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Buy Now$10.00 USD or more

PHYSICAL COPIES OF NOTORIOUS AND THE OUTSIDERS EXPANSION AVAILABLE HERE!

Notorious is a sci-fi tabletop roleplaying game for one player.

Play to tell stories of the Nomads; notorious bounty hunters who strike fear among the scum & villainy of the universe & follow the dubious code of the Nomad's Guild.

In the midst of an intergalactic war, you'll take on a lucrative contract from one of six factions. The job is simple: bring the target back, dead or alive—no disintegrations.

But your presence won’t go unnoticed. 

Your growing reputation also attracts a series of hostiles. Suspicious locals who simply don’t like you (& their friends might not either), rival Nomads or faction agents working against you.

Survive these encounters & face off against your elusive target. Finish the job & receive credits & infamy, or fail to live up to the code & face the consequences.

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NOTORIOUS FEATURES:

  • a simple but engaging solo roleplaying system, inspired by Ronin by Tiago Junges; just two six-sided dice are used to roll on tables, test for actions & resolve combat
  • two ways to play; fast-playing Arcade Mode for quick action, or relaxed Story Mode for journalling fans
  • six Nomad profiles; play as the Armour, Bot, Assassin, Brute, Scoundrel or Uncanny
  • random tables, planet profiles & character generators, to help inspire your story & encourage replays
  • one-shot adventures or anthology stories; epilogues let you end your game or continue your Nomad's tale

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PRESS & AWARDS

"An immersive and wonderful game experience ..."
Linda Codega, Gizmodo

"One of 2022's best indie titles..."
Chase Carter, Dicebreaker

"A great gateway into the journalling RPG world..."
Efka, No Pun Included (YouTube)

"An imagination-fuelled romp through a galaxy of your own making..."
Chris Lowry, Tabletop Gaming Magazine (UK)

"A streamlined journalling experience that creates genuinely engaging stories..." 
Anna Blackwell, Wyrd Science Magazine

You can watch a few reviews & actual plays on YouTube here:


WRITING & GAME DESIGN
Jason Price
(A Complicated Profession, Last Sentinels)

ARTWORK
Torben Bökemeyer 
(Orbital, Bucket of Bolts, Last Sentinels)

LAYOUT & GRAPHIC DESIGN
Jack Harrison 
(Artefact, Orbital, Bucket of Bolts, Koriko: A Magical Year)

EDITING
Will Jobst
(TORQthis discord has ghosts in itBlack Mass)

Updated 17 days ago
StatusReleased
CategoryPhysical game
Rating
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars
(189 total ratings)
AuthorAlways Checkers Publishing
Tagsjournaling, notorious, Sci-fi, Singleplayer, Solo RPG, storygame, Tabletop, tabletop-role-playing-game

Purchase

Buy Now$10.00 USD or more

In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $10 USD. You will get access to the following files:

Notorious.zip 22 MB
Notorious Player Sheet (Form Fillable).pdf 200 kB
Notorious Player Sheet (Printable).pdf 847 kB
Notorious Generators local versions.zip 934 kB
Notorious Generators online links.txt 780 bytes

Exclusive content

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

Community copies

Claim a free copy of Notorious if you're unable to pay for it, for any reason. 

Please consider leaving a nice review or 5-star rating if you enjoy the game!

I’ll occasionally add more community copies if they run out.

Development log

Comments

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Viewing most recent comments 1 to 40 of 54 · Next page · Last page

hi there, just wondering if any community copies would be released into the wild before Christmas 

It’s a tough month for me without family and I’m after some good games to help cope with the holiday period. Kind regards

(+2)

Would there be any possibility of adding more community copies? It would be greatly appreciated!

Hey there, awesome game! I got my physical copies of Notorious and Outsiders earlier this week, and I am happy I did. The game is great and the art is stylish.

Like another buyer a few months ago, though, I also did not get digital copy codes. Hoping I could get those too.

Hey, please email me at alwayscheckers at gmail dotcom and I’ll get you a code!

Not sure if you're getting my emails, might want to check your junk folder :)

I don't seem to be getting them, unfortunately. If you have received the two emails I sent you, I can send you a different email that would hopefully work. Thank you, and sorry for the trouble!

Yep, I actually sent your codes after your Shopify order and then again when you emailed so something isn’t working :)

not a big deal but the form fillable character sheet has a character called keef girgo partially typed in (also there's smth up with the smaller text boxes.) again not a big deal but thought you might want to know.

(1 edit)

This is a really cool game. I just got started on my first game and have a few nitpicks. It should be obvious but for me the definition for the Nomad and Challenge dice should be under its own heading in reactions. It does mention under playing material you need 2 six-sided dice but repeating it here would be nice just for a clear definition. It would be helpful to have all the symbols in use in the pdf defined in Terms; STAR and HEART symbols are used throughout the pdf without explicit definitions.

(+7)

Any community copies? Please?

(+1)

Hello! I bought a physical copy a few days ago and still have yet to receive my digital copy code. Just wondering what I need to do to acquire this while I wait for my physical! Thanks! 

Hey, if you provided an email address it should have been sent out to you already (to the email address you provided in Shopify). If it hasn’t come through please email me at alwayscheckers at gmail dot com and I’ll get you a code asap. Cheers. 

Hi,

I bought a secondhand hardcopy and was looking for downloadable characters sheets - they don't seem to be available outside of purchasing a PDF copy?

Hey, feel free to email me at alwayscheckers at gmail dot com and I’ll get you a code for the digital files. 

(+1)

Just played my first game - loved it! One question - what happens if the Target defeats my Nomad, instead of the other way round? Do I still move to the Epilogue?

(+1)

I would suggest moving to the epilogue and calculating your score as if you let the target get away! But you could treat it as a regular defeat, go back to the game loop and meet them again if you prefer :)

Good advice! Thank you for that and for the game!

Middle school teacher here. WIll there be an option for a community copy soon? Thanks!

Hey, I’m not sure about community copies just yet, but if it’s for a school or something then shoot me an email at alwayscheckers at gmail dot com and I’ll send you a code! 

Hello! I backed Notorious on Kickstarter way back when and am looking for more character sheets but can't seem to find the file. Any way to get a PDF? Thanks in advance!

Sure, if you email me at alwayscheckers at gmail dot com I can send it to you! Or message me on Kickstarter? :) Just need your email address!

Hi, Jason! Another hard copy owner of Outsiders & Notorious here who’s looking for a way to print the character sheet.

Scouring my emails, I don’t see a BackerKit email with any links. Is there a way to get access to the character sheet file, please?

Thank you!

I’ve emailed you the codes! They should have been emailed via Backerkit a while ago but hopefully you’ve got them now :)

how many pages is this if I printed it?

(1 edit)

Both Notorious and Outsiders have 76 pages

Hi, Jason! This is a bit of a long shot given the timing, but I'm running a solo RPG event this weekend for the public library I work at. It's Star Wars themed (given the date will be May the 4th), and Notorious would be perfect for it!

Is there any chance you could add more community copies (or I could link up via email for a PDF) before then? No worries if not, just figured I'd check here! I sent an email earlier this week too, but I'm not sure if I did it correctly so I have no idea if it went through 😅

Thanks!

(+1)

Hi Ziggy, I don’t think I received any emails but please get in touch using alwayscheckers at gmail dotcom :)

Gotcha, no worries! And I'll do that, thank you! :D

(+1)

Had to come back and say thank you again! The kids had so much fun creating their Nomads, and I've never had a table of players that quietly focused on the story. Everyone even took home their printed copy so they could keep playing!

I'm super excited to play it myself, based on the program it's bound to be awesome :D

(+1)

Ahh, that’s so good to hear! Thanks for coming back to let me know :D Congrats on running the event, sounds like they had a great time. 

Hey Jason! I sent you an email a couple of days ago, and wanted to drop by to say that the physical copies (both Notorious and Outsiders) just arrived in MN, USA! We're about to leave town and they came at the perfect time! They're absolutely gorgeous and I can't wait to dive in!

(+1)

Hey, that's awesome news! Glad they arrived in time and hope you enjoy the games :)

(+2)(-2)

Is there a way to be notified for community copies?

(1 edit)

Is there a bundle available that includes both Notorious and Outsiders?

Same question for physical copies.

For at least the next month you can get discounted copies here:

https://outsiders.backerkit.com/

After that I’ll probably put a physical bundle on my own site and look at what I can do on itch!

Thank you for your prompt response <3

(+1)

Bought it a couple days ago and having great time with it. Definitely going to buy the expansion once I have my time with original (I just like leaving such stuff for later).

I wonder, however: the game looks highly customizable and has lots of space to grow. Do people make homebrew profiles/tables for it?

(+2)

Glad you're enjoying it! :)

I haven't seen any homebrew content yet but I'm totally cool with it (as long as it doesn't re-use art or text from the game and isn't offensive etc.!).

Is there somewhere to download the player sheet that doesn't involve buying the PDF? I bought a hardcopy from my local game shop yesterday but the written text seems to assume you have full access to the digital files.

Hi Dougal, retailers should have been emailed itch.io keys to go along with any physical copies of the game!
If you're able to leave an email address here I'll send you a key and then delete the comment so your email is not public.

(3 edits)

Okay I will ping the shop first to see if they have it. If not I will follow up with my email address here. They had more copies of Notorious and Outsiders on the shelves so it'll be important for them to know in future anyway!

Edit: Yep, got access from the shop. Thanks for your help!

(+1)

I just got my physical copies of Notorious and Outsiders. Any chance of a low ink version of the printable character sheet? For me, the background is unnecessary and just uses more ink than needed.

(+1)

Loved my playthrough and stoked to circle back for Outsiders!

I chronicled the story of my first playthrough on my podcast if you want to check it out.

Thank you!

I finished my first run and I really enjoyed it. So much so I bought outsiders. Is there a discord or plans for one? Think the community posting their experience or story ideas would help foster a bigger community. 

Rules Question:

Page 52. For roll number 6 on the Exploration table it doesn’t say roll on the Exploration Events table like the other options. Do I do that or do I go straight to Destination rolls? I am thinking Destination since it doesn’t specifically say. Thanks

Yes that’s right! A roll of 6 is just a narrative question for you to consider/answer as you explore the planet, but you go back to Destinations afterwards.  

I would like the phyiscal book but I see it is sold out. When will you be selling it again? 

Hi, preorders are currently open for physical copies of notorious (and the new expansion) at this link:

https://outsiders.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

Should be shipping in late February/March 2024 :)


(1 edit)

Hello! I had a few game mechanics questions I was hoping someone could answer. Apologies if these questions are answered elsewhere:

1. Do points of Defence provided by a Nomad's armor recover after an Attack reaction, or are points lost permanently gone?

2. Do hostiles ever add any modifiers to their challenge die during a Threaten reaction?

3. Do you need to Threaten each hostile individually if they are in a group?

4. Is there a maximum amount of Favour, Notoriety and Motivation a Nomad can acquire?

5. If you lose the Showdown and flee from the Target, is that a total failure for that Hunt/game, or do you start the Exploration/Destination loop again?

Thank you for any help that can be provided. Looking forward to Outsiders!

1. They recover after every combat event! But not after every enemy if you’re fighting multiple hostiles. 

2. Nope, it’s all about your notoriety and the risk of it going wrong, giving the enemy a bonus to their attack. 

3. Yes, working your way up from the weakest one. If you fail, you don’t have to fight the ones you’ve successfully threatened. 

4. Yes, 6 of each!

5. It’s up to you as the player and how you would like the story to go. Either count it as you let them get away when calculating your final score, or continue the loop and assume they are the next lead/target you meet. 


Hope that helps! 

That absolutely helps! Thank You!

Hi there! I've been looking to get my hands on Notorious to give it a try after watching some APs, but unfortunately I am tight on funds at the moment. Are there by chance any community copies left? Thank you for creating the game! 

Will physical copies of Notorious be available for purchase again? I have the pdf but I need to have a physical copy of this beautiful game and artwork in my life!

Hey! You can actually preorder a physical copy of Notorious (and/or the Outsiders expansion) on BackerKit right now:

https://outsiders.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

Preorders will likely be closing in a few weeks, then it will be available again on my store at a slightly higher price.

Fantastic! Thank you very much!

Hi just picked up the late backer physical copy + pdf for notorious and outsiders Any word on when the pdf's will be sent?

Hey, I've sent you an email with a code!
It's been more difficult than I expected to send out the Notorious codes before the BackerKit survey :)

Thanks got the email V. excited to start playing.

Are there by any chance community copies left to snag? I want to play more but money is tight :⁠-⁠\

Any way I can gift it to you? I gotchu

Thanks for the offer, you're awesome 🤗

Don't know how you could gift it. 

I will wait for the next paycheck and save some more for the new game also :⁠-⁠)

(+1)

I've been playing through a story on my channel and really enjoying it. After a couple of deaths I think I've found my Nomad. Awesome game thank you heaps. Looking forward to Outsiders.

(+1)

Session 5 dropped today. Our nomad is still going strong. 

(+3)

I recently picked up a bunch of solo RPGs, one of which was NOTORIOUS, based on its numerous accolades. I just finished my first playthrough, which I did on Story mode, and it was just an incredible experience. I was surprised at how easily this rich story emerged around my Nomad, what they were really after, this miserable world they were stuck on pursuing their Target, and the surprising truth around their Target's backstory.

The whole thing ended with this really epic Showdown that went down to the final roll, and it actually had me holding my breath as I threw the last dice of this thing. It ended in a way that sets me up beautifully for a continuing story, but I've grown so attached to my Nomad that I would be heartbroken if they didn't survive their next contract, so who knows if I'll find the courage to continue their story?

I am delighted to hear that there is a reprint and expansion in the works; I will most definitely back them on Kickstarter. Jason, you and your colleagues on this have produced something truly wonderful here, and I will be sharing this game far and wide. In the meantime, I'm off to pick up BUCKET OF BOLTS so I can have a great backstory for my Nomad's ship...

(+2)

Thanks for the comment Bill! Love seeing examples of people's stories and writing. Hope you enjoy BoB and only a few weeks until the Kickstarter launches now :)

(+1)(-1)

Hi there,

I started to translate this game into Hungarian and it looks like I found a small typo in it. On page 55 (EXPLORATION EVENTS 5-6 table) at the result of 6, the subsequent results are wrong. 1-2 and 4-6 are there, so if the result is 3, it doesn’t match any of them. Can you check it, please?

OFC, maybe my version of PDF is outdated as I downloaded it a few month ago. If that’s the case, where can I download the updated version?

Thanks. :)

(+1)

Good spot - that’s annoying! I’ll try and update the files at some point but you have the most up-to-date version at the moment  

I believe it’s supposed to be the same as the prompt above it: results of 1-2 and 3-6. 

(1 edit) (+2)

First arcade run's story rolled so well its now a prologue to my Story Mode character. Was curious about fan made supplements (non monetized or anything like that), as i had a few rogue ideas about rolling doubles during exploration or destination.

Absolutely amazing work on this game my friend. Been doing solo gaming for a few years now and never before has a system really sunk its teeth into me like Notorious. Thank you so much for this incredible system.

(1 edit) (+3)

That’s awesome, thanks! It was inspired by playing Ronin (linked in the text above) - you should check it out if you like the system.

I honestly haven’t given much thought to anyone else making their own content for Notorious as I’ve been busy working on an expansion!

I’m absolutely fine with it though, monetised or not - just the usual caveats (please include some kind of credit, don’t directly copy any text or artwork and be clear that I haven’t approved the content or anything). :)

Deleted 1 year ago
(+1)

Hi, I’ve added some community copies so please feel free to claim one!

thank you so much!

How much to post a hardcopy to UK, thanks?

Hi, the physical copies are sold out right now (you can sign up to my newsletter for info on a reprint!) but postage to the UK is usually around £3-4 :)

Thanks for the info. 👍

(+1)

Average play time: 1-2 hours

Well, call me spiders Georg.

I'm writing this review immediately after finishing the game for the first time, and I have clocked over 23K words throughout the better part of a week. As you can tell, I enjoyed this game.

My favourite part probably has to be the four reactions you can take when you meet people: it is a very intuitive system and progresses the game forward in a very natural way. I feel similarly about the motivation/notoriety/favour mechanic. Overall, a very robust system.

The different planets and people's characteristics offer not only a possibility of replayability but also a nice background to optionally add if you want to develop your character's environment and backstory further. I would have loved to have more information about the system's backstory -- the previous wars, fought and won, or the standing of different planets in the intergalactic conflict -- but perhaps less is more, and it should be left for the player to fill in the blanks.

The exploration/destination cycle makes use of those locations and gives you backdrops in which to drop your nomad, though in the more narrative style of play I enjoyed it could sometimes conflict which what seemed like the course of the story: I had to use a great number of fade-ins and time-skips, though I do not believe it detracted from my enjoyment. This disconnection was exacerbated in the use of showdowns (especial location/moods for important characters), but framing it as a movie in my head made it easier to understand how to fit them in the story. Also, I got the same description event four times in my run, but that might've just been my luck.

Anyway, these important characters have special interactions and descriptions that befit their position. I loved those! And the epilogue gives you a branch to which to continue your character's story, both narrative and mechanically, which is appreciated and actually makes me want to give good ol' Kiria another run.

Thanks for the game!

Wow, that’s an incredible amount of words! I’m so happy the game inspired you :) 

Thanks so much for playing and leaving your review! 

(+1)

Just played notorious for the first time and i am amazed about how smooth the story unfolds in an amazing adventure! Highly recommended

Thanks for the comment and the recommend :) Glad you had fun!

(1 edit) (+2)

First ever solo TTRPG I've played (and first TTRPG other than D&D) and I've grown obsessed with it. I play it all the time. It's easy to understand and so much fun to play. On my second contract currently and I'm obsessed with the characters and story I've created through this game. Definitely recommend to anyone interested in TTRPGs. The worldbuilding is incredible too. Everything about this game is just *chef's kiss*.

Thank you for the nice comments! :)

(+1)

Do you have plan for physical copy reprint?

(+3)

Yes, but not until later this year (Q3/4) at the earliest. I'm planning a Kickstarter for an expansion/sequel (with the original game also available in print).

However, I'll probably be running a Kickstarter for a different game first—sorry about the wait :)

(+1)

Would there be any chance of being able to purchase a physical copy via Lulu.com? A spiral-bound version would be amazing to play with.

Greetings! I just discovered this game this morning, immediately bought the PDF from DriveThruRPG, had it printed and spiral-bound at OfficeMax, and have spent almost the entire day playing it. Very elegant design that was so easy to learn and had just the right blend of structure/prompting and “user input.” Very fun.

I think the system as written is HIGHLY conducive to other genres with minimal changes. I’m thinking American westerns, detective stories (19th and 20th century), James Bond-esque spy thrillers… stuff like that.

Any chance we’ll get any variants like that down the line?

(+1)

Hi, thanks for picking up the game! 

I don't have any immediate plans to use this system again (beyond an expansion for Notorious later this year). But I agree there's a lot of potential and I could see myself coming back to it one day! Maybe someone else will be inspired in the meantime :)

(+1)

I actually came here to ask if you had any sort of open gaming license or name for the system? I'd very much like to see one made for something like Monster Hunter/The Witcher/Shadow of the Colossus. Even if that meant i had to make it myself.

Also interested in this question!

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