Hostile Solo RPG Overview and Review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 มิ.ย. 2024
- Today I cover an overview and review of the tabletop solo RPG....Hostile: Solo...a game after my own heart.
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Index
00:00 Intro
03:17 The Theme
06:51 System Overview
12:07 Character Creation
16:00 Task Resolution
18:16 Scene Resolution
22:46 Oracles and
23:27 Combat Rules
25:16 Starship Combat
26:12 Plot Building And NPCs
28:12 The Looming Crisis
29:01 Ship Procedures
29:52 Starships
30:03 Randomized Interiors
30:41 Shipping Campaign
34:26 Exploration Campaign
37:09 Colony Survival Campaign
39:40 Marine Campaign
41:02 Mining Campaign
42:36 Troubleshooter Campaign
46:01 Closing Thoughts - เกม
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As the author of Hostile Solo, I sat watching Matthew’s review waiting for the ‘but …’;. No author is ever sure that what ‘he’ finds useful and interesting, will appeal to anyone else! I was extremely relieved to hear Matthew’s final words!
Hey Paul! Thank you for dropping in and taking the time too comment. It is always good to hear from you. If only you knew the hours I have spent on pouring over your books along with the entertainment and relaxation they have provided at the end of a long day. I can only hope that others can find the same enjoyment of your material as I have. Thank you again Paul!
@Paul Elliot
Check out the movie "Prospect" if you haven't already. I bet it would give you a lot of ideas. The makers of the game "Death in Space" have already used it for inspiration. It's also just a really good sci-fi western movie.
You made a game called "Hostile Solo" and your avatar is Indiana Jones? Shame on you. Shame! =P
This is the usual fantastic and in depth overview/review that I've come to expect from you - thanks!
That was a fantastic review that was both thoughtful and extremely useful. You really gave us a flavour of what the setting is like as well as how the author immerses the characters in that setting. Thank you!
Thank you ziggurat-builder! It's been a while. Always good to hear from you. The Hostile series as a whole drips with theme. It also doesn't hurt that it has some of the best compilations of tables/oracles out there in addition to simple and easy to access rules. It makes it easy to jump in and enjoy the theme of the world more directly....if you can survive.... ;)
I like the quick space combat rules in Hostile Solo better than the fast play method in the Core book, which I found to be too much all-or-nothing.
P.S.: I _love_ that Sulaco model!
Hey HeadHunter! Good to hear from you!
That Sulaco model was a work of love.. it took me a month to finish it. I had to print over 100 pieces to get that together. That is not even accounting for the time I had to spend grinding some of the pieces down so they would fit right due to slight miss prints from the 3d printer.
I am glad you liked the rules. The original solo rules mirrored those in the core book ( the simple core rules, not the full combat rules ). I felt exactly the same way in regards to all or nothing space combat. When I saw that, I knew there needed to be some middle ground and Paul agreed. So I gave him a sample and continued to work it until we had what you see as middle ground. I was very proud of that.
Thank you so much for those kind words!
Thanks for the detailed video. Ordered a hardback right away on Lulu. Btw The Sword of Cepheus definitely deserves a similar treatment like Hostile Solo!
thanks for going over this one. I've had it on my shelf for a while and I haven't made the time to go into it yet. I think it's just the sort of thing I need on these rainy days.
Hey there Jon, If you end up picking this up I would love to know your thoughts on how this worked for you during your "rainy days". You are so very welcome for the coverage. Thank you for taking the time to watch and offer your thoughts .I truly appreciate it! :)
Fantastic coverage. Thank you for all your effort. Perfect length, too!
That was a great and thorough review! I already had my eyes on Hostile Solo and you convinced me that it's something I need to add on top of my shopping list, thank you :)
Thank you so very much Locutus Rook. That helped to make my evening. Good to hear from you again. I would love to know what you thought when you get it in your hands. Anything I can get from the Hostile series is a plus in my book.
This game looks fantastic! It must be fantastic to play those games, start a youtube channel which open new doors to gets in touch with game designers, and then have an opportunity to work on the game you love to play! What a journey!
Another good game to try! I have too admit that I wish they was a 'basic' or an introduction version to get into the game more easily. We are use to learn new rules and new systems that part of the fun. Having a basic version, if it's possible, would make the jump more easily into the game and then explore more tables/rules has you play.
So you are thinking about maybe like a free "stripped" version of the solo rules for a demo? Learn that, see if you want more and then get the main Hostile: Solo? That might be an interesting idea. What are your thoughts? What areas would you like to see simplified?
@@adventuresinsolitaire I cannot say exactly what I would see simplified, but if one goal is to have a basic character or 2 (simplified), have a pre-made adventure that teaches the rolls/tables and thatfollow a simplified flow, a few encounters (combat, exploration, etC). And all under 30 pages. I'm just brainstorming here.
For example, D&D did starter kits for 5e that summarize the basic rules and has an adventures (too long for an introduction) but it explains when to do rolls and interpret them. As you know, Four Against the Darkness has the core rulebook and then you add complexities and more tables with other books. D100 Dungeons has the free version that shows the core mechanics (but it could be simplified with less quest, monsters, random loots for an introduction)...
Not sure what other game did a good job. Some board games by Fantasy Flight do that, to jump quickly in the game and experience the basic rules. They removed choices and keep it fun for a quick play before getting deeper in the rules when you grasp how it works and connects with the rules.
I think that is a really good idea. Although I am not affiliated with Zozer games I do have Paul's email. I will reach out and ask that he put that in the proverbial "suggestion" box. Good idea Patrick. Thank you for lending your thoughts on that. I am seeing a number of comments coming in on how to solo and it so reminds me of where I started. I really need to do some videos on those topics more.
Love to see reviews of each supplement you have for hostile. This was a great review. :) Thank you.
Hi 1. Thank you for the kind words. I plan on doing more with the content as I am going to do nothing but grow my collection. So as far as I am concerned... more is coming down the pipe.
@@adventuresinsolitaire That's wonderful. I'm looking forward to more of your content. I'm currently working on your back catalog of videos that be interest me. :)
That made my day 1. I hope they serve you well or at least provide some distraction or entertainment..
An excellent review. Thank you for such an in depth and passionate guide 👍🏻.
Hey Crinklechips, thank you for the kind comment. Paul really makes it easy for me to be passionate about his work, I can get so lost in the background and lore of his work. It was if the system was made for me. Thank you again!
@@adventuresinsolitaire You convinced me to buy it ;-)
I would love to hear your thoughts. I would recommend the "setting" book to go with it as it has a ton of lore and background info. I get all of the books over time. I am missing a few. He is currently working on the near earth zone "world books" at the moment. I am waiting on him to compile them into an omnibus for the books in hardback form. I will then buy that so I have them all in one place. I have most of the books otherwise. Really great work and I cant wait for more.
@@adventuresinsolitaire Thanks for the recommendation. I’ll certainly let you know how I get on.
Sigh, so hard to find a copy of Legendary Encounters: Alien these days :D Thanks for the over-and-review mate !
Hi Armatige, thank YOU for the complement and taking the time to watch! I didn't realize Legendary Encounters: Alien was hard to find. It is an excellent game and extremely thematic for a deck builder game, but you probably already knew that. Thank you again Armatige.
Welp, you've got me convinced. Got myself the PDF. Might look into getting a hardback later. My first "solo" RPG. Kind of sad, tbh. Probably because no one wants to play anything but DnD these days.
Hi Nemamiah, glad you were able to pock it up. I am my own worst enemy with printed material. I do not like digital content unless I am using it to print tables and such from it. For whatever reason I need to be able to lay hands on the print. Hostile Solo is a pretty light entry into Solo roleplaying and is full featured enough that you dont really need anything else to make it work very well. Given that it is your first dive into solo, please feel free to reach out here or on the Facebook group for questions if you have them. There are also plenty of videos online aside from what I have that can help as well. I need to do more in that area. Its been a little bit. On the DnD note, I do like DnD for what it does, but it is nice to dive into other systems as well. Thank you for dropping in and sharing.
@@adventuresinsolitaire The only gripe I have so far (aside from minor typos) - the book doesn't seem to explain how the damage works. Maybe it does later on (I've only got to Building Plot chapter), but items have 1d6 damage or 2d6+3 damage, yet I am not entirely sure how the damage should be applied. I don't have the Core Book for Hostile. And I've probably just missed the explanation. Can you direct me to the page number?
Give me a moment to look, given that I am familiare with the Cepheus/Traveller/Hostile engines I know how it works. If I cannot find a page number I will guide you here so you will have what you need. Give me a few to get back with you.
Ok, So...I found the entry. I think you may have been looking for "health" or "HP" which is typical for most role playing systems. The Hostile engine is based on a system that attempts to be a "bit" more realistic with its damage. When we take "damage" in real life we dont take it from a pool of HP. Our arm gets hurt or our lungs are damaged from bad air etc. So Hostile has you taking damage directly to your attributes. So if you take 3 damage from a 1d6 roll and that damage is reduced by 1 ( from armor lets say ) then your total damage taken would be 2. You would then take that remaining damage ( of 2 ) and apply it to your characters endurance first ( so if your endurance was 8, then it would be reduced to 6 ). After your endurance is reduced to 0. it starts damaging your dexterity. If your endurance and dexterity are at 0 then your character is incapacitated. You can continue to suffer damage from other attributes in order as well ( it is covered in the rules ). This info is found on page 61 of the hostile solo rules ( it had been updated since I got my copy so it may have moved a page ). You could technically have attributes damaged in other ways as well. Say taking psychological damage by damaging your intelligence.
@@adventuresinsolitaire Thank you kindly! I see it, yep. I somehow did not read the relevant lines despite actually reading through that page. I think I need to get some sleep maybe. Will continue reading this tomorrow after work. Rolled up myself a crew of miners to start with. Gotta be honest, each single one is at least an above average chap. Except for the captain, who had ended up with 5 4 3 6 5 11 for the statline. Which at the very least sounds funny. I more or less explained it with age, crankiness and a faulty knee that requires a cane.
So far - pretty promising. I just have to overcome the barrier or "trying to play an RPG by yourself". Maybe approach it as a writing exercise. Off I go! Thank you for your time and explanation!
I just received my copy today and this review was a nice help to me. I bought it purely off the theme and solo name. Felt a bit lost looking at it. Are you going to do a video play through? I think that would be super helpful and fun since you love the theme so much.
Hi Daniel, Love the last name....reminds me of a certain....corporation for some reason ;).... Anyway..to the reason you wrote in. I have absolutely been thinking about a playthrough...I can certainly see that in the near future. At the moment I have two reviews that I MUST get out. As soon as those are clear, fates willing, my recording schedule is clear. So I will pop that to the top of those things I would like to record. However, if you want, I have an email on my profile ( We also have a Facebook group in my profile ) and I would be happy to field any questions you may have. I might even be willing to do a quick voice over recording to quickly cover more ground and topics if needed. I cant always do that but it is there for the taking for now. Thank you so much for the kind words, glad to have found a fellow reader who enjoys the theme as I do. Thank you again.
@@adventuresinsolitaire yes I much prefer the corporation reference for my name rather than the GoT family house of flowers :) I appreciate the offer and I’ll join the Facebook group for sure. Today my goal is to read through everything now that I’ve watched the video and have a better understanding of how this works. I think I’ll feel less lost once I understand how to drive the narrative and when/how to roll to make play surprising and eventful. Thanks for being so helpful!
@@danieltyrrell8884 I can certainly see now why a gameplay example would be so very helpful. The issue with driving narrative is common amongst most solo systems. I might want to think about doing a video on just that topic alone in regards to solo role playing ( How and when to drive narrative forward ). How do we introduce unexpected twists in a way that is truly a surprise and yet makes sense to the ongoing and established narrative. You are so very welcome. Please reach out if you have any questions and I will be happy to answer. The group on Facebook is incredibly kind and helpful as well. Thank you again Daniel.
This looks amazing. Just jumping into the solo sci-fi realm. Looking at this and the D-100 system. Can anyone give pros and cons of both? Really leaning towards Hostile as I am a Traveler fan. Great review!! Subscribed
Hi John, Thank you so much for the complement and the subscription. I truly appreciate it, made my morning ( first thing I saw when I woke ). I think I might follow with a question of my own, if that is ok? Have you done solo role-playing before and what is your comfort level with solo-role playing if so?
@@adventuresinsolitaire You’re welcome! Great content, really! I really have never done any solo role-play. I have played mini solo war, games, and tabletop games, but never anything quite like this. Does that help? Thanks again!
D100 Dungeon ( and D100 Space ) are heavily rules driven. You will not have to ask or wonder, much, about what to do next. This is expanded on with it's supplements. D100 Dungeon on it's own is an "adventure" dungeon crawler. With its supplements it is VERY close to what we "might" call an RPG.
Solo role playing, on the other hand, is much more open to interpretation. You will have the rules that give you base line guidance. However, you will have, in most cases, things that are fully open to interpretation. If you are not used to this it can be a bit unsettling and/or confusing.
Having Said that, Hostile: Solo is good at bringing in the new solo role player to the fold. It has everything you need to get started aside from paper, pencil and dice. You also have communities for both D100 Dungeon and Hostile: Solo that are happy to help and give direction and advice "if needed". I am also happy to answer questions as you have them as well ( so is the Adventures in Solitaire gaming group ). On that note, if you wanted to join the group, you can also private message me and I will be happy to answer questions directly there unless that makes you uncomfortable.
Personally, I tend to prefer Solo Role Playing and the Hostile Universe ( likely for the same reasons that drew your interests ). It is an amazing experience that is hard to duplicate elsewhere and offers rewards that cannot be understood until the experienced in their fullest ( with experience and time ).
I hope this helps, please feel free to ask if you have further questions and thank you so very much for reaching out. I appreciate it :)
@@adventuresinsolitaire This is super helpful-thanks so much for the detailed response! I may end up getting both because they are pretty reasonably priced.
@John Hardin I would have a hard time not getting them both myself....then again....here they are in my home...both of them. You are very welcome and thank you again. :)
I'm looking for a system to use for building a space shipping company. Do you think the rules in Hostile would support that type of game? I am looking for more crunch than Starforged, less crunch than Traveller.
So the Hostile Setting is based on Traveller ( you may already know this ). Some of the rules in the Hostile: Rules book are very close to the traveler rules. Hostile: Solo is a stripped down version of the Hostile: Rules for solo play with some additional mechanisms to help with soloing. I double checked the Hostile: Solo book for trading commodities etc and it does not have a list for prices and availability. If you look at the Hostile Rule book it does cover commodities and their prices etc. But the Hostile Rule book is very much in line with what you would expect in regards to Traveller like rules and systems. So you would need to use the Hostile Rule book in conjunction with Hostile Solo. I dont see an issue with this however. I would also say that you would likely want to be invested in the theme and the universe that Hostile occupies to really get maximal use out of it. What part of the Traveller rules are crunchy for you?
@@adventuresinsolitaire Thanks for the reply. Honestly, character creation is my least favorite part of Traveller. I've already hacked together Starforged and Traveller somewhat successfully, but it is clunky. I can imagine the design challenges of incorporating an economy seamlessly into a solo system. Although I am interested in Hostile, I feel a subjective need to wait until my physical copy of Starforged arrives before picking up another solo scifi. And I need to play the stuff in my pile that I haven't even tried, yet. I will get it soon, though. Like you said, good tables for solo scifi are hard to find. And I really like the page layouts that add immersion.
I think your best option is to use the trading rules from the Cepheus system. The Hostile system is built on the Cepheus ruleset, so the trade rules should fit in nicely and are not too crunchy (especially as found within the original Cepheus Light or the Moon Toad RPG upon which the other versions were made).
I completely understand the need to wait there ( sorry for the delayed reply btw ). Starforged is an amazing system and it wouldn't surprise me if it was your answer for sci fi solo role playing. But I agree that the tables from the pdf for Hostile Solo would be worth having around as a little something extra. Where did you find the clunkyness for the blending of starforged and traveller? What systems, from both, were you trying to blend?
Is it possible to play this cooperatively with my wife?
Hi Josh, thank you for the question. Despite the system being geared for the "solo" player, like many solo systems it can be used in a co-op environment. I see no reason why that would not work. Do you have any specific questions about the system or concerns? I want to make sure I am guiding you in the right direction.
@@adventuresinsolitaire Thanks for the response. I assumed it could be made to work cooperatively, especially two people looking to experience a cool story and stretch our creativity muscles a bit. After watching your video, I'm going to pick this up. I love that so much of the book is dedicated to the campaigns. As someone who isn't always the most creative, I think it will be really helpful. Awesome video, thanks!
The best thing about co-op play is that it basically gives you _two_ GMs to power the game! You can play off each other with your ideas and build something even deeper and more detailed than a solo player might accomplish. That is to say, "two imaginations are better than one".
Sorry for the delayed response Josh, I am glad you enjoyed the video and you are so very welcome. Did you end up picking up the book and how did that go for you and the wife?