Feed the Fire

You and your group are lost in the wilderness. Morale is low and the sun has set. The cold and the dark are closing in, and everyone is huddled around a small, dwindling fire. Supplies have been spent and the only tools which remain are your voices, your memories, and your imaginations. You and your group must keep the fire burning for the remainder of the night. Entertain it with stories. Fuel and stoke it with tall tales. Feed the fire. Your survival depends on it. . What is this? This is a simple, one-page, journaling role playing game (RPG) where you roleplay as a character who is lost in the wilderness. You, and the people you're with, are trying to survive the night by feeding stories to your dwindling campfire. Who can play? This RPG was designed to be played solo. However, the rules may easily be modified to turn this into a multi-player game. Supplies Needed: one six-sided die a tarot deck a pen and paper Summary of Gameplay: First, you'll roll your dice to determine the number of people in the group and the type of landscape in which you're lost.  Then, during character creation, you'll pull Major Arcana cards to learn about both your own character's personality and the personalities of the other group members. As the player, you'll use Minor Arcana cards to create/write the stories and tales that each character feeds to the fire. You'll journal about your own character's story from the perspective of the storyteller, and you'll journal with the perspective of an active listener when hearing the stories told by the other group members. . Fractured!! The theme for the 2026 One-Page RPG Jam is "fractured." In the spirit of the theme, each storyteller is interrupted at some point during their storytelling. You'll roll your dice to determine what the interruption is, and then you'll describe whatever happens next within your journal. . The original watercolor artwork was hand-painted by Gerald McKraken, who graciously donated it for use in Feed the Fire. These artworks are copyrighted ©. The "soldier campfire" image is public domain from The New York Public Library.