Shepherd's Crook
A downloadable Solo journaling game
Shepherd's Crook is a solo journaling game in which you play the staff used to shepherd your flock. Over the course of the game, you grow and change as you are passed from one keeper, or shepherd, to another. While I designed this game with sheepherding in mind, the details are broad enough to apply to groups of people, animate objects, or whatever you would like.
This is my first journaling game, written for the 2021 Lost and Found game jam. An HTML version is available for free at https://astamm.gitbook.io/shepherd-s-crook/. If you enjoy it, please consider purchasing the PDF.
The Lost and Found solo journaling game system was created by Jack Harrison and popularized in the solo game Artefact. Learn more about the Lost and Found system at https://srd.mousehole.press.
Purchase
In order to download this Solo journaling game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $5 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Community copies
Support this Solo journaling game at or above a special price point to receive something exclusive.
Community copies
If you want to try out the game or can't afford to pay, take a community copy. If there are no community copies left, message me.
Comments
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Shepherd's Crook is a solo ttrpg that takes you on the journey of an inanimate object and the people who carry it throughout time. It's such an interesting way to look through the lens of something that doesn't age, but changes each time someone new holds it. Getting to watch my various shepherds change, get sick, tend to their flock as best as they can while the staff does what it can to assist is so much fun and so interesting, and I'm really glad I picked up this ttrpg to try out. Definitely recommend if you want to explore outside perspectives on characters or you want a cool staff to carry on to another ttrpg with a rich history behind it!
Thank you, Daniverse. I’m glad you enjoyed the game.
I played through a run of this and had an incredible time. I randomized as much as I could, and it prompted some VERY interesting situations. My final flock were Vultures, cleaning up a series of mysterious killings that were never solved.
The Crook and my Second Keeper are certainly legends that I will use in a future RPG.
Thank you for crafting such a terrific experience!
Thank you, Toast!
It never occurred to me to play Shepherd’s Crook as a murder mystery. I’m curious, were the vultures (or the keepers) behind the killings, trying to solve them, or trying to cover them up?
All parties were trying to solve them. We became involved because an abundance of dead bodies made feeding our flock of scavengers easier. I wonder even if we had solved the mystery if we would have actually revealed the solution, since it would have taken food (albeit morbid) out of the mouths of our flock.
That’s creative and entertaining. Thanks for sharing!