What is Substratum Protocol?

Substratum Protocol is described as a solo+ apocalyptic mystery TTRPG. As Scientists, you’ll either go in solo or with a group, guided by Mission Control. Scientists are player characters and Mission Control is the game master. In solo play, you are both.

Back in April 2024, I pledged monetary support for this game on BackerKit. In June, I’d receive my physical copy. Since then, I’ve played a few solo games. I’m excited to start another now.

So, let’s jump in shall we? In this playthrough, I’m using the simplified solo rules for play.

Scarlet, The Astrophysicist: Character Creation

It’s the middle of the night when their cellphone rings out an obnoxious and loud tune courtesy of their favorite metal band. They glare at the alarm clock sitting on their beside table.  With a sigh, Scarlet walks out of their bedroom and to the tiny apartment kitchen where the phone sits plugged into its charger.

“Dr. Scarlet Rosewood speaking, please be quick- it’s two AM and I want to get back to bed before the world ends.”

“Scarlet, it’s Dr. Almeida- the world may end if you go back to bed.”

Of course it’s Substratum Protocol. They denied Scarlet the chance to be on the initial survey team going into The Fracture. Scarlet feels the urge to hang up. But the crisis on Earth is reaching critical levels. It’s time to set their ego aside.

I could have come up with a name for the character I’m playing, but I thought it’d be cooler to make myself in the game. First, the game asks for your name and pronouns. My name is Scarlet Rosewood1, and I go by they/them pronouns. Then, the game asks you to roll a d20 for your scientific specialty. I chose not to roll and instead chose Astrophysics. As a child I had a curiosity about the universe around us. It seemed right to play as an astrophysicist in, essentially, another universe. Then, I mark stress capacity and set skill dice.

Two months ago, a giant crack opened in the Earth. It stretches out 3000km in both vertical directions from Point Nemo. They call what has happened The Fracture. What the world doesn’t see is what’s at Earth’s core. The Anomaly has been scrambling sensors and nothing coming from it makes sense. Everyone knows there are scientists trying to find some way to get to the core themselves. Scarlet thought they had found a way. But from what Dr. Almeida goes on to say, something went wrong.

Skills in this game are given a rank measured by a dice. The highest rank is a d12 and the lowest is a d4. Astrophysics is a field of thought, I think, with less of a focus on building. So I focused my character build on that. The stat Think is my highest rank.

“Nothing has been going right since The Fracture,” Scarlet wants to say. They glance at a frame sitting on their counter. In it is a picture of their best friend who died two weeks ago. Maybe if they hadn’t been in training for surveys into the Fracture, Scarlet could have been there.

They put the thought out of their mind and say instead, “What level did you lose contact with the four-person team you initially sent in?”

“They were at about 637km, so right at the level we’re calling Civilization Ruins.”

“I’m sorry- you call it what?”

“At that level, our probes have sent us back pictures of what we believe to be the ruins of an ancient- “

“Civilization- please don’t go Ancient Alien on me, Almeida. Why am I going in alone?”

After skills, I roll a d20 for my starting item and get a locator beacon. Then, character creation asks you to answer three questions. In universe, I thought of these questions used during training to gauge mental wellness.

First question: why did Scarlet become an astrophysicist? “After looking up at the night sky all my life, I’d figured I’d better get paid for it.”

Second question: when did The Fracture open? “Two months ago, what don’t the people asking these questions know?”

Third question: why does Scarlet feel about exploring The Fracture? “Curiosity. That’s all your getting from me.”

Assessment by Substratum Protocol’s training team, probably: mental sound of mind, but has little respect for procedure.

There’s silence on the other end long enough for Scarlet to put hot water in the kettle. Finally, Almeida answers, “I’m not lying to you. And you’re going in alone because we don’t an applicable team available.”

“First, I wasn’t accusing you of lying to me,” Scarlet says, “Second, you really can’t give me anyone else?”

“Elias, John, Kim, Martha, and you were the only people we had trained. That’s why we didn’t send you in with them.”

“So what, I just suit up, catch a boat ride to The Fracture?”

“No. We luckily have a locator beacon you can use to help you locate the team.”

“Well at least you have that. How long do I have until a black SUV comes to pick me up?”

As they speak the words, Scarlet’s kettle whistles.

“It’s sitting outside your house now,” Almeida replies. “I’ll see you soon.”

He hangs up and Scarlet groans as they pour a cup of tea. Then, they go to their front door and open it to yell out, “the apocalypse can wait for me to finish my tea!”

And that is my character creation session of Substratum protocol. In part 2, Astrophysicist Scarlet ventures into The Fracture.

Pandion Games has no affiliation with Stories In Silver or this playthrough. Rules of the game are paraphrased to protect IP and creative works of the creators and writers. Want to check out Substratum Protocol? Find it on Pandion Games’ website.