At the beginning of the pandemic I was, like so many, laid off from a job that I had held for over seven years. It took me a while to pick myself up after that happened, and one things that helped me out of my rut was reading tarot. Just prior to being let go, I had started a multi-tiered Patreon where I was providing tarot readings for my Patrons every single day. Some days, there were multiple readings, depending on the moon phase or holiday.
Soon after losing my job, I also joined the case of an actual play D&D game called Saving Feyce, where I played a witch-flavored warlock. My interest in TTRPGs grew around this time, as nearly all of us at that table were using custom subclasses for our characters. This is where I discovered the indie TTRPG scene and Reader, let me tell you: I was a goner.
I still remember sitting in bed with my tarot deck, the instructions for Princess with a Cursed Sword on my phone. The framework for the game was so elegant, so easy to understand. It was perfect for someone like me, who loves writing creative stories but thrives with direction. The rules and cards give you just enough of a framework to guide you, but not so much that it stifles your ability to write a story of your own.
One of the most refined parts of Princess with a Cursed Sword is that it leaves so much open to the chosen narrative of the player. Are you wanting a classic princess in a large ballgown, who is forced into this journey to rid herself of a cursed sword? Or maybe she’s a warrior princess, built and trained for battle who decides to give into the sword’s demands? Even still, you could create a princess who is the second son to a spacefaring race of people and needs to return the sword to the “rightful” heir. There are so many options within the given framework.
Princess with a Cursed Sword is one of the first indie TTRPGs that I had the pleasure of playing, as I’m sure that’s where some of my warm and fuzzy feelings for this game come from. Truly, I feel like it’s a great place to jump into solo journaling games, so if you haven’t given this one a shot yet, I recommend it.
If you enjoyed this (short) post, you can check out the others in the game systems category for more like this. Alternately, if you like the idea of Princess with a Cursed Sword but want something a little more spooky, you can check out my Princess Sword game You, and the House. Remember to join our mailing list - Scroll to the bottom and add your email address for biweekly updates with all our posts, photos and the occasional discount code to the shop. See you next time!