A downloadable game

Buy Now$3.00 USD or more

You need:

  • Something to write with and on
  • A d20 (or random number generator)
  • A tracker token of some sort (coin, meeple, etc)

Optional:

  • A set of dominos (a print-and-play version is available at https://mr-matthew.itch.io/dominoes).
    • If using dominos, an opaque bag or box to pull them from (put them in it and mix them up randomly).
  • If not using dominos, a d6.

About the Game

A villain threatens the world, and someone must rise to stop them! That someone won't be you, though, as you're merely a humble shopkeeper...

You find yourself gathering supplies and things to sell from the villain's lair when a hero appears! You realize that you can help them defeat the villain by crafting equipment they desperately need while working toward your personal goals as well.

The Shopkeeper's Saga was created for Moos-a-Dee Community Jam #14, which had one of my favorite themes of all time: "You are the traveling merchant in an RPG that always shows up to a location before the heroes do."

How to Play

After journaling about who you are, why you're in the villain's lair, who the hero and villain are, and what the lair is like, you'll go through a number of moments in the dungeon.

The game uses the Second Guess System for these moments: you'll roll a d20 to get a prompt, then journal about what happens, why, and what you get out of it. Whenever you roll a number you've already rolled, a twist happens. This is when the hero crosses your path, and they see what you were doing in this moment, which shapes their opinion of you. You also get two opportunities to craft requested equipment for them (with dominoes —thanks Domino Crafting Mechanic— or "written dominoes" using a d6), which will increase their power.

Once five twists have happened, the hero and villain face off! If the hero can defeat the villain, the world is safe again! Either way, you may also win a personal victory if you've progressed toward your purpose... but you may not enjoy your personal victory long if the villain won the battle. Unless you wanted that to happen! 

No printing is required, but there is an optional character sheet you can print. This makes tracking everything much easier, but you can also just use a blank piece of paper instead.

More Solo Journaling Games

Check out all of our solo games in this list, and some of our solo journaling games below


Find Out More

Learn more about The Shopkeeper's Saga on our Patreon. Or come chat about it on our Discord server!

All of our posts are free aside from some exclusive polls. We share news, updates, behind-the-scenes design stuff, and more. Plus, each of our releases is either free for a limited time or has community copies; if you become a free member of our Patreon, you’ll get an email when we release something, and if you’re quick enough you can get everything free! 

Paid members help fund our creations and can get all of them as they come out, answer polls to help shape our future creations, and even get games and zines printed and mailed to you monthly in North America.

Purchase

Buy Now$3.00 USD or more

In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $3 USD. You will get access to the following files:

The Shopkeeper's Saga.pdf 333 kB

Community Copies

Support this game at or above a special price point to receive something exclusive.

Community Copy

No reason needed; if you want a free copy of the full game, please take one!

Development log

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