I make no secret of the fact that I love solo TTRPGs. While a different experience from playing with a group, a well designed solo game can deliver a powerful, extremely personal experience not always attainable in group play. Today I have the pleasure of talking with Bran Lavigne, one of my favourite game designers, about solo TTRPGs, why tarot, and visits from the strange siblings.
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Brent: Thank you for taking the time to talk with me, Bran. For our readers not yet familiar with your work, please tell me a bit about yourself.
- Thank you, Brent! My name is Bran Lavigne, my pronouns are they/any, and I can be found at the crossroads of tabletop game design and witchcraft. I’m from the US; a DC transplant, originally from Maine. I’m a queer and neurodivergent game designer.
B: What drew you into tabletop roleplaying games? What was your “hero (or villain, we don’t judge) origin story” in the hobby?
- My background is primarily in theatre, and growing up a lot of my childhood play was made up of what I would now describe as improvised larps, though at the time it was just “play.” I’d been interested in tabletop games for a few years but hadn’t found a group to play with until my dear friend Percy invited me to a virtual DnD game he was starting about two months into the 2020 COVID lockdowns.
B: How and when did you shift from player/GM to working on your first game content? Was the shift gradual, or did it come on the heels of finding the hobby?
- To me, it feels like the shift from player/GM to designer was gradual, but I did release my first game about 2 years into my getting involved with the hobby, so to some, I’m sure that is very quick. All the same, it was a very natural progression for me. Now, I see potential game ideas everywhere I look, and I have the half-baked design files to prove it.
B: This past Friday you released your second game, Fallen From Grace. Can you tell us a bit about that?
- Of course! Fallen from Grace is a solo journaling RPG about morality, redemption, and failure. As an angel, cast out from Heaven, you find yourself with one shot to earn your place beyond the pearly gates, in the place you once called home. Along the way, temptation beckons you further down into the fiery pits of Hell. To play, you will need one tarot deck and a method of journaling. Through journaling entries, prompted by 3- to 5-card tarot spreads, create your fallen angel, track your Grace, and let the cards determine your fate.
B: Your first game, A Day in the Death, is also a solo TTRPG. What attracts you to solo games over designing something for a group?
- I definitely wouldn’t say I’m attracted to designing solo games over something for a group—in the time between A Day in the Death’s release in November 2022 and Fallen From Grace in May 2024, I started four other multiplayer projects that are all in varying stages of development. I would say, however, that I am attracted to finishing solo games, and in particular my solo games, because I find them a little less intimidating. A Day in the Death and Fallen From Grace are both extremely rules-lite rpgs, so for the most part they are games I was able to digest in one sitting. With my multiplayer projects, I’m obsessed with getting the right balance of narrative, mechanics, and GM/player shared responsibility for storytelling. Solo journaling games, of course, reduce the need to balance GM and player responsibility—in a lot of ways I consider myself the “GM” when writing a solo game. Additionally, while not all solo games are journaling games, A Day in the Death, A Day in the Death: Revamped, and Fallen From Grace are journaling games, so my focus is also naturally placed more heavily on providing players a strong narrative experience.
B: Besides both being solo games, are themes or ideas shared between both games? Are there elements you purposely explore when you create?
- My main goal as a game designer is to Trojan horse my passion for normalizing conversation and acceptance of mortality into a community I relish being a part of. In my games, the strange siblings, Death and Grief, materialize in each of many endings players face along the way; a failed relationship, a lost opportunity, a step in the wrong direction. When players walk away from my games, my hope is that they feel a little more at ease with the little endings we face in this very short life.
B: Both A Day in the Death and Fallen From Grace use a tarot deck to prompt the player and inspire the narrative. What makes tarot attractive to you as a solo TTRPG designer?
- Tarot is such a personal practice, and so are solo TTRPGs. Moreso than dice really can, I think the Tarot almost feels like another character in solo TTRPGs. The imagery and symbolism within the deck, and how those things change from deck to deck, add so much to the narrative of a solo journaling game. Using tarot as an engine for a solo TTRPG is also very fun practice at reading tarot, for those of us that do so regularly, which is a definite perk.
B: You publish your games using the Fallen From system? Can you talk a bit about Fallen From and what led you to create your own system for solo TTRPGs?
- I haven’t seen someone use tarot spreads, rather than single-card pulls—there totally might be, there are so many solo games out there, but I feel safe in saying that is not a common design approach. In combination with assigning values to the cards that change depending on the placement of a card within the three-card spreads, I think I’ve created a sort of formula that I would love to see applied to other sorts of otherwordly beings. Fallen From Grace determines the fate of a fallen angel; A Day in the Death: Revamped is a revisit of my first game which applies the formula to a vampire whose fate is inextricably linked to their thirst. What does this formula look like applied to demons? Werewolves? Wraiths? If no one beats me to it, perhaps I’ll answer those questions one day. In the meantime, I invite anyone who wants to develop their own tarot spreads and otherworldly scenarios within the context of the Fallen From system.
B: Along with a number of other creators you use itch.io as a platform to sell your game. For someone maybe looking to produce their first game, what are some of the things you like about the site? What are some of the challenges?
- I would say that itch.io is a pretty user-friendly platform, which is certainly a plus for anyone who isn’t interested in creating their own site and setting up payment connections on their own. I haven’t tried out other sites so it’s hard to draw much of a comparison. There are obviously some issues on the payment fulfillment end with itch, which I’m taking into account as I continue releasing new work in the future, but I haven’t made any decisions yet.
B: The fragmenting of social media seems to have made finding an audience for creators increasingly difficult. Do you have any thoughts on what designers can do to compensate? Do you see a change coming around how you find an audience for your work?
- You know, I’m by no means an expert here, but I think there is a lot of value in overlapping Discord communities. I’m in a few and it’s nice to see folks sharing things that are immediately relevant to that particular Discord community, as well as projects originating outside of the community. I’m working up the courage to be more active in these spaces, so if you do see me around in them, please say hi!
B: While it’s quite common to see actual plays for group TTRPGs, there are very few solo TTRPGs being produced at a high level; Cassi Mothwin’s production of a solo playthrough for The Wretched would be a notable exception. Do you think that’s something AP producers are missing out on? Could AP have as big an impact for solo TTRPGs as it sometimes does for other games?
- There is such a large community of brilliant, creative solo rpg players. I’ve sat in on a few streams of A Day in the Death, which were so special. I think there is absolutely an audience for solo rpg actual play. That being said, I would love to see more written actual plays too, like THUNDERFANG by Tavon Gatling.
B: What other games out there right now excite you? What are you drawn to as a designer and as a player/GM?
- I am firmly in my Carved from Brindlewood era. Oddly enough, most of the CfB games I’ve played aren’t published yet, and are still in development. Public Access was my foray into this divinely twisted mystery system, and I simply cannot get enough. As a GM/player, I’m looking for games that align with my desired play experience. At a table, I love collaborative storytelling, which is so seamless in Carved from Brindlewood games, with the masks system, unscenes, and paint the scene questions (which I have incorporated into all games I run now). As a designer, I’m drawn in by mechanics that very intentionally support the tone and narrative goals of a game, another thing that CfB handles expertly.
B: Are there other projects on the horizon you can discuss?
- There definitely is, but you shouldn’t expect to see them widely available for a good while. I am interested in shifting my attention to some of my multiplayer projects, and by extension, slowing down. I want to marinate over ideas and try things out with, just so much playtesting. That being said, my main focus right now is a Carved from Brindlewood wrestling game, where you play as professional wrestlers in a stable trying to prevent the Necropocalypse, one match at a time!
B: Thank you again for talking with me, Bran! Where can folks find you if they want to follow what you’re up to?
- For now, definitely my itch page, and twitter/x. I’m also on bluesky, I never remember to post there, but one day I might. You can also summon me by placing a sky blue Redbull and a Shirley Jackson novel in a salt-drawn pentagram.
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Please check out Bran’s work, and keep your eyes open for their upcoming multi-player games!
