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Itinerarium.md

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A daily solo walking RPG.

Getting Started

In Itinerarium you take on the role of a traveler. Your traveler needs a name, but their other circumstances, even the reason for their journey, can be determined through play, as needed.

You will need:

  • a notebook and pen or pencil. Or smartphone.
  • a pedometer, activity tracker, or smartphone.
  • a few minutes each day.

The Notebook

A playthrough of Itinerarium may take 20-30 days, but you will find your own pace. An entry is at least five lines, but could be a page or longer. So most any common pocket-sized notebook should be sufficient. Or take notes digitally.

The Pedometer

A pedometer can be acquired cheaply online, but most smartphones are also capable of counting steps.1

Procedure

Each evening that you choose to play,2 begin a new entry in your journal:

Day 1
xxxY Steps Today
zzzzzz Steps Total
Region
Prompt
  • Day 1 increment this number each entry.
  • xxxY Steps Today record this number straight from your pedometer, then reset it.
  • zzzzzz Steps Total add the number of steps today to yesterday's total.
  • Region find the region name from the number of steps total.
  • Prompt find the prompt matching last digit of the number of steps today (Y) on the matching region spread. After you copy down the prompt, you might want to expand or elaborate. Feel free to do so! But this is not necessary every day. Some days, logging the journey is enough.

Although your traveler moves through a fictional space, it is inseparable from our own. The number of steps they take each day is the number of steps you take. The weather where they are is your weather now. Unless a detail is provided, substitute one from the reality at hand. But for details concerning your traveler themself or their history, or where our reality is insufficient, feel free to imagine or create something new.

Repeated prompts are inevitable. How you wish to address them is your own decision.

𒆜 Kaskal (0-14,999 Total Steps)

The road. An opportunity to get used to the rhythms of travel.

  1. Ran into an old friend.
  2. Road was blocked.
  3. Thinking about mother.
  4. Realized only today that I left something behind.
  5. Glad I brought it with me.
  6. Learned a little history.
  7. Lots of traffic.
  8. Looking forward to Uru.
  9. They've set up a toll-taker.
  10. I can hear the waves.

𒌷 Uru (15,000-29,999 Total Steps)

The city. The center of the world.

  1. A message was waiting for me.
  2. Questioned by the watch.
  3. They bring them all the way across the sea.
  4. Made a little money.
  5. All stocked up.
  6. Visited the grave.
  7. Heard a rumor about Mul.
  8. Left a message.
  9. Calm little park.
  10. Never seen so many people.

𒀀𒇉 Eed (30,000-44,999 Total Steps)

The river. She gives us water, fish, agriculture, commerce, piracy.

  1. Wretched cough.
  2. Caught a weird fish.
  3. I can still smell the body.
  4. Bootprints in the mud.
  5. Pirates!
  6. Useful flotsam.
  7. Lost it in the crossing.
  8. What was it they said in Uru?
  9. Crystal clear pools.
  10. Merchant barge.

𒆳 Kur (45,000, 59,999 Total Steps)

The countryside.

  1. Absolutely delicious in this season.
  2. Dreaming of home.
  3. Chased off again.
  4. Got a ride some distance.
  5. Curious local custom.
  6. Mansion, friendly.
  7. Insects.
  8. Gorgeous red.
  9. I can see the mountains in the distance.
  10. This was a battlefield.

𒄑 Gish (60,000-74,999 Total Steps)

The wilderness.

  1. How long has it been?
  2. Ran out.
  3. Thought I saw another person.
  4. My silent companion.
  5. Nearly died.
  6. Might be lost.
  7. Remains of a camp.
  8. Nothing but trees, all day.
  9. Old stone wall.
  10. Can't hear myself over the birds.

𒄯𒊕 Kur-sag (75,000-89,999 Total Steps)

The mountains.

  1. Spent some time watching the waterfall.
  2. A small cairn.
  3. Stairs carved into the cliff.
  4. Eagles.
  5. So cold.
  6. I should take inventory.
  7. Last of the cake.
  8. Fog.
  9. What will I do first?
  10. I can see Uru from here.

𒀯 Mul (90,000-104,999 Total Steps)

The star, the destination.

  1. The library.
  2. Found him.
  3. It's real.
  4. What does it mean?
  5. There are signs.
  6. A very old coin.
  7. Took a souvenir.
  8. Remembering home.
  9. A little patch of herbs.
  10. Fitful rest.

Journey's End (105,000+ Total Steps)

Your traveler's itinerary is now finished. Did they find everything they were looking for? Perhaps now they start the long return journey, or continue on to explore new regions. Maybe they will take a well-earned rest. You can always start another journey in another journal.

Appendix A: Motivation

I wrote Itinerarium with specific goals in mind:

  • To think positively about daily activity without the pressure to meet a goal or interpret it as a measure of well-being.
  • To develop a daily space for ritual and self-reflection.
  • To interact in a novel way with the world.

Appendix B: Math

I wrote the game using estimates based on my own historical activity. On an average day of my current routine, I walk about 2000 steps. On a day with minimal walking, I might walk as few as 1400. This means I can expect to stay in one region for around 11 days at most. The most steps I've ever walked in one day is 25,500, which is enough to skip one region, but not two.

Appendix C: Accessibility

Devices

The goal of itinerarium is to think about distance and movement, not to push a specific idea of "exercise." Therefore, I hope that if you, dear reader, use a wheelchair or other mobility device, you will not feel excluded. All that's needed is to generate a number. I have some ideas, but they may require some hacking of the game or the device. Please let me know if you have feedback about this, practical, tonal, or otherwise.

  • The Apple Watch, Permobil PushTracker, and possibly other activity trackers, have the ability to count "pushes" instead of steps.
  • From a phone's GPS history, you can often extract distance. I would start with a conversion of 1 step = 0.75 m and adjust as needed.
  • Bicycle tachometers, cyclocomputers, and "Jones counters," may all be possible to adapt to this purpose.

Smaller Numbers

You may find that you spend a lot of time in each region, maybe more than two weeks. This is not necessarily a problem, but if you'd like, you can always scale your steps such that a "minimum" day is more than 1400 steps. Favor a "simple" multiplier like 2 or 10, over more precise scaling factors.

Larger Numbers

This game is also for people who move around more than myself. If you find yourself moving too quickly, skipping whole regions or not having enough opportunity to expand, feel free to ignore the "total steps" of each region and move on when it feels right.

Appendix D N: Inspiration

I think about the Pokéwalker a lot for a person who never had one and doesn't particularly like Pokémon.

I appreciate the "journey first, worldbuilding later" approach of the podcast The Tower from Tin Can Audio.

Ornithologists Journal by Eric K. Hill, in contrast to some other solo RPGs, has a daily structure that I found meditative and which was influential on this game.

Appendix E: Next Steps

Playtesting

If you play through Itinerarium, I would love to hear about it. I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences, your traveler's journey and ultimate fate. But I could also use some specific feedback:

  • Did you end up skipping any regions?
  • Did any regions seem to really drag?
  • How many days did your run take?
  • What did you expect that never happened?
  • What happened that you didn't expect?

The Plan

  1. Play through a couple times. Get a feel for it.
  2. Collect feedback if other people play it.
  3. Tweak numbers as needed. Should regions be longer? Shorter?
  4. Write more prompts. Ideally:
    • 30 prompts for each region, either 10 "rolls" nested 3 deep or as 10 pick-lists of 3.
    • Add more detail. I want prompts at the start to really promote the story, and prompts toward the end to "back off" some to allow interpretation.
    • Add some through lines and repeating motifs.
  5. Restructure the end of the journey, potentially, to become more satisfying.
  6. Formatting, layout, art, etc.

Sparks

Prompts for writing prompts.

Who

  • people met
  • people thought of
  • people avoided

What

  • sight
  • smell
  • sound
  • touch
  • taste
  • health
  • discovery
  • travel
  • area
  • obstacle
  • misfortune
  • serendipity

Where

  • flora
  • fauna
  • landscape
  • architecture
  • elsewhere (ahead)
  • elsewhere (back)
  • elsewhere (oblique)
  • landmark
  • water feature
  • landmark
  • shrine
  • peak
  • mansion
  • farm
  • settlement
  • fortress
  • city

When

  • ongoing
  • preparation
  • remnant
  • weather

Why

  • reflection
  • planning
  • mystery
  • expectation

How

  • vehicle
  • manner
  • mood

With

  • supplies
  • food
  • object
  • tool
  • trade, currency
  • souvenir
  • water

About Me

Who knows where this ashcan may ultimately end up? I'm Ian McDougall. Sometimes I play games. You can find me online:

Footnotes

  1. In fact, as a PSA, your phone may already be counting your steps, and you should check, even if you decide not to play this game. ↩

  2. It's not necessary to play every day. But no matter how many days have passed, it's recommended to only count today's steps. ↩