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I've come full circle myself. I started with B/X, and played and (mostly) ran everything from there to 5e. I played numerous other ttrpg's as well. Now, I find myself enjoying the original stuff far more than the most recent stuff. As a result, I now run OSE and find it far more enjoyable for me as a DM.

I have just published _The Lost Film Cells: Game Master Oracle_ by John Alan Martinson. Can I send you a review copy?

Good video! The first time I heard about solo RPGs was in 2020, when I imagine many other people discovered them. I heard about Ironsworn first, then Four Against Darkness. 4AD didn't appeal to me right away because I wanted a game where I could go anywhere and do anything, not just explore a dungeon. I also wanted to be able to interact with NPCs in more ways than 4AD allowed. But as much as I loved the idea of Ironsworn, I had some trouble with it. To this day, I love it and consider it a practically perfect solo game, but I still have difficulty with it because it is so open to anything you want to do. I have a character that I like and a basic setup that should, in theory, give me plenty of story material to work with, but I just can't seem to get the ball rolling. I can't get my character moving in a direction that builds momentum. Instead, I just kind of wander aimlessly getting into nonsensical fights. When I put Ironsworn down and went back to 4AD, I found that the limits I had perceived helped to guide me. I didn't have to create too much, because the game did it for me, telling me the rooms I was entering, what was in them, and what was happening. All I had to do was react. And like you, I started to infuse my gameplay with story elements without even thinking about it. It felt very simple and organic. This is part of the reason why I am considering playing through some old D&D modules, perhaps using OSE or Shadowdark. Having a pre-existing story with certain goals to accomplish might be helpful. It's my hope that with experience, I will feel more comfortable going back to a more open world approach, because that is still what I want most and I have many stories in different genres that I want to tell.

Where can i download the character templates?

Nice story going on, however an elf to look as he is 60, by draining a couple of years, is a bit strange?

This was a really good video! Reminded me of when I got into RPGs back in the 80's with D&D Basic. My fondest memories are of D&D 2nd edition. I have really tried to get into D&D 5th edition, and I have not been successful, and it may be the same reason as yours. I've been researching OSE and even Shadowdark trying to pick something to play solo. I am unfortunately having a tough time deciding - I guess its fear of making a bad choice. I am also working on my own solo TTRPG (that will include group play as well), but it's not an easy task. Keep up the great work on the channel!

Really interesting discussion! Thanks! I'm trying to get back to a bit of solo and also recommending it to a friend who's also getting ready to run a campaign as a GM for the first time.

Just watched and really enjoyed your solo rpg journey video. This one also seems really interesting but the music makes my brain hurt while listening to you that I can't listen to this one. Especially when the music gets more intense at times. I'm aware I'm in a relatively small group of people with such sensitivities but I wanted to let you know. I'm any case seems like an intriguing video and I put in the like and will check out more of your videos. Thanks!

I can't wait to start this game. You make it look so fun!

I added Four Against Darkness to my list, it looks really good. Thanks for taking me through your journey too. I thought about using AI to help me play as well but I am going to try your suggestions first. New sub here :)

Thanks for the video on this subject. Just started SoloDark in homebrew setting using hex crawl rules + some independent publisher supplements for tables and additional flavors. It’s so fun and I love controlling when and how I play. 👍🏼

Just found your channel and was binging your videos and was surprised to see my zine here! Keep up the awesome work.

Great videos, new to Solo RPGing and also just bought Shadowdark and The Sandbox Generator! Will you be providing a video on how you made your updated map?

Looking forward to your solodark series. New to solo RPGs and RPGs in general so looking forward to any ideas and tips!

I got into soloing specifically because my friends are stuck on WotC D&D e5. There's just so much more out there! Learning the corebooks and systems, it's just as fun to me as writing characters and engaging with those systems in a player sense. The stale feeling isn't there for me anymore

Hi! What's the PDF viewer you use? Or some you recommend? I typically just view in my browser.

Wanted to watch it, couldn't which I consider a pity. Was unable to turn the subtitles off & what with them & the fairly large view of yourself I found it too difficult to concentrate on the subject matter.

Great video, and I appreciate how you didn't edit out your real-world "random encounter".

Just as well, ChatGPT is too much of a yes man to give much of a real challenge, not to mention the AI's short attention span gets really annoying after a bit.

I have to say, besides the content, i love all que production quality you worked for these videos. I have ADHD diagnosis, and the subs, the face and the sheets, the way you structure your videos (i've seen the series so far) makes your solo rpg content so entertaining and educational (and doesn't mess up with my attentional spam)... Thanks a lot! i am enjoying this!!!

Seriously, thanks for the positive reinforcement. Not so seriously; For me, it's all about getting the ball rolling. I don't worry about having a unique beginning. Can't think of a cool start off point? Fight rats in the basement of the local tavern for all it matters. You will quickly arrive at a "yes and..." or a "no, but...". Still nothing? Then keep up the tropes. Are there rats in the basement? "No, but you see a trail of dirt leading behind the kegs. There is a waist high tunnel dug ino the wall." Even using tropes is being creative. You want to be the chosen one? Go for it. You want to be the conflicted healer? Loner edgelord? Have at 'er. Eventually the plot unravels as you go. I also advise liberal use of retconning.

Damn 😢😢😢

Fun watching the dungeon get created with different sets of rules each episode. I did find the music levels a little high this time, making hearing you a bit more difficult.

Gotta trust the dice. RIP Junoor, we hardly knew you. But someone will surely make it outta here.

Thank you so much for this video as its an amazing tutorial on how to use the Sandbox Generator. Also, how did got get the Biomes book printed like that? Did you do us on our own, if so how? Or did you get it printed somewhere else?

I like you straight out saying you're at an intermediate level. I also paint mechs as a side hustle bit I think I'm putting too much into them for what I get back. I started painting in second edition 40k so haven't been too much into speed or contrast paints but I may revisit. Thanks for the video.

Recently found and have been enjoying your channel. Was really excited to see this and the last few episodes, because running a solo funnel is something I've wanted to do for a while as a way of chargen. However, my understanding of a funnel is that you run all the characters at once and they all start to fall off one at a time until you're left with the last survivor to make your main PC going forwards. This process doesn't feel as funnelly to me.

Just a tip for anybody who might be struggling with getting their pages to print properly. It took me two hours and many pages to learn that for my printer, I can’t put the pages back in to print on the next side in the order they came out. I have to re-stack them (top page to bottom etc). This was also the only way I could get the back sides to not print upside down(regardless of choosing flip on long or short side, it made no difference). Cheers! :)

Hello Wizard! I relate to being a lawful good kid and young adult 💛 That intro cracked me up 😂

I say screw AI. To give any aspect or part of the process to the machine is to deprive yourself of the growth and enjoyment that is derived from engaging your whole being with the hobby. I dont even want it for brainstorming; Ive got analog generators for that. Ive got Tarot cards and a thousand other implements. You really do lose imagination and growth by delegating the job to the AI. Its no longer "Solo" gaming.

4:40 Great idea for the dice change! I did NOT like that they put a "Maybe" on the Fate dice, lol.

Some of the things you said hit me pretty hard. Especially the part about this sense of possibility - games nowadays tend to restrict their players with elaborate rulesets that govern what is and what isn't possible within the environment of the game. OSR games have none of that. It's either "use the logic of fiction" or "come up with the ruling on the fly". And this is so, so liberating! I know now I'm going to enjoy your content. Your style of presentation is very approachable, and you have many interesting things to say.

Can’t believe you don’t have more subscribers. Thought I was “outgrowing” D&D because I was getting so tired of 5e, turns out OSR is exactly what the game needs

Can't wait to see what you do next, you have a passion for solo RP that really inspires me and the way you explain everything is clear and precise. Love your videos. <3

Nice video. I have found AI helpful for certain tasks, mostly brain storming. Tell it about your game and have it come up with 20 possibilities of what happens next. But yeah don't let it run the game. Many have tried and it's just not capable of a decent consistent story.

Great to see anyone enjoying solo rpgs but for me it doesn't work. I'd rather pay to have world building and mood in a box. Which I found.

Great video. Love the inspirational approach

Thank you for explaining this. I have read that section of the book so many times and never understood it until now.

Great video to understand solo. Thx mate

I really enjoyed seeing how this story came to life. I just got Sandbox Generator and Four Against Darkness, looking forward to starting solo rpg soon!

Come for the moderated random, stay for the chillvibe guitar riffs.

When I’m playing solo, I tend to reserve Oracle questions for times I’m unsure how to proceed. I don’t tend to use it for stuff that could cause damage or death. I’m glad you gave him a dex save, to me that part makes more sense. But I’d have left it at that. Essentially, he made a dex save but still died from the rocks he just avoided because of the Oracle roll that followed. Once the dex save is successful, my next question may have been, so did rocks fall but pin him down (or knock him over?) something that might make the next task difficult, but not necessarily BE the end result. Hope that makes sense. There of course is no right or wrong, people have different styles! I like to watch other people play solo because I want to see how they are playing and get ideas.

When you were talking about avoiding cascading no's, and just choosing things you think would happen, I really struggled with that at first. I'd roll for everything, often ditching good ideas. Now I try not to roll unless I have to because I am out of ideas or feel I could use a boost, but if I have a solid idea, it's best to just run with it and move on. I had an idea that everything should be random, a lot of it is from some solo players that play that way. But like you grabbing a torch, or coming up with an alternative if you get a no, sometimes it is best just to go with your ideas. Some people like the randomness, but I found I would rather move the story, and roll mostly when I am stuck. I have even started planning out adventures more like you would running a game, where I outline key story elements of what is going on, why my characters are questing, what the goals are. After, I get a good basic plan outlined I start playing and see where the game leads. I find it tends to lead to a better concise adventure when I do that, and it things start to feel too random and too directionless, I steer them back to the next element as needed. It is nice that you have two characters you can spin off for other mini series, it'd be nice to see how they play out if you revisit them. This is not a system I would play myself but I do quite like how you add in new concepts, and rule books to change things up, and show more different styles. And you do quite well explaining your though processes and trying to show different ways to solo, because as you said there are many ways to play, but it is nice to be introduced to new ideas and rule sets and such.

Thanks for the Shadowdark series, I enjoyed watching all of these! I recently bought it myself (pretty new to solo rpg's) and am soloing a few characters through a hexcrawl. I'm not very good at drawing, but sitting down and gradually creating this world and story is, while challenging, also gratifying and relaxing, seeing something come to life. I definitely want to keep in mind my characters backgrounds when using the oracle to ensure I'm role-playing as them and I like the idea of them having a personality trait to enhance the flavour. Can't wait to see what you post next! Thought I'd share my adventure so far: I have a Halfling fighter called Hobb and a Human thief called Clip who both have noble backgrounds and a sardonic (low Cha) Elf Wizard called Sand with a medical background. They are on a quest to deliver the captured hunter of the royal knights back to King's Gate - a Dwarven mountain city to the north. Talking to Jorgena the publican in the village of Ostlin she knows of someone who can help us, but required us to recover a treasure from a monster den in exchange for her knowledge of this contact. So the team traversed the jungle and a river to get to what we discovered was a den of Beastmen. We had a good string of luck seeing a crudely prepared pit trap and we got the jump on them killing two fairly quickly with a magic missile and our warhammers, and the last eventually going down after hitting Hobb quite hard. We recovered a scroll of sleep and a golden monkey statue from our delve and returned to Jorgena to give her the statue. Happy with her new treasure she informs us that there is a Halfing urchin called Wendry in town who can help us. We find Wendry and give her some gold and she tells us of a dungeon far to the south, the dungeon of cyclopean warriors that she escaped from, where the hunter is located. To get there we will have to start traversing jungles past a temple of Ord, a barbarian camp, or if we are a bit crazy, the deadly mountains of the Blood Peaks where it is rumoured a giant blood wyrm resides within.

What I always find interesting about solo roleplay videos is comparing processes. No specific observations about how I'd have differed from what you did - In some places I'd have likely asked different questions, in others I might have asked a question where you assumed a yes - or vice versa but on the subject of nesting nos, I will say that for overland travel, at least, I sometimes ask a general "Do they encounter anything of note?" question before probing further with either a roll on a word table or a more specific question where I actually have something in mind for how to handle a yes vs a no - Basically a general 'do I start using the game's random encounter systems/use my oracles as a random encounter generation tool or is it half a day's travel where nothing happens' sort of thing. Looking forward to the journalling game stuff in particular - have only really just started exploring that side of the solo space with Thousand Year Old Vampire (which I'm a little annoyed I didn't manage to get a second play in last month) and a tiny little game called Drowning (that while I think it did exactly what it intended to do, I'm not sure I'm ever going to be in the mood to play again - And I don't mean that as a criticism)

This sounds interesting but what I miss in this video is more of an explanation on what makes OSR different. I thought it just meant simpler rules, black & white illustrations, graph paper instead of battlemaps and minis, and more of an emphasis on dungeon crawling. Is there something else I'm missing? It sounds like there has to be something more.