How To Play TTRPGs Solo : Part 2

A look inside my own procedures and system

Since the first article in this series, I’ve been playing solo… A LOT.

The main reason for this is I’ve finished the writing and most of the artwork for my own system, which is designed for solo play, but can be run co-op or with a group as well.

I’ve been extensively playtesting and tweaking, and today ran the same system for a group, relying on the tables to drive the session.

First, I want to tell you a little bit about how I play solo.

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The fact that there are *so many* ways to play an RPG solo is both wonderful and at the same time, a bit confusing and overwhelming when first getting started.

What the hell do you mean, “play and GM at the same time?” I know, it sounds like a recipe for crazy…and in a way, it is. But, like, a good kind of crazy.

My creative mind is always running, and playing on my own means I require a play style that relies pretty heavily on procedure and structure, otherwise it just winds up being me brainstorming more on my settings and things like that, which is totally fine -

But not what I’m aiming for with a solo session.

For me, a solo RPG experience is about being in the driver’s seat with my character, but adhering to a set of rules and tables and procedures that allow me to be surprised, excited, and maintain my sense of discovery, exploration, and so on while playing.

Simple journaling games don’t really do this for me, although I journal when I play my way too.

Maybe the easiest way for me to explain is just to let you have a quick look at a how session looks for me.

First, I set a vibe. This is important to me, because it allows me to get into the spirit of things and really increases my enjoyment of the game, and that’s what it’s about. Your mileage and chocies may vary of course.

Organizing my space is first - I unclutter everything to help me relax, and this is usually done in the evening when my house is quiet, kids in bed, etc. My solo sessions usually only run about 30-45 minutes which I’ve found is the sweet spot to have some good action, move the story forward, and do some fun stuff without getting bored or burnt out.

I use noise canceling headphones with some appropriate music. For my setting, Kal-Arath (solo play OG’s will get the reference!), I like doom and heavy ambient stuff to give me that sword and sorcery vibe. Earth, Sleep, Conan, Serpent Throne, but also stuff like Tangerine Dream and things like that keep me rooted in the feel of my game. If I’m running more trad fantasy stuff, dungeon synth and OST is always nice.

Using analog tools is important to me - screens really break my immersion into the game, so I use a small black A5 notebook and pencil, and my materials are either printed out or scribbled right there in the notebook. Everything I need to play is right there.

This was really a main objective with Kal-Arath - I went full on and created a simple system from my favorite parts of other OSR stuff like Traveler, Black Sword Hack, and so on, so that with my tables and procedures, it was all in one place. I hate having to use a bunch of different books and dice, especially when on the fly, so mine uses a simple 2d6 system. Every table in the system is either d6, 2d6 or d66.

Simple rules is another big one for me - I don’t want to have to stop to reference rules every second of the game, so rules light, table heavy is my go to, and I folllowed this principle with Kal-Arath. The rules only take up a couple of pages, and will be very familiar territory to most people with, I like to think, some very nice surprises and fun little twists. The rest of the book (raw doc sits at about 38 pages without any art added), is all dedicated to procedures and tables.

A basic oracle is critical to running a solo game. Mine uses a simple d6. 1-3 is a no. 4-6 is a yes, with 1 and 6 being “extreme” results, and all odd numbers being yes or no, “but.” If something is likely, you roll 2d6 and take the higher. Unlikely, do the same but take the lower.

There’s d66 tables to get deeper insight on people and places, as well as places, adventure turning points and so on.

Following this, the procedural stuff begins.

Overland travel broken into specific and easy to follow steps like:

Roll Weather. (Various weather has an effect on travel, foraging)
Check to see if you get lost. (Various abilities for characters have an effect on this roll)
Forage, if desired (Weather and character ability choices have an effect)
Check for Point of Interest (POI - various Exploration type abilities can change this)
Check for Encounter (Like POI, Explorer type characters can affect the die roll here)
Resolve POI and Encounters.

This part is where the bulk of the action happens - depending on POI or encounters rolled, all kinds of things can happen. From pteranodon nests to settlements and dungeons - both of which take you to new tables to determine details about settlement and to quickly generate random dungeons, there is enough here to keep you busy for many, many hours of play.

Following this, at day’s end, you expend resources (rations, healing, etc.) and the process can begin again. This creates a satisfying gaming loop that doesn’t leave you feeling lost or getting stuck thinking, “ok what next?”

The way I play is by following these procedures and imagining what is going on, taking very basic notes, and letting the dice guide the journey and action.

My journal looks like this:

SESSION 3: DAY 9 (I keep track of in game days as they pass to record passage of time, seasonal changes for weather checks and overall feeling of reality.)

Last game, Aghar had decided he would buy the freedom of the people from his town here in the Kar’Eld slave market by entering the pit fighting tournament. If he wins ( it will take 3 days and he will have to defeat a new opponent each day) he will get 500s, enough to buy their freedom and more besides.

This is just a quick update from last session to get me in the stream of things, and to catch me up mentally to what’s going on.

Then, as I begin play, it looks like this.

Aghar goes to fighting pit and enters tournament.
He faces off against first opponent.
Is opponent a higher level than me? (Roll d6, comes up 5. Yes, but)
Opponent is 1 L higher than Aghar, but is unarmored and poorly equipped with a pair of fighting knives. (Roll HP by level to determine total - L3 = 3d6, rolled 4,3,3=10hp)
Aghar leaps into action - roll init, 4+AGI, easy. I go first.
Attack: 11 - a hit. DMG d6. A 6! Exploding die, roll again, 4. 10 total.
Aghar wastes no time, feints high, then delivers a backhand blow, spilling his opponents innards all over the sand of the arena. The crowd boos, angered at being robbed of a spectacle, but some howl, excited for such rapid violence.

Aghar returns to his small tent, and passes the night until morning. On the way, he goes to the market to see if he can buy some poison to cheat tomorrow’s match. Is there poison to be found? We’ll say neither likely or unlikely, d6 roll, 3. No, but.

The old woman he speaks to says she has a charm that will aid him in battle, but it will come at a cost. Aghar says he must win at any cost, no matter what. What will the cost be? Roll on insight oracle:

Separation.

She tells him that the price will be something he prizes highly, but she won’t take her price until the charm works. The charm will be…

paused a bit to think here

The first time Aghar is reduced to 0 hp, he will, instead of rolling on the Death + Wounds table, spring back into action with d6 hp restored.

And so on.

It’s a combination of letting the dice do their work and creatively interpreting what they tell me. The end goal is enjoyment - but I don’t fudge rolls to go with what I want. This has led to all kinds of fun things happening that I don’t expect.

I don’t wax too poetic - I’m not using this to write a novel, but I do like to describe whats happening a bit just so I can go back and remind myself, and because in the moment, writing it with a little flair helps me stay “in it,” and makes it fun for me.

Following the dice and the procedural rules keeps things “on the rails” and increases my enjoyment because I can always just leave a settlement and go out into the savage grasslands of Kal-Arath to seek my fortune with random dungeons, nomad bazaars, endless side quests, insane warlords and bizarre monks seeking the favor of demon lords who grant them powers like “Diamond Mind Shatters” or “Veil of the Hidden Monastery.”

Yep, that’s a baby hand…

The magic system is pretty wild in this setting, allowing magic users access to all the spells in their particular “pact.” Each spell or power is a different difficulty tier to cast, however, and there are pretty terrible consequences for failure…but smart players will soon discover things on the tables and throughout the game that can mitigate these penalties and “game the system” to become quite powerful.

This is the other thing I’m proud of in the system I’ve built - throughout the tables are connections, and interwoven through all of them, the game world reveals itself bit by bit through playing the game.

Secrets about the world, characters starting “main storyline quests,” random encounters - all intertwine and weave a world of high adventure to explore for a long time.

At the end of a session, I’ll make some quick notes about anything major that’s changed, check all my resources like silver and rations and that sort of stuff, mark down any quests or adventure seeds I got that session so I can follow up on them when I feel like it…

Finally - I tend to like to end on a high note. Right when something cool is happening, if I’m close to the 30-45 minute mark, I’ll cut the session right there at a cliffhanger.

It keeps me excited, keeps me thinking about the next session, and keep momentum going. I don’t have to start the next game on a sluggish feeling, and come up with what’s happening next. It’s already happening.

And when in doubt - I’ll pick one of the tables and roll something up, and chase down wherever that leads me.

Soloing is a hell of a lot fun with this system if I do say so myself.

Running it co-op works too, and like i said at the beginning - today, I used it to run a group game, but didn’t need to prep a single thing. I just leaned into the oracles and tables as if I was playing solo and ran a 4 hour session with zero prep and maximum enjoyment.

Everyone wants to play again, and there was a ton of laughs and “oh shit” moments, which always feels rewarding.

Next time, I’ll break down a little bit more of my process for keeping solo sessions on the rails long term, and show you more of Kal-Arath!

Keep your blades sharp.

- Castle Grief