Blood & Torch - Solo Play and Review

Dungeon Life - Solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.

Despite having played TTRPGs for years, I’d never tried a solo game. I don’t know why; it just seemed like something one does with other people.

Reading about them on Substack intrigued me.

I mean, I’ve played video games and solitaire, so why wouldn’t a solo game be fun?

I had no real answer—and with so many games available, I decided to see what one was like.

I bought three Blood & Torch by Elijah Mills and Zorg! from Croaker RPGs. I bought Kal-Arath from Castle Grief a while ago but haven’t played it yet. I love the setting and art. My first run-through will be a solo game.

I can’t be the only one wondering about these games, so why not do a short review and narrative write-up as I play each one?

First on the list is Blood & Torch.

Rules and Mechanics

I grabbed this one from a recommendation I read somewhere on Reddit. Thank you, whoever you are, I can’t find the post now.

Blood & Torch is a dungeon crawl game with only two pages of rules. Simple to learn, simple to play, but very hard to win.

I think the gist of the game is resource management. Your character has a Blood die and a Torch die. The first represents your ability to fight and your life force, while the latter is your ability to navigate and overcome obstacles.

Blood and Torch each start at d8 but can increase or decrease depending on how the adventure unfolds. Roll well, collect treasure, and get upgrades, and they can get as high as d20. On the other hand, low rolls and/or poor decisions will crush these down to d4.

If either ever drops to zero, you’re dead.

This makes perfect sense – bleed out or lose your light underground, and you’re a goner. (Probably eaten by a Grue for those old enough to remember Zork).

Accumulation of Fatigue Points puts you on the path to death, while Safe Rooms and Treasure Points give you a boost.

The final piece of this game is the Encounter. These are real make-or-break moments for your character. Some of them require you to try your luck. For example, a screaming monster appears, and you’ll roll 1d6. There’s a chance you’ll have to fight it, but there’s a chance it will give you a bonus.

Just hope you’re lucky.

Other encounters invite you to gamble. Will you press your luck for an advantage at the risk of serious consequences? Or will you walk away?

Here’s what happened on my first try “in the dank halls of the Tomb of the Unholy Dead.”

The Tomb Awaits

I’d heard much about the Tomb of the Unholy Dead since I was a boy. Strong, brave warriors, nimble thieves, and crusading clerics had set out to plumb its depths – for glory, loot, or duty. Most never returned. Those who’d fled from its horrors were never quite the same after.

Now, I was a man and unafraid…about to write my name in legend.

At the end of an overgrown path stood the entrance to the Tomb. It was a lord’s manor, or what remained of one. Sunken in the ground and overgrown with weeds, I could feel the evil presence and hear strange sounds from within.

I prayed to the gods of my people for strength. With my torch lit and sword in hand, I crossed the threshold.

The room stank of rot. Bones littered the floor, and strange crawling noises echoed from deeper within. Some eldritch force acted upon the debris, forming human bones into animated skeletons. A pale light glowed in their eyes as the undead creatures shambled towards me.

(Blood d8, Torch d8, Treasure 0, Fatigue 0)

I swallowed my fear and waded into the fight.

Deftly evading their claws and teeth, my steel bit hard into the brittle frames. I left them in a shattered pile on the stone.

(Blood Roll 1d8 vs. Monster 4, Result 8, Win!)

I looked about the room for treasure, but there was nothing but the rusted blades and remains of those who had come before me. Crossing the room, I found a creaky wooden door and opened it with a push.

The moment I set foot into the room, I heard them. Skittering and scampering in the dark. Things low to the ground came from all directions. Half-decayed rats with red gleaming eyes swarmed. There was no place to run, even if I’d wanted to. I stomped and slashed furiously.

Ultimately, I stood victorious but exhausted and bleeding from a dozen tiny bites.

(Blood Roll 1d8 vs Monster 4, Result 3, Win but take 1 Fatigue Point)

(Blood d8, Torch d8, Treasure 0, Fatigue 1)

The room contained nothing valuable, most likely already looted by someone…or something. So, I took the north passage and headed deeper into the Tomb.

The short hall opened into a smaller room, equally dark and damp. Suddenly, the room filled with an ominous wailing scream. “Why me!” I plead over and over. The cry issued from a chattering skull amidst a pile of bones in the center of the room, over which was draped the remains of a once-fine cloth.

(Encounter – Wailing Servant – Roll 1d6, Result 5, Monster Attacks)

I stood aghast as a ghostly figure emerged from the pile. Still crying out in anguish, it lunged forward, seeking revenge on my living flesh. I kept my distance, dodging its flailing arms and snapping teeth.

My sword bit hard into the putrid body as claws rent my chest. Ignoring the pain, I stabbed and slashed until the foul thing wailed no more.

(Blood d8, Monster 8, Roll 5, Win but take 1 Fatigue Point)

(Blood d8, Torch d8, Treasure 0, Fatigue 2)

Elated but battered from the fight, I searched for treasure. Amid the pile of bones and cloth lay six gold coins. Was this all there was? Where were the riches of which the legends told? Likely further down in the Tomb.

(Blood d8, Torch d8, Treasure 6, Fatigue 2)

To the north was a stout door, and to the east, a hallway. I chose the latter, wondering if I might discover a key. That wasn’t the case. I walked into a chamber filled with cobwebs and shattered furniture. As I searched, two decaying zombies, rotted flesh hanging in clumps, walked forth from the shadows.

I met them with cold, hard steel. Their strength was incredible, but I avoided their awkward attacks with speed and precision. They died a second death at my hands.

(Blood d8, Monster 6, Roll 6, Win!)

A thorough search of the room yielded nothing but a passageway leading east. I took a deep breath and walked inside seeking riches and glory.

Against the far wall was a single gold coin…better than nothing but still a paltry sum for all I’d been through. Yet there was something comforting about the room. The air seemed fresher, and my wounds began to heal. I knew not what arcane forces were at work, nor did I care. The magic worked to my advantage.

(Safe Room, Remove Fatigue Points)

(Blood d8, Torch d8, Treasure 6, Fatigue 0)

There was no other way out, so I made up my mind to try my luck behind the locked door I’d passed. Carefully winding my way back the way I came, I tried to open it, but it was locked tight. Summoning every ounce of strength I threw my shoulder into the wood, breaking it open.

Some unseen mechanism released a blade that pierced my side. A minor wound, but one that hindered my sword arm. Ahead in the darkness, I heard the scrape of metal and hideous laughter.

(Torch d8, Obstacle 6, Roll 1, Obstacle cleared but take 1 Fatigue Point)

(Blood d8, Torch d8, Treasure 6, Fatigue 1)

Knowing my chances were greater if I were fully healed, I quickly fled to the magical Safe Room. Just as before, my wounds healed, and my strength returned in full.

(Safe Room, Remove Fatigue Points)

(Blood d8, Torch d8, Treasure 6, Fatigue 0)

I readied my sword and mind for the battle ahead and strode back to the chamber behind the trapped door.

The bloated figure of a debauched, gluttonous man laughed and dragged a heavy axe. He wore a tunic and mail emblazoned with a crest I knew from old men’s stories. It was Lord Urgin himself! The once mighty noble was consumed by the same evil forces he sought to control.

Sword and axe met in a clang as the battle began. My blade slashed open gaping maggoty wounds in his disgusting corpulence, but his axe found its mark – slashing my chest and thigh. I anticipated his final swing, dodged, and countered with a stroke that removed Urgin’s gibbering head.

His massive body crumpled before me and dissolved into slime.

(Blood d8, Boss Monster 8, Roll 3, Win but take 2 Fatigue Points)

(Blood d8, Torch d8, Treasure 6, Fatigue 2)

Near his throne lay four shining gold pieces. A pittance for my struggle, but I felt the weight of my coin purse grow and smiled.

(Blood d8, Torch d8, Treasure 10, Fatigue 2)

Behind the throne lay a shimmering portal through which I could see a darkened staircase. I knew not what lay in store but was determined to press on. However, I thought it prudent to return to my magical Safe Room and restore my energy.

Feeling invigorated, I stepped through the gate into the unknown.

(Blood d8, Torch d8, Treasure 10, Fatigue 0)

I emerged at the top of the stairs and was sickened near to retching by the smell of decomposition. As I entered the room at the bottom, a trio of naked, rotting figures crawled on hands and knees, hissing and moaning.

They lunged, grabbed, and bit, but speed kept me safe. With all the skill and precision my father taught me as a boy, my blade quickly dispatched two of them. Yet, I stumbled in the slime as the third took hold of my leg and bit deeply.

I screamed and thrust my weapon into the top of its soft rotten skull. I felt its grasp weaken, and it moved no more.

(Blood d8, Monster 4, Roll 2, Win but take 1 Fatigue Point)

(Blood d8, Torch d8, Treasure 10, Fatigue 1)

Searching the room’s contents revealed only splintered tables and rusted kitchen utensils. Nothing at all of value. Disappointed I looked at where to go next. Three heavy doors. Behind the north door, I heard the scratching of claws. To the west a faint howling, but to the south silence.

In my condition, I decided to force the southern passage. It opened with a solid kick, however the frame was in ill repair and I was hit soundly on the head by a falling rock.

(Torch d8, Obstacle 6, Roll 5, Obstacle cleared but take 1 Fatigue Point)

(Blood d8, Torch d8, Treasure 10, Fatigue 2)

What lay inside was beyond anyone’s imagination.

A massive table of once fine delicacies now lay covered in a viscous slop. As I started in disgust, some sorcery caused the image to flicker back and forth between the decayed mass and the feast in its former glory.

Ghostly apparitions of men fed on the slop. For some, an unholy force fortified them with incredible strength. Others ate and withered into shells of their former selves. Was this some demon’s trick, or mystical insight into how mortals could conquer the Tomb?

I knew I was fated to rule…my soul was pure enough to harness the power of the feast.

So I ate. It tasted like food meant for kings. Lost in the trance of greed I filled my belly near to bursting.

The apparitions laughed and pointed as I felt my strength drain and my torch dim. I was the entrée as the dead consumed my vital essence.

(Encounter, Roll 1d6, 5, On a roll of 3-6 both Blood and Torch reduced to d4)

(Blood d4, Torch d4, Treasure 10, Fatigue 2)

I bolted from room, enervated and distraught, back to the room with the crawling undead. In no shape to deal with the horrors scratching at the north door, I decided to head west.

While I was certain it led deeper into the Tomb, I hoped that I might find another of the magical Safe Rooms. After the previous attempts at forcing doors, I approached with greater caution. I was surprised to find the door unlocked.

As I pulled gently on the handle, a burst of foul air blew the door open and knocked me from my feet. My torch fell from my hand and tumbled into a puddle of water. It extinguished with a hiss, leaving me in total darkness.

(Torch d4, Obstacle 4, Roll 3, Obstacle cleared but take 1 Fatigue Point)

(Accumulate 3 Fatigue Points, then reduce Blood or Torch by one die, 0 means death)

(Blood d4, Torch 0, Treasure 10, Fatigue 3)

My torch out, I knew there was nothing I could do. I heard the slithering and scampering all around me. These creatures would not kill me. I spoke one last word to my ancestors and fell on my own sword.

Quick sharpie sketch I made while playing

I had a blast with this. Definitely going to play this again, plus some other games, write-ups, and thoughts on the mechanics/setting.

Hit me up in the comments if there’s something you’d like to see.

See you on the trail!