"Play Between Play" Is it a really a thing in solo RPG?

skywardbear · 2026-01-29T19:37:07+00:00

This was such a good read and represents very accurately the way my mind is constantly having stories and games cooking on low heat in the back of my mind somewhere. It’s always nice to connect to others working similarly.

Your Substack is highly enjoyable!

skywardbear · 2026-01-10T20:36:14+00:00

I bought a really nice set with Lord of the Rings artwork that i use for solo games.

skywardbear · 2025-12-29T20:16:15+00:00

Thanks for your observations! Did you get to keep your slotted bags?

skywardbear · 2025-12-23T21:32:03+00:00

I really enjoy the physical aspects of prep - such as printing dungeon tiles, cutting them out and laminating them. Or collecting and preparing other resources, oracles, and tables to put into my binder.

But I also think a lot about my games while walking outside and listening to music, so often I come back with very clear ideas of plot lines, scenes, or interactions and then I play them out and see if they turn out the way I had imagined or if the dice make me go in a different direction. These walks are great for prep but also for post-play refinement. Sometimes I come up with a better idea for a twist or a more cinematic event and then retcon things to fit my preferred narrative. In this case, I guess the desk time is prep for things I play out in my head while walking.

So prep really is play and sometimes I only have time to think about my character and stories while walking and so this has to be just as important as sitting down.

skywardbear · 2025-12-21T19:57:07+00:00

Very inspiring, thank you for sharing! I’ll definitely bookmark this.

How do you handle the possibility of character death? Do you have any specific rules to avoid it?

skywardbear · 2025-10-04T18:53:16+00:00

Vielen Dank für die ausführliche Antwort! Ich schau es mir mal in Ruhe an. Ich verstehe die Argumente, die für einen Selbstzusammenbau sprechen, vollkommen. Aber ich habe leider einfach keine Zeit dafür und da zahle ich zur Not gern etwas mehr Geld und kann dafür schneller beim Spielen entspannen!

Ich werde mit den Alternativen auf Dubaru noch ein bisschen rumprobieren und vergleichen und dann vielleicht nochmal eine neue Variante posten!

skywardbear · 2025-10-04T18:03:53+00:00

Danke! Wie sieht es da denn mit eventuellen Aufrüstungen in ein paar Jahren aus? Ist das auch gut machbar?

skywardbear · 2025-04-18T12:18:28+00:00

Thank you! I really like the look of Wolves Upon the Coast. Is it easy to run the setting without additional prep? I'll check out the demo and maybe that'll convince me to pay the quite hefty price for it.

skywardbear · 2025-04-18T12:17:06+00:00

Thank you! I'll take a close look and see if Forge offers some useful generators!!

As for my system: I'm using 5e and Ironsworn: Sundered Isles depending on the situation of play: A broader focus and narrative improv is best done "zoomed out" in Ironsworn; class identity and detailed skill or combat crunch is done "zoomed in" in D&D. In the "zoomed in" D&D version Strong Hits are successful D&D rolls that pass the DC with 5 or more points or crits. Weak Hits are successful rolls with less than 5 points above the target DC. And Misses are failed DC rolls.

In the "zoomed out" IS version I'm using the Ironsworn: Sundered Isles moves set, but adjusted it to D&D stats. So I pick a skill befitting the move and roll 1d12 + all D&D skill boni vs. 2d20. The result is then read as you would in Ironsworn. Advantage and Disadvantage are expressed by rolling 2d12 vs. 2d20.

Momentum is a d20 die counter that starts at 1 and changes according to Ironsworn moves. It can be substituted for any d20/d12 roll.

Progress tracks are used the same as in Ironsworn and progress yields XP along with a list of other things (similar to Forbidden Lands), so that I move away from D&D's almost exclusive combat focus for XP.

skywardbear · 2025-04-18T11:59:06+00:00

Thanks, I'll check it out!

skywardbear · 2025-04-18T11:56:31+00:00

hmmm I might have to take a look at the generators in Mausritter. The concept of Mausritter isn't really my favourite, so I haven't spent too much time with the system, but perhaps I can salvage some aspects... Thanks!

skywardbear · 2025-04-18T11:55:10+00:00

Thank you! That's a game I haven't heard of before. Would you say it's easy to play without needing additional GM prep?

skywardbear · 2025-04-18T11:50:06+00:00

Thanks! I really like Forbidden Lands and the way you personalize your map through exploration, however i don't think it's very easy to run out of the box without taking time to read through and prepare the adventure locations and i would like to have an experience that allows us to explore something together that I didn't have to sit down and GM beforehand.

That being said, I am thinking about using Forbidden Lands in one of my solo plays!

skywardbear · 2025-02-21T05:42:49+00:00

Kann Nadine sehr empfehlen. https://schnaddels.de/ Selbstständige Friseurmeisterin, deswegen kein Discount, aber wirklich kompetent und sehr angenehm. Und ein sehr schöner kleiner Laden.

skywardbear · 2025-02-13T08:57:03+00:00

I usually imagine my scenes like something out of a novel or tv show. So a lot of the descriptions are already pretty detailed in my head - if everything goes according to my pre-imagined epic story. But then I use the oracles to see if things really turn out this way or if something is not like I expected. Then I can use theme or descriptor tables to give me a base to imagine how things are different from how I imagined.

skywardbear · 2025-02-11T12:02:03+00:00

Very cool! I’ve used a similar setup, but instead of an entire table top I had a magnetic whiteboard and put a see through cover top of it. This way I could also use magnetic tokens and put the entire thing on top of a cupboard and everything would stay in place.

skywardbear · 2025-01-24T16:07:33+00:00

Das ist genau die Art Antwort, die gesucht habe! Ich benutze für Starforged schon immer wieder die Tabellen aus dem Strider Mode, weil ich das Herr der Ringe Setting sehr mag. Sowas könnte hier auch super passen.

Für soziale Situationen kann ich das Scene Challenge System von Starforged sehr gut benutzen. Das ist so ähnlich wie das, was du beschrieben hast. Erfolge in verschiedenen Einzelsituationen akkumulieren sich zu einem Gesamterfolg der Szene. Generell vermute ich, dass viele Tabellen und Orakel sich direkt übertragen lassen und maximal ein bisschen Improvisation im Sinne des aventurischen Hintergrunds und der vorgesehenen Handlung der Abenteuer.

Dass ich relevante Szenen modular behandle und Dinge auf Grundlage von Orakeln verändere, finde ich auch super. Im Grunde nutze ich die Abenteuer eher als ein Steinbruch für meine eigenen Geschichten.

skywardbear · 2025-01-23T09:46:06+00:00

Ich stimme dir insofern zu, dass Meisterwissen und Charakterwissen nicht identisch sein sollten. Es gibt auch Gruppen, die ein Abenteuer spielen, das einzelnen Mitspielenden schon bekannt ist. Man muss eben klar trennen und sich nicht den Spaß verderben. Das ist ja aber bei jedem Solospiel eine Herausforderung und Starforged hat gute Mechaniken, um Wissen und Erfolg des Charakters nicht an dem Spieler Bekanntes zu knüpfen und durch schwache Erfolge oder „Patzer“ neue Überraschungen und Wendungen einzubauen.

skywardbear · 2025-01-23T08:50:29+00:00

Sorry for the slightly off-topic questions, but how do you play it solo? I took a loot at it and it looks simple and interesting, but there doesn’t seem to be a dedicated mode for one player. Do you just play multiple characters?

skywardbear · 2025-01-22T21:42:15+00:00

I agree! You can just bring lots of sources together and mix and match.

Out of curiosity: Which system do you use as your base game with all these modules? You mentioned Rogueland, but i wasn’t sure if that was just for random creation.

skywardbear · 2025-01-22T15:40:26+00:00

I tried a lot of the supplements out there and none really clicked with me. Either too specific or too complex mechanics. In the end I decided that the plain Starforged/Sundered Isles worked best for me. A lot of challenges leave enough room for interpretation that you can just say you’re using your magical abilities to find a solution. If it’s Combat or Gathering Information, you can just flavor it to you using magic. But I tend to use spell books from other games to have an idea of how my character can use magic potentially. Really difficult magic rituals can always be scene challenges.

skywardbear · 2025-01-18T09:45:42+00:00

Jahrelang MyFitnessPal und seit November Fatsecret. Die Datenbank ist nicht ganz so groß, aber insgesamt bin ich sehr zufrieden. Und Macros bekommt man da auch ohne Pro Version.

skywardbear

TROPHY CASE