Tides of Madness

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There are no more maps. Only water, memory, and what the sea allows.

You are a Captain. The mind, heart, and spine of a vessel with secrets of its own. The crew follows you, though you no longer know why. The ship obeys, though it sometimes hums when no one steers.

This is a game of logbooks and hallucinations. You sail into regions that shift and remember. 

You roll. You write. You change.

What is Tides of Madness?

Tides of Madness is a solo journaling RPG about command, trust, and unraveling.

You’ll track the Captain, Crew, and Ship as distinct, failing entities—each with their own memories, personalities, and flaws.

The voyage plays out in three phases per day:

• Morning, Day, Night
• You roll 2d6 to discover what happens
• You choose who acts, what’s at stake, and what breaks

It’s part survival story, part ghost chronicle, part psychogeographic sea ritual. The writing is quick. The entries accumulate. The sea does not explain itself.

What's New in v1.6?

v1.6 is a major update, focused on clarity, emotional depth, and long-term play.

• All character tables expanded to 2d6, with richer prompts
• New narrative structure: 
  • Captain: Origin, Drive, Virtue, Fault, Shadow, Name
  • Crew: Moniker, Personality, Legacy, Belief, Motive, Faultline
  • Ship: Name, Self-Name, Type, Personality, Legacy, Secret
•     New “Self-Name” table for haunted ships
•     Cleaner terminology (Virtue, Shadow, Motive)
•     Aligned layout with updated playsheet (coming soon)

This version brings the rules in line with the tone: uncanny, eroded, ritual-bound.

What You Need

•     2 six-sided dice
•     A pen, journal, or printed playsheet
•     Time alone
•     A willingness to write what surfaces
•     Optional: A candle, a storm, a quiet room

Still in Playtest

Tides of Madness is nearing its final form. This is v1.6, available now for free or pay-what-you-wish.

If you play it, I’d love to hear from you.

Share your logbook, your questions, your confusion:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfw7pFN8cpdNDIerpB2ZQGf_O05xSTFiWbOAI-W...

hezitantgames@gmail.com