I capitulated edition.This thread is dedicated to all kinds of solo games, systems, tools, and campaigns.TQ: Do you ever have a problem keeping your main character consistant? Do you find giving them a short curt description lends to more flexibility in play and makes a veriety of choices seem fitting or do you like longer expansive backstories to flesh them out and give them clearer more focused priorities? > Last Thread: https://desuarchive.org/tg/thread/98517719/#98517719Resources:https://rentry.org/srpgghttps://infinityweavers.link/re-up/solo-rp-toolkitMore threads:https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/search/subject/%2Fsrpgg%2F/orhttps://desuarchive.org/tg/search/subject/%2Fsrpgg%2F/type/op/
TQ: I like shortish and simple backstories myself, with few family members and relevant relationships on top of it.
>>98662217The more effort I put into a PCs backstory and personality seems to increase the odds of their imminent death so i keep it pretty brief, expanding only as the game organically calls for it.What are some fun bolt-on mass combat rules i can use for an OSR game? my main character just took control of a small warband and im not entirely sure what to do with it. ive never messed with that sort of thing in group or solo games
>>98662217I keep it very, very brief, but expand it in play through dialogue with NPCs, flashbacks, etc.
>>98662849Depends on your system and setting. An Echo Resounding is a good start. There might be better options out there.
>>98662217TQ : Nope. This is why I love STA's chargen and will stand the game system for everyone forever.With chargen giving you your character's focuses and values, you get a real clear idea of their character right there on the sheet, and the game has explicit mechanics for challenging or reinforcing a value.Down to the fact you 'earn' the games version of XP by doing so.
Is any of you /SRPGG/ anons using a sort of BoL derived system but for sci-fi?I'm researching into:- Dicey Tales (It says it has space-opera)- Everywhen (And Space Pulp)- Barbarians of the voidCan I get your impressions and/or protips? What to avoid and what to keep? I guess I'll end using a mashup of ideas from different sources.
Imagine playing this SOCIAL activity alone.lol. That's it, not even an lmao
>>98662217How exactly do you guys go about learning a backstory without writing one, like it coming up in play?
>>98662849I can second An Echo Resounding, and also look into BattleAxe.
>>98664290>>98667889I was gonna ask Scarlet Heroesfag, so these are timely mentions. Can you use AER for domain play once you get to that point in Scarlet Heroes, or does it have its own supplement for that?
>>98668417Yes! You can use Scarlet Heroes to level ~10 or so, then An Echo Resounding has additional leveling system that your character can adopt called a "Champion Level".What I personally like to do is dissect all of Sine Nomine (Kevin Crawford's) games and use them piece by piece together. Doing this, you could technically make a game where you start with Scarlet Heroes to level 10, then An Echo Resounding for Domain play, then cannibalize rules from Stars Without Number to simulate a setting like Spelljammer. Then once you're deep into "Epic Level", you could use Godbound as a sort of "End-game" or "Post-game" campaign where your character is dealing directly with the gods or is even a god themselves...
>>98669328Basically, if you really want to, you can mix, match, and dissect all the XWN games to be compatible with Scarlet Heroes. KC told me that he designed them all to be semi-compatible (requiring a little bit of fiddling,) when I asked him directly on Discord.
>>98669328>>98669341Thanks, anon! I really like the sound of that.
>>98667543its convoluted to type out but really not very different from using any oracle. my initial starting party was in a new region laying low from a failed coup attempt in a neighboring region, that was all I had for a really long time. Then a random event happened that caused a group of soldiers from that region to arrive. At that point I went ahead and mapped out what the other region was called, what their civil war was about, what role my party had played in it etc. Had that random event not occurred i probably would have just stuck with "my party are low level criminals who took part in a failed coup attempt" and left it at that unless something else forced me to expand upon it
>>98662217I know the frey dice is a really simple addition, but with a little fluff it really does create a dynamic main character feel to combat.>"As the Reaver and his hounds (name of lesser members of the slavers guild) aproach, Warwick calmly staightens his back and levels his pistol, the arrow fired at him hits for 0 damage, plinging off his breast plate, while Warwick's own cracking shot also goes askew, hitting a hound instead of the Reaver for 1 damage, slaying him.">"With that, combat starts in earnest, Warwick steadily holsters his pistol and cleanly draws his sword and dirk from their scabbards, launching himself at the nearest dregs. The first swip of the sword misses, but his off-hand dagger however buries itself in the hound's chest slaying the ruffian. Warwick swiftly recovers from his lunge and strikes at another foe with a moulinet, which slices cleanly through 2 more of their numbers. In response, the 4 remaining hounds attack back desperately. Warwick deflects 1 each with doth sword and dagger, but a slice and a punch manage to connect for 2 damage total. The Boss Reaver takes his turn and Warwick manages to duck out of the way of his heavy stroke..."
Do you have a system for generating reactions or dialogue?
>>98664393>STAwhat dis?>>98665225>Barbarians of the void is that a sci-fi version of barbarians of lemuria? I could see that with the career system.
>>98677215Star Trek Adventures.
>>98677215>is that a sci-fi version of barbarians of lemuria?Yes.I'm reading through it at the moment.
>>98675920Let's Talk! by Ravenpie has a dialogue system inspired by video game conversation wheels that uses cards. It can also be used with a more comprehensive social interaction system from the same author called Keeping Contact.Mythic Magazine 58 gives a lot of advice on generating dialogue as you play, with a scenario included that has you playing a radio host talking to call-ins.
>>98675920Let's Talk also has a sorta sequel called Keep Talking?https://ucmeumm.blogspot.com/2022/11/lets-talk-standalone-npc-dialogue.html?m=1https://ucmeumm.blogspot.com/2025/06/keep-talking-another-dialogue-social.html?m=1
>>98679398>>98681037These are great, thanks.
I'm planning on doing something Stargate/GATE like with the Forgotten Ruin book from Modiphius. Being primarily a solowargame it's a bit light on the non-combat aspects(which is fine since I'm new to journaling), but are there any faction/basebuilding rulesets you guys would recommend to bolt on top of it as time goes on?
>>98681056Oh, neat. I didn't realise LT got a 'sequel'/evolution. Turns out not being a lurker pays off sometimes.
Got anything for generating memories to build on, like Nechronica's memory fragments? I could probably just use a theme oracle, but I'm wondering if there's anything more evocative out there.
>>98662217On the Entrance to Xitaqa:It is wonderous how such grand a settlement is punctuated by so low an inhabitants and so majestic a surrounding. What we came across turning round a great ridge was nothing less then splendorous, an edifice to the potential of creation. Art that in some respects became even more artful with the passing of ages. Where moss and the weathering of time granted subtle shape and accent to intelligently crafted design. From grand bronze pillars to to the smallest tile depicting a small child at play, all of it was resounding in time far past their assured initial intent. But in this holy ground those that currently call it home have no sense of reverence, immaculate statue turned into troughs for great slave-apes, and finely aged mahoganies turned to simple fire wood. If they only knew what they had they would revere it instead of consume it. But then again, I am being too hasty, the needs of now necessarily outweigh the art of then. Even if it is for the needs of simple and crude goblins. There is still a form of artistry of a statue turned into a sup of nourishment, and the work of master woodcarvers turned to the most primal need of warmth. I may have preferred it to stay sterile for posterity, and even though it is my enemies who despoil it, there is meaning in this too.I shall save what I can, but also appreciate the passing of things as well. For what is man if not the confluence of past and present streaming into the future?~Warwick, daily musings
>>98667543It's done through exposition.
>>98665225I would imagine that vehicles and starships would be toughest to implement. As long as you keep a pulpy tone whatever works with the BoL framework in general.
>>98667543Have something broad strokes in mind, then start in situ and have the details solidify as they appear 'on screen'.Kind of 'rule of TV series' rules basically, until it's on screen it's a generality and flexible.
>>98667543Let the setting imply the backstory.
Are there other game except Ironsworn and Scarlet Heroes that work exceptionally well with a single PC?
>>98693027Exemplars & Eidolons, Godbound, most OSR games combined with Black Streams: Solo Heroes
I really like Triple-O's Obvious, Option, Obscure roll. It solves the problem with fate questions resulting in branching No over and over. It's a good expectation check. Juice's expectation check is too complicated, too many outcomes. Often for the odd option I don't even fill it in, I just say "something odd" and will roll for meaning if it happens. Meaning you can resolve most fate questions with a single roll most of the time without getting the parade of No rolls.
>>98693027Magoc World (and the out of print Stormbringer RPG it is based on) have decent heroic character rules.
>>98697278I really like Triple-O for this very reason too.
I like how swingy Ironsworn et al is with the 1d6 vs. 2d10, but I would love something a bit more generic/general purpose like FATE. Has anybody tried or had success with taking that 1d6 vs. 2d10 resolution system but adjusting the outcome after the fact by spending some analogue of FATE points? I guess you could also do something like tags from City of Mist but I'm less familiar with that.
Damn, there has been 69 of these.
>>98702636yeah, it has been some time...
>>98702636what is even in these beyond just another repeated list of d100 words? how do make more lists of things and roll on them? he straight up says he does all this stuff in his head and doesn't even write anything down.
>>98702703Ideas and new mechanics, like>>98679398
Are there any good charts/toolkits to generate modern cities?
>>98704867I like all of Kevin Crawford's work.Look up Cities without Number. It's cyberpunk, but it's eerily accurate to our real life hellscape.
>>98704867Never played it but Cities Without Number is probably a good choice
>>98704867It's not "modern" but cyberpunkish, but "Augmented Reality" is cool.But if you are looking for "contemporary" cities, just grab some google map and filter it through snazzymaps dot com or similar.
>>98705024Also procedural city generator by probabletrain
I started ACTUALLY keeping track of my time rather than just estimating or ballparking how long I think things take. HOLY FUCK! I didn't realize how much time an adventurer spends just exploring a dungeon or doing general maintenance sort of stuff. I've been in a small, 5 room dungeon for like 3 in-game hours!
>>98694837>Scarlet Heroes beta test>Scarlet Heroes Epic leveland >The quick reference page from Scarlet HeroesDamn, Kevin Crawford really did just make the best solo RPG of all time, didn't he?
>>98705112Pretty much, I haven't seen a single game that outmatches it as a lone adventurer RPG and it is from goddamn 12 years ago when solo play was ultra niche.
>>98705256>Compatible with all 50 years of OSR and NuSR content>Quick conversion for all modern content for D&D. 3e, 4e, 5e and Pathfinder are all able to be converted with minor tweaks>Comes with tons of tables, oracles, and generators>Ends at 10th level... OH WAIT! Just kidding! An Echo Resounding is a whole additional tier of play, if you want to play domain play>Ends at 20th level... GOT YOU AGAIN! You can convert your character over to Godbound and continue playing as a demi-god>Has lewd fan-made material made for it>You can go download the entire B/X and BECMI library library of adventures for it RIGHT NOW and you'd be set for life on solo adventures>You can go download every BFRPG adventure RIGHT NOW and you'd be set for years on solo adventures>Has it's own Dungeon generation and Appendix A equivalent>Print a hex-grid and download Sandbox Generator and with those two books alone you have infinite game sessions>All of KC's other works like "X" Without Number, Silent Legions, and Other Dust are all compatible with it if you just convert the modifiersTruly the fucking GOAT
>>98705323The only mention I can find of that specific supplement in the pic is a different thread and someone asking where it is and if its real. Any chance any of you have it?
>>9870608099% sure it's AI
>>98706385The pic for sure yes but the rules may yet be real? I know theres several scarlet herofags in the lewd thread
>>98706080https://catbox.to/9Lo77c4JQTRYkAq/fileEnjoy!
Followed the fresh drama in /osrg/ to r/osrthe drama is pretty stale but I stumbled on this party-sheet for solo play which I really like.PSyou don't need to go to reddit to get itit's a BFRPG thing and is shared on the BFRPG workshop forum
Any ideas on how to implement some sort of time limit mechanic for a mostly freeform campaign in D&D? I was thinking of choosing who the final boss to defeat will be, if he is not defeated before that point catastrophic events will start to happen, he can still be defeated after that but it will be a lot more difficult.
>>98708567>Preview won't openThis is fake as fuck, isn't it?
>>98709518>deadline after X in game days limits the scope of the game>deadline is a real world date, to encourage yourself to play or force yourself to move on if you end up not into it>takes X steps, which may randomly happen based on a daily roll, means you don't know how long you have to get your shit together
>>98709587I think i'll probably stick to a in-game day limit, now that i think about it i could put another, less impactful time limit that would trigger before that big one to test if i can get the timings right.
>solo rpgNigga isnt this just called "your imagination"
>>98705055I take scenes as of 10 minutes long each approximately, how do you do it?
>>98708567>>98709582It's real. Surprising lack of using Fray Die or the damage filter conversion for a Scarlet Heroes brew, but that just makes it easier to slot into other Sine Nomine games.>>98709501Good find.
>>98708567>page errors outIt's fake
>>98709724with dice
>>98712311Also character sheets.
>>98709724It honestly feels like you're playing a ttrpg normally but with/against GOD who keeps throwing funny table rolls at you
do yall play digital or physical? I always get overwhelmed of just starting to play and overthing this decision.
>>98713130Real physical dice because it feels good in the hand. My books are on a nice big tablet. I keep notes on lined sheets of paper written with a 0.08 inch (2 mm), Drafting Mechanical Pencil.
>>98713153nice. I'm thinking on doing a hybrid setup. Use my text editor to keep notes using lonelog format but keep rolls and rulebooks physical.
>>98713163Yeah that should work nicely. I personally try to do as little writing as possible.
>>98713130I do mostly everything analogue now. I keep a physical set of notebooks and order any external materials online. And I live close to a place that prints stuff for cheap, so I go there to print character sheets/tracking sheets/smaller booklets.
>>98713130Mostly physical. Got some dollar store supplies and keep everything in a dollar store courier bag. I use some digital book resources but also have some physical shit but need to get my printer working if i want my zanier supplements in a physical form. I have no standing to tell you to just start as I put off starting for-goddamn-ever and tend to have spells of not playing that last a long time, but my best advice is to find or make a good setting up. I have a lot of fun using stuff like ironsworns tables or sandbox generator to make up a place with factions and relations where conflicts and interactions make sense, or using a setting like Night City from cyberpunk and just putting a character in the middle of a situation to see where it goes. Once I get going I can fill a whole notebook with my playnotes so hoping you get the same level of fun.
I'm using the new free deepseek raw, for some Barbarians of Lemuria solo run, and it is providing more than good enough output so far. I instructed it to leave me the dice rolls and it is working so far.Months ago it wasn't this good, and I'm using the free tier stuff, holy Thongor.
