Tag Archives: Roleplaying Games

Mystery Dice: Can we Unravel D&D’s Greatest Mystery?

Dice. Can you ever own enough? Will they roll high when it matters? These questions might be the greatest mysteries of our wonderful roleplaying hobby. Or it’s “What’s in a pack of Mystery Dice?” I’m here to rip open that mystery like a frenzied goblin oracle tearing apart a loot sack!

Rip open a bag of Mystery Dice
Rip open a bag of Mystery Dice!

Mystery Dice? What’s in the Bag?

Mystery Dice, from UK-based Mystery Dice Goblins, are blind bags of 7 RPG dice. They’re perfect for games of Dungeons & Dragons or Pathfinder. There’s the caltrop-of-doom D4, the ubiquitous D6, the D8, the pair of D10s (units die and tens die), the D12, and the mighty D20. Each bag’s contents are colour-matched, so you get a complete, colour-coordinated set. However, the transparent purple set I opened has 5 dark purple and 2 light purple dice. I call it my “Berry Blast” set. Although the variation is noticeable, they still look fantastic together. I love them!

Berry Blast RPG Mystery Dice

The dice are a good, standard size. The set I’m playing with are slightly rough distressed blue dice. The D4 and D6 are slightly bigger than the same dice from the Pathfinder Beginner Box set, which is only noticeable when you carefully compare them.

Distressed Blue Mystery Dice

All the numbers on the dice are clear, and that readability is important to me. We need to see those numbers! In our third set, the gold paint on green and white marbling produces a low contrast, but I’ll take elegance over readability in this case. These are some of our most beautiful dice — the other being a green and black marbled set, which belongs to my wife. She has excellent taste.

Mystery Dice Marbled Green and White

Blind Bags are a Party, in a Bag

Skeptical of blind bags? Me too, but I remember being a kid and the fun we had opening those Monster in My Pocket packets. The fun’s still there today. Opening each pack was an exciting rush of endorphins, and I was happy with every dice I got. Several older sets are getting the boot from my collection to make way for the new arrivals.

Grab some bags with your gaming group, then figure out who gets the first pick. You’ll have a blast and get a set you love as part of the deal. Christmas is far off, but Mystery Dice are the perfect stocking filler. They’re also a great gift for gamer friends or prizes for your gaming club.

Where to Buy Mystery Dice

You can buy Mystery Dice from the Mystery Dice Goblins website.

Keep Rolling!

Banner: Welcome to the Wasteland! Fallout the Roleplaying Game from Modiphius Entertainment available @ DriveThruRPG.com

Party Up: Friends vs Monsters, and Life

Do you ever feel alone? Do you feel like the world’s too much, and it’s banging on the door, trying to get you? I sometimes feel that way.

When that happens, it’s a struggle to stop my gloom-and-doom thought train and change my perspective. Recently, it was my RPG publisher friends who helped me see things differently. So, I want to talk about those friends and I want to give you a light to hold onto when things get rough.

When the Going Gets Tough, Collaborate

I reached out to a few indie RPG developers and asked if they’d join me on a bundle. The Hidden Indie RPG Treasures Bundle is available on DriveThruRPG, right now, until the end of February. I’m mentioning it now and again at the end of this post only, so the marketing is clear for you to see. Anyway, I had a great response from those friends and we made a neat little collection of indie RPG games.

I’m mentioning the collaboration because it provided a healthy change of perspective.

Toughen Up, RPG Creator

The perspective I’ve had for a long time is a warped idea of what success in the industry means. You can’t get a true sense of where you stand in the industry without friends to help you gauge it.

It’s important to understand the context here. Many of us do what we do with limited resources. We use our free time, our own money, and our sweat equity to make games. We’re passionate about the hobby, and that drives us. But it’s hard competing against bigger companies like Wizards of the Coast for those RPG dollars. If you don’t have a hit RPG title or a large social media presence, then it’s hard to get eyes on your work. Even professional, high-quality work can be ignored. Burnout is a real threat because of that. We work hard but don’t always see recognition for that effort. It can become a depressing, black hole.

Anybody, no matter what they do, might be a step away from that deep, dark abyss. Watch the news, suffer a string of bad luck, get hit with unexpected financial pressure, and the cracks start to show. Part of the issue is a false sense of the truth. Essentially, thinking we’re not good enough is a result of a foggy perception of reality.

Reaching out is incredibly hard for me to do. I’m a busy introvert. I spend a lot of time chatting with friends online, but these interactions are often superficial. The medium is restrictive. Those conversations seldom touch base with reality. That changes when friends are struggling with the same thing, like how to market an indie RPG bundle. Working together, we challenged our perceptions. We could better perceive the truth, but only together.

Perspective

I realized that Rising Phoenix wasn’t as insignificant as I thought we were. We could help guys with a handful of titles because we have a bucket-load of titles. We also saw how each effort brought in a few extra sales. Without data (or friends with experience) it’s hard to anticipate what sort of sales we might get, which leads to frustration if those sales seem lower than we hoped for.

There’s a Biblical aspect to this worth considering. In Galatians 6 verse 2 (that’s in the New International Version for this and the rest), Paul says: “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” If you draw this back to Jesus’s words of “love one another” (John 13:34) and then further back to the 10 Commandments’ “Love your neighbour” (Leviticus 19:18) then it’s clear: we should help people.

I have no scientific research confirming what we gain from helping others, but my experience has been that it’s good to step into a leaking boat with someone. Struggling together sharpens a person and helps us see the same problem from different sides.

I’m just a dude trying to make great games and figure out this crazy thing called life, and those are my two cents. I hope it’s a useful idea for you to think about.

The Hidden Indie RPG Treasures Bundle

Now, let’s talk about that bundle one last time. Our goal is to make 50 sales. That boosts overall sales since customers are more likely to buy a best-selling title, and 50 sales gives you a Copper Best-Seller badge. With roughly nine days left, we currently need another 31 sales to hit that goal. Please consider telling a friend about the bundle. Ask them to tell their friends about it too. That’ll help us in the greatest way possible.

Here’s a copy of Road to Rhune, at rogue prices (free), to help you get the bundle even cheaper.

Get the Hidden Indie RPG Treasures Bundle on DriveThruRPG today. Sale ends end of Feb.

Banner: Welcome to the Wasteland! Fallout the Roleplaying Game from Modiphius Entertainment available @ DriveThruRPG.com

Yomi, The Japanese Land of the Dead

Yomi is the Japanese land of the dead. It was mentioned in the ancient Kojiki, a collection of myths and legends purportedly composed in the 8th century. In Yomi, the dead live out a muted, eternal existence, regardless of their past deeds.

RPG Blog Carnival

It’s Orktober… ahem… October, and that means time for another RPG Blog Carnival. This month’s carnival is hosted by our good buddy Kim, over at Beyond the Horizon Games (he also plays Orks). The topic for October is “Worldbuilding“, which is serendipidious since that was exactly what we were looking at in our latest edition of the newsletter.

Campaigns in Yomi

We must always be respectful when setting games in places that are significant to others. We must go as respectful travelers, realizing that we are journeying into a land that others understand better than we do. This short guide can only introduce you to the world of Yomi, but its lore is truly vast, so it might be the perfect inspiration for your own campaign.

Yomi is more like Limbo or the Shadow Plane in Pathfinder than Hell. People do not go there because of their sins or lack of faith, they go there because it is the next step of their journey. People do not usually return from Yomi after they have feasted in Yomi, but that probably won’t stop your players from trying.

Yomi is both a land of shadows and corruption. You might find people covered in maggots or pass through a stranger like a ghost. Yomi is as cold as a tomb, but its residents seem only dimly aware of the cold. The rain hardly ever falls on crops unless it floods the land, the wind never moves ships unless it throws them against the rocks, and the sun is forever pale and powerless.

The responsibilities you had in life might remain in death, but they are no easier. A farmer might work a field that grows only rotting rice, or a baker might put bread into an oven that never gets hot enough for cooking. Emperors still reign, but they too must suffer the entropy that pervades Yomi, as their kingdom falls apart no matter what brilliant decrees they might enforce.

Travelers wandering through Yomi navigate by landmarks rather than distances. While two places might be considered “close” to each other, their true distance is in constant flux. A journey might take a day or a month, and a traveler that strays from their course is doomed to wander aimlessly until they discover a known landmark.

NPCs from Yomi

The Tetsuakuto and other NPCs will appear in the Grimdark Pamphlet.

Tetsuakuto (Iron Bandit)

Encased in black iron plate, tetsuakuto wear hideous menpo face masks bearing octopus designs.

The Tetsuzaku, or Iron Bandits, were feared outlaws that menaced major trade routes throughout the Empire. When they were finally captured they were boiled alive in their iron plate before being offered to a kami of the ocean cliffs. Through some occult bargain, they returned from Yomi to plague those who live near the sea, before returning back to the lands of the dead.


Tetsuakuto

Medium undead, lawful evil

Armor Class 18 (plate)
Hit Points 76 (8d8 + 40)
Speed 30 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  18 (+4)   12 (+1)   16 (+3)   10 (+0)   14 (+2)   12 (+1)
Saving Throws Con +5
Skills Athletics +6

Damage Immunities cold
Condition Immunities frightened
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages Common
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)

Undead Fortitude. If damage reduces the tetsuakuto to 0 hit points, it must make a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 5 + the damage taken, unless the damage is radiant or from a critical hit. On a success, the tetsuakuto drops to 1 hit point instead.

Actions

Multiattack. The tetsuakuto makes two attacks with its naginata.
Naginata. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 4) slashing damage. On a successful hit, the target must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity save or fall prone.

Reactions

Spike Rake. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d4 + 4) slashing damage.

Three Stone Stories: Solo Narrative Roleplay is here!

Three Stone Stories Cover

Your Greatest Tale

Three Stone Stories is a solo narrative role-playing game where you’re the Storyteller.
Tell heroic tales using your own imagination, these rules, and three regular six-sided dice.

Roll the Stones,
Determine the Will of the Dice,
Choose your Destiny.

It’s Your Story

The full 64-page book, including several adventure chronicles, tips for getting the most out of the game, and D6 generators is available wherever we sell the game, and you can get it from Drive Thru RPG for 20% off using this coupon code.


Here be Dragons — July RPG Blog Carnival

At the furthest edge of the map, far from civilization, the words “Here be Dragons” is scribed across the most inhospitable, unexplored lands. Journey with us, as the RPG Blog Carnival ventures into these lands of legend and danger.

Here be Dragons

Here be Dragons — July RPG Blog Carnival

Every month, the RPG Blog Carnival takes a turn at a different RPG blogger’s site, and this month it’s here, at Rising Phoenix Games. If you’re a blogger, you can join in by writing an article inspired by the topic and dropping a link to it, in the comments below. I’ll write a wrap-up article at the end of July that covers all of the posts submitted. I hope you’ll join us!

If you’re not an RPG blogger, hang out with us and see what everyone brings to the topic. In March we had a great time exploring magical space adventures. What adventures will we have this month?

rpg blog carnival logo

Here are a few ideas, but you can interpret the topic as loosely as you like, we’re not the thought police:

  1. Dragonlance is coming for Dungeons & Dragons (here’s the Dragonlance trailer). Take us back to your gaming table, or try and predict what we’ll see from Wizards of the Coast.
  2. Give us a new dragon for Spelljammer, your own setting, or a different game. Science-fantasy dragons, cyberpunk dragons, superhero dragons, steampunk dragons… there are more themes to explore than I could ever hope to mention.
  3. Maps! The history of the phrase “Here be Dragons” is very interesting and would mean nothing if not for map makers and their art. Give us a map, a map maker NPC, or some ideas about how to use the phrase “Here be Dragons” on our own maps.
  4. The symbolism of dragons can bring up some interesting ideas. How can GMs apply the concepts often associated with dragons to their human NPCs?
  5. Wikipedia states that dragons are known in virtually all cultures around the world, so looking at different dragons from around the world should bring up plenty of interesting ideas.

Void Dragonborn

So them’s the rules. Let’s dive back into the world of Space Punks for another new race, dragonborn descended from void dragons.

Void Dragonborn

With deep black eyes that shimmer with the light of a thousand stars, void dragonborn display their faint bloodline back to void dragons. This rare variant of dragonborn are known for their insatiable wonderlust and weak grip on reality.

Void dragonborn are dragonborn (Player’s Handbook) with the following draconic ancestry:

Dragon Type. Void
Breath Weapon Damage Type. Fire and Radiant*
Damage Resistance Damage Type. Cold
Breath Weapon. 15-foot cone (Dex save)

*You deal 1d6 fire and 1d6 radiant damage from first level. This increases to 2d6 fire and 1d6 radiant damage at 6th level, 2d6 fire and 2d6 radiant damage at 11th level, and 3d6 fire and 2d6 radiant damage at 16th level.

Hot Sales All July Long

We have massive sales on, all July long. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to get the deals first, or follow us on Twitter and Facebook to get notifications of new offers.

That’s all for now, but be sure to check back at the end of the month for the roundup.


The Skriblin — A Weird D&D Spelljammer Race

Creatures of pure imagination, the skriblin appear as moving illustrations that speak, breathe, and think like normal humanoids. Let’s find out more about this weird D&D Spelljammer race.

Skriblin D&D Race

Pure Imagination

Skriblin appear magically in densely populated cities. Scholars believe that the skriblin are the incarnation of humanoid creativity; an overflowing of artistic energy made manifest. Although they contain similar levels of arcane and cosmic energy to other humanoids, scholars agree that these energies don’t support the skriblin’s existence. Rather, they are elementals of creativity. Although many have tried to harness this creative energy for other purposes, the skriblin and the force that animates them remains as mysterious as ever.

The skriblin themselves have little interest in their source of life, and instead concern themselves with living lives that conform to their core being or essence. Scholars have noted that this odd behavior often correlates to tropes from drama, bardic sagas, and story telling.

Skriblin D&D Race Traits

Your skriblin is a walking, talking drawing. Although no two skriblin look the same, they share the following common features.

Ability Score Increase. One ability score of your choice increases by 2. Another ability score increases by 1.
Ageless. Skriblin enter life fully formed. You do not age, are immune to aging effects, and take no penalty for being old.
Alignment. Most skriblin tend to be chaotic, but there is no hard and fast rule for this diverse race. All skriblin follow their alignment without deviation, only ever changing alignment through magical means afflicted on them.
Size. Most skriblin are Small, while a few are Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet if you’re Small, or 30 feet if you’re Medium.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one extra language of your choice. Skriblin usually adopt the language of the societies they live within.
Animata. You contain creative energy that sustains you. While you have no levels of exhaustion, you have advantage on saving throws you make to avoid gaining a level of exhaustion.
Animated Creator.
You know the prestidigitation cantrip. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for it.
Trope*. Choose a trope that you most closely align with. You have advantage on skill checks and saving throws where your trope is applicable. For example, if you choose to be “the only sane man“, you might have advantage on Wisdom saving throws to avoid being compelled, and on Wisdom (Insight) checks to avoid being fooled. TvTropes.org has a long list of character tropes worth checking out. The Dungeon Master is the final arbiter of how your trope is used in the game.

* Trope might be the weirdest racial trait I have ever written, and the skriblin is certainly the weirdest race. Have fun, and don’t take it too seriously.

RPG Blog Carnival — Adventures in Space

This month’s RPG Blog Carnival, themed around ‘Adventures in Space’, is fast coming to a close. Be sure to check out the first post, and especially the comments, for loads of other articles related to our theme. I’ll also have a roundup article posted, soon, so check back here in a few days.

rpg blog carnival logo

Want More Weird Races Like the Skriblin?

The Skriblin and their friends will appear in the forthcoming Space Punks book, published by us here at Rising Phoenix Games. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date about the project.

Psst, we’ll even give you free books for signing up!

Free Books from Rising Phoenix Games

The Eu’karai 5e Race — A Spelljammer Race

Beings of energy and light, the Eu’karai are passionate explorers with a love of puzzles. Let’s take a closer look at the eu’karai 5e race and see what makes them buzz.

Eu'karai 5e Race

Birth of Stars

The eu’karai were created at the dawn of time to contemplate the ebb and flow of cosmic energy. Who their creators were is unknown, but the eu’karai have fulfilled their role dutifully, traveling the stars and recording their findings for future eu’karai to study. Although short-lived, the eu’karai discovered ways to hop from star-birth to star-birth, feeding off the same cosmic energy they were tasked to study.

Eu’karai 5e Race Traits

Your eu’karai character is an elemental being of light, with the following abilities common to all Eu’karai.

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age. Eu’karai live intense lives that run their course in a mere 30 years. They mature at the age of 10, then burn out over the course of two decades. Those eu’karai that manage to find a powerful source of energy might extend their lifespan by another twenty years, though very few have managed to reach their sixtieth birthday.

Alignment. Eu’karai boil with passion, and few of them can stand the restrictions of lawful society. They are most often chaotic. Eu’karai tend toward neutral, since they struggle to keep to any one moral path for long.

Size. Eu’karai range from under 5 feet to over 6 feet tall and have a wide range of builds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Bend Light. You can make short, teleporting jumps through areas of bright light. When you move, you can teleport from one spot in an area of bright light to another spot that is 10 feet away and within the same area of bright light, as a reaction to your movement. There must be enough space at your destination for you to occupy, or this ability fails.

Consume Light. As an action, you can consume the energy of a light source within 15 feet. A bright light source becomes dim light and a dim light source becomes dark. The light returns to normal after 6 rounds. During that time, you gain 1 Hit Point per turn for a dim light source or 3 Hit Points per turn for a bright light source. You gain darkvision while this effect is active. You can use this ability again after a short or long rest.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Primordial.

Puzzle Student. You have advantage on Intelligence (Investigation) checks made to solve or find clues related to puzzles or riddles.

More Spelljammer Races

If you enjoyed the eu’karai 5e race, then be sure to check out the Gruune and the Star Foxes. All of these and more will be in Space Punks, our forthcoming 5e race supplement.

Here’s a preview of the Space Punks cover:

Space Punks 5e Space Races Cover Prototype

Want Even More Space RPG Stuff?

We’ve got you! All month long, the RPG Blog Carnival is covering “Adventures in Space!” It’s all happening right here, so check out the Adventures in Space kick-off post, read the comments, and be sure to check back at the end of the month for the roundup.


The Essence of Grimdark

The definition of a grimdark setting might vary wildly depending on who you ask, and certainly, the experts don’t always agree. For example, some will say grimdark fantasy lacks emotional depth, while others will say it is deeply nuanced in that respect. While definitions don’t always hold up perfectly to every example, having an idea of the common elements is useful. It will help you speak to your players, tweak your ideas, and ultimately create your own incarnation of grimdark at the table.

The GrimDark Pamphlet Banner

A Hopeless World

Grimdark settings take a pessimistic and often fatalistic world view that contrasts with the sometimes optimistic, happily-ever-after world view of other fantasy settings. The land is heading towards unavoidable disaster, war, or ultimate destruction. Perhaps the planet has gone through terrible trials already, and the survivors are clinging to what little they have, waiting for the end. If there is any hope left, it rests in the corruptible strength of people.

Corruptible Humanity

Magic may be less accessible to the everyday man in a grimdark setting, is wild and untameable, or is evil and corrupting. A man must therefore rely on his own hands, and he is doomed to fail often. So tested, his flaws are shown again and again. Every trial will try to distract him from his path, and he will encounter many who have fallen and been corrupted and wish to drag him down. This corruptibility is often based on a historical precedent.

Historical Precedent

Grimdark settings often borrow from history more closely than other fantasy settings. Kings that were the heroes of the people turn into violent despots, trusted advisors turn out to be corrupt spies—history is full of examples of such men. We can draw much inspiration from historical figures, as well as the ebb and flow of the world through time. Difficulty and consequences are ever-present, and hardship is to be expected. The rarity of resources, disease, drought, and our mortality and corruptibility are all themes that might appear in any fantasy, but they are brought to the forefront in grimdark settings. Exploring life’s trials is not a cynically minded endeavor, they highlight the morality present in a broken world.

Morality in a Broken World

Saying that grimdark settings are universally immoral misses an important point. Morality, and the sacrifices and difficulties we have in following a moral compass, are brought under the microscope when contrasted with a broken world. Our own world is broken, and every religion and philosophy provides their own set of guidelines to navigate this brokenness. Moral choices are tough and doing the right thing requires sacrifice. While some characters might punch and slash their way through the trials they face, there are violent consequences for these actions.

Raven on tombstone

Violent Consequences

Characters in a grimdark setting might be involved in plots, tempted by demons, dragged to the edge of madness, succumb to the lure of chaos, or flirt with dangerous entities, yet a violent end is never far away. As raw emotion and hatred boil over into violence, we see the most graphic and poignant example of our fallen world. Death is the ultimate result of our brokenness, and it is often met at the point of a blade when life is cheap. That said, it is possible to play out long, entertaining campaigns without a weapon drawn, but the threat of violence and death is usually ever-present.

What makes grimdark for you? Did we miss anything? Do you disagree? Let us know in the comments below.

 


Fun for One RPG Blog Carnival Roundup

Trumpets. Red carpets. Fireworks. It’s an auspicious occasion! Not only is it Rising Phoenix Games’ birthday (yay!), but it’s also time for the December RPG Blog Carnival roundup, just as we ring in the new year! Here’s a look back at December 2021, where our topic was “Fun for One”.

rpg blog carnival logo

Gaming is Good for your Brain

Kim Frandsen of Beyond the Horizon Games, who should be no stranger to regular readers, provided insights into how game designers gain inspiration from their experiences, including their experiences of other people. This includes gaming, which he says is good for you — and that’s something we certainly agree with.

Read the full article on Beyond the Horizon

The GM is the Real Star of the Show

Antony Brotherton of Dragons Keep Roleplay Club talked about that one player we can’t do without, the GM. Antony offers five great tips for new GMs, but experienced GMs will surely be taking notes and nodding their heads too.

Read the full article on Dragons Keep Roleplay Club

DriveThruRPG.com

So You Want to Solo Pathfinder 2e?

Here at Rising Phoenix Games we looked at getting into solo games of Pathfinder Second Edition. I’m sure it’s a topic we’ll be revisiting throughout 2022 and beyond.

Read the full article, right here

Fun for One — Final Thoughts

Tabletop roleplaying games are a unique beast, and Game Masters, players, and RPG designers are faced with many unique challenges in their quest to deliver the most entertaining and meaningful gaming experience possible. The key though is that everyone adds their bit to the mix, so the whole is always better than its parts. And, when everything comes together, it’s an amazing experience that is unique to tabletop roleplaying.

So here’s to 2022 and all the adventures we’ll have, the hardships we’ll overcome, and the tales we’ll have to tell.

Game on!


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Christmas Greetings Web

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Rising Phoenix Games!

Blackmore’s Night is one of our favorite bands, and their cover of ‘Here We Come a Caroling’ couldn’t be closer to our wishes for you and your family this season. Please, enjoy their cover, below.

God bless!
Rodney and the Rising Phoenix Games Team

 


Let’s Go Solo with Pathfinder 2e — A Quickstart

There are loads of reasons to play RPGs alone, from avoiding the plague to testing out homebrew rules, or just for the fun of focusing on a single hero’s story. These days, there’s a huge number of tools and adventures for the solo player. We’re going to look at some of the intricacies of roleplaying solo with Pathfinder 2e.

December is Fun for One!

No, I’m not being a Grinch. I mean that the RPG Blog Carnival is parked here this month, and we’re talking Fun for One. That can mean all sorts of things, not just about solo gaming specifically. Go check out the host page, and be sure to check the comments for more posts on the topic. You can even add your own, so why not join us?

rpg blog carnival logo

Now, back to going solo with Pathfinder 2e.

The Core Appeal of Solo Play

Playing a game alone is usually fun for very different reasons that make a group game fun.

Solo games can present a puzzle for you, and you alone, to solve. In this sense, every combat encounter becomes a puzzle: how do I defeat the enemy without losing too many resources (Hit Points are one resource, after all).

Solo TTRPGs are very introspective, and you can enjoy the time alone with the character and their story in a uniquely intimate way. I love writing stories for exactly the same reason, and it’s probably why solo adventures intrigue me.

You might enjoy your solo experiences in other ways too, and here’s the point: understand that solo play is fun for a different reason and play your game to maximize that experience.

Solo Pathfinder 2e Encounters

Let’s take encounters and think about them as puzzles some more. How do we get more of a tactical challenge from encounters, if we’re a solo player?

XP Budget and Character Adjustment

In a solo game, the XP Budget is the Character Adjustment. See XP Budget, in the Game Mastering chapter of the Pathfinder Second Edition Core Rulebook. In other words:

XP Budget for Solo Play
Trivial – 10 XP or less
Low – 15 XP
Moderate – 20 XP
Severe – 30 XP
Extreme – 40 XP

This XP Budget limits what you can throw at your hero, especially if your hero is 1st or 2nd level. You might consider playing a 3rd level character right out the gate to make up for this. Otherwise, you’ll be serving up Moderate to Extreme encounters until you gain a level.

Random Monsters and Generated Dungeons

Completely random tables aren’t going to provide good synergies for building meaningful encounters. Instead, take a look at the maps, map tiles, and monster miniatures you have. What interesting combinations can you build from those?

I’ve already spoken here about building dungeons as a way to invent encounters,  where you put yourself in the role of Dungeon Keeper, using tiles and dungeon scenery as a toy to inspire you.

If you still want to randomize parts of the encounter, then create short, D4 or D6-based lists that let you swap out a few elements of terrain or change up some of the monsters in the encounter. You might have a table for environmental factors, like the level of lightning and if the ground is slippery or not.

Another option is to build decks of dungeon cards and monster cards that you can draw. Magic: The Gathering commons are great for this, if you don’t mind modifying them.

Help and Healing

Before you jump into playing the game, decide how deadly you want your game to be. Do you need to keep an NPC handy to cast stabilize, or will you have a magical item that casts raise dead on you whenever you die, up to three times? Will monsters kill your hero if you’re defeated, or will they attempt to heal your hero and keep you as their captive?

 

DriveThruRPG.com