-- Notes from blogs on how to Solo RPG --

For Stars without Number, there is Stellar Heroes, which is similar to Solo Heroes in it's
concept.
If you get the random space dungeon generator in Hard Light, and adventure site
generator in Sixteen Stars, you are all set.

For Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry or other similar systems, you have Solo Heroes,
a nice hack by Kevin Crawford that modifies the damage rules allowing you to play a one-
man-army character.

Works fine for a lot of straightforward, combat oriented modules, but works best when
you get Scarlet Heroes.
Scarlet Heroes is a single book containing the modified combat rules, with all other rules
necessary, a nice campaign setting and a framework to generate conflicts, complications,
adventure sites, everything you need to play a complete solo campaign.

https://tinysolitarysoldiers.blogspot.com/2012/04/solo-rpg.html

https://dieheart.net/getting-started-solo/

-Guide to playing alone-

Player and Game Master create the story/adventure together.
Game Master is replaced by a Solo Engine and Random Content generators in a solo
RPG.

There are five core elements:

1. Game Systems
2. Solo Engines - Mythic GM Emulator (MGME), ALONe or Fate
a. Drivers
3. Random Content Generators
a. Idea Generators

-SoloRoleplayer The Collected Archives-

1 Rules
1.1 Game Rules
1.2. Solo Engines
1.3. Drivers

2 Random Content Generators - Cards or List tables

3 Source and Build Material - Reference

Tools
5 Location Crafter - Location, Encounter and Object list to create the set-up
4 Perilous Intersections - Driver tool
3 UNE NPC emulator - NPC creator and interaction emulator
2 Insta NPC (replace with Congetural...)
1 Mythic GM emulator

Chris Stieha Creator of RND zine

NB: I started answering a different question, but I think enough of these ideas still apply.

I also want that sense of wonder, so much so that I thought about playing Talislanta, Empire of the
Petal Throne, or Pars Fortuna just to have something completely new to me and not standard fantasy.
For example, Empire of the Petal Throne has no standard fantasy characters and starts you off as new
immigrants to the city of Jakálla (which sounds like the extreme case that you want). However, I
realized that you can still get that sense of wonder from a standard fantasy system.

Here are some things that I have done to get this sense of wonder:
1) I have both created a map from the start and built up the map as I went along. I like both ways. I
created a map because I found a die-drop method (http://www.gnomestew.com/tools-for-gms/how-to-
make-a-drop-map/). I consider this map a suggestion, based on rumors and previous explorers. Other
things may appear (random encounters). Things may not be true. I also add things as they come up in
play (The PCs are told that there is a wizard's tower to the NE of the current location, ok). To build the
hexmap up as I go, I used Erin Smale's Welshpiper article (http://www.welshpiper.com/hex-based-
campaign-design-part-1/) and +Richard LeBlanc's d30 Sandbox Companion. It may be good to start out
with a known area, and then things get hazier as you go away from that area. Thinking about +John
Fiore's comments, you probably know the couple of blocks immediately around your house pretty well,
but how about 5 blocks away? 10 blocks? 20 blocks? Filling the immediate area will give you
something known, but then choose actions and decisions that take you out of that known area. Unless
the character is completely new to an area, they will know some things. Even immigrants have
previous experiences that they use to relate to people, events, and locations.

2) With that said, I start with a small adventure. Although it isn't a sandbox, the single adventure gives
me opportunities to interact with the world and add plot threads, rumors, people, and locations. I use
the Ruins and Ronin adventure generator (www.swordsandwizardry.com/rrscenariogenerator.pdf) and
the Random Swords and Sorcery Adventure Generator (http://www.swordsmen-and-sorcerers.com/wp-
content/uploads/2013/04/ASSHrandom-adv-gen.pdf). To make it feel more like a sandbox, maybe you
could roll up a couple of adventures and choose one. I'm reminded of +John R Lehman's adventure
seeds, where there is something X days away in Y direction (http://jrl755.blogspot.com/2015/01/i-
made-thing-1001-werd-and-wacky.html)

3) I use interactions to build up the world. As stated, even though I have a map, I don't have a lot of
information filled in. For example, out of ten towns on the map, four have a name written on the map.
The other towns have (or had) names, but I don't need to give them a name yet. I let the interactions
build up the world, to give things names, to tell me about more places. When I come to a temple,
mural, statue, etc., I use the chaotic shiny myth generator (http://chaoticshiny.com/mythgen.php) and
Rory's Story cubes to give me the background of the item. This gives my area flavor and also gives me
ideas for names and locations. For example, one of these background stories gave me the inspiration for
the name of the capitol city. The constellation generator is also great to use for background
(http://chaoticshiny.com/stargen.php), because constellations hold the myths and stories of a culture.

4) I focus on locations, not just encounters. It was important for me to envision not just unique
scenarios, but unique places. In my head, encounters are not just encountering monsters or other
travelers, but also encountering something not on the map, such as unique shops, unique terrain, or a
(new or old) temple. The d30 Sandbox Companion helps a lot. Octoswam also has a great infographic
on different types of terrain (http://referenceforwriters.tumblr.com/post/77648751175/octoswan-i-
made-these-as-a-way-to-compile-all).

5) In my head, 0 hp does not mean death, but means something bad happened. I decided that death
means failure and leaves the characters in a bad situation (i.e. tied up, in jail, penniless, unable to solve
the mystery, etc.), which adds information. This isn't to say that you can't have death or have a point to
create new characters. I am interested in how the same characters react to these new situations
compared to previous situations, but new characters can join the group as you progress. In my episodic
point-crawl, a new character (or two) joins the group at each point and stays for that point, usually
because they initiated the adventure. Those characters add in new information.

6) Rumors and secrets. I don't think there is a great solution for them. The best that I can do is mentally
separate out the quest/action from the motivation for the quest/action. So although there is the
quest/action (which exists), the motivation for the quest/action can be unknown. For example, you are
asked to retrieve an item to help heal a child. You go get this item. That's the quest/action. The
motivation could be healing the child or something else and the “healing a child” was a lie. The lie
doesn't change going to retrieve the item, only the motivation. You don't need to know the motivation
before taking on the quest/action. You can determine the motivation and its truthfulness post hoc or
determine it based on evidence collected during the quest/action itself. I think post hoc determination
can also work for rumors. You have a rumor and there is some probability that all of it or part of it is
false, but only when you follow up on the rumor do you determine its degree of truthfulness. A simple
roll will determine its degree of truthfulnes.

7) I keep lists of rumors, NPCs, etc., so that they are easy to find and draw from. That's mainly a book
keeping thing, but it reminds me of things I can check out.

--- ---
Creation of a map with dice and drop tables
(note) if at any point in the making of your world you see an opportunity to make things
cooler, more intertwined, and/or more plausible, do so, regardless of dice rolls.
1) Gather up a couple of blank pieces of printer paper, a pencil, and at least 2D6.
2) Determine how many dice you want to use. Each die will represent one continent.
3) Drop your dice on top of one of your pieces of paper. If any fall off, drop them again.
4) The number on each die determines the approximate size of the landmass it represents, a
six being six times larger than a one.
4a) Note the orientation of the face of the die. The square it makes represents the extreme
four tips of your continent. Mark these on the map according to the scale of the continent,
and then use four rolls of a D3 on the following table to determine the coastal connections
between the tips.
•1 - Jagged coastline; at least three jags
•2 - At least one big bay with islets and peninsulas
•3 - The coast makes at least two significant expansions outwards into the sea
Scribble continents around each die, and make a small dot on the paper under the center of
the die. That dot will represent your Progenitors.
5) The die number also determines the number of major geographic features on the
continent. Using 2D6, make that many rolls on the following chart and add the features as
directed.
•2 – Divine Site (place it blind, making a mark without looking at the paper)
•3 - Canyon (place it roughly parallel to the course of a river. if no river exists, place a river
as if you had rolled one (without counting a roll against yourself) before placing the canyon.)
•4 - Two Lakes (place one blind, place one along a river. if no river exists, place a river)
•5 - Two Rocks (one blind, one near a mountain range. place a Mountain Range as if you had
rolled one if none exists)
•6 - Two Hills (one blind, one next to a mountain range)
•7 - River (from a mouth of your choosing. If it's the first River on the continent, place it so it
runs through the progenitors to the sea. also place a Mountain Range at the mouth of the
river and a Forest and a Swamp somewhere along the river)
•8 - Three Forests (all blind)
•9 - Mountain Range (make 2 marks on the continent without looking at the paper. draw a
mountain range between the two marks. also place two rivers running from the mountain
range to the sea.)
•10 - Tangled Forest (along a river. place a river if none exists)
•11 - Desert (away from rivers)
•12 – Divine Site (blind)
Stepping Out of the Ooze
6) Determine the fate of your progenitors. Roll 1D6 on this chart until you roll a 1. When
instructed to “spread,” place a new population dot no more than an inch away from any other
dot that has previously been placed on the map.
•1 – Stop rolling
•2 – Spread upriver
•3 – Spread downriver
•4 – Spread towards nearest feature
•5 – Spread towards nearest feature
•6 – Place a new progenitor on the continent on a different river of your choosing. If there are
no rivers without progenitors, treat this as a "stop rolling."
For each new progenitor generated in this, finish with your original progenitor and then
repeat the rolling process above. When you are done, fill in all the dots to make them twice
as large. These will be your "Cities."
7) Determine the nature of your divine sites. Roll 1D3 on this chart.
•1 – The site memorializes an act of love
•2 – The site memorializes an act of violence
•3 – The site memorializes an act of wonder
8) Roll 1D6 on this chart for each city you have placed on the continent.
•1 – The city has collapsed into ruins.
•2 – The city adds 1 nearby village. Place a new, smaller, dot anywhere within an inch of the
city. The city also “connects” with 1 nearby city. Draw a line between the two.
•3 – The city adds 2 nearby villages in addition to fortifying itself. The city connects with 1
nearby city. If two cities are already connected, there is no need to connect them again.
•4 – The city adds 2 nearby villages, fortifies itself, and adds 1 additional village 1-2 inches
away from the city. The city connects with one nearby city.
•5 - The city adds 2 nearby villages, fortifies, and adds 2 additional villages 1-2 inches away
from the main city. The city connects with one nearby city. If the city or its villages are on
the ocean, intercontinental trade is established. Draw a connection between the seaside
population and a new seaside population dot on the nearest continent.
•6 – The city fortifies itself, but does not make connections or add villages.
The Wilds
9) Determine the content of the wilds around your civilizations. Mark your wilds into large but
rough zones at your discretion based on the borders of civilization and natural features. Roll
1D6 for each zone.
•1 – Desolate; animals and monsters
•2 – Wild by divine nature; the landscape assumes the characteristics represented by the
nearest divine site. If none is nearby, generate a new one in this zone
•3 – A dragon
•4 – Dangerous terrain; animals and monsters
•5 – Big game; dominated by a few real bad monsters
•6 – Forbidding ruins
Civilization
10) Determine the relationships between your cities. For each connection line, roll 1d6.
•1 – At war
•2 – Allied by threat of nearest wild
•3 – Allied by blood
•4 – Allied by divinity
•5 – Cordial
•6 – Suspicious
11) (Revised) Determine the attitudes of your civilizations. Roll 1D6 twice for each city,
placing the results roughly within the bounds of the city and its villages or environs.
•1 – Jaded
•2 – Democratic
•3 – Wealthy
•4 – Despotic
•5 – Poor
•6 – Divided
Adventure
12) At this point, you have one continent with enough granularity for some solid adventure
hooks. You can build other continents as well. Put the party into action at the location of your
choosing.
12a) Six discretionary adventure hooks for each attitude:
Jaded
•1 - Neutralize wild
•2 - Fix broken thing
•3 - Topple power
•4 - Sustain power
•5 - Declare vengeful war
•6 - Impose misery
Democratic
•1 - Organize union
•2 - Win election
•3 - Uphold rule of law
•4 - Defend disadvantaged
•5 - Expand
•6 - Sway the electorate
Wealthy
•1 - Settle wealth dispute
•2 - Explore exotic new area
•3 - Escort caravan
•4 - Learn new trade
•5 - Declare greedy war
•6 - Diplomacy
Despotic
•1 - Impose will
•2 - Revolt
•3 - Declare ruthless war
•4 - Protest indignity
•5 - Espionage
•6 - Expand
Poor
•1 - Feed the hungry
•2 - Revolt
•3 - Fix broken thing
•4 - Protest indignity
•5 - Exodus
•6 - Plague
Divided
•1 - Sway electorate
•2 - Join faction
•3 - Espionage
•4 - Survive amidst collapse
•5 - Investigate
•6 - Saber-rattle

-- --
Noonan's world posts:
SOLO RPG – In which the player replaces the GM with a solo engine, drivers
and tools to generate answers and plays the role of one or more
adventurers -

a) Game system – Set of rules and details that define the world and setting

b) GM engine – Drivers that control the NPCs and world actions (Fate)

c) Random Content Generators (RCGs) – Provide with content for the

framework and events

SOLITAIRE GAMING – In which the player uses a light rule adventure

system contained within the Adventure itself or gamebooks

#02 – Baby steps

The first step is probably the hardest. To identify and know what the solo-
player is looking for.

Gathering information and searching for systems and tools might be

overwhelming at first. The amount of content and lack of an idea on what to
look for when researching can be daunting. Luckily there's great sources on
where to start. Youtube has a few channels with Solo RPG content as well as
some some blogs.

Second step is finding that system and tools that click on the player.

After a few weeks of research, the amount of resources gathered will

be huge. Digging in them is challenging so there's two options for me.

Choose something that thematically appeals to you or simply randomize

it and stick to it. I have collected so much material that I could not really
decide on what to develop further. There's tons of engines, systems, tools,
generators, drivers... and on top of that, so many interesting worlds and
themes.

A good method is to organize into a database all the material collected or

purchased and move from there.

Personally I prefer sci-fi than fantasy. And more precisely, doomers or

post-apocalyptic game worlds. But I am fine with any genre or theme.

This, is my personal quest to create and develop a solo RPG adventure world
using my own customized tools.

#01 - Start small and look not too far

I am a completionist... To the point of almost obsession sometimes. I must

have everything. This is a big problem since I can't decide what to play or
read first as I start a lot of things at once and the majority of times, I do
not finish it. I am a completionist... but I am not a finisher.

When I started with solo RPGs 2 months ago, I spent weeks just searching
for information and resources. I have accumulated hundreds of pdfs and
purchased many items (mostly through DRIVEThroughRPG).

How many I have read or played so far? None.

I also have a disperse imagination (or probably lack of attention) so when I

am reading something, I lose concentration and start thinking about
systems and ideas for an adventure.

The universe of solo gaming (RPGs, gamebooks and boardgames) is so big

that scares me. I will never have time to play everything especially knowing
how I commit to things. I jump all in at first and then slowly lose interest.

I decided to write this blog hoping to help myself focusing on something and
complete these ideas.
--Notes from Solo
Typically though, these solo metagames must cater for all genres of roleplaying and
in trying to cope with an almost infinite number of possibilities tend to the abstract. In
this way they are built upon scenes, on keywords and on abstracted words that must
be interpreted by the player in order to form a coherent event. Much is left to the
players’ imagination. A good deal of interpretation is necessary with these abstracted
systems, and the author has found himself thinking more about what these random
words signify than actually planning out the actions of his character.

Unai: Use the branching option (2 or 3 options with diff odds, then roll for the odds) from Miso

tailor those event tables,

filling them with meaningful events that are instantly understandable. Secondly, we
can move away from thinking of the game in terms of scenes, threads, plot points
and other more story or screenplay-orientated jargon. Because we’re playing a gamewith dice
– not writing a novel.

Unai: Try out the scene method though to test.

Often a system of interrogative questions is used by the player and resolved

with dice, cards or cubes. a complete situation has
already been set up, with many, many, many rolls to get to that point. Rolling dice doesn't
matter so much when you are playing SOLO. What matters is the decisions, or the options
available, rather than individual dice rolls.

Unai: he suggests to run a game with multiple characters rather than one single hero. Makes
sense!

The machine that handles these group activities is the Plan, and it has its own
section later in this book. It forms the heart of SOLO. With this engine the roleplaying
has moved, from the end of the roleplaying process to the middle.
Unai: Instead of asking questions to get an outcome, the Plan gives the result and the player
has to figure out the process to get there. Hmm, spoilers? Can the Plan be used to create a
fog of war method for published adventures then? Since we know the outcome already.