My (early) draft for a Solo Story System which uses the Otherkind dice mechanic. (I don't know how I'll name the system, it's just a placeholder right now.)

My (early) draft for a Solo Story System which uses the Otherkind dice mechanic. (I don't know how I'll name the system, it's just a placeholder right now.)

I worked on it several months ago but somehow lost momentum. I somehow want to incorporate a cool solo mechanic into it that makes uses of randomizers (image generators, i.e. Rory's Story Cubes) obsolete. But I have no idea how.

We know that we can play almost every RPG solo but I want a system which already does incorporate a solo mechanic. So far, my system is a re-hash of Otherkind Dice and the system by Tiny Solitary Soldiers.

Anyway, although I'm NOT happy with it, I just thought I'd share in the hopes of a) getting feedback and b) inspiring other folks.

While on vacation this last week I visited a FLGS in Duluth, Mn. Among my other finds, I finally picked up two I've been wanting for a while, a copy of The End of the World: Zombie Apocalypse and Fiasco. While friends and family have shown an interest in playing Fiasco, I couldn't wait. So I made up quick solo play booklet and some simple solo play rules.

While on vacation this last week I visited a FLGS in Duluth, Mn. Among my other finds, I finally picked up two I've been wanting for a while, a copy of The End of the World: Zombie Apocalypse and  Fiasco. While friends and family have shown an interest in playing Fiasco, I couldn't wait.  So I made up quick solo play booklet and some simple solo play rules.

First, I put all the required dice into a bag. During set up I pull them out and roll them for the relationships, needs, objects and locations the characters share. After set up I put the dice back in the bag.

The first scene I choose whoever seems most interesting and put them in a scene together. I also choose a question I want answered during the scene. As I write out the scene in brief, I pull a random die when questions with unknown answers arise (using standard yes/no formation). If it is a white die then the answer is yes, if it's a black die then the answer is no.  It's quick and easy and hardly interrupts the narrative at all. Once it seems I'm getting close to answering the scenes arching question I pull another random die from the bag, assigning a positive or negative ending to the scene according to Fiasco's rules.

Now, since keeping the dice constant is important for my randomization process, I always put any dice drawn back into the bag. However I mark how many dice of each type the characters have on my solo booklet. When I have a total of 8 dice assigned, I stop and play through the Tilt as per the rules. I choose two Tilt items myself and randomize the other two. 

I have yet to make it through Act 2 in my solo play, so I can't say how I'll handle the aftermath but I imagine it'll be in list form since it's the closest I can get to Fiasco's montage closing.

Like most of my solo rule workups, this one more than bridges the game/writing gap. With Fiasco being a narrative game by design it makes the transition very well. It's also started the wheels grinding away on way to incorporate some of the mechanics into my other solo gaming projects.

So far I'm having a good deal of fun with it. I'll add the link to my solo booklet for anyone that might find it useful. For printing, I used the booklet option in Foxit Reader. 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByVeZxlFO74FOWx2VTdjdEZodlU/view?usp=sharing

This might be of interest to the group here. The OP is asking for people's experiences in solo play. Want to share yours there? :)

This might be of interest to the group here. The OP is asking for people's experiences in solo play. Want to share yours there? :)
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?762626-Is-solo-play-underrated

Well it's up - on-line and ready for public consumption...

Well it's up - on-line and ready for public consumption...
My solo blog; One Player - Many Stages
https://malciggrpg.wordpress.com/

I want you folk to see it first, have a dig & find that one link that doesn't work etc and let me know what you think, what you want to see more of.

I have some ideas - but need motivation! 
https://malciggrpg.wordpress.com

So a while back, I did a challenge where I played a solo game with only one Rory Story Cube as my driver, no engines or anything. Today, I share this challenge to you all.

So a while back, I did a challenge where I played a solo game with only one Rory Story Cube as my driver, no engines or anything. Today, I share this challenge to you all.
https://solorpgvoyages.wordpress.com/2015/08/01/the-one-cube-challenge/

My latest thoughts on how to adapt Cortext Plus for solo play are about random events. Sure you could just use the Mythic GME, but Cortex already has a mechanism for injecting random events into the game, it happens when you roll 1's, so really the GME seems mostly redundant.

My latest thoughts on how to adapt Cortext Plus for solo play are about random events. Sure you could just use the Mythic GME, but Cortex already has a mechanism for injecting random events into the game, it happens when you roll 1's, so really the GME seems mostly redundant. 

So here is my thinking. We add a Fortune Dice Pool which starts at 2d8+1d6 The 2d8 are variable dice , see below, but the 3rd dice is always a d6. This Pool is rolled against a stakes based on how likely you want the answer to be yes, a 50/50 question has a stakes of 12, lower stakes mean more likely and higher stakes mean less likely. 

Your question such that raising the stakes benefits the protagonist in some way, and failing to raise the stakes hurts the protagonist in some way.  

At the end of each scene evaluate weather things are going well or poorly. If things are going well then step up the lowest variable die in the fortune pool. If things are going poorly then step back the highest variable die in the fortune pool.  this will always give you a fortune pool between 2d4+d6 and 2d12+d6. 

Why the extra d6?

Because it allows us to get a 50/50 split. with only 2 dice in the pool 50/50 splits would be impossible.  I havn't tried this yet, but plan to in the next week or so, as time permits.

Title

I don't know about you, but without fun tables to inspire my solo gaming, everything falls apart.

Tables like this are a gold mine for me, and are generally much better than what I get out of mythic GME. Things that can happen, happen to you.

ruthlessly stolen from the walkthroughs for the discworld mud from the early 2000s.

accomplice -- help a cat burglar
aid a baker with ingredients
capture a native animal
beat up a few people at the bar
beat a corn maze
try to connive your way to a free show
remove a curse
explore an area of the city sewers
act as a courier for a big job
bring a ticket and bring back the object
perform a friendly service for a demon
feed a pet
kill someone else's pet
discover a doppelganger
deliver something locally
get secret access to something
help solve a discrepancy in weight argument
find a secret location to spy on something secret
look around and help people find stuff they lost
help fashion hooks for fishing and use them
buy a big fish and whack someone with it as a joke
buy a bunch of flowers for a friend
help a fortune teller find some missing cards
help someone move to a new residence
gather ingredients for sacrifice at an altar
help someone with injured feet get to a cobbler
investigate the reports of wandering undead
on a dare, find and kiss a frog
clean up a neglected residence
fix a squeaky gate or door
break someone out of jail
find the hidden entrance
find out what the shop really sells
prove yourself to the smart person or be embarrassed
help a potter with menial tasks
kill sacred monsters for sacrifice
find something that your friend lost while out
mend clothing with the other folks
inquire at the closed shop
play a musical instrument for someone
get rid of some vermin
clean out the mechanical sewer equipment
fix the wheel for the potter
play a practical joke on someone
help create signs for town cryers
pay for a message to be shouted by town cryers
buy a child's toy
lead the mime into a trap
count votes for an election
go fishing
knock out a loose tooth carefully
read lines with the patrician actor
use food to cleverly get vermin out of the way
help the artificer with a new clever design
polish armor and weaponry
comfort someone that is sad
bring beer to the tradesman that can't work without it
join an ad hoc sports game
buy a new pair of shoes
become a regular customer at a trade shop
act as a mediator to settle a debt
help a musician find the right sheet music in a mess
help someone get out of the well
participate in a friendly wrestling match
participate in a wine tasting
trade the secret item for a badge of access
rob a crypt
lead a ritual to bless combat with demons
sanctify a weapon in a difficult to reach sacred place
find a body, gather its equipment, and bury it
find, release, and defeat a bound demon
help load arms and armor on the equipment racks
taunt dangerous animals with rocks
act as bait for dangerous animals that are delicious
help find a missing hawk hood
give someone a hint that they maybe could use a belt
give a child a toy boat
learn some phrases in a new language
visit the various tents
give the spoiled kid a treat
paint a picture
knowingly drink the poison politely
avoid a few traps, and replace the idol with sand
play a word association game
find someone's favorite things that are lost
perform favors as quid pro quo
answer a bunch of riddles for a prize
teach someone to swim by throwing them in
get someone's nemesis to apologize
give someone a thoughtful gift
retrieve the important object from a difficult location
bury the corpse
sneak your way in through the fence
get letters of introduction to meet someone
steal something brazenly
perform as an actor in a scene
help a playwright with editing
complete an extremely aggravating task for a reward
that stranger's dog wants steak
get the silver ring for tolls
find the broken crystal ball
secretly broker a secret meeting
get the wagon's wheel repaired
feed the poultry
set out boards and straw in the barn for sleepers
get odd object for smith
repair farm implements
sneak into a hidden cave to get a ruby
repair a blade that is broken
help someone cheat at a coin game
help re-arrange mosaic pieces
stealthily abscond with the thieves' daggers
gather soap shavings to refill a thieves' toolkit
build a better mouse trap
convince a man he is needed at home
fight a huge bumpkin
talk to a unicorn
fix someone's shoes for them
give someone your hangover cure
go somewhere very dark and get the stuff
commisserate with the hill people
help make goat cheese
bring people together with bull mating
put out fire and cover tracks
recover a captive from the bandits
avoid the spikes by jumping in the cesspit
avoid the spikes by climing the tree
free someone from the net trap
get the object from the flying bird
gather herbs for the local druid
help with the lunar ceremony
find an awesome sea shell and give it to someone
find a buried toy in the sandbox
buy enough of something to get a food item named after you
trim a hedge to an artistic standard
feign injury to avoid a long line
help the smugglers get stuff past customs
give the hungry some bread
test the teleportation gate
clear the area of the evil plants
get access to the black market
get access to the post office
get access to the armor restitcher
get access to the hidden shop that sells curios
get access to the granary
get access to the assassins guild
get access to the wizards guild
find a hidden entry to the sewer system
find the hidden wolves trail
find the beast lair
find the hidden temple for a reward
find the hidden shrine
find the thieves guild front
find the secret house of death
find the mad hatter shop
find the secret restaurant
find out the secret password
find the hidden magic shop
find the trap door in the fountain
find the sewer system
find the hidden entrance to the crypts
find the hidden entrance to the assassins guild
find the hidden bandit camp
find the hidden assassins camp
find the nhim-phat shop FIXME
find the hidden entrance to the thieves' guild
find the place where they sell a special coveted object
find the secret temple of monks
find the back door cave entrance
find the thieves' guild common room
find the hidden unicorn trail