Mythic GM Emulator is a major shared touchstone for a lot of solo RPers. I see its influence in lots of products, both free and paid.
Do you think that Mythic's well known mechanics bias you when you're designing how your own solo RP experience will work?
And has anything since Mythic been so impressive to you that you feel it inarguably moved the state of the art forward for solo RP? To the point that some major part of Mythic's framework should be replaced?
It's a tool, a well known tool for sure. I think reading the GME book offers a lot of good advice. Even if you go to a different system later, that part tends to stick with you.
ReplyDeleteI'm bias in that l've found l prefer much simpler yes/no oracles than what Mythic provided, I have yet to find superior tables of verb + noun prompts than the excellent ones found in Mythic, and that l prefer a more controlled trickle of randomness and some actual story structure.
ReplyDeleteMy exposure to Mythic caused me to go seeking almost the exact opposite play style than it encourages, something l'm grateful for since l'm very happy with my solo RP experience at the moment.
Mythic is a milestone in solo rpg, IMO every solo player should read it soon or later. Personally the only elements of that game that I still use are the lists of NPC and threads but I never mention them in my games because are not essential.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the tools available, most of them seem to be variations of Mythic in any event, so I think it basically defined things.
ReplyDeleteI did like the "7 questions" (or however many it was) option someone had posted up.
It was my first, and even when I try different systems I find myself going back to it in order to fill in the gaps. Still the most complete system, though the UNE is also a key tool for any Solo game.
ReplyDeleteI haven't picked up Mythic, simply because I'm so new to the hobby, and funds are so tightly managed in my household.
ReplyDeleteI will likely see about buying a copy to read through at some point, but I've been using Conjecture Games: CRGE which apparently is a lite version of Mythic. It was free; it gets the job done: although I'm sure my solo experience is lacking some of the neat options I've seen on game blogs posted.
Omari Brooks Can you explain your "exact opposite play style" to Mythic? Do you have any play reports that would show examples?
ReplyDeleteRobert Wiesehan
ReplyDeleteAs I mentioned, I'll use simpler yes/no oracles to play faster and not mull over 11 choices for odds tiers or setting a chaos factor.
I like to keep my cross-referencing and book keeping to a minimum when I play.
I don't want my game to be more or less random at unpredictable spots (Chaos Factor). I have random prompts in every scene which are interpreted in the context of classical story structure i.e. Beginning/Middle/End or Exposition/Rising Action/Climax/Falling Action/Resolution, Hero's Journey, etc. So every scene I play is already "altered" and there is zero chance that I would have to throw a scene out (as an interrupt). I feel like I spend too much time setting a scene up to just completely throw it out because of a die roll.
Depending on the story direction I've gotten from osmosis; through consuming movies/TV/book, etc over the years wasn't really giving me the types of experience I was looking for; hence wanting to hang my efforts on a scaffold of story structure.
Giving sub threads spotlight time is also antithetical to me wanting to play fast; if they are interesting enough they become main threads for a separate adventure.
For me, the biggest thing that I got from Mythic was that it showed me how to play an RPG by myself. At that time, there was no Lone Wolf G+, nor more than a few actual play reports. The few APs that I could find, didn't go very far into describing the mechanics of how a solo game was played, much less any underlying philosophy.
ReplyDeleteThe main thing from Mythic that I still carry in every solo RPG session, is to always interpret everything in the current context in the game, and, when making Game Masterly decisions, always chose the answer that will lead to a more interesting story, even (and sometimes, especially) if means more trouble for my character. That insures that I go down rabbit holes that I couldn't even imagine when I sat down to play.
That, and remember that you are playing the game, not the other way around. If it doesn't make sense, ignore it. If you're having fun, you're doing it right.
Mythic reminds me of a journeyman's first tool set. As you learn the craft, they are on hand to do what needs doing. Over time you will replace or upgrade various tools to meet the needs of the project at hand. After a while you may look at your tool set and realize that most of the tools of the original set have been replaced, but the form and function still resembles those you began with. That is the influence of Mythic on my solo gaming. My tools have changed but the original set still shines through in places.
ReplyDeleteThe above posts are a great fit for me. Mythic taught me the basic techniques for solitaire RPG gaming. While various house rules and supplemental systems are added to it Mythic:RPG is still at the heart of my play. Even the Location Crafter has been a great tool. I think the only singular person to influence my hobby more was Gary Gygax.
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