Harbour of Blight: Scenario Zero - Adventure Book Preview

Ok, strap in. This is an exciting one. Harbour of Blight comes from the same author and designer of a delightful book we covered here, called In The Blink Of A Dragon's Eye. You can read about that here. And coming to Kickstarter soon, is a solo or two-player co-op, campaign-based board game/RPG hybrid, Harbour Of Blight: Obsidian. You can check that out here. That is set in a world that is being introduced here, in this adventure book, Harbour of Blight: Scenario Zero. A teaser to this upcoming RPG style game. Which you can check out here. The designer, wanted to merge the video game style RPG into the book game world. When talking to WBG, he said:

"It's really a way I thought up to bring a video game RPG experience to tabletop (for 1-2 players) with an ongoing story, characters, campaign over many acts that all connect together and you use the same character that will be a "job system" so each act you'll have a new Profession to level up with your character."

And with this book, we have an introduction in to this world, its characters, and the game style that is going to be brought to our tables soon with the upcoming Kickstarter. I was utterly intrigued from that moment and very exited to try this mystery book.

The book functions similarly to many other choose-your-own-adventure style books. You start with some backstory, assume the role of a character aiming to solve a specific mystery, and make decisions to read certain pages or sections of the chapter based on what you believe is the best way to advance the story. You will face time limits depending on the world you're in, allowing you to explore, investigate, or interact with only a limited number of people or places. Therefore, you need to choose wisely based on what you think will lead to the best outcome. Your decisions will guide the story's progression into a captivating narrative of your creation. No digital tricks. No apps. Just good, old-fashioned writing and decision-making.

The game is set in the Harbour of Blight universe, around an event called Founders Day. A time when the City of Obsidian celebrates its founding. You play the roll of a new member of the Hunters Guild, but you are thrust into the action from the off, when a mysterious and ominous theft takes place, and you are best placed to help solve the crime.

I won't go into specifics here, for fear of spoilers, but you will run through two main chapters of exploration, visiting different locations of your choosing, talking to different people, and discussing specific things. All based on what you feel will give you the best chance of finding the right clues to solve this mystery. Will you tail certain people, or approach them directly and ask the questions on your mind? Will you push your luck and delve deep into the mystery, or play it safe?

But how does this all work? Well, much like classic choose-your-own-adventure stories, it is largely based on simple decisions. A or B. But here, often with a C, D, E, and beyond too! But also, dice rolls! The book comes with these utterly delightful crafted custom dice that you use throughout the book.

For example, you may be searching a specific area for clues, and you may want to risk continuing your search while being patrolled by unfriendly guards. Here, instead of simply making a choice to back off or carry on, you will also need to roll your dice if you choose to risk it, to see how successful you will be, D&D style. Roll the gorgeous d20 provided, and test your luck. The game then gives different outcomes based on your roll.

Once you have searched all you can, and your time has run out, you will move to the decision phase of the game. Here, you must make your choice and volunteer a name as to whom you believe the guilt lies. This will lead to more spiralling avenues of dialogues, before ultimately you enter the final stage, combat!

Here, you will use a D&D style mechanic to fight the "enemy" (no spoilers here!). There are various scenarios of how this will play out, so the game moves into a "your adventure has been chosen for you" over a "choose-your-own adventure," based on your success or lack thereof in the battle! Each round you will choose a skill, and roll a D6 to decide how your enemy will attack. Each skill will have a set speed that will determine who goes first in battle. You will continue until either you or your foe is reduced to zero health. Then you will read the following text accordingly, potentially gaining rewards that I guess may be used in the following games?

Redacted to avoid spoilers!

Harbour of Blight: Scenario Zero feels like someone took the best bits of a moody RPG prologue and poured them into a choose-your-own-adventure mystery book, then refused to “fix” it with an app. You’re a fresh Hunter’s Guild recruit dropped into Founders Day festivities when a sinister theft kicks off the plot, and from there it’s all pressure, pace, and choices. The time-limit structure is the secret sauce. You can’t do everything, so every visit, tail, question, and detour has weight. In my head, I kept doing that thing where you stare at two locations and think, “If I go to the docks now, I’m not speaking to the folk at the pub later.” It’s simple, but it genuinely creates tension.

I enjoy how the book blends decisions with with your mind and dice in a way that feels earned rather than bolted on. Sometimes you’re doing classic branching narrative picks, but then you push your luck and the book asks you to roll that gorgeous d20 like you’re in a tabletop RPG. I can picture the exact moment: you’re snooping somewhere you shouldn’t be, guards are nearby, and you decide to risk “one more” search. Roll high and you feel like a genius. Roll low and suddenly your neat little plan turns into a messy scramble, and the story snaps into a new shape. Bad bad roles do not punish you too much. I cheated a bit and explored a few areas of eventuality, for the purposes of the preview of course! And it felt fair how the dice rolls results offered a fair outcome, either way. There is some luck, of course, but not huge swings that will change your game experience.

Then, after the investigation window closes, you make your accusation and the book escalates into a combat finale with skills, speed, and a simple enemy AI driven by dice. It’s a neat arc: investigate, commit, face consequences.

If you love narrative games, mystery, and solo decision-making with a bit of crunchy spice, this is going to land. If you’re the sort of player who enjoys squeezing value from limited actions, taking notes, and living with outcomes, you’ll have a great time. If, however, you want deep tactical combat, or you hate dice deciding whether your clever plan works, this may frustrate you. The book is aiming for “video game RPG energy in print,” which means it leans into risk and consequence more than pure player control. Also, because this is a teaser for a bigger campaign world, you may finish it wanting more connective tissue, more character progression, and clearer payoff for rewards beyond the immediate scenario. But don't worry, that is coming!

Pros

• Tense time-limit investigation that makes choices matter

• Dice checks add drama without needing an app

• Strong escalation from mystery into a proper finale

• Utterly gorgeous custom dice

  
  

Cons

• Some luck of course, there are dice!

• Combat sounds fun but stays fairly light and structured

• As a Scenario Zero, it does feel like a prologue more than a full meal

Overall, Scenario Zero is a smart, atmospheric gateway into Harbour of Blight’s world, and it does a great job of making you feel like the author is quietly watching you make bad choices on purpose. If you want a solo mystery that reads like a campaign’s opening chapter and plays like a tabletop RPG highlight reel, this is why it’s worth your time. Just don’t get too comfortable. This harbour has a habit of leaving you out to dry.

For more information - check this out.