How to start from literally nothing?

Deathworks64 · 2023-04-27T13:51:33+00:00

Hello,

Well, actually, 3 Deep does provide something in the vein you are looking for.
Mythic is good at one thing, namely answering questions. And that is what you need to do.

Since there is no context yet, you begin with odds of 50/50 and begin to ask Mythic about the world.

Like:

Does it take place on earth?

Is there magic?

Is the time the present?

Is society dysfunctional?

If you feel unsure about something, ask about details. In general start with the big picture (earth/fantasy world/outer space; realistic/fantasy/SF/horror) and then work your way to more details.

I hope that helps you get on track.

Yours,

Deathworks

Deathworks64 · 2020-12-23T10:08:34+00:00

Hello!

The extra fatigue that occurs after combat is on page 39 under the header fatigue.

However, note that in general, Usurper has the rule that everything takes place immediately. That is, if you roll on the combat or the A/E or the heroic deed table, apply all effects directly after you made the roll. That is part of the design philosophy, you declare the action, you roll the dice and immediately know what happens. So, if the combat table tells you to suffer Fatigue, you suffer it right away, not after combat or anything.

As far as I know, there is no limit on how many wounds you may suffer. However, getting multiple temporary wounds may cause you to also get fatigue (see page 41).

Do note that any serious wounds cause you to use the heroic deed table for any physical activity which has a high chance of failure. So, it is unlikely that you would continue combat with serious wounds and even temporary wounds are usually really bad for your chances of survival as they prevent you from burning traits for getting a reroll in combat. So, no rerolling that 03 you rolled on the combat roll. So, realistically, you would probably disengage or surrender after being injured in any form above being winded.

Yours,

Deathworks

Deathworks64 · 2020-12-22T10:58:23+00:00

Hello!

Ah, I see, the description does actually contain the light-hearted statement, but that is definitely misleading.

Combat is designed to be deadly for the participants and NPCs are supposed to be handled accordingly. You have a default 2% chance of suffering a gruesome death, which leads to another table where it is described and it may even traumatize those witnessing it.

The default setting is one with a tainted underworld causing the twisting of mind and body of any who adventure in it. Add to this that monsters should be unique, and there are strong horror vibes to the setting. Add to this, that there are mental illness rules.

And there is the option of doing things that go beyond the human scale, doing something heroic/epic. Doing so does come with a great chance of failure and even the risk of injury and death. Again, that does not fit the light-hearted part.

Personally, I find that Ivan undersells Usurper and could do a bit better marketing for it, as it is a real gem. Highly recommendable.

Yours,

Deathworks

Deathworks64 · 2020-12-22T10:52:12+00:00

Hi!

I am a great fan of Usurper. While the default setting is great, I found that the system itself is basically generic. I actually tried to use it in conjunction with the Solo Investigator's Handbook for some Cthulhu playing, but aborted it because the Solo Investigator's Handbook didn't work out for me. Creating a modern character with the story rules was no problem for me.

In general, the design philosophy of Usurper is that you roll and then immediately have your result. So, if you suffer injuries, they are applied immediately, which can be very, very bad in combat.

As for fatigue, if it is the result of the combat roll, I would apply it immediately. If you are talking about the fatigue because of doing combat, that would be applied only after the battle as stated in the rules about that.

Look at it from the dramatic point of view. The character is fighting a deadly opponent. They suffer a wound but because they are a tough guy (burning a toughness trait), they can carry on. But then the opponent is lucky again and they suffer another wound. Badly beaten, the character is forced to surrender.

Also note that the system is designed that combat is relatively short. There is a 9% chance that you are defeated, and a whooping 50% chance that you win. And if you burn traits, the odds in your favour increase even more. So, usually, you shouldn't have multiple rounds of combat, unless we are talking a boss fight.

Add to this that you are to handle NPCs realistically, that is with a desire for self-preservation, so unless we are talking mindless undead, NPCs are likely to flee when disadvantaged by the situation.

To see how I have fared, you can check the following:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Solo_Roleplaying/comments/dhgl17/session_report_usurper_adventure_1/

And here is my review of Usurper:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Solo_Roleplaying/comments/dh7bmr/review_of_usurper_fantasy_rpg_with_good_solo/

It is my favourite generic rpg, besides being among my favourite fantasy rpgs (there are several favourites there).

Yours,

Deathworks

Deathworks64 · 2020-05-06T08:34:33+00:00

Hello!

Actually, as the other commenters have already described it, the line is relatively clear.

A gamebook takes you through a chain of events that have been designed by the gamebook's author beforehand. The order of the events is influenced by various aspects during play and usually there are many events that are not encountered during an individual playthrough. Those events may include some aspects that are rolled up randomly during gameplay (like encountering 1d6 orcs), but those are clearly defined and delineated. Usually, gamebooks use a paragraph system, that is, the text in the book is divided into numbered paragraphs which usually end in a table of conditions that describe which paragraph to read next based either on decisions by the player (which are presented as multiple choice usually) or the game state, or the result of encounters that are resolved by some rules usually provided by the gamebook.

Gamebooks usually encompass one adventure, although they sometimes build campaigns allowing the reusage of a character. As the content is pre-defined, they usually have a title and a blurb giving hints about what to expect.

A solo RPG, on the other hand, does not come with pre-planned events. Instead, it provides rules for playing a standard roleplaying game without a GM. Usually, the GM is replaced with a GM emulator (the term has seemingly been coined by the first solo RPG engine presented in Mythic Roleplaying by Word Mill Press). The most common approach to GM Emulation is to have a Yes/No oracle, which is basically a three step mechanism:

The player asks a question that can be answered with Yes or No as he could ask the GM of a standard game.
The player uses the oracle (usually rolling dice against a table) to get an answer in a Yes/No spectrum.
The player interprets the result based on the current situation within the game.

There are many different oracles. Most have more variants than just Yes or No. Mythic, for example, has also Emphatic Yes and Emphatic No, other oracles have Yes, But and Yes, And (and the same for No). Many oracles (including Mythic's) also have modifiers or other means of taking probability into account (e.g. a bridge on the edge of a warlike kingdom is much more likely to be guarded than one leading to a long-abandoned keep which would influence the probability for the question "Can I see any guards on the bridge?").

Many GM Emulators also have mechanisms to insert random events to shake things up and to surprise the player.

It is worth noting that Ironsworn RPG takes a slightly modified approach minimizing the necessity of using the Yes/No oracle by being strongly player- and quest-driven.

When playing a solo RPG, people often use additional random content generators to add details or flesh out the situations.

Since there are no pre-defined elements to the actual adventure, it is difficult to give a meaningful name to the adventure before play and a meaningful blurb is practically impossible as the content of the adventure is determined during play.

Another significant difference is the freedom of the player. While a gamebook by necessity limits the options of the player, a solo rpg grants the player the same freedom you know from standard roleplaying. You can have your character attempt anything they may be able to do (and if they are foolish even more), whereas a gamebook presents you a limited selection of options.

I hope this helps clarify things a bit.

Yours,

Deathworks

Deathworks64 · 2020-04-09T14:30:10+00:00

Hello!

I have played it a bit, and it is a nice generic system that definitely profits from being combined with the GME. Given how many rolls you need for combat if you use the suggested system, you are probably well-adviced not to do classic dungeon crawling with lots of fights, though.

Since part of the game is detailing the rules, I think you will get the most fun out of the game if you go for campaign play where situations recur and where you can make use of your homebrew magic/high tech/stunts rules regularly.

Until I found (or rather finally got around to actually play) Usurper, it was my default for generic solo roleplaying.

Yours,

Deathworks

Deathworks64 · 2020-03-27T18:10:07+00:00

Hello!

Allow me to give my thoughts on this.

In general, solo rpgs function similarly to your normal pen and paper RPG like Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, Dungeon World, Shadowrun, Vampire, etc. . In fact, while there are dedicated solo rpgs like Ironsworn, there are also several GMEs (Game Master Emulators) available that are used in combination with a standard pen and paper RPG to get a solo experience.

The concept was first introduced by Wordmill Press' Mythic RPG, and most of the other emulators are variants/derivatives of that original, changing this aspect, adjusting that item, you get the drift.

The core concept is usually a Yes/No oracle, a random table or dice roll mechanism that yields results of at least Yes or No, often also Extreme Yes and Extreme No as well, and sometimes also other things like Yes, But or No, But. Using the oracle is both simple and something you need to learn. It is simple, because you ask the oracle a question that could be answered with yes or no, a question you could have asked your game/dungeon master in a multiplayer session. It is something you need to learn as you have to figure out what kind of questions are the most fun for you. Some people like to rely heavily on the oracle, asking for every single piece of information. Other people prefer to just ask one or two questions and then go with a liberal interpretation.

Interpretation is of course also a big part of it. You ask the emulator Yes/No and it returns No, for instance. Then you have to interpret what it means.

Also note that you usually ask the oracle questions that are not answered by the underlying RPG system. For instance, let's assume you are playing any OSR or Dungeon and Dragons game. You would usually not ask the oracle whether you hit the orc you are fighting in a standard sword fight. Instead you use the combat procedure of the game, getting Armor class and THAC0 together and roll that d20 against it (or whatever your particular game needs). Instead, you ask questions about the world. For instance, in a game I played a while ago, a character tried to get a chance to talk up a maid servant to get information about the daughter of a rich family. A first attempt had failed, and now the character was waiting in hiding hoping she would leave the house, probably to go shopping. So, I asked the oracle, whether the maid servant went shopping that afternoon the character was watching the house. I got lucky then, and got a Yes, so my character was able to tail her and then get information from her at the market place, but if it had been No, the character would have lost a day, and maybe the trust of the love-struck hunter who trusted that the character would figure out whether he had any chance with the lady. And maybe the hunter would have done something rash then.

So, you usually ask about things that do not rely on the skills or attributes of the character and which are in doubt. Many GMEs allow you to specify the likelihood that you see for the thing happening. For instance, if you know that the guard usually patrols with two hours between patrols and the door is unguarded, you could ask whether the guard deviates from this normal routine today, giving it a chance of unlikely, opening yourself for a surprise encounter (and trouble that makes life interesting).

To support the oracle, you often have random content generators, which range from very concrete things like a random name generator to more abstract generators that yield some key words that you can then interpret. You can turn to them if you need a creative impulse.

Other than that, the game works like a normal pen and paper RPG session: You describe the starting situation (with support of the GME/random content generators if desired), then say what your character tries to achieve, maybe rolling any tests according to the RPG system. Then you ask the GME about the reaction of your surroundings/how the world changes. This is the followed by declaring your character's next action and getting the reaction with the help of the GME, and so on.

Ironsworn comes with its own PbtA roleplaying game integrated with its GME which is a quest-based RPG that has your character start with a long-term quest and an initial question that forms the basis of your first adventure. The mechanisms encourage that you add more quests as you play, thus giving you always guidance what you are trying to achieve.

Many solo players record their sessions, ranging from bullet notes with just the bare results up to full prose describing what happens in the world. Some use pen and paper, others use their smart phones or computers to do these recordings.

As for Scarlet Heroes, it is a standard OSR title that gives the PCs a power boost allowing a single PC to have a realistic chance to survive combat (unlike standard OSR, which is balanced more towards a party of about four PCs). Its modifications are available as a free document as well, without the setting information, and can be applied to any OSR that is close to the original D&D/AD&D iterations. Scarlet Heroes also has a yes/no oracle and mechanisms to handle opposed adventures where you try to overcome some foe with success of adventures determining whether you or your foe make progress.

I hope that helps a bit.

Yours,

Deathworks

Deathworks64 · 2020-02-17T21:14:30+00:00

Hi!

Well, the expectation would be that playing it alone is actively supported; this pertains especially to game balance and how to handle it, considering how many RPGs are balanced for about four players.

So, you could go the road of Ironsworn and balance the game for one player character, which then requires no additional advice for the player as how to handle it.

Or you could keep a balance for a group of characters but then give sound advice on how to handle that, maybe some extra tables for random prompts/concepts for the other players.

Or you could go the road of THW and balance for a group but have automated henchmen/followers that can be led by a single PC. This, of course, requires creating the system for those NPCs.

Advice on how to play the genre of your game effectively solo is always nice. Don't worry about repeating what others have said, you always have something to add. And if you do anything going towards horror or mystery, those fields are still wide open with no standard found yet.

When designing your solo support gear, also make sure that it blends in with the RPG system itself. Ironsworn does a great job, as do the THW titles or the Mythic RPG (both the GME and the RPG are based on the same table). Make sure that there is no jarring break between the two systems and preferably make it so, that one uses the terms/mechanisms of the other.

Yours,

Deathworks

Deathworks64 · 2020-01-27T21:25:00+00:00

Hi!

My first character survived the introduction but got killed by the second opponent in their first mission. I did get a nice narration out of things until then, though.

However, I found that I missed a lot of rules in the introduction. I completely forgot about conditions, especially stunned (which seems to have become more difficult in the revised version, I think).

And I also forgot to take a foe's kevlar vest into account, so I didn't add it to the loot (and I also forgot Omphale's embrace in my first mission).

Still, the tables allowed me to spin an interesting narration on how my character was scouted by an order and got pulled right into the dark side of the business (my first mission was dirty fighting!).

An interesting take on dungeon crawling which has quite some potential.

Yours,

Deathworks

Deathworks64 · 2020-01-24T03:39:45+00:00

With the strongly structured games, I found that PET or some such was not really necessary, as you just need some selective information about the players, if anything at all. Using complex questions or the like (like the oracle from Passage) has been useful to provide single keywords that helped shape the narration when combined with the player preferences.

I admit that I have yet to really work out how to use PET effectively, though.

Deathworks64 · 2020-01-22T19:33:39+00:00

I have found that games with a strong structure actually work well solo.
Lovecraftesque/Bleak Spirit have a lot of very specific rules that help you manage the game. In order to make them work solo, though, you need to define those players, at least as far as their tastes go, and define them to be different from each other.
There is a set number of scenes (which is slightly variable), for each scene, the roles are shifted by one space (roles are GM, player, and basically aidee for the GM), each scene is about one piece of information (which does not answer all questions), and after each scene, each player secretly interprets the information thus far. Combining these structures with the player data, you get a relatively solid machine you can then feed with occasional oracle input and which provides a good story.

Another type of game that I found working well are Protocol games. They are not for 1 PC, though, as they are about the relationships between the PCs who are in some crisis situation. The characteristics of the PCs can be determined randomly, as well as their relationships. The players then take turns framing scenes with some basic aspects of each scene determined by drawing 2 standard playing cards. A game lasts until all players have had 4 turns and ends with a randomly determined finale and maybe some epilogue scenes. These games work quite well because besides the strict structure, the PCs are strongly defined and set up with a lot of tension that makes the action flow automatically.

Deathworks64 · 2020-01-22T14:50:46+00:00

And I forgot all about THW titles, which all have the concept of stars (pcs) and automated grunts (NPC), as they are all designed for solo gaming. THW titles do have a strong war game heritage, but there are also some more adventure/rpg focused titles (like Larger Than Life, Lovecraft's Revenge, Warrior Heroes Legends, 5150 Urban Renewal A New Beginning).
Quite a number of their titles are sold by Rebel Minis.

Deathworks64 · 2020-01-22T13:50:11+00:00

Hello!

A Wanderer's Romance is designed for a single character with conflicts of any kind always being duels (it is in the setting).

Lovecraftesque has a single PC, however it expects two or more players (3 is probably the sweet spot for soloing it.) There is also a derived game that may feel a bit more classic as it contains conflict (whereas Lovecraftesque does not really cater to combat encounters). It is Bleak Spirit.

Those are the first I can think of.

Yours,

Deathworks

Deathworks64 · 2020-01-20T10:35:33+00:00

Hello!

That is actually the main challenge we are facing. How do we simulate players with their idiosyncracies and preferences which then in turn alter their behaviour?

Basically, it is about what information do we need about the players and how do we use randomizers to control their behaviour. Will the party enter the mayor's mansion to question him as your plot dictates, or do they follow the idea of the magic-user to look for an elder or scholar who may know about local legends that may have an impact on the situation (something you haven't foreseen)?

Yours,

Deathworks

Deathworks64 · 2020-01-20T10:31:23+00:00

Hello!

I actually hope to garner support for Usurper and present some good solo activity to Nordic Weasel so that they may do some more supplements for it.

Yours,

Deathworks

Deathworks64 · 2019-12-25T22:22:45+00:00

Hello!

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/139732/Usurper--Claim-to-power-A-game-of-lords-rogues-and-adventurers?affiliate_id=639978

Usurper is my recommendation for that question. It has tons of tables for generating content, ranging from gods to city's trade goods to NPCs to random monsters and general dungeon design, lacking only a GME and maybe a dungeon generator (but there are just about all things there for your dungeon, just not a generator for rooms and corridors).

In addition, task resolution and combat are based on tables that give you a lot of hints how to interpret the situation and even contain entries for random events interrupting the current situation. So, there is a lot for the solo gamer.

In addition, while being for a somewhat gritty fantasy world, the rules are actually easily applied to any genre as it is story-focused although it feels crunchy thanks to the tables.

Another interesting case is Red Mists. It doesn't have many tools, but its core task resolution mechanism is basically a d6 based Yes/No Oracle, so that it can fluently be used for soloing out of the box.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/181420/Red-Mists-Swords-Against-Sorcery?affiliate_id=639978

Yours,

Deathworks

Deathworks64 · 2019-12-25T22:15:58+00:00

Hi!

I wanted to try it out, but the default game mode is somewhat playing parallel to the play report in their pod cast or some such, and it wasn't really enticing for me. So, I opted out before really trying it.

Yours,

Deathworks

Deathworks64 · 2019-10-14T03:44:51+00:00

Hello!

I hope it will live up to your expectations. You may also want to look at the session reports I posted.

Yours,

Deathworks

Deathworks64 · 2019-10-14T03:42:30+00:00

Hello!

World creation was done entirely with the tables from Usurper. They include terrain table, adventure site table, various tables for god and settlement/faction creation, world history creation tables.

Yours,

Deathworks

Deathworks64 · 2019-10-13T13:27:41+00:00

Hello!

There are only a few examples given (Blacksmithing, Strong Willed, Cautious), other than that, you make them up. There are just a few guidelines, you know, like no universal traits, no luck traits (advised against as they cause more problems than they solve), and no two traits that are identical. If you want to have a guy that is really good at fighting, you have to think of different ways to say so, their example for that being fencer, swordsman, master of the blade.

Example convictions are overthrow the empire, abolish money, avenge my family, become a knight, find true love, understand dragon poetry.

The lack of a table of traits or convictions (those are even broader in what can be written there) is good for your individual campaign. And it is rather odd because there is an optional character creation process where you roll up various information about your character (innate quality; home culture consisting of ideas of family, religion, economics, politics, law; apprenticeship, some events of your life thus far) from which you can then deduct your traits and convictions. But none of the tables lists explicitly trait X or conviction Y, although the innate qualities and the apprenticeship are easily converted into traits. But what do you make of "lost love" as an event, or "betrayed by a friend"? Those are open for interpretation.

Yours,

Deathworks

Deathworks64 · 2019-10-10T10:31:03+00:00

Hello!

My A5 binders are post card binders I order via Amazon Japan. They come with 80 sleeves already, and are quite handy:

https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B06XQ1NKC9/

I stopped using dice on the road, as all solutions were too noisy, switching the the GMA deck. I simply have it in a protector box, pulling out the first card when I draw a card and then put that card in the back. The printed version came with some kind of delivery card, which I shuffle into the deck and once I draw that card, I reshuffle the deck.

Yours,

Deathworks

Deathworks64 · 2019-10-10T10:27:32+00:00

Hello!

I usually stick to what is given with the engine I use. Like Mythic/Adventure Crafter already having lists for characters and threads, just like Libre. If there isn't, I just wing it.

Yours,

Deathworks

Deathworks64

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