I've been wondering since someone mentioned "never having thought Fate would work solo" or something similar recently on my #EverMyst post.
I've wondered myself about the viability of PbtA games solo, and for one particular reason: One of the things I really dug upon reading through DW was that the DM (or whatever the hell they call it) doesn't have to roll - ever - if she doesn't want. That's like half the rolling removed, which can save a lot of time... But requires a lot of trust in fiat of your primary world-builder, and the hope she can pull off both neutral "I am the world" rulings as well as setting "you heroes shall die!" Villain-focused, hero-punishing difficulties.
Has anyone got experience working this style play with PbtA? Maybe I just have experience with the game in normal times, and it'd be so second nature that the solo nature wouldn't make much difference?
Anyone running solo PbtA?
I ran a few PBTA games, most notably Titan World
ReplyDeleteI've never messed around with PbtA, unfortunately. And I do love to use my rolls and systems to drive the story. But this is FAR from the only way to play. A number of other players take a more "writerly" approach to is. For example,
ReplyDeletesolorpggamer.blogspot.com - #WritingWithDice: Reframing the act of solo roleplaying
I have run Freebooters on the Frontier, and it works as you would expect. The GM Moves basically does the work for you.
ReplyDeleteCurrently running Magical Fury (which is PbtA inspired) for SGAM and I built oracles for the GM's complicate life and advance a threat moves. I'm really enjoying how it is playing out. Using CRGE and UNE to fill in details as well.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to play another PbtA game, I certainly would go to the trouble of picking out select MC moves and creating oracles for them.
Oh, and building custom oracles is almost a necessity since Power by the Apocalyspe games tend to be very genre focused and you want your MC moves to reflect that.
ReplyDeleteWith DW ... the "MC doesn't roll" is because, for things like combat ... a melee is an exchange ...and depending on how you do, you can have the choice of taking damage or not ... and generally since you are already rolling the MC will simply have you roll to see how much damage you take ... otherwise, it all comes down to telling the story with degrees of success ( at cost, no cost, extra sauce ) where you roll when your role play meets specific conditions, I could easily see someone that is being faithful to the rules & conditions being able to use the system solo.. I am a fan of the system in general and am actively MCing it.
ReplyDeleteI've played The Sprawl solo once and I've played Blades in the Dark solo a half dozen times (if the creator of Blades and Vincent Baker both say that Blades is PtbA who am I to argue ;)
ReplyDeleteSince I have the role of both the GM and Player in a solo game I don't have an urge to go easy or stick it to the Player Character. I'm playing the game to see how the PC deals with adversity after all; failure is always an option but failure doesn't mean the story is automatically over. It's not hard for me to present fair and logical challenges.
I GM group games and I still don't have an urge to go easy/hard on PCs. Maybe that would change if I ever ran a struggle-porn survival game but I doubt it.
Struggle/survival porn sounds like every game of Tunnels and Trolls that I have played. :-)
ReplyDeleteAt least PbtA makes that entertaining.
Ran some MonsterHearts, It was good. Required a lot of Oracle consultation & interpretation since it's so loose.
ReplyDeleteadditionally, generally, the MC is also just reacting to the situations that arise during play ... you had something happen with a cost, here's a list of options for what those costs should be. The MC is an impartial position. Also, generally a lot of the lore & such comes as much from the players as it does the MC. I think the only part that would be really awkward (for me) would be the situations where the player is allowed to ask the MC 1-3 questions about the given situation (perceiving realities & such). I can see it working, but you do have an uphill battle with keeping the unseen stuff from the MC side (fronts moving in the BG) separate from what your character knows.
ReplyDeleteSort of. I run a modified game that's pbta; a number of the games I've written use that framework just because it's so soloable.
ReplyDeleteI tend to have a chart I use to roll on when I need a partial or fail Move, if nothing suggests itself in the fiction.
It's fun to hack on, and it makes "what happens next?" trivial. Pretty much all I ask in a solo system. :D
I've been using Dungeon World paired with the Perilous Wilds source book for a solo game and world building project. It works beautifully. I am using Rory Dice and the Perilous random tables asy oracles, with the occasional d6:evens-for-yes question. The fact that the "GM" never has to roll, combined with GM Moves make it very easy to fit in Oracle inspiration withing the context of the game and the setting.
ReplyDeleteGeoff Osterberg I've been doing a group pbp game (two players, myself as GM) and generating all the content randomly, and that's my experience too. I do 1-2, no and, 3-4, yes but, 5-6, yes and, but otherwise very similar. Just a joy to run and narratively very fluid.
ReplyDeleteJeff Wood For any hidden knowledge checks take a random prompt and incorporating it into the answer.
ReplyDeleteQ: Rumor has it that elves live in these woods, are the friendly?
( Random Prompt = a leaf)
A: Not only are they friendly but they grow and smoke a drug that keeps them mellow. It fetches a pretty penny with the underworld types back at the capital city.
Q: l’m willing to deal, what do they desire in barter?
(Random Prompt = a sword)
A: Well the orcs have been encroaching on their territory so they have been in need of weapons to fend off attacks
I've run a couple of short solo campaigns with Apocalypse World. It worked great. I used a few different resources to supplement the rules, like CRGE, Miso, the Oracles from In A Wicked Age and a site called Apocalypse Fuel which generates random holds, gangs and NPCs, specifically for AW. But for the most part, once you got going, the basic rules had you covered. It's designed so that the results of each roll feed directly into the narrative, prompting the next bit of the story. Once you've got a few threats written up with a few threat clocks, the game basically writes itself.
ReplyDeleteThanks all for the glut of feedback!
ReplyDeleteI think the player-centric roll mechanics and move-based structure of PbtA games make it an interesting platform for solo play. I'm developing a PbtA-adjacent game called Ironsworn that directly supports solo and co-op GM-less play. You can check out the 150+ page preview at ironswornrpg.com - Ironsworn - Tabletop RPG to see if it's up your alley. The chapter focused on oracles is getting added in a few days.
ReplyDeleteShawn Tomkin
ReplyDeleteProps for not doing yet another Dungeon World reskin at least :)
l look forward to following this project.
Just to follow up on my previous post, the Ironsworn RPG has been updated with the "Oracles" chapter. It includes a bunch of random tables (everything from naming a settlement to introducing a twist into your narrative). It leans heavily on inspirational prompts rather than specific answers. The oracles, after all, can be a bit enigmatic.
ReplyDeleteWould love to hear what folks think. It's essentially a feature-complete game now, except for some final editing and one additional chapter on gameplay options and best-practices (coming soon).
I love inspirational prompts! Checking it out now!
ReplyDelete