Mastering Solo Rpgs: Planning to Start Solo Roleplaying but you never do | Solo Play Guide

[@phillipmerritt1428]

Yes, I miss playing in a group. I do not still have a group to play with. I’m in my 70s and most of the people I played with quit or died. But I enjoy the idea of playing again. I’ve got a lot of games and I do like you said I read through the stuff read about things I should know and I do know, but it just refreshing my mind our memory.

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

Give the solo play a try and let us know how you found it.

[@AlphaGator9]

Yes! I have been wanting to dual solo-role-play, and write short stories for YEARS. Literally. Thank you for sharing these videos.

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

My pleasure

[@travisclau]

Really appreciated your candor and encouragement for new players. I've been really overwhelmed with how many games I've amassed but have not had the executive function to actually sit down and play.

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

So I’m gonna guess I know where your coming from due to your use of the words executive function 😁 so my advice is going to be based on what I’m doing now for The Electric State. I plan on filming Monday. I’ve been picking up the book and reading the background prose for about two weeks but only started on the rules yesterday. I’ll start with character creation as I can read that today and understand it. Then I’ll read the solo rules and hack and bodge my way through learning as I play. So my advice grab one that takes your fancy. Read the background and get a feel. Read and create a character. Go through the solo process and build a story. Once bored of the game write some helpful notes in as clear a handwriting as you can muster and stick it in a folder on a shelf and grab a new game. At some point you will cycle back maybe.

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

Sorry just had two coffees thus the wall of text 😂

[@jcraigwilliams70]

I first learned about solo roleplaying a few years ago with Ironsworn. I was thrilled to discover a system designed to play solo but the problem I have had since then is that as a forever GM and a writer, it feels abnormal and almost wrong to tell stories that I don't share. I think that is my biggest hurdle personally.

[@BillySpenc]

I get that way too. Since I write alot for my stories on KDP when trying to play Solo it's hard to play for the sake of it and not try to turn it into some kind of outline.

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

Many people want to read them. You can always share.

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

@BillySpenc two birds with one stone though. 😁

[@robertchmielecki2580]

Most videos on this topic talk about rules a lot. But it's not a board game we're talking about, it's an RPG. I just can't easily imagine having conversations with myself, lying or conspiring against myself, surprising myself with intrigue or mystery, getting emotional response to something I have invented myself, making hard moral choices if I know I will get to freely create their unintended consequences of my own actions (how can they be unintended if I can tinker with them at my leisure?) - you know, all these things that differentiate RPGs from a dungeon crawl board game.

[@jcraigwilliams70]

@robertchmielecki2580 well, even the most rules-light game still *has* rules and depending on the game, they can help guide the story. Ironsworn's rules are a good example of this. As a writer, I would say you definitely can still be surprised because sometimes your characters take on a life of their own. You can reach a point where you want them to do a certain thing but you know that it's not what they would choose themselves, and using oracles means that twists can arise in your story that definitely surprise you. While you technically can tinker with things, you should try to stay true to the story. For example, you could have your character kill a local lord in public and then say "no one really cares and the guards just laugh," but is that being honest? If you're being true to the story, then, no, you don't really have freedom to do whatever your want. But it depends on how you play.

[@RollingSoloRPG]

Hopefully this will start a trend in this comment section. MY REASON FOR SOLO ROLLPLAYING IS: is making videos mainly for journaling purposes, like you said my brain moves faster than my hand can write. Also i just love to see where a story can go when i dont have a pre-determined ending. Rolling the dice and using tables for inspiration makes me happy! Also, amazing video friend! If i could give it more than one thumbs up I would!

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

Thank you. I was worried I’d wandered a bit far into counselling territory 😁

[@RollingSoloRPG]

​@@HollowPondsSoloSagas Not counseling at all in my opinion. It's a good mixture of ways of how to do it, and ways of why to do it!

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

@RollingSoloRPG thank you.

[@Phenixfox75]

My reason to playing solo is creating stories and follow characters. See them grow and change. I also like to write so journaling is another reason :) I really like this video, it speaks to me and I fully agree. Robert E Howard wrote Conan. Conan is the character (along with the stories) that got me hooked on fantasy.

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

Thank you as ever :)

[@Hippolyte-le-Barde]

Hello from France! I started following your game Twilight 2000 a few days ago, thanks to the subtitles translated into French. I love it! The game has just been published in French (finally!) and so I look forward to receiving the box to be able to play it in solo mode. Your videos allow me to wait and immerse myself in the universe. Thanks !

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

Hello. Welcome and enjoy. There are maybe a few other games that might take your fancy I’ve played. 😁

[@rpcnuwm]

Absolutely love everything you shared here. Right on point. I recently started solo role playing and have enjoyed very much, but much of what you shared here is relevant across all hobbies and interests. Thanks for sharing these thoughts and recommendations, friend. 😊

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

Any time. I deeply feel we should each find a creative outlet we love and allow ourselves the freedom to do and express ourselves through it :D

[@donc7664]

From Cap'n Pete to Doctor Pete, thanks for your wisdom sir.

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

You are very welcome :)

[@yourseatatthetable]

I liked the whole idea of Solo play so much I spent over a decades trying to create a game from the floor up. I think there are times for many of us when we really want to 'play', but time, lack of associates, etc., gets in the way.

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

You can link to what you have here that would be super cool. If your happy to share?

[@edgargrolles2665]

Thank you very much. This video is simply the best boost I've ever seen to start playing solo. Wonderful lesson. Thank you so much.

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

You are very very welcome thank you for your feedback 😁

[@TheGrouchCouch]

Great video ♥️

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

Thank you kindly 😁

[@AceneDean]

RE: Recording. I recently picked up a used Alphasmart 3000 from Ebay. It has revolutionized my record-keeping for solo RPG'ing. Now I can record my plays in Markdown format and convert them to nicely formatted PDFs or HTML to read over later. But, critically, I don't need a distracting phone or computer at the table and I don't have to rely on my awful handwriting. I love it.

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

Handwriting is a hold back. I find it funny trying to decipher what I wrote.

[@TracyKarjala]

Thanks for this video! Watching you has me wanting to start solo play again. When I did Twilight 2000 I kind of ran out of steam once I'd hit most of the encounters at least twice, so I think I'm going to come up with some more. The example locations in the source books (the school, town, etc) work well solo as well.

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

Definitely give it another go. There is also the random encounter tables you could try to generate some of your own.

[@andysimmons2648]

Thank you for another excellent video. These videos are full of excellent advice and I find them really encouraging. Thank you, again.

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

Glad you like them and they are of help! :D

[@jarrodjanuary5486]

Very encouraging. Thank you

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

Glad it was helpful!

[@GeorgeStrayton]

Another excellent video! I like both these how-tos and the solo playing sessions. Looking forward to more of both! Cheers!

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

Thank you 😁

[@starshipchi-rhostudio7097]

Thank you for the encouraging video.

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

You are very welcome

[@SentientSoup]

Great video brother. Thank you

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

Thank you. Hope it helps.

[@michaelhill6453]

Loved it. I wish you'd gone on longer.

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

Thank you.

[@OldDesertGal]

I wonder if there is a question here - what IS solo role-playing? Mine looks different than yours. As both DM and 😢PC, I pend most time as DM prep. Creation of Maps, tables, mini, etc. is big part of my solo play.

[@GreekSoloRPG]

The prep is a big part of the creative process for me as well and probably the most enjoyable one. I find it very interesting to see how differently people solo role-play.

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

Thank you so much again 😁 I’m thinking of doing a video on preparing for your first session. Any advice is most welcome.

[@OldDesertGal]

@@HollowPondsSoloSagas Prep is Play

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

@OldDesertGal awesome.

[@brads2041]

As geek gamer would say, everything is play, including prep

[@UndeadBrony88]

I had an idea "of" starting a journal, not necessarily journaling per se. But journal as a PC in a party. Retelling of events. Not like a journaling based game. Its as if you write a journal of your "daily" life but as a PC.

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

Awesome idea. So like Dracula. Not that I’ve read it well all of it but that’s written in a journaling past sense.

[@UndeadBrony88]

​@@HollowPondsSoloSagasin a sense but no gaming aspect

[@UndeadBrony88]

​@HollowPondsSoloSagas just my own imagination

[@redbaronlast]

Brilliant video! 🙏

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

Thank you. I’m very glad it was of help.

[@mikem449]

Great video, thank you!

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

Thank you and you are very welcome 😁

[@AnotherGuyProductions]

I mainly play to engage with creativity and story telling, i've played through 5 or so one-shots and a few more gamey type games, but my main barrier to play is the getting started, my brain knows i can't have the same kinds of experiences from video games, but the ease of it and instant gratification drives me to that instead. Once playing i sometimes end up stopping due to the story going too slow because of journalling as i play. The problem being that i cant talk out the game aloud and take notes, so i write the whole story out like a short story and that takes much longer.

[@bruceford6133]

You may want to try an audio recorder and then go back to listen to it to journal it out. We do that for our groups during RP as that way I don't have to write things down in the moment as the GM when I suddenly need to improv various details.

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

Brilliant idea.

[@pgaven9396]

I wonder if Harnmaster can be played solo

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

Most things can if you are willing to put in the creative element. Normally the lighter the rules the easier to solo as there is less to remember but if you know the system well enough it should be ok.

[@CarlBeer-cd6ec]

Looking for a solo rpg any ideas please

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

I have a video in this series that gives suggestions and I will be releasing a recap of 2024 where I'll go through all the games I played solo this year. That should help.

[@SobeR999]

I want to play solo games because I don't want to socially interact with other people and I also don't need those skills

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

I think although that’s a valid view the ability to socially interact with others can be seen as a useful skill to possess and practice in a safe space. Even if uncomfortable or not often required due to the nature of our current world and just the fact of how we in general function the ability to be a part of a society in one form or the other could be seen as fairly important.

[@bobsavage3317]

☮

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

Peace Bob. 😁 (said as Blackadder says Bob)

[@bubulechibe]

We must stop to watch your video instead playing

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

Well then you aren’t procrastinating your playing. Well done. Thanks for watching.

[@northernlight8857]

To me solo rpg is the opposite of the ttrpg experience i want. If i want to solo I play a computer game. But to each their own.

[@HollowPondsSoloSagas]

Fair enough. But. When you play a computer game you are still playing in someone else’s creative construction. You are still working within their vision and telling their story. With solo ttrpg you are within your own creative story expressing your own experiences. Or that’s the way I see it. But thank you for your feedback.