One of the best things about TTRPGs as a medium is the fact that they allow you to step into the shoes of beings who live vastly different existences from you. These Strange Steppes takes this to its logical conclusion, having each person at the TTRPG table take control of a young, wild horse who has broken away from the main herd and gone off on their own, only to stumble into the ruins of a human village, forcing them to try and make sense of both ruins and the world around them, leading to some surprisingly powerful roleplaying.
These Strange Steppes is a card-based TTRPG for 2-6 players. Before the game starts, the players need to split the cards into three decks (Mindset, Situation, and Realization) and put the Past, Present, and Future cards face down.
Exploring The Ruins Of Humanity
Once this is done, the players need to create the horse they’ll be playing as during the TTRPG. They do this by drawing a card from the Mindset deck. This card will explain how your horse sees the world, from a horse that sees your current location as a fabled promised land that will become your new home, to one that is secretly a spy from the herd your herd broke away from. After this, one player reads the past and present cards to the table, and each player takes a moment to introduce their horse to the other players.
Then the main phase of play begins. In These Strange Steppes, play is broken up into rounds. At the start of each round, the horses decide how they’re going to break off for the day’s activities. Some horses may decide to go alone or pair up with another horse, while others may opt to remain in a big group.
Then, each player draws one of the Situation cards and reads the card aloud. Each situation has specific instructions attached to it. Some may ask players to decide between several options. Other cards will ask players to roll a D6 dice to find out how a certain event plays out.
Some cards may give players Additional Supplies, which can be used to bypass certain situations, draw extra Situation cards, or help other players during times of crisis. Thus, careful management of these cards is essential to helping your horses survive this strange situation.
Players may also opt to assist others without the use of Additional Supplies, though this gives them a disadvantage (roll two D6 and take the lower result) on their next roll.
Once everyone has taken their turn, the herd meets back up, and a card is drawn from the Realization deck. The players should discuss this prompt and collectively come up with an answer to the question, using both their Mindset cards and things they’ve learned from their last situation as a guide.
After this, the process repeats. Once players have tackled all the Realization cards, one player turns over the Future card, and the players collectively attempt to answer the final prompt.
A Horse TTRPG Somehow Works
These Strange Steppes is a really fun group storytelling game. The game’s highlight is its prompt writing, as each prompt does a great job of creating an uneasy atmosphere that really makes it feel like you’ve stepped into a world that you don’t quite understand, one where danger could be lurking around every corner. The prompts are also open-ended enough that players can take them in many directions, giving people room to put their own stamp on the game, meaning that players don’t feel railroaded.
There are also some neat mechanical flourishes. Having the horses break up into smaller groups and only being able to get help from people within your group during situations really does add some fun drama to the scenes by forcing characters into unexpected situations. This (combined with users having to reach a mutual decision with the Realization) also helps avoid one character taking up the entire spotlight or dominating all situations, meaning that every character gets a chance to shine.
I’m also a big fan of Situations forcing players to roll and the idea of having players keep track of a resource (Additional Resources). While many prompt-based storytelling TTRPGs shy away from these elements, they perfectly suit the story that These Strange Steppes is attempting to tell and dramatically enhance the game’s overall atmosphere. Putting things in the hands of fate helps convey the idea that the horses are in a hostile environment that’s outside their comfort zone and skill set, meaning they are unable to fully control what is going on. This is enhanced by the resource management element, which constantly reminds players that they are in danger and that any failure will have long-term costs.
My only slight complaint about These Strange Steppes is the number of cards included with this release. The game comes with 27 situation cards and 9 Mindset cards. Although they’re all well-written, if you have six players at your table, you’ll quickly see all of them, which does limit the game’s replayability somewhat, especially if you play with the same people regularly. Because of this, I would love it if future updates would add more cards to these categories, as it would help make the game more unpredictable. It would also be cool to see more Past, Present, and Future cards added (maybe with different scenarios), as this would also help make the game more replayable.
These Strange Steppes is a wonderful storytelling game. While the idea of a TTRPG where each player embodies a horse may seem odd at first glance, it works amazingly well in practice. The game perfectly captures the confusing blend of wonder and terror that comes with exploring an unfamiliar environment, while also presenting a lingering mystery that is sure to tempt players deeper, while simultaneously setting up numerous opportunities for fun and memorable drama. Thus, every game of These Strange Steppes is sure to be a memorable experience for everyone involved.
