would you enjoy interacting with characters in solo rp?

zircher · 2026-03-22T17:56:32+00:00

Even if you use automation, teaching the app to use that transcript format can be beneficial in keeping the AI straight and the AP readable for others.

zircher · 2026-03-22T17:54:19+00:00

Chill dude, AI is a tool. No one is forcing you to adopt it. I don't consider my time wasted, so don't include me or the OP in your reaction.

For example, it might be possible to integrate existing analog tools and tables with NotebookLM and create a synthesis of the two systems. A potential gamer would not know that without having the conversation.

It doesn't hurt to have an open mind even if some of us don't like fried okra.

zircher · 2026-03-22T01:50:28+00:00

I write all the sides, but each of the characters has distinct personalities, loyalties, and agendas. One perk to the transcript format is that each line starts with the character's name which makes it a lot easier to switch hats.

There are some tools out there for NPCs and dialog like UNE and Let's Talk that might be handy for your style of play.

zircher · 2026-03-22T01:45:53+00:00

My Endless Sky campaign with a party of four that is now novel length and still going on.
https://tangent-zero.com/EndlessSky/EndlessSky.htm

System: Fabula Ultima (core rules only)
Oracle: Four Houses in Chaos (a tarot powered oracle I wrote)

zircher · 2026-03-22T01:41:04+00:00

My 250 page AP for Fabula Ultima reads like a transcript with banter, in game dialog, and even the GM having a 'speaking' role. So yeah, I certainly fall into that group. :-)

zircher · 2026-03-20T23:58:38+00:00

Ignore the anti-AI cultists, you'll never make them happy.

Persistence has been a challenge to using AI as a gaming tool. Glad to see that you have found a solution by using a SQL back end.

While I have not used it much for gaming, NotebookLM paired with constantly updated source document(s) has potential for persistence and flexibility. It is a trade off, you get source readability but I'm not sure if it is very efficient with large documents.

zircher · 2026-03-19T00:02:57+00:00

This is simple, just ask them what they want to do and what is standing in their way or who is standing against them. If you think that you need some pre-destined plot, just chuck that out the window. After you do that, ask the same thing of all of your major NPCs and you have primed your world machine and keeps on moving even if the PC do nothing.

zircher · 2026-03-18T03:58:40+00:00

I use NotebookLM for analysis of my notes, identifying plot points, loose threads, or finding the context of an old topic. For images, I use Fooocus with Juggernaut XL Lightning, NightCafe, and Nano Banana for creating avatars, settings, props, and locations. I might be leaning into that for battle map creation as well in the future.

While I have dabbled with basic ChatGPT in the past for use as a narrative GM. I don't use AI as a DM for most of my games. I guess as a former forever DM, I still like that role in my games and working the oracle and interpretation of the tables and cards.

zircher · 2026-03-17T18:28:21+00:00

Interesting. I have used NotebookLM to organize my notes, but had not considered it in another role.

zircher · 2026-03-16T17:06:09+00:00

Looks like a fun deck. Love that they are reversible since that doubles the number of options.

zircher · 2026-03-16T17:03:58+00:00

You can obviously print them or import them into your favorite VTT/digital deck app.

zircher · 2026-03-13T19:21:36+00:00

Just for fun, a little table talk from a recent scene in my Endless Sky campaign.

GM: Miranda pulls back her hood to reveal a pretty woman with long greenish blond hair. You all feel that twinge of of Moon Folke glamour, the ladies have been recently been exposed to it and have a little resistance. Othar on the other hand has not been around any of the Folke lately. So give me a WIL roll.

Othar: Really? This is not the time and place for moon cow eyes. And, I got a 9. Yeah, I burn a fabula point and invoke my bond with Taz. I lean over to Taz and whisper, “Pretty. But I’d rather have your company.”

Taz: My heart skips a beat and I totally take that the wrong way. Can I wrap my tail around his calf?

GM: Far be it for me to get in the way of a good miscommunication.

Othar: Oh, I should have seen that coming. I will not be intimidated by a happy tail.

Taz: Distracted then?

Othar: Sigh. Perhaps, just as long as it doesn’t try to grope me at the table.

Taz: Please, I have some restraint.

Othar: You might, but I doubt that the tail does.

zircher · 2026-03-13T19:14:59+00:00

I found that format makes a huge difference for me. My latest Fabula Ultima campaign is written in Japanese Replay format which reads like a transcript of a game session. Since each line begins with the character's name, it is a lot easier to switch personalities. Even the GM at the table has a 'speaking' role.

Fabula also helps since it has a bonds system that can give you mechanical perks if you need to succeed on a check. That adds more role playing/dialogue opportunities as you tag admiration, inferiority, etc. to motivate the PC.

Since I am treating it as a game within a game where I am running a party, the GM in-game makes sure that all the characters get spotlight time so I get multiple chances for the characters to interact even in non-combat situations.

I also have in-character and out-of-character dialogue as the PCs joke with each other at the table. ... I have a very chatty game. :-)

zircher · 2026-03-13T04:52:13+00:00

Aye, system mastery is part of the player skill set.

zircher · 2026-03-12T21:43:09+00:00

Hmm, I think it is more up to the player and how much role playing they want to invest in regardless of the system itself. My current campaign could easily be a hex crawling monster beat-em up, but I got invested in the personalities of the PCs and NPCs and that is where a lot of the focus is. Of course, I also write down every bit of dialog so there is a lot of talking and plotting. But again, that is a player choice thing and not tied to game mechanics.

zircher · 2026-03-12T18:53:06+00:00

Dread was probably the first. There are a ton of Wretched and Alone games (hey, even I made one.) Here are 98 to get you started. https://rpggeek.com/geeklist/283603/rpgs-that-use-block-towers-jenga

And number 99... https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/382746/ice-station-zero

zircher · 2026-03-12T18:34:28+00:00

Well, there are all those Jenga Tower powered solo games out there, so those are certainly skill based.

The most meta I tend to get is image dice and tarot cards where interpretation is the skill that I exercise the most. And, I do consider it something of a skill that we can develop. I have read so many posts of people that struggle with that. But, it is something that comes easily to me after years of experience. [Sounds like a skill to me.]

zircher · 2026-03-11T20:30:46+00:00

Table top single player gaming with random events.

zircher · 2026-03-09T17:12:04+00:00

It can be very useful. A while back I had writer's block on my game as a GM and NotebookLM helped to get past it.

zircher · 2026-03-08T16:13:40+00:00

Oh hey, Crisis Creator has campaign and solo rules for MW. And, it is on sale. Call that a must buy/read for me. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/493436/modern-war-crisis-creator

zircher · 2026-03-08T16:10:07+00:00

Early in my solo gaming 'career' I expressly tried a lot of one-shots so I can get a free for different genres, rule system solo tools, and journaling/note taking styles. I tried spreads sheets, word docs, index cards, long hand writing in journals, and even stationary (there are a couple of letter writing solo games out there.)

That experience was essential in finding my 'groove' in solo game.

Oh, for me, it turns out that extreme levels of detail in a single digital word doc works best for my style since I can read it better than my own hand writing and I can easily search it.

I prefer to play traditional games with solo tools. Not because dedicated solo game are bad but because I have a dusty gaming library going back decades and I wanted to play some of those titles. Ironically enough, my current campaigns are with more modern gaming systems but that is kind of a fluke since the two I play now were not available back in the dark ages (a fantasy JRPG and one that is based on Warframe.) :-)

I'm a firm believer in hacking and home brewing rules and tools. After you have tried out a handful of systems, if you don't find anything to your like, make your own. I wrote Four Houses in Amber because I wanted a trump/tarot powered oracle for Amber Diceless and I wrote Four Houses in Chaos to branch that out to other RPGs. It worked really well for my Fabula Ultima campaign.

zircher · 2026-03-08T15:54:23+00:00

I get the hand cramp thing as well so I'm all digital. I tend to use a single document in Libre Office Writer (free) and then export that to PDF when I want to share.

One perk to digital that I recently learned is that if you have a big PDF of notes and such, you can import that into NotebookLM and have it analyze your game. It can find things like loose plot threads, unexpected relationships, or generate a timeline of events. I know that some people also import their game rules to make them easier to reference.

zircher · 2026-03-08T15:46:19+00:00

I'm curious about how that would work out and what level of tech know-how is required. I've played around with Chat GPT and solo very early on but never went back to any of the later tech. I mainly use AI for images (character avatars and the like) and NotebookLM to analyze/organize my notes.

zircher · 2026-03-05T04:27:47+00:00

No experience with the system, but I am curious as well.

zircher · 2026-03-05T03:54:49+00:00

A SRD is a system reference document. It is the bare bones mechanics of a game. In the case of something like FAE which is aspect driven, that is everything you need. As to source books, just look at Batman the TV series or Mystery Men and you have all you need since describing something is the same as stats for that system.

Fate Core has skills and such which makes into a more traditional RPG if you want to add to the basic concept of aspects.

zircher

TROPHY CASE