say what the truth demands” is an awesome formula from Monsterhearts 2 by Avery Alder.
optional gameplay tools
setup. In a google doc or other phone-glanceable app put down
• your character’s drive, 5 tags, drama points and current conditions (if any)
• a pragraph of the character’s backstory, explaining their drive
• bullet points about the world, factions and important characters (hashtags help)
• some evocative art of the characters and setting to get imagination going
• a short summary of each session whenever you can
• a black background to avoid bright light before sleep :) also it looks cool
All this is not constantly needed in play, just to remind, chronicle and share.

𝒊  d10 (imaginary dice). Pick two 3-digit numbers and add them together. Then
multiply the units digit by six and add all other digits. The new number’s units digit
is your roll. E.g. 673 + 375 = 1048 → 1 + 0 + 4 + 8 × 6 = 53, the roll is a 3.

When resolving an action, roll 𝒊  d10 and increase your action result if the roll
is even, or decrease if the roll is odd, as follows:
even 0 2 4 6 8
+1 +1 +1 +2 +3
odd 1 3 5 7 9 So, even is good, odd is bad, highest
−1 −1 −1 −2 −3 numbers are +/−3, next to highest +/−2.

unseen oracle. Roll 𝒊  d10 to answer yes (even roll) or no (odd), the higher the
more radical the answer. 8 is ‘Hell, yes!’, 9 is ‘Hell, no!‘. 0 is ‘Sort of?‘

hidden spring. Set a delayed event, similar to a clock. On each no action result
ask the unseen oracle if the event happens.

invisible clock. Imagine a 3 or 4 step clock, advance with each story beat or no
result. If the clock hits last step, the delayed event happens in the next story beat.

scene generator. If you want guidance for a scene, roll 𝒊  d10.

• even / odd — the situation is benefitial / hindering
•h igher numbers mean more intense and unexpected situations. Thus, 9 is a major
plot twist (odd, so not in a good way)
• if divisible by 3 (0, 3, 6, 9) it is emotional and/or tied to character’s backstory
• if divisible by 4 (0, 4, 8) it allows removing a condition or finding unexpected help
•o ptionally, roll again for element/theme, interpret freely, based on context and
any personal associations (you can roll twice for a combined effect):

Wind Speed Earth Wild Water Cold Fire Enemy Light Sun Dark Mystery
Mind Surprise Calm Blood Joy Loss
0 Words 2 Power 4 Sadness 6 Agression 8 Gift 9 Fear
Purity Spirit Intuition Freedom Wealth Death
Honor Heal Deceit Passion Luck Threat
1 Trust 3 Poison 5 Memory 7 Heart Virtue Barrier

Imaginary Dice based on random numbers in your head by mathematician George Marsaglia.
Concept of clocks is from Apocalypse World by D. Vincent Baker and Meguey Baker
optional story tools
rich tags. Try to make tags fairly versatile (but not so generic they trigger almost
every time) and not overlapping too much thematically with each other. Folding 2
things into a tag works well (Risk-taking Healer, Unreliable Telekinesis). Also fun if
tags can backfire. Adjust them after play if you need to.
vignette. In the beginning of your story introduce the character in a calm scene,
as they reflect on an important memory or the latest adventure they had, based on
their back story. Once in a while do a vignette like that again to narrate character’s
thoughts and emotions as the story unfolds.
flashback. Play out a story beat, a scene or an episode from the past.
light the beacon. Come up with an idea of an intermediate destination for the
current story to work towards, reachable in 1-2 episodes. The Beacon can ‘go out’
if the story takes a different turn, and you light a new one.
story arc. Follow a story structure in episodes. Or use individual episode types
that fit your story. An episode is usually told in 1 to 3 sessions, and typically has
some sort of intermediate resolution to its events.
1 
Inciting incident, meeting other key 6 
Travel above and beyond for
characters, setting the goal. knowledge and power. Wise
helpers. Hard truths. Growth.
2 
On the way to the first Beacon,
relationships grow, back stories 7 
Return. Others and the world
revealed. through a new lens.
3 
Reach the first Beacon. Escalate. 8 
Journey to the ultimate showdown.
Dire peril. Ramp up pressure.
4 S
 tandoff. Loyalties tested and 9 C
 limax. Final standoff, sacrifices,
revealed. False triumph or bitter losses and victory/tragedy.
defeat. New Beacon.
10 Denouement. Things go back
5 
Recovery and preparations. to how they were, but not quite.
Redemption. New help. Heroes part ways. Epilogue.
Foreshadowing of the future.

lost pages. If you feel stuck with the narrative, just do a time skip. Narrate briefly
what came to pass, where the characters are in a new situation and what they
know about it. Scene Generator can help.
course correction. You may change previous facts of the story if you don’t
quite like the way it’s going. Disregard contradictions that aren’t easy to resolve.
Add or remove tags as needed.
reset: if you loose track of your last scene after a hiatus, reconstruct it as best you
can and resolve with a yes, but… & a fitting condition and set drama points to 2.
scene structure
To help guide the story, use scene types. A scene has a single location and time,
same key characters and a single objective.
type. Decide what type the next scene should be: action/social, investigation,
travel,downtime or flashback. Mix things up, but feel free to choose the same
type again if the story calls for it. Set up scenes with immersion alphabet.
action/social scene
• State your character’s goal
• State the obstacle(s)
• Determine position by asking am i at an advantage? (action roll)

investigation scene
• State your character’s goal
• State potential danger
• Describe your actions and ask do i find the answer? (action roll)

travel scene
• Determine time span and destination of travel
• Narrate a vignette hilighting the feel of the journey
• (Optionally) Ask the oracle if the unexpected happens, if so, change scene.

downtime scene
• State who or what is important to the character here
• Narrate a vignette of their thoughts, feelings, words or actions
• Change / remove a condition if narratively appropriate
flashback
• State the takeaway of the flashback for the story
• Narrate the flashback as a vignette
• Work the takeaway into the next scene

immersion alphabet
Setting up a scene, describe it’s
a — ‘Atmosphere’ — humidity, smell, air movement, temperature
b — ‘Brightness’ — light, shadows
C — ‘Colors’ — look, shapes
d — ‘Density’— weight, texture
e — ‘Echo’ — sounds
F — ‘Feeling’— mood, your reaction

story arc setup

Before play define
• Ultimate goal, derived from drive and dictating the first beacon
• Opposition (factions, forces), which will provide obstacles
• Countdown timer, what will happen if the hero is too late
• Update those as needed
advanced decimal divination
Choose 5 seed decks (listed on the next page). I suggest alterating between these:
•e
 lement — rhyme (good for even, bad for odd) — cliche — higher icon — twist
•e
 lement — lesser icon — rune — diety — twist

Roll 5𝒊  d10. As you roll, match each result to its deck, so it’s easier to remember. E.g. you
decide on the 1st divination scheme, pick numbers 378 & 499 → 3+7=0 (Wind), 7+8=15 (Life,
previous number is even), 8+4=2 (Sides), 4+9=13 (Luminaries), 9+9=18 (Mind-bending).

lose the numbers on cliches

“seven wonders” is just mnemonics, the seed to think about is wonders, — any wonders,
not necessarily the Pyramids or the Colossus of Rhodes.

divination (5 seeds make a card)

Analyze the 5 seeds and combine them into a flashy name of a made-up ‘tarot card’.
Imagine how it looks, what’s on the card. It’s fine to stretch concepts a bit and ignore seeds
if they refuse to cooperate. The goal is a complex unexpected concept.

E.g. I use seeds from numbers above 05238 — Wind/Mind/Honor, Life, Sides, Luminaries,
Mind-bending. The mood and associations give me Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
card title (totally okay to steal things from pop culture). Maybe it’s a bit vague. Sides+Lumi-
naries reminds me of Dark Side of the Moon, maybe Dark Side of the Mind? But overall feel-
ing is more positive, I think, so, mind shining in the dark? I like it, has a germ of a story.

Let’s try again though, for demonstration purposes, and I rephrase seeds a bit to create new
meaning. Air/Purity/Trust, Life, Sides, Celestial bodies, Mind-bending. I’ll lean into Purity,
Life, Celestial. Mind-bending suggests divine or magical, inexplicable. The Miracle of Life?
I need a bit more. Air gives me an idea of breath. purifying winds? I like that, simple and
easy to implement. A new force in my story. If I want a bit more flare, I could go with, say,
purifying winds for a sinful world.

Another example, I choose 2nd scheme, roll: 944 & 128 → 9+4=13 (Earth), 4+4=8 (Eyes),
4+1=5 (V), 1+2=3 (Thor), 2+8=0 (Something important is missing). Missing Eyes jump out at
me. Maybe. Thor, Wild, Surprise, Poison, something thats starts with V. I’ll use the ‘skip 2
things that first come to mind’ rule here: V for Viper, skip, V for Volatile, skip. V for Vindictive,
use it. Someone lost their eyes and resents it, violently. revenge of the blinded god?
Sounds like an interesting card. May not necessarily mean god. Poison and Wild give me
an idea of a defeated snake. last bite of a defeated snake? I like this one better, more
specific.

lose the seeds

Now forget all the seeds and judge the situation through the meaning of the card as you
imagine and understand it, not the seeds.

Losing numbers and seeds frees you from the need to remeber too many things at once,
rolling them up into a single unique concept. It also allows you to get different ‘tarot
cards’ even with similar rolls, by choosing different associations.
 elemental deck

Wind Speed Earth Wild Water Cold Fire Enemy Light Sun Dark Mystery
Mind Surprise Calm Blood Joy Loss
0 Words 2 Power 4 Sadness 6 Agression 8 Gift 9 Fear
Purity Spirit Intuition Freedom Wealth Death
Honor Heal Deceit Passion Luck Threat
1 Trust 3 Poison 5 Memory 7 Heart Virtue Barrier

rhyme deck cliche deck lesser icon

Good Bad
0 is hero 0 is below 0 effort 0 globe Icons
resemble
1 is sun 1 is run 1 god 1 arrow number
2 is clue 2 is zoo 2 sides 2 hook figures
visually
3 is tree 3 is spree 3 rings 3 spiral
4 is lore 4 is gore 4 corners 4 sail
5 is life 5 is knife 5 stars 5 path
6 is mix 6 is tricks 6 senses 6 fruit
7 is heaven 7 is felon 7 wonders 7 scythe
8 is gate 8 is hate 800-lb gorilla 8 eyes
9 is shine 9 is wine 9 hells 9 head

runes deck of gods

0 zeus Gods

Z O T O F
Runes are first or start with
prominent letters 1 odin the first
of the numerals
(3 is TH) 2 theia letter of a
numeral
3 thor

V X S E N
4 freya
5 fate
6 stix
7 selena
8 ægir
higher icon 9 nyx

All decks are

designed to be
memorized based
on digit shape,
The burning Tower Two Lovers Three Luminaries: Sun, 4 Seasons name or association.
Wheel looks resembles a 1 Moon and Stars
It may be better to
like a 0
learn and introduce
them into play
gradually. Feel
free to modify the
decks closer to your
The Flow is 6 is the Devil The Gibbet 8 resembles an 9 kinda looks like
preferences and
shaped like a 5 looks like 7 Hourglass a cat with a tail way of thinking.
(if you squint)
twist deck

0 something 1 something is 2 something is 3 something 4 delicate balance

important is unique / never a reflection / may / will / lightness / fragility
missing here seen or heard doppelganger spring to action
of before

5 it is not what 6 something 7 situation takes 8 it is magical 9 it spirals out

it seems / lies / is unlocked / a sharp turn / inexplicable / of control
hidden / illusion revealed danger mind-bending

multiple 𝒊  d10: for sevral rolls at once, take the 2-digit result of the first roll
and use it as input for the next roll, e.g. 15 2 43 → 1+5+2+4+3*7 = 31, the roll is 1
→ 3+1*7= 10, the roll is 0 → 1+0*7 = 1, the roll is 1 → 0+1*7, the roll is 7, an so on.

scene generator for dungeons:

state the dungeon theme and your goals here. Roll for each location.
• odd rolls mean monsters and traps (number = approx. loot value)
• even rolls mean features, puzzles, stairs
• 9 is a boss enc with a prize.
• if divisible by 3 (0, 3, 6, 9) it is thematic or tied to previous enc (keys to locks,
switches, consequences),
• if divisible by 4 (0, 4, 8) there is treasure, healing, helpers, exits.

dungeon rooms roll 3𝒊  d10 first is room, second is theme, and odd theme
roll means danger. Third roll is bad deck if danger, good deck if not. Doors
are a suggestion, add things as feels logical/thematic.

0 myst. hole, shaft, 1 corridor 2 way junct. 3 way junct. 4 rectang., mural,
pool, window, portal object, trapdor

5 branching, maze, 6 hex room, magic, 7 c rossing, river, 8 pillared hall, tomb, 9 winding stairs
burrow, erosion rotation, secrets lava, abyss temple, gallery (↑↓), weird, pit
 #
Theme # is good rhyme story or scene
Aspects # is bad rhyme higher twist
of the icon
theme, “# cliche”
associa-
tions lesser icon

ru
deity

ne
all decks for thought numerology
Pick two 3-digit numbers and string them together. Then add the first two
digits to get the first roll, second and third digits for the secod roll, etc. E.g.
117 782 → 1 +1=2, 1 +7=8, 7 +7=14, 7+8=15, 8+2=10, the 5 rolls are 2 8 4 5 and 0.

0 0 is hero Something
0 is below
“zero effort”
important
is missing
?
globe the wheel
Wind
Speed Z zeus
Mind
Words
Purity

1
Honor 1 is sun Something
Trust
1 is run is unique /
“one god” never heard of
before
arrow
O the tower odin

2 2 is clue Something
2 is zoo is a reflection
“two sides”
Earth hook
the lovers
Wild
Surprise
T toth
Power
Spirit
Heal
3 Poison 3 is tree Something
3 is spree may spring to
“three rings” action
spiral the lights
O thor
4 4 is lore Fragile
4 is gore balance
“four corners”
Water sail the seasons
Cold
Calm
F freya
Sadness
Intuition
Deceit
5 Memory 5 is life It is not what
5 is knife it seems
“five stars”
path the river

V fate

6 6 is fix Something
6 is tricks is unlocked
“six senses”
Fire fruit the devil

Enemy
Blood
X stix
Agression
Freedom
Passion
7 Heart 7 is heaven Situation
7 is felon takes a sharp
“seven wonders” turn
scythe the hangman

S selena

8
Light 8 is gate It is mind-
Sun 8 is hate bending
Joy
Gift “eight hundred
Wealth
Luck
pound gorilla”
the time
Virtue
eyes E ægir

9
Dark 9 is shine It spirals out
Mystery 9 is mine of control
Loss
Fear “nine hells”
Death
Threat head the cat
Barrier
N nyx