Alone Against the City

A Solo Demon City hack.

Generally solo Demon City can fully function with the Mythic GM Emulator using dice or drawing twice as a "d100" but that doesn't translate the ~~VIBES~~ that come from using just the Tarot. I propose defining two "Phases" to your Solo Demon City game: Investigation and Horror; your typical solo play protocol of  asking the GM Emulator/Oracle; and the addition of a "threat level" called the Demon Factor, a tweaked/redubbed Chaos Factor from Mythic. 

You begin play with the Investigation Phase and a single "Solo Player" deck. It has the full "minor arcana," minus the courts. Shuffle the courts and major arcana together and add, without revealing, however many you'd like to the Solo Deck (I suggest 3). During the Investigation Phase, all tests utilize the Solo Deck, whether the Solo Player or the World. During the Investigation Phase, the player character is either ignorant of, helpless against, or struggling to comprehend how to approach the Horror. 

Play is much of the same as regular Demon City. Same throws, declared actions, stats, etc. If you've ever ran a game, you know how to be impartial and roleplay multiple characters as necessary. 

Your character *knows* however much you want them to know. Play the Victim mid-trauma and try to escape. Play the Problem already surrounded by an overly generous support group. It's Solo, do whatever. 

Note down somewhere the Demon Factor of your game, it begins at 5, can drop to 1, and can rise to 10. 

Whenever you have a yes/no question about the game world that would be answered by the Host, draw a single card. If it's not a yes/no question, make it one. If the card drawn is higher than or equal to your Demon Rating, the answer is Yes, below is No, the Aces are Extreme No, 10s are Extremely Yes. If your only option for yes or no is 10 or 1 respectively, you cannot get an Extreme result. An Extreme result isn't much different from your normal answer other than it being EXTREEEEME. Whatever you asked, you got it/didn't get it and then some.

At the end of every scene during the Investigation Phase, if your character was in control of what was going on, Lower the Demon Factor by 1. If things got out of hand for your character, Raise the Demon Factor by 1. During the Horror Phase, this is flipped and if a scene is concluded with your character in control, the Demon Factor rises. What defines a scene is up to personal taste, generally moving on from an encounter or engagement worth note during the "cooldown" period is when I consider moving the Demon Factor. 

When beginning a scene, propose it to the Oracle akin to how you would normally ask a question. If the card thrown is at or below the Demon Factor, the scene begins as you expect. If it throws over, the scene is Adjusted. That Adjustment should be derived directly from the card, otherwise utilize Mythic's Scene Adjustment table:

1. Remove a Character

2. Add a Character

3. Reduce/Remove an Activity 

4. Increase an Activity

5. Remove an Object

6. Add an Object

7-10. Make 2 Adjustments  (ignoring duplicates of itself) 

If you have any questions regarding solo gaming or what it "looks like," YouTube is a good place to start for examples and advice.

The Investigation Phase is over and the Horror Phase begins once the Horror Deck is made. The Horror Deck is made once it has claimed a 1-to-10 from the Solo deck's minor Arcana and has discovered all of its Major Arcana. Major Arcana are immediately claimed by the Horror the moment they are drawn in any way, either in asking the Oracle or from a typically thrown test by an NPC or the PC, immediately interrupting and complicating the scene. A minor Arcana can only be claimed when it is drawn when consulting the Oracle. Generally, every *new* minor arcana should be claimed by the Horror deck but if it does not make sense or ignite inspiration in the moment, ignore the claim and just keep playing. Every time the Horror Deck claims a card, it should be a clue to resolving the Horror in some way; a Truth against the Horror at hand. Shuffle the Solo Player Deck as you see fit; reconsider a "discarded" minor arcana after initially refusing it and add it to the growing Horror Deck, possibly manifesting as a response to reconsidering past notes or belated revelations. 

When interpreting what the clue may manifest as in the moment, do the obvious and interpret how the card pertains to the given situation. Use the end pages of Demon City or any other explanation of the tarot you may prefer. If that fails, mix in the Focus/Event tables from Mythic. If that fails and you still have no idea how to interpret a scene or clue, take a break or skip it.

During the Horror Phase, the decks are split. The Game World is now dominated by the essence of the Horror at hand and anything that isn't the Solo Player Character's action pulls from the Horror Deck and we return to a much more traditional Demon City game, the World now using the Horror deck. Whenever the Horror Throws, keep the Highest card thrown by the Horror Face-up in a "discard pile." If you reference the Oracle and the card thrown matches the Horror's top discard, the Horror has interrupted the scene again and has blatantly afflicted the situation.

Conquering the Horror, however that manifests in your game, should not be made a readily available option until the Horror Phase. The Queen Alien has not been made available until all the key codes are accessible. Even if you think you've got the Horror on the ropes before the Horror Phase, introduce a twist or the true horror or something to that effect. You may have crushed the werewolf with a block of solid silver but the mad scientist who created the Uber-Rabies virus is still out there.

For faster games, just begin at the Horror Phase, having either predetermined/selected the Horror or defining its "clues" as the World throws and its deck is revealed. 

It cannot be overstated: Use the Fucking Book. 

I already praised about how choice IATW is for playing Solo, and Demon City is on the same level. Use those tables. Print them out. Add and remove to/from them. They're creative-fucking jet fuel but jet fuel is limited, keep the momentum running and be sure to refuel.