A Tabletop Bookshelf Production
One Way Out is a quick-play dark fantasy tabletop roleplaying game of escape and betrayal. Designed for two players (with optional solo rules), each fast-paced 15-30 minute session pits you against the terrible dangers of the all-powerful High Mages -- and each other.
This is Tabletop Bookshelf's first crowdfunding project and production and launches on Kickstarter February 18.
The Setting
It was a time of confusion and desperation.
Most people could not agree how long the High Mages had been in power, but one thing was for certain, their power was absolute.
But a rare person could break free. Rumors told of a challenge crafted by the High Mages, a terrible, ever-changing dungeon -- The Oubliette -- filled with strange rooms and twisted magical experiments.
If you could survive the test and escape the dungeon, freedom could be yours. Not just freedom but your deepest desires -- fame, fortune, power, knowledge -- would be made real as a display of the High Mages' generosity.
This day, it is you who awaken in The Oubliette. But you're not alone.
What's Inside
- Introduction to the dark fantasy setting of One Way Out
- Rules of play with illustrated examples
- 40 prompts for challenge room generation
- 12 prompts for the 12 deadly threats of the High Mages
- Setting-rich character background prompts
- Rules and prompts for different endings, including one "secret" ending
- The "High Mages' Record", a fillable document to record your journey through The Oubliette
The Game
In One Way Out players use a combination of dice and cards to determine what happens as they move through the dungeon. Card draws and placements generate the rooms and threats faced and determine and reveal your character's backgrounds. You and your partner will fill in the details, guided by a collection of prompts.
In a standard game session, players navigate through three random rooms, facing a new terrible Threat in each room. Each time, the players will choose to fight together or flee apart. This choice is made in secret and revealed at the same time. Betrayal is always an option.
Dice rolls determine the outcomes of the confrontation, and players move onto the next room, discover a new mysterious setting, face a new terrible threat, and make another choice to fight or flee.
According to the rules written in stone, only one person is allowed to leave. At the final door, this means the players must fight to the death... or does it? Perhaps if both parties were strong enough, perhaps if they worked together, perhaps there is another way out?
The game is designed for two players but has an optional mode to allow play as a solo journaling game for one player. This provides a unique way to generate an exciting background for your next character!
The Zine
This 40-page, 5.8 x 8.3 inch (A5), black and white, saddle-bound zine will feature full-sized illustrations, thoughtful design, and professional editing. The cover will be laminated for extra shelf life and the interior pages will be 80lb recycled paper.
Stretch Goals
$1000 - Upgrade to Risograph Printing from Digital Printing
$1500 - Expanded Character Prompts a dedicated page per background with richer setting-specific details and ideas
$2000 - More to come!
Art, Design, and Editing
The art will be comprised of edited and recontextualized public domain art, primarily that of Harry Clarke, a stained-glass artist and book illustrator. We hope this humble game can serve as an introduction for others to his work.
Layout, writing, and game design will be provided by Tom Gibes, owner/operator of Tabletop Bookshelf. He brings decades of experience across graphic design, game development, and digital media to produce this debut tabletop RPG title.
Editing will be provided by Eric Lazure. Eric has a trove of experience providing a careful eye for quality independent tabletop roleplaying games such as Stoneburner, Substratum Protocol and many more.
This is the debut game from Tabletop Bookshelf, your digital destination for physical tabletop RPGs and solo games.
AI will not be used in this project.
Fulfillment
Tabletop Bookshelf will provide fulfillment for both physical and digital rewards. Since launching in December of 2023, Tabletop Bookshelf has delivered thousands of zines and books across the United States, with a 99% on-time delivery record.
