cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/1271299
Recently discovered that itch.io has a section for solo RPGs: https://itch.io/physical-games/tag-solo-rpg
Thinking of trying one out when I have time on a day off. Problem is that I am pretty creatively bankrupt and terrible at writing so I’m skeptical of how much I would enjoy these.
Anyone has experience with this genre?
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Yep, there’s some pretty stellar solo games out there (1000 Year Old Vampire, Ironsworn, Five Parsecs from Home), and most popular systems already have solo RPG adaptations that people have worked up. There’s a number of benefits to solo RPGs, though obviously the big drawback is the lack of interaction with others. I play both solo and multiplayer ttrpgs, so it’s not a matter of just “not having anyone to play with”, I genuinely like things from both experiences.
• Play anytime you want on your schedule, don’t have to herd cats trying to get potentially unreliable players to grace you with their presence. • Play what you want to play, experiment with new systems or genres that maybe your regular gaming group won’t play. • Great practice for GMs, you usually have to react to unpredictable, random results with no pre-determined story in mind and make it make sense to yourself. It really helps with your improvisation skills. • If you develop any random tables or content for yourself (settings, stories, npcs, etc), you can just as easily use those in your multiplayer games. • You make the rules. In multiplayer games most everybody has to agree on the rules (or you’re at the mercy of the GM’s interpretations), in solo RPGs, you can homebrew or reinterpret whatever rules you want to.
There is a community here with suggestions for tools.
!solorpg@lemm.eeWhat defines a solo RPG? Being an RPG where you only have 1 character? Dark Souls would fit into that. So would The Witcher and Cyberpunk. Hell, Baldur’s Gate 3 could fit into that, since you could play it with just 1 party member (it’d be hard as shit, but still possible; you can solo the originals, too, and those were balanced for 6 party members).
Practically all but JRPGs could be played as solo rpgs.
These are table top games. Not video games. Something like DnD but for a sole player.
Can’t blame him, this is the videogame community after all
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There’s a ton for the SNES and NES. Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 4, 5, & 6, Breath of Fire 1 & 2, and Secret of Mana for the SNES alone. That’s not even counting the NES, which had Dragon Quest 1-4, Final Fantasy. Then there’s all the translated stuff. Check em out. What I listed is probably enough to keep someone busy for a year. Emulation’s not hard at all to set up these days.
Ah, my bad! I saw itch.io and presumed video game! Didn’t see the physical tag. I played a handfull way, waaaay back that were DnD offshoots. We’re talking late 80s early 90s. Got them from my brother’s collection. They can be good if you want to learn DnD stuff on your own, or if you don’t have a group or a DM to play with. None of my friends were into DnD at the time, but I loved the idea. Haven’t thought about them in years. It’s definitely gonna depend a lot on who made the campaign. Also how into it you get, obviously. Even the official stuff I played had some real campy stinkers.
I’ve looked at a couple. I think you need a game system which catches your attention if your not particularly creative. They generally give you good prompts and have plenty of generators/ oracle’s to guide you.
Check out Ironsworn. I believe it’s free and it’s generally very well regarded. I’ve not played it myself yet but I’ve read most of the book and it seems very well put together.
