Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Let's Talk About Solo TTRPGs
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Joshua Randall" data-source="post: 9305843" data-attributes="member: 7737"><p>One issue here is what one means by 'solo TTRPG'. There are no wrong answers.</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Numbered paragraphs</strong> like in Choose Your Own Adventure / Fighting Fantasy / Lone Wolf / etc. Can range from basically no game engine, just pick-a-path (CYOA) to light game engine (FF), medium game engine (LW), and even heavy game engine (Middle-Earth Quest which was a subset of the MERP rules). There is a 'GM', which is the book, so you are not required to nor free to do whatever you want.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>CRPGs</strong> like Baldur's Gate 3, etc. etc. etc. Again, heaviness of the game engine can vary, from 'walking simulator' to medium weight to heavy weight. There is a 'GM', the computer, so while you are free to do many things, they have to work within the confines of the program. Still, you are not expected nor required to play both sides of the screen (GM/player).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Journaling</strong> games with zero or ultra-light gameplay, where your end result is a (hopefully satisfying) story. You are called upon to interpret writing prompts. I don't enjoy these and have no experience with them, so can't say much more. Arguably, there is no 'screen' because this is not a player/GM 'game' in the sense we normally mean.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Bespoke solo games</strong> like Ironsworn. You are now firmly playing on both sides of the screen, player and GM. There will be 'oracles' which are random tables of yes/no/etc. answers and evocative prompts but <em>you</em> are still responsible to (A) remember to use them and (B) interpret the results, when in 'GM' mode. Gameplay weight is typically more medium than light.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Group games adapted to solo play,</strong> like various add-ons for Blades in the Dark or D&D or Shadow of the Demon Lord etc. etc. etc. Mythic Game Emulator fits here, too. Again, you are responsible for both sides of the screen. The difference between this and 'bespoke solo games' is that the game was not designed to support solo play, so you must make whatever adaptations are suggested <em>in addition to</em> being the GM and interpreting oracles. You may also face issues of a game that assumes a party or at least assumes incoming damage is spread out across 4-5 characters, not concentrated onto 1. Rules weight is whatever it was in the base game, although I typically see adaptations made to medium- to heavy-weight game engines.</li> </ul></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Joshua Randall, post: 9305843, member: 7737"] One issue here is what one means by 'solo TTRPG'. There are no wrong answers. [LIST] [*][B]Numbered paragraphs[/B] like in Choose Your Own Adventure / Fighting Fantasy / Lone Wolf / etc. Can range from basically no game engine, just pick-a-path (CYOA) to light game engine (FF), medium game engine (LW), and even heavy game engine (Middle-Earth Quest which was a subset of the MERP rules). There is a 'GM', which is the book, so you are not required to nor free to do whatever you want. [*][B]CRPGs[/B] like Baldur's Gate 3, etc. etc. etc. Again, heaviness of the game engine can vary, from 'walking simulator' to medium weight to heavy weight. There is a 'GM', the computer, so while you are free to do many things, they have to work within the confines of the program. Still, you are not expected nor required to play both sides of the screen (GM/player). [*][B]Journaling[/B] games with zero or ultra-light gameplay, where your end result is a (hopefully satisfying) story. You are called upon to interpret writing prompts. I don't enjoy these and have no experience with them, so can't say much more. Arguably, there is no 'screen' because this is not a player/GM 'game' in the sense we normally mean. [*][B]Bespoke solo games[/B] like Ironsworn. You are now firmly playing on both sides of the screen, player and GM. There will be 'oracles' which are random tables of yes/no/etc. answers and evocative prompts but [I]you[/I] are still responsible to (A) remember to use them and (B) interpret the results, when in 'GM' mode. Gameplay weight is typically more medium than light. [*][B]Group games adapted to solo play,[/B] like various add-ons for Blades in the Dark or D&D or Shadow of the Demon Lord etc. etc. etc. Mythic Game Emulator fits here, too. Again, you are responsible for both sides of the screen. The difference between this and 'bespoke solo games' is that the game was not designed to support solo play, so you must make whatever adaptations are suggested [I]in addition to[/I] being the GM and interpreting oracles. You may also face issues of a game that assumes a party or at least assumes incoming damage is spread out across 4-5 characters, not concentrated onto 1. Rules weight is whatever it was in the base game, although I typically see adaptations made to medium- to heavy-weight game engines. [/LIST] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Let's Talk About Solo TTRPGs
Top