How to Play Colostle - A Solo RPG Adventure

A brief (ish!) breakdown of the core mechanics and gameplay of the ENNIE award-winning solo journalling RPG: 'Colostle' - from the designer and creator Nich Angell!
Grab yourself a copy at www.colostle.com
Colostle is a solo RPG adventure game about exploring an impossibly massive castle that is so huge that there are continents, oceans, mountains and cities within its rooms. Wandering those rooms are the 'Rooks', dangerous walking castle towers that will attack without provocation but if defeated grant you incredible rewards!
Quick Navigation:
Exploration Summary: 4:20 - 17:50
Combat Summary: 17:50 - 33:05

[@musicbyshadofox]

My girlfriend gave me this book as a gift for Christmas this year, and I'm finding it really, really fun so far. I usually found solo play with D&D or other more complex rulesets too complex. Since this is tailored perfectly to it, I'm really happy with how easy it is to begin.

[@LiviTooNice]

Talk about perfect timing, my books were delivered an hour ago and I'm in the middle of my first encounter mode now. Thanks for great work!

[@KromKrausser]

How is your aventure going ?

[@LiviTooNice]

@@KromKrausser it's been wonderful and I've since turned a friend onto it :) I love writing my own little story to go with the adventure ❤️

[@AlbertoRodriguez-zb3iu]

I love the simplicity of this system, I can see all kinds of expansion books in the form of new exploration and combat tables.

[@LexOnTheWeb]

Dicebreaker brought me here! Having never played a TTRPG before, this really has me interested. As someone who loves exploration and combat games like Zelda: Breath of the Wild, this feels like it’s right up my alley.

[@DougVehovec]

I just learned about this game today and super excited for delivery. This looks like just what I've wanted in a game for years.

[@HeadHunterSix]

What a great game! As soon as I heard about it a few months ago, I was all-in and ordered the books, cards and journal.

[@martinwarburton1]

I really like the the game and system I have played through the main game 3 time to get my head around how things work and now I am going to use the Roomlands book for my next adventure then I will use one of the research, cartographers and the roomsmith journal and decks in it. I got my copy and all the extras for £91 when I was at MCM Birmingham last year and I can not put it down.

[@DanBP21]

Beautiful work! Congratulations !

[@voldlifilm]

Perfect timing! I just sat down to give it a whirl.

[@laurenmendes9087]

I really enjoyed watching this, thank you

[@orc_zilla2476]

My book arrived this week and I am very excited to get started with it.

[@ericbarlow6772]

Thanks for the play through. I just ordered the expansion hardback and pdf.

[@Luke-dj4uy]

Just bought it. 🎉 Thanks!

[@Puddlejoon]

Great tutorial! Thanks.

[@12345gerrard]

This is an amazing game well done sir! ✔️

[@ReneRunsRPGs]

Haha oh boy I hope I did it well for my podcast series of it! But I absolutely LOVED my time in the Roomlands!

[@ATREIDESDUNCAN88]

I also bough this in the digital form. Thank you. I needed A solo game tried others but it got boring. This is well thought out.

[@sciohermetikum3902]

This seems really cool. Think im gonna buy the PDFs and see if I want the Hardcover later

[@wallyguy2621]

Just about to start this. Already have character and calling with a bit of a back story. Only as I hoping I can make it play in to my journey/calling. But this video help me decide on a few things like weapons and my Rookiling witch I still haven't ironed out. My art skills are pretty poor, but I'll make it work. Hopefully a little better than stick figures 😂

[@joostborst]

I was kinda skipping through the video but from what I understand the book gives you randomised words, you then use those words to make up your own story, you get to keep some of those words as "items" so you can use them to build the next story from the random words. You can write down the story and add drawings to them. It reminded me of "story cubes". My kids got those. You throw 6 x 6 sides die with pictures and them invent a story with the pictures.

[@boodesultan12]

It's a great improv practice with that in mind

[@davidperte62]

I'll soon be getting the PDFs! I can't wait to start my adventure! Quick question, can you play as another race or is it only Humans?

[@drakness_ita5406]

HI! First of all Congratulations on the game. Then I wanted to ask you something because I think I got stuck: basically a Gargoyle took me to the beams and at that point I don't know what to do. Should I roll an event or should I go and read the summit paragraph? or do I just have to do another exploration phase?

[@AceTheDork]

I just found out about this rpg and I can’t wait to finally be able to get it!! I do have a question tho, I came across either an expansion pack for colostle or an add on but I can’t seem to find it anywhere (it’s rooms beyond rooms btw)

[@celticwanderer89]

Cities next please!! Im confused as to how travel to and from cities works..in the book it states it takes portions of exploration phase to get to or from hunters lodge quests..can you explain a bit more in depth?!? Also city generation??

[@LathosZan]

I love the idea of games like this (I've even made a few myself) but what do most folks do with their journals and experiences? Do you share them? Or just put them on a shelf to flip through later? I find I am very interested in playing games like this (solo games in general and ones with a journaling component) but I have a hard time motivating myself do actually play them unless I have someone else to read rhe resulting journal entries and be engaged. Is this normal? Is there a way to overcome this, like a more productive way to view and experience the process? Or am I just S-O-L?

[@SPQRKlio]

I know people post their journal entries for Oath, and I saw that players are encouraged to post theirs for this game, too. I’m with you in that I want a solo adventure but still would like a way for others to interact with my experiences.

[@andyseb4776]

I got stuck. I was against a mid tower (3 attacks). At first attack i got a critical, so he remains with only one other attack. The second attack he won. Who was the winner of the combat?

[@BokehBard]

Is there a section for multiclassing? Or is it that helms can just be used by everyone?

[@0xKKrotto]

Man deliver in Brazil please 🙏

[@leonielson7138]

I just watched a creepy pasta about a Forestry Service Ranger who sometimes finds staircases just sitting in the woods, and he's told to ignore them, do interact with them, and never, ever, climb them.

[@sciohermetikum3902]

ummm...A few years ago while hiking off the trail me and my friends found a twisted up metal staircase. Good thing it was upside down I guess

[@kori228]

interested in the system, but the character art is just really unappealing lol

[@sciohermetikum3902]

The great thing about this is that you can imagine it however you want. But I agree, the character art is unappealing

[@kori228]

@@sciohermetikum3902 yeah I have pretty poor imagination and I need that preexisting art to drive my mental imagery. I'm a sucker for pretty art. To compare, I might get Break!! Rpg just for the cute art and never run the system.

[@SPQRKlio]

@@kori228It’s so funny, I just this week got this game because I like the line art and the colour palate-and like the concept enough to take a chance on the gameplay, even though I’m not super into the “journal writing” style of game. I checked out Break!!, but for me (this just my taste! I’m totally not putting down yours!) the art feels bland. Maybe I like Colostle because it reminds me of Moebius... But, I’ll see if the gameplay works for me too.

[@john-lenin]

This is brilliant. I have a couple of questions, period. 1. How did you come up with the concept of the Rooks?. And 2. Do you have a license or an OGL? I can envision several interesting hacks of this system.