|
Been rereading Grant Howitt's game Heart: The City Beneath and it has the feel of a game that could be solo if I put the work in. - it discourages GMs from planning for a session, which would help me out personally, at least - many game elements can be easily randomized, especially things like domains and delves - no particular need for the GM to keep things a surprise, since the XP system requires players to request specific types of events the plot should work towards, like "defend a haven from attack," "have a cocktail, fighting move or legendary beast named after you," "witness an emissary of the Heart Itself" and so on. - combat isn't turn-based, monsters don't require much bookkeeping - more than one of the Ironsworn oracles look like they would be useful Offhand, the biggest issue I see is that the game benefits from having two or more PCs for various reasons, so there probably needs to be either a rules-light follower semi-PC with their own agenda (and skills, domains, at least one resistance), or at least a secondary calling for my one PC so as to give the narrative more dimension.
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2023 18:31
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 25, 2024 03:49 |
|
|
The Heart supplement Ichor-Drowned also has a tarot-based Delve generator, which would be great for solo play.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2023 18:52
|
|
|
dead horse posted:The Heart supplement Ichor-Drowned also has a tarot-based Delve generator, which would be great for solo play. That looks cool, although $20 is a lot for me right now. Do you own this? How is it? Offhand it looks like high quality bloat, good art, plus a tarot system I'd love to get a better look at, but that's me judging a book by its itch.io page.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2023 20:10
|
|
|
There's an app for 'one page solo engine' that I highly recommend unless using a phone to compute roll dX tables takes the fun out of it for you. It's great for making narrative style solo rp where you ask a question and interpret what it spits back at you. There's also a .pdf version of it on drivethrurpg, if you want to roll a bunch manually.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2023 21:54
|
|
|
A positive update: I decided to give Godbound a try using Mythic 2E, and for once I actually managed a complete "adventure arc" of a traditional-style game (not a journaling game) solo. Two mortals and a Godbound set out to clear out a bandit hideout, and get way in over their heads. I'm not sure where I'm gonna take things from where I reached, but it's going to be an interesting road ahead. Combat balance is messy with this group size and composition, which is the biggest hurdle right now besides my own (lack of) creativity. I also kept a running journal of the whole thing, since I don't do well with theater of the mind, which means I can share the full play log in case anyone wants to read it.
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2023 20:33
|
|
|
SkyeAuroline posted:A positive update: I decided to give Godbound a try using Mythic 2E, and for once I actually managed a complete "adventure arc" of a traditional-style game (not a journaling game) solo. Two mortals and a Godbound set out to clear out a bandit hideout, and get way in over their heads. I'm not sure where I'm gonna take things from where I reached, but it's going to be an interesting road ahead. Combat balance is messy with this group size and composition, which is the biggest hurdle right now besides my own (lack of) creativity. That kicks rear end, well done!
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2023 21:12
|
|
|
I've been playing Google Meet-powered RPG games with some long distance friends for a couple years, and our thing tends to be simplistic home-cooked systems. While we're engaged in one of my friend's games, I'm cobbling together a possible system for when it's my turn to host, and playing a mostly-solo game with it. I'm texting my friends updates, but they're pretty busy and probably ignoring it, so I'll post an update now and again on here so it can be ignored in two places. I'm merging what I've learned with Ironsworn with a cheap system I picked up on itch.io called Abenteurspiel, and making a rulebook as I go. The theme is of a single or group of covert operatives entering a location in search of a mysterious artifact, trying to figure out where it is and what it is, and escaping. I'm mostly interested in exploring an unknown area as a GM/player and overcoming obstacles, and solving a mystery that I'm not entirely in control of, with an X-Files or SCP flavor. Combat's a very much second consideration. Anyway I'm in the very very early stages of a game setting I'm calling R. Crow Associates:
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2023 03:03
|
|
|
Here, this was mentioned here when it was being put togetherAfterthoughtC posted:There is now a TTRPG bundle for trans rights in Florida theres a bunch of solo stuff, including some I'm pretty sure that weren't previous bundles.
|
|
#
?
Mar 19, 2023 02:28
|
|
|
The author of Thousand Year Old Vampire has just published A Collection of Improving Exercises, a solo game about a book of perspective drawing exercises, and then there is some kind of game-like experience??? Even after reading the description, I am not sure what you are supposed to do with this, but the author has earned my trust.
|
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2023 10:56
|
|
|
I picked it up. It is deeply odd and very interesting.
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2023 12:11
|
|
|
SimonChris posted:The author of Thousand Year Old Vampire has just published A Collection of Improving Exercises, a solo game about a book of perspective drawing exercises, and then there is some kind of game-like experience??? Even after reading the description, I am not sure what you are supposed to do with this, but the author has earned my trust. After the stunt with the TYOV companion volume, my trust in Hutchings is pretty well gone, but I'm interested to see people's thoughts on this once they actually get into it.
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2023 13:39
|
|
|
SimonChris posted:The author of Thousand Year Old Vampire has just published A Collection of Improving Exercises, a solo game about a book of perspective drawing exercises, and then there is some kind of game-like experience??? Even after reading the description, I am not sure what you are supposed to do with this, but the author has earned my trust. Holy poo poo - bought on the photocopied style PDF alone. That's brilliant.
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2023 14:07
|
|
|
SkyeAuroline posted:After the stunt with the TYOV companion volume, my trust in Hutchings is pretty well gone, but I'm interested to see people's thoughts on this once they actually get into it. What do you mean by 'stunt' with the TYOV companion volume? I get that some people pre-ordered it and were disappointed at what they received but I thought Tim's comments when he was announcing it made it pretty explicit you were getting an art piece and not any sort of game or functional object.
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2023 14:19
|
|
|
Mode 7 posted:What do you mean by 'stunt' with the TYOV companion volume? I get that some people pre-ordered it and were disappointed at what they received but I thought Tim's comments when he was announcing it made it pretty explicit you were getting an art piece and not any sort of game or functional object. And he's making similar statements this time around; it's "a game - of sorts", "there's more but I won't promise more", (paraphrasing this one from the entire second to last paragraph) "getting told what you're buying is a spoiler that ruins the point". I'm personally just following his own advice: quote:Don't buy this expecting a definite game, or a clear experience. If you have the slightest doubt wait and hear what your trusted friends have to say. Seriously. I am an "artist" and this is art with all the capacity for shock, dissatisfaction, and risk that implies.
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2023 14:57
|
|
|
SimonChris posted:The author of Thousand Year Old Vampire has just published A Collection of Improving Exercises, a solo game about a book of perspective drawing exercises, and then there is some kind of game-like experience??? Even after reading the description, I am not sure what you are supposed to do with this, but the author has earned my trust. I think he's hit a point where I'm deeply fascinated by whatever he makes and want to see more, but I'm going to wait until post-reviews to buy anything.
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2023 18:50
|
|
|
1,000 Year Old Football Gag
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2023 18:25
|
|
|
sasha_d3ath posted:1,000 Year Old Football Gag
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2023 20:33
|
|
|
sasha_d3ath posted:1,000 Year Old Football Gag 
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2023 20:35
|
|
|
sasha_d3ath posted:1,000 Year Old Football Gag lol
|
|
#
?
Mar 24, 2023 02:57
|
|
|
i'm looking for a physical copy of disciples of bone & shadow (conquered sun edition). any chance anyone has a copy that they're finished with and would sell to me?
|
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2023 20:23
|
|
|
I've recently gotten a bunch of Pendragon stuff, including the Great Pendragon Campaign and I'm thinking about running it solo with Ironsworn. Some of the assets are pretty easy conversions: most of the combat assets are one-to-one, something to represent the prestige of a Knight, Bannersworn is a straight Knight of the Round Table, a Courtier Path for all those banquests and court scenes, etc... I'm having trouble with both the multigenerational stuff of Pendragon, and with the Demesne stuff. I guess I could just retire characters when feeling like I've reached a good stopping point, but any tips on how to manage a castle/region in Ironsworn?
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2023 12:46
|
|
|
Fat Samurai posted:I've recently gotten a bunch of Pendragon stuff, including the Great Pendragon Campaign and I'm thinking about running it solo with Ironsworn. Some of the assets are pretty easy conversions: most of the combat assets are one-to-one, something to represent the prestige of a Knight, Bannersworn is a straight Knight of the Round Table, a Courtier Path for all those banquests and court scenes, etc... No tips from me but that sounds amazing, and something I might look at too!
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2023 15:08
|
|
|
Fat Samurai posted:I've recently gotten a bunch of Pendragon stuff, including the Great Pendragon Campaign and I'm thinking about running it solo with Ironsworn. Some of the assets are pretty easy conversions: most of the combat assets are one-to-one, something to represent the prestige of a Knight, Bannersworn is a straight Knight of the Round Table, a Courtier Path for all those banquests and court scenes, etc... If you've got access to the Sundered Isles draft/playtest materials, you might be able to get a couple useful assets out of that too. "Socialite" is one and is all about schmoozing in elite social circles, Duelist could potentially work well for knights who subscribe to silly notions of "Honor", and there is an "Urchin" asset about playing a younger character who will eventually grow and improve. Also a pet dragon  . I also suspect some of the mechanics for how the ship works (with its own separate supply track for example) might eventually become a base for any official work on a settlements supplement for IS2 in the future. Otherwise there are a couple fan attempts about managing/helping a fixed settlement survive and grow in the Ironsworn Discord.
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2023 16:58
|
|
|
Fat Samurai posted:I've recently gotten a bunch of Pendragon stuff, including the Great Pendragon Campaign and I'm thinking about running it solo with Ironsworn. Some of the assets are pretty easy conversions: most of the combat assets are one-to-one, something to represent the prestige of a Knight, Bannersworn is a straight Knight of the Round Table, a Courtier Path for all those banquests and court scenes, etc... If you do end up running it, I know I would love to hear how it goes and the details about the conversion. For the demense, I know of two fan supplements involving settlements: Reign which seems pretty well put together and Winterhall which is much more bare-bones but has a bunch of assets that might useful. I'm afraid I haven't gotten a chance to actually play with them myself so I don't know how much help they will be, as I've only just started playing Ironsworn.
|
|
#
?
May 1, 2023 01:07
|
|
|
Re: Great Pendragon Campaign via Ironsworn. Thanks for the answers! Didn't have time this weekend to start the game, but I did check some of the resources you posted and have been thinking a bit on how to create a character, hold lands and retire people. Character stuff is easy. Bonds with your family and your liege mimic the Passions from Pendragon, maybe add the Bonded Path so you can become sorta Inspired by it. Empowered path for being a knight, weapon of choice or Ironclad to represent the combat skill you're good at, etc... Vows fit very well with a knight mentality, so they are a good way to keep pushing the campaign forward and give more freedom than the GPC gives. Put a background vow like "be the bestest knight ever" and you can drop all the scripted campaign stuff and other incidental knighting into it (so if you go on a battle, that's just part of your duties and you don't have to Swear a Vow for that and balloon your experience, or have a lot of one-shot Vows). For Manors: Someone in here is playing the campaign, and I like their approach. Basically: - One of your assets is the Manor. It has a prosperity and a security rating. You can Sojourn there and get more supplies easier, depending on their prosperity. I'll tweak this a bit and add two other "skills" to purchase, like other assets. - Once a year, you can have a Scene Challenge to increase one of the ratings. You decide at the start of the year, and resolve at the end. - Once a year, there may be an event in the manor that may drop one of the ratings, resolved in another Challenge Scene. - Once a year, there may be a Call to Arms, either because the Campaign has a battle planned or because of a random roll. You either use your characters stats or the Security stat of your manor. They use a Scene Challenge as well, but probably could be reduced to a single Battle roll if it's a skirmish or something. - They give fixed probabilities for each event (i.e. 60% chance of a Call to Arms), but I'd rather ask the Oracle depending on the campaign situation (there should be less raids during the Tournament period, for example) A year would play like this: - Decide how to improve the Manor. - If there are any adventures for the year do them, wherever on the year they may fall. - Call to Arms, or scripted campaign battle. As a reference point, call to arms probably happens in Summer. - Character stuff. Work on whatever vows you have. This is your dude adventuring on their own for a bit, if they have the time. Some years are packed, and it makes no sense to embark on an extended adventure and also be in a battle, at court and supervising the construction of a new fort at home. These three may may move around, depending on the narrative, or if you are wounded, or whatever. - Resolve the improvement on the Manor you decided on at the start of the year. This is supposed to be an all-year effort. - Threat Event on the Manor. - Christmas Court Regarding sons and families and changing characters: I think I'm not going to set a mechanic for it. Just retire or die or whatever and then change the point of view. So if the main character gets killed, or maimed, or marries into huge tracts of land and is too busy (or rich) to go on adventures, or just hits 50, that's the moment I change characters. I may use Pendragon stuff to control how the family develops (deaths, births, etc...), or just Oracle my way through it, whatever is easier. How is it looking so far? Galaga Galaxian posted:Also a pet This is something that fits very well in the Arthurian myth, right? Right? Fat Samurai fucked around with this message at 10:34 on May 2, 2023 |
|
#
?
May 2, 2023 10:03
|
|
|
I mean the Kraken can be a dragon itself. The asset just works well as a general “deal with the devil” sorta thing.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2023 18:35
|
|
|
A couple of neat little solo journaling type games that I backed on Kickstarter, which delivered and are now available on itch.io for purchase: Dead Air A game about running a radio station after a nuclear apocalypse. Played with a standard deck of cards. quote:At the start of a game you will be issued three remit items. For example, deny the English exist, assure the public that It Can Never Happen Again, and that the government definitely still exists. Halfway through the game a fourth remit item lands on your desk, and it's never good news. Maybe now you'll have to tell your listeners that It Happened Again. Oh dear. The visual style of this one is neat, a lot of "found documents" kind of things:  Seems to have some surprisingly crunchy mechanics from my quick read of it:    They also suggest that you could record your own radio broadcasts as part of playing the game, and give some tips on doing so. $9 on itch.io. I really like this one. Second is Fox Curio's Floating Bookshop, from the same person that wrote The Lighthouse at the Edge of the Universe. quote:On this River, you are a bookseller, paddling your floating bookshop up and downstream to various towns along the Riverbank. How did you come across the bookshop? Was it gifted to you or did you happen to chance upon it? I'm a sucker for anything with a fishing mini game. Mechanics are less specific than Dead Air (although it does use both a deck of cards and a d20), and more into journaling and mood:   Has a surprising amount of detail, with a calendar that has holidays and details for the various seasons:   And details for various towns you can float to on the river:   Seems pretty chill and relaxing, kind of a Animal Crossing vibe to it. $16 on itch.io.
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2023 20:23
|
|
|
I discovered solo TT games exactly three days ago and have put together a tidy little adventure shoebox with a couple printed games of various complexity, some dice, a pack of cards, a favourite fountain pen, and a couple notebooks. Played my first game of In the Hall of the Mountain King the other night and enjoyed it so much. Sippin' tea, kids are asleep, I'm rolling dice and mining for gold in the kitchen. No screens required. This is a good thread.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2023 05:01
|
|
|
madmatt112 posted:I discovered solo TT games exactly three days ago and have put together a tidy little adventure shoebox with a couple printed games of various complexity, some dice, a pack of cards, a favourite fountain pen, and a couple notebooks. If you like rolling dice and seeing what happens, you may like The Broken Cask which is a solo innkeeper simulator. I have read it, found it charming, and it's on my solo games to-do list. Also I plan on hacking the rules into a very different type of organizational solo game, but that is another story for the future. You may also like Pencil Town if you get the (overworld) Dwarf Fortress solo bug.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2023 05:35
|
|
|
Helical Nightmares posted:If you like rolling dice and seeing what happens, you may like The Broken Cask which is a solo innkeeper simulator. I have read it, found it charming, and it's on my solo games to-do list. Also I plan on hacking the rules into a very different type of organizational solo game, but that is another story for the future. Great recommendations, thanks so much!
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2023 06:22
|
|
|
Delve, Rise and-- Umbra I think, are Anna Blackwell's trilogy of base building games and I really like them. Actually everything she's written is great.
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2023 23:36
|
|
|
HopperUK posted:Delve, Rise and-- Umbra I think, are Anna Blackwell's trilogy of base building games and I really like them. Actually everything she's written is great. I'm really looking forward to the upcoming game inspired by Becky Chambers' books.
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2023 23:43
|
|
|
wizzardstaff posted:I'm really looking forward to the upcoming game inspired by Becky Chambers' books. For Small Creatures Such As We? Yeah me too, I'm exciiited.
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2023 00:31
|
|
|
After a failed attempt at playing Ironsworn about a year ago I got the itch again and went and bought Starforged, wrote up some truths, and then took an abrupt about turn and successfully started an Ironsworn campaign using my old notes. It's been pretty fun so far, and it's also impressive how easily inspiration can flow when the all the rules and moves are working in concert together. I think my only concern on far is that things are progressing fairly slowly, but I think that's mainly from me overwriting my journal entries. I do have a question, which is how do people deal with their own ideas running ahead of the system? I get that you're supposed to let the oracles and dice rolls take you unexpected, but occasionally I find myself with an idea of how things will play out in a given situation and then feel like my flows been disrupted when it doesn't go as envisioned.
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2023 08:51
|
|
|
Does anyone else have any experience with making their own solo RPG systems? I've got some ideas bouncing around in my head, but I'd love to know if there's any common mistakes or pitfalls that new designers tend to fall into.
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2023 09:16
|
|
|
Vagabong posted:I do have a question, which is how do people deal with their own ideas running ahead of the system? I get that you're supposed to let the oracles and dice rolls take you unexpected, but occasionally I find myself with an idea of how things will play out in a given situation and then feel like my flows been disrupted when it doesn't go as envisioned. Do you mean using the oracles for ideas regarding the story or failing a roll? If it's the first one, I'd go with whatever idea you have that fits.
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2023 09:25
|
|
|
If I have a story idea better than the one the oracles are giving me then I just use it. The oracles are for when you don't know what should happen IMO
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2023 14:57
|
|
|
girl dick energy posted:Does anyone else have any experience with making their own solo RPG systems? I've got some ideas bouncing around in my head, but I'd love to know if there's any common mistakes or pitfalls that new designers tend to fall into. Do I have experience? Yes, in that I made one and am drafting others. Am I self-aware enough to label common mistakes and pitfalls? Debatable. I would say a big hurdle when writing prompts is finding the right balance between vague and specific. You don't want to write the whole story for your player in advance, but you want to do more than give them a vague notion to write about. I forget where it comes from (maybe this thread) but there's some joke about journaling games being just "you are a patron in a tea shop. Write about the other customers. You may cry if you wish." If you are writing a more crunchy system, walk through the core mechanical loop of the game without all the narrative bits. Is it frustratingly repetitive to roll so many dice or shuffle so many cards? Do you feel like you're actually playing a game with interesting outcomes or just a dressed up version of flipping a coin?
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2023 16:27
|
|
|
HopperUK posted:Delve, Rise and-- Umbra I think, are Anna Blackwell's trilogy of base building games and I really like them. Actually everything she's written is great. These look very interesting and right up my alley. Thanks for talking about them. wizzardstaff posted:I'm really looking forward to the upcoming game inspired by Becky Chambers' books. I'm now looking into the Monk & Robot series. Good recommendations.
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2023 19:43
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 25, 2024 03:49 |
|
|
wizzardstaff posted:If you are writing a more crunchy system, walk through the core mechanical loop of the game without all the narrative bits. Is it frustratingly repetitive to roll so many dice or shuffle so many cards? Do you feel like you're actually playing a game with interesting outcomes or just a dressed up version of flipping a coin?
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2023 19:51
|
|