# Loner: The Shattered Reach tags: #game/rpg/loner-shattered-reach ![[Loner - The Shattered Reach (cover).jpg|300]] **Loner: The Shattered Reach** is the fractured-sector sci-fi dial on **[[Loner]]** — a solo RPG set in a region of space where humanities colonies struggle to survive political strife, environmental hazards, and the looming threat of an ancient alien presence. Same tag-based chassis and Chance-vs-Risk oracle, now pointed at exploration, intrigue, and survival with the map cracking under your feet. Notably, this one is a *free* Loner game from Zotiquest — released not as a commercial product but as a gift to the line. ## Setting The setting is a fractured sector of space: a scatter of struggling colonies held together by frayed politics, threatened by hostile environments and something older than humanity waiting out in the dark. It's built for an immersive loop of exploration, intrigue, and survival, where the player crafts the story through decisions, unexpected twists, and encounters shaped by an oracle-driven system. A place where the map is less a chart and more a list of places that used to be connected. ## Mechanics The design principles read like a mission statement for the whole Loner line: portable (a few six-sided dice and writing materials, nothing essential beyond that), rules-light (one solving mechanic, easy to learn and memorize), and tag-based (characters and situations defined only by qualitative descriptors). The core is the shared Loner Oracle — roll a Chance die against a Risk die for yes/no, read ties as "Yes, but…," tick the Twist Counter. Against that, The Shattered Reach builds the survival-and-intrigue loop: political strife you have to navigate, environmental hazards that don't care about your plans, and the ancient presence that keeps the sector from ever feeling safe. ## Editions A single free release (announced October 2025) — a standalone **Loner** game rather than a bolt-on supplement. *In the library.* ## References - [The Shattered Reach: A Free Loner Game for the Fractured Stars - Zotiquest Newsletter](https://zotiquest.substack.com/p/the-shattered-reach-a-free-loner) - [Loner SRD (free full text) - Zotiquest Games](https://lonersrd.zotiquestgames.com/) - [Loner - Official Website](https://loner.zotiquestgames.com/)