Here's the new group header, hope this is better

Here's the new group header, hope this is better

With the poll closed, we're now a step closer to making #SoloGamingAppreciationMonth2015 will happen!

With the poll closed, we're now a step closer to making  #SoloGamingAppreciationMonth2015 will happen!

The results suggest that the weakest response was received by the Solo RPG Design Challenge Revival, but there wasn't really that much difference between the various choices.

Here are two ways I can see things going:

- Include each separate event (leaving aside combinations)

or

-focus exclusively on the top three choices of the poll this year, then focusing on the next top three choices of this poll next year, and so on. 

I am completely sold on having different themes each week, though, for people to use if they want. I also think Freeformpalooza should be a permanent event, since people will always do their own thing if they want to.

What do you think? Should I set another poll with these two choices?

Below are the results of the original poll:

Total votes: 146   Voters: 38

Freeformpalooza (Anything goes acutal plays for RPGs and Wargames) 14%

One Page DIY Solo Tools Challenge (as its own event) 12%

3 Ingredient Solo Play (using Story Cubes + major real life global event) 12%

Shared Setting Extravaganza (create shared setting using Microscope or free equivalent) 10%

One Page Solo RPG Design Challenge Revival + DIY Solo Tools for RPG or Wargames included) 10%

One Page DIY Solo Tools Challenge + Solo Santicore (DIY Solo Tools creation based on Santicore requests) 11%

Solo Santicore (Requests for Solo tools as its own event) 9%

Solo RPG Round Robin (One player plays X scenes of an RPG solo, then passes it to another solo player) 8%

Arrange all or some of these options into weekly events that build on each other (we would need to brainstorm the what’s and how’s) 8%

Solo RPG Design Challenge Revival (as it’s own event) 6%


Previous discussion posts here:

https://plus.google.com/108749159622507269204/posts/ZvZ9UinnESK
https://plus.google.com/108395059461267285712/posts/JXHYrUWxkpx
https://plus.google.com/108395059461267285712/posts/XnaLsdw4unK

OK, I somehow deleted or lost my #WritingWithDice post. Sorry for any comments that were lost!

OK, I somehow deleted or lost my #WritingWithDice  post. Sorry for any comments that were lost!

Hi,

This is an implementation of something I've been musing and working on for a long while. It's built to provide a structure around writing fiction during those parts of a game when you are not engaging with creative aids (oracles, idea generators, etc).

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hXMIYl-3qr4wAmxAqXx8rfcWfO82soBWpYhvZb_puzs/edit?usp=sharing

I'm looking for playtesters, so I'm putting this out there as an open source thing. If you have a chance to give it a test drive, let me know how you like it by making a G+ post.

Use the tag #WritingWithDice  in your post, if you don't mind. :-) Just makes it easier to search later.

Hi

Hi,

This is an implementation of something I've been musing and working on for a long while. It's built to provide a structure around writing fiction during those parts of a game when you are not engaging with creative aids (oracles, idea generators, etc).

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hXMIYl-3qr4wAmxAqXx8rfcWfO82soBWpYhvZb_puzs/edit?usp=sharing

I'm looking for playtesters, so I'm putting this out there as an open source thing. If you have a chance to give it a test drive, let me know how you like it by making a G+ post.

Use the tag #WritingWithDice  in your post, if you don't mind. :-) Just makes it easier to search later.

I'm sure many are familiar with Scarlet Heroes by Sine Nomine Pub. But on page 118 the Urban Adventures section begins and I am amazed.

I'm sure many are familiar with Scarlet Heroes by Sine Nomine Pub. But on page 118 the Urban Adventures section begins and I am amazed.

You can create a whole campaign based upon a nefarious plot by rolling the dice on the table. It will send you from one encounter to another.

And it is a contest between the player and the villain with rules to see who wins based upon victories in the challenges/encounters.

Has anyone else seen other frameworks like this presented in other books?

I've been tinkering with MS Publisher (yes, I know, but it is VERY easy to use, especially someone brought up on MS products) and came up with these.

I've been tinkering with MS Publisher (yes, I know, but it is VERY easy to use, especially someone brought up on MS products) and came up with these.

Open to comments/suggestions (it's all fonts, so could be vector, but I don't know Inkscape well enough).

A few thoughts on mysteries in Solo RPG's along with a link to a great blog post with some amazing ideas on the same.

Hi!

Hi!

Just a friendly reminder that the poll for #SoloGamingAppreciationMonth2015 will be closing tomorrow at 5pm EST. If you haven't gotten your vote in yet, make sure to get it in now!

Previous discussion posts here:

https://plus.google.com/108749159622507269204/posts/ZvZ9UinnESK
https://plus.google.com/108395059461267285712/posts/JXHYrUWxkpx
https://plus.google.com/108395059461267285712/posts/XnaLsdw4unK
http://www.easypolls.net/poll.html?p=55d49596e4b0c3d16faa63ec

Trying to describe the Solo RPG process...

Thought this appropriate for this venue as well. ;)

Thought this appropriate for this venue as well. ;)

Originally shared by Nick Carter

My current collection of system neutral oracles/divination/resolution tools.

Not including Everway fortune cards and regular dice (which GM Apprentice supplants) and fudge dice (which them Deck of Fate replaces)

Also both Mythic GME and Primetime Adventures printouts in my badass GM screen.

Inspired by  Brian Murphy's question below.

Hello! I picked up Mythic years ago, poked at it some, but all my attempts at solo play devolved into novel writing. I want to give solo play another whirl, and it's clear y'all have collected a TON of resources.

Hello!  I picked up Mythic years ago, poked at it some, but all my attempts at solo play devolved into novel writing.  I want to give solo play another whirl, and it's clear y'all have collected a TON of resources.

Any suggestions on where a once-again newbie should start?

Hey all, I found a great site on converting modules to solo rpg. Here's another post the blog author posted on another site to recap the system used: http://theindiedragon.com/how-to-play-dungeons-and-dragons-by-yourself

Hey all, I found a great site on converting modules to solo rpg. Here's another post the blog author posted on another site to recap the system used: http://theindiedragon.com/how-to-play-dungeons-and-dragons-by-yourself
http://thelonecrusader.com/

The low-down on the bits and pieces I'm using for the "Star Trek" mash-up I'm working on.

As requested, a look behind the curtain...

Little Solo Challenge: So how could you use an old fighting fantasy book to seed and guide a solo rpg experience along a more freeform path?

Little Solo Challenge: So how could you use an old fighting fantasy book to seed and guide a solo rpg experience along a more freeform path?

Howdy Good Solo Folks, I just bought the Mythic Gaming Bundle and was wondering what parts/chapters correlate to the MGME so I can first read those parts for SOLO use.

Howdy Good Solo Folks, I just bought the Mythic Gaming Bundle and was wondering what parts/chapters correlate to the MGME so I can first read those parts for SOLO use.  
If someone can post or link to a screenshot of the Table of Contents of the MGME that would be great.

Recap of my idea for a "Star Trek Kitchen Sink Sandbox" thus far.

The old guy decides to try out this blarging thing that all the kids are talking about today...

Kenny the Roleplaying Sage interviewed me! http://soloroleplayer.com/rpg-toolbox-recommendations/interview-zach-best/

Kenny the Roleplaying Sage interviewed me! http://soloroleplayer.com/rpg-toolbox-recommendations/interview-zach-best/

Just wanted to share. I know he's interviewing Tana (and possibly one other as well). Was a really fun interview. Really made me think on a few things. Hope you all enjoy!
http://soloroleplayer.com/rpg-toolbox-recommendations/interview-zach-best

Quick poll

Hi Folks!

Just reposting the link for the  #SoloGamingAppreciationMonth2015 poll. Make sure to get your vote in and also provide feedback if you're so inclined. The poll will be considered closed by the end of 8/28/2015 EST time.

Finally, if you'd like to volunteer to spearhead some of the ideas in the poll, let me know. I'm guessing that much of the effort will be hyping the events, and helping to lead them when the time comes!

Thanks!



Previous discussion posts here:

https://plus.google.com/108749159622507269204/posts/ZvZ9UinnESK
https://plus.google.com/108395059461267285712/posts/JXHYrUWxkpx
http://www.easypolls.net/poll.html?p=55d49596e4b0c3d16faa63ec

So I'm still twiddling around with a Star Trek/sci-fi/kitchen sink/sand box thingie, which may end up being a BTB White Star generic space opera, or at least spawning a separate one off at any rate.... (Progress is slow due to work, RL, etc, though I THINK it over a lot, which is still progress IMO!)

So I'm still twiddling around with a Star Trek/sci-fi/kitchen sink/sand box thingie, which may end up being a BTB White Star generic space opera, or at least spawning a separate one off at any rate.... (Progress is slow due to work, RL, etc, though I THINK it over a lot, which is still progress IMO!)

One piece I'm starting to explore is Star Sectors, which I've never done before. I like the charts in "Starships & Spacemen" & "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (which is the two that I still would like to mash-up & use, unless I go the WS route), but wanted a more "hexcrawly" one to use them in conjunction with. I'm tinkering with this one...

https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/111477905406133956099/s/star%20sector

...which I like a lot. Also noodling with the ones from "Stars Without Number", "Hulks & Horrors", & looking at the one from "Traveler" now.

I also plan on dragging in the old FASA RPG charts for planet creation too at some point.

I think I'd like to mix & match these at some point. And I've also been thinking a lot about one of my biggest Solo RPG "points of interest": keeping the surprise intact.

While mulling over the idea of generating star systems ahead of time, while keeping myself "in the dark" in their contents I had a minor epiphany:

Pregenerate a bunch of planets. Record each of them on index cards. Then for each sector you explore, generate your star maps, but you don't get to find out the contents of each star hex/whats on the planet(s) until you go explore them (pull out one of your cards).

You could even do up two sets, one with the bare bones facts that you would be able to tell from orbit (gravity, size, atmosphere, etc.)
 & another set of the juicy stuff, that you don't get to find out until you beam down ("Captain, the planet is full of zombies!")

In any case, no real point other than to re-share the idea of uses for pre-generated content. :)
https://imageshack.com/f/nmalkonostrefereeg

So I finally got around to trying the Mythic RP system yesterday, in part because I wanted to see if that would help with the trouble lino pang was having with Oracle creep. My thought was that if the Oracle and the system were one in the same perhaps they'd both fade to the background. I played for about an hour in an on the fly generic Zombie Apocalypse setting, and it was a great time.

So I finally got around to trying the Mythic RP system yesterday, in part because I wanted to see if that would help with the trouble lino pang was having with Oracle creep. My thought was that if the Oracle and the system were one in the same perhaps they'd both fade to the background.  I played for about an hour in an on the fly generic Zombie Apocalypse setting, and it was a great time.

As I usually do, I printed the relevant charts and tables out in booklet form, which makes for quicker referencing. Because character action mechanics and Oracle consultations worked basically the same, I didn't have to stop and consider which would be better I simply went with what ever felt most appropriate.

I also tried something else I've been considering for the MGME: playing cards. I removed all the Queens and Jacks from the deck. I would draw two cards and read them just as you would 2d10. Any time I drew a king I would set it aside, draw again to complete the resolution and then shuffle. With 4 kings it felt as though I was shuffling enough that each draw wasn't throwing off my probabilities too much, and I didn't notice any change in the feel when consulting the Fate chart. Also, I  had  history of my previous results (at least until a King made me shuffle) that I could check back on without having to right down every result.

The combination of Mythic RPG and the cards mechanic is an idea I've pondering for a while, as a way to make solo gaming more portable. There are times where I'm away from my home office but have the time and inclination to run through a scene or two but dice, books, charts, screens just aren't feasible. With a deck of cards a small notebook and the Mythic PocketMod, I do feel like I could do this almost anywhere..

Has it ever happened to you in a solo adventure  to use the oracle/solo rules too much to the detriment of the rpg rules you were using?

I was browsing the Microlite site and saw this.

I was browsing the Microlite site and saw this.  
A bit old but I want to try this out as soon as I can.
http://blog.retroroleplaying.com/2009/10/three-solitaire-role-playing-games.html

With all the discussion about Mythic and other emulators lately, I thought I should work on my ideas for an alternate Mythic Fate chart. This ended up being a bit too fiddly, so I thought of a way to simplify it. Long story short, I ended up creating my own version of an oracle for Mythic with a different system for handling Chaos. I've put a PDF up on dropbox for your perusal. It's very much a first draft, so forgive the inelegant presentation. Let me know what you think.

With all the discussion about Mythic and other emulators lately, I thought I should work on my ideas for an alternate Mythic Fate chart. This ended up being a bit too fiddly, so I thought of a way to simplify it. Long story short, I ended up creating my own version of an oracle for Mythic with a different system for handling Chaos. I've put a PDF up on dropbox for your perusal. It's very much a first draft, so forgive the inelegant presentation. Let me know what you think.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4vfcb5m8wqg6rnw/MCSV.pdf?dl=0

A placeholder community for the #SoloGamingAppreciationMonth2015 event.

Alright, I'm working a bit on my own Solo Engine/RPG (long story short, Jack Cactus' game made me think of making my own), heavily based off Tiny Universal and Tiny Solitary Soldiers. Right now I have the basis of the engine, though I have yet to work out any potential bugs.

Alright, I'm working a bit on my own Solo Engine/RPG (long story short, Jack Cactus' game made me think of making my own), heavily based off Tiny Universal and Tiny Solitary Soldiers. Right now I have the basis of the engine, though I have yet to work out any potential bugs.

The main concept is this: Tiny Solitary Soldiers ran on 1d6 for Oracle questions. Tiny Universal worked on 2d6. This Engine I'm making will work with 3d6 for not only oracle-based questions, but also random events. The RPG itself will sort of be like Snakes on a Plane (your stats will also act as your health) if it had something like pips from D6.

I was thinking last night that it is a shame that Solo Tabletop Gaming Appreciation Month isn't a more regular event (having happened only once as far as I know, November 2011).

I was thinking last night that it is a shame that Solo Tabletop Gaming Appreciation Month isn't a more regular event (having happened only once as far as I know, November 2011).

If you didn't see it last time, it consisted of making a promise to undertake some grand solo effort during the month of November (11), grand being your own definition. For example I might put up some AAR posts for a change... But equally I could try and complete my solo skirmish system, or design a card game, or plan a series of posts about something relevant to my games or the solo hobby, just something to make November special.

So I thought, it's been 4 years, even the Olympics and World Cup manage to stage another in that time, why not have one again?

I'm not proposing any rules or taking 'ownership', just putting my hand up and putting it out there.

Any thoughts?

Edit: Alex Yari​ If we reach at least 17 plusses on this post, I'll promote an event on this group. I would also love to fold a solo design challenge into it for those interested, since we have some designers here.

If you edit your post to include this comment I can put it up as a sticky for a few weeks to see how many plusses it gets.

Posting Actual Plays on a wordpress blog: which do you find easier/better to read?

Posting Actual Plays on a wordpress blog: which do you find easier/better to read?

a) I put the mechanics in spoiler tags http://dieheart.net/gma-playtest/
b) I precede the mechanics with a double slash // http://dieheart.net/sweote-beginner-game-two/

The problem with a) is that when you read that post as a RSS feed the spoiler tags are visible again as
Spoiler
....lorem ipsum text
[collapse]

This is not pretty and also doesn't take advantage of the function of hiding stuff behind spoiler tags.

Thanks for helping me.

I've begun reading the first bit of Designers and Dragons, and reading about its start from War Games and how RPGs were brought about through people playing simple roles like a mayor or a student made me interested in trying out a War Game with the Braunstein IV scenario (where most PC roles are commanders of certain armies).

I've begun reading the first bit of Designers and Dragons, and reading about its start from War Games and how RPGs were brought about through people playing simple roles like a mayor or a student made me interested in trying out a War Game with the Braunstein IV scenario (where most PC roles are commanders of certain armies).

I'm pretty sure there's been someone who had a hand in soloing War Games (and the TSS Solo Engine's origins is basically to add simple narrative in between Skirmishes), so I was wondering how solo War Gaming would work, if it's any different from Solo RPing, and the overall amount of fun it would have.

I love the Mythic GME, but what irks me the most with the Fate Chart is that the chaos factor makes the phrasing of your questions so very important.

I love the Mythic GME, but what irks me the most with the Fate Chart is that the chaos factor makes the phrasing of your questions so very important.

I'm not talking about loaded questions ("will I find a +5 magic sword under this pillow"), but rather the polarity -- or positive vs negative.

Example: I'm talking to an NPC and want to convince her to do something for me. I can ask a yes/no question in two ways: "will she accept" or "will she refuse".

The likeliness is not a problem, because I can designate a 'likely' to question 1 or an 'unlikely' to question 2. Same thing.

But the chaos factor stays the same for either question, meaning a completely different distribution of the answers for both.

Now the problem is not the abuse of the system -- there's no point in " cheating against yourself", right? -- but rather breaking the flow of the story. Each time I pose a question, I have to think how I phrase it so that it makes sense with the current chaos factor.

How do you deal with this? Do you even use Chaos in your games? Or would you say that chaos can be either good or bad, so whichever way you ask the question is fine?

Hi, I am new to solo RPGs but I find them fascinating. I have a question: There have been a lot of references to Solo Nexus, a blog that apparently has a lot of great articles about solo Roleplaying. Everytime I tried to enter it said it is restricted and I am not allowed. Is there a way to access it or maybe an archive of old articles? Thank you very much!

A quick entry I typed up this afternoon. Mostly, I suggest using real life as a trigger/generator for progressing through in-game goals, which could even be run in real-time. Shout out to a few familiar folks in the crowd. ;)

My (early) draft for a Solo Story System which uses the Otherkind dice mechanic. (I don't know how I'll name the system, it's just a placeholder right now.)

My (early) draft for a Solo Story System which uses the Otherkind dice mechanic. (I don't know how I'll name the system, it's just a placeholder right now.)

I worked on it several months ago but somehow lost momentum. I somehow want to incorporate a cool solo mechanic into it that makes uses of randomizers (image generators, i.e. Rory's Story Cubes) obsolete. But I have no idea how.

We know that we can play almost every RPG solo but I want a system which already does incorporate a solo mechanic. So far, my system is a re-hash of Otherkind Dice and the system by Tiny Solitary Soldiers.

Anyway, although I'm NOT happy with it, I just thought I'd share in the hopes of a) getting feedback and b) inspiring other folks.

While on vacation this last week I visited a FLGS in Duluth, Mn. Among my other finds, I finally picked up two I've been wanting for a while, a copy of The End of the World: Zombie Apocalypse and Fiasco. While friends and family have shown an interest in playing Fiasco, I couldn't wait. So I made up quick solo play booklet and some simple solo play rules.

While on vacation this last week I visited a FLGS in Duluth, Mn. Among my other finds, I finally picked up two I've been wanting for a while, a copy of The End of the World: Zombie Apocalypse and  Fiasco. While friends and family have shown an interest in playing Fiasco, I couldn't wait.  So I made up quick solo play booklet and some simple solo play rules.

First, I put all the required dice into a bag. During set up I pull them out and roll them for the relationships, needs, objects and locations the characters share. After set up I put the dice back in the bag.

The first scene I choose whoever seems most interesting and put them in a scene together. I also choose a question I want answered during the scene. As I write out the scene in brief, I pull a random die when questions with unknown answers arise (using standard yes/no formation). If it is a white die then the answer is yes, if it's a black die then the answer is no.  It's quick and easy and hardly interrupts the narrative at all. Once it seems I'm getting close to answering the scenes arching question I pull another random die from the bag, assigning a positive or negative ending to the scene according to Fiasco's rules.

Now, since keeping the dice constant is important for my randomization process, I always put any dice drawn back into the bag. However I mark how many dice of each type the characters have on my solo booklet. When I have a total of 8 dice assigned, I stop and play through the Tilt as per the rules. I choose two Tilt items myself and randomize the other two. 

I have yet to make it through Act 2 in my solo play, so I can't say how I'll handle the aftermath but I imagine it'll be in list form since it's the closest I can get to Fiasco's montage closing.

Like most of my solo rule workups, this one more than bridges the game/writing gap. With Fiasco being a narrative game by design it makes the transition very well. It's also started the wheels grinding away on way to incorporate some of the mechanics into my other solo gaming projects.

So far I'm having a good deal of fun with it. I'll add the link to my solo booklet for anyone that might find it useful. For printing, I used the booklet option in Foxit Reader. 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByVeZxlFO74FOWx2VTdjdEZodlU/view?usp=sharing

This might be of interest to the group here. The OP is asking for people's experiences in solo play. Want to share yours there? :)

This might be of interest to the group here. The OP is asking for people's experiences in solo play. Want to share yours there? :)
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?762626-Is-solo-play-underrated

Well it's up - on-line and ready for public consumption...

Well it's up - on-line and ready for public consumption...
My solo blog; One Player - Many Stages
https://malciggrpg.wordpress.com/

I want you folk to see it first, have a dig & find that one link that doesn't work etc and let me know what you think, what you want to see more of.

I have some ideas - but need motivation! 
https://malciggrpg.wordpress.com

So a while back, I did a challenge where I played a solo game with only one Rory Story Cube as my driver, no engines or anything. Today, I share this challenge to you all.

So a while back, I did a challenge where I played a solo game with only one Rory Story Cube as my driver, no engines or anything. Today, I share this challenge to you all.
https://solorpgvoyages.wordpress.com/2015/08/01/the-one-cube-challenge/