Freeform Solo Roleplaying (a Guide)
A downloadable Solo roleplaying guide
It can be all too easy to get caught up on the rules of roleplaying games, and forget about the actual roleplaying - "playing a role", inventing a story, and having an immersive imaginative experience.
This guide describes an accessible and easy way to get started in the art of Solo Roleplaying, without rules or a system.
There are no stats or numbers. Instead you rely on your knowledge of the characters, the in-world logic of the setting, and the natural flow of the story.
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Install instructions
Thank you for downloading The Solo Roleplaying Guide. Have fun! :)
If you like what you read here, you might be interested in my freeform solo game, Of Moon and Leaf: https://mothteeth.itch.io/of-moon-and-leaf
Development log
- Freeform Solo Roleplaying (a Guide)Sep 17, 2023
Comments
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Hey! So I came to the conclusion that I much prefer freeform roleplaying games around the time you posted your guide on Reddit and Discord.
We pretty much came to the same conclusions so I'm glad you wrote that and put it out there!
Long story short, thinking in story-world logic has been a game (lol) changer for me. Relying on it allows me to improvise on the spot because my focus is entirely on the fictional situation and not on some stats.
I use a method that might interest you!
Success/failure roll
Pretty basic. Thanks to Grok?!, I've added an additionnal layer to that :
It's super easy and adds a bit of drama after failed rolls. The choice between failure and a complication might not be easy to do and is a fair source of tension, I find.
Had a lot of fun with this, again thanks for the guide! Happy gaming
Hi :) Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate the encouragement, and I'm glad you like the guide.
I like nice simple dice mechanics like the one you described, thanks for sharing. I tend to use different kinds of dice rolls on any given day, depending on what mood I'm in or which dice I happen to have sitting in front of me (or, more often than not, which indie games I've recently read). I have a bit of a preference for d10 because I just find percentages so straightforward to think about, but I love the simplicity cozy familiarity of six sided dice almost as much.
I'm going to drop a totally unsolicited recommendation on you. Wightbred's "Named" - https://wightbred.itch.io/named I mention it partly because it might interest you if you like the ideas you found here, and also it has a quite interesting d6 based dice mechanic that allows rerolls with amplified consequences.
Happy gaming, and thanks for saying Hi :)
Overall a great introductory text for freeform solo. I feel like you could've talked a little more about the benefits of freeform combat, such as being able to control the pacing of fights, using only one die roll to resolve fights against minions if you want, and how much you can adjust the consequences of failure to suit the story's tone. However, these are more advanced points that aren't necessary to cover, so I still feel like the guide isn't missing too much.
Another thing I think could be useful is a list of good random tables you've enjoyed (and potentially other resources for freeform solo in general).
I think you've done a great job covering the basics, but there is still room for more improvement. Rating this as 4/5
Thanks for the feedback :) I am definitely intending to release an expanded version of the text in future, so I really appreciate your comments. Cheers!