Firelights: A Solo Metroidvania Condensed RPG

Accessible, and Fully Open Licensed

For generations, the departed have been trapped in their undead form all across the land of Penumbra, tormenting and plaguing our world. 

The Firelights, who once guided the dead through the Veil, have vanished. But there is still hope. 

Their last cocoons just hatched right under the careful eyes of the Protectors. 

You are the last of the Firelights. 

You must traverse through swarms of lifeless creatures, ignite all the land's old beacons, and lead the dead through the Veil once more.

I wasn’t planning on creating this, but the idea struck me last week, and I had to get it down on paper. Then, in a matter of days, this little pamphlet game was finished.

Firelights is a condensed and open licensed solo/co-op role-playing game about a guided journey across a plagued land. It is a game of exploration, discovery, and challenges. Inspired by the Metroidvania video game genre, you take on the role of a last of its kind lone-protagonist whose role is to guide back the dead back to the underworld after a corruption took over. 

Thanks to the incredible Galen Pejeau, the worlds of Firelights came to life with a beautiful illustration (see cover image below).

The game features

• A beautiful tri-fold PDF easy to print at home which contains all the game's mechanics, rolling tables, and a character sheet.

• Seven player facing actions to confront risk, search for treasure, buy information, discover a region, fight Curses, evade danger, and getting answers.

• A map making mechanic which uses a standard deck of card to build a Metroidvania style map.

• Rolling tables for regions, themes, events and NPC backgrounds.

• Fully open licensed text available for use under the CC-BY v4 license.

• and more...

Firelights Jam

Firelights was designed to be accessible, and hackable. Its entire text is licensed under the CC-BY license. Check out the Guided by Firelights page and Firelights Creator Kit to get started in making your own game based on the game.

Also, to celebrate the release of Firelights, we are also launching the Firelights Jam which calls to all game designers to create something using the Firelights system. The jam lasts from March 1st to May 1st.

What Folks Are Saying...

Firelights is a brilliant, condensed, and easy to approach game. It captures the sense of exploration and discovery in an organic, tactile way, not just with its tantalizing story that creeps in from all corners of this little trifold zine, but within the mechanics themselves. Every carefully crafted word fits together perfectly to take you on a journey across the lands of Penumbra and ignite the Beacons before it is too late.

-Andrew Boyd of Pandion Games

Firelights is a game designed to generate emotions. Yes, the rules will guide you in building a world shrouded in darkness and help you explore what remains of the ancient vestiges of civilization. But that's just the surface. It’s a game that digs inside you: as you explore Penumbra, you will explore your soul, fears, and hopes. It's a unique experience.

-Matteo Sciutteri of Tiny Pumpkins Games

A sleek and beautiful game of hope and exploration. Become the last light in a world plagued by shadows.

-Matthew of Yuigaron

One Last Thing

I’m very excited to share this project with you all, and hope you will enjoy exploring the land of Penumbra as much as myself.

When you play the game, please tag me on Twitter. I want to see those beautiful card based metroidvania maps!

-RP