Dead Drone

Dead Drone is an oracle-powered strategy roleplaying game for one player, based on Dead Belt by A Couple of Drakes.

You are an enterprising package delivery driver who has decided to use an illegal drone to speed up deliveries. You financed the drone through a loan shark, so you have a debt to pay off. Watch your batteries, stay focused, keep your reflexes sharp, avoid rival drones, bust through barriers, and handle bad news as it happens.

To win, simply pay off your debt. Lose if you can't pay to charge your devices at the end of a trip, or if you crash your drone. Load up, head out, and deliver on!

CONTENT WARNING: Debt, loan sharks, emergency loans, illegal drone use in an urban area, and the harsh realities of the gig economy are heavily present themes throughout the game. 

Created for the One-Page RPG Jam 2024. 

GAMEPLAY OVERVIEW

Dead Drone is played by building up a customized drone and delivering packages through randomly-generated neighborhoods, using a few tools you have at home: a 54-card deck of playing cards, two six-sided dice, and a few tokens to indicate the positions of your drone, and rivals, empty blocks, or blocks with outstanding package deliveries.

With 3 unique neighborhood maps, 7 tools and 7 upgrades to add to your drone, and 3 vehicles to park your delivery drone operator in for the day, no two Neighborhood runs will feel exactly the same.

Enjoy this transportation-themed strategy RPG, all on one double-sided sheet of paper. Draw your own character play sheet, or use a printed copy of the one provided.

What's new to Dead Drone that you won't find in Dead Belt?

• An inverted Cargo concept. Instead of foraging derelict birds for salvage, you'll be putting a few packages onto your drone from your full cargo hold, and then delivering them out to the neighborhood. 
• A "Delivery Chip" mechanic to keep track of delivered packages.

What's changed from Dead Belt?

If you are familiar with Dead Belt, you may be asking, "How is it possible that a content-rich RPG like Dead Belt can be adapted to fit onto one double-sided page?". Here's the breakdown of what got cut down due to space constraints:

• Only one set of starting character stats, and no special abilities
• No "Push Your Luck" mechanic
• No "Shipbreaker"-like mechanic
• No "Shuttle"-like mechanic
• No "Scanner"-like upgrade
  
• Only Tier 1 birds, and therefore no Wreck Registries
• Only one Threat type, and therefore only one Black Market weapon
• Only one Oracle, heavily abbreviated and lacking most flavor text
• Only supports solo play, and therefore no "Comms" upgrades