Shadowdark Solo TTRPG Review: Play With Yourself

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

Thanks for checking it out, GM Jim! Solo play can definitely be a bit awkward at first - there’s often a breaking-in period to it. 😊

[@artistpoet5253]

There's a great passage on page 2 of the Solo Dark PDF under JUMP IN. It's this perspective that I've taken when soloing a system that's wasn't designed to be a single player or cooperative/DM-less game or when playing through a published adventure. Use the oracles and prompts to guide the character choices. Solo gaming has been around for far longer than just a couple decades. I'm not even talking about the published TSR modules or Tunnels and Trolls (and similar) game books. I used to use the AD&D DMG to generate random dungeon crawls and would even play through modules on my own as a way to learn them before throwing them at my group. It's more about being confident in your improve skills and imagination while also being completely open to weird turns in the action and fair in your rulings. Modern solo gaming is far more structured than it used to be and it really doesn't need to be. Solo Dark is a perfect example of how solo gaming tools can be light yet robust in their function. I think coders call this elegance? That all said: Ironsworn: Starforged is a great purpose designed solo game. One Page Solo Engine is a fantastic, versatile and PWYW solo system. Thousand Year Old Vampire is a great game but too brooding for my tastes.

[@kstddrd]

Downloaded SoloDark and am looking forward to using it as a way to enjoy playing a session as a player with my nephew instead of being a DM. So, SoloDark as a cooperative session instead of alone.

[@jaykaye594]

1000 year old vampire is amazing. But get the physical copy is you can. The pdf just doesn't cut it.

[@neonGliiitch]

I think the issue a lot of people have with solo play, and I'm not saying you do but a comment you made sparked this idea, is that people think solo play means no GM. But this isn't true. You are still the GM. In fact you run a solo camp exactly like you would a regular game with other players. The key difference is you are making the decisions the other players would usually make. The oracles aren't there to make the game GMless. They are there to add randomness to the game. "Is the door locked? Roll on the oracle. Yes it is. Now let me consult the game system to figure out a DC and make a skill check to see if I can open it." We also use them to spice things up with twists and random events. We also use them to set the scene, but we still sit there laying out a scenario and deciding what happens until we need to roll. Rolling should be a last resort. Up until that point we should be following the narrative and imagining it like we would a normal game. This is why journaling is so vital too. We don't need to write a book. Instead of "Bob ran down the corridor as the space station shook from explosions outside. His heart pounding in his chest. As he came to the corridor yelling came from his right hand side. Turning he said a group of raiders advancing towards him guns drawn." Sure you can do it that way, but you can also just go. * Space station under attack * Bob frantically fleeing down corridor * Encountered a group of raiders Also I think people confuse this idea that they need to roleplay. Again it's a way you can do it. But we don't all have to be Me Myself and Dice. As cool as he is, we can just third person or hand wave such situations "Bob goes into the local store and buys supplies." Or "I think Bob will go into the store looking for supplies, does the store have what he needs? Yeah I think he does but Bob wants to try to haggle the price down. He will need to make a charisma check, I think the DC would be 15 because this shop owner is very shrewd. Well is he shrewd let me roll on the oracle. Yes he is, okay DC 15, let me look up the rules and make this check." Solo play can be very easy once we understand that it's really no different than how we normally run a game. We just also play the roles of the players. That's it.

[@TwinSteel]

Have you played the quiet year? I got it to use to build my newest setting then those darn McElroy brothers took my totally unique idea, so I didn’t get a chance to do it until quite some time later - anyway, great map and city building / story telling system

[@wizardsling]

I've heard a lot about it but haven't given it a try yet. It's on the to do list :/

[@TwinSteel]

@@wizardsling sure the shortest of such lists 😄

[@Old_Wizard_Minis]

Ive never played solo either but i want to. My idea is to set my solo adventures in my world thousands of years before my group. So the corpses and loot they come across may have been my characters.

[@Old_Wizard_Minis]

Also I use a black and gold tarot deck with art that fits shadowdark as my story cubes in my group play. It should work well in solo.

[@wizardsling]

there you go, tarot deck as a random narrative beat generator is a great idea

[@davestory8614]

If you have Mythic, you don’t need Solo Dark. Like Shadowdark, there is nothing new here - the rules are a mesh drawn from other systems

[@TwinSteel]

🥳❤️👍🏿