Late at night, a figure passes through the palace moving from shadow to shadow, through hallways and across courtyards. They head into the stable; emerging moments later on horseback. Stopping for a moment at the gatehouse, they take one last look back before riding off into the darkness of the night. The Queen Returns is a solo story writing rpg about writing notes to the Queen in her absence. YOU WILL NEED * A tarot deck. * Two coins. * A notepad and pen. * A little bit of free time. KNOWING THE QUEEN Answer these questions before starting: * The crown represents the country's history, what features does it have and what does it say about the country? * The Queen came to power under strange circumstances, what were they? * Why did the Queen leave and what is keeping her from returning? * Who is writing the notes to the Queen? * What are the Queen’s pronouns? While in this text, the Queen uses she/her/hers but a queen can choose to use any pronouns. WRITING NOTES TO THE QUEEN While the Queen is away from her home short notes keep her up to speed with CURRENT AFFAIRS, you will be writing the content of these notes. At times you may decide the country will face an event that threatens its existence. When the country is in this situation, FORGE HISTORY and document what happens in a note to the Queen. Notes are short, what has happened, who has said what, what were the reasons given for the Queen's absence? "A warrior Queen has been amassing forces on our northern border and has been running skirmishes into the villages near the border. The warriors all wear black bands over their eyes and move with inhuman speed on foot. The people of the border region are weary and are hoping for support from their Queen. I pray that you can return soon, while there is still something for you to return to." CURRENT AFFAIRS Flip the top card of the deck and use the suit and image to find out what is happening in the country using the prompts below. *** Major Arcana * A diplomat. * A neighbouring Queen. * An audience requested. * A stranger. * An appearance. * A spell. *** Wands * A rumour. * A celebration. * A trial. * A disturbance at court. * A murder. * A possible uprising. *** Swords * A witch. * A challenge to the throne. * A disturbance at the border. * A spy. * A negotiation. * A military leader. * A sorcerer. *** Pentacles * A harvest. * A light in the sky. * A flood. * A fire. * A union. * A Dragon. * A rebirth. *** Cups * A seer. * A monster on the roads. * An ally in need. * A new settlement. * A feast. * A sighting of the Queen. * A loss. FORGE HISTORY Sometimes the future of the country is under threat. Flip this number of coins if: 1 The country is taken by surprise or is unprepared. 2 The country is prepared or has survived this threat before. * No heads: the country fails to overcome and is forever changed. * One head: the country suffers great loss but manages to overcome. * Two heads: the country is well prepared and is stronger after the event. HOMECOMING After writing a note, ask yourself is this when the Queen returns home? If it is, then write a brief epilogue answering these questions: * How has the Queen changed? * Has the country changed and how does this make the Queen feel? * Does the Queen make her return known? How is her return received? * Does the Queen stay? TWO PLAYER (via post) Get a friend to answer the questions in KNOWING THE QUEEN. You draw a card, write a short note and post it to your friend. Keep periodically drawing cards and posting them to your friend until such a time that they come to your house and answer the questions in THE QUEEN RETURNS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS By James Chip ( https://www.jameschip.io/ ) Based on Princess with a Cursed Sword by Anna Anthropy (https://w.itch.io/cursed-sword ) Cover image by Ashton Mullins ( https://unsplash.com/@ashtonmullins ) Font used is Linden Hill by Barry Schwartz ( https://www.theleagueofmoveabletype.com/linden-hill ) Title font is Great Vibes by Robert E. Leuschke ( https://fontlibrary.org/en/font/great-vibes ) lectronice ( https://lectronice.itch.io ) John Lopez My lovely wife.