being your own GM demo

The principles from "Easy Ways to Be Your Own GM" video in action.
intro (0:00); the story: (2:50); how I made the story (21:57); brief rules overview (40:17); the GMs notebook before session starts (59:29); final thoughts (1:03:30)
get SOLO GAME MASTER'S GUIDE:
US customers: tinyurl.com/yckpsrxe
UK customers: tinyurl.com/ykarakda
get WANDERINGS: tinyurl.com/5cj3d4jc
LISTEN to Geek Gamers discussing Scarlet Heroes and the concepts in this vid on the
Always Player One podcast, Episode 26: anchor.fm/alwaysplayerone/epi...
Opening images free to use from pixabay.com

[@AmazingAaxor]

This was a great exposition of how to utilize the resources one has to create an interesting story. Well done. As usual :)

[@GeekGamers01]

Thank you so much!

[@stephenharamis4786]

Very creative, makes me curious to try a fully solo RPG

[@maskroomhangout]

I love seeing what tools and resources you use

[@SuperKingslaw]

I love this channel. How wonderful! Keep up the wonderful work!

[@deepblueska9269]

As usual, another great video. Keep up the good work.

[@GeekGamers01]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed.

[@anaclararodrigues2852]

Excellent and inspiring vid! A thanks from Brazil

[@GeekGamers01]

Thank you so very much! I'm glad you enjoyed it and appreciate the comment.

[@wan-bee]

This is premiering the same day I'm getting my Tome of Adventure Design.

[@GeekGamers01]

Cool. Hope you love Tome as much as I do. Spoiler: I use different random tables in this vid (no Tome!)

[@wan-bee]

@@GeekGamers01 nice to know, I love the solo role playing tutorials.

[@wan-bee]

@@GeekGamers01 Just started using it today! The tables seem endless, with tons of great content. Almost Overwhelming, but in a good way.

[@rorydoconnor]

My copy is on the way, after the recommendation in the last video.

[@GeekGamers01]

@@rorydoconnor I hope you enjoy it. There's a TON there.

[@Regan47]

Really enjoying your channel!

[@GeekGamers01]

Thanks so much!

[@BrianHazardVideos]

Fun to watch you walk thru the generative process using Scarlet Heroes. I've rolled up a character in SH and I'm looking forward to seeing what sort of solo antics he gets into. :-)

[@Caratacus1]

Good heavens that's the Divine Right map! Have not seen that since I was a boy but knew it as soon as I saw it. Isn't it silly/amazing what is parked at the back of our minds.

[@GeekGamers01]

It’s unforgettable ;)

[@BleepingRelics]

I can see one on eBay for only *cough* 340USD T.T

[@AlanTwigg]

This is a really useful overview of how to do solo roleplaying. Thank you for sharing.

[@GeekGamers01]

Thanks so much and I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@viniciusmachadomiguel7498]

That's a pretty nice story idea you have there. I waste so much time on setting thinking that would bring a more "real" feel to my world, and you can do it with so little effort.

[@GeekGamers01]

Don’t be discouraged! Even things like this take practice.

[@viniciusmachadomiguel7498]

@@GeekGamers01 Never, you only give us inspiration!!

[@vernonjennings5921]

Great video. Thanks for sharing!

[@GeekGamers01]

And thanks for watching.

[@Aaron-mj9ie]

I like the newer format for the videos in your channel.

[@GeekGamers01]

Thanks. So glad to hear that.

[@johnwatts4755]

Inspired by the beautiful map. I checked online and you are very lucky to have that great map!

[@theHiddenStone]

Me too, I could only find a single copy for sale that was about $200 :o

[@Danthehorse]

What map is that John?

[@johnsteidl293]

@@Danthehorse The map is from the game Divine Right. She has the original (1979) edition. There was also a 25th anniversary edition. There weren't too many games like that back in 1979, so it's special for those of us who are fantasy gamers in that age bracket.

[@GeekGamers01]

Yes my copy of that game is one of the most important in my collection

[@joshbeckelhimer1799]

Love the video! Though, damage in Scarlet Heroes is a bit different. 1 = No Damage 2-5 = 1 point of damage 6-9 = 2 points of damage 10+ = 4 points of damage

[@GeekGamers01]

Glad you enjoyed and yes, I flubbed the damage!

[@dafrca]

Very well done. Thank You :-)

[@nicholasward5728]

Great video! Love the oracle index cards you (made?)- - very handy way to play. I could only make out two of the cards- the general oracle and the weather cards, though i see you have a little stack there for reference. Would you share what other quick reference cards you have there?

[@GeekGamers01]

Many of them are reproduced in my book SOLO GM GUIDE and you can view “my solo wallet revealed” here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZKmfmCHhtx1h6Msi=cFrtYdLD5TfXpEkw

[@bigmamamaybelle5288]

Just discovered your channel this year, been trying to find the Oracle cards or a reference to copy to a recipe card, no luck😅 but I'm excited to start playing! I have like 18 DND 3.0 and 3.5 books gathering dust on my shelves. Bought them in highschool and then the group never met.😅

[@GeekGamers01]

Well welcome! You are going to find (I hope) lots of resources on my channel, and not just the d&d vids since the general principles will apply across the rules. What a fabulous set of books to have!

[@rolanejo8512]

Suspense is killing me.

[@rolanejo8512]

Worth the wait. Thank you for a great video.

[@ghalibghalib8183]

This will be helpful

[@PaulJones-pd7eg]

Hi, Thumbs up on the video 👍👍 Like your four headings which help organise the materials needed. Will be using them :) I backed Twilight 2000 on Kickstarter by Free league, it has Solo rules. Mentioned your Channel for any promotional copies so fingers crossed. The game has a hex crawl theme. When you draw events, (using poker cards) with the same value you mark it as a story point. Later events which come up doubles would then be somehow linked. quite cool I thought. I was wondering if you have a similar mechanic or do such things as the story unfolds ?

[@GeekGamers01]

Glad you enjoyed the vid. You can see more about the 4 categories in vid “easy ways to be your own GM.” I also have a vid on developing themes in solo RPG and I do talk there and elsewhere about using double rolls or the same rolls to guide theme. It’s a great idea. I don’t have a set way of doing overland travel but I also have a vid on wilderness in RPG that shows some of the ways I handle it. The Twilight 2000 sounds interesting. I will check it out.

[@CALPURNI0]

i like the new format for your videos. and it's great to see scarlet heroes again in action. but, may be do you aplied 4 points of damage from the fray day to the HD 5 monster, in 8:38? in fact, because the damage conversion of scarlet heroes, a roll of 4 equals to 1 point of damage. (may be you noticed that later, but i have no time to see the full video right now. sorry).

[@GeekGamers01]

Thanks for pointing out my error. You are correct and I didn’t notice that.

[@CALPURNI0]

@@GeekGamers01 well, in my firsts combats with this system i made the same mistake, too. my shou-blood cleric killed a lot of robbers in the first dungeon i found. later, i barely survived in the adventures...

[@Colaris99]

Would be great if you could always list the rescources used in the description. :)

[@GeekGamers01]

Thanks for that feedback. I will make more of an effort to be consistent about doing that.

[@Jimmy.1979]

The foot fungus was so funny!

[@swordssolitude3861]

this is the most relaxing channel i've ever found. I have a question - are you aware of ways to play co-operatively without too much preparation? Like... GM-less or zero prep roleplaying. I assume it's something like what you're doing here, but I wonder if multiple people can play without arguing over the interpretations? I picked up Gloomhaven but it's very rules heavy and hard to get people into it... this sort of breezy intuitive approach using oracles and random inspiration is very appealing... Thanks!

[@GeekGamers01]

Thank you so much for those comments. That is really great to hear. Truly, I have not done this but I believe A Quiet Year includes some discussion of cooperative play and possibly Ironsworn does too. It’s possible Scarlet Heroes does as well...

[@swordssolitude3861]

@@GeekGamers01 Thanks :) I'm going to see if I can find a way to make the Mythic book work for co-op games without a GM.

[@swordssolitude3861]

I've gotten pretty good with my generative (tome of adventure design), oracles (your percentile card works great, kind of prefer it to Mythic which can derail the narrative a bit too often), and my rubric (BF and White Box)... So it looks like the generative element is sort of lacking - My question is not what to use, but when to use maps, images, cards - I get a little confused around the idea of "generative" vs "suggestive" - If I'm using ToAD, I don't find the need for those other resources though I'd like to use them... but when?

[@GeekGamers01]

I think what you're missing is the suggestive element... things from games or pre-printed cards or whatever. Truly, it doesn't sound as if you need it! ToAD does indeed offer enough (+ your imagination) if you are able to make it work that way (and it sounds as if you are). Suggestive resources are useful for some people who have either never soloed before, find that it is too difficult to envision certain things w/o a physical representation, or who just want to add artistic flavor to their sessions. (For example, I love working with item cards from various games because I like to actually "get" something when I find something...) From what you write, sounds like you are working well soloing just the way you've been doing it!

[@andresgarciadiaz1749]

Great video! I was wondering if you have plans of making something for cyberpunk red, I'd very much like to see your approach to it

[@GeekGamers01]

It’s been on my (long) list of things to get to but no idea when. Glad you enjoyed this vid.

[@phillipmerritt1428]

I enjoyed your videos. Come across them excellent probably. I played D&D in the 70s played it hard for maybe 10 years or 12 years. Stop for a while I mean I’m in my 70s. Came back because of my grandchildren interest in the game. I’m very interested in solo play. I’m using micro chapbook. But where do you get your little cards if you’re using in the beginning of solo flight did you make them or buy them or what? I know you do a great job I would recommend you to anybody or everybody😮

[@GeekGamers01]

Glad you are enjoying the vids. My cards are tings i made myself but the content of them comes from others. I detail what they all are in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZKmfmCHhtx1h6M

[@Number01]

What do you think of Scarlet Heroes vs World's Without Number?

[@GeekGamers01]

I haven't played Worlds though I have it. It's MUCH more detailed than SH and I think to make it compelling you'd need to buy into the world it is creating. I haven't played it at all, however, beyond skimming my copy.

[@vincentcleaver1925]

I get that you feel like you are somehow dithering, but a couple of times here we miss out on important things that, yes, we can work out on our own, random tables and such, but I wanted to see them being created, or more than just in passing a shot of the table maybe

[@GeekGamers01]

Hmmm... so you are saying you’d want a video showing me going through a rule set and creating tables from it? Not sure I understand your comment ... ?

[@phillipmerritt1428]

What system would you recommend for playing dolo DnD? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I only have so much to spend on it. It is there another place to get PDF modules. Been doing very good with wargame fault or drive through Rpg. I believe the system is good I just don’t know how to operate it. My downloads, don’t come up to use.

[@GeekGamers01]

I have a series of vids on playing d&d solo so I’d recommend looking at those. I’m terms of systems, I don’t recommend any in particular as I believe any rule set can be soloed once you understand certain narrative principles and have a random table or two. I discuss all of this in my book THE SOLO GAME MASTERS GUIDE.

[@mikelane4005]

If you don't mind me asking, what sort of camara are you using?

[@GeekGamers01]

An old iPhone-nothing fancy and in fact the opposite of fancy

[@perplexedmoth]

Is that the Darlene map or something else?

[@perplexedmoth]

Found it, it is from Divine Right. I had never heard of it.

[@GeekGamers01]

Enjoying this content? You can support the channel by donating on PayPal: paypal.me/geekgamersDeborah get SOLO GAME MASTER'S GUIDE: US customers: tinyurl.com/yckpsrxe UK customers: tinyurl.com/ykarakda get RANDOM HEXCRAWL BOOK: tinyurl.com/5cj3d4jc get RANDOM DUNGEONS book: lfosr.com/product/a-place-underground/