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This thread is dedicated to all kinds of solo games.

Crash landing edition.

Resources: https://rentry.org/srpgg
Previous thread: >>93026790

>Thread Question: Has death been the final end for your characters?
>>
>>93094287
I guess your options aren't just death. There are afterlives or ghosts.
>>
Yup, can't beat good old new 2nd edition MGME. Thanks Tana for a great system.
>>
>>93094287
One of my favorite game was a dead PC in a Sleepy Hollow/Halloween type of afterlife plane.
He came back to life by exiting the plane through a painting. I mean the painting was on the other plane, not in the deadlands one. But by traveling far enough in a forest he ended up coming out of a painting in the real world.
Of course he suffered consequences for having been in that plane in the first place and was also hunted by a dark hound. It found him, killed him, ate him and gave birth to him again as a souless psychopathic version of himself. Don't ask. That game got WEIRD.
>>
>>93094287
>Thread Question: Has death been the final end for your characters?
Yes. Then I simply switch to the POV of a NPC, or create a new character in the same setting, or simply go play something else for a change.
The problem with solo rpg is that with this much of options of what to play, I end up yearning for the death of my characters so I can try other stuff
>>
I'm assuming a lot of us tried many, many games, tools, solo engines and the like.
What are the things you find yourself using over and over? Even if you discarded all the rest of the rules that thing came from?
Me it's:
Supply track from Ironsworn
D6 Yes/No/And/But from FU
Degree die from One Page Solo Engine
Action/Subject tables from Mythic 1st Edition
I use the degree die a lot these days. Enter a dungeon "room". How big is it? How important (1-2 can be corridors. 6 might be a treasure room or a room with stairs to the lower depths)? How cluttered? How in ruin? How many exits (1=0)?
It's very random, but so far it's giving me workable results. Nothing unrealistic given the settings I use.
>>
>TQ
No. I don't understand who thinks dying to something due to a random roll is more interesting than literally any other consequence.
>>
>>93094287
>>Thread Question: Has death been the final end for your characters?
I like to play lone characters, so I've come up with something that works for me.
My character has a number of 'lives' aka the number of times they can cheat death if it's believable that the character could survive. But each 'death' has consequences. Like being taken prisoner, being robbed of all their weapons, armor and equipment, getting a bad reputation if it's something important in the game, etc.
A death should change a lot about the game. Change the short term goals of the character, at least.
2 lives is a good number. For a combat heavy game: 5.
For horror games I exchange body damage with mental damage and the other way around if one or the other would make my character die/go insane. But no extra lives in horror for me.
>>
Do you guys prefer solo over multiplayer?
>>
>>93096752
I haven't tried many games because I hate learning new ones lol
A combined table of Elements to replace the characters/threads/meaning tables is freeform but gets more evocative results than the mythic way of doing random events. Can't remember where it's from though.
>>
>>93101490
A lot of games are similar and you end up doing the same things over and over again. I've found it rare to find unique mechanics.
>>
Is Plot Unfolding Machine any good?
>>
>>93104080
Yes. But that guy keeps making new versions every 2 weeks. Or at least he used to, I don't know about the new one that isn't free. The fact he was chaning it some much so often is why I didn't bother buying the new one even if it's not that pricy.
That, and for me solo is for free. I'm from the old G+ and we would just exchange rules and tools with no money involved. Now everyone wants to make a buck. At least Scarlet Heroes and Mythic were professional looking and had an rpg attached to it. Now you got to pay for 20 pages tools that are just a slight variation on already existing and free tools? I think not,
>>
>begin a new game
>funnel-like adventure about a bunch of peasants trying to escape a natural disaster
>game turns into a settlement and army building game after 5 out of the 6 peasants survived and tried to create a new village near a forest with goblins in it
Unexpected, but not unwelcomed.
>>
>>93094697
Now I want to play a game as Deadman.
>>
>>93094287
>Has death been the final end for your characters?
The playstyle just switches to ghost-mode with the PC clawing his way back to life or unlife. It's really tempting just to wander the netherworld and expand things as I go, but revenge is a great motivator.
>>
>>93107252
Dying is easy but an honorable death makes for an interesting challenge.
>>
What's a game that I can play that feels like Overlord or some other Isekai game where I can gain power until I am basically a god, and then I oversee NPCs that I collect who worship me and do as I command?
>>
>>93109378
Good luck finding one. I was asking for something similar a few weeks ago. Might just take Warhammer 2e, redo all the magic mishaps rules, and play some kind of warlock. The problem is that's almost as much work (fixing the setting) as just running a D&D 3.5 solo campaign.
>>
>>93109378
>>93112239
Exalted. Duh.
>>
>>93112862
>What’s a game *that’s playable,
>>
>>93113634
?
>>
>>93113634
Do you have a specific critique of some edition or other, or are you just shitposting?
>>
>hexhunt anon here
Solo anons, I'm not dead, but I've started (and finished) another project, which I was slowly building up on the side. So if you need a mass combat for your B/X game, here you go.
This was born out of a need for quick-and-easy mass combat for B/X while I was playing solo, so it might be of use to someone.
https://hexhunt.itch.io/battleaxe
>>
>>93109378
Basic D&D (BECMI)
Basic
Expert
Companion
Master
>Immortal
reach here and use the domain rules for overseeing NPCs, because that's what domain level game is, mostly.
>>
>>93109378
This >>93113727, but you'll have to hack it a bit. You'll have to 10x the exp or something, otherwise it will take you your entire mortal life to get up to the high levels. Also use the Scarlet Heroes combat rules, so your char won't die because an orc in the next room farted.
>>
>>93113706
Yeah actually, if your game expects as much investment into a character’s statblock as Ex2/3, don’t make it symmetrical for the GM. That’s just a general flaw of WW games, but it’s amplified to excessive proportions when you’re playing them solo.
>>
>>93113981
So, what, your argument is that making suitably bespoke characters is so hard? Outside of "reoccurring villain" type characters, shouldn't most characters you face in solo play be randomly generated, so you're not prepared for what you're up against? And doesn't that negate your whole criticism, then? Or do you mean something else?
>>
>>93113719
Your writeup about your system needs a little work.

Firstly, the rank of "Lieutenant" didn't exist in medieval times. They had Sergeants, Captains, and "Captain General"s (what we would now just call a "General"). Back then, a "Sergeant" was anyone who was serving any kind of person-specific guard duty, whether to a noncombatant Noble or a Knight (much the same way modern Sergeants keep their green Lieutenants out of trouble). A Captain led a Company, and a Captain General led a bunch of Captains; this combined force was the size of unit that could correctly be called an "Army". So, by saying, "when you, as the player, want to act as a lieutenant and command armies", you not only have a completely anachronistic title, but a title for completely the wrong size of unit, one two levels of organization too small.


As for your system itself...

Organizing things around specific fixed sizes is categorically a mistake. Even the modern U.S. military has different sizes of what constitutes a "Platoon" under different circumstances; medieval cultures are even less conformist than that, across their borders. Further, you need to be able to start with an Army, drill down to a single Company, drill down to individual units, and then be able to pack them all back up again as necessary. You never know which part of the battle the PCs will lose interest in, and wind up exploring a different one mid-game, so being able to simplify and unsimplify different parts of the battle at the drop of a hat is strictly necessary.
>>
been a while, anything new since rune or whatever the game was called?
>>
>>93114287
> doesn't that negate your whole criticism, then?
No. If anything, adding rolling as an extra step just extends the process even further.
>>
>>93113719
Good to hear that you're still going and well done for finishing another project
>>
>>93094287
Looking for all-in-one books/settings that may or may not be geared for solo, other than Ironsworn of course. Any good ones that aren't well known?
>>
>Find an ancient Dyson sphere planet
>"hmm, I wonder if there's any life here, it xould have been an ancients refuge"
>no sentient life
>the air is full of weird spores
>thank fuck we have our scientist to notice these things
>>
>>93113719
Will read your new game. I already have my mass combat rules (normal and quick play), but I'm always reading new ones to get ideas and other people's take on the concept.
>>
It's weird. I tried a lot of solo methods. My usual way of playing is a lite game and lots of solo tools. It's fun, but not great.
Last night I started a one shot in full character point of view using a generic adventure type and asking a simple d6 oracle if everything was how I envisioned it.
It's so immersive. I had no idea. And No oracle roll results have a lot more impact on the game as a whole. Even details generated with yes/no makes things more surprising than tables. I entered a cave and heard weird sounds coming from the depths. Usually I would have rolled for an idea and gotten something that would have told me the type of danger ahead. Idea generators and random tables are very GM oriented. At least the ones I use. But now I have no idea what's awaiting me back there. This is so much fun. And having twists to a basic adventure idea feels more impactful and satisfying than having a bunch of randomly generated missions, NPCs, twists and dangers ever did.
I think I finally, after 2 years, found the way I was always meant to play. This is MY groove. Nothing wrong with any of the other ways of playing. But this feels like my way. Finally.
>tfw I just realized the first Mythic already told me how to do this this way but I didn't listen back then
>>
For Solo play should is fighting groups ok or just stick to one monster at a time?
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>>93117465
Depends on the rpg. Heroic games can handle a lone PC against a few enemies of a lower level.
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>>93116038
Well, there is Scarlet Heroes, but it is a household name. It is basically B/X but with just one powerful character. It's mechanics are compatible with almost any OSR game and old D&D modules if you don't like it's oriental sword & sorcery setting.
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>>93116038
Hostile has a solo book that's self-contained, albeit as part of a range. It's a Traveller descended working class sci-fi modeled after stuff like Alien.
>>
>>93113802
>>93113727
I've been considering using the rules for Scarlet Heroes, my only question is how are hirelings, cohorts, retainers, and domain levels of play handled? How might I run mass combat in it?
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>>93115335
What are you talking about? You don't "roll" with a character generator; you push a button, and it generates a character.
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I wanna run a classic AD&D campaign with a focus on dungeon crawling and exploring a big ol' hex map, but I'd like it to have a plot besides just plundering random ruins for fun and profit. I figured I'd just slap Mythic on top of it, but with the number of exploration procedures already built into AD&D, I feel like I'd rarely have to consult the fate chart, which would in turn lead to fewer random events. Has anybody tried something like this? Am I overthinking again?
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>>93119760
Ohh, right I see. Yeah if you’re using digital tools that vastly simplifies things. I would consider the requirement of such to be a design flaw in a tabletop game, but I’m weird like that. Damn kids and their ipods.
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>>93117059
you mean you just go and decide what you're hoping for, then roll to see if it is so? Maybe I need to do more of that, I'm finding myself slaved to the tables too much
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>>93117059
I don't get it, you keep asking random questions until you get a yes?
>Usually I would have rolled for an idea and gotten something that would have told me the type of danger ahead
>But now I have no idea what's awaiting me back there
so what, you go down and then go
>do I see a bear
>n
>do I see a shark
>n
>do I see a wizard
>y
>omg it's a wizard!
???
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>>93121393
If you want to waste your time, then ask as many questions as you want. Otherwise, ask smart questions and come to a conclusion using logic and context.
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>>93121789
post your smart questions then
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>>93121835
The questions will differ depending on how much information is already known. Sometimes you just need to ask, "Are they hostile?" and you can piece together who it is by reincorporating known NPCs you've encountered before.
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>>93121860
you know the information given, you're in a cave and you hear weird sounds coming from the depths, you have no idea what's awaiting back there
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>>93121959
I would ask, "Does it sound human?"
The process of asking the question inspires in me a few ideas. Maybe the cave is a volcanic vent. Maybe it's a monster. Once you have a good idea, you should use that. Sure you could keep testing by asking more and more questions but you really only need to ask questions until you have an interesting idea and can proceed with your game.
>>
>>93121959
There is a myriad of ways of determining that (including deciding it yourself based on the information you have about the cave), but i'll give one: open the AD&D 2nd Edition Monster Manual at random pages until you land on a monster whose natural habitat is "subterranean".
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>>93122016
>does it sound human
>no
okay, now what? a sound not being human is a pretty wide scope
you either keep asking or you just decide it's a volcanic vent or whatever, and at that point why even ask? the entire point of an oracle is to make it unexpected, if you're just going to go with whatever makes sense, rolling at all is stupid
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>>93122016
>I hear a strange sound, this is exciting
>could it be... a human!?
>no? oh it's an irrelevant geological feature
Peak solo experience.
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>>93122032
Just did it right now, picrel was the result
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>>93122052
Oracles are just an aid and you use them when you need inspiration. Otherwise, be creative.
>>93122079
Could be a trap set by an alien using technology to sound like a human. Come on, you have to do some of the work when you play you can't just rely on the tools to give you everything.
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>>93122110
Wrong.
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>>93120565
There's an important difference between solo RPG play and GM and Player RPG play. A GM can surprise a Player with a well-thought-out plot with carefully considered characters. The soloist can't really surprise himself; by the time you work out an opponent character by hand, you're already plotting how to defeat it. Whereas, if you randomly generate a character and don't look at it until you've made all the requisite perception rolls, presumably while under fire, you get to properly fight for your life for a while until you work out what to do.

I mean, you'd need some really novel, very well thought out method of generating a character on the fly in order to keep the same amount of surprise.

At the end of the day, it's the quality of the experience that should matter, and not the tools used, right?
>>
>>93122100
>A xorn is normally found on the elemental plane of Earth. It is only on the Prime Material plane if forcibly summoned or if it was the victim of an interplanar accident.
>On their native plane, xorn are as peaceful as Prime Material plane herbivores. While xorn are intelligent, their society is limited to small clans of mineral gatherers. These clans wander from place to place, leaving behind open pockets where they have eaten out a vein of mineral. On the Prime Material plane they always seek wide regions of stone underground. What humans would consider treasures, xorn consider food. They keep their store of food in a nearby air pockets.
>Xorn do not attack flesh creatures except to defend themselves or their property, since they can not digest flesh. Xorn have no excessive love or hate for creatures of the Prime Material plane. The sole exception to this is anyone carrying a significant amount of precious metals or minerals, which it can smell up to 20 feet away. The normally peaceful xorn can become quite aggressive when after food, especially on the Prime Material plane, where such sustenance is harder to find than it is on its native plane. Xorn expect to be given a reasonable portion in exchange for peaceful passage, or else they attack (90% chance) to get food.
>>
>>93118551
Don't use only SH. I was meant is use its combat. Pull everything else from BECMI.

Also, something I'll say, don't overthink this. Just start playing simple (in your case might be simply using SH), and grow from there (by adding rules from BECMI or stuff you make up as you progress). It's better to start with something small and iteratively add modules and rules. No system is perfect, unless you tune it for yourself.
>>
>>93123672
Immortals is terrible, unplaytested and unplayable junk.
>>
>>93120448
Just give yourself missions that link up to and overarching goal. Gotta go to cave and murder a bunch of goblins that kidnapped a priest. Why? She knows where the magic demon slaying sword is. Then you have your next dungeon crawl motivation already set up
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>>93120448
I can help with this. I'm running an ACKS campaign solo at the moment.
Give yourself an overarching goal/metaplot. My party (Playing the entire group rather than a single character) are a bunch of cultists of a snake god attempting to find a place they can call up said god into the world, one of the main religions of the setting is trying to stop them.

So most places I encounter I either follow the logical throughline or make sure to ask 'Has this place been effected by the ongoing conflict/have the sun priests been here and fucked with things'

So far I'm fairly happy with the results. From invaded temples to long forgotten ruins of a bygone age, villages that've been depopulated, ect, it's been a nice mix of things.
>>
>>93122145
You don’t think that the tools can influence the experience?
There are also ways to randomly generate a character without it having to use a digital assistant, but they’re generally far less crunchy than Exalted.
>>
>>93118551
By using this >>93113719
(it is made for B/X)


>>93120448
your plot
>you are a minor noble who inherited a LOAD of debt from his uncle.
You and your handful of retinue venture forth to restore gold and glory to your family.

Also, AD&D random events include wandering monsters both in dungeon and overland, and you can top it up with domain -level (monthly, annual) events.
>>
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>>93123770
>running -ACK campaign
It must be mythic
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>>93121145
Well, you use logic and what came before. So every roll will have some level of influence on the future ones. I like it better than the 'jump scare' tactic of full randomness. But that's me. It just clicks for me now.
>>93121393
No. I had to decide if the risk of the unknown was worth it. In this case it was. I was looking for info on a pair of crowns that can control dragons. The 'bag guy' had one and was about to use it against our kingdom.
The generic idea for the game was Enemy is about to use a monster to defeat your kingdom, find the item needed to defeat the monster.
But the plot changed as I was playing. The item didn't destroy, but controlled and was two relics used by twin Kings in the past.
The cave revealed that the dragon was cursed as well, it was part of a duo of heroes that defeated the twins. The scribe who wrote the scrolls I found thought the magical backlash created the curse and made the dragon part of it. But he was a scribe, not a wizard, so who knows how accurate he was about that.
So now the crown I have is useless as it would corrupt my King and the enemy is probably under the curse too, so not really responsible.
My next move is to use the human hero's sword to ask someone to summon his spirit so I can learn more about how the curse was created, but I'm on a deadline with the enemy's army marching to attack us.
Oh, and for the sound, my next question was Does the sound stop? No, and... it got closer. So I concealed myself in a way that let me a possibility of escape. It turned out to be a ratfolk squatting the tunnels under the abandoned monastery. I tried my luck and interacted with him. When he realized I had no intention of kicking him out, he was helpful.
I find that questions are best spaced out with actions. My usual way is to generate everything than act, but for this game I'm just doing it by alternating and it's great.
>>
>>93125272
More context.
After asking Does the sound stop? and hiding I rolled to see if I was successful. I randomly rolled for difficulty since I had no idea what was coming. I was successful, so I remained unseen.
Then I asked if it was a monster. No, but... it wasn't a human or a 'normal' race. Ratfolk made sense since they are chased out of cities in my setting. I asked if it was one and got a Yes.
I'm using 1 question and 1 or 2 clarifying ones most times.
I'm only suing what the PC knows and is aware of. So a Yes, and wouldn't have been a ratfolk with a family waiting for him in their nest. But it could have been a ratfolk and one of his kids. Or a ratfolk with armor and weapons. Some of them become tomb-robbers and the monastery would be a logical place to plunder.
>>
>>93125272
>>93125354
Oh, last thing, the difficulty I got for the hiding test became context in the sense that it gave me an idea of the power level, at least of perception, of the being. The difficulty was a little higher than average so something with some slightly advanced senses made sense. But I could have gone with more powerful than an average human.
>>
Are there any JRPG-themed solo rpgs?
>>
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What's the simplest solo rpg? I need something I can play with a single die or something similar.
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>>93125446
Bivius.
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>>93125511
Thx.
>>
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>>93125446
Probably this one. It's simple and one page. Still, it's very playable. It's better if you have some solo experience, or at least if you have knowledge of some solo concepts. You can't really use something like this if you have no idea how to solo. Mythic, go for first edition if you want something simple and relatively short, or CRGE (free, shorter and has great and clear advice. RIP the guy who made it).
>>
>>93125511
>>93125446
Miso is simpler. Bivius does have the really good Tunnels and Dragons supplement. Very easy procedures for dungeons, settlement creation, wilderness travel, etc. About 30 pages and can be used right away with any other rpg.
>>
>>93094287
Is there a solo RPing that splits the difference on hexcrawls/Large map exploration?

What I mean is, I like hexcrawls, and I like the idea of running out of resources and needing to restock, but I kinda hate of keeping track of all the specific gritty details. One value for food, one value for water, one value for one other unique-to-game-thing. Travel takes -2 food, -3 water, -5 unique. You restock +4 water, and +2 unique +0 Food, etc, etc

If it was a single value, or like... a shrinking die value or (to use a dirty word) something simplified.
>>
>>93126018
Ironsworn. No hex, but a unified Supply mechanic. On a good roll you don't lose any and can be assumed to have successfully hunted/found a stream/whatever.
But you can do that with any rpg. The way I do it is 1 ration a day of travel. that includes water, 3 meals, other supplies needed. Hunting and other resupply acts are unified and take 1 action point per day. You have 9 every day +/- weather and mode of transport. Terrain types take a certain number of action points per day to go through, so the slower you go, the more possible random encounters. Extra points left in a day are just ignored because I can't be bother to keep track. It's just campfire storytelling time.
>>
>>93126406
Left over action points can also be used for creating more supplies. Like smoking meat or drying fruits and stuff if there are enough points left. But I'm loose with it. Supplies are abstract enough that I don't aim for too much realism.
And my random encounters include lucky automatic resupply. Like finding an orchard, a nice unexpected game to hunt, etc.
>>
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I'm having some fun playing this using the lock/keys mode. I'm trying not to cheat so I don't take keys that I haven't see a lock for.
It means some resources/locations won't be available if the key is on the lower levels and going back would be too dangerous because I couldn't kill a monster and had to flee.
So far I have an ally, know the location of 1 lock and of 3 keys, killed a Hunter creature (almost died in that fight but didn't get infected) that was waiting in ambush for me. Still on level one of the Natural History Museum.
One thing I don't like is that there is an encounter in every room. It can be positive or negative with a few on each list bordering on neutral. That's... a lot. Survival horror, I know, but still. Not rerolling used entries on a level would make levels hard at first and easier at the end.
I should probably just roll a d6 and have an encounter on 3+ or something. Just to have some buffer zones between encounters.
>>
Solo RPG is literally my only option at this point. I only have one D&D game I really care for and my DM put it on hold and doesn't want to start again after over 7 months of hiatus. I've asked repeatedly but I just don't think it will ever happen.

I've determined that I have to learn how to be content without a DM.
>>
>>93128504
That sucks man.
>>
How many of you guys are primarily/forever GMs, and how many people playing solo RPGs are normally player characters? I mostly run games and I've never had a hard time working with a few solo tools and letting things go where they go. I don't ever feel like I'm 'stumped' or stuck at ascenario and unsure how to advance given the outputs from my oracles or tables. But I'm wondering what solo RPGs are like for people with little or no experience running games. Does it make a big difference? Do you use a bunch more tools or oracles, or find it's better to keep things minimal?
>>
>>93132107
I'm mostly a player only person and i like to keep my tools minimal when playing solo games. i don't like a lot of oracles and often let storytelling ideas trump dice. The one exception is my scarlet heroes hexcrawl game which I use extra rules for hex generation and more closely roll with whatever the dice roll.
>>
>>93124259
>You don’t think that the tools can influence the experience?
Well, I mean, they can, sure, but with Solo play, there's a much bigger, more overwhelming problem to be solved, so I consider it a net win.

Until you've got a character generation process that can be played out live that reveals only as much about your opponent as your character is capable of knowing, it just makes much more sense to just fully generate a character as blindly as possible, and only revealing it to yourself as your character discovers it. Which, for the most part, means tools.
>>
>>93126018
>What I mean is, I like hexcrawls, and I like the idea of running out of resources and needing to restock, but I kinda hate of keeping track of all the specific gritty details.
I find this confusing. Part of the point of keeping track of different resources is how differently each resource being low is solved.

>The party is short on food. We should go hunting and foraging.
>The party is short on water. We should go to the nearest river, or nearest mountain snowpack, and melt some snow (and also boil it, just in case).
>The party is short on crafted equipment, or has damage that needs to be repaired. Looks like we're trudging all the way back to an actual town. Drat. At least we can finally drink some ale, though.

Also, consider, for instance, an Archer's arrows. With suitable Skill in Fletching, and the right tools, an Archer can make his own arrows with locally sourced wood and feathers from birds. But arrowheads better than knapped rocks still need a blacksmith. Fortunately, it's pretty rare for forged arrowheads themselves to actually break; so even if the arrow shaft snaps, the Archer can just burn out the old shaft, and put it on a fresh new arrow... up until he actually loses each and every entire arrow, anyway. An Archer could even buy just a bunch of arrowheads, not even full arrows, to save on unnecessary weight and bulk, until he finally makes camp just outside the adventuring location of interest, at which point he stocks up.

That's another point. If you know enough about the terrain ahead, you can plan to restock along the way, rather than have to take all your stock with you. If your target location is near a river of fresh water, with lots of edible forageables and fresh game, you only need enough food and water to get you there safely, and can restock there.


Continues...
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>>93133400
... Continued


So; rather than asking us to simplify the stocking issue, how about you explain what parts of such decision-making doesn't sound fun, and why you'd just prefer to have to go all the way back to town to stock up for "generic supplies"? Because you absolutely would, to guarantee every need was met, instead of being as self-sufficient as possible, like you normally are, on a full hexcrawl.
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>>93126018
It should also be mentioned that, you don't want to waste a full ration just because you want to use some water as part of your First-Aid Roll. If it doesn't hydrate you, it doesn't count for a day's nutrition, even though you spent it. I'm not sure simplifying things the way you're talking about makes sense.
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>>93132107
4EVAGM
I had no problems either. Even did solo games before I knew it was a thing. I like to try lots of tools, but in play it's best to keep it minimal. The more tools and tables, the easier for the game to derail. Never had any problem surprising myself or keeping player and GM knowledge separate.
My biggest problem is deciding what to play. So many options!
I think it made me a better GM. I can try all the ideas my players wouldn't enjoy. That way I don't feel the need to make them play what I want to play and can make them play what they want.
It's also easier to roll with the punches when they do something weird and I don't have to railroad them back to the plot, I can just use the same tools I use in solo.
>>
>exploring the Dyson sphere
>it's an ancients luxury retreat
>Lotti, our bimbo pilot, finds a shard of ancients metal that's sort of sharp at one end
>"look at this really cool stabbing knife I found, it must be an ancients assassin blade"
>it's literally just a bit of metal that's fallen from a wrecked duct support
>meanwhile Ashtoreth finds a small security armoury with a pristine set of super advanced armour
>Rachel is too busy worrying about what might have wrecked that duct support and Yuzuki is creaming herself over the tech and sphere in general
>>
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>game goes into a direction my PC won't be good enough to deal with
>her quest is now to find people good enough to go on the quest in her place
>she finds 3
>bad perception roll makes her unaware that one of them is just in it to steal the artifact they will try to find
>no time to use anything else but a perception roll, the bad guys are already on the move, she has to rely on her instincts
>begin new game as that character
>>
>What a solo RPG I can play with my non-dominant hand, in your setting? Tell me more about these inane questions so I can train my spambot!!
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>>93135416
maybe ironsworn
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>>93135416
You want the lewd thread anon
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>>93135416
I have no idea what conspiracy shit you're on about. It's normal for people new to the idea of ttrpgs in general and of solo in particular to ask these types of questions.
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>>93135205
Oh boy, we got ambushed by fucking mushrooms. Lotti is hurt, Yuzuki is down and bleeding out, and there's still one of the little bastards on the field.
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>>93125392
I have to kill both wearers of the crowns at the same time to end the curse. In th epast they kille done and the other died as a result, but it gave him time to cast the curse so that they could 'come back'. Sort of. It's not really them, but it's their desire for conquest and destruction.
So I have to turn someone evil by giving then the crown to wear and kill them. But if I fail, I'll have unleashed more evil in the world than if I didn't do anything.
What am I doing to myself?
I have a plan, but it has so many moving parts.
Convince the King to wear the crown knowing he will have to die (my PC is too much of a good guy to trick him even with all that's at stake. Fucking Goodie Two Shoes Sexy Cleric.).
Have his personal wizard cast a successful memory spell so that the King forgets about it so he won't suspect anything.
Avoid the dragon. Put the two crown wearers in the same location and kill them both. With a trap? Somehow. A trap in battle is okay if it's not a dishonorable one.
And apparently, according to the ghost of the champion, the dragon was trapped in the curse while alive and will be freed when the curse ends. It's kind of in a time loop now. But so many years trapped and such darkness coursing through it's body for so long have made him insane.
So I guess I should have an army ready to kill it in case it goes berserk.
It feels like a setup for a future grimdark fantasy setting.
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>>93136376
My PC's patron god, Ithor, is like a fantasy god version of Tommy Lee Jones. If my PC just thought about wearing the crown himself, he would just smite him down. He doesn't tolerate any buffoonery. So that option is out. Giving it to a nobody will not work, he'll just fuck off to make his own army and come back years later. It has to go to someone in power in the here and now.
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>>93136367
Combat is over. Rachel evaporated the last mushroom with her shotgun, yuzuki has been patched up, but suffers a permanent -1STR due to the toxins in the mushrooms bite, and I need to roll to see if her babies survive/are affected.
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>>93125408
You can juryrig something with combining Ryuutama and Fabula Ultima or throw your favorite tropes at a system made for solo play.
>>
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I really like using d6 oracles, you know; yes and, yes, yes but, no but, etc. But I find the lack of 'interrupts' sorely lacking. What would you recommend for this simple minded solo player?
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>>93141802
>have cluttered desk
>interrupt if it lands on an edge, falls on the floor, or similar
>if you get too many it's time to clean up
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>>93141836
You might actually be onto something. You clever fellow.
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>>93141802
I have a seed of an idea on this sort of thing. I mostly consider the idea from a matter of, "How do I keep track of the steps involved in falling victim to a surprise pre-planned betrayal without ruining it by knowing about it in advance?".
So far, the concept I'm onto is called "Rolling a Code". Every time you have an interaction, you roll a number of dice, and add the sequence to a running list of a fixed number of active entries; once the active entries are full, new entries bump older ones off the list. When you wind up rolling a code that's already on the list, those two events are related, and something relevant happens.

Obviously, there are certain variables at play:
1. Sidedness of the die
2. Number of dice
3. How the sequence is worked out (probably just sort high or low, for simplicity)
4. How many active entries to keep
5. How many matches are needed before something happens
6. Under what specific circumstances you roll a code
7. How many different things a match can represent, and the extent to which they're good or bad

Anyway, that should provide more spontaneity to a solo game.
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>>93142668
Can you give an example?
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>>93141802
I suppose if you can remember your last roll you could interrupt on a match
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>>93141802
Roll a second die. If it's the same number as the final result of the oracle roll, you have a random event.
>>
>King agreed to plan
>badass old man willing to die for his people
>but the crown influencing him broke the amnesia spell so he knows our plan
>we still managed to kill both wearer with the 2nd plan me and the wizard came up with in case the spell would fail
>dragon just fucked off and didn't go murderous on anyone when he was freed
>maybe it's mentally stronger than the hero's ghost thought?
>both kings are dead and factions are already forming in the ranks to take over as True King of both kingdoms
>other kingdoms are sure to try and take over now that the Kings are dead so waiting to appoint a new ruler is not an option
>wizard makes a big speech about me and how I saved the day and I should be the new King
>I'm not okay with this. My god probably won't be either
>all the people understand about his speech is that me and the wizard are responsible for killing both Kings and leading an unprepared army against a dragon that we let go to do gods knows what out there
>murderous crowd.gif
>wizard has to cast an illusion so we could flee with our lives
>can't help the two kingdoms in an obvious manner now, they have to sort their leader shit out by themselves
>me and the wizard team up to go look for the dragon
>maybe we can help it regain some sanity using magic or my god's blessings and ask his help in protecting the 2 kingdoms from invaders while they decide who will be the new King
But that's another story.
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>>93142844
Better if you use a d12, then there's only an interrupt ~8% of the time instead of getting one on every six rolls. A d20 would bring it down to a 5% chance, but the poor old d12 doesn't get used enough.
Two d6s might be fine if you like a lot of chaos, I suppose.
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>>93143431
Good idea. I would also make odd matches negative and even ones positive. And maybe higher numbers on the match would be more dire/beneficial.
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>>93143431
>>93143508
Someone already did it.
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>>93141836
>tfw I have butterfingers
It would be all random events all the time and the most spotless desk in the history of nerdom.
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>>93144587
Make a dice tray. Random events when you somehow miss it entirely. Make the tray bigger until this is satisfactory.
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>>93141836
>>93144587
>>93145070
I'm honestly going with it. Every time I roll a d6 for the oracle I'll roll a new d6 and roll in my dice tray and leave it in their. If the d6 lands touching another d6 in the tray there is an interruption. If the die's result is positive so is the interruption and vice versa with negative rolls. This makes interruptions random but increasingly likely. I also don't have to remember any numbers.
>>
What are best chatbots at the moment? Had a lot of fun with Perchance this weekend, but noticed it starts spitting out gibberish if the story goes on for too long.
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>>93141802
Try Recluse
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Does this work as a solo game or do I need a module of somekind? Sounds really fun for what I read but it's a regular game
>>
WTF is Alone on Silver Wings' problem? I can't think of a more pretentious way to tell players to introspect and call it a game.
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>>93148938
Can't be worse than the games that are starting to devote a full page to "BiGoTs ArE bAnNeD fRoM pLaYiNg ThIs GaMe"
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>>93150002
Good thing those are universally trash.
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>>93150002
That can be ignored.
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>>93148672
Any ttrpg can be played solo. Even the ones with heavy player interactions.
All you need is an oracle and/or solo engine. And some knowledge of soloing.
CRGE (free) and Mythic are good at explaining solo and give good tools and examples.
Mythic first edition (blue book, not the full rpg orange book) is shorter than the 2nd edition and enough. 2nd has lots of alternate rules and ideas with better explanations, but it's a big book full of all the things that came out in magazines and supplements since the first one. It can be intimidating.
If you want to play published modules, it's harder. Way harder. 2 tips if you use published modules.
1. Play as the GM and use PCs like they are NPCs. You switch solo from randomizing GM duties to randomizing PC actions. You can even decide about monsters actions instead of rolling on random tables when you play this way.
2. Or use the maps and NPCs from the module, but play a new original story/adventure. Randomize reaction rolls between NPCs and with the PCs, randomize NPCs locations and goals, etc.
Oh, and if you're learning the game (the Conan rpg) and don't know about a rule, you can use your oracle to determine the results of actions and look up the rules in details later. Because sometimes it's better to play than stop to look up stuff too often. That can ruin the momentum of an adventure.
last tip. 90% of solo players are too hard on themselves and their PCs. Give yourself healing time, opportunities to buy new equipment, positive random encounters, discovery of resources, contacts in communities, rumors about future dangers and how to avoid them, etc.
When playing if you have trouble separating what your PC knows and what you know in your GM role, just ask the oracle if your PC acts in a certain way. Example: You know there is a trap. Your PC doesn't. Does he look for one? Calculate the odds. Is he a careful PC? Did he encounter other traps recently? Is he in a rush? Does he see something suspicious?
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>>93146109
Use novelai for a actual story
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>>93151904
No shit but I have yet to see a game where I wanted to, unless you count 40k I guess.
Turns out people who have a boogeyman living rent free in their head aren't the best writers. Flip the script, imagine Matt Walsh wrote an RPG.
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>>93151934
1000yo Vampire. But I also have to ignore the author completely. Not because he's woke, but because he's a fucking asshat.
He sold blank journal book for 50 bucks as a 'special' book that you had to buy without knowing what was in it. He was all coy and saying don't buy it you won't like it tehe but he still sold them like a fucking grifter and many people who enjoyed 1000yo gave him there money. 50 fucking bucks for blank pages. I would have flip my lid if I had bought that shit.
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>>93152039
*their* money
He's making me so mad I went full ASL.
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>>93152039
>1000yo Vampire.
It's funny you say that because I really like vampires so I started reading it, and while there were no obvious red flags there was something that really put me off playing it. I'll read it again and see if I remember.
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>>93142708
Sure, I guess.
Let's assume we're using 4d6, sorted low to high, for our codes, we have 20 active codes at a time, we only need to roll the same code twice for an effect to go off, and we roll every time the social situation changes.
>We meet with a mob boss. We roll a code for that meeting. The meeting doesn't go well, and ends in violence. Sometime later, we have some seemingly trivial social interaction, maybe one that's randomly generated. We roll a code again, and it's that same code we rolled with the mob boss. Oh crap, he's probably a hitman!

The point here is to link things that ordinarily wouldn't be linked, in a way we can never really expect, so that we can generate surprise situations, and legitimately be caught off-guard; something that is normally exceptionally difficult to pull off in a Solo RPG, but happens all the time when you have a GM to impose them on you.
>>
Original campaign world?
What are yours like?
Which ones have you in the back of your mind but haven't played yet?
Me, I have this weird idea about an OSR style game, but it's ordinary people having a dream persona and going into other people's dreams to fight nightmares instead of dragons and unearth trauma instead of treasure. The dreams are all linked so they can go from one person's dream to another and can get trapped if the dreamer wakes up. It can feel like a few seconds or like decades until the dreamer fall asleep again. And the trapped character is in a coma-like slumber in the real world.
A cross between D&D, the Nightmask comics and the Dreamlands from Call of Cthulhu.
The reason why I haven't played it is that I feel it needs something more for the awake part of the game. But I'm not sure what yet.
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>>93152055
What's wrong with playing Advanced Squad Leader solo? Are you using the official solitaire rules or a brew?
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What mythic magazine issues are useful for simulating NPCs?
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>>93155491
>>93151909
Oh that also solves another question I had for a long time actually. I heard about Mythic on a video of a guy that played Fallout 2d20 and used it for a solo game and always wonder if it was a good system but the time I asked here no one reply and I won't put an eye on Reddit no matter what
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>>93155491
The simple behavior check in #1 is alright. #39 has some interesting ideas but I haven't tried it yet
>>
I finally started actually playing. It was kind of surreal. I mean basically all I've done so far was figure out who my character is and his companions, but I've actually emerged into the dungeon in the first room. I have momentum now and left off on a skill check that I have yet to answer. The answer should provide direction from here so I should be able to pick up and keep going.

I'm recording things as they happen but mainly jotting down details and stuff so I can remember and recreate the scene later in my head maybe with a recap or short story or something. I'm actually looking forward to exploring more. This is way cooler than I ever expected.
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>>93159266
Good to hear man, I've been just reading books and having ideas and creating characters in different systems and haven't actually sat down and played.
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>>93158596
Mythic 2e is a really good system and probably most solo players use it.
Except the new random event table, it sucks ass.
I suggest you to read the first one and then take a shoot at 2e since it is pretty much just an expansion - there's barely any change in the base rules, just new optional stuff.
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>>93154961
Noice
>>93158596
Reddit is really cool when it comes to little known subreddits. Helpful stuff with little to no retardation. Solo is still little known, so the 2 main subs for it are great.
But yeah, the more known subs are shit and reddit is mostly for lewd stuff anyway.
But the right side of the solo sub has great resources. Lots of actual plays too. Sadly it's been infiltrated bu the "give me money for my solo game" crowd, but not too much. It's still a good place to go. You don't even have to register to look it up.
>>
>want to run my first solo game
>my ideas seem too cringe and derivative
>or wind up plotting out ideas when the whole point is randomness
This sucks.
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>>93161739
I have the exact same fucking problem. Even if I somehow get out of a procrastination mindset, I either plot out what basically amounts to a story set in stone or I literally get embarrassed of my ideas, which says a lot, considering I am alone. Is this what they call “analysis paralysis”? How do we solve this?
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>>93161812
Just do it.
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A few thoughts.
Using Bivius to pick 2 different/opposite options from random tables works great in play. It cuts down on the time spent trying to make a fully random result work and is still random enough.
Maze Rats d6Xd6 tables are a great resource.
Tarvannion is a cool zine full of good tools, procedures and ideas.
So is Bivius Tunnels and Dragons. Both are very simple to use.
But Sandbox Generator by Atelier Clandestin is still the best.
One Page Solo Engine is great, but so generic that it can take time coming up with interesting interpretations. If you're not in the right headspace, it can be a chore to use.
So1um is so good for one shots. You can start playing right away after 30 seconds of character creation. Easy to hack too. Change stats for setting appropriate ones. Add Magic Points/Sanity/whatever and calculate them same as HP using 2d6 and a stat. Make your own setting specific d6 encounter table. You're done.
If you play with powerful characters with high stats and always using a cliché and get a lot of ties all the time in conflicts and want faster play, use exploding dice.
Mapmaking digital tools are cool. Drawing maps is cool. Making a crude map with circles and lines is as cool (pic from a gamebook run someone did, but it works as well for solo).
Freeform Universal's Details and Conditions are very useful in solo to set up a scene quickly.
Clocks that count down randomly are the best. Example: d10 clock starts at 10. When appropriate (beginning of a new scene, when something specific happens, etc.) roll a d10. This is your new number if it,s lower than the current one. If it's higher, the current number lowers by 1. At 1 something happens. Very useful combined with a 3 step plan for an enemy. First 1= first step of the plan is completed. Plan can change with player actions. If you want a mystery, use a random idea generator to determine what the plan step looks like to the PC. Tie the steps together as you play to make a coherent plan.
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>>93161812
Each step of the story you use an idea generator to modify it as you play.
The Aladdin technique is really useful for this.
http://battreps.blogspot.com/2014/07/alladin-technique.html
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>>93161918
And this tool is pretty good. I'm not a fan of random torches going out, I prefer to keep track of time, but no tool is prefect for everyone and modifying them comes with the territory in solo play.
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>>93161942
Thank you, that seems helpful!
>>
Last night's game of Scarlet Heroes went awful.
>Been playing a halfling Fighter/Rogue lately, named Normer.
>He's level 2, about to level up to 3 at the end of the session
>Current options are hunt werewolves, explore a new cave system I found last session, or look for new work
>Decide I'll explore the caves
>Initially, don't find anything in the caves
>But suddenly, stumble into an ogre's den
>Try to negotiate my way out of it, but he's having none of it
>He charges at me, and we get in heated combat
>I actually land a couple blows and realize I'm only one strong attack away from killing him
>Halfway through the fight, it's as if he suddenly becomes untouchable
>Then it happens, he hits me with a huge attack that almost kills me
>I have to roll to cheat death, barely make it
>He picks my stunned body up, steals my money and throws me out of the cave
>As I try to retreat back to town, a band of goblins riding wolves and wargs is spotted up ahead. I decide to turn around and go hide back at the cave until sunrise
>But when I get there, the area I thought was safe is swarming with goblins
>I attempt to kill some of them and get them to fail a morale check, but it fails
>They shank Normer and then swarm him, I try to cheat death once more and fail...

And so ends the adventures of Normer the Halfling.



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