Originally shared by Jacob Ross

Originally shared by Jacob Ross

We're in the last three days of Kaigaku, and things are picking up again. We'd love any signal boosts that y'all can manage!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1059971838/kaigaku-a-samurai-rpg

More tables based on Halo (the novel):

More tables based on Halo (the novel):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_7MzENQrZSxSGd2cjBleElyMGc/view?usp=sharing

I was answering a question over on the Traveller group and rediscovered this link so I figured I should share. :-)

I was answering a question over on the Traveller group and rediscovered this link so I figured I should share. :-)
http://www.freelancetraveller.com/features/rules/alone.html

The last of the Stat Its. Next month will be what I call the "Old Roots" month.

The last of the Stat Its. Next month will be what I call the "Old Roots" month.
https://solorpgvoyages.wordpress.com/2016/09/26/stat-it-jojos-bizarre-masquerade/

For all you icon lovers.

For all you icon lovers.

Originally shared by Adapt

This free set of icons ia meant for Web design, but I thi k they could also be put to good use wheb creating RPG maps.
http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2016/09/free-download-citysets-icons/

I would be very interested to see this in action.

I would be very interested to see this in action.

Originally shared by Richard Williams (Epistolary Richard)

The GMless Mystery Explainer
Several times in GMless games I've encountered the situation where one player creates a mystery, other players feed the mystery because it's so damn attractive and mysterious, and then no one's willing to explain the mystery because it's too gosh-darn big and intimidating. ( called this the black hole of GMless games and it's a good name for several reasons.)

To help get games out of that pickle, I've tested and developed this: the GMless Mystery Explainer. If your game develops a mystery and everyone's shying away from actually revealing any of it, then you can bring this out mid-game. You fill it out as far as you can and then follow the steps to reveal the mystery as part of the game (because it's no fun everyone stopping, figuring out the mystery outside the game and then trying to inject it that info back into the story). 

So what this is, in truth, is a way of allocating responsibility to different players for them each to take a step forwards in explaining the mystery so the reveal can be enjoyed as part of the game.

There are two versions (so you can print it out double-sided). A 'Questions' version which provides a slower reveal as individual players take the responsibility to start linking unexplained events together. There's also a quicker 'Rumours' version where the players come up with their own theories, but are randomly allocated which are true. The players then have the responsibility to bring these facts into the story in order.

Feedback or anecdotes from games where you've used it are welcome.

Download the pdf below.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9aDy3dv5nWvbEwzSU1oUUZUNEk/view?usp=sharing

My solo play layout- using PDA Hipster as a manual/ journal.

My solo play layout- using PDA Hipster as a manual/ journal.

I currently have very limited time for playing and what I mostly enjoy are skirmish games with plastic toys. For that, I use the WarStuff rule-set by OnePageRules.

I currently have very limited time for playing and what I mostly enjoy are skirmish games with plastic toys. For that, I use the WarStuff rule-set by OnePageRules.
https://onepagerules.wordpress.com/portfolio/warstuff/

I was thinking of some ultra-simple RPG system to help me create new scenarios. Just a mini-narrative linking an episode to the next one and setting up the situation and the objectives for the next skirmish. The protagonists of the mini-narrative could be the guys that take part in the actual skirmishes, or the "powers in the dark" that play a bigger game and control the skirmishers.

Any ideas of how to handle this and of which tools to use?
I would like the creation of a scenario to only take about 10 minutes. So in a hour session I can create and play the skirmish.
https://onepagerules.wordpress.com/portfolio/warstuff/

Thought experiment:

Thought experiment:
You want to put everything you need to solo rpg in a moleskine notebook (whether by writing it in or taping it in), so that you can grab this book and a pen and play.
What would you put in it? What rule set? What tables? What Oracles? What generators? What whatever?

Another session from my Dungeon World solo campaign. Like chapter 20, chapter 21 gets tense and dangerous towards the end. The party and their lizardfolk guides get ambushed in the jungle.

Another session from my Dungeon World solo campaign. Like chapter 20, chapter 21 gets tense and dangerous towards the end. The party and their lizardfolk guides get ambushed in the jungle.

Third Stat It of the month and I'm statting up a simple superhero for the RPG Simple Superheroes.

Third Stat It of the month and I'm statting up a simple superhero for the RPG Simple Superheroes.
https://solorpgvoyages.wordpress.com/2016/09/19/stat-it-simple-superheroes/

Highly relevant to the use of oracles in solo.

Highly relevant to the use of oracles in solo.

Originally shared by As If

Zipf's Law is a fascinating glimpse at the outline of our own epistemology.  It shows itself not only in the classic "Zipfian Distribution" but even in the "80/20 Law" and even - whether you contrive it or not - in both the randomly-generated and the spuriously-improvized objects and inhabitants of your fictional worlds.  It will also determine how many - though not which - of your sessions will become the most memorable ones.

For GMs, Zipf's Law is most realistically (and simply) modeled by using a "Binary Tree" approach, coupled with the "Most Obvious Thing" principle.  This is laid out in the DayTrippers GameMasters Guide, so if you've read that book you can go home early.  For the rest of you, it works like this:

Deciding What a Thing Is:
- think of the most obvious or likely thing it could be
- roll a "Yes/No" die (high means Yes, low means No)
- if "Yes", that's what it is
- if "No", think of the next most likely thing
- repeat until you know what it is

Detailing a Thing:
- think of the most obvious or likely trait
- roll a "Yes/No" die (high means Yes, low means No)
- if "Yes", the trait is true; go back to step 1 for more detail
- if "No", think of the next most likely trait
- repeat until you have a useful number of true traits

Each time you get a "No" result, you will think of something less likely than the previous candidate.  And if you receive a "No" to that question, the following candidate will be even more unlikely.  But since you only end up stepping down that slope 50% of the time, the ontological distribution of things in your gameworld will follow a Zipf Curve just like things in the real world(TM), even though they're completely random.  The most likely things will be twice as frequent as the second-most likely things, which will be twice as frequent as the third-most likely things, and so on.

By structuring your fictional ontological queries this way and letting the dice do all the work, you are mechanically guaranteeing that the distribution of likely traits in your fictional world will fall along a Zipfian Distribution, emulating this stochastic law (paradox!) of the observable universe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCn8zs912OE

Here is my third and final finishing the game for this story. It uses the 3 Deep combat and magic attack system.

Some very useful thought, and a set of tables to go with, that should be useful for Solo.

Some very useful thought, and a set of tables to go with, that should be useful for Solo.

Originally shared by Jens D.

This is the world engine for my Lost Songs of the Nibelungs sandbox (the D&D Frankenclone I'm writing). It's pretty universal and can be used in every game. It's also a damn long post ...

More adventures in the Altgrimmr Mountains using the solo Scarlet Heroes guidelines.

More adventures in the Altgrimmr Mountains using the solo Scarlet Heroes guidelines.
https://dansgamingblog.wordpress.com/2016/09/18/a-golem-and-bandits

Running Winter Eternal at FGCON

Running Winter Eternal at FGCON
http://www.fg-con.com/events/winter-eternal-moth-to-a-flame-savage-worlds/

Hello everyone! Here is the campaign journal I have been writing for my solo games of Four Against Darkness, adapted to be set in MAR Barker's universe of Tekumel.

Hello everyone! Here is the campaign journal I have been writing for my solo games of Four Against Darkness, adapted to be set in MAR Barker's universe of Tekumel.

Play report no 1 and Play Sheets
https://fr.scribd.com/document/322603655/Tekumel-Four-Against-Darkness-Play-Report-of-the-Refulgent-Indigo-Company-of-Shadows-Book-1

Play report no 2.
https://fr.scribd.com/document/322603730/Tekumel-Four-Against-Darkness-Play-Report-of-the-Refulgent-Indigo-Company-of-Shadows-Book-2

Some files I have written to adapt Four Against Darkness to Tékumel, notably Nonhuman stats and generic tables
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/197097/four-against-darkness/files

If you wonder what's that all about, here are the official company links:

Four Against Darkness pen and paper rpg
http://www.ganeshagames.net/product_info.php?products_id=295

World of Tékumel
http://www.tekumel.com
https://fr.scribd.com/document/322603655/Tekumel-Four-Against-Darkness-Play-Report-of-the-Refulgent-Indigo-Company-of-Shadows-Book-1

I have a couple of generic word clouds that I created awhile back. One is a list of character archetypes, and the other is a list of values.

I have a couple of generic word clouds that I created awhile back. One is a list of character archetypes, and the other is a list of values.

Conan wordclouds

Conan wordclouds

Not actually based on any of the fictional works, but on the essay Howard wrote describing Hyperborea. As such, there will be references to real world locations and cultures at times.

Random tables will be coming at some point.

Alternate Event Table for Oracles like Mythic, etc. I based this on a word cloud of the cyberpunk novel Halo by Tom Maddox (for those who read Mirrorshades, it's the same universe as Snake Eyes; novel link here: http://project.cyberpunk.ru/lib/halo/).

Alternate Event Table for Oracles like Mythic, etc. I based this on a word cloud of the cyberpunk novel Halo by Tom Maddox (for those who read Mirrorshades, it's the same universe as Snake Eyes; novel link here: http://project.cyberpunk.ru/lib/halo/).

It doesn't have any particular cyberpunk flavor, because it's just a bunch of words without context, but I think it naturally leans towards the modern at least. Hope it's useful to someone.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_7MzENQrZSxZ0ljWE9WWXBMVG8/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_7MzENQrZSxZ0ljWE9WWXBMVG8/view?usp=sharing

My favourite solo engine is the Tiny Solitary Soldiers 1d6 system. I have an idea I am working on that is all running on a D100 open ended rolling system so intuituvely would imply a d100 open ended solo engine.

My favourite solo engine is the Tiny Solitary Soldiers 1d6 system. I have an idea I am working on that is all running on a D100 open ended rolling system so intuituvely would imply a d100 open ended solo engine.

Before I reinvent the wheel has anyone already done this?

I never Solo before!! I'm going to try the Solo Traveler Five!! God help me but boys do you want me to Chronicle my journey through this? Or give me any helpful advice I'll update you guys on my adventure?

I never Solo before!! I'm going to try the Solo Traveler Five!! God help me but boys do you want me to Chronicle my journey through this? Or give me any helpful advice I'll update you guys on my adventure?

Awhile back, I mentioned that I was making some random tables as an engine for creating quests, NPC's, and for answering open-ended questions. Since I was asked, I've been meaning to share an early draft of two of the three tables for the quest generator. For the sake of consistency, these tables will be for fantasy, but the general idea should be adaptable to any genre.

Awhile back, I mentioned that I was making some random tables as an engine for creating quests, NPC's, and for answering open-ended questions. Since I was asked, I've been meaning to share an early draft of two of the three tables for the quest generator. For the sake of consistency, these tables will be for fantasy, but the general idea should be adaptable to any genre.

Quest Generator (Incomplete)

To create a random quest, roll 1d10 for each of the three tables: the Action table, the Object table, and the Obstacle table. (This sample doesn't include the obstacle table.)

Actions

This table provides actions that must be taken for the quest.

1. ) Steal
2.) Rescue*
3.) Destroy
4.) Kill*
5.) Hide
6.) Kidnap*
7.) Buy
8.) Alert*
9.) Build
10.) Deceive*

* This action requires rolls on the NPC generator tables, rather than on the Object table. These options most likely won't make the final draft.

Objects

This table provides things to be acted upon; these are the objects to be acted upon.

1.) Holy scroll
2.) Amulet
3.) Magic gem
4.) Ring
5.) Sword
6.) Wolf
7.) Information
8.) Ship
9.) Treasure map
10.) Crown

------

Example: I rolled a 1 on the Action table, and a 10 on the Object table. So, this would be a quest to steal a crown. (Why? That's for the solo RPG'er to decide, at this point.) Of course, there needs to be some form of opposition to make this quest a challenge, which would need a roll on the Obstacles table, which I'm still slowly working on.

So, what do you guys think? As I said, I'm also working on tables for an NPC generator, thus answering "who", as well as tables to answer the questions "what", "where", and perhaps "when", "why", and "how". I've still got a long way to go with this.

Next up on the Stat It Marathon, we have Headspace.

Next up on the Stat It Marathon, we have Headspace.
https://solorpgvoyages.wordpress.com/2016/09/12/stat-it-headspace/

Someone in need. My further adventures of Wiluwhichi using 3 Deep.

I have been playing some more sessions of my main Dungeon World game.

I have been playing some more sessions of my main Dungeon World game.

http://shadowoftheflame.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/recap-character-sheets.html

http://shadowoftheflame.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/another-head-for-hydra.html - the cleric gets a vision of the Overlord, and the party plans what to do next.

http://shadowoftheflame.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/lizardfolk-and-dragonne.html - persuading more lizardfolk to stands against Tharashk's incursions.

http://shadowoftheflame.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/shadowing-dragonne.html - our spy infiltrates the Tharashk guildhouse.

Glendal Lorg returns with an Urban adventure, from the Scarlet Heroes rules by Sine Nomine Publishing.

Glendal Lorg returns with an Urban adventure, from the Scarlet Heroes rules by Sine Nomine Publishing.

Please join me for the Setup and Scene 1. Enjoy.

Edit: It would help if I correctly added the link. Thought I did earlier....

http://aloneamongstmany.blogspot.com/2016/09/glendal-lorg-in-city-setup-scene-1.html

And now I'm gonna play King of Tokyo solo like I have originally intended.

And now I'm gonna play King of Tokyo solo like I have originally intended.
https://solorpgvoyages.wordpress.com/2016/09/06/im-the-king-of-tokyo/

Suspension of Disbelief by Alex Schroeder.

Suspension of Disbelief by Alex Schroeder.
This is a German article about why he randomly rolls treasure. I thought this might be interesting for solo players, too. (Edit: see English article below.)

Here's my (loose) translation of the most important bit:

"When I [the GM] randomly determine monster treasure instead of deciding it [beforehand], I can feel as if we explore an unknown, autonomous world together instead of just experiencing a pale imitation of my dreams. It's easier for me to believe that my campaign world "really" exists."

Then he writes about the illogicality of random results and says that there are 2 ways he handles that:

a) see it as a challenge to incorporate it into the world (be creative within the constraints of the dice rolls)
b) don't slavishly follow your dice results

The choice of what tables to use is a creative act in itself.

https://alexschroeder.ch/wiki/2016-09-04_Aussetzen_der_Zweifel

EDIT: Here is a related article in English
https://alexschroeder.ch/wiki/2014-04-30_Independent_Existence_of_Imaginary_Worlds
https://alexschroeder.ch/wiki/2016-09-04_Aussetzen_der_Zweifel

I should say that for the next few posts using these that I have botched up how the Backstory cards worked.

I should say that for the next few posts using these that I have botched up how the Backstory cards worked.

See, I had to create a grid for three different items for each category, then whatever use whatever number was on the card...

Instead, I chose to ignore that...

So now is the month of Stat Its. I'm gonna stat up the characters I made using various cards for future games, starting with a potential Ravenloft campaign.
https://solorpgvoyages.wordpress.com/2016/09/05/stat-it-ravenloft/

Here's the LibreOffice's spreadsheet that on every refresh (ctrl+shift+F9 in LibreOffice Calc) generates 10 pairs of male first name + second name, 10 pairs of female first name + second name and 10 occupations. All data (except for several occupations) is from San Diego directory for 1925. It's not finished, but at least it's something :)

Here's the LibreOffice's spreadsheet that on every refresh (ctrl+shift+F9 in LibreOffice Calc) generates 10 pairs of male first name + second name, 10 pairs of female first name + second name and 10 occupations. All data (except for several occupations) is from San Diego directory for 1925. It's not finished, but at least it's something :)

It doesn't account for names frequency, so you'll get as many Johns as Siegfrieds. And, of course, you'll get pairs like Spanish first name + Chinese second name (I don't know if it's possible to "fix" that)

Because I'm not from US and English is not my native language, I'm sure that there are some typos and errors in names. Sorry for that.

I hope you'll find it useful.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-jtXAIsnYHqMFZMTzJwUGdib1U/view?usp=sharing

It's not a solo RPG, at least not out of the box, but you guys are like my oldest G+ community so I wanted to share this with you.

It's not a solo RPG, at least not out of the box, but you guys are like my oldest G+ community so I wanted to share this with you.

Originally shared by Jacob Ross

The Kaigaku campaign is here! Hop on over, check it out and let's make Kaigaku the best RPG that it can be!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1059971838/kaigaku-a-samurai-rpg

Actual play using Mythras Classic Fantasy and Mythic... was a lot of fun!

Actual play using Mythras Classic Fantasy and Mythic... was a lot of fun!
http://ubiquitousrat.net/?p=3549

Playing 3 Deep, character creation.