Explore the endless expanse of a mysterious castle in solo RPG Colostle

Strap a piece of automaton to your back and explore an entire world inside a castle with solo RPG Colostle, which is in its final hours of crowdfunding on Kickstarter.

This adventure for one casts players as adventurers in a mysterious world searching for rare and dangerous sources of magic to help keep a town alive and safe from the dangers outside its walls. Unlike your bog standard fantasy setting, magic exists only inside a Rook - a hulking machine with seemingly no imperative beyond killing foolhardy hunters that would attempt to harvest its precious fuel and arms.

Choose from three classes - The Armed, The Followed and The Helmed - styled on scavenged Rook parts that allow them special abilities in combat as well as when exploring. The narrative flows from a series of prompts drawn from a deck of playing cards. The suit, number and colour can all correspond to a different twist and turn, leading characters to unexpected locations and sudden threats. But these writing prompts are meant to guide players to story decisions instead of spelling everything out.

“The game simply suggests things, like writing prompts, set against a fantastical world. It's up to you what they all mean for your greater story,” said designer Nich Angell on the campaign's description page.

There’s also no clear goal in mind when playing Colostle. An adventurer could be a glory seeker always chasing a larger and more exciting fight, or they could be on a classic Campbellian quest for a mystical item that will save their hometown. Others still might seek to understand the world of Colostle and whether the towering walls on the horizon really do stretch into eternity.

The Kickstarter campaign for Colostle will end on February 11th, giving those interested just over 48 hours as of time of writing to support the project. It has already surpassed its initial goal and unlocked several stretch goal options for hardcover printing, additional journal pages and more. A digital copy can be obtained for just £3 ($4), and physical versions start at £6 ($8). Shipping is expected to begin in March.