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This darned game won three ENnie Awards and the Tabletop Design Award from Indiecade!  How unlikely!  




"One of the most critically acclaimed solo journaling games ever made..."

-Charlie L Hall, Polygon



A creaking hunter among dust and cobwebs, you prowl the night places, seeking the souls on which you feed. You have done this since time immemorial, or so you believe; you have no memories of  living as a man-thing like those you catch and eat. But human traces linger; your fingers trace clever arabesques in the dirt of your grave-place and with the flourishes come whispered songs in a language you've forgotten. Far away, in a museum, hangs your portrait in oil by a master five hundred years dead--you might have been lovers but the diary you kept then is long lost.  


188 fancy pages

play in a couple of hours or a couple of weeks

solo play, optional group play



Just got a super nice bit on Shut Up and Sit Down. 

Once Upon a Die has a good play through

Chimerical Realm does a great play through!

Thousand Year Old Vampire Arises on Kickstarter

Game State gives the game a go on youtube.

Tabletop Anarchy does a video review of the game.

Big Gay Nerds played it for Halloween.

Roll for Crit gives it a holler.







Buy the fancy print book at thousandyearoldvampire.com.

Sign up for the mailing list at thousandyearoldvampire.com. 



Updated 7 days ago
StatusReleased
CategoryPhysical game
Rating
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars
(345 total ratings)
Authortimhutchings
GenreRole Playing
TagsGM-Less, Halloween, Horror, journal, physical, Singleplayer, solo, Vampire
MentionsAnnouncing the 2020 Tabletop itch.io Sel...

Purchase

Buy Now$15.00 USD or more

In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $15 USD. You will get access to the following files:

Thousand Year Old Vampire_TextOnly.txt 183 kB
ThousandYearOldVampire_SinglePages.pdf 127 MB
ThousandYearOldVampire_Spreads.pdf 158 MB

Exclusive content

Support this game at or above a special price point to receive something exclusive.

Community Copy

These are free copies for folks who cannot or choose not to purchase a PDF.  Please take one, no questions asked.   

Development log

Comments

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Viewing most recent comments 1 to 40 of 260 · Next page · Last page
(+1)

Thank you for providing these community copies! I'm using one until I have a good mailing address to order the physical book to. Great to have a way to dig in right away!

(+1)

Tim, I'm curious about how you went about choosing the order for the prompts. Did you have a plan or system for doing it? I love this game; it made me really fall down the rabbit hole of solo journaling games.

(+1)

I, too, am curious about that. I'm writing the sequel and I know I had a system but I can't remember what it was. Seriously. Let me think...

Language and travel technology are a big part of TYOV. I know that I grew the complexity of the prompts in regards to those two factors as I imagined the timeline of the character progressing. Same thing with society as a whole–later in the game it is assumed you are doing complex things to fit into evolving social structures. 

The first few Prompts are very much about not knowing how to be a vampire. Those are obvious though.

I know that I spent a lot of time worrying over gaining and losing Resources but I think that was mostly fruitless labor. Some of it is arbitrary.

Yeah. That sounds pretty good. I want to thank you for asking me this question. I'm struggling with the Prompt order in the sequel and you've helped me remember that the factors that ordered TYOV just aren't present in the next game.

(+2)

My first vampire died as he lived: angry, confused and covered in someone else's blood.

Breathtaking, melancholic and deep, this game deserves all the praise it's gotten and more. Well done, Mr. Hutchings, well done!

the circle is complete

(+1)

Wow... Just wow.

I took this underestimating the idea, but oh my god. The labour put here is unreal...

Kudos for the idea and projects.

(+1)

Fantastic game with much more to do than just journaling!

(1 edit) (+5)
I absolutely love this TTRPG, it has led me to reinvest in my interest in history while also unfolding this really beautiful story I've become incredibly attached to. the prompts are so engaging (especially the prompts you get returning to duplicate prompt #s for the second or third time) and I know I will be thinking about this experience for a long time and probably returning to it for further playthroughs. It is just so creative, helping you along with resource management and prompts while also letting you make creative and interesting choices about which route to take in the story. highly, highly recommend.

I have been managing it in google sheets with tabs for the different stats and notes (for myself) about each of the stats so that I know when things were lost or changed even if my vampire does not. It isn't shown here, but I also have a chronological table with all original experiences placed in order (not within memories) so that I can go back to trace the thread of time and see experiences that have not been adjusted or altered by later prompts. just a good way to organize the gameplay work as well as keep track of what you originally created! As you can see, I have not finished yet and have clung to one of my vampire's original resources for as long as possible, we'll see when my luck runs out with that.
(+2)

Digital text makes it so, so much easier to play this game! 

(+4)

I guess it goes without saying that it is a must have in the solo ttrpg community. I had real fun playing.

(-1)

Hey! I’ve never downloaded something off of here so definitely let me know if I’m doing something wrong, but whenever I try to get a free copy it says I must pay at least $15.00. 

(+2)

You gotta go all the way down to the "Community Copy" box. 


(+1)

Did this work out?

(+4)

Thank you so much for the community copies. <3 Idk  how itchio works but I'll definitely tip when I have the funds!

(+4)

Don't tip til you are filthy with dosh. Money just pouring out onto the floor so deep you are at risk of drowning.

(+3)

Got the PDF for free and fell in love - picked up a physical copy from my local game shop and it's gorgeous. 

(+3)

<total high five>

(+4)(-1)

at 51 I’ve never played a solo rpg but damn this is awsone. I spent a whole day from 8am until midnight writing my journal. I’m now working on turning it into an animated video. It’s a shame your hardback is a bit out of my price range but looking at the quality of it I can see why

I can't wait to see the animation!

I sometimes have discounted scratch-and-dent copies, though it is still expensive shippingif you are outside of the US.

(+2)(-1)

I’d appreciate that, should I reach out to you via email on the off chance of a discounted book? I’m in England and would of course cover those costs

Email me using the address on the thousandyearoldvampire.com site!

I downloaded yesterday and I'm having trouble with the PDFs. Some of the pages are clear but the text looks half erased on some of them. For example, on page 6 (spread layout) the yellow note is completely clear but I can't read "what's needed to play" or the entire right page.

Anyone have any idea what's happening?

(+1)

Weird!  Try downloading it again and try viewing it another PDF reader.

(+3)

A brilliant game. I got the physical copy, which is also artbook-level beautiful. If you want to see how it works in practice, you can check out my vampire's journal.

To say it once more—I absolutely adore this game!

Deleted 361 days ago
(+2)

I’m pumped as hell to try this out! I snagged a community copy to demo, as I’m newer to solo TTRPGs, but have heard good things!

I checked your website to see if physical copies are available and read your opening paragraphs on the store page. Based as all hell, thanks for using your voice for good, it’s greatly appreciated. 😌

I’m hoping to fully delve into it this weekend, will keep you posted! Thanks for creating!

(+1)

The game is pretty straightforward but if you have questions you can email me at dearleadergame@gmail.com.  Sometimes folks new to solo games get hung up on non-obvious things, so don't hesitate to ask!

(+1)

Back after playing this gem of a game and…wow. Honestly, bit speechless! I’ve placed my order for the physical copy, 100% worth every penny just for the written content alone.

Thanks for sharing your work with us! I went through all the stages of grief several times for my little vampire!

(+1)

Thank you!  And I'm sorry!

(+3)

Just finished my first playthrough it of a couple days ago and it was beautiful, and also saved me from boredom at work.

(+2)

"My work boredom was replaced by a vague sense of unsettlement and loss."

(+3)

Somehow a more welcome mood than work boredom

(+2)

This is my first solo ttrpg and the amount of fun I'm having is just criminal... Many, many thanks to Tim for having the generosity to offer community copies of the game. I didn't know if I would vibe with this style of game, so being able to try it out first was great. I loved it so much that I just HAD to buy a physical copy to keep on my shelf. Can't wait until I hold the book in my hands!

(+1)

Thousand Year Old Vampire is an award winning solo journaling game designed by Tim Hutchings. In this horror game, you create your own vampire and explore themes of memory loss and the passage of time. The game has a unique storytelling system that is based on prompts. Every prompt modifies one of five traits (Memories, Skills, Resources, Characters, and Marks). This makes for an enjoyable and replayable experience. The game is 188 pages and has an evocative layout and design. I highly recommend this game!

(+1)

got the physical, highly recommended.

(+2)

I’ve heard about solo ttrpgs before, but was always on the fence. Through various YouTube videos and tik toks, I was finally convinced to try this game and it’s so good! 

It was fun to roll for prompts and realize I could expand upon leads I didn’t even know I left in past memories. This was such an awesome game and I’m very thankful there are community copies available to try it out.

I highly recommend for anyone considering jumping into solo journaling games. 

(1 edit) (+2)

I'm excited to play this game--a commenter recommended it on a Youtube video about a different game called Delve. I googled this one and was sitting on the fence about getting a copy until I saw that there are community copies available for people who cannot afford it.

Instantly decided to buy and to pay extra as a thank you for that. I am so excited to try it and also show my friends too!

(+2)

It really is magic that when I give stuff away for free that there are folks that step up and make it worth my while!  So kind of you!

(+1)

It is keeping me such good company.

(+1)

I'm so glad to hear that!  It's all part of the ruse.  

The book starts out pleasant.  It gives you a fun time, it listens to your stories, you watch tv together.  It starts helping around the house and balancing your checkbook.  Next thing you know it's wearing your favorite hat taking out a mortgage in your name.  

Finally played TYOV. Two vampires. They ended on pages 73 and 74. Uhuh. That's a truly great game! Thanks Tim Hutchings!

(I spoke about it on my blog. That's in French but I added a few pictures ermites.club)

(+1)

Photo de la page Exemple de partie, montrant une liste de souvenirs écrits en anglais, avec des flèches un peu partout, reliant les noms des personnages à plusieurs mots-clefs

With all your post it notes and things I briefly fooled myself with the drawn lines in the book!

(1 edit) (+1)

and then you remembered it was part of the layout eheh?

(That's appropriate: my blog post is focused on the concept of reconstructed memories, because this is in my opinion one of the things we truly experience with this game) :)

(+1)

Not enough folks mark up RPG books, in my opinion.  We should be living in the things and making them ours.  

(+9)

I just want to thank you for offering community copies-- I ordered a physical copy from a Canadian reseller so it didn't come with a PDF but I was absolutely itching to play it in the meantime. You rock!

(+1)

<high fives!>

(1 edit) (+5)(-20)

My trust in Tim Hutchings is completely gone. The Companion Volume's description was a mystery, and my passion for mysteries together with my trust in a company allowed my conscience to pre-order. 

The book is empty pages.. for $71 incl shipping. 

The mystery is an expensive scam and anyone saying the consumer is a fool, is fooled by this creators sense of humor and explanation it's a "work of art". A waste of chopped trees and climate.

(+9)(-5)

Looks like someone didn't read the description where he literally said not to buy it.

"This book, to be absolutely clear, is not useful.  It is, I believe, worthwhile but don't forget, friends, that I am an idiot.  My worthwhile might be your bitter disappointment.  In fact, it most likely is. "

You got a product that was exactly as described. 

(+2)(-10)

well, may be I would have bought it if TH had really explained that it was an empty book, but certainly not for 71$. 

The trick TH used, like "don't buy it, I am a fool" is clearly there to confuse  the gamer inside us, and all those who, like me, loved -"TYOV",and wanted to support it.

May be I am too naive, but I also feel like I have been the idiot of this story, and that I have bought TYOV for 150$.

Congrats to Tim, you really know how to manipulate people's mind.

ps: sorry for my English, I am a french idiot.

Okay, weird questions here. Under Diaries, it says that you cannot add any more experiences in the memory that is in the diary. I'm a little confused.

Can you add partially filled Memories to a Diary? Can I put a Memory with 2 Experiences in the Diary, knowing that it takes up one of the Diary's four available Memory slots?

When you put a memory in the Diary, does that reduce the number of memories you can have?

For example, if I fill three of my Memories with Experiences, and I decide to put those three Memories in a Diary, do I now have 5 empty and open Memory slots again, or do I only have two Memory slots left because the other three are held in the Diary?

If the latter is the case, does the destruction or loss of the Diary free up those Memory slots?

Thanks in advance!

(+2)

You can put a partially filled Memory into a Diary, but you can't add more Experiences to that Memory after you do so.  

When you put a Memory into a Diary your character functionally forgets it.  That Memory slot is now free for all new Memories, the Memory that was there is now a Diary entry.

You should only be putting Memories into a Diary when you are out of Memory slots.  Don't casually add three Memories to a Diary, that's just not the way the game is supposed to work mechanically.  


Does this help?

Yes! Thank you. That's how I felt it was supposed to work because that fits so well thematically. But then "gamer brain" took over and I started to overthink it.

Thanks again, Tim.

(+2)

Gamer brain is the worst until it becomes the best and you accidentally make a new game!  The best thing about TYOV is that it's resilient, you can't really break it by messing up small things.  Or even big things.

(1 edit)

hi. The POD option seems to have disappeared of DTRPG.

But I have found a 2nd Print version in the UK, so thats cool.

On thousandyearoldvampire.com you have 3rd print run copies. Is there any difference from the 2nd printing?

Something went screwy with the DTRPG version so I made it unavailable and never bothered to fix it.  It was only there to help out folks overseas who couldn't afford shipping, with UK and other options now it's less of an issue.  

3rd printing is identical to 2nd.  2nd is slight improvement on 1st.

(+1)

This game got me started playing solo RPGs. I love it so much. The book is gorgeous. I’m so happy to just flip through it. I’ve played this a few times and every time it went in a new and weird direction. 

(+2)

I, the creator, have played this innumerable times and haven't yet felt it was reptetititiitve.  

Hi Tim, I recently bought the print copy of TYOV. I thought I'd get a pdf via email, which, barring a confirmation of the order, I'd thought of as a confirmation. I haven't received the email yet. Is there a different way to confirm the order?

Where did you buy it?

Hello there, 

I want to say first, that I truly think this a fantastic game and hope to see more of your games in the future. 

But I would like some clarity on the rules. 

This probably has been answered somewhere in this huge comment section, but I'm a bit confused with this rule.

Am I suppose to start with the very first prompt, or am I suppose to role the dice first and then from prompt one, move to the actual first prompt of the game?

I know in one version that the rules say, Start at prompt one, but the 2nd printing says, start counting at prompt one. I don't know, maybe I'm just misinterpreting the rule, but I'd rather ask you for clarity. 

I've been playing games where I rolled first and then moved to another prompt and then that new prompt would be my first, but if you're meant to start the game with the very first prompt, I can try that out. I just always thought of the first prompt to be the hardest to start with since you're forced at the start to essentially kill off a mortal and get bloodthirsty. 

But anyways, sorry for this long comment, but I'm hoping to get some further clarity on the rules.

You roll and start counting from Prompt 1.  

Oh, okay.  I figured it might have been that. Thanks for the clarification.

(1 edit)

Hi Tim!
Similarly to Snorklebob's request below, could you add a plain text version for Itchio's customers?
As much as I love the graphical presentation (amazing work, really), I find the PDF cumbersome to use at times, mostly due to slow loading (my PC is, well, not a thousand years old, but it's getting long in the tooth!)

Wait!  When you download here you don't get a .zip file with multiple versions of TYOV in it?  

(1 edit)

When hitting download, I'm sent to a page with two versions: ThousandYearOldVampire_2ndPrinting_Spreads.pdf (Aug 21 2020) and ThousandYearOldVampire_2ndPrinting_SinglePagesVer1p21.pdf (Sept 14 2020).

No sign of a third version! Am I missing something? I double checked my purchase email and it just sends me back there.

(+1)

OH MY GOSH!  I dunno what happened but I think it's fixed now.  

It is indeed! Thanks!

(sidenote: I've tried to speed PDF loading up and found that converting into a pure image-based PDF is a good balance between aesthetics and usability)

What tool are you using to make a flattened PDF?  I'm not incompetent but I couldn't manage to flatten the TYOV PDFs.

Hi, Tim,

I recently purchased the PDF and print version and both are great! Are there still plans to do a non-graphic version of the rules?

The zip where you got the PDF should also have a plaintext version!  Let me know if it's not there.

Thanks for getting back to me! Alas, I did not get a zip file; I bought it from Indie Press Revolutions and just got the PDF that came with my book.

OOOH! Email me at dearleadergame@gmail.com

Hi Tim! Was playing my first game with a woodworker in Italian Renaissance, when I got a prompt saiyng that a enemy used a lost resource to turn friends against me. Problem is that up to this point of the game I haven't lost any, so I'm a bit unsure of how to progress. Should I strike out a resource in this same prompt and use it or invent some object that maybe had a connection with me in the past?

(+1)

In a case like this you can just make up a lost resource.  "My mother's amethyst pendant, long forgotten, now hangs around the neck of the young queen; whoever did this knew it would drive me mad, and now I have both the pendant and a midnight regicide to my name–I am hunted."

Hi Tim! First off, I just want to say that TYOV is fantastic. One of the best experiences I've had in gaming!

I had a question: In my copy under the "Diary" section (p. x) it says that "A Diary can hold up to four of your vampire's Memories." However, both the Play Examples and the provided character sheet say that a Diary can only hold up to three total Memories. What are your thoughts on this, is it three or four?

Yeah, that's a mistake all right!  I think four is the better number.  

Cool. Thank you!

Good afternoon! I pre-ordered Thousand Year Old Vampire + Secret Companion Book at April 15th, but still didn't get my PDF copy of the base game. Can we fix it? I'll be thankful for your assistance.

(+1)

Sure!  Email me at dearleadergame@gmail.com

Now I'm happiest player ever. Thanks for your help!

(+1)

Happiness is great!

Hi there I just finished my first game this afternoon and talking about an emotional rollercoaster.  This is a very good game.  It had me really stuck for a while in one of the journal entries and what to do.  I went with the flow and unstuck myself by asking "What would a thousand-year-old vampire do about x?"  

I can see why it won an award and how it can be played over and over.  Thanks Tim for designing a great game.

I'm glad you enjoyed the game!  

I worry that it's easy to get stuck.  I play a lot of games that require on the fly thinking and my brain has gotten oily and well trained for that sort of stuff.  TYOV walks a tricky path and sometimes I worry that the prompts are too specific, sometimes not specific enough.  

That's probably more a product of me thinking really hard about the question and the situation resonated with me rather than the quality of your work.  I think it's top-notch so I wouldn't try to think about them being too much or too little specific.  Each person playing the game will read the prompts through their own lenses and process the prompts through their experiences.   Which why I think the game is great. My bestie has the game too, so we compare the answers we each got after the fact. 

(+1)

A tense, evocative experience - Thousand Year-Old Vampire is a thrilling experience that asks you to create a dazzling, decrepit world, and tear it apart, bit by bit. A beautiful tragedy.

(+1)

Hi Tim, I bought a hardcover copy of TYOV from a FLGS and was wondering if you could hook me up with the PDF? I can provide you a receipt, of course. Thanks!

(+1)

Yes!  Please take on of the Community Copies here on itch.  I am making an unlimited number of them available, so you aren't denying anyone by taking one.  

(+3)

Great, that's what I was worried about. Thank you very much!

(+2)

<high fives>

Hey Tim, just wanted to know if there was any update on Andy Action and whether they'd been snowed out for a little bit, or an estimate of when they might be getting things shipped. I haven't received a shipping email yet so I just wanted to check-in. Thanks for your help!

If your order hasn't shipped as of Friday then it will this coming week.  Email me at dearleadergame@gmail.com with your order number and all that if you have doubts.

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