Thank you so much for including my work in your overview and the kind things you’ve said about it. I think you have really gotten what I was trying to do with the book-give people narrative tools to master the stories they are telling, regardless of rule set.
Oh it is so my pleasure! Myself and so many others fell in love with this hobby because of you and your playthroughs. One day the crochet needle and little coin purse will be the sacred relics of our hobby!!
00:00 Preamble 02:02 5th Edition Player's Handbook (Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro) 07:16 The Ultimate Micro-RPG Book (James D’Amato) 10:25 "The Game Master's Book of" Series (Jeff Ashworth) 22:23 Solo Game Master's Guide (Geek Gamers/Modiphius) 24:45 "Random Tables" Series (Timm Woods) 26:41 Solo Game Master's Guide (Geek Gamers/Modiphius) 27:40 Mythic Game Master Emulator (Tana Pigeon/Word Mill Games) 31:53 Ironsworn/Starforged (Shawn Tomkin/Tomkin Press) 35:49 Scarlet Heroes (Kevin Crawford/Sine Nomine Publishing) 39:05 Colostle (Nich Angell) 44:11 Thousand Year Old Vampire (Tim Hutchings Makes Games) 44:52 Four Against Darkness (Ganesha Games) 45:52 Candlelight (Glowing Roots Press) 48:51 Dragonbane (Free League Publishing) 50:35 Star Trek Adventures Captain's Log (Modiphius) 51:10 Across a Thousand Dead Worlds (Blackoath Entertainment) 51:24 Round Robin & Thanks
Geek Gamers indeed! First gamebook I bought was D&D Basic. I felt like I was doing alot of math. And then I got hooked on computer RPGs like Ultima and Final Fantasy gamebooks. I have now started to get into solo RPG games with Four Against Darkness (the simplest system) and I want to publish a Cairn module or a Basic Fantasy module. I enjoy your channel!
Great video! I’m one of those people who own loads of games, and want to try solo play, so I found this really helpful. I think I might start with Scarlet Heroes.
4 Against Darkness is the only solo rpg I have played, mostly because it's satisfying to flip through my graph paper journal and seeing the various dungeons I have either conquered or that conquered me. Great vid. Keep up the good work.
GeekGamers book is next on my purchase list. 😊 (Breakfast eaten, feeling better.😊) I was ready too throw some tomatoes, but then you brought out Dragonbane and I put the tomatoes away. Dragonbane, is also on my list to buy. I try to get only one book at a time, so that 1) I will read it and 2) monetary constraints. Your sign off on the videos are not that bad. Mine are worse. 😂🤣 I look forward again to the next Round Robin. ❤😊
When I was much ypunger, I bought a lot of Shadowrun books as I lived the setting and the lore but the rules were overwhelming and no one wanted to play with a girl. So I never really got to play in that setting, as I had no idea how to play it solo. I still have the books, but it did at least made me more wary about where I spent my money. I've bought a much smaller amount of Solo rpgs pdfs (no big games book store where I live), and watching videos like yours is slower making me realised I could take the Shadowrun setting and play it Solo. I'm not feeling confident enough to record my first baby step sessions though. 😂
@@Cossentine So what game mechanic and dice system did you end up using? Was it similar to any current solo game mechanics? (Edit. I never got to play any ttrpg as a kid. I only had Stephen Jackson and Livingston choose your own adventure books.)
This video is super helpful and looking forward for the "why I play" video! I would love a more relaxed intro music though since when Im playing several videos of the channel in a row it surprises me. Thank you for your videos!
@@adub_from_253 Ironsworn and Black Sword Hack are great because they have solo rules already incorporated. I also like Morg Borg and Knave. But my favourite is Into The Odd because it’s so simple and I love the style. It doesn’t have solo rules but you can use any oracle you want with it.
I really enjoy Solo RPGs, gotta get back to them one of these days. I sort of get stuck writing too much, maybe because i use it as sort of practice for writing fiction in a low-stakes way, and i often do it by hand. The games will definitely be less of a slog if i just use bullet points, but getting some writing reps in feels important. Maybe I'll bite the bullet and start typing to see if that helps
Some good tips here, you've gotten a sub. I think one of my main pieces of advice for people wanting to get into RPGs in any form (solo included) is to use the fast food analogy: just because something is popular doesn't mean it's the best place to start. Sure, everyone eats there eventually. Is there anything wrong with McDonalds or Burger King? Nope. Would it be my first recommendation for someone wanting to try a hamburger for the first time? Hell no. For solo, I find it's much easier to get started with something like Shadowdark, Old School essentials or any of the other smaller, more modular, rules systems that are easy to read and get into. Throw in geek gamer's excellent book, Mythic GM, and some kind of oracle deck and you've really got everything you'll ever need.
The most fun I have had with Solo RPG's has been with 2 different Mork Borg adaptions. Basilisk by 1d10+5 and Dark Tides by Limithron. Both games and single page games. Both are essentially dungeon crawlers that lay everything out for you. but that's what I'm into.
Whoa, I have basilisk, but I haven’t heard of this dark tides…it’s by Limithron?? That’s like actually a pretty good published. The solo one for Mork Borg, that I usually hear about is solitary defilement. You have piqued my curiousity
@@amanisalone I have wanted Solitary Defilement for so long and missed every opportunity to get a print version. Dark Tides is a a Pirate Borg one off. To me, it's basilisk in the water.
Thank you for your videos! I really appreciate your humour and honesty (why you paused the video)! I'm very slowly getting to the point of actually playing solo RPGs. I mainly buy PDFs which is a blessing and curse because I can buy LOTS and they don't take up much room or cost much, but now I have folders and folders of different material that I haven't tried out yet. I'm in the middle of learning dragonbane and really liking what I'm seeing. Thanks again!
From my observations, there appear to be several distinct cultures of solo play and design: 1. Playing as one generally would in Ironsworn or traditional RPGs using a GM Emulator (Ironsworn is hardly traditional, but for the purposes of this list is :), it's comparable to something like Me, Myself & Die solo playstyle). 2. Open Soloing / Stream of Consciousness (often seen in Geek Gamers YT videos). 3. Solo Journaling (examples include 1k Old Vampire or Magus). 4. Lyric solo games / pervasive games / ritual games (such as My Cat is an Oracle - though these can sometimes overlap with journaling games). Admittedly, this is an oversimplification and overcategorization, but I do observe significant distinctions among these categories.
Awesome! Thanks for the recommendations! I've never properly played a ttrpg. D&d genuinely confused me. I loved making a character and thinking about his/her background and personality. But the couple times I've joined a group to play, it all just ended up being about what skills and weapons I picked. Like, what was all that cool background stuff in the book for? The charts and numbers and systems just muddled everything. Anyway, I'm playing through Ironsworn and I love it! The move system feels like a great balance between deciding the right action for a situation and story telling. I also love the oracle! Just give me charts of random words and let my brain fill in the gaps!
Now you're getting that feeling you're supposed to be feeling. D&D is so often recommended as a place for people to start in the Tabletop RPG world, and I've just seen so many people quit out because the ideas in it are just not intuitive. Glad you stuck is out and are enjoying Ironsworn!
I feel found out. I am an adult who has not played computer rpgs and comes in cold to Solo rpgs. I certainly have spent what feels like a 1000 bucks on stuff and am just now getting a feel for the differences between game systems, tools and resources. About 24 games from Troika via UVG, Wanderhome to Apawthecaria are on the shelf waiting to be played. I flipped through the DnD5e handbook and decided it was way too complicated. I looking forward to Break!! this year. The only game l have tried so far is 'The Broken Cask'. It was fun. But I am definitely hesitant of plunging into a proper game.
If 5e seems a little to much then Cairn has a solo book, both free. Also lot of offshoots that add some tweaks but are free too. My fav is Plight! but, any of them will let you do think-on-your-feet dungeoncrawling with less crunch.
Subscribed. I am enjoying your content and delivery. I've just started getting back into Solo RPG(s) and Oracles. I started in the 80(s) with Fighting Fantasy books. Feels like a bit of a home coming.
I like the low editing podcasting style. I like to keep your videos running in the office when I am working. And I am the same way with hobbies... get really excited and jump in with both feet.
I agree with your thoughts on the Game Master's series. I got back into the hobby about a year ago, and I ended up amassing a lot of these books. That series to me was always a nice thing in the sense that the tables are usable but all the "stuff" in between just gets in the way. Here's a couple of cheapo options that actually work really well for me: The mythic android app. It's all the stuff from 2nd edition and under $10. Also Table Fables 1 and 2 are brilliant and well worth having. Also the WB Yeats reference with the falcon and the falconer was solid.
The mythic app really is worth it's weight in gold, though sometimes I do wish I could see the tables themselves in the app so I could roll my own dice.
Brother, your channel and videos are amazing. Please keep up the good work, because I’m beginning my solo rpg campaign within the next 1d4 weeks! Just gotta get my starting minis and terrain painted up. 👹
subscribed because I appreciate the transparency and honesty offered by this channel. I'm personally going to be attempting some pathfinder 2e stuff soon-ish, but using the super simplified MUNE system with some Mythic tweaks.
The "transparency and honesty" cracked me up. Sold on the channel subscribe. Also I love the natural, conversationalist approach to such an in-depth video. Makes everything more easily digestible by giving time to absorb information.
Interesting video! Remember “that could be a game!” Gaming can be nearly anything you want- I think new solo players are afraid (like new Dungeons & Dragons players) that they are doing it WRONG! All of these books and references are just books of additional ideas for your game.
You pointed out a big problem with kids nowadays. How you said "When I was a kid I probably read said book 95 times, cause I had nothing else to do." I did the same, I remember spending hours reading the Monster Manual. Kids now have to much to draw their time. It's even harder as an adult with responsibilities.
Candlelight was actually my first foray into this sorta thing. I just saw it on the shelf at a comic book store and thought it was a neat concept before realizing there's a whole world of these sorts of things. I like writing as a hobby so they suit me perfectly.
Fun fact, the first TTRPG book I ever bought was ICRPG 2E Core in French (back in last December!) at my FLGS since I was looking for a first TTRPG to start GMing (and heard it was a good choice according to Reddit) Favorite oracles is the Dark Gods' Oracle at page 98 of Black Sword Hack! I'm trying to do some Into the Odd/Electric Bastionland in Made in Abyss world solo to setup the character that will be the mentor for my players at the table of my next convention so this might be enough to get me around to it
The last time I played an RPG, any RPG, was back in middle school, and I'm turning 50 this year. So, it's been a while! However, it was the Basic D&D box sets of the '80s, and I think AD&D 2nd edition was just out. Those were fun days. Now, I don't have the time or opportunity to be involved in a group RPG experience, but recently, I saw some YT videos of people playing RPGs solo. I thought, well, I can take some time here and there to make that happen. I started reading the D&D 5th edition player's handbook. I got to about the point you mentioned in the video, and I thought "What have they done!?" It's the most convoluted mess of rules. I literally had to go read an article about hit points to figure out how they are calculated as you level up and heal up. I thought, "If the HP is this complicated, then I don't have time for this." Basically, I have nostalgia for the D&D of the '80s, but either I don't remember correctly or the rules got way heavy. I'm hoping that someone might have a recommendation of an RPG that lends itself to solo adventuring, keeps the game mechanics reasonable (i.e. understandable), allows for the high fantasy races and classes that I remember, and the traditional magic and monsters. I looked into IronSworn, and I like the mechanics and the way it lends itself to developing a story. However, I didn't like that you play as a human with no distinguishable class, the monster variety seems limited, and there doesn't seem to be any magic. Any help would be appreciated!
First of all, welcome back! Do you mind if I re-post your comment on my page to get recommendations from my followers? I think the answer to this could benefit everyone. I have a few thoughts, but I think we might get a more robust response if we call on the "tribe" so to speak. If you're not comfortable with that, no problem, I can give it a go but might be a bit more limited of a response. Glad you're playing again!!
@@amanisalone That would be great! Also, as I have done more delving, I came across Old School Essentials, which is the D&D of my youth repackaged. That might be worth the investment if it can be done well in a solo format and build an epic story to be journaled. Thanks again!
For anyone that wants to solo RPG, watch Me, Myself, and Die by Trevor Duvall. He is amazing with explaining how to solo rpg by playing a random campaign. He directs you to the primary books and the pages where he uses the rules. My primary books that are extremely critical for solo play are Mythic GM Emulator, Solo RPG Toolkit, and UNE (Universal NPC Emulator). With these, you will never need to purchase any modules. The story writes itself as you play. I tried two campaigns and was floored how organic the story evolved from nothing.
I love Trevor and everything he does with MM&D, but my biggest gripe with his channel is that he's not really Solo-playing. He's playing to an audience. I watched 2 seasons of his before I attempted to solo play myself and I was bored when I played. There was no reason for me to describe what I was doing out loud or the intense emotions that he had. I wasn't surrounded by cameras.
@@Ancient_West True. He does a bit of theatrics for the audience which elevates his game's excitement. I do the same but without an audience. Sort of like playing with plastic cowboys \ indians or army men waaay back in the day. I always created a story for those plastic figures in the garden.
Dragon Bane is NOT a starter set. What you get in the core box is the WHOLE game for the PRICE of a starter set ;). Best deal in the series of best deals.
Getting into rpgs at the age of 12 was very helpful i guess. We just read whole rule book and took everything as written. No questions asked, no confusion 😂 Just went with it.
Back in 83 when I started playing D&D... LOL no I'm going to lay down 20K words on my gaming history but I want to say I've played a lot of games. I've even played games that are geared toward solo play like ironsworn etc. If someone asked me what's a good game to play solo, I'd ask what is your favorite rpg that you are very familiar with? That's the game I'd suggest. Get or make an oracle table and run with it. But what about someone who's never played an rpg? Well I would point them toward Whitebox. Clean, easy to read, and only five bucks! I can teach anyone how to play whitebox in 5 minutes it's that easy. If they are down with pdf's there are a ton of free games and resource material available on Drivethru. You don't need a pocketful of money to have a great time in a group or solo just the desire.
Great video as always! I heavily favour Mythic as it “explodes joy” for me just imagining how I could literally play any rpg system with it. That being said, Ironsworn has also interested me, but always get put off by the amount of stuff you need, cards to be printed, put them in sleeves to mark them etc. Is it possible to play it without all that extra stuff?
There are actually websites where they've automated everything about the games in one spot. Iron Fellowship is the one for Ironsworn and the Starforged one is called Crew Link or something. They're linked on the Official Website. Basically you can play the entire thing for free without anything but a computer or phone if that's what you have available
@@CALIGULA198X thanks a lot for letting me know, I now looked into it a bit more and can see that Ironsworn itself has some suggestions at the end of the book about dropping assets. Now I’m excited to read it all, thanks again!
New sub and fellow TH-camr here. I just recently started soloing. Luckily I have years of experience to tabletop so it’s been an easy transition. Enjoying the content, keep it coming.
I'm actually really interested in how the usefulness of a book shifts in terms of solo play or normal play, as I use those random encounter books constantly for standard DMing, if only as spring boards from which to start customizing things, because I find it much easier to take a thing and tweak it than starting from scratch.
So many are fixated with D20 roll high but my favorite solo TTRPG outside of 4AD & Scarlet Heroes is a D100 system I love called D100 Dungeon Mapping Game with the Book A Solo Adventuring Game.
Yup that's the first and 2e is the hardbound with more stuff and the price tag to go with it. Myself, I ordered the simplest version to explore, Mythic Magazine v25 with One-Page Mythic ("a super simplified version of the Mythic GME"). The mag also has "Handling Long Journeys in Solo Play" as an article. I only just got it...brand new to this all...lol..adult life = difficulty carving out uninterrupted playing time cus the family refuses to let Mom take off the Mom hat...
Not a singular mention of Tunnels and Trolls game books unfollows dislikes. XD But seriously these are a lot of great suggestions for the solo adventurer!
Great Video......I did exactly as you did. Got interested in solo rpging bought a ton of stuff and then said oh crap where do I even begin. Question the Solo Game masters guide you show here is it discontinued ? I can't find a physical copy anywhere.
Hello, I'm new to solo rpgs. How do you call games that are specially narrative and not too much journaling ? Is there an abreviation for that ? Also do you have cute and simple narrative games to recommend ? Thanks everyone :)
Another good channel to see ironsworn or starforged in action is Doycetopian Wasteland His series using I6 Ravenloft as a setting for ironsworn is well worth the time to watch. Plus in the process of being entertained you will learn how to play ironsworn by absorption like I did.
Would love to hear your thoughts on Hostile Solo. Maybe not your cup of tea since Traveler characters don’t gain new abilities, but the Solo system creates some interesting party experiences.
@@no_you_hang_up I love exploration games, so the scout book is really good, then I mainly just use the solo rules, the setting book, and the core rules. All of it is really well done depending on the kind of game you want to run. More than anything, I love the interaction rules among all the characters you create and run.
@@alechutchinson8798I also love the interaction rules. Do you find it helps to have the core rulebook and the setting book along with the Solo book? I didn’t know if that would be overkill.
@@no_you_hang_up The solo book is the bare minimum to create characters. If you want more detail and options, the rules book is good. The setting book also provides tons of additional lore and suggestions.
I am very impulsive and buy what looks cool and then find out it was not what I thought it was going to be. I have over 500 board games because of this. And I've bought a ton of TTRPG stuff as well.
The number of options is daunting. Just like any RPG or RPG adjacent hobby. It can be a barrier to becoming involved. I wonder if there's any value in a vid that's just about the RP aspect. Two figurines. Name them. What's the conversation between them? We didn't have rules when we played Barbie or Army Men.
@@amanisaloneone more comment - we're taught to be competitive. I think sometimes when people ask HOW to do it they really mean "what's the point? What do I win? How do I win?". Maybe some explanation that there is no POINT. It spikes your endorphins. That's the win.
@@OldDesertGal Absolutely agree with this - and also the fact that everything we do is just "something we do" from morning to night. We are humans and we "do," the more we look for the thing that has just the right chemical production in our body, paradoxically, the less good chemicals we end up having
Literally the vid I was looking for, covered so much useful stuff thank you (my wallet does not thank you). Can you recommend and solo RPG games that are most like DnD?
Hey ClaireBee you can actually solo DnD! There are plenty of tools that would actually help you do this. These two are pretty recent and I've heard good things: www.amazon.com/dp/B0C3J9DJQM?binding=kindle_edition&qid=1731416150&sr=8-1&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tkin I'd also recommend checking out the Dragonbane Starter set has a cool solo supplement that packs a lot of bang for the buck. The whole starter set is awesome!
Mythic Emulator is one of the simplest tools for solo (or not solo) RPGs I have seen so far. Easy to use like an Oracle yes/no mechanism. And with the use of the Event Meaning tables ypu can have a whole game with only those tools.
I got into Four Against Darkness 4 months ago, spent $1,200 getting all the books and played daily. I’ve been totally turned off after a horrible incident with one of the authors about the misogynistic, rape, lewd and vile sexual encounters with demons. Won’t ever be playing 4AD again
Thank you so much for including my work in your overview and the kind things you’ve said about it. I think you have really gotten what I was trying to do with the book-give people narrative tools to master the stories they are telling, regardless of rule set.
Oh it is so my pleasure! Myself and so many others fell in love with this hobby because of you and your playthroughs. One day the crochet needle and little coin purse will be the sacred relics of our hobby!!
00:00 Preamble
02:02 5th Edition Player's Handbook (Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro)
07:16 The Ultimate Micro-RPG Book (James D’Amato)
10:25 "The Game Master's Book of" Series (Jeff Ashworth)
22:23 Solo Game Master's Guide (Geek Gamers/Modiphius)
24:45 "Random Tables" Series (Timm Woods)
26:41 Solo Game Master's Guide (Geek Gamers/Modiphius)
27:40 Mythic Game Master Emulator (Tana Pigeon/Word Mill Games)
31:53 Ironsworn/Starforged (Shawn Tomkin/Tomkin Press)
35:49 Scarlet Heroes (Kevin Crawford/Sine Nomine Publishing)
39:05 Colostle (Nich Angell)
44:11 Thousand Year Old Vampire (Tim Hutchings Makes Games)
44:52 Four Against Darkness (Ganesha Games)
45:52 Candlelight (Glowing Roots Press)
48:51 Dragonbane (Free League Publishing)
50:35 Star Trek Adventures Captain's Log (Modiphius)
51:10 Across a Thousand Dead Worlds (Blackoath Entertainment)
51:24 Round Robin & Thanks
Not all heroes wear capes. ❤
Thank you for this, seriously
@@amanisalone 🤗 thank you for the video! ❤️
@@lachrymalquietus yoooo wait is Concavity you?
@@amanisalone yup 😅 haha you're familiar with us? 🤯
Geek Gamers indeed! First gamebook I bought was D&D Basic. I felt like I was doing alot of math. And then I got hooked on computer RPGs like Ultima and Final Fantasy gamebooks. I have now started to get into solo RPG games with Four Against Darkness (the simplest system) and I want to publish a Cairn module or a Basic Fantasy module. I enjoy your channel!
If you are new to D&D I suggest Sword & Wizardry White Box. Honestly it’s D&D in its simplest form. Knave is another good one too
Oooh flashing your Lochby! 😍
Just dropped $250 on every MK Knight book, so this was timely...
Great video! I’m one of those people who own loads of games, and want to try solo play, so I found this really helpful.
I think I might start with Scarlet Heroes.
I just subscribed for the transparency on this channel 😂
4 Against Darkness is the only solo rpg I have played, mostly because it's satisfying to flip through my graph paper journal and seeing the various dungeons I have either conquered or that conquered me. Great vid. Keep up the good work.
GeekGamers book is next on my purchase list. 😊
(Breakfast eaten, feeling better.😊)
I was ready too throw some tomatoes, but then you brought out Dragonbane and I put the tomatoes away.
Dragonbane, is also on my list to buy.
I try to get only one book at a time, so that 1) I will read it and 2) monetary constraints.
Your sign off on the videos are not that bad. Mine are worse. 😂🤣
I look forward again to the next Round Robin. ❤😊
When I was much ypunger, I bought a lot of Shadowrun books as I lived the setting and the lore but the rules were overwhelming and no one wanted to play with a girl. So I never really got to play in that setting, as I had no idea how to play it solo.
I still have the books, but it did at least made me more wary about where I spent my money.
I've bought a much smaller amount of Solo rpgs pdfs (no big games book store where I live), and watching videos like yours is slower making me realised I could take the Shadowrun setting and play it Solo.
I'm not feeling confident enough to record my first baby step sessions though. 😂
I need to go eat breakfast before typing. I'm leaving the typos in, to remind me to eat breakfast first before commenting. 😊😅
I have Shadowrun on my list...perhaps I could do a solo-adapted playthrough this year!!!
The typos are what make it special!!!
@@Cossentine The Shadowrun setting is just chefs kiss brilliant. So many adventures I could see myself playing, with a simpler games mechanic. 😁
@@Cossentine So what game mechanic and dice system did you end up using?
Was it similar to any current solo game mechanics?
(Edit. I never got to play any ttrpg as a kid. I only had Stephen Jackson and Livingston choose your own adventure books.)
I think I’m going to get into solo RPGs.
Folks, we got another one!!! Glad you're here (:
Subscribed at “By page 21 I started thinking ‘when was the last time I had a Little Cesar’s pizza?’ “
I mean it's a question that's at least worth a *few* seconds of consideration. I think the answer is either "too long" or "not long enough"
We prefer Domino's.
Finally TH-cam algorithm worked properly. Subscribed!
lol, “lay in my bed and twinkle my toes” 🤣 the book was in my cart, but ended up watching YT vids instead. So glad I found your video!
This video is super helpful and looking forward for the "why I play" video! I would love a more relaxed intro music though since when Im playing several videos of the channel in a row it surprises me. Thank you for your videos!
Great video! Let’s catch as much new solo role players as possible!
Good session with lots of great advice for the beginner!
My only mistake was buying 5e all three core books. There are so many better TTRPG than 5e out there
I’m super new (not played group or solo yet, so am curious what your faves are? Thx!
@@adub_from_253 Ironsworn and Black Sword Hack are great because they have solo rules already incorporated. I also like Morg Borg and Knave. But my favourite is Into The Odd because it’s so simple and I love the style. It doesn’t have solo rules but you can use any oracle you want with it.
Leopard seals are sick! I'll be back for the full listen soon.
God I love comments like this.
I really enjoy Solo RPGs, gotta get back to them one of these days. I sort of get stuck writing too much, maybe because i use it as sort of practice for writing fiction in a low-stakes way, and i often do it by hand.
The games will definitely be less of a slog if i just use bullet points, but getting some writing reps in feels important. Maybe I'll bite the bullet and start typing to see if that helps
Great video, very helpfull. Maybe next video about some accesories needed?
Some good tips here, you've gotten a sub. I think one of my main pieces of advice for people wanting to get into RPGs in any form (solo included) is to use the fast food analogy: just because something is popular doesn't mean it's the best place to start. Sure, everyone eats there eventually. Is there anything wrong with McDonalds or Burger King? Nope. Would it be my first recommendation for someone wanting to try a hamburger for the first time? Hell no. For solo, I find it's much easier to get started with something like Shadowdark, Old School essentials or any of the other smaller, more modular, rules systems that are easy to read and get into. Throw in geek gamer's excellent book, Mythic GM, and some kind of oracle deck and you've really got everything you'll ever need.
But how was the little Caesar’s?
The most fun I have had with Solo RPG's has been with 2 different Mork Borg adaptions. Basilisk by 1d10+5 and Dark Tides by Limithron.
Both games and single page games. Both are essentially dungeon crawlers that lay everything out for you. but that's what I'm into.
Whoa, I have basilisk, but I haven’t heard of this dark tides…it’s by Limithron?? That’s like actually a pretty good published. The solo one for Mork Borg, that I usually hear about is solitary defilement. You have piqued my curiousity
@@amanisalone I have wanted Solitary Defilement for so long and missed every opportunity to get a print version. Dark Tides is a a Pirate Borg one off. To me, it's basilisk in the water.
Thank you for your videos! I really appreciate your humour and honesty (why you paused the video)!
I'm very slowly getting to the point of actually playing solo RPGs. I mainly buy PDFs which is a blessing and curse because I can buy LOTS and they don't take up much room or cost much, but now I have folders and folders of different material that I haven't tried out yet.
I'm in the middle of learning dragonbane and really liking what I'm seeing.
Thanks again!
Great resources! I've been playing ironsworn and think I've spent so much time just worldbuilding. It may be my favorite part.
From my observations, there appear to be several distinct cultures of solo play and design:
1. Playing as one generally would in Ironsworn or traditional RPGs using a GM Emulator (Ironsworn is hardly traditional, but for the purposes of this list is :), it's comparable to something like Me, Myself & Die solo playstyle).
2. Open Soloing / Stream of Consciousness (often seen in Geek Gamers YT videos).
3. Solo Journaling (examples include 1k Old Vampire or Magus).
4. Lyric solo games / pervasive games / ritual games (such as My Cat is an Oracle - though these can sometimes overlap with journaling games).
Admittedly, this is an oversimplification and overcategorization, but I do observe significant distinctions among these categories.
Awesome! Thanks for the recommendations! I've never properly played a ttrpg. D&d genuinely confused me. I loved making a character and thinking about his/her background and personality. But the couple times I've joined a group to play, it all just ended up being about what skills and weapons I picked. Like, what was all that cool background stuff in the book for? The charts and numbers and systems just muddled everything.
Anyway, I'm playing through Ironsworn and I love it! The move system feels like a great balance between deciding the right action for a situation and story telling. I also love the oracle! Just give me charts of random words and let my brain fill in the gaps!
Now you're getting that feeling you're supposed to be feeling. D&D is so often recommended as a place for people to start in the Tabletop RPG world, and I've just seen so many people quit out because the ideas in it are just not intuitive. Glad you stuck is out and are enjoying Ironsworn!
I too love to spend a thousand dollars on a potential new hobby and ask questions later 😂😂😂
I feel found out. I am an adult who has not played computer rpgs and comes in cold to Solo rpgs. I certainly have spent what feels like a 1000 bucks on stuff and am just now getting a feel for the differences between game systems, tools and resources. About 24 games from Troika via UVG, Wanderhome to Apawthecaria are on the shelf waiting to be played. I flipped through the DnD5e handbook and decided it was way too complicated. I looking forward to Break!! this year. The only game l have tried so far is 'The Broken Cask'. It was fun. But I am definitely hesitant of plunging into a proper game.
Try ironsworn. The pdf is free.
If 5e seems a little to much then Cairn has a solo book, both free. Also lot of offshoots that add some tweaks but are free too. My fav is Plight! but, any of them will let you do think-on-your-feet dungeoncrawling with less crunch.
Subscribed. I am enjoying your content and delivery. I've just started getting back into Solo RPG(s) and Oracles. I started in the 80(s) with Fighting Fantasy books. Feels like a bit of a home coming.
Welcome back to the fold! Fighting fantasy books are a well-known gateway drug in the solo RPG community…
I don't comment much, I'll start to much more now. I just like your content, you energy, your thought process is gold. Thanks, keep it up!
Great video as always!
Great info! Please do a deep dive each! Glad I’m not alone with Dragonbane love! Not perfect but really great. My first solo game
I like the low editing podcasting style. I like to keep your videos running in the office when I am working. And I am the same way with hobbies... get really excited and jump in with both feet.
I agree with your thoughts on the Game Master's series. I got back into the hobby about a year ago, and I ended up amassing a lot of these books. That series to me was always a nice thing in the sense that the tables are usable but all the "stuff" in between just gets in the way.
Here's a couple of cheapo options that actually work really well for me:
The mythic android app. It's all the stuff from 2nd edition and under $10. Also Table Fables 1 and 2 are brilliant and well worth having.
Also the WB Yeats reference with the falcon and the falconer was solid.
The mythic app really is worth it's weight in gold, though sometimes I do wish I could see the tables themselves in the app so I could roll my own dice.
Brother, your channel and videos are amazing. Please keep up the good work, because I’m beginning my solo rpg campaign within the next 1d4 weeks! Just gotta get my starting minis and terrain painted up. 👹
Playing through Koriko: A Magical Year right now. It feels like journaling is for RPG players who low-key just wanna author their own story.
subscribed because I appreciate the transparency and honesty offered by this channel.
I'm personally going to be attempting some pathfinder 2e stuff soon-ish, but using the super simplified MUNE system with some Mythic tweaks.
Thank you for this, I accept your subscription not only because of this nice comment but also because your handle is one of the greatest of all time
The "transparency and honesty" cracked me up. Sold on the channel subscribe. Also I love the natural, conversationalist approach to such an in-depth video. Makes everything more easily digestible by giving time to absorb information.
The Ashworth books are a bargain at 20 to 25 bucks in a world where kickstarter books at 49 are considered cheap
Interesting video! Remember “that could be a game!” Gaming can be nearly anything you want- I think new solo players are afraid (like new Dungeons & Dragons players) that they are doing it WRONG! All of these books and references are just books of additional ideas for your game.
Dude! Your delivery is raw and your vibe is kickin’! I hit the subscribe!
😁🙏📿
You pointed out a big problem with kids nowadays. How you said "When I was a kid I probably read said book 95 times, cause I had nothing else to do." I did the same, I remember spending hours reading the Monster Manual. Kids now have to much to draw their time. It's even harder as an adult with responsibilities.
Candlelight was actually my first foray into this sorta thing. I just saw it on the shelf at a comic book store and thought it was a neat concept before realizing there's a whole world of these sorts of things. I like writing as a hobby so they suit me perfectly.
Fun fact, the first TTRPG book I ever bought was ICRPG 2E Core in French (back in last December!) at my FLGS since I was looking for a first TTRPG to start GMing (and heard it was a good choice according to Reddit)
Favorite oracles is the Dark Gods' Oracle at page 98 of Black Sword Hack!
I'm trying to do some Into the Odd/Electric Bastionland in Made in Abyss world solo to setup the character that will be the mentor for my players at the table of my next convention so this might be enough to get me around to it
I sometimes play using just one page mythic and use 4ad as a basic and quick system . Less bookkeeping more playing .
The last time I played an RPG, any RPG, was back in middle school, and I'm turning 50 this year. So, it's been a while! However, it was the Basic D&D box sets of the '80s, and I think AD&D 2nd edition was just out. Those were fun days. Now, I don't have the time or opportunity to be involved in a group RPG experience, but recently, I saw some YT videos of people playing RPGs solo. I thought, well, I can take some time here and there to make that happen. I started reading the D&D 5th edition player's handbook. I got to about the point you mentioned in the video, and I thought "What have they done!?" It's the most convoluted mess of rules. I literally had to go read an article about hit points to figure out how they are calculated as you level up and heal up. I thought, "If the HP is this complicated, then I don't have time for this." Basically, I have nostalgia for the D&D of the '80s, but either I don't remember correctly or the rules got way heavy. I'm hoping that someone might have a recommendation of an RPG that lends itself to solo adventuring, keeps the game mechanics reasonable (i.e. understandable), allows for the high fantasy races and classes that I remember, and the traditional magic and monsters. I looked into IronSworn, and I like the mechanics and the way it lends itself to developing a story. However, I didn't like that you play as a human with no distinguishable class, the monster variety seems limited, and there doesn't seem to be any magic. Any help would be appreciated!
First of all, welcome back! Do you mind if I re-post your comment on my page to get recommendations from my followers? I think the answer to this could benefit everyone. I have a few thoughts, but I think we might get a more robust response if we call on the "tribe" so to speak. If you're not comfortable with that, no problem, I can give it a go but might be a bit more limited of a response. Glad you're playing again!!
@@amanisalone That would be great! Also, as I have done more delving, I came across Old School Essentials, which is the D&D of my youth repackaged. That might be worth the investment if it can be done well in a solo format and build an epic story to be journaled. Thanks again!
@@RobertBrinson I was going to mention OSE - there’s a solo guide for that too that’s ok. Let’s see what advice the fam has to offer!
@@RobertBrinson alright my friend it looks like you’ve got 28 responses on my post - I hope something in there helps!!
For anyone that wants to solo RPG, watch Me, Myself, and Die by Trevor Duvall. He is amazing with explaining how to solo rpg by playing a random campaign. He directs you to the primary books and the pages where he uses the rules. My primary books that are extremely critical for solo play are Mythic GM Emulator, Solo RPG Toolkit, and UNE (Universal NPC Emulator). With these, you will never need to purchase any modules. The story writes itself as you play. I tried two campaigns and was floored how organic the story evolved from nothing.
Yes, also Man Alone is awesome at providing a lot of great solo roleplaying tips and strategies!
I love Trevor and everything he does with MM&D, but my biggest gripe with his channel is that he's not really Solo-playing. He's playing to an audience.
I watched 2 seasons of his before I attempted to solo play myself and I was bored when I played. There was no reason for me to describe what I was doing out loud or the intense emotions that he had. I wasn't surrounded by cameras.
@@Ancient_West True. He does a bit of theatrics for the audience which elevates his game's excitement. I do the same but without an audience. Sort of like playing with plastic cowboys \ indians or army men waaay back in the day. I always created a story for those plastic figures in the garden.
😂 Your analysis of the first time rpg-gamer is so spot on - I really recognized myself!😂
Dragon Bane is NOT a starter set. What you get in the core box is the WHOLE game for the PRICE of a starter set ;). Best deal in the series of best deals.
Just keep being you, you can't help but level up! ;)
That’s why I went back to becmi thanks for your inspirational content
Hell yes we need more focus on cmi in this world methinks
Getting into rpgs at the age of 12 was very helpful i guess.
We just read whole rule book and took everything as written. No questions asked, no confusion 😂
Just went with it.
1:35 oh you got me. You got me so good.
Back in 83 when I started playing D&D... LOL no I'm going to lay down 20K words on my gaming history but I want to say I've played a lot of games. I've even played games that are geared toward solo play like ironsworn etc. If someone asked me what's a good game to play solo, I'd ask what is your favorite rpg that you are very familiar with? That's the game I'd suggest. Get or make an oracle table and run with it. But what about someone who's never played an rpg? Well I would point them toward Whitebox. Clean, easy to read, and only five bucks! I can teach anyone how to play whitebox in 5 minutes it's that easy. If they are down with pdf's there are a ton of free games and resource material available on Drivethru. You don't need a pocketful of money to have a great time in a group or solo just the desire.
Great video as always! I heavily favour Mythic as it “explodes joy” for me just imagining how I could literally play any rpg system with it. That being said, Ironsworn has also interested me, but always get put off by the amount of stuff you need, cards to be printed, put them in sleeves to mark them etc.
Is it possible to play it without all that extra stuff?
Yes! Try it! It’s wonderful!
There are actually websites where they've automated everything about the games in one spot. Iron Fellowship is the one for Ironsworn and the Starforged one is called Crew Link or something. They're linked on the Official Website. Basically you can play the entire thing for free without anything but a computer or phone if that's what you have available
@@CALIGULA198X thanks a lot for letting me know, I now looked into it a bit more and can see that Ironsworn itself has some suggestions at the end of the book about dropping assets. Now I’m excited to read it all, thanks again!
New sub and fellow TH-camr here. I just recently started soloing. Luckily I have years of experience to tabletop so it’s been an easy transition. Enjoying the content, keep it coming.
I'm actually really interested in how the usefulness of a book shifts in terms of solo play or normal play, as I use those random encounter books constantly for standard DMing, if only as spring boards from which to start customizing things, because I find it much easier to take a thing and tweak it than starting from scratch.
So many are fixated with D20 roll high but my favorite solo
TTRPG outside of 4AD & Scarlet Heroes is a D100 system I love called
D100 Dungeon Mapping Game with the Book A Solo Adventuring Game.
MMOPWG (massively multiplayer online pigs at weddings game)
A lot of people still watch DVD’s.
I play savage worlds over dnd. But will look at some of these you suggest and other comments.
Isn’t that Mythic 1st edition? The hardback £50 book is 2nd edition.
Yup that's the first and 2e is the hardbound with more stuff and the price tag to go with it. Myself, I ordered the simplest version to explore, Mythic Magazine v25 with One-Page Mythic ("a super simplified version of the Mythic GME"). The mag also has "Handling Long Journeys in Solo Play" as an article. I only just got it...brand new to this all...lol..adult life = difficulty carving out uninterrupted playing time cus the family refuses to let Mom take off the Mom hat...
As a long time solo player, I find stuff made for soloing like Ironsworn, Starsworn, etc. is less fun than playing a traditional game with an Oracle.
Not a singular mention of Tunnels and Trolls game books unfollows dislikes. XD But seriously these are a lot of great suggestions for the solo adventurer!
I’m on it!!!
I sad modiphius didn’t do a enseign log solo for Star Trek.
What forbids you doing it yourself?
@@hariszark7396 the skills., the will, the sens of doing it right.
Request: For future episodes can you break your video down into chapters with timestamp links?
look up about 5 comments above this,⬆
Great Video......I did exactly as you did. Got interested in solo rpging bought a ton of stuff and then said oh crap where do I even begin.
Question the Solo Game masters guide you show here is it discontinued ? I can't find a physical copy anywhere.
Seems to be only available from Modiphius directly at this time.
Hello, I'm new to solo rpgs. How do you call games that are specially narrative and not too much journaling ? Is there an abreviation for that ?
Also do you have cute and simple narrative games to recommend ?
Thanks everyone :)
Another good channel to see ironsworn or starforged in action is Doycetopian Wasteland His series using I6 Ravenloft as a setting for ironsworn is well worth the time to watch. Plus in the process of being entertained you will learn how to play ironsworn by absorption like I did.
Would love to hear your thoughts on Hostile Solo. Maybe not your cup of tea since Traveler characters don’t gain new abilities, but the Solo system creates some interesting party experiences.
Far and away my favorite system
@@alechutchinson8798 do you use any of the supplemental books? They all look good!
@@no_you_hang_up I love exploration games, so the scout book is really good, then I mainly just use the solo rules, the setting book, and the core rules. All of it is really well done depending on the kind of game you want to run.
More than anything, I love the interaction rules among all the characters you create and run.
@@alechutchinson8798I also love the interaction rules.
Do you find it helps to have the core rulebook and the setting book along with the Solo book? I didn’t know if that would be overkill.
@@no_you_hang_up The solo book is the bare minimum to create characters. If you want more detail and options, the rules book is good. The setting book also provides tons of additional lore and suggestions.
Thanks for take the time to putting the together. I personally like fantasy rpg a lot more. The other I have, But sci-fi is just not my game.
Who else watching in 2029?!
Yeah, dude! Watching on my Tesla 16K 140 inch television!🎆📺🎇
@@buddhawasright awesome, dude! I'm watching the holo from my intergalactic space pod!
@@ike_d5402 🚀🪐
I love Lancer!!
I am very impulsive and buy what looks cool and then find out it was not what I thought it was going to be. I have over 500 board games because of this. And I've bought a ton of TTRPG stuff as well.
You make me feel better about myself. I'm still under 200 boardgames.
@@elaineabreu282 😂
D100 dungeon is still the gold class solo rpg game system at the moment with the most comprehensive systems and content in my opinion.
I think it pretty solid for prescriptive generation rather than evocative generation
15 pages. Holy shit. That's a level of commitment reserved for deities. I may have read 1 page in 15 different RPG books.
hahaha why did this kill me
The number of options is daunting. Just like any RPG or RPG adjacent hobby. It can be a barrier to becoming involved.
I wonder if there's any value in a vid that's just about the RP aspect. Two figurines. Name them. What's the conversation between them? We didn't have rules when we played Barbie or Army Men.
I have been thinking about doing a video like this for awhile, I think your approach is the right one. Simple as possible!
@@amanisaloneyou could include your greatest hits like the Kwazeman Beef Stew Boots Quest. Classic!
@@amanisaloneone more comment - we're taught to be competitive. I think sometimes when people ask HOW to do it they really mean "what's the point? What do I win? How do I win?". Maybe some explanation that there is no POINT. It spikes your endorphins. That's the win.
@@OldDesertGal Absolutely agree with this - and also the fact that everything we do is just "something we do" from morning to night. We are humans and we "do," the more we look for the thing that has just the right chemical production in our body, paradoxically, the less good chemicals we end up having
i use dvds...
Literally the vid I was looking for, covered so much useful stuff thank you (my wallet does not thank you). Can you recommend and solo RPG games that are most like DnD?
Hey ClaireBee you can actually solo DnD! There are plenty of tools that would actually help you do this. These two are pretty recent and I've heard good things: www.amazon.com/dp/B0C3J9DJQM?binding=kindle_edition&qid=1731416150&sr=8-1&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tkin
I'd also recommend checking out the Dragonbane Starter set has a cool solo supplement that packs a lot of bang for the buck. The whole starter set is awesome!
@@amanisalone fab thank you, do they have another one on KS at the moment? I will give these a go thank you 🙏
Mythic Emulator is one of the simplest tools for solo (or not solo) RPGs I have seen so far.
Easy to use like an Oracle yes/no mechanism.
And with the use of the Event Meaning tables ypu can have a whole game with only those tools.
5e complicated?
Show your players the massive, intimidating Tome of Pathfinder. 😏
I can't. It's holding my car up while I change the engine oil.
want that die....shipping makes it cost prohibitive ....over $50 CAN....yikes
There are two things I hate (yes, hate is a strong feeling but I can't lie).
1) D&D
2) Powered by the Apocalypse system....
Let's move along...
So are you a percentile roll under player ?
@@SkittleBombs Among some other systems, yes.
Here you go. 🍪
@@DjigitDaniel Here you go.🎖🥉
Thank you for not lying.
A community of solo roleplayers? That is a contradiction
AND YET YOU HAVE COMMENTED!!! YOU ARE NOW PART OF THE COMMUNITY 7MM!!!
I got into Four Against Darkness 4 months ago, spent $1,200 getting all the books and played daily.
I’ve been totally turned off after a horrible incident with one of the authors about the misogynistic, rape, lewd and vile sexual encounters with demons.
Won’t ever be playing 4AD again
Yesh I was looking into it and got a whiff of that and ran the other way. I found 2d6 dungeons instead! Just finished playing 2d6 dungeons 5 mins ago
Spends thousands of dollars on a hobby that I don't know if I like?
...I feel like you're glaring at me.. lmao
TH-cam@manalone