Glyph's Solo TTRPG Rules
Brew, Codify, Iterate
Welcome to the Glyph and Grok - A weekly blog-letter exploring topics in the tabletop gaming arena. We explore design, execution, and culture relating to anything played on a tabletop.
Introduction
This write up will serve as a benchmark for the rules I use for exploring solo tabletop roleplaying. The system I currently enjoy the most is Shadowdark (My Review), so its rules serve as the framework.
There is some influence from Solodark, the designer’s own solo rules. Concepts and strong influences are also derived from The Mythic Gamemaster Emulator (My Review), The Tome of Adventure Design, Worlds Without Number and Knave 2E (My Review). And then finally some of my own ideas I’m trying out.
I think this iteration is better geared for games with exploration and narrative focus with a story you’re trying to discover as you play. I have not tried these rules with pre-written modules yet. A primary focus of my play is creating canon for my custom game setting and trying out mechanics ideas.
The Rules
Gamemastering for many years means I usually have some idea or concept for the story or the characters or both that I want to spin up and see where it goes. We will call this the narrative context.
Step 1 - Spawn context. I find the simplest answer is found in character motivations.
Example
Two PCs are unlikely allies. One is looking for evidence of a magical substance in the area and the other is just looking for a payday to pay down their debts. They’re in an inn near where they will find rumor of an item they can find, take, and sell to advance their aims.
Step 2 - Treat the game as if you’re the GM with PCs at the table you’re just rolling everything out in the open for. This is actually great practice for GMing in general.
Clearly define the parameters of the roll:
What are you rolling for? What are the stakes? What modifiers apply?
What’s the target value for a good or bad outcome? yes or no?
Now roll and stick to the results. If you can’t stick to the rolled results, you likely shouldn’t have rolled in the first place or the stakes weren’t what they should be to require a roll.
The Oracle
When play feels like a randomized answer will help the narrative context, ask a yes/no question with the following odds based on how likely you think the answer would be “Yes” in the context. This is an “Oracle Question Roll”.
If the result is below the "NO!" value, that's an emphatic no. If below the "Yes" value, the result is just a straight “no”. If equal to or higher than the "YES!" value, that's an emphatic yes.
It is important to ask questions that are affirmative but related to the context of the current story. "Is there someone laying in ambush ahead?" "Are there any market stalls open right now?" and then follow where your thoughts go based on the answer. It is likely this will lead to multiple questions until you feel you have something to move the story forward.
Chaos Die
The chaos die is added to an “Oracle Question Roll” and increases the chances of a "Yes" answer to an oracle question. When a scene is out of the character's control, the Chaos level will increase, when a scene is within the character's control, the Chaos level will decrease.
Occasionally the Chaos level will reset to zero if it makes narrative sense, like after a long rest.
Add the following dice to an Oracle Question Roll based on the Chaos level:
Example:
"Oracle, is there a trap on the wall my PC is trying to climb?" (Unlikely - 75)
Chaos Level 3
1D100 (51)+ 1D8 (5) => No (56)
- Needed a 75 or more for a yes, but the likely hood of achieve the yes is increased by the chaos level before this particular scene.
Generate Narrative Context
When some context has built up and there is need to randomize the direction of the overall narrative, the following table can be used to give direction:
Intending to create ebb and flow in the development of the story context, this table shifts the focus as gameplay transmutes possibility into canonic context.
Reaction One-Roll
Using a "one-roll" to generate reaction of a possibly hostile situation toward the player characters. A "one-roll" uses a pool of different polyhedral dice evaluated separately but rolled at once to randomly determine an outcome. Build up the one-roll to include only what is not already determined by the narrative context.
Typical use will start with Mood, and add Distance and/or Activity if those are not already clear from the ongoing narrative.
The “Mood” chart is the Shadowdark reaction table because Shadowdark is the system I play in and this is a mechanical part of the game, allowing PC charisma to affect the roll:
In using any of these roll tables, I find that the threshold for just deciding something versus rolling can be low.
What are your thoughts on these rules? What do you use most often in your solo playing? What are your favorite Solo TTPRG player rules?
Leave a comment with the answer!
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I’ve yet to really wade into the waters of solo-play on this level. I’ve really only played solo Cthulhu scenarios with the numbered entries. Solo play is a bit intimidating but I appreciate when folks lay it out like this.
Great post. My solo game is also Shadowdark. Putting myself through The citadel of the scarlet Minotaur at the moment on fantasy grounds vtt and it works really well. I have been using the same rules as you except the chaos factor which after reading this i might add in too.