TQ: I like shortish and simple backstories myself, with few family members and relevant relationships on top of it.

>>98662217
The 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

>>98662217
I keep it very, very brief, but expand it in play through dialogue with NPCs, flashbacks, etc.

>>98662849
Depends on your system and setting. An Echo Resounding is a good start. There might be better options out there.

>>98662217
TQ : 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 void

Can 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

>>98662217
How exactly do you guys go about learning a backstory without writing one, like it coming up in play?

>>98662849
I can second An Echo Resounding, and also look into BattleAxe.

>>98664290
>>98667889
I 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?

>>98668417
Yes! 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...

>>98669328
Basically, 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
>>98669341
Thanks, anon! I really like the sound of that.

>>98667543
its 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

File: image1 (1).jpg (40 KB, 372x619)

40 KB JPG

>>98662217
I 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
>STA
what dis?
>>98665225
>Barbarians of the void
is that a sci-fi version of barbarians of lemuria? I could see that with the career system.

>>98677215
Star Trek Adventures.

>>98677215
>is that a sci-fi version of barbarians of lemuria?
Yes.
I'm reading through it at the moment.

>>98675920
Let'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.

>>98675920
Let's Talk also has a sorta sequel called Keep Talking?
https://ucmeumm.blogspot.com/2022/11/lets-talk-standalone-npc-dialogue.html?m=1
https://ucmeumm.blogspot.com/2025/06/keep-talking-another-dialogue-social.html?m=1

>>98679398
>>98681037
These 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?

File: nyc.jpg (587 KB, 1800x1271)

587 KB JPG

>>98681056
Oh, 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.

File: Xitaqa.png (2.02 MB, 1548x1035)

2.02 MB PNG

>>98662217
On 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

>>98667543
It's done through exposition.

>>98665225
I 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.

>>98667543
Have 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.

>>98667543
Let the setting imply the backstory.

Are there other game except Ironsworn and Scarlet Heroes that work exceptionally well with a single PC?

>>98693027
Exemplars & 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.

>>98693027
Magoc World (and the out of print Stormbringer RPG it is based on) have decent heroic character rules.

>>98697278
I 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.

File: file.jpg (424 KB, 900x1165)

424 KB JPG

Damn, there has been 69 of these.

>>98702636
yeah, it has been some time...

>>98702636
what 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.

>>98702703
Ideas and new mechanics, like
>>98679398

Are there any good charts/toolkits to generate modern cities?

>>98704867
I 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.

>>98704867
Never played it but Cities Without Number is probably a good choice

>>98704867
It'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.

>>98705024
Also 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 level
and
>The quick reference page from Scarlet Heroes

Damn, Kevin Crawford really did just make the best solo RPG of all time, didn't he?

>>98705112
Pretty 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.

File: Sex, Stress, and Harems.png (3.02 MB, 1024x1536)

3.02 MB PNG

>>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 modifiers

Truly the fucking GOAT

>>98705323
The 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?

>>98706080
99% sure it's AI

>>98706385
The pic for sure yes but the rules may yet be real? I know theres several scarlet herofags in the lewd thread

>>98706080
https://catbox.to/9Lo77c4JQTRYkAq/file

Enjoy!

File: file.png (377 KB, 1200x848)

377 KB PNG

Followed the fresh drama in /osrg/ to r/osr
the drama is pretty stale but I stumbled on this party-sheet for solo play which I really like.

PS
you don't need to go to reddit to get it
it'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 open
This 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

>>98709587
I 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 rpg

Nigga isnt this just called "your imagination"

>>98705055
I take scenes as of 10 minutes long each approximately, how do you do it?

File: 1463198135815.png (6 KB, 220x184)

6 KB PNG

>>98708567
>>98709582
It'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.

>>98709501
Good find.

>>98708567
>page errors out
It's fake

>>98709724
with dice

>>98712311
Also character sheets.

>>98709724
It 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.

>>98713130
Real 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.

>>98713153
nice. I'm thinking on doing a hybrid setup. Use my text editor to keep notes using lonelog format but keep rolls and rulebooks physical.

>>98713163
Yeah that should work nicely. I personally try to do as little writing as possible.

>>98713130
I 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.

>>98713130
Mostly 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.

File: Lemuria.jpg (378 KB, 827x1169)

378 KB JPG

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.

Question for scarlet heros fags.

How are you suposed to manage your offensive DPS when you are solo against a high hit die creature? The frey die does great to balance solo out when you are around mooks, but when its just a single big minotaur, it can seem like a long time to down something and its just a big long slugging match.

Ive had a small party of npcs, so its ok, but it would seem weird without it.

File: Screenshot 2026-09-23 125508.png (1.48 MB, 1200x895)

1.48 MB PNG

>>98713130
I find writing physical does a good job at helping me pace shit as well as being relatively succinct and deliberate with my writing. I can type fast so I can find myself writing a whole bunch of boring faf when I dont have to worry about my hand getting sore.

Though funnily, I have no qualms about electronic dice rolls and I just use the normal google one a lot. I tend to have resources on one side of my laptop screen, dice roller on the other, than the actual log in paper.

>>98720365
I think it is kinda point of the system that fray dice makes busywork fights trivial and makes dying to simply bandits and such more unlikely, but keeps fighting big boys a bit stressful (by super exciting back and forth slugging).

>>98720390
Sweet rag, is that cotton?

>>98705323
Links to the fan suppliments?

>>98722694
>>98708567
>>98714544
>>98717705
Pick a link and pray.

>>98713103
"God does not roll on tables." - Albert Einstein

Interpretation really is the best way to play. Being creative with no input is just too hard.

>>98724219
He don't roll, He merely seems to pick what result is funny, inconvenient, or ironic all the fucking time

File: magic eight ball.jpg (18 KB, 300x360)

18 KB JPG

Could it function as an oracle?

>>98729185
isn't there just a D20 inside?

>>98729185
I actually purchased one of these for that express purpose. It works pretty well for yes or no answers.

>>98729185
It answered you, it says: Maybe

File: file.jpg (25 KB, 516x387)

25 KB JPG

he is literally me when I play solo rpgs

File: IMG_2024.jpg (1.32 MB, 1290x1925)

1.32 MB JPG

>>98733685
I feel closer to Robert E Howard when soloing as I wanna either be a goddamn conquering barbarian or I wanna kill myself

>>98729185
If the oracle is high out of her mind and gives more useless answers than useful ones.
>Dude, what if we like, just tried again later.

any particularly elegant way to do a fast forward that will take into account possible pitfalls arising? im constructing a fortified position and currently gathering materials for another 10 days or so and then theres going to be 10 or 15 days of building. I've split the party to have my ranger and thief explore the surrounding hexes a few times but that seems kind of risky. should i just roll a d100 every day and assign some potential complications to 1-10?

>>98734844
Depending on what sort of oracle you have, you could just ask it, "Does anything happen in the downtime?" And if so, roll on a wordbank or idea generator oracle to give you a general idea of what happened.

File: Screenshot 2026-09-26 133759.png (1.96 MB, 871x1240)

1.96 MB PNG

>>98662217
Anyone else do something specific when they want to cover something, but want to cover it fast?

I especially do this with travel, because I want to FEEL like I am moving between places instead of teleporting, but I still dont want to be slogged down with random encounters and stuff. Instead I often make travel a series of skill checks with consequence and benifits for failing and succeding. This make travel feel real without it being a pain. In this instance, going from a ruin back to a settlement there was 3 encounter:

>1: goblins set up an ambush, my party ranger does not recognize it because he was gauking at some relics he found. Instead of full combat, I decided that the goblins where seen off, but there was lose of supplies and help and hte person we are gaurding lost a bit of faith in us

>2: Got to a river we needed to cross. THe person we are gaurding was injured, so or normal route of wading through a ford could be risky. Ranger decided to use a healing spell to make him well enough to cross the ford without issue. The person was slightly more confident in us, +1 moral

>Fog came in along with our supply stores getting light. Set up camp, fighter chopped wood, ranger and thief went out to hunt. It was a tricker roll because of the mist, but it was successful and we bagged a dear, giving us extra supplies and seeing us through the night.

That was enough mental content to FEEL like a trip, but not so much that it took multiple sessions to do. Just one bout of like 15 minutes.

>>98669328
>>98669341
One thing I found hard was converting, or trying to figure out where to do each of scarlet heroes 2d8 system and xwn 2d6 system.

>>98734844
you could do this >>98735770 cut it up into x number os skill checks to see what complications or successes occur. its relatively quick, but feels like it covers way more time than it actually does. Id say do 3-4 checks to see what happens with the construction.

>>98735785
In that event, just choose one or the other to use the entire playthrough. Write yourself a conversion table doing basic math to try and figure out where 2d8 and 2d6 line up.
Personally, I've been using 2d8 from SH so long that I kind of refuse to use anything else now. :\

Here's a quick guide that I just made for you!

2d6 > 2d8
--------------
2 = 2
3 = 5
7 = 9
9 = 11
12 = 16

Difficulties (Comparing an RPG system I found with 2d6 vs Scarlet Heroes that uses 2d8)

Difficulty 2d6 > 2d8
--------------------------
Simple 4+ = 9
Average 6+ = 11
Hard 8+ = 13
Extreme 10+ = 15
Epic 12+ = 17

You will have to take some time and consideration regarding attribute modifiers and stuff like that, but part of this can be taken care of by just making plans early in the campaign to use a specific skill check resolution system over another. I hope this helps!

>>98693027
I dunno about exceptional, but I really like Dragonbane. Easy enemy stats, monster attack roll tables, good character customization, got skills and abilities, armour is just damage reduction, relativity static hp - so no hp bloat, easy to tweak the system. While I like the mana pool, and that you use that for both spells and abilities, I do find the magic a little lacking, but I haven't read the relativity new book of magic. And magic items and such is very lacking, at least in the core book.

But I really like some sort of skills in my system, that tells me what my character is good and bad at, and if I had a different character I world approach the same situation in a different manner. Without number 2d6 skill system seems great though, and I would try and add that if I were to run something osr. Not a fan of roll under attribute

File: Chuck_Palahniuk_(21962)_((...).jpg (258 KB, 960x1280)

258 KB JPG

>>98733685
>>98733894
I always end up feeling like I'm stuck in one of this assholes works

>>98736254
Now THAT is rough for your characters. Granted, I've only read two of his books but both were a BIT dark and stranger than expected.

I fucking hate journaling games so goddamn much.

>>98737001
They are pretty gay.

People that play in groups have to deal with theater kid bullshit, I feel like journaling games are our version of theater kid bullshit.

>>98737001
Never tried one myself. What's the appeal of giving yourself a writing assignment?

>>98737001
I think they're fine as short campaigns or to flesh out concepts but I was also that kid who could daydream for like over an hour straight during car trips.

S1E8 - 'tug of war'

Our intrepid crew, you may remember, tookaback seat and let the crew crew have some away missions, scanning, charting exploring two ruined civilisations with a bunch of messy orbital architecture, two dead rogue planets, twins. our shuttle crew, eva's and landing parties went all in, and retrieved a tremendous wealth of data.

our command crew meet to find out what the shit.

some assholes came along, uplifted two species, who turned hostile to each other as soon as they learned of the others existence. our uplifters fucked off, for some reason, dissapointed with their project's failure.

dumbasses didn't have no prime directive, so they handed a bunch of primitives tech and then introduced them to their neighbours, each people's definition of hell and demons.

so they went to war and wiped each other out.

job done, our crew and ship go to leave.

both planets reach out to grab them with powerful tractors, to throw them at the other planet. give a primitive a replicator and he turns it into a fucking D-Mat cannon to kill his enemies. idiots.

so our valiant crew modulate the shields to resist the tractors (this is why you use tractors on unshielded targets) and throw the ship into full impulse to try and vroom vroom out of there.

and it works! our crew escape! huzzah! Captain K'Gann orders a warning buoy posted and reported to narendra so everyone can avoid the hazard.

Job done. Mission accomplished.

>>98737001
I'd rather play a PbtA clone than play a journaling game. There are so many solo rpgs with interesting premises ruined by being journaling games.

File: mounted crossbow.jpg (27 KB, 226x395)

27 KB JPG

>>98735875
Tabks! I will have to use it. I like the solo specific stuff of Scarlet heros, but I much prefer the thematic elements of Worlds without number with its mix of classic pulp fantasy and dying earth stuff, as well as its more adnd word simulationist project.

The hard part is deciding which system I want to do. Ive been using 2d8 mostly since the incremental skill advancement is easier to keep track of compared to the WWN's need to reach different amounts of advancement points per skill level.

I just find it hard combining systems because I forget what element of x I take from here and what element of y I take from there. just keeping it all straight, you know? And its hard to actually use wwn if I am just using the system of Scarlet heros and using a different world than WWN's.

>>98737001
>>98737443
I dont know about journaling games specificly as some kind of systemized thing, but I do enjoy journaling between sessions. I do stuff like this >>98683507

>>98739821
>I just find it hard combining systems because I forget what element of x I take from here and what element of y I take from there. just keeping it all straight, you know? And its hard to actually use wwn if I am just using the system of Scarlet heros and using a different world than WWN's.

When I first started doing solo I also had trouble with this. The things I found that helped were:
1.) Start keeping a reference sheet. Whenever you're referencing a book or rule system and it occurs to you that you might want to reference it again, write what book you're using and what page number. You'll make mistakes at first, but you'll get used to it and learn eventually, (Or you'll get to a point where you memorize all of your materials from various sources.)
2.) Try mixing up the medium of your rules sources. I keep rules I reference most often in physical books, setting stuff on a tablet, and stuff I'll only look at once or twice on my computer. This cements it in my brain as different things. Try different ways that will make it work out for you.

I love Scarlet Heroes, but I strongly dislike the Red Tides setting, (It's a fine setting, but it's just not my cup of tea. When I do oriental stuff I have my own setting that's kind of like Rokugan with more weeb shit.) But I've learned that you can largely ignore about a third of the book or recontextualize it to fit just about any medieval setting. I strongly just prefer generic medieval europe fantasyland with gonzo shit like robots and cat girls thrown in.

Also, I don't know if this pertains to you, but I oftentimes find myself getting hung up on specific details of my game (or it's world) that bother me to such a degree that I spend more time focusing on them than playing. For example, right now I am considering how I distribute XP to myself, and wondering if it's really consistent? But I can't let it stop me from just plowing ahead and killing orcs.

I really like PBTA rulesets. They're so easy to understand and play with.

>>98742592
I don't understand them.

>>98743249
It's like, pick a move and then follow instructions to determine the outcome. It's so simple.

>>98743309
>pick a move
Which one of the dozens available?
>follow instructions
This I can manage.
>determine the outcome
They don't seem to tell me much about the outcome though. I Succeed, Fail, or Succeed with Issues, but most moves are too abstract for success or failure to have obvious, specific meanings. Never mind what you do for weak hits.

>>98743420
Well, picking a move is up to you, depending on what your needs are as a player. The outcomes are always a statistical change. So you endure harm or suffer -1 supply or whatever. But there is a high level of abstraction happening so I see why you might be wondering what specifically is going on and that's why.

>>98743438
>picking a move is up to you
Do you see how that's not actually helpful guidance?
>The outcomes are always a statistical change
That's the opposite of what I've been told about Ironsworn specifically.

>>98743450
What is so difficult about deciding for yourself what to do?

>>98743459
I don't understand the structure well enough to make an informed choice. I could pick at random, but I doubt that would be helpful.

>>98743468
You know, I have some experience with other games too so that might be why I get it.

>>98743309
NTA but I thought moves are actually more like "triggers" where you can do anything you want in-universe, it's only when you do an action that falls under a move would the dice roll.

>>98743498
Oh yeah, that is how they frame it but I think of moves as inspiration for actions I can do. If you know what "top-down versus bottom up processing" is you'll understand the difference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlbPg4j7BGw
This looks cool for obsidian.

>>98743468
I think you're overthinking it like that one anon did a few months back

the problem with PbtA moves is they mash 3 entirely different mechanics into one list - you get normal skill checks, procedural stuff like foraging, and random special exceptions all dumped together in no order. then they give them all weird flavor names so you can't even tell what a move actually does just by looking at it.

like yeah, after playing for a while your brain just filters it out and you get used to the mess, but still, sheesh.

the one upside is the uniformity, like jamming every single procedure into 6-, 7-9, 10+ roll structure keeps things consistent, even if it definitely oversimplifies things sometimes.

>>98743495
Which brings me back to: the guidance provided is inadequate for me.
>>98743606
How do you propose I overcome my lack of understanding if not by thinking?

>>98743714
By not thinking too much, for starters.

This might be a stupid question, but can anyone recommend me any books or reading material getting the theory of building Oracles? My mind tells me to just pick a hundred words and assign numbers, but I feel like there's more to it then that.
I'm in the process of building a grand history simulator type of game, and I feel like good oracles will make the difference between "The Kingdom of Buttstuffers rolled a major politic event and suffered -2 to internal stability." and "Sir Fagincourt the Strange has died without an heir, now the Earl of Fudgepacker has laid claim to his titles, leading to a succession crisis that could plunge the kingdom into civil war."
Really though, I've been reading a bunch of old and not so old wargaming books to mine for content, and it's been entertaining seeing how different people think. So I was hoping to find similar for solo rpgs.
Now I continue my quest to read the Pendraken rpg.

>>98743746
This is a very good question. I've never seen anything out there that discusses a good way to make wordbank oracles. I'll go take a look around and give it some consideration myself and if I find anything I'll reply.

You've got my noggin joggin this morning.

File: dragoon3.jpg (115 KB, 1024x559)

115 KB JPG

>>98739989
>Also, I don't know if this pertains to you, but I oftentimes find myself getting hung up on specific details of my game
yah, I know that feeling a lot.
Ive got hung up on what sort of xp I wanted to do too. I did want to make it more incremental than just 1 xp per session, but not as complex as determining specific values for every encounter and situation. I thought of just going .1 of a level for minor experiences, .3 of a level for major, but that kind of all fell through and I just kind of leveled up when it felt right.

However, what REALLY hangs me up is trying to get a sense of my character. Often times I kind of know what he will do in a moment, but sometimes I just completely forget his personality, and when I sit down to try and explicitate it, it always feels off. I spent way too much time trying to come up with a snappy "Personality-occupation-goal" for him that never seems to fit.

He is kind of refined, but also practical, but also likes to do shit that has some kind of poetic irony or entertainment value to it. I want him to be some kind of light cavalryman, a coustillier, hussar, or outrider, good with a blade and decent at outdoorsman tasks, though I also want him to be a scholar fascinated by the deeper meanings of the things he encounters, since I also write in universe essays musing about the nature of things and want him to be able to decode things.Though I also did want him to have a hint of magic And his goals are all over the place, like I said he is in part in it just for the raw amusement of adventure, but he is also in it to document the lost and forgotten things in the world, but I also want him to be a bit proactive and actually use those lost things, not just preserve them, though I also had the idea of him trying to find a certain lost civilization that his mentor was obsessed with.

Maybe that is all too much to consider for a pulp style ad&d style adventure, but those are some of the hooks I want to FEEL when I am playing.

>>98743940
I doubt there is anything, and if there was I wouldn't trust it. It seems far too niche, too personal, and too subjective to generate more than an "I reckon". I for one prefer more specific words with more abstract associations rather than just abstract words, like "spine" over "resolve".

I'm a complete newfag with zero TTRPG experience and trying to learn how to play solo is really overwhelming me. Is there an easy way to solo play just basic premade dungeons without spoiling everything until I at least have a decent understanding of what I'm supposed to do

>>98743940
it's craft, not theory. the first one (Mythic GME) was made through sheer autism. Tana Pigeon started with a list of 10k random words and just brute forced it down to the current tables by playing over and over. everything else out there is mostly just a remix of that list.

it's the same with the math and pacing. basically everything is just ripped from AD&D 1e tables. the exact same d6 spreads pop up everywhere (1-3 nothing, 4-5 monster, 6 trap/treasure), or how splitting a d6 into 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 is forcing a three-act structure: setup, complication, payoff.

the thing to keep in mind is that an oracle is really just a model of the underlying world. you can build them pointing inwards (character beliefs, feelings) or outwards (external pressures, goals). then you test it, either through self play, or by reading a story and checking if your tables could have generated that exact plot.

some nice articles on random tables:
https://www.bastionland.com/2022/12/100-ways-to-write-100-things.html
https://www.bastionland.com/2025/11/ludum-ex-ludo.html

>>98744932
Four Against Darkness

>>98744932
Two recommendations for you:
1.) Like this anon said, >>98744968 Four Against Darkness is a great start. It's very fun, it teaches you the very basic stuff for running OSR style solo games (Which in my experience are the best ones,) and it has a lot of content. It almost feels like a board game at first.

2.) Don't be afraid of "Spoiling" things for yourself. Just keep trying, playing, and reading. Try to create a degree of abstraction between yourself and the character. Before you make certain actions, ask yourself if it's information your character would know. Be fair and reasonable with your character. If the answer is "I don't know", then ask an oracle or create a quick mechanic, (For example, if a dungeon layout says that there's a secret room behind a wall, I now know that as a player. But I don't think it's fair or fun for my character to just automatically know where every secret door is. So, I allow my character one Perception check whenever he passes through that room, and if he fails he misses out on treasure.)

Just keep trying, consider different methods of play and different mechanics you can implement to keep the game fun, and give Four Against Darkness a try.

File: images (16).jpg (35 KB, 516x387)

35 KB JPG

>>98744932
My recommendation is to start by playing an IRL game first (or online with others).

RPGS can be SUPER intimidating to even interpret how you are supposed to do things as a whole without someone holding your hand through it to begin with. Its like learning a new board game on steroids without someone who knows how to play it. So Play some game with a group first, get a sense of how game dynamics generally play out, then apply those tendencies to solo.

you can try raw dogging in. But from personal experience it is SO much harder that way.

>>98744932
I agree with 4AD, or similar board game style games. That is there are strict rules you can just follow with no need for creativity. Once you're familiar with the rules look up inspiration tables to add flavour to what's going on, like environmental details. Then try taking that flavouring and see where it makes sense for it to affect the rules. Then you can swap out the rules for a "proper" RPG, and you're away.

Is that one anon still working on the html Solo Toolkit thing?

>>98746313
Yes, I just haven't gotten around to uploading it to Git. Or anything that isn't Gdrive. (I would upload it to Dropbox). Current version is 2.3.4. Working on a tool to publish wiki pages as a standalone HTML file.

>>98746955
I appreciate the effort.

>>98744932
Just buy the Mythic GM Emulator. The procedure to play is very easy. Would you like to know more?

>>98744803
>>98744968
Yeah, I didn't expect to find much if anything, solo rpgs are a completely different autism then wargame design afterall. What I should proably do is just use Mythic in my initial testing to see what works and what doesn't, and build out my own tables from there.

>>98744968
>>98743940
I think there is SOME theory too it. If you just start writing results for a d100 table you are probably going to skew your results some way or another, predilection for positive or negative words, words for bright things, rough things, etc.

I think having some soft guidelines like "Try to make tables that have roughly well distributed senses of meaning" is a good practice. At least for general use, if you are going for a darker world, a higher proportion of darker terms make sense. I was actually unsatisfied with some tables because it felt like they missed out on some major personality groups.

>>98749797
trying to map out cause vs effect, gradients and opposites, abstract free association vs concrete stuff, semantic distance so your words don't clump together, what's just mood fluff vs what actually drives the plot

for me, analyzing it too much is like learning how a magic trick works, kinda ruins the illusion. i usually just end up treating them like scrapbooks, dumping whatever cool ideas i want to see in a game into a list and rolling with it.

>>98743940
I remember "the cut up method". You take a book in the genre you want and then run it through a program to give you snippets of text. Don't remember if it was very effective but give it a shot if you like.

>>98662217
Planning on making an oracle to go with one of my systems. What exactly do you guys look for in oracles besides being attached to a lot of tables?

>>98749797
Yeah, it's complicated because I need it to cover political shenanigans as well as the personal lives of the faction leaders. Like, on my first generator test, I ended up with selfish xenophobe faction, with a lustful xenophile leader, and there's so many scandals and other shit that could come out of that.
>>98749797
I actually like knowing how things work, seeing skill, ingenuity and effort are way more impressive to me then seeing a playing card disappear.
>>98755554
You know, I've never read much political intrigue or thrillers. I was always more into the military side of things. Maybe I should watch West Wing, or that one with the retarded hornet drivers. Although now you have me wondering what would happen if you fed all of Clancy's novels into one of those word cloud things.

File: kw0kge3e3bh41.jpg (50 KB, 720x546)

50 KB JPG

What crunchy/simulationist system should I run solo? What should I do for the setting? Roll/randomly-generate a starting area, or use an existing fictional world?

>>98758245
GURPS; Pick a historical period. That way you get to learn something and play. Make ample use of online recourses to answer factual questions. I recommend Roman times.

>>98758245
I've been flipping through Mythras recently, you could always supplement that with some of the rules in BRP for some crunch. I've been thinking about running a Norse/Viking horror game using the system in time for HWeen.

Man I Love MGME

Are there any good prewritten adventures you've played?

>>98763214
Me too, such a great tool, not only for solo, but for GMing and more.

File: the fomorian.png (860 KB, 1097x725)

860 KB PNG

>>98765655
I was learning Everywhen / Space Pulp, so I did The Fomorian.

>>98766408
Oh cool, this is new to me.

I used to play in groups but that was over a decade ago. What system is available that most closely resembles group play? If none exists, ideas for doing so?

>>98770677
PC simulating?

>>98770677
There are pc emulators that might give some degree of group play dynamic. you roll to see if they act on one, trait, another, or most tactically apparent. that sort of stuff.

Would you roleplay with an AI agent?

>>98774254
They are becoming good lately for SFW interactions. Local models coming next.

>>98774522
Yeah I saw a video on "Human Interaction Models" and it got me excited about its application to roleplaying.

>>98774254
No.

What do y’all use for domain play, I’ve hearing people talk about it and the thought of going from 0 to ruling a kingdom sounds cool as fuck. I just have no idea where to start.

>>98775371
Fantasy setting or something else and do you want a bit of a classic D&D feel or to avoid that?

>>98775380
Anything fantasy like, I’m pretty neutral about classic d&d so throw it at me I don’t mind.

>>98775401
ACKS is pretty much designed around the Conan arc.
It's literally in the name, Adventurer, Conqueror, King as the three scale levels you work through in your rise to command of a Kingdom.

It's also a very solid system in and of itself with plenty of customizability built in.
There is, however, an autist on the board who has a wobbly any time it's mentioned so expect him to turn up now I've mentioned it

>>98775419
Thanks bro, I love the Conan aesthetic I’m gonna give it a look.

>>98775478
Check out the Heroic Handbook as well then, that's outright 'How to run a Conan-esq setting using ACKS'
Not saying you can yar-har them fairly easily, but they're out there.

>>98775419
Scarlet herofag, would I be able to plug ACKS domain play into the system or is there supplements out there for that?

>>98776677
>>98669328
>An Echo Resounding

>>98776677
>would I be able to plug ACKS domain play into the system or is there supplements out there for that?
>An Echo Resounding
NTA, but keep in mind that, while ACKS domain system is really good, it's also really crunchy, while the Echo's one is more light, but less realistic.
Pick your poison.

>>98776677
Scarlet Heroes operates on a B/X chassis. You could take other supplements that are OSR compatible. On Itch.io alone there's
>Demesnes & Domination
>Death Tax (made by Hexhunt anon?)
>Domain Rules
>Domains & Dominions

>>98775419
TBF, there was one guy who was obsessed with it and jerk it off to infinity any chance he could get even if it was unrelated or didn't fit.

And I say this as someone who likes aspects of ACKS

>>98778790
Disagree. I think there's a handful of people who are interested in it and think it's good, but in usual 4chan fashion having some retard screeching about something any time it comes up tends to make people dig their heels in.
I could be wrong though, if you've got any examples from the archives I'm curious to see them.
Maybe because some of them might be me, I've 100% played up the 'Suck a cock, ACKS is God-King of the universe' angle in the past so spite the village idiot.

>>98774254
i'm actually super pro-AI in general, i might feed it an oracle roll and ask it to interpret my situation if i'm totally stuck, but that's the absolute limit.

solo ttrpgs are a deeply intimate, personal thing for me. it's my main outlet for creativity and self discovery. i know having an ai run things could make the process easier, but solo play is the one last thing in the world where i absolutely do not want anyone (biological or artificial) interfering with my game. it's my space, and i don't want to ruin that.

right. i have a ToC for a Filthy Clanner Scum outfit made up of all the cool shit clanner me hs i have and their most nasty, fucking evil variants.
like shadowcat T's (6/9/6 CUAC10 carriers) and timber wolf F's, and an S. these Cock Falcons of green chickenfaggots will be ACES automated Opfor losers for our glorious raide- Inner Sphere liberators to destroy.


Opposing them is a force made up of every cool as shit IS mini I have, in their most deadly forms. turn about is fair play after all. so crusader 10s, banshee 12s, zeus 11s, along with hatamoto chi 30T and suchlike. this 'stomping circus' of mechs is from a wide, disparte sources of origins, all come together to smash clanner scum flat. because lyrans, suns and dracs and mercs all hate the filthy clanner scums

File: ilikeyourfunnywords.gif (299 KB, 640x630)

299 KB GIF

>>98783178

Boy my dice sure do love landing on social injustice plot points for my supposedly comfy game.

>>98783280
glorious inner sphere liberators

https://mekbay.com/?gs=as&units=Remember+Tukayyid+II%3Bcommand-lance%7EBMBlackKnight_BL18KNT%3A3%2CBMBattleMaster_C3%3A3%2CBMHighlander_HGN732%3A3%2CBMHighlander_HGN740%3A3%2CBMMarauder_MAD2T%3A3%2CBMBlackjack_C%3A3%7CIron+Fist+II%3Bheavy-battle-lance%7EBMBanshee_BNC12S%3A3%2CBMZeus_ZEU11S%3A3%2CBMWarhammer_WHM7S%3A3%2CBMThunderbolt_TDR7S%3A3%2CBMThunderbolt_TDR10SE%3A3%2CBMAxman_AXM5R%3A3%7CLoxley%27s+Lot+II%3Bfire-support-lance%7EBMArcher_Wolf%3A3%2CBMArcher_C2%3A3%2CBMArcher_ARC4M2%3A3%2CBMCatapult_CPLTC5A%3A3%2CBMCrusader_CRD10S%3A3%2CBMRifleman_C3%3A3%7CWilderness+Rangers%3Branger-lance%7EBMGriffin_GRF2N%3A3%2CBMHunchback_C%3A3%2CBMNightsky_NGS7S%3A3%2CBMHatchetman_HCT8S%3A3%7CStorm+Dragons%3Bheavy-battle-lance%7EBMWarhammer_WHM10K%3A3%2CBMWarhammer_WHM9K%3A3%2CBMHatamotoChi_HTM30T%3A3%2CBMThug_THG11E%3A3%7CSuns+of+Liberty%3Bbattle-lance%7EBMVictor_VTR12D%3A3%2CBMCataphract_CTF5LL%3A3%2CBMCenturion_CN10D%3A3%2CBMEnforcer_ENF5R%3A3&name=Gunther%27s+Stomping+Museum&factionId=34


Retarded Filthy Clanner Scum

https://mekbay.com/?gs=as&units=OiC+and+XO%7EBMGladiator_T%3A3%2CBMLokiMkII_T%3A3%7CAlpha+Star%3Bheavy-battle-lance%7EBMThor_H%3A3%2CBMThor_Prime%3A3%2CBMMadCat_S%3A3%2CBMShadowCat_T%3A3%2CBMShadowCat_T%3A3%7CBeta+Star%3Bfire-support-lance%7EBMMadCat_F%3A3%2CBMMadCat_F%3A3%2CBMMadCat_F%3A3%2CBMCougar_T%3A3%2CBMCougar_T%3A3%7CGamma+Star%3Bmedium-battle-lance%7EBMRyoken_T%3A3%2CBMRyoken_T%3A3%2CBMShadowCat_T%3A3%2CBMShadowCat_T%3A3%2CBMLoki_T%3A3&name=Fucking+Cock+Falcons&factionId=15

LCAF 'liberation' force as a seperate possible player faction.

https://mekbay.com/?gs=as&units=The+Baen+Sidhe%3Bheavy-battle-lance%7EBMBanshee_BNC12S%3A3%2CBMBanshee_BNC12S%3A3%2CBMBanshee_BNC12S%3A3%2CBMBanshee_BNC12S%3A3%7CSudden+Thunder%3Bheavy-battle-lance%7EBMThunderbolt_TDR10SE%3A3%2CBMThunderbolt_TDR10SE%3A3%2CBMThunderbolt_TDR10SE%3A3%2CBMThunderbolt_TDR10SE%3A3%7CNotre+Dame+Refectory%3Branger-lance%7EBMHunchback_C%3A3%2CBMHunchback_C%3A3%2CBMHunchback_C%3A3%2CBMHunchback_C%3A3%7CNight+Rangers%3Branger-lance%7EBMNightsky_NGS7S%3A3%2CBMNightsky_NGS7S%3A3%2CBMNightsky_NGS7S%3A3%2CBMNightsky_NGS7S%3A3%7CAngels+Falling%3Bfire-support-lance%7ECVLRMCarrier_C%3A3%2CCVLRMCarrier_C%3A3%2CCVLRMCarrier_C%3A3%2CCVLRMCarrier_C%3A3%2CCVLRMCarrier_C%3A3%2CCVLRMCarrier_C%3A3&name=09th+LCAF+Irregulars&factionId=34


OBVIOUSLY they won't all be fighting all at once etc.

there's a campaign doc with mission tracks and branches etc due to outcomes/decisions

>>98783350
what are those links to?

>>98785112
Mekbay force orgs. Record sheets, formations, as cards, the whole shebang, in clean format.

I chose just cool mechs for each side that I have the minis for.

For example, there is three archers in the museum one, because i have the steiner archer (srms), the kurita archer (large lasers) and some normal archers so that unit got the deadliest form of those sculpts. Namely the clantech C2 instead of the basic steiner archer and the (wolf) "unique" archer [fuck right off CGL, the mech is like 100 years old by the time of IlClan 3145, anyone with clantech production lines can make them]
And the archer 4m2, s8nce every other WYSIWYG archer to the base model loses something awful. Like the archer 7c... has a fucking IS XLFE.

The clanners get a whole bunch of T models because they're the newest iterations. Like standard shadowcat is fairly cheesy, 6/9/6 gauss rifle carrier with a pair of token cermlas as backup. But the T model is WYSIWYG, and has a CUAC10 with a pair of clan medium pulse lasers, making it a fucking harder hitting, nastier brawler.

Then you get just plain COOL shit, like the Hel (mechwarrior 4 loki/hellbringer) T. That's just plain mean. A streak 4 is backup to a pair of CUAC10 in the arms and a pair of heavi medium lasers. Plus targeting computer. And either masc or a supercharger? To allow you to zoom the 4/6 up to (8) every other turn so it's even, sporadically, as fast as the old helbringer (clan omni warhammer with all the armour of a doily, despite being a heavy mech)

This way I have a bunch of Cool units I can chuck onto the maps in this campaign.

And of course the clanners are Slade falcon scum, because the ACES cards for scouring sands have green bird commanders

>>98783290
Change oracles for some without social injustice stuff.

File: 927.png (134 KB, 700x615)

134 KB PNG

>>98787242
I'm using Adventure Crafter to generate quest seeds. There's hundreds of combinations, the chances of getting any one thing are statistically insignificant. Yet somehow I've gotten injustice 4 times in 5 quests. There is not a single other duplicate entry on my other quest seeds. And yes, I'm aware I can reroll entries I don't like.

>>98787729
Those are called "streaks" in probability and they happen sometimes. It means you are cursed with bad luck. Seek spiritual help.

>>98774254
I have, however there are many problems. It's a whole spectrum between zero AI and straight up roleplaying with an LLM.

I built a plugin that will generate me Triple-O tables in my text editor. This seems to be a good compromise. On demand AI generated tables. Triple-O is self-explanatory and the "Odd" keeps the LLM from getting stale.

>>98787729
In my small amount of Cyberpunk Singleplayer mode I swear I've rolled the FIST FIGHT beat 4 times. It's enough that I leveled up my little guy to be a martial arts specialist. But yeah, prayer is my only solution, though as stated earlier it probably just makes the rolls MORE ironic

>>98787729
Sounds like your character should notice the pattern, realize a single person is behind it and go hook them in the gabber.
Then any rolls of social injustice going forward are 'That one cult who keeps trying to start shit'

>>98787908
I am well aware I'm bad luck. My wife has lived in this neighborhood her whole life, but as soon as I move in all kids of stupid shit starts happening. Hell, this summer my father in law and I were putting up a storm door, and I got smacked in the head 3 times, they didn't get so much as brushed by a leaf.

>>98788384
My first quest was to rescue a villager attacked by monsters, I rolled to see how he reacted to her and got a crit fail, which in GURPS is basically "They will try and fuck you over in anyway possible." So I had him fuck off and leave my character to fight the monsters herself. I also forgot that mail doesn't work for crushing attacks. She's fine though.

>>98788386
That's what it's starting to build up to, I'm getting the feeling that my main quest to defeat the evil wizard is going to get swept aside while I fight the evil politician instead. I just wanted to be a dollar store brand Link and fight monsters, but then again I wouldn't be rolling dice if I wanted shit to be predictable.

>>98789392
>I'm getting the feeling that my main quest to defeat the evil wizard is going to get swept aside while I fight the evil politician instead.
Evil Wizard is corrupting the politicians by sending dark spirits to influence them with illusionary gold.
Little goblins whispering 'Make it gay and lame' into their ear 24/7

>>98790657
>Evil Wizard is corrupting the politicians
Least impressive magic in the world.

>>98790790
I don't know, it did give us one of the best villains in media:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBVfiThFL3g

>>98789392
>I rolled to see how he reacted to her and got a crit fail
That sucks. Randomness is a bummer sometimes. I wonder if there are systems where you don't roll for success.

>>98790657
Eh, that feels boring. Maybe the politician is the wizard. We'll see where it goes.

>>98793463
To be fair, the guy is a retired veteran of the last demon war, and suddenly a big titty blonde woman dressed in a Link halloween costume shows up saying "I'm from the government and I'm here to help!" I feel like the roll was justified. Also she's shit at diplomacy.

File: Screenshot 2026-10-07 145713.png (651 KB, 486x702)

651 KB PNG

>>98662217
How do you guys settle on a character? I always find myself redacting and slightly changing my character concept between and even sometimes during sessions.

One moment he is more of a fighty swashbuckling musketeer, the next moment he is more of a forest wise sneaky ranger, the next moment he is a cultured archeologist studying ruins.

I guess having a multi-dimensional character is fine, but it does seem like I don't have a clear solid picture of him and he just becomes whatever dynamic I am interested in NOW and he's become a bit too "can do anything" but at the same time "not uniquely anything".

>>98795894
My biggest hurdle is that I change my interest in what character I want to play. One month it's a musketeer, the next months it's a sword and board knight, and then I want to play something mage-y. I really wish I could stick with one character for longer

>>98795894
>How do you guys settle on a character?
Start with two simple, clear base concepts, real archetypal shit that aren't in the same sphere.
Two things that really grabs you by the balls and won't let go easily while also being able to drive the story going forward.
Then combine them to make your basic character pitch.

That way whenever thing A gets a bit overplayed you can lean into B for a bit and reverse.

Two is the minimum, three is optimal since it lets you cycle between them and have opposing ideas contained within the same character without them constantly contradicting each other/being at war.
Four is usually too much since it dilutes the characters centre unless you've got at least one pair that are strongly at odds with each other.

File: MV5BZWViOTc4MzYtZTY1Yi00Z(...).jpg (305 KB, 1920x1080)

305 KB JPG

>>98796551
I did try to marry an idea to a core concept and maybe that will work.

My current idea is that he is torn between two worlds, his father was an ennobled scout who did some great thing for his lord, a Sharpe type, but as his son, He got the advantage of a noble's education, and particularly enjoyed it, but his family tradition is one of boot slogging scouting. However, he doesn't quite "Fit" in either world. Not naturally attuned to courtly niceties, but also too snobbish to fit in to dingy bars.

Im using Scarlet Heroes mostly so I am thinking of giving him the two traits "scouting tradition" and "noble education". Hopefully "scouting tradition" covers that ranger sneakyness and a little bit of dirty fighting, while "noble education" covers knowledge of lore and also a bit of fine swordsmanship.

I read a book on improvisation to help out my solo games. Things like reincorporation, platforms, and promises are the most useful concepts. I also tried reading about plot in storytelling but that really didn't go anywhere obviously new, but this improv stuff really helped me with its terminology.

>>98796624
I just watched a bunch of Sharpe last week. Have had it on my list for a long time. The idea of a hexcrawl set in a wartorn land between two factions, and the natives went to both sides etc (royalists versus revolutionist). seemed like a fun idea, doing mission and stuff like that. The Spaniards who brought death cults back to Spain could have been a fun mission, cultist, maybe some occult magic, dungeons

Whenever I get a new fancy, I just roll up a few new characters, trying to flesh them out a little, then maybe do a few sessions, then move along to something else. Sneaking and such things are a must for all my solo characters, I want the ability to avoid things, even if wearing armour. I roll with penalty, or return with less armour, which is why I prefer more open class systems. With SH you can at least justify it with the background/ability tab

File: Screenshot 2026-10-08 143221.png (565 KB, 571x658)

565 KB PNG

>>98796624
ykw? I might just fullscale play him as rifleman harris. A crack shooting scout with an intellectual spree, but a tendencies to be a overblown smart-ass who people shut down and a tendency to overcomplicate things.

Bit easier when you have a direct inspiration.

>>98795894
Before making a character I think about what they're going to look like at a high level and then work towards developing the character in that direction.

Are there cheap figures somewhere online? I can't find paper standees that are good, most of them require glue.

>>98806287
If you want cheap ones that don't need glue then look at 1:72 scale ranges. There's far less choice than 28mm and they tend to be worse plastic, but as an alternative to paper they should be fine.
As I recall Dark Alliance do fantasy figures. Sci-fi are a bit thin on the ground but they do exist.

>>98806357
Yes those do look good. I'm curious about meeples now. They probably work fine, right?

I'm seeing games with built in objectives, like this one game I found called "Odyssey of the Giant" which gives you a goal of escorting a giant. How do you feel about solo games that give you goals; do you welcome it or prefer self-guidance?

>>98662217
There's no way that writing is real.

>>98796551
Maybe try making the different characters part of the same setting. You could do different things but only maintain one world.

>>98809187
I personally prefer self-guidance. There was a sci-fi game that I was interested in earlier this year, (I can't remember what it was called.) But it toted itself as being a really fun solo role playing game, and everyone was talking about how much fun it was. When I started looking into it, it made me realize that it was a short, (single-session,) game that played more like a solitaire board game. You had a hex grid of "The Galaxy", and you moved your character around on it making decisions. Each spot on the map either gave you a buff or a debuff based on the result of your choice. And once you cleared the largest objective, the game was basically over. You "Won".

This does sound like it might appeal to other people, but it's not at all what I'm interested in. I like large, massive campaigns with many moving parts that I can interact with. I like when a game's world is so large that it's easy for me to forget or remember things that I previously forgot. I like to constantly be thinking about these moving components while I play because it sort of serves as a "Surprise" when I remember them.

I guess all solo games have some sort of objective built in, though. For example, I like OSR style games. So it could be said that the goal is to get treasure and level up!

>>98809187
I think games should be designed with an intended playstyle and therefore goal in mind, but that doesn't have to be a specific objective, so "make money fuck bitches" rather than, "make $50 fuck the princess".

Here's a neat trick for your solo games, it's a randomizer that uses the alphabet. From A to Z you have 1 through 26. Roll a 1d30, reroll any result above 26. So you roll a letter of the alphabet and think of a relevant word that begins with that letter, using the first thing that comes to mind. Random food? Rolled a 3 for C, it's cheese! Random clothing? Rolled a 2 for B, it's a blazer! Very versatile trick for creating random somethings, I wish I'd known it years ago

>>98817659
that's so fucking cool! you could try adding the trick from Alfred Valley's Diechrome - once you get your first word, do rapid word association 3 times to get your actual answer, pushing it a few jumps out could give the ideas more reach.

>>98812763
why?

>>98820962
It's too perfectly neat and pretty. Got to be AI.

>>98821489
>zoomer mystified by okay writing

>>98668417
>>98669328
>>98669341
I have been wanting to start a long form, zero-to-hero-to-god type solo campaign but with a party instead of a single pc. would these work for that? scarlet heroes is for one pc right? but idk if all the other games listed here also are.

>>98804024
I could see that working very well with ACKS. Which I haven't played, but it seems cool
>>98814797
I did just that for Dragonbane campaign. I made two mages, a knight, arbalist and a fighter. The idea was that they all were in the same area with their own goals, and I could mix and match. Never really got anywhere outside the solo dungeon. Now in reading up on Symbaroum at the moment

>>98822896
Scarlet Heroes is just an OSR-clone game. The rest of those can be used for any other OSR game

File: 1e8.jpg (49 KB, 680x635)

49 KB JPG

I was chatting with someone on a gamedev thread and when I told them I will get into dnd stuff to get ideas for an RPG I'm making they called me a niggerfaggot and that I should ask you guys what a good RPG is.
So what's a good RPG to see if I can implement somehow on a video game?

>>98824958
Every time I try to put a character's goal to paper, they eventually seem too restrictive and I ask myself "why would my character do (fun thing) if not directly related to their goal.

>>98826222
checked and I would just start with dungeons and dragons if you have no ttrpg experience

>>98826345
I would try a more vague, long term goal like “get rich” or something that doesn’t have to drive every decision they make every second of every day, or have more than one goal, so that you have more reasons to say yes, in other words a fun side quest might not be relevant to one of your goals but it might to relevant another goal.
also, just don’t forget that it’s ultimately a game and you should do whatever is the most fun for you as a player.

>>98826507
multiple goals seem like a good option.
Maybe a general (vague) one, a specific one, and a circumstantial one like
>Want to learn about different forms of organization (peter the great-ism)
>Kill the bastard that stole my sisters life savings
>Woo the mistress with the exotic accent at the bar.

>>98826222
What kind of game/experience do you want?

>>98826345
Give them a vice. Not necessarily in the strictly moral sense, but something they want that doesn't really further their goals. This can encourage and explain retarded decisions and fuck shit up. Just in case the dice aren't doing that for you.

>>98826484
Alright thanks, will any edition do? I've seen people argue about that.

>>98826887
The game will be an action RPG, not a CRPG, which is genre that usually tries to copy TTRPGs. Even so, I think I need to get to know TTRPGs well in order to make a good role playing game.
I want the player to feel like they’re going on an adventure in a comfy fantasy setting, not the grimdark fantasy full of murders and politics. Something that will speak to their inner child.

Do you got any favorite premade settings you feel like are particularly fun to play in on your own?

>>98827332
It was during covid that there was a giveaway of dnd introductory adventures, that's how I got "Defiance in Phlan (DDEX1-1)". I have the first 4 adventures. Would I recommend them? If you're okay with some of the solutions being highly specific.

>>98826345
honestly hate written goals for main characters for this exact reason. a one line motivation next to the stats is great for npcs when you just need quick decisions, but it's way too simplistic for your own character. real motivation is layers, your beliefs, emotions, your rational mind vs whatever immediate hunger or need you're trying to satisfy, the outside world pushing back on you, and so on. half the time those things contradict each other anyway. leave the single line goals for the npcs.

>>98827157
you’ll probably want the most recent one, which is the fifth edition. technically there are two different fifth editions but they are similar enough that it doesn’t matter which one you get.

>>98826345
You can think of a goal as something on your "To-do list" so that it isn't as much of a priority but rather something you want, eventually.

>>98829751
wrong. goals are smart.
short. measurable, achievable, realistic, timely.
"i want to be king of the world' isn't a goal.
"i want to lose 50 pounds by new years'" is a goal.

>>98829813
What are you, the goal police?

>>98826345
Give them more than one goal then.
Best way to do it is give them two or three contradictory goals, ones that can come into conflict with each other.
For example, my current character could be described as having the following motivations:
>Avoid the space secret police, those fuckers are after me
>My word is my vow and I'll ride or die on that shit
>Find out the secrets of the weird alien beast I've bound myself to
>Protect both humanity and fellow humans (Now expanded to other sentients in general), not just because of compassion, but because we have an inherent obligation to others
As you can imagine, dodging the space cops, while also investigating this thing they know he's investigating tends to conflict.
He's also got an insatiable curiosity, which is a great excuse for 'Oh I found an interesting thing, time to find out more about it'