I recently discovered the concept of the "Heroes Journey", which I figure would make a great framework for a solo game. I introduce the concept on my blog: http://www.risingphoenixgames.com/blog/the-heroes-journey/

I recently discovered the concept of the "Heroes Journey", which I figure would make a great framework for a solo game. I introduce the concept on my blog: http://www.risingphoenixgames.com/blog/the-heroes-journey/
#hero   #story   #myth  
http://www.risingphoenixgames.com/blog/the-heroes-journey

I know a few people here play Pathfinder. I'm running a Pathfinder Society game next Friday. More info here:

I know a few people here play Pathfinder. I'm running a Pathfinder Society game next Friday. More info here:
http://paizo.com/events/v5748mkg0ataw
http://paizo.com/events/v5748mkg0ataw

Hi peeps I'm wondering if I can impose upon you some more!

Hi peeps I'm wondering if I can impose upon you some more!

I'm doing a little (2 question) survey and wonder would like to know if you could have 15 minutes of my time for me to help you with anything you want, what would you ask me?

Q2 is would you be willing to have a Skype convo as a follow up?

Ideally I'll prefer if you could post your questions in RPGGeek or RPG.net if not add them to the this discussion. I'll be willing to answer these questions for you, if you desire me to.

http://rpggeek.com/thread/1203920/survey-solo-roleplaying
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?731451-Survey-Solo-Roleplaying

Thanks guys! :-)
#lonelyfun
#solorpg  
http://rpggeek.com/thread/1203920/survey-solo-roleplaying

How Mythic GME got it Wrong

How Mythic GME got it Wrong

What follows is a draft of a (short) essay that will be posted to my blog sometime in the future.

My mind has been thinking about solo roleplaying terms recently. You might've seen it when I've started talking about avatars, heroes, and other related character terms. This post is not about that. This post is about: Solo Engines.

Mythic Games Master Emulator was my first brush with a solo engine. Though I didn't know it at the time. Forward a few years and I get into the whole solo roleplaying scene. Someone on the Lone Wolf group used the term solo engine. I do not know if they came up with the term or borrowed it from elsewhere but it seems to have stuck.

If Mythic called it a Games Master Emulator or GME why do I not call it by that name? Why do I prefer the term, and call it, a solo engine instead?

It's simple. There is no GM in a solo game. There is only the single player. In a social game the GM provides the framework of the game and helps drive the game (or story) forward. Linked to this the term GM Emulator makes people feel like you need a GM or have to wear 2 hats while solo roleplaying.

Solo Engine is a better choice because it gets away from using some of the terminology of social roleplaying. That terminology both helps and hinders in solo roleplaying. It helps because it makes solo roleplaying feel safer and is easier to pick up. It hinders because it makes solo roleplaying seem like a clone of social roleplaying. It is true that they share many of the same elements but there is a difference that needs to shown.

That's why I think the term Solo Engine is a better choice.

It gets us solo roleplayers away from talking about GM and Player. It makes us stop thinking that the GME will to do all of the 'work'.

We still have to do some of the work of the GM during the game. Some of the work of the GM can be outsourced to the Solo Engine. There is still some of the GM's work us solo roleplayers have to do.

Analogies are always good: a solo engine is like the engine in a car. Like a car engine the solo engine drives the action but needs inputs from an external force to make it go, stop, and change direction. The engine by itself is useless it needs a framework (chassis of the car) and a means of moving the framework (the drive system).

A solo engine helps you drive the adventure along with the rules. It helps drive the action but it still needs inputs and a whole lot more before its ready

I was reading this thread at RPG.net (http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?730734-Blind-Man-s-Elder-Scrolls-or-Solo-Tabletop-sandboxes) interestingly enough about a blind RPG player who wanted to explore a world, in the manner of say, playing Elder Scrolls through solo roleplaying. I suggested context as a main component, and roryb bracebuckle echoed it. It got me to thinking.

I was reading this thread at RPG.net (http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?730734-Blind-Man-s-Elder-Scrolls-or-Solo-Tabletop-sandboxes) interestingly enough about a blind RPG player who wanted to explore a world, in the manner of say, playing Elder Scrolls through solo roleplaying. I suggested context as a main component, and roryb bracebuckle echoed it. It got me to thinking.

All of my solo roleplaying have been within some predefined world or genre. So I've always felt I've had context, but now in thinking I want to say there are two sides of the context coin. There is macro-context that permeates the world and will generally be true of all players in that world, but there is also micro-context.

Often times I create micro-context on the fly. The Oracle suggests an NPC enters the scene, so early on I might have to create an NPC on the fly. Locations, enemies, etc. are often times all created or at least taken from a template at a moment's notice. They weren't there before.

My next big experiment is to use Chuubo's to go through the Hero's Journey, or as much as I can, based on The Writer's Journey book. Chuubo's has macrocontext with locations, some NPC's (that could also be PC's), and some enemies. I think before I start I am going to at the very least flesh out the Archetypes to create more microcontext before I even begin.

Going back to that thread at RPG.net, the OP talks about world building, and I wonder how much world-building - creation of microcontext - could improve the solo RPG, or at least create a variation in flavor. Has anybody created a lot of microcontext before playing and then entered that world?
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?730734-Blind-Man-s-Elder-Scrolls-or-Solo-Tabletop-sandboxes

So I'd like to share some Actual Plays for a solo Stars Without Number game I'm doing, but I was wondering which format folks preferred for presentation:  A more 'mechanical' take, with rolls results, etc,  or a more narrative approach, the play session written up as a short piece of fiction?

Working an idea over in my head, thought I'd share it here. What if solo gaming played like watching a Quentin Tarantino movie? Start with how it ends and then use your system's rules and various aids to figure out how it got there. It would also give focus to any inspiration or probability rolls.

Working an idea over in my head, thought I'd share it here. What if solo gaming played like watching a Quentin Tarantino movie? Start with how it ends and then use your system's rules and various aids to figure out how it got there. It would also give focus to any inspiration or probability rolls.

Still thinking it over, but it seems like this might help move my non-group gaming in an interesting direction.