I was bored and decided to take my first dip into solo RPGs.

I was bored and decided to take my first dip into solo RPGs.

Tools: GameMaster Apprentice, assorted Warhammer FRP 3rd edition (cards).

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[ Vienekar’s Song ]

Scene 1: Deep in the Talien Woods…

I make camp overnight but the gloom of the forest does not offer solace. I left Kriiergard three days prior. Only the gods know if I will survive the Skael winter… these you see, are the Norse proving grounds.

The fire burns as the eyes of this cursed place watch me. The gray Ravens report my every move to whatever evil governs these ancient woods.

>> Do I fear an attack? No!

I sleep through the night undisturbed. The fire dies as the first light of dawn pierces the forest canopy. Covered in frost, I gather my meager belongings and continue the journey.

a few hours pass…

>> I hear the shuffling of leaves… I look around but I discern no familiarity in these woods. I stop and string my bow… waiting… listening (the sounds of a storm and crackling of lighting booms in the distance)

>> Do I detect any sound? or see anything? Yes, up in the high trees, a forest spirit has been stalking me… a small winged dog-like creature with yellow eyes. Its teeth and sharp claws clearly visible, ready to pounce…

>>Does the creature attack? No.

I lay there motionless carefully lining up the arrow for my shot. I hold my breath. The creature stares back, with a hiss it takes flight and quickly disappears among the trees. I lower my weapon, the cold air filling my lungs again. I fear that this will be a long journey… the enemies already know my purpose.

My name is Vienekar, Son of Rein, born in the fishing village of Kriiegard. Many tales of the sacred sword have been told, but only the Sightless One (the Oracle) has predicted my journey north. As the why I was chosen, that is for the gods to tell. I am to retrieve something that was taken, more like stolen from my people; The sacred sword of the Toriinil first king of the Skael…. TBC

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I’m very intrigued by this game, which I just discovered via a post back in 2013 on the Storygames forum from Todd…

I’m very intrigued by this game, which I just discovered via a post back in 2013 on the Storygames forum from Todd Zircher. I’m not sure how solo friendly it could be just based on my first read through, but I think it could be do-able.

What really intrigues me about it is the mechanics: In a nutshell, you have a dice pool of 9 dice, representing your overall well being. You risk these to overcome challenges & earn bonus dice. Bonus dice are used to buy clues to answer the questions at the core of the mystery.

I find this compelling. The idea of a wager/press your luck mechanic to gain a tangible currency to purchase concrete narrative control somehow scratches in itch in my brain on how to handle solo mysteries in an emergent narrative environment.

The reason being is now there is a compel to drive the action forward: you have to make wagers & take risks by overcoming challenges & obstacles to gain in-game currency to buy concrete narrative control to proceed. Which also means that the clues/facts of the mystery can/will make sense, as you are the one to narrate/establish them. It should also free one from the feeling of “making it all up”, “driving the narrative where you want it to go”, or having to “tease” clues or answers out of the narrative, as you have EARNED these through in-game action, & they are a specific mechanic of the game itself.

It gives you something tangible & solid to DO, with a specific outcome or reward as a result, which drives the story forward at the same time.

Something tells me that this idea with something like “Movie Night” http://77studios.blogspot.com/2017/05/movie-night-resources.html (with its mechanical bonuses for allies, gear, & so on) or “Fright Night” http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/164760/Fright-Night (with it’s built in pacing mechanism) could be interesting.

Time to let this percolate a bit.

#SoloHorrorRPG

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/63429/Ocean

If I may flog my wares here for a minute, one of the challenges I run into with solo gaming is character backgrounds.

If I may flog my wares here for a minute, one of the challenges I run into with solo gaming is character backgrounds.

Well, no more. With a simple deck of playing cards and this generator, you can create an interesting character background in a manner of minutes, whether you need it for a character, an NPC or something else entirely.

It’s geared towards D&D style fantasy but can be worked into lower-magic or even medieval worlds just fine.

It’s 1.99 from rpgnow or wargame vault.

Hope you’ll forgive the crass commercialism 🙂

If you click the blog link, I’ve included two examples of how it works.

Originally shared by Ivan Sorensen

three more days to go, fully funded long ago but the more the merrier! The new fantasy theme deck includes not only…

three more days to go, fully funded long ago but the more the merrier! The new fantasy theme deck includes not only a brand new feature but reference cards for the tags and runes. Plus, delivery is going to be swift, so long as nothing is cursed.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/376399785/the-gamemasters-apprentice-a-fantasy-deck-for-any?ref=user_menu

My Archipelago deck arrived over the weekend! It was roughly the same price with the pdf+cards as without so I went…

My Archipelago deck arrived over the weekend! It was roughly the same price with the pdf+cards as without so I went for it. I’m sure lots of folks are already familiar with these, but I’m excited!

They’re very attractive, and feel nice in the hand. The design is subtle and effective; I especially like the subtle blood spatter that worsens as the answer does!

This is my first physical deck and I’m looking forward to trying it out solo, though I’ll probably end up converting to a python script for personal use because I don’t want my kids to wreck ’em.

The deck has two types of cards, oracle and event (not official names, ha).

The oracle cards are “yes, and” through “no, and”, with the qualifier built in. For example, “No, and something entirely unrelated goes badly wrong”. Perfect for oracle questions, or when a conflict doesn’t rise to the level of rolling system mechanics.

The event cards have interesting events that relate to the game, like “The element you own comes to the character’s aid in some unexpected and surprising way”. For solo, I’ll trigger this when two dice match.

I’m very happy with them and will likely make them part of the “on the go” kit I’m ever so slowly building, if not in actual card form, at least in a table — it’d be nice to have a rollable substitute for “element you own”, for soloing.

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/147623/Archipelago

The finale of my Scarlet Heroes urban adventure, which sees Cleric Kasumi trying to rescue a physician from an…

The finale of my Scarlet Heroes urban adventure, which sees Cleric Kasumi trying to rescue a physician from an organised crime syndicate.

https://moggynomates.angrymog.com/2017/08/31/scarlet-heroes-part-eight-urban-adventure-part-five/

https://moggynomates.angrymog.com/2017/08/31/scarlet-heroes-part-eight-urban-adventure-part-five/