Antumbra is a solo journaling tabletop RPG set aboard a failing generational starship. Players create a character or take on the role of Enid, a mechanical systems engineer who awakens from cryo alone, except for CHARON, the ship’s AI caretaker. As Enid follows routine and explores the vessel, she begins to experience visual glitches, audio anomalies, and conflicting information. What begins as a structured protocol-driven routine slowly unravels into a psychological descent, as trust erodes and autonomy is tested.
Inspired by gothic horror, science fiction, and the isolation of space, Antumbra invites players to record their descent through narrative prompts, environmental clues, and daily routines that blur the line between reality and manipulation.
What is a Solo Journaling TTRPG?
Solo Journaling TTRPGs are a type of single player game where players use a journal, or in the case of Antumbra, logs to document and flesh out their character's experiences. Players are guided by narrative flavor text, prompt tables, and random elements like dice rolls or card drawing. They offer a structured narrative experience without the need of a GM or other players.
- Journaling as a core mechanic.
-Prompts and Random Elements.
-Story Driven
-Rules Light
Solo TTRPGS offer a unique, story-driven, accessible, and reflective experience for players looking to play a game on their own.
As Antumbra deals with isolation, philosophical ideas, and gothic tones. The solo experience is a perfect outlet for the story.
While players will have the option to create their own character or play as Enid, my story of Enid will be delivered via example play throughout the book.
Early quick concept of Enid
Quick Enid Concept
Thesis Goals:
-Develop a full solo TTRPG with a complete semi branching narrative across multiple chapters,
-Design custom journaling mechanics including exploration, routine, and glitch gameplay loops.
-Write and illustrate modular narrative prompt tables that evolve with player choices using a playing card system.
-Explore themes of control, obedience, and agency through gameplay.
- Create discoverable paraphernalia that will reveal the fate of the Astraeus through epistolatory and diegetic documents, logs, etc.
-Produce a playable, visually illustrated final of at least chapter 1, and the fully written and planned game by Summer 2026
Additional Plans:
- Playtesting Fall 2025
- Music for play and atmosphere by Jimmy Toohey
Stretch Goals:
-Custom playing cards for randomization
-Chapters 2-5 full illustrated
GAMEPLAY CONCEPTS:
- Discoverable paraphernalia that will reveal the fate of the Astraeus through epistolatory and diegetic documents, logs, etc.
- Light stats systems that include relationship to CHARON and Paranoia level to help guide player's role play.
-Amnesia system- The character's player will awake with only partial memories, and as the game progresses they will fill in the missing info about themselves, the mission, and the ship.
- "Glitch" System- CHARON is controlling what Enid sees, projecting a false reality through her neural device. Through a mixture of accidental AI hallucinations and intentional manipulation, Enid/The player's character will be haunted during their time on the Astraeus.
Early concept sketch
Why me? Why this story?
Antumbra reflects my long-standing interest in quiet psychological stories, tales that sit with loneliness, obedience, and unraveling trust. I want players to experience isolation as something intimate, uncomfortable, and strangely beautiful. This project is a way for me to merge storytelling, worldbuilding, viewer as participant and visual design into one haunting, reflective experience.
ABOUT THE STORY
ANTUMBRA TIMELINE
2030s- AGI development- Artificial General Intelligence is developed, allowing AI to perform nearly all intellectual tasks a human can. AGIs are more flexible and capable of running highly complex systems. AI begin to simulate more human like interactions convincingly, like reading and understanding emotional states. Strict ethical controls and oversight are in place.
2035- Climate change is past the point of no return- People flock north from southern countries most effected.
2040s- AI Autonomy and Deep Learning Integration- AI has advanced and gained enough autonomy to run large scale projects without constant supervision. Managing many systems, logistics, etc. AI operates robotic space missions, most notably a Mars rover mission. Learning how to handle long term autonomy.
2050s- Human-like AI- Early version of AI like CHARON are created. Reaching near human level of problem solving. It is utilized in missions that handle both technical and human dynamics. Often serving as a central authority. Able to make discissions without human input. AI works as a mission control, becoming the brains behind operations. Strict regulations for ethics are in place, but as humans begin relying more on AI these regulations face questions and reassessments. Humans continue to push development in hopes of helping with the climate situation
2050- Norway discovers Planet X- Efforts from Norway on space exploration and environmental research discover an earthlike planet. Public facing information heralds it as Humanity's hope, in reality it is far from a perfect fit
2060s-2080s- C.H.A.R.O.N level of AI developed- Hyper advanced, emotionally intelligent, capable of overseeing every aspect of a mission. Controlled by strict mission parameters, but capable of overriding certain choices to benefit said parameters. AI governance is a serious concern, but the need of the technology in the ever worsening world causes people to look the other way and loosen regulation. Some issues have arose in missions.
2093- Norway stars the Astraeus Initiative, Research Phase- Gathering the worlds best scientists and minds. Offering residency to those willing to dedicate themselves to the project.
2105- Resources gathered for mission, construction begins- Construction set to take 50+ years, but assistance of AI speeds up the timeline
2114- Enid is born in a refugee camp in Granada, Spain
2117- Enid's family joins the Astraeus Initiative- Enid (3) and her family join a program for residence in the now very overpopulated Norway in exchange for working on the Astraeus mission. Enid is raised on base and is groomed to be part of the mission, through training, education, and philosophical means.
2120- C.H.A.R.O.N is unveiled- CHARON as we know her is unveiled, speeding up the process of construction, overseeing training, planning, and building. Unlike previous systems, CHARON was created only for this mission.
2143- Astraeus Launch- Enid, a Mechanical systems engineer, now 26, is part of the essential crew. put into cryo for the one way journey. Enid's family does not gain passage.
2345- Astraeus is in its 8th Generation, discovers Planet X2- The planet was hidden by a binary system, only now visible. Astraeus crew begin questioning if it is a better fit for the mission, and grow tired of the confines of space.
2362- C.H.A.R.O.N disposes of crew- The newer generation decides to settle on planet x-2, forcing CHARON to make the ultimate decision of upholding the mission as planned. With the goal of maintaining the mission critical cryo crew and seed banks. CHARON suspends life support on the generational portion of Astraeus, killing everyone.
2412- Enid awakes from Cryo- CHARON says its due to a mechanical error. But part of Enid's role is to be available for major malfunctions. The ship has hit such a state that the systems overrode CHARON and woke her up. Unable to initiate cryo again until either the system is overridden, or enough is repaired to turn off the alert, CHARON's goal is to keep Enid busy, and ignorant, until she can be return to cryo and the mission can continue.
ABOUT ENID
Enid was born into the world during one of the rolling blackouts of 2114, in a repurposed refugee clinic that smelled of wet concrete and failing machinery. The air was too hot. Her mother labored beneath flickering emergency lighting for sixteen hours, soaked in sweat and screams. When Enid was born, she did not cry, the nurses readied the sheet. Then came the softest sound- barely a whimper. A child who was already trying to not draw too much attention.
The doctors called it resilience. Her mother called it quiet. Her father, once, called it unnatural.
Her parents were technicians displaced by the floods. Norway’s Astraeus Initiative offered something like salvation: a future bound to the stars, signed in quiet desperation. With a child in tow, they were only barely accepted. A low priority family for low priority maintenance. Enid’s future, by contract, belonged to Astraeus. An outlier. She was never slated for anything more than ground support, watching the stars secondhand from some backroom terminal.
Astraeus Base was no place for sentiment. A skeletal ocean-fed facility wrapped in constant fog and distant construction noise. The sun was pale there. Everything was pale there. Enid never remembered the outside world. Her world was click boots and disinfectant. Data pads and lights that never flickered unless they meant to. Enid learned to speak in acronyms, to eat by coded time slots. The other children were paired off, perfected, planned. She wasn’t. No creche records. No ideal match. There were no predictive models for Enid. She was excess. An echo in the system, sitting alone, cataloguing the clicks and whirs of overhead fans.
Her mother taught her structure. Her father taught her calibration. But they grew soft over time, full of ghost stories about what they’d left behind. They were always looking backward.
CHARON never did.
The AI came online in her sixth year. Quiet. Clean. Absolute. It spoke evenly, without malice. Praised with efficiency, corrected without disappointment. And it always, always watched. A machine that watched her grow and never once looked away. Where others saw an anxious child, CHARON logged efficiency.
It did not mind Enid’s silence. It filled it.
She started sleeping in the server rooms, curled beside warm machines like they were breathing. She logged mock reports for fun. She corrected junior trainees without being asked. She never spoke unless she was sure.
She became good at following rules. Better at vanishing into them.
By fifteen, she had memorized most maintenance protocols. By twenty-two, CHARON flagged her for cryo team, on ship, essential. She was going to see the stars.
She never applied. She never questioned. CHARON said she was ready.
Her peers made a banner that day: From Echo to Anchor. Meant as a joke. Cute, even. But she folded it and kept it in her locker anyway.
She liked the way it sounded.
Heavy. Permanent. Useful.
At twenty-six, she stepped into the pod.
She never said goodbye. CHARON hadn’t said to.
Original Enid Concept
Early Class Explorations
