Solo Role-Playing – Starting Out

It’s great playing with a group, but sometimes you just want to hack up some monsters at your own pace, in the comfort of your own home. This series is aimed at helping you get started on some excellent solo campaigns of your own.

 

Choosing A System

The first thing you need to decide is what you’ll be playing. Will you create your own adventure arc or use something pre-made? What system will you use? Often the best system to use is the one you’re most comfortable with. What are you currently playing? There sure are loads of systems to choose from. I recommend heading over to Drive Thru RPG to see what they have available. There’s also some great free stuff up for grabs, like Pokethulhu or Heroes Against Darkness.

 

Choosing An Adventure

There are plenty of solo adventures out there, not least of all our own solo adventure: Sentinels Watching. Of course, each solo adventure will usually be tailored to a specific system, but with some work you can fit most adventures to any system you want. Here is a list of some solo adventures worth checking out:

I’ve played through a few scenes from one of the Fighting Fantasy game books using D&D 4th Ed. It was a good game and something I’ll likely try again, probably with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game system.

 

Creating Your Own

The easiest way to play is to just lay down some maps, some monsters and then duke it out, making up the story as you go. A good idea is to keep some type of Quest Log, either in a notebook or on your favourite word processor. It helps to have reminders of what you’ve done and where you were going. I like to draw out my maps and annotate directly on the GameMastery Flip-Mat: Basic. When I’m done I just take a picture with my cellphone and I’m all set to remember things next time, even if the map gets used in another game in the mean time.

Abstraction Beats Distraction

Simply put, you have to make the game as fun and exciting for yourself as you can. Play the encounters you want to play, skip the humdrum details of travel and anything that brings a yawn. Some players love to micro manage their games, and then do that, but really, you just want to make it an awesome game. You’re the GM now, so you have all the power to do that.

Also, step away from Facebook and e-mail. You know you want to play with dice more than pixels.

 

Learning From Board Games

Look at the average board game today. Everything has a visual representation. So use loads of maps, miniatures, counters and terrain. Everything and anything you can use to map out the action will help you stay involved.

Like board games, role-playing games don’t have to take heaps of time. Sit down and play out a scene, a battle or one session, with a clear start and end. That way you leave the table having completed a nice chunk that’s well defined. You’ll feel more rewarded for the effort.

 

Advice From The Pro’s

Head on over to SoloNexus for the mother load of tips. The site covers a wide range of table top games, not just role-playing.

 

Have any ideas on Starting Out? Please share them with us. Also, don’t forget the Twitter account @RisingPhoenixGM where I share all kinds of geeking.

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