More ideas on the Superhero Sandbox, with two new pieces of the equation.

More Superhero Sandbox thoughts on one bit of important color I missed...

I AIN'T DEAD & BOLD COMMITMENTS

I AIN'T DEAD & BOLD COMMITMENTS

New post to ONE PLAYER MANY STAGES
A big commitment from me - I'm going to need your support :) 
https://malciggrpg.wordpress.com/2015/10/30/i-aint-dead-bold-commitments/

Originally shared by Zach Best

Originally shared by Zach Best

A little early, but with the Halloween weekend I wanted to make sure that the first week of 3 Ingredient Solo Play! for #SoloGamingAppreciationMonth2015 was available ASAP.

The first three ingredients are:
 (1) an airliner,
(2) a bindle (hobo travel sack on a stick), and
(3) a rat. 

The bonus world event is:
22 Shipwrecks Found in the Same Location 
http://news.discovery.com/history/archaeology/22-shipwrecks-found-in-single-greek-location-in-greece-151028.htm

In your play report please note that you are using the Week 1 ingredients, and I will try and maintain this post with links to those play reports.

My collection of charts, tables, links, and ideas on how to make this work.

Reminiscing about two of my favorite Supers games, setting the stage for thoughts on Solo Supers Sandbox Hexcrawl thing.

Newbie here. Old hand GM since 1977, owner of Mythic for years, but new to solo.

Newbie here. Old hand GM since 1977, owner of Mythic for years, but new to solo.

Here's my question: how do you decide where to start?

I don't mean "how do I start playing Mythic" or "how do I choose a game". I mean, "how do I decide, from the myriad of possibilities, where to start solo roleplaying?"

I have two ideas in my head: a fantasy character searching in a deadly dark ancient world; and, a desire to send a character searching the stars. But those seem vague and unformed. If that makes sense.

Advice welcome.

Originally shared by Kyle Maxwell

Originally shared by Kyle Maxwell
https://skaldforge.wordpress.com/2015/10/27/rooted-in-make-believe/

Has anyone tried the Mythic RPG system with or without the GME? It looks simple and narrative enough with its descriptive attributes. It looks a bit boring to me but perhaps the appeal is that it gets out of the way and works natively with the GME?

Has anyone tried the Mythic RPG system with or without the GME? It looks simple and narrative enough with its descriptive attributes. It looks a bit boring to me but perhaps the appeal is that it gets out of the way and works natively with the GME?
#mythicrpg

Does anyone else use solo play as a means of play

Does anyone else use solo play as a means of play
testing modules and settings before introducing them to groups for play testing? Any tips on how to go about this?

Not long now to #sologamingappreciationmonth2015 come over to the SGAM group and pledge your participation!

Not long now to #sologamingappreciationmonth2015  come over to the SGAM group and pledge your participation!

I'll be helping to collect links for those that have pledged so we can see everybody's hard work.

We've created a pledges sub group just for this purpose, so what are you waiting for!

Great article on how to play solo published adventures. Here's an example using his rules: http://thelonecrusader.com/the-mad-manor-of-astabar-a-solo-dd-session

Great article on how to play solo published adventures. Here's an example using his rules: http://thelonecrusader.com/the-mad-manor-of-astabar-a-solo-dd-session
http://thelonecrusader.com/how-to-play-through-a-published-adventure-on-your-own-without-a-dungeon-master

The Czege Principle and "Parlor Narration" are the Scylla and Charybdis of solo…

https://plus.google.com/112251975491108478221/posts/KBvA6UUDVjo

Trying out the ideas I had for a story point system.

In +Brian Mathers' actual play post, the topic of party size for solo adventuring came up in the comments. Rather than completely hijack his thread, I decided to start a new one.

In +Brian Mathers' actual play post, the topic of party size for solo adventuring came up in the comments. Rather than completely hijack his thread, I decided to start a new one.

Since in fantasy games I tend to run parties of 6 PCs, I needed a way to keep from having to shuffle papers all the time. At first I just kept everyone's hit point tally on a separate sheet of paper, and eventually turned this into a table for AC, HP, and to hit & damage bonuses for their main weapons, with characters listed in marching order.

In recent years I've made stripped-down character sheets at 4, 6, or 8 to the page. These actually started as simple combat minders for 3rd edition D&D encounters in social play. All the relevant combat stats were filled in, and the pages were cut into little cards. The PCs had them too, but only needed to write their names on them. When initiative was rolled, everyone wrote their initiative number on the top, and they were sorted into a pile in initiative order to play out the fight. It made it easier to deal with hesitations and held actions this way too.

I realised that if I didn't cut the page up, they were useful for solo play. The link below is to my dropbox folder where I have collected all the ones I could find this morning. I left them as Word files so you can modify them if you want to use them. There is a PDF of one filled in as an example (showing the unfortunate events of part 36 of my LotFP campaign), which shows how I fill in spells, personality notes, NPC loyalty, ammunition tracks, etc.). After I uploaded them all I realised that docx files may not work for everyone. If you want them in a different format just let me know.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/oxs5p095yqp9hh7/AAD-TOBKjzH_XMUW-cAlJnxea?dl=0

Since I'm trying to keep everything on my tablet to avoid pulling out my RPG books, I did a search for a random terrain generator for adventuring. I found this one. It looks really good and has Plains, Forest, Hills, Mountains, Marsh (Swamps) and Water.

Since I'm trying to keep everything on my tablet to avoid pulling out my RPG books, I did a search for a random terrain generator for adventuring. I found this one. It looks really good and has Plains, Forest, Hills, Mountains, Marsh (Swamps) and Water.
I'll probably replace my 1st edition D&D terrain generator with this one, since I never had a need for Scrubs and I prefer Deserts to be pre-placed, taking up large areas.

There's also a chart for random encounters included, which could be useful if you don't already have a go-to chart.
http://redbox.wikidot.com/forum/t-386081/jg-tables

Okay, thinking about a system that might produce superhero stories, but totally untested.

So I was watching the trailer to Sword Coast Legends and I had a thought: It would be totally cool if people use this to make solo games.

So I was watching the trailer to Sword Coast Legends and I had a thought: It would be totally cool if people use this to make solo games.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByNCxY3QDag

Heya, just thought you would be interested with my latest blog post in which I interview myself about Solo Engines and Fate Solo.

Heya, just thought you would be interested with my latest blog post in which I interview myself about Solo Engines and Fate Solo.
http://soloroleplayer.com/rpg-toolbox-recommendations/interview-kenny-norris/

Hi, all.

Hi, all.

I love  superhero RPGs, and I'm looking for a way to do them solo. The freeform nature of many of them means that it's quite difficult to harness them with a solo engine. The problems tend to be two-fold: the actual resolution of tasks (there are so many options), and the story structure. 

Does anyone have suggestions for a game or a game/solo engine pair? (I generally use Mythic when necessary, but I'd consider a different engine if it had recommendations.)

I'll take suggestions in both the improvised adventure and adapting a pre-written adventure spaces.

I've had some luck with ICONS and the Mythic engine. That leads me to suspect that FATE games would be a reasonable fit, but I only own Base Raiders and while others seem to have great success using FAE for superheroes, I can't wrap my head around it.

Marvel Heroic Roleplaying has so many dice and rolls and things to keep track of that it was a chore. (It's a great game, and I love playing it, but not as a solo thing.)

Champions suffered because I was busy falling out of love with the Hero System.  I think in the fifth edition and earlier, it's a bit crunchy, too.

I think Supers! might hit the sweet spot, probably with Mythic, but I'm open to suggestions.

I like  _Mutants and Masterminds_,/DC Adventures but it just feels too crunchy if I'm also handling the solo stuff.

I own DC Heroes and Truth & Justice but haven't tried them. 

For story structure, I'm intrigued by what I've heard of With Great Power, but I didn't buy it when it was available. I'll get the new edition when it's available. (Hmmm. On reflection, Capes might work, but we only played one adventure, and I remember it only dimly.)

Given that there are to be two superhero games powered by the Apocalypse engine (Worlds in Peril is already out and Masks is still in its Kickstarter but it's already had pledges for several times its goal)... Does the tight restriction on moves help or hurt solo play? (I've never played or read a PbtA game, so I don't know.)

 Anyway, the point was to say hi and ask for suggestions.

Originally shared by Kyle Maxwell

Originally shared by Kyle Maxwell
https://skaldforge.wordpress.com/2015/10/16/solo-rpg-play-using-scarlet-heroes/

A blog post about solo roleplaying that I found.

A blog post about solo roleplaying that I found.

Originally shared by Sophia Brandt

...therein lies the proverbial "key to the solo RPG kingdom: every player character, non-player character, animal, semi-sentient being, etc., will tend to act with its own best interests at heart. That’s exactly how you determine the actions of the various characters and NPCs in your solo dramas: they will act according to their personalities and motivations, and usually in their own self-interest."
https://fourcolorglasses.wordpress.com/2010/08/15/solo-roleplaying-not-just-possible-practical/

I've been playing Scarlet Heroes solo. When I'm traveling, it just works great. I think perhaps I should pick up a hard copy, though, because flipping around on my phone (with moleskine in hand) is getting to be a pain. Does anyone know how large it is?

I've been playing Scarlet Heroes solo. When I'm traveling, it just works great. I think perhaps I should pick up a hard copy, though, because flipping around on my phone (with moleskine in hand) is getting to be a pain. Does anyone know how large it is?

solo traveller

solo traveller
http://www.freelancetraveller.com/features/rules/alone.html

A chrome extension for generating tables/rolling for images on pinterest.

A chrome extension for generating tables/rolling for images on pinterest.
http://www.lastgaspgrimoire.com/random-acts-of-kindness/

Originally shared by Chris Stieha

Originally shared by Chris Stieha

As a joke, I wrote this microrpg for Alex Yari , but I want to share with everyone.  Feel free to add on!

Take three pictures and develop a problem based on those three pictures.
Flip a coin.
Heads: Problem solved! What did your character do?
Tails: Character dies!  How?

Extra: Instead of flipping a coin, roll 1d6:
1) Problem solved!  What did your character do?
2) Problem slightly solved!  How?
3) Problem solved, but character is changed!   How?
4) Problem not solved!  What happened because of failure?
5) Problem almost solved! What remains to be solved?
6) Character dies!  How?

Extra: Cthulhu horror for 1d6
1) Problem solved!  What did your character do and how much sanity did he or she lose?
2) Problem solved, but more sanity lost.  What tick does your character have?
3) Problem almost solved, but sanity took a hit.  What was solved?  What wasn't?
4) Problem not solved, some sanity lost.  What is closer to being unleashed onto the world?
5) Problem made worse.  Do I even have to mention that your character has lost some sanity?
6) Sanity has left the building.  How does your character respond?  What does it mean for the world?

A few days ago, I made these silhouette paper minis, about 8mm high, 1:200 scale. I printed them in different colors, so I potentially have 4 different factions. Today I went to a flea market and got a bunch of toys that fit the same scale (the coin at the center of the photo is an Euro cent). I now have cars (Speedeez or Micro Machines?), trucks, giant monsters, giant insects, dinosaurs. I plan to play with them a solo campaign that would likely be more skirmish than RPG. What kind of setting do you imagine for stuff like this? Why are XX Century soldiers fighting a war in which dinosaurs and golems play a role? I thought maybe something like Charles Stross's Laundry?Ideas welcome :)

A few days ago, I made these silhouette paper minis, about 8mm high, 1:200 scale. I printed them in different colors, so I potentially have 4 different factions. Today I went to a flea market and got a bunch of toys that fit the same scale (the coin at the center of the photo is an Euro cent). I now have cars (Speedeez or Micro Machines?), trucks, giant monsters, giant insects, dinosaurs. I plan to play with them a solo campaign that would likely be more skirmish than RPG. What kind of setting do you imagine for stuff like this? Why are XX Century soldiers fighting a war in which dinosaurs and golems play a role? I thought maybe something like Charles Stross's Laundry?Ideas welcome :)

I rarely use the SRV blog for off topic stuff, but with stuff like this, I feel that it's important enough to make an exception.

I rarely use the SRV blog for off topic stuff, but with stuff like this, I feel that it's important enough to make an exception.
https://solorpgvoyages.wordpress.com/2015/10/10/warning-beware-the-tpp/

This could help driving solo gaming too. Have you guys tried a pbta solo already?

This could help driving solo gaming too. Have you guys tried a pbta solo already?

Originally shared by T. Franzke

The top answer here perfectly explains how DW works. How not making a GM move when needed is breaking the rules.

I love it.
http://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/65809/how-to-ask-nicely-in-dungeon-world

#SoloGamingAppreciationMonth2015 GroupIs looking for a new owner

#SoloGamingAppreciationMonth2015 GroupIs looking for a new owner

Due to life circumstances, I have not been able to do a good job hyping  #SoloGamingAppreciationMonth2015. Sadly, I might not even be able to participate, so I don't feel like I should be the owner of that group. I'm looking for an enthusiastic person to step up and take ownership of the group, the organizing and the hype job.

If that seems too daunting for one person, Chris Stieha has suggested that each sub event have an owner in the group. In that case, I would make each person a moderator of that group (though I'd still like someone else to own the group).

Any takers?

With #SoloGamingAppreciationMonth2015 approaching, I want throw out an idea and see what people think.

With #SoloGamingAppreciationMonth2015 approaching, I want throw out an idea and see what people think.

I can make one page encounter maps, like the one in the photo.  The map contains the locations of encounters and three icons for each encounter to help you describe it.  I'm thinking of making one for SGAM2015 and would like many people to use it, interpret it however they would like to interpret it, use whatever system they would like to use, and then post an actual play.  I'm interested in how the same inspiration would lead to different results.  The plan would be to send physical copies to people who are interested, because getting mail is fun.  I could be convinced to send a pdf, but that isn't as fun.

Thoughts?  Interested?

In the photo, icons are from game-icons.net (Delapouite and Lorc) and the map is from Dyson Logos .  I wrote the algorithm.  This should look familiar to Noah Stevens .

Originally shared by Adventure Girl

Originally shared by Adventure Girl

How to Play a Published Adventure Solo

How to try to avoid spoilers when reading an adventure solo, and how to deal with spoilers when you do stumble upon them.

#Tabletop   #TabletopRPG   #DungeonsandDragson   #DnD   #SoloRPG   #Solo   #SoloPlay   #Roleplaying   #Game   #Adventure   #Module  
http://thelonecrusader.com/how-to-play-through-a-published-adventure-on-your-own-without-a-dungeon-master

Originally shared by Adventure Girl

Originally shared by Adventure Girl

Fantastic #DungeonsandDragons  Random Encounter Generator, with page number references to the core rulebooks.

#DnD   #Solo   #TabletopRPG   #SoloTabletopRPG   #Roleplaying  
http://kobold.club/fight/#/encounter-builder

I was looking for some #DungeonsandDragons  3.5 edition Character Sheet Spreadsheets today, as I'm feeling a little lazy about completing my own (half started and incomplete at the moment).  Thought I would share here in case any of you need #DnD  3.5e Character Sheets:

This fascinating presentation by an AI researcher has some pertinence to solo RP'ing.

This fascinating presentation by an AI researcher has some pertinence to solo RP'ing.
https://youtu.be/v_yjOfmV9Tw

I feel like I'm on a roll...

A new blog post in which I think I've had another breakthrough (or breakdown...you be the judge).

I've been following the development of co-op board games for about a decade. Each year it seems like the gap between RPGs and board games is closing.

I've been following the development of co-op board games for about a decade. Each year it seems like the gap between RPGs and board games is closing.

Doom and Descent both required a player in the role of the enemy - basically a GM. Gears of War moved a step closer to solo RPG by randomly generating and playing the enemy with an "AI" deck. Level 7 is also solo capable.

The newest addition to my collection is Shadows of Brimstone. This one has customizable characters of several archetypes and is made for campaign play out of the box, including XP tracking and leveling up. Emergent story is a feature of the design. It seems to draw design inspiration from Arkham Horror too.

Now I'm wondering, has the gap closed completely? Is this in fact a solo RPG with board game components?

For those who wanna play Dread solo but want to use a different oracle than Mythic, I have made one for Fate Solo.

For those who wanna play Dread solo but want to use a different oracle than Mythic, I have made one for Fate Solo.
https://solorpgvoyages.wordpress.com/2015/10/01/fate-dread/