3HEX7 - THE LIGHTHOUSE
Solo RPG Actual Play - Run 1 - by Jeremy Bowness
Introduction
Welcome to the first Bowness Actual Play report for 3HEX Issue 7: The Lighthouse.
When one first looks at The Lighthouse, it presents itself as a brutally efficient, unforgiving solo game loop. But as you step onto its shifting sands, the mechanical crunch quickly gives way to a profound psychological evolution. You quickly realize that this is not a game about managing a standard inventory or fighting off wandering monsters; it is a singular, uncompromising arc of reincarnation. With every failed run, your Traveller learns, gains scars, and slowly scrubs away the illusion of the self. - JB
Run 1
The Heavy Mind
The first voyage is characterized by a heavy, unrefined consciousness. The Traveller enters the psychoscape entirely unprepared for how fiercely their own memories will weaponize against them.
Character Generation:
◘ Incense [IC]: 3 (Starting roll: 5)
◘ Insight [IN]: 3 (Starting roll: 4)
◘ Mantra [MA]: 4 (Starting roll: 8)
◘ Ego [EGO]: 0
Day 1 Narrative
The Shore of Clinging
The Traveller awakens on a beach of jagged memories, picking through the Shipwreck of Intention. They find old fragments of focus (Incense), but a sudden Karmic Storm rolls in from the grey ocean. They weather it by sheer stubborn force of will, but the victory feels hollow—they are merely surviving, not growing.
Day 1 Play
Hex Left: The Shore of Clinging → Shipwreck of Intention
◇ Event Roll: 9 (Violent tempest → CONFRONT a Karmic Storm).
◇ Action Roll (2D6): Rolled 7 +4 (MA) -−0 (EGO) = 11. Success! (TN 10+)
◇ Table 7.2 Reward: A roll of 7 on the Storm row grants +2 Incense.
◇ End of Day: Burned 1 IC to maintain focus as required. EGO remains 0.
◇ Current Stats:
IC: 4, IN: 3, MA: 4, EGO: 0
Day 2–3 Narrative
The Hall of Mirrors
Desperate to force progress, the Traveller pushes into the ash-strewn Charring Ghats. They step into the Hall of Mirrors, and the narrative fragments completely. Instead of seeing a path forward, they are surrounded by a shifting horde of their own past egos, screaming for attention. The Traveller loses their footing, stares too deeply into the reflective glass, and is forced to look at their own rotting corpse. The sheer, agonizing horror of mortality strips them of their Insight.
Day 2 Play
Hex Center: The Charring Ghats → The Hall of Mirrors
◇ Event Roll: 3 (Shifting horde of egos → CONFRONT a Karmic Storm).
◇ Action Roll (2D6): Rolled 5 +4 (MA) −0(EGO) = 9. Failure!
(Missed TN 10+)
◇ Penalty: Lost 1 Insight, gained 1 EGO.
◇ End of Day: Burned 1 IC as required. EGO remains 1.
◇ Current Stats:
IC: 3, IN: 2, MA: 4, EGO: 1
Day 3 Play
Hex Center: The Charring Ghats → The Hall of Mirrors
◇ Event Roll: 10 (Pool of pure water → CHANCE Roll).
◇ Action Roll (2D6): Rolled 6 +2 (IN) −1(EGO) = 7. Failure!
(Missed TN 9+)
◇ Penalty Outcome: Stared too deep, forced to CONFRONT an Earthly Desire (TN 8+).
◇ CONFRONT Action Roll (2D6): Rolled 4 +4 (MA) −1 (EGO) = 7. Failure!
Day 4–6 Narrative
The Panicked Ascent
Terrified, bleeding mental focus, and blind to the larger truth, the Traveller runs to The Lighthouse. They try to force their way through the ground floor, The Void of Desire, but the air is too thick with the enticing stink of everything they tried to leave behind. Gripped by an agonizing, sudden wave of nostalgia, the Traveler’s mind fractures completely.
Day 4 Play
Hex Right: The Skeletal Reef →
The Jagged Path
◇ Event Roll: 3 (Wrathful deity blocks the road → CONFRONT
a Mara).
◇ Action Roll (2D6): Rolled 8 +4 (MA) −2(EGO) = 10. Failure! (Missed TN 12+)
◇ Penalty: Lost 1 Insight (down to 0), gained 1 EGO.
◇ End of Day: Burned 1 IC as required. EGO remains 3.
◇ Current Stats:
IC: 1, IN: 0, MA: 4, EGO: 3
Day 5 Play
The Lighthouse → Stage 1: Void of Desire
◇ The Ascent Action: Ascent Roll (TN 9+).
◇ Action Roll (2D6): Rolled 11 +0(IN) −3(EGO) = 8. Failure!
◇ Penalty: Gripped by nostalgia. Lost 2 Mantra (down to 2), gained 1 EGO. Cast out
of the tower.
◇ End of Day: Burned final 1 IC to hold off madness! EGO remains 4.
◇ Current Stats:
IC: 0, IN: 0, MA: 2, EGO: 4
Day 6 Play
The Lighthouse →
Stage 1: Void of Desire
◇ The Ascent Action: Ascent Roll (TN 9+).
◇ Action Roll (2D6): Rolled 5 +0 (IN) −4(EGO) = 1. Miserable Failure!
◇ Penalty: Lost 2 Mantra (down to 0), gained 1 EGO (up to 5). Cast out.
◇ End of Day: Out of Incense! EGO naturally ticks up by 1.
◇ Current Stats:
IC: 0, IN: 0, MA: 0, EGO: 6
Run 1 Result
Spiritual Annihilation
◇ EGO hits 6! Game OVER.
◇ Highest Insight Achieved: 3
The mind broke under the agonizing weight of material nostalgia before ever clearing
the ground floor.
You do not play to survive; you play to transcend.
THE LIGHTHOUSE is the seventh issue of the 3HEX solo role-playing game. The issue enters a brutal, unforgiving psychological landscape where the true adversary is your own Traveller’s earthly desires, ego, and past regrets.
This pay-what-you-want booklet details three THE LIGHTHOUSE Actual Plays by Tesseract Engineer Jeremy Bowness. It demonstrates how the game works in both play, and potentially narrative forms.
Enter the world of your mind, and follow your beacon: THE LIGHTHOUSE.
THE LIGHTHOUSE - THE BOWNESS ACTUAL PLAYS is now available in PDF from DriveThruRPG. It is PAY-WHAT-YOU-WANT. To get it for FREE, click on the CUSTOM button to the right of the suggested prices and enter 0 (zero!):
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/574774/the-lighthouse-3hex-issue007-the-bowness-actual-plays
3HEX issue 7 is available to buy from DriveThruRPG at:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/573157/the-lighthouse-3hex-issue007
#SoloRPG #tabletoprpg #TRPG #indierpg #sologaming