V1.2 introduces optional rules for tracking any properties of the game.
V1.1 introduces optional rules for non-player characters and penalty/bonus dice. It also suggests using counters for map features plus other little changes.
Design notes from the author:
"I wanted an introductory solo game to produce stories beyond a first-person perspective, and a game that could promiscuously absorb characters, maps, scenarios and artwork I liked.
I had a breakthrough after discovering Matrix games, a brilliant life's work and passion project by Chris Engle. In all kinds of Matrix games, players argue to advance their actor's position. A referee or other players weigh the arguments, sometimes helped by a dice roll. For solo play, I wrote declarations rather than arguments with an outcome based on a simple roll.
(Around the time of Chris Engle's retirement from games publishing, organisations exploring real-world military and humanitarian scenarios adopted a flavour of Matrix Games. See MaGCK: The Matrix Game Construction Kit for a product developed to support this technique.)
A second major influence was Trollbabe by Ron Edwards. Trollbabe players narrate failure, rather than the GM. In my search for solo play, players narrating failure seemed a gift. I thought this idea from Trollbabe made good sense in a solo game because one player must narrate all the actors and actorly success/failure lies orthogonal to the success of the story.
Matrix games and Trollbabe have another thing in common: Matrix games allow arguments to be "about anything". Trollbabe encourages players to "invent stuff into existence" from a list during rerolls. I found these invitations for sunlight essential for renewal through solo play - a completely closed matrix (ahem) would otherwise naturally wind down through entropy. Dandelion demands "wild new ideas" in declarations and "flair" in outcomes.
I added a simple outcomes table but I took exacting care with the words so failures advance the story as much as successes. I wanted successes and failures to equally drive events for the next actors for enjoyable solo play.
Through play, I uncovered that narrating (really speaking) aloud made stories take form. I found drawing/co-opting physical maps and counters (usually 22 mm counters with round labels) helped the stories gel too.
I hope I synthesised great ideas from Chris Engle and Ron Edwards into something new. I hope solo RPG players can enjoy this simple introductory game as much as I do.
Watership Down provided the name Dandelion, a fast-running storytelling rabbit."
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