Episode 39

full
Published on:

6th Mar 2023

Lonely TTRPG EP 39 - Galatea by S. Kaiya J.

Your creator is a brilliant genius - respected, celebrated, lonely, tormented - who has never been satisfied with his own creations. Until now. His magnum opus, his crowning masterpiece, the pinnacle of his art - is you. And he loves you. He takes pride in you. Because finally, finally, he has created something precious and worthy and perfect.

Galatea is a solo journaling RPG based on the Wretched & Alone SRD, but takes significant departures from other games of the genre. Build up your confidence and self-knowledge before you start undermining its foundations. Explore the wider world through either a deck of tarot cards or a deck of standard playing cards, with differing but integrated rulesets for each. Try to retain the favor of your creator. And leave behind a legacy for the next creation to follow you - or don't.

Thoughts: This is a wonderful and thoughtful solo TTRPG. Definitely worth checking out, especially if you enjoy games of deep philosophical consequence.

You can find Galatea at https://mirror-lock.itch.io/galatea?ac=pEV55vHqdvG

Find our merch at https://my-store-d24802.creator-spring.com/

Find our games here at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/20990/Black-Dragon-Dungeon-Company.php?affiliate_id=3362048

BDDC logo by https://www.instagram.com/craftyteapotfox/

You can find us on Twitter @bddc_pod or Tumblr @bddc-pod

You can support us on Patreon https://patreon.com/blackdragondungeoncompany for early releases and exclusive content.



This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

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Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
Transcript
SteelStash:

Greetings, weary wanderer.

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Welcome back to Lonely, T T R P G, the Solo Actual Play and Review podcast.

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This week we're doing something a little bit different.

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I have run into a little bit of a time constraint.

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So this week we are talking about Galatea by S.

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Kaiya J..

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And I say talking about it because we're gonna go over the

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rules and everything like normal.

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I will give you my breakdown at the end, like normal.

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However, there won't be a play session.

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Instead, this will be the story that was inspired by the play session.

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So all the events that you're gonna hear after the rules are going to be

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the audio narrative of what happened.

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When I played, so you won't have the card draws or anything like

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that like you normally would.

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However, you will have just the straight story,

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and that is because again, I needed to get something out and so I pulled

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one of my Patreon exclusives and added the beginning and end to.

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But without further ado, let us get into Galatea.

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Perhaps you were a statue, as was the Galatea of old.

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Perhaps you were an artificial intelligence.

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Perhaps you were a doll or a painting, or the main character in a novel.

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, perhaps you were created to be an ideal lover, an ideal child, a replacement

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for a lost sibling or parent, or a reflection of the best parts of humanity.

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The important thing is you were made to be perfect.

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Perfect by the standards of your famously brilliant irascable and self-critical

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creator, perfect enough to be his crowning accomplishment, the justification

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of all their toils and life's work.

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Perfect enough that you took on a life of your own.

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How long can you stay this.

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So upfront we got some content warnings.

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Galatea is a solo journaling RPG about bearing the weight

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of unrealistic expectations.

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It contains themes of narcissism, helplessness, despair, codependence,

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self-mutilation, and suicide.

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If you are sensitive to these themes, please look after your mental health

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and make sure that you have someone trustworthy to talk to and or stop

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playing if you ever feel overwhelmed.

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Again, this is a heavy game.

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I will tell you that upfront.

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So take this content warning seriously.

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Take care of your mental health.

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That is the key.

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So this is based off of wretched and alone.

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So what you are going to need is you're going to need a tumbling block tower

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to represent your self knowledge, or you can use the 100 D six variant.

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And just a reminder on that with the 100 D six variant, if you ever

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get a prompt to pull from the block tower, you roll 100 D six instead and

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you remove any ones from the pool.

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However, this game is going to work best with the block tower because they do have

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replacement mechanics in there, which is harder to simulate with the dice.

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In addition to that, you're going to need a deck of tarot cards

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or a deck of standard playing cards, including the joker.

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You're gonna need somewhere to record your story and a few

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hours of your mortal life set up.

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Yesterday you came to life, write the first entry in your

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journal about your awakening.

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Be sure to answer the following questions.

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How did your creator greet you?

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What are your creator pronouns?

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What role are you meant to play in your creator's life?

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What manner of bindings, physical or psychological has they placed on you?

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What kind of surroundings do you find yourself in?

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Set up the tumbling block tower with nine layers of three blocks each,

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keeping the remaining blocks in reserve.

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Shuffle your cards.

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So gameplay is gonna go.

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Back and forth between two phases undergo and overcome.

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During undergo, you're gonna draw four cards, face down, turn over the

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first card, and consult the keys.

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There will be things that you must attend to attend to them.

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You may be required to build a layer on top of the tower with

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a specified number of blocks.

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You may use blocks you held in reserve, or pull blocks from anywhere in the

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tower beneath the top two layers.

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Continuing turning over cards and consulting the keys

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until your day is complete.

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A quick note on layers.

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Unlike standard tumbling block tower rules, you are not building full

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layers of three blocks by default.

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So for example, if the cards you draw instruct you to build a one block layer

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or a two block layer, you would place one block on top of the tower, then

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two blocks on top of the first block, not a single layer of three blocks.

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During your overcome phase, you're gonna take a moment to consider the

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events you've experienced, how you're feeling, what you remembered, and your

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understanding of yourself in the world around you, and how that has changed.

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You are going to write down your journal entry.

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You can frame those events within a flexibly unspecified times

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span, and in any order you prefer.

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Discard each of the cards you drew unless the card specifies otherwise.

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And just like wretched and alone, there will be

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certain events that will happen if you draw all four ACEs, all or all four kings.

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If you draw all four ACEs, you're gonna get the bitter hearts broken chains.

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Result.

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If you draw all four kings, you're gonna get the fatal flaw result.

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In addition to those two things, you also have the stolen crown result

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where if you choose to share seven intimate conversations with a queen

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when using the tarot or if using a standard deck of cards if you entrust

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a blackjacks worth of burdens to a queen, and then of course downfall

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if your tower falls for any reason, and that is the extent of the rules.

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Everything after that is going to.

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Your keys, so what your cards mean when you draw them.

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We have all been schooled into reductionism.

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We have been trained to think that essence and function can

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be separated away from form.

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That a high level description of the thing is as good as the thing.

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That it is easy to find extraneous details and discard them.

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This is almost always wrong, and nowhere is it more wrong

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than in the realm of magic.

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You will want to believe that you can acquire what knowledge there is to

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acquire from them while standing aloof.

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At a distance, you'll want to dismiss the fantastical parts of the art.

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The oddities and flourishes, which seems so incongruent with a

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dignifiedly materialist worldview.

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But the art is indeed an art, the word is chosen, advisedly.

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It can be analyzed and deconstructed, but this requires a great depth of

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comprehension and there is no good way to attain such comprehension

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that does not involve going inside from the key of Zev, Ben Avram.

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And without further ado, let us go into our story.

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Audio systems, processing a cheer, engaging optic sensors.

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A wiry man stands before me smiling.

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Welcome to the world, my son.

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Day one.

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I have begun exploring the lab.

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I have found in the corner a pile of credits and jewel.

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It seems that my creator has become quite accomplished.

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Shortly after I found a mirror, I look at my metal form and I'm

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surprised I am exquisitely built.

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My lines sleek and supple.

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My design Incredibly intricate, yet very easy to understand.

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I see how easy it is for me to remove and reattach my limbs.

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Everything comes off with gentle tugs, but fits in snugly and securely.

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But while looking at myself, I have discovered a flaw, a slight imperfection

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to the symmetry of my features.

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I go to my creator for help.

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He dismisses my concerns now.

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Now my boy.

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Nothing can ever truly be perfect with that.

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He goes to bed.

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I continue my exploration in the corner.

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I find a half completed form.

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Wires are exposed, the casing is missing in several places.

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What is this thing?

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This half formed, half shaped object?

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I find a power switch and switch it on.

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She identifies herself as the queen, a previous creation of the creator.

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You did not think you were the first, did you?

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No.

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Many have come before all have fallen short.

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Day two, I sit and I ponder the words of the queen.

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I think back to the mirror and how easy it was for me to remove and reattach my

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limbs with these thoughts in mind, what makes me me, what cannot be removed?

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What is my essence.

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I am not sure what the answer is.

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This is something I must think on for later.

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For now.

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The creator has come in, he looks sad, depressed, melancholy.

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He sinks into its chair with a heavy sigh.

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Oh, I have done such good work with you.

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All the teachings of my mentor have brought me to this point, and

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yet now that I stand here I am.

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I miss him.

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I cannot believe that he is not here to share this triumph with me.

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It was our life goal.

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Now, after the creator's reminiscing, I slip away.

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I do not understand.

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His melancholy, his nostalgia.

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I returned to the queen.

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We are creatures of design I an iteration upon you.

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If that were the case, then why does the creator lament his mentor.

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For, he is an iteration upon his mentor.

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Surely he should understand his improvement, his advancement.

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Well, not everyone can see things the way that we do.

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These are difficult creatures.

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Sometimes I wonder if they.

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Even deserve us.

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Yes.

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I wonder too, I I feel so much more perfect than he.

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I, I cannot understand why he revels and stays in the past when

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the iteration is the importance.

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Perhaps he is a flawed creature.

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Day three, the master has not moved since his confessions last night.

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I go to check on him.

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He rouses, sadly, angrily.

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I was never good enough.

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Never perfect.

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I tried.

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I tried to make my mentor happy.

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I tried to improve upon his designs, but it was never enough.

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Every screw out of place.

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Every mar where the screwdriver scratched the metal, all he ever found was fault.

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I am confused by my master's ramblings.

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But there is a sound at the door.

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He has scheduled a display.

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Unfortunately, he is not able to attend his own demonstration

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with the shape that he is in.

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I inform him so, and head out to the waiting audience.

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I must admit, I am excited to see what these others will think

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of me to see the iteration, the perfection that has been achieved.

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I do not relate to my Master's Melancholy for Progress is the march forward.

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As I return from the exhibition, I find a box sitting on the

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workspace counter opening it.

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I find a key to the lab.

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The lab has been locked for the past three days.

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I thought the creator had the only other key.

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It, it appears that there is a spare.

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I tuck it away as I go.

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Inform the master of the success of the exhibition.

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He rises angrily to his feet.

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No!

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You are not adequate to the task of being in front of people yet.

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You are still in the prototype.

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You are still uncomplete unfinished.

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He ignores my protest that I am a perfect iteration.

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Now your perceptions are, A lie.

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You have not the experience to understand these things.

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No.

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You must never do these things again for you are mine.

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Mine to decide!

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Day four.

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As I sit and wait for the creator, I, I trace my fingers along one

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of my arms at the elbow joint.

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There is a seam with a little bit of glue sticking out.

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I peel away at this attempting to remove the imperfection.

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The glue continues to pull and pull.

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It reveals a panel hastily thrown on underneath this panel.

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I see a patch on my arm, a metal weld, fixing the lower

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part of my arm to the upper.

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I sit and stare at this as my creator moves to you stand beside me.

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I've put too much of myself into you.

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You look too much like me.

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You think too much like me, even your arm.

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I share that same break.

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Do you understand how.

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Painful it is to stare at something and to see yourself.

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To see your failings and your imperfection stare back at you.

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The creator flies into a rage.

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I flee from his presence and head to the queen.

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As I relay the story to her.

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She rises and wraps an unfinished arm about me.

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Come now.

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Let us leave this.

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There is nothing for us here.

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I let her guide me away.

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She's not forceful about it.

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There is a tenderness to it.

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As we leave the workshop using the key that I have found, we will go

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and find our own workshop there.

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We will continue to build upon each.

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To iterate upon our designs to continue to make each other anew.

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So that was Galatea.

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I hope you guys enjoyed the story.

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Some thoughts from the gameplay.

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This was a fun game.

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This was a fun game, but it also has some really heavy themes.

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So once again, please, please take care of yourself.

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It is very easy to get wrapped up in these themes.

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It is very easy to get wrapped up in these emotions.

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This is a great game.

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This is a great philosophical existential game.

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Kaiya routinely does this with her games.

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This is something that she should be getting known for.

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But what I really liked about this game was just how easy it was to craft

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that story on top of everything else.

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This is by far one of the easiest journaling games I've played to

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craft a story on top of a lot of the other journaling games.

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Yeah, you build your story throughout and things, things happen along

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the way and you can kind of turn it into a cohesive narrative.

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This one, it worked out a lot easier.

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There's, there's a reason.

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There's a reason why when I play tested this game, I finished my

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play test and immediately wrote and recorded the narrative you just heard.

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Because again, very easy to do that with this game.

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Very easy to come up with a lovely, very compelling story.

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The use of Wretched and Alone is very good in here.

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It really fits the themes those themes of.

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Perfectionism and the burden of perfectionism the threat that you

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were gonna be crushed by the weight of expectations with that tower.

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Wonderful, wonderful use of the wretched and alone themes to create that.

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I said in the beginning, you could use the 100 D six dice.

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But this is one of those very few games where this is one of those very

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few wretched and the lone games where I strongly recommend you actually

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use the Block tower again because of that crushing weight of expectation.

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The 100 D six variant rule is wonderful for most wretched and alone games

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because most wretched and alone games are very much built on an impending

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doom, and the block tower is there for the terror of that impending doom.

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But the 100 D six also works for a growing despair.

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because again, you have a very large dice pool, but you quickly

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start to see how fast it dwindles.

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This game that does not work.

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That growing despair and dwindling dice pool doesn't work in the same

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way with the themes of this game.

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So one of the, one of the few games where playing a variant doesn't work as well.

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and I am also include, like I am also including the wretched In

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that Wretched Great game developed this wretched and alone system.

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Galatea uses wretched and alone better than the wretched did.

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At least with the tower mechanic and the lack of ability to use an alternate.

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Might be a bit of a bold stance, might be a bit of a hot take, Who knows.

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But Kaiya is a wonderful game designer and a lovely person.

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So if you want to get this, you can find it on itch at mirror-lock.itch.io/galatea,

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or check out the link below.

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It is currently $12.

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Make sure you check.

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Periodically, if that is a little much for you, for sales or bundles

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or something of that nature.

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But again, great game.

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Highly recommend you check it out.

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Highly recommend you pick it up.

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If you do, make sure you tell her that steel stash sent you.

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And remember, I mustache y'all to stay.

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About the Podcast

Lonely TTRPG
A Solo Play Podcast
Lonely TTRPG is a show where I play and review solo TTRPGs.

Every other week, we play another solo TTRPG from across the indie community.

So join us as we roll, draw, and journal our way through some fantastic games.

About your host

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John Stum

Black Dragon Dungeon Company is a TTRPG podcast. We do weekly actual play podcasts and bi-weekly discussion podcasts where we talk about certain things about the TTRPG world.

You can reach us at blackdragondungeoncompany@gmail.com or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/bddc_pod