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Author Topic: my first post : I'm glad to be a member on this site - Solitaire OSR RPGer  (Read 2957 times)

Mor'du

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glad to be aboard ! I wanted to see if there are other old school players like myself who play solitaire.
I've learned to play most of my older games solitaire ( I have kids who play along once in awhile, but they get drawn off from pencil&paper play for the Nintendo or computers. I've raised my kids up playing The Fantasy Trip - Melee & Wizard games then - In The Labyrinth RPG. - I grew up playing The Fantasy Trip, OD&D and AD&D and still have all of my original books and modules, (brand new copies of Melee & Wizard - Death Test my kids got me for fathers day to retire my tattered copies.)

over the years here in the "rust belt" of the US all of the people who played D&D back in the heyday, either moved away or view playing as kid's stuff.  I guess I never really grew out of it, I've learned to play solitaire using oracles for the DM/GM side of things - questions that arise from play.  it's pretty fun, no it'll never compare to having a large group of 10+ PC's but it gives me something to do in the hobby.   I've built a few worlds and populate them with PC's and NPC's that I let the dice control them along with their background and character sheets.
I've used the back of my AD&D DM Guide in the Appendix as a starter in doing this Hobby within a Hobby ( back in the day - lot's of you old timers will remember) would generate a dungeon from the tables and populate the dungeon with the monsters, then run a party through it to see how your creation worked. it all came screaming back to me with Four Against Darkness - more of a board game than RPG , whilst playing 4AD I started using my old TFT Melee/Wizard to run the battles out for a visual slug&slash fest.
over the past couple of years I've found lots of different tools articles etc. to help me play out a game- and I have to say is really fun.

It ain't easy though , lots of book keeping and keeping track of all of my PCs and playing both part DM/GM I'm still learning how to play different scenarios. right now I'm starting off a whole new setup using only The Fantasy Trip. I've kept my other stuff generated with D&D ready to play another time. seems like the old school stuff is all I can handle though (probably because it's all I knew for decades) I've used Scarlet Heroes OSR for my D&D setting - has some cool tables in that book. and Mythic GM Emulator and a few others. I like the Scarlet Heroes setting so much that I've been  re-mapping  The Fantasy Trip's weapons over to Japanese and Oriental weapons to meld into that cool Red Tide setting.  Pathfinder I tried too, but it's a bit too heavy for what I'm doing.

Most people say why don't I just pick up with video games , but I like the non linear free form that I get from it.  it has generated some really cool stories with some of my PCs ( if they live long enough) and my wife and kids love to hear what their favorite characters are up to ( I'd rather them play along to get the story - then I wouldn't need to write so much)  I wanted to ask if anyone else plays like this. I've tried to get groups together and if I do, we can never get the schedules right or (e.g.) once I posted at the local library ( we used to play there on weekends back in the late 70s early 80s) and just recently  I got some people respond that freaked me the hell out ! - one couple claimed that they were real wizards and could cast spells- I thought (at first) they were just kidding - they were not.... oh boy !   back in the beginning we had some great people play , also everyone seemed to play, even teachers, it didn't matter what social class we were it was great.
so I guess what I'm doing is having a mid life crisis and trying to re-live some of those good old days. But I get a kick out of it, and end up with some fun stories to read later, or just spend some time creating settings and characters to keep an eye on and find out if they have any heroic potential. that or I'm just a crazy old goat !  

hey!, thanks for letting me join up I enjoy the content here, and the Pundit's videos as well.

trechriron

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Welcome Mor'du!!

I have never considered playing solo. I'm not going to be much help in that arena. I would encourage you dust off your fav OSR clone and jump on reddit lfg (looking for a game), or your local Meetup and start an in person group. The hobby can use more GMs, especially grognards who know a thing or two.

Good luck and happy gaming!
Trentin C Bergeron (trechriron)
Bard, Creative & RPG Enthusiast

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Simlasa

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There's a lady (I assume they're female) on Youtube who plays various fantasy RPGs and boardgames solo. She offers lots of advice about how to do it.
I've done it with wargames and boardgames, but not RPG... for me the best (and worst) elements of RPGs require other brains to engage with.

jeff37923

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Have you considered science fiction?

If so, you might want to try Mongoose Traveller 1e, Cepheus Engine, and SOLO (plus an honorable mention to No GMs Sky). These are all designed for both solitaire play and play with other people.

Welcome to the forum.

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Forge

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Yo, nice to meet you Mor'du. I've done more solo gaming lately since my gaming group fell apart. Mythic was helpful filling that 'GM' role. Tried out Ironsworn--it's handy for an interesting solo experience, though that one sort of took me a while to wrap my head around. Though I haven't tried Scarlet Heroes yet. Would love to hear about how your solo games with that tend to go so I know if I want to try Scarlet Heroes out.

Opaopajr

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Welcome Mor'du, and what a wonderful full post! :)

This place is a bit rough and tumble, but for the most part kind and laissez faire.

Have you considered online gaming, like telecommuting for rpg sessions? I do not do it myself, but many otherwise distant players can keep playing by the marvelous tech of today. :) Given how your locale has dried up or left the Beetlejuice-esque "strange and unusual," it might be a useful alternative.

And why don't you try your hand at chronicle writing for your NPC adventures. In blog format it might be fun to recount and practice creative writing (a different art entirely than rpgs ;) ). Who knows, it might be a fun legacy "naive art" (read: amateur, 'not paid') piece for the grandkids! :D
Just make your fuckin' guy and roll the dice, you pricks. Focus on what's interesting, not what gives you the biggest randomly generated virtual penis.  -- J Arcane
 
You know, people keep comparing non-TSR D&D to deck-building in Magic: the Gathering. But maybe it's more like Katamari Damacy. You keep sticking shit on your characters until they are big enough to be a star.
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Omega

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Quote from: Mor'du;1095941
Most people say why don't I just pick up with video games , but I like the non linear free form that I get from it.  it has generated some really cool stories with some of my PCs ( if they live long enough) and my wife and kids love to hear what their favorite characters are up to ( I'd rather them play along to get the story - then I wouldn't need to write so much)

I wanted to ask if anyone else plays like this.

so I guess what I'm doing is having a mid life crisis and trying to re-live some of those good old days. But I get a kick out of it, and end up with some fun stories to read later, or just spend some time creating settings and characters to keep an eye on and find out if they have any heroic potential. that or I'm just a crazy old goat !  

hey!, thanks for letting me join up I enjoy the content here, and the Pundit's videos as well.

1:  Have a look at the old SSI gold box D&D games. These really recreate the feel of playing AD&D and the adventures are quite extensive. More importantly SSA released a Game Maker type engine called Unlimited Adventures and we got permission from TSR to convert modules to UA modules and folk have done some really amazing work. I have done some spritework for various projects including a Gamma World and a Marvel Superheroes conversion set.

2: There is a thriving solo RPG community. Some hang out over on BGG. There are many different approaches ranging from just using the AD&D random gen tables. To more complex stuff. Or playing solo modules from TSR or ones for Tunnels & Trolls or The Fantasy Trip. And both T&T and TFT old modules are as of last check up for sale as PDFs over on Drive Thru. And another company has been making new TFT style modules.

Then there are solo plug in oracle systems like the excellent Mythic GM emulator, and the FU solo system and the one from Scarlet Heroes which uses a hybrid of D&Ds solo gen and FU. And 5e actually has several tables that are great for solo play ideas and can be added to the AD&D library of solo tools.

3: See my notes above for possible things to look into. On top of that there are several ongoing play by forum sessions going on various fora. At least two on BGG and more elsewhere.

4: Welcome to the site. Being one of the few resident solo RPG buffs here I can help a little possibly. See the points above for some possible ideas. And theres more than just that!

Zirunel

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Welcome and great intro! I would be interested in learning more about solo mechanics that really work. To you and to others who've chimed in here, I think solo gaming deserves a thread of its own (or if it already exists, please help me find it!).

Thanks and again welcome

Dan Davenport

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Quote from: Opaopajr;1095960
Welcome Mor'du, and what a wonderful full post! :)

This place is a bit rough and tumble, but for the most part kind and laissez faire.

Have you considered online gaming, like telecommuting for rpg sessions? I do not do it myself, but many otherwise distant players can keep playing by the marvelous tech of today. :) Given how your locale has dried up or left the Beetlejuice-esque "strange and unusual," it might be a useful alternative.

And why don't you try your hand at chronicle writing for your NPC adventures. In blog format it might be fun to recount and practice creative writing (a different art entirely than rpgs ;) ). Who knows, it might be a fun legacy "naive art" (read: amateur, 'not paid') piece for the grandkids! :D

Welcome, Mor'du! I'll second what Opaopajr said. I've been online gaming for almost 20 years now and have had great success.

Follow the link in my sig line if you want to check out my gaming chatroom. We frequently set up online games in there.

As to solo gaming, I've never tried it and am unclear on how it works.
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Randomworlds TTRPG chat: friendly politics-free roleplaying chat!

rocksfalleverybodydies

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Greetings Mor'du.
I just recently moved away from my gaming group and have been looking into options like Ironsworn and using Mythic with BX as solo.
I'm rather interested to hear more from those who have been playing solo, non-VTT style as it will probably fit better into my recent schedule.  I'd love to see a good, fat forum thread on people's experiences.
The yt link Simlasa mentioned is pure solo-playing gold.  She is very thorough in her reviews.
« Last Edit: July 16, 2019, 12:57:32 AM by rocksfalleverybodydies »

Spinachcat

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Welcome Mor'du!

Tell us more about solo RPGing! I am unsure how it differs from fan fiction with dice.

BTW, I offer something to consider. Over the decades on the interwebs, I've seen a vast number of gamers talk about not having a gaming group because they don't know any other gamers, especially if they live in a small town. What's always struck me is all these gamers without groups could find each other and become groups. Of course, that is happening via virtual RPG tables and Skype gaming. There are Meetup groups and Farcebook groups that people post on to find gamers too. Personally, I think WotC should host a worldwide gamer-to-gamer directory for gamers to find groups.

But beyond that, there's the opportunity to make new gamers. We have several posters here who have great advice based on their experience of building groups from scratch and introducing RPGing to non-gamers. With the popularity of Game of Thrones, Marvel movies, LotR movies, WoW and a gazillion computer RPGs, (plus livestreams of D&D), there are vast numbers of potential gamers out there.

And what's awesome about our hobby is you don't need a dozen people. If you had 3-4 regular players, you could rock a campaign for a decade.

EDIT: But you will probably have to weed out some fruits, nuts and flakes before getting those 3-4 players.
« Last Edit: July 16, 2019, 04:40:48 AM by Spinachcat »

Razor 007

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Any GM who has run a few test scenarios, has played a solo RPG.

Plus, you never have to wonder if the players are going to show up this week.
I need you to roll a perception check.....

Mor'du

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Quote from: Simlasa;1095950
There's a lady (I assume they're female) on Youtube who plays various fantasy RPGs and boardgames solo. She offers lots of advice about how to do it.
I've done it with wargames and boardgames, but not RPG... for me the best (and worst) elements of RPGs require other brains to engage with.


Geek Gamers ! yeah she's got some great ideas, I've followed her for quite some time now, also Artichoke Dip ( why the name- Artichoke Dip is beyond me) but he's an old school player as well. I enjoy other folks to play along, but their hearts just are not into it. a stigma if you will exists in my area, why? I dunno that either, these folks will play a video game to death but just do not like pencil and paper methinks?

Mor'du

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Quote from: trechriron;1095947
Welcome Mor'du!!

I have never considered playing solo. I'm not going to be much help in that arena. I would encourage you dust off your fav OSR clone and jump on reddit lfg (looking for a game), or your local Meetup and start an in person group. The hobby can use more GMs, especially grognards who know a thing or two.

Good luck and happy gaming!


I've tried over and over, if I do find someone , scheduling becomes an issue. I miss the old days we played weekly or even more. solitaire has really grabbed me to where I enjoy building the world and filling up and letting the oracles take control.

Mor'du

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Quote from: jeff37923;1095956
Have you considered science fiction?

If so, you might want to try Mongoose Traveller 1e, Cepheus Engine, and SOLO (plus an honorable mention to No GMs Sky). These are all designed for both solitaire play and play with other people.

Welcome to the forum.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3602[/ATTACH]

I have Mongoose , I just haven't used it very much, I'm working on a 'master folder' so I can keep track of what system I'm playing and where I'm at in the midst of the game. I'm still new to solitaire and learning what works for me and doesn't really mesh. I spent a LOT of time just researching systems. It gets to be a hobby within a hobby and if not careful I end up doing research and development than actually playing . lots of good stuff you mentioned there!