#text-based rpg

[voidwarlock-studios]

My interpretations of a few of @within-your-eyes-if 's characters! I gave Leese some eye bags because of all the inner turmoil he has to deal with. Lyth's design was heavily influenced by Heaven Official's Blessing. I kept imagining both him and Xiang as if they were in that universe.

I'm excited to see how the story progresses!!

[enchi-elm]

Right, gonna drop this into the ether just before bed and maybe someone'll see it who can solve this for me.

I swear--I have this in firm memory--that floating around the internet somewhere is a beautifully scripted text-based RPG called some variant of Guinevere where you play as Guinevere. (a few years ago, I dunno, 2019? Earlier?)

It is only text. It is the most lo-fi production ever, it is text on a slightly off-white background, and it was utterly transporting. There were paths that turned you into a powerful sorceress. You could be into Arthur or not, into anyone or not, you could go a magic route or a political power route or a "I just want to love someone and have fun" route, it was exquisitely done. 10/10 storytelling. It starts off the day you get married and follows your early life at Camelot.

And I bookmarked it because I got through two chapters of it and it was still under construction or something and I have lost the bookmark and both DuckDuckGo and the tumblr search engine are determined to keep me in the dark and to make matters worse, somehow there's now a Choices story about Guinevere and the only thing that's even remotely relevant that comes up as results are related to that app. But it wasn't an app! It was a browser-based text-based RPG and it was beautiful and I can't find it.

[linuxgamenews]

Embark on a Journey with Questboard: The Next-Level Text-Based RPG

Questboard is a text-based RPG game is a choose your own adventure on Linux, Mac, and Windows PC. Developer Binary Cabin’s creativity brings the title to life in the most exciting ways. Due to make its way onto Steam in 2025. Heads up, adventurers! Indie studio Binary Cabin is rolling out something special, and it's hitting right in the nostalgic feels. Meet Questboard — a fresh take on old-school, text-based RPG titles but with all the modern touches we like. It's a full-on dive back into the world of story-driven exploration on Linux. The kind that pulls you in and keeps you hooked. Inspired by those cozy, classic PC adventures, Questboard puts you in a world where every decision counts, every dice roll matters. Since every choice leads to new surprises. And the best part? A free demo drops this December, so we can all get a taste before its full launch on Steam in March 2025!

Questboard - Official Announcement Trailer

Picture this: a game that combines classic RPG mechanics with that 'choose-your-own-adventure' feel, but dialed up with the power of today’s tech. In Questboard, you’ll journey through a beautifully crafted world filled with mysterious characters, unexpected quests, and plenty of choices that shape your path. Whether you're chatting up a shady merchant, taking a chance on a risky quest, or rolling the dice in the face of a challenge, every decision is yours to make. It's your story, your adventure, and it unfolds exactly how you want.

Best Features

So what can we expect from this journey? Here’s a quick rundown:

Retro Gameplay with a Modern Twist: If you’re a fan of classic RPG mechanics, gameplay will feel like home. But it’s more than just a throwback—it’s modernized with smoother decision-making that keeps things fresh.

Your Choices Shape the Adventure: This is like a ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ title on a whole new level. Every choice you make sends you down a different path, which means endless possibilities for how your story unfolds.

Tactical Dice Rolling: We’re not talking about luck here; we’re talking about strategy. Rolling the dice in Questboard isn’t just random—it’s a strategic move. Each roll can change the course of your journey, so you’ve gotta play it smart.

Free Demo in December: Can’t wait to check it out? The demo’s going live in December! Jump in and see if you’ve got what it takes to master the Questboard.

Questboard text-based RPG is now available to wishlist on Steam. So if you’re into retro RPG vibes and like a choose your own adventure game where your decisions matter, this one’s for you. Get ready to embark on an adventure full of twists, turns, and everything we like about story-driven games — only this time, it’s your story to tell. So rally your party, sharpen those dice-rolling skills, and get ready to conquer. The adventure of a lifetime awaits on Linux, Mac, and Windows PC.

[marblesstorystudio]

❀ Chapters 0-3 Out Now! ❀ Itch ❀ Official Spotify Playlist

❀ Will you embrace your destiny or choose to avert your gaze?

Betrayed by your mothers and sent away to become a prophet, loneliness became an old friend, and an intense longing for connection stirs deep within you.

Hoping to escape the monotony of your life—training to become a Living Prophet and delivering parcels all over the Southern Territories isn’t as fun as it sounds—you seek solace in the nightflowers that grow in Caligo. 

It’s not like you have a choice, anyway, considering your dwindling medication and the irritating withdrawal symptoms (you've blown up one too many dormitories). Maybe you shouldn’t have put this off for so long, but the thought of being in your parents’ old home… well, let’s just say you aren’t ready to revisit their memory.

❀ Welcome to Caligo. Our Sovereign is pleased with your interest.

Caligo exists in the Dark Realm, home to the Sovereign and her Crimson Court. Famous for its nightflowers, Caligo is the place to go if you want medicine, poisons, glamours, or even cures.

Twin moons cast an ethereal glow upon you, illuminating the blue haze that swirls through the land. 

Unclimbable mountains overlook lush, fertile land that covers Insomnium, Umbra, Tenebrae, and the Crimson Court in nightflowers.

Though wet, chilly, and sunless, the beauty of this ancient place still prevails.

❀ choose your name; select your gender & pronoun ❀ customize your character's face & body; choose an outfit ❀ select 1 of 4 unique belief systems (prophethoods) ❀ romance 1 of 2 male love interests or focus on creating deep bonds of friendship ❀ guide your character's decisions & determine their fate

[videogamepolls]

Requested by anon

[larkingame]

a sneak peak at the new larkin...

[sarawritesif]

Ardenia Online is a fully immersive virtual reality MMORPG set in a fractured world where two realms collide — the techno-industrial sprawl of Abelion and the myth-touched wildlands of Ioyeni.

Players jack in to escape a dying Earth, finding power, meaning, or madness in the neural depths of the game. Every decision matters. The people you meet — they’re more than just code. They remember you. They rival you. They might even fall for you.

➤ Two Worlds, One Avatar

Switch between Abelion’s neon chaos and Ioyeni’s ancient magic. Your choices ripple between both worlds — forging quests, unlocking new identities, and altering destiny itself.

➤ Build Your Legacy

No rigid classes. Develop your character through stats, implants, magic, and choices. Everything from cybernetic spines to divine mutations is on the table.

➤ Romance That Evolves

Companions grow with — or against — you. Rivalries can become romances. Betrayals can become obsessions. Every connection is dynamic, memory-driven, and meaningful.

➤ Consequences Are Real

No reset buttons. Your wins and failures echo across the server. The world is reactive, persistent, and built to remember who you are.

Amelia/Abel [F/M]: Your best friend since childhood. Grounded. Steady. Comfort in human form. Amelia/Abel is the kind of person who brings you soup when you're sick and threatens your enemies with a shovel. Loyal to a fault — but that same loyalty can be classified into blind stubbornness. They want things to stay how they were, even if the world is changing too fast to hold onto. Quietly brave, a little anxious, always watching you for signs that you're slipping away.

Age: 23

Height: 5'6"

Skin: Fair with freckles

Hair: Curly (brown, Back Length for Amelia, blonde, Neck Length Abel)

Eyes: Hazel (Amelia), Amber (Abel)

MBTI: ISFJ

Enneagram: Type 6

Love Type: Friends to Lovers, Fast Paced

Raven [M/F/NB]: The mysterious strategist who sees through you. Intense. Razor-sharp. Elusive as hell. Raven doesn’t open up — they unfold slowly over time. They're analytical and cold on the surface, but their silence hides emotions. Observant to the point of discomfort. They remember everything. Will never admit they care, but they care so deeply it aches. The romance feels like solving a puzzle with your hands tied behind your back by barbedwires.

Age: 24

Height: 6'0"

Skin: Pale

Hair: Black, straight, Shoulder Length

Eyes: Onyx

MBTI: INTJ

Enneagram: Type 5

Love Type: Strangers to Lovers, Slow — slow Burn

Kai [M]: The firestarter. Charisma incarnate, walking serotonin and chaos. Kai’s your ride-or-die adrenaline junkie. He jokes through danger, flirts through fire, and fights like he has nine lives. But there’s depth under the bravado — fear of failure, a need to be seen, and an almost desperate hunger for connection he masks with swagger. He’s loyal, but unpredictable. You'll laugh with him. You might will cry too.

Age: 22

Height: 5'9"

Skin: Tanned

Hair: Dyed red, natural brown, Ear Length

Eyes: Turquoise-green

MBTI: ESFP

Enneagram: Type 7

Love Type: Fast-paced, Flirty Disaster

Nova [F]: The Healer. Warm. Empathic. A soul like moonlight on water. Nova is gentle with others, sometimes too gentle with herself. She listens more than she speaks, and when she does speak, it’s with weight. A natural healer, emotionally and physically, but struggles to prioritise her own needs. She’ll hold your hand through storms but might forget she’s getting wet too.

Age: 24

Height: 5'8"

Skin: Dark

Hair: Dreadlocks

Eyes: Deep brown

MBTI: INFP

Enneagram: Type 9

Love Type: Gentle Romance, Emotional Healing

Iris [F]: Tactical, graceful, deadly. Commanding. Strategic. Hot enough to burn and cold enough to freeze. Iris exudes competence and doesn’t suffer fools. She’s brilliant, blunt, and often a step ahead. She demands respect — but the real challenge is earning her trust. When she opens up (rare), it’s like standing in a sunbeam. She feels deeply but doesn’t always know how to show it without turning it into a battle plan.

Age: 36

Height: 5'10"

Skin: Brown

Hair: Wavy black

Eyes: Dark brown

MBTI: ENTJ

Enneagram: Type 8

Love Type: Power Couple, High Stakes, Slow Burn

Howard [M]: Scarred and silent. Grim. Stoic. Quietly haunted. Howard’s the type who keeps his back to the wall and watches exits. He doesn’t talk much unless it matters. But when he lets you in — it’s real. He’s not brooding for the aesthetic, he’s seen things he can’t explain and carries guilt like armour. Underneath that: surprising softness. The kind of man who’ll sit in silence with you because he knows sometimes that’s enough.

Age: 38

Height: 6'1"

Skin: Tanned, scarred

Hair: Short dark brown

Eyes: Grey

MBTI: ISTP

Enneagram: Type 1

Love Type: Protector Dynamic, Stoic Softie

Arlo [M]: Grumpy. Tired. Always one snarky comment away from becoming your problem. Arlo’s the kind of guy who rolls his eyes while patching you up, mutters "idiot" when you make a reckless choice, and then stands in front of you when things go bad anyway. He will protect you — just don’t expect him to smile while doing it. He has a soft side, but it’s buried under layers of deadpan, reluctant affection, and brotherly grumbling. Low tolerance for bullshit, but infinite tolerance for the people he secretly cares about. Especially his sister.

Age: 26

Height: 5'10"

Skin: Deep caramel

Hair: Cropped dark brown

Eyes: Warm brown

MBTI: ISTJ

Enneagram: Type 1

Love Type: Protective Romance

Alex [F]: Absolute gremlin. Tech goblin. The chaos engine. Alex is clever, snarky, loud, and borderline feral. He will roast you while fixing your hair and probably break into your heart by accident. He talks in memes, flirts in saracsm, and runs on caffeine and spite. Underneath the noise? Loneliness. Insecurity. Genius. And a weird sweetness he pretends doesn’t exist. If you romance him, it’s like dating a livewire with a crush on you and a grudge against god.

Age: 19

Height: 5'2"

Skin: Pale

Hair: Long ash-brown

Eyes: Pale blue

MBTI: ENTP

Enneagram: Type 4

Love Type: Banter-Filled Chaos, Fast Burn

Elara [F]: Elara is radiant — a bold idealist with a poetic soul. She speaks with passion, acts with purpose, and believes deeply in love, beauty, and people. There’s fire in her, and she’s not afraid to fight for what she believes in. But for all her confidence, she’s also deeply trusting — sometimes to a fault. She sees the best in others, even when they don’t deserve it, and her heart leads her into places her head maybe shouldn’t. She’s fearless in pursuit of what feels right — even when it puts her in danger.

Age: 22

Height: 5'5"

Skin: Fair

Hair: Blonde, wavy

Eyes: Blue

MBTI: ENFJ

Enneagram: Type 4

Love Type: Whimsical Soulmate, Artistic Romance

Sora [F]: Still waters run deep — and Sora is deep. Thoughtful. Unshakably calm. She's blind, but nothing escapes her notice. She listens like it matters. She moves like a whisper. She sees people more clearly than they see themselves. Getting close to her is like entering a quiet place in your mind you didn’t know you missed. But her calm hides storms — and some scars she doesn’t talk about yet.

Age: 23

Height: 5'5"

Skin: Pale beige

Hair: Soft grey

Eyes: White and clouded

MBTI: ISFP

Enneagram: Type 9

Love Type: Quiet Romance, Tranquil Connection, Soul mates

DEMO: TBA

[worldofmetahumans]

An underrated hero, but still an amazing one! Share your opinion on Black Canary today on https://worldofmetahumans.com/ !!

[thescrump]

I really wanna do a sort of.. text based rpg, or choose your own adventure book, where the desicions of the main character are entirely controlled by whatever people on tumblr say.

what do you think?

[fysa]

i got some friends to play lancer for the first time and they still blew each other up even when blast 1 radius was shown. ❤️

[falloutnewnobody]

you know the computer game gonna be good when it got 400,000+ words to read with your own eyes, many of which will make you stare out the window for fourty miniutes contemplating everything youve ever done

[videogamepolls]

Requested by anon

[larkingame]

Engage in an exclusively sapphic romance with the town's resident heiress, Celina Sokolova in Larkin! Demo out now!

[rottenzombrainz]

God damn my girl is going through some shit....

[dungeonofthedragon]

TTRPGs suitable for: Play by Post!

My first ten or so years of role-playing were purely play-by-post: warrior cats and dragons adventuring on online forums and message boards (shout out to Darkflame the dragon and Coldstone the kitty.) There was one very memorable Fallen London role-play over email too!

I suppose the modern equivalent would be a game in DMs, or maybe a discord text channel. In any case, for various reasons, many people prefer to play games in written form! However, some game systems are difficult to utilise in this format.

Here are some games that make for wonderful text-based adventures. All are GMless and/or diceless, so there's no awkward halt while you wait for a GM's roll.

Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine is a diceless game I've been waiting to get my greedy little hands on for some time. It focuses on fantastical slice-of-life stories. This reddit thread has great advice for running it as a play-by-post game!

There are plenty of available adventures for this system too! Adventures such as To Rob Death's Dominion, A Pawn's Gambit and the creator's own Halloween Special.

For the Grail is a GMless and diceless game of Arthurian knights on a grand quest. While it was designed for physical play, I've been playing it online with a group of friends and it's a lot of fun!

Law Bringers is a diceless game designed for space fantasy adventures such as Star Wars, but which works well for pseudo-medieval fantasy as well. It's also completely free!

Lordsworn is a GMless rpg of tragic, broken warriors struggling to survive after the destruction of their god in a cataclysmic war. It uses 4-sided dice. When a player rolls these dice, they keep their results secret from the other players, making it perfect for this style of play. Each player controls three Lordsworn, providing a good variety of dynamics to explore during their travels.

Magica is a one-page rpg about magical girls. It is GMless but players use six-sided dice to resolve events. Also, each magical girl is secretly in love with one of the others. Messy fun indeed!

Feel free to reblog with examples of your own!

[nintendont2502]

doing my first game jam this weekend. ive never made a game nor do i particularly know how to make a game, and im not confident my teammates do either but - fuck it we ball!!