Exodus

Exodus is a game about a group who–for one reason or another–have decided to leave the place they live. In this game, you will play as lines of people moving out from that place into the world. You will describe what makes them unique, their culture, beliefs, and heritage—and why they have to leave. 

When disagreement and strife emerge within your Exodus, lines will diverge, pathways fracture. This is not one departure, but many. And through it all, you will watch them–and the world around them–change, inexorably. The Exodus will leave its mark on the places it passes, and will itself be altered. 

Will it become unrecognizable? 

Will the Exodus find salvation, refuge, or peace?

Or will you be lost in the wilderness?

The game features: 

• Varied narrative without reliance on gamemaster or player characters. 
• Flexible, fast-moving gameplay suited to a single session or many. 
• Map traversal mechanics utilizing random generation and player choice.  
• Five minigame 'actions' to explore and expand your Exodus, whether you prefer improvised conversation or zoomed-out descriptive roleplay. 
• Five endgame actions to bring the story to a satisfying close. 

To play, all you'll need is: 

• Graph paper. 
• Two six-sided dice (2d6). 
• Writing/drawing materials of your choice. 
• This pdf of the rulebook. 

Exodus is influenced by other games, most predominantly: 

• Dialect by Kathryn Hymes and Hakan Seyalıoğlu.
• Mobile Frame Zero: Firebrands by Meguey Baker and D. Vincent Baker. 
• Epitaph by Marc Hobbs. 
• The Quiet Year by Avery Alder. 
• Microscope by Ben Robbins.
• A Thousand Years Under the Sun by Matthijs Holter.

Exodus was written for the Summer 2024 Worlds in Conversation class held by the School of Poetic Computation. Without the kind support, feedback, and playtesting notes of my teachers and fellow students, this game would not exist.