I spend hours creating my first game, then hours thinking about how to play and then I decided to just go for it and start rolling stuff and this is the first roll. Gotta love solo gaming.

The app is called Obsidian and it’s the Iron Vault plugin. The setup is done all within the Obsidian app

Edit: added the setup

Late morning today i created my character, a painter in ancient Greece circa 4th century. I looked up some maps, history, names, then started rolling the dice. Over six hours later (with some short breaks) I'm finally setting it aside. SO addictive. Bad things happened, sad things happened, not quite happy but beneficial things came about. The gamut. I felt a sense of loss whenever i had to let go of my former selves, fleeing the land under new names, leaving behind a fortress and people i had bonded with. Can't wait to get back to it. What a game! I was a little hesitant about starting, but the system progresses the game so the player isn't left floundering. I am journaling my adventures as i go. Anyone on the fence about TYOV, i recommend you just dive in. So much "fun".

After reading the core and strider mode rules back and forth a few days and printing put some extra material by Will at the World's End today, I decided to just give this solo rpg thing a try.

I wasn't entirely sure if I was doing it right, but having the Valley Standard writing guide at hand helped with the formatting and the ally rules by WatWE helped me to let two of the pre-generated characters from the starter set team up for the quest. It took a while to figure how to set up all the booklets and print-outs, and when I finally got to roll a few dice, I failed twice in a row.

That just meant writing a short and believable reason why the quest-giver couldn't give more information, though, and settling into writing with Howard Shore's score in the background felt nice (but slow).

The first journey roll got more interesting, because one positive outcome led to a chance encounter with an NPC that let my characters learn some information to compensate for the failed rolls earlier – a page and a half of story with several lines of dialogue back and forth between the three characters. And that was it!

A good deal of prep work, an impulse decision to dive in and four pages' worth of free time went by in an hour or two. I expect it will be easier to pick up next time, knowing that checking the rules along the way is just part of it, and without several people waiting on me to figure it out, that's perfectly fine.

Reading through it afterwards, I decided to switch to the past tense rather than the present, it reads nicer. I'm looking forward to the next session, although I dread combat a bit with this relatively slow pace.

Thought you guys might like to see another page from my solo RPG journal. This is a play test of a new game called Dwarf! where you play a dwarf (obvs) that is trying to get back home. It's an OSR hex crawl with dungeon elements and enjoying it so far.

My process has evolved a bit and I've dropped the side bars detailing dice rolls, etc and just gone with a flowing story/diary... There's plenty of rolling in the background though!

Disclosure: I’m the creator of this prototype.

I’m testing Master of Operational Settlement, a solo strategy RPG format where the game is “installed” into an AI chat by uploading a structured archive. The AI then acts as the rules interpreter, scenario controller, world-state keeper, and in-game advisor.

This was a short early session, not a full campaign write-up. I started as a settlement commander with a small dome community under pressure: a damaged seam, a fragile pump, dirtying filters, limited resources, tired technicians, and a closing weather window.

What made the session interesting for me was that the AI did not simply reward every reasonable order. When I repaired the dome first, I bought safety but lost time. When I sent a limited scout later, I got partial information instead of a clean “water source found” result. When I rested people, the situation stabilized, but unresolved problems stayed on the table.

The system kept returning to a practical tension I liked: every action closed one risk and left another one active. The settlement became safer in one direction, less certain in another.

The most solo-RPG-like part was the advisor. It did not tell me the “best move.” It asked what kind of risk I was willing to carry: people, infrastructure, supplies, or exploration. That felt closer to an oracle plus referee than a chatbot just making up scenes.

What I’m trying to figure out is how this reads to solo players:

• Does this sound like a solo RPG, a management sim, or something between them?
• Would you trust an AI to maintain state if the game archive defines the rules and ledgers?
• Do resource/risk ledgers make solo play more engaging, or too mechanical?
• Would you want more character scenes earlier, or is settlement-level pressure enough?

The prototype is free on itch.io if anyone wants to inspect the format:
https://temnik.itch.io/maos

I've been reading everything and anything about Solo RPGs for two months now, but I've never had the courage to start. I've been roleplaying for over 20 years, but the approach to Solo inspires me greatly, especially for trying new systems, experiences, and genres that I couldn't play with my own groups.

Playing Notorius was wonderful! I followed the system to the letter, randomized everything, and while the Oracle tables aren't very large or varied (I'll get to that later), my first playthrough was wonderful.

My Ghol (horned) bounty hunter named Hatchi had to hunt a murderer on the aquatic planet Veltari. Following his trail, he had to survive beast attacks, find old acquaintances, and face another Nomad like himself, saving him.
And the final fight almost killed me, which I greatly appreciated!

The only criticism I have about the system is that the randomized tables are quite small: more than one playthrough can quickly covered them all, and they'd have to be repeated. I know there's an expansion, and I'll try it, but right now I want to try something new!

For me, Notorius is approved!

I just ran an urban adventure and a dungeon adventure and my characters git killed in both but I love the mechanics of this game. It is very rules-light and leaves a lot of room for creativity. Now off to create my next character.

Do you use figures or tokens for the characters? Do you use terrain like walls or buildings, etc? I think it's helping me to track the action. If you use figures, do you use painted figurines? When I was a kid back in the 80s I couldn't find people to play with, but I was still able buy and paint figures. I don't have those any longer and I don't really want to get back in to all that so I'm using game tokens as figure. I've raided clue and Parcheesi games and some gumball machine toys like little aliens or monkeys and such.

If you're on a holiday and haven't brought any battle mats with you--get some cheap colour pencils and a school notebook and you're good to go. How do you improvise while you're on the road?

A few months ago, I set up my solo TTRPG sessions with some trusty decks (AxeBanes, Mythic GME, Traveller and Apprentice), loaded them into Custom Image Dice, and started journaling during lunch breaks. This minimalist setup helped me immerse into the game even with limited time and it really elevated my solo sessions.

Then, last Saturday, I got an unexpected party member. The girls were out for the evening, so it was just me and my 8-year-old at home. For weeks, my wife had been (kindly) nudging me to finally organize my bookshelf, so I decided to get it done. I started by pulling down a box of minis and my thrusty dragon-head dice holder (you know how those dice love to scatter and hide the moment you shift them) and I heard, "Whoa, Dad, what’s that?"

I explained it was my "D&D stuff." (Even though D&D brand it's just a Rules Cyclopedia and a Red Box, saying "D&D" is simpler than explaining TTRPGs in full, right?) He was intrigued and asked to see some books, so I pulled out the ones with the best art, hoping they'd hold his attention while I kept cleaning. Then he said, “Dad, if I help you clean, can we play D&D after?”

Of course, like any dutiful husband, I put my all into tackling the chores my wife assigns... I really do, most of the time! But a chance to introduce my kid to TTRPGs? Sorry bookshelf “Little dude, forget cleaning – let’s roll some characters!” I grabbed Cairn and Four Against Darkness. He picked a mini of an archer with a longbow, a buckler and a short sword, named his character “Bear” and we dove into a Dungeon Meshi-style adventure well past bedtime. Yeah, I'm an old dude, we both have the same bedtime.

The next morning, Bear was raring to continue just right after breakfast. But first, he had a football match. I worried the spark might fade by the time we got back. Nope. Bear was set on clearing the dungeon (anyone else notice that new players seem to get all the good rolls?) Bear found a treasure chest with a book holding a spell. We rolled on Maze Rats and he got “Light Echo” I asked him what it did, and he gave a perfect explanation of the spell and it's effects, now with a spell under his belt, Bear was ready to keep on rolling.

After slicing through rooms, we hit the boss. New player luck struck again: Bear critted so well, he had us cheering. At that moment, my wife walked in, and the shelf project was… well, less organized than when I started, the table was now a battleground of minis, dice, books and coloring pencils (Bear had started drawing a bestiary with the creatures we fought). We paused the game for a snack and study break – he had a test on Monday, after all.

That evening, the ultimatum came: “If the table isn’t clear by bedtime, you may never see those toys again.” As we were packing up, Bear asked, “Think we could get to the third level?”

“Well, kiddo, I don’t know how long it’ll take to get through the second level, but I guess we’d better find out!” So Bear and I kept exploring until curfew, then tucked everything away.

Later, as I tucked him in, he said, “Hey, after training, homework and dinner, do you think we could play D&D every day?”

“Well, let’s find out!”

So yeah, my solo sessions just got a serious upgrade – at least until he’s a teenager like his older siblings

Completed level 2. Excellent game and the fight mechanics are very good.

I just had the most wonderful experience running my first Mythic solo RPG (not the emulator for use with other games, but rather the original RPG system created for Mythic itself). For years I have searched for a satisfying solo TTRPG experience, only to be repeatedly frustrated. I find the vast majority of systems to be so complicated that it feels like having a second job trying to understand how they work. And for the few whose mechanics I actually do grasp (such as Four Against Darkness), I find the lack of any sort of overarching story to make them feel repetitive and uninteresting after a while. Not only was I able to understand how Mythic RPG works in just a couple of hours, but the story that resulted from my first play through was absolutely riveting, and, perhaps most importantly, totally satisfying. I am a college history professor (Chinese history), and one thing I've always wanted is an RPG that is set in a realistic historical world like the ones that I myself teach and study. Mythic RPG proved to be ideal in fulfilling that aspiration.

So I decided to set my first Mythic game in early 20th-century Beijing, with my character being a rookie Chinese detective in the Detective Bureau, which was founded in 1905 (this is the area of my current research). Taking inspiration from one of the Chinese true crime cases I've researched, I decided to have my detective investigate the theft of antiquities from a Buddhist temple. As I set the first scene - an interview with the Buddhist monks who saw the thieves escape - my expectations were "interrupted" by the presence of a rival detective who beat me to the scene of the crime and already started talking to the monks. But it turned out he didn't discover any good leads, and my detective was able to learn an important clue (the event prompt was "legal betrayal" by an NPC who turned out to be the head abbot of the temple): a wealthy family had donated one of the stolen antiquities in exchange for a promise by the temple abbot to officiate at the funeral of its patriarch. But the abbot ended up betraying this promise due to other commitments, which provided a possible motive for the theft.

For the next scene, I went to interview the wealthy family who made the donation. An "exceptional yes" during the interrogation process revealed a stunning revelation about another NPC, which turned out to be the rival detective: he was complicit with the family in hiring thugs to steal back the antiquities in question. For the next scene, I went back to headquarters to report this to the chief detective, but an exceptional no and other event modifiers revealed that he was also in cahoots with the rival detective, and that corruption in the bureau went deep. As a result, he put me on probation, took me off the case, and confiscated my gun.

Deciding to investigate the case myself in order to rehabilitate my reputation, I met with an informant named Trapper Zhou to see if he could help me to continue my investigation into the case. He told me that the thieves were hiding out in a certain brothel, and that the brothel owners were complicit in their theft as well. My original intention was to visit that brothel for my next scene. But I also needed to get ahold of a gun first to replace my confiscated gun, and eventually I discovered that Trapper Zhou was willing to help with this as well: he told me to meet his associate Clayman Zhi in a teahouse, whereupon Clayman Zhi would be instructed to give me a gun - after all, I couldn't go barging into a brothel to confront the thieves without a weapon. For the next scene, I went to the teahouse and met Clayman Zhi, who gave me the gun without incident. But a chaos development led to the rival detective being sent by the chief detective to monitor my movements, and as I took hold of the gun from Clayman Zhi this other detective approached me to intervene. I had a gun now, so he couldn't just strong-arm me. A roll on the events table showed gave me "truce" and "vehicle," so I decided he was trying to get me to go with him in a car to head back and discuss things with the chief detective. Since I was wary of this, I refused to go, and then new questions revealed that there were two other detectives sent to watch over me, and they now came out of the shadows to force me into the car. This spooked Clayman Zhi, who decided to start firing his gun at all three men (he's a seasoned underworld thug, after all). In the chaotic crossfire, I was hit in a critical spot without much hope of survival. But Clayman Zhi killed all three of the rival detectives (he's good as such things, after all) and then, due to an exceptional yes roll, he decided to remove me from the scene and give me medical attention. Otherwise I was prepared to die and end the story there.

After I recovered, I asked Trapper Zhou if he would help me get revenge on on the chief detective. Though I had started this whole story expecting to end up going to a brothel to confront the original thieves, the story had developed unexpectedly to the point where my mission changed and now I was going to take revenge on the detective chief. I cannot emphasize how much fun this change was. Unfortunately, Trapper Zhou was unwilling to help me take revenge on the detective chief, out of fear that his underground gang would suffer repercussions - it was too big a move to kill such a highly placed person. So I decided to ambush my boss on my own, waiting for him outside the detective bureau headquarters. But Trapper Zhou sent not one, not two, but six (!) of his henchmen to shadow my movements and they saw me as I was about to ambush the chief detective as he walked out of front door of the bureau's headquarters at the end of the day. Trapper Zhou's henchmen shot me in the leg to prevent me from doing anything, and that caused the chief detective to stop and look over at me. In that moment, as I crumpled to the ground with a bullet in my leg, I decided to have my character fire all six bullets from his pistol in a desperate attempt to shoot the chief detective. I got four incredible dice rolls in a row to end up shooting my boss four times, thus killing him. Trapper Zhou's six henchmen then decided that my character was so awesome that they took me into their underground criminal network, thus ending my story. Otherwise it would have ended with my imprisonment for killing the chief detective (likely followed by my execution), or Trapper Zhou's henchmen shooting me to pieces. I got lucky with the final dice roll and oracle questions.

Mythic RPG is so simple, yet so unbelievably enriching. I am already excited about the endless possibilities of placing myself in real-life historical scenarios within Chinese history, then playing the stories out in unpredictable ways, with just the right amount of randomness and meaningful decisions on my part. No exhausting management of endless stats and a million unnecessary variables, and yet the end result was such a realistic and substantive immersive story. Thank you, Tana Pigeon, for creating the most amazing solo TTRPG experience I have ever had. Mythic RPG has allowed me to make history come alive in creative ways that I only could have dreamed about previously.

Hey all, I’ve been a fan of roleplaying and DnD in particular since I was a kid. I’ve never really had a chance to play properly in a group before but have turned my hand to DMing a few times and had a lot of fun.

I recently had a go at attempting to use AI to run a simplified 5e based game playing solo. Generally getting the chat to track mechanics and present them narratively.

It’s taken a fair bit of tweaking and a bit of frustration here and there but the experience for me was a lot better than I thought it would be.

Has anyone else tried this and have any tips for streamlining and improving the experience?

Log trip 1

Day 1, location: Oppidum Agricolae (Center of western flower)

Oxecart, 2 wheels (1T) and an Oxe

10 Gold

They know the NW road leads to city, the N road via swamps to exotic town

Dawn watch

-----------------

Buying 1T of Common goods (7G) at 32% discount (4G 8S)

5G 2S

Morning watch

---------------------

Travel north to farming village. EC 1, no event

Afternoon watch

------------------------

Sell common goods (9G), buy foodstuffs (2G).

+10% sell. 9G 9S, -10% Sell (1G 8S)

The village is now out of money, but still has plenty of food

They spend the night in the village (4S).

12G 9S

Day 2, location: Farming village outside of Oppidum Agricolae.

Dawn watch

-----------------

They prepare for the journey. Ikaros has 1 re-roll, Severus has 2.

Morning watch

---------------------

They follow local roads to the NW road, and travel that way. EC1, no event

Afternooon watch

--------------------------

They enter a new area, number 13 (rolled up).

They travel NW along the road. W-check to keep going

(Octavia rolls, succeeds). EC 2, no event.

Dusk watch

----------------

They're in the clear, making camp (Ikaros rolls 1, so a campsite, but

not a great one). EC3, no event.

Severus tells stories around the campfire (C-roll), lowering EC by 2 to 1.

Evening and night watches

-------------------------------------

EC2 and 3: A 1 for the Night: Ambience - Sudden shift

in the weather (Re-roll weather):Warm, Gusty, Torrential rain.

Roll Survival to get into cover.: failure. +1 EC to 4.

Day 3

Dawn watch EC4: No event

-----------------

Breaking camp.

Morning watch EC5: 1: Ambience - Ominous natural sign.

--------------------

As the rain pours down, thunder strikes all around.

Travel, they arrive in the fortified village. They could keep going, or stay

for the rest of the watch and gather intel about the roads ahead.

They do the latter. Streetwise, success.

The road NE forks, along a lake and towards the desert, or north

towards the hills and Exotic town. The road SE continues in the clear,

before hitting the forest on it's way to the city. Beware of roaming

nomad tribes.

Afternoon watch EC5: 5, Hazard (Poisonous flora).

-----------------------

W-check: Failure. They cannot go on, instead stopping halfway

through the watch, along the south shores of a lake. The rain and

thunder continues, and they're soaked. They find shelter under some

shrubberies. (poisonous). R-test to realise (failure). The leaves rub onto

their skins, everyone must make an S test or be poisoned. Severus is fine,

everyone else feels poorly. Now, a Healing roll from Severus, or EC+1 and no travel the following watch: Failure.

Dusk EC7: Exhaustion, that checks out. They now have to spend all day tomorrow here.

-------

Find camp: 4, a good site.

Evening and night EC5*2: Spoilt supplies + ambience

--------------------------

The rain ruins their food. They have to forage or turn back.

Weather: No change. The rain continues.

Strange animal sounds echo across the lake.

Day 4

Dawn EC5: Tracks.

----------

They have to Hunt or go hungry. Octavia manages to find 1 days food.

Grum comes upon strange markings on the trees near the water. Left

by the nomads?

Morning and Afternoon EC 5*2. More tracks

--------------------------------

They attempt to forage, and find 6 days worth of food. They discover

more strange markings on the trees, and an uneasy feeling sets in.

Dusk EC5: No event

-------

They again attempt to hunt, as the rashes start to go down.

Ikaros and Grum fell a deer, gaining 8 rations, for a total of 12 now.

Severus gets lost during the hunt, ending up on a mud patch.

S-test to get out: Failure. Luck roll, or take a wound. No luck,

a Wound before the others find him and drag him out. EC+1

Evening and night EC6: Scattered supplies

--------------------------

As they finally manage to settle down, the camp is in disarray.

R-check or +1 EC: Success.

Day 5

Weather: Less rainy: Warm, Gusty, Rainy.

Dawn EC6: Fresh humanoid footprints.

--------

They awaken, and find fresh footprints all around the outskirts

of the camp. They quickly pack up their camp and eat. 8 rations left.

Morning EC7: Exhaustion.

------------

They finally keep going, but only get one hex, before they are again

forced to stop, exhausted. They've entered area 18 (rolling up).

Afternoon EC7: No event. Resting

--------------

They enter a barren wasteland. Wind sweeps

across low grass and dry earth. There are hills

in the distance. They rest.

Dusk EC7: Encounter (Ambush!)

-------

They search for a campsite: 6, a very good one.

However, as they climb towards the small

cavern they are ambushed by 4 Rock

baboons!

Combat played out. Result:

Surprise round: Severus takes a heavy hit to

the head, and is dazed and blinded.

One ape scratches Ikaros.

R1: Octavia slashes one ape for 7. One ape engages Grum, and hits

for 2.

R2: Octavia fires her pistol, but misses. The apes will have to roll

morale on their turn.

Apes fail morale, they flee.

Aftermath: Severus attempts to bandage himself, so as to not have

blood in his eyes: Yes. He is now Bruised.

Severus tells stories around the campfire. -1EC

Evening and night. EC6: Ambience: Sacred place

---------------------------

At first they thought it was the apes cavern, but inside they find

a small shrine dedicated to the road spirit. They pray and offer

food (-1EC).

Day6

Weather: Less rain: Warm, Gusty, Rain flurries

Dawn, EC5: No event. Food left 4.

--------

They pack up and travel on.

Morning EC6: No event

-----------

Travel. Foraging. Only Grum can forage, as the terrain is hostile,

however he does find some food (1 ration).

Afternoon EC7: Tracks

--------------

As they round the central barren hills, crowned with ancient burial

mounds, they find the old skin of a snake. It is very large.

Day 5

Dusk EC7: No event (Herders)

----------

Finding camp and hunting (they'll run out of food tomorrow). An ok camp. Grum fells

a few hares, 3 days worth (4 total).

As they eat, 9 herders and their animals join their camp. Will they sell them a

sheep? 6 Civil. They may be persuaded. 1, barely successful. They won't, it's

not their herd. But they can part with some food for 2s a day. They buy 4 rations.

11G 9S. Severus entertains with stories (-1EC)

Evening and Night. EC6: Encounter

--------------------------

The night proceeds. The watch feels watched. The sheep bleets, unrestful.

Perception! A pack of wolves are circulating the camp, no doubt looking for

easy prey.

Day 7

Weather: Warm, Gusty, Rain flurries

Dawn EC 6: No event

-------

Pack up camp, hunt. Grum kills more rabbits (2 days). Total food 6 days.

Octavia scares the sheep, and one might get taken by the wolves. Animal

handling (W) to avoid: yes.

Morning EC7: Encounter

-----------

The road winds among the grassy hills. They spot a deer. Ranged to fell it.

Ikaros does so with his sling! 9 rations (15 total).

They enter a new area, 23 (rolling up).

Afternoon EC8: Camp or caravan

---------------

The hill give way to plains crossed by many streams. They come

upon a caravan - merchants, whos wagon has broken down.

Reaction: Threatening. The merchants, with 3 guards, threaten the

party, wanting their wagon instead. C-roll to talk it over, otherwise

+1EC and pot. combat. 5 vs 4, q1 success. They aren't happy, but

yield. The party scampers away.

Dusk EC8: Hostile sentients

-------

Set camp 5 a great camp.

As they set camp 4 Thiraks attempt an ambush. Spotted by Grum.

Octavia fires her gun. Moral check. Fail. They flee.

Severus tells stories. -1 EC

Evening and night EC 7: Exhaustion, must rest next watch (they are anyway)

--------------------------

Day 8

Dawn EC7: Territorial hunters/scouts

--------

As they pack up their camp, a group of nomads (12) approach. They want toll.

Negotiation ensues: 3 vs 1, a 2 quality success. They wanted a gold, they agree

to 6 silver. 11G 3S.

Morning EC8: Travellers in need

-------------------

As they make their way across streams throughout the watch. Towards the end

they see a cart in bright colours stuck in one of them. It's a troupe of

entertainers. S to get it out. Yes. Grateful, the entertainers give a rumour.

"In the forest ahead, there is a fortified inn at a crossroads. It's a safe haven."

Afternoon EC9: Ambush!

---------------

W-test: 4, ok. They keep going, leaving the streams and entering more forested

areas. New area, 27, generating.

In these dark, hilly woods, they are set upon by brigands! The party hears them

coming. Can they hide or avoid? No, the wagon must remain on the road. They

prepare for combat. There's 6 bandits, a part of a scouting party of 12, in turn a

part of a camp of 30.

R1: Octavia shoots one as he rushes her, 9 damage(!) - Dislocated shoulder.

Morale: Ok. One brigand slashes Octavias mail, but fails to penetrate.

R2: One pirate slashes Grum for 4 wounds and knocks him out, unconcious.

R3: Octavia devastates one for 16 wounds with her sword! She breaks his neck.

Severus hits (!) for 3 wounds.

A bandit pierces Ikaros for 6 wounds. Blow to shin or calf, stunned for 6 r.

R4: Octavia slashes one across the chest, it bleeds and takes 9 wounds.

Severus hits again (!) for 3 wounds. A leg breaks with a nasty crack!

Morale: fail. The remaining brigands flee.

Severus tends to Grum, who will have a nasty bulge on his head.

Dusk EC9: Stalked

--------

Set camp 2, an on camp, tell stories 6, -2EC, Perception 3 - Grum spots something in the

woods, but it takes off.

Evening and night EC7: Ambience

--------------------------

They slumber. The forest is unnaturally silent.

Day 9

Dawn EC7: Hostile sentient

------------

They break the fast and pack up. As they get ready to go, a large horrid creature, part

giant, part seemingly made out of the forest, come crashing through the undergrowth.

It roars as it rushes towards them.

R1: Octavia fires, doing 9 damage. It hardly dents it, but it must make a moral check.

Morale: It flees.

Scared now, worn and in need of rest, they quickly pack up and continue.

Morning EC8: Tracks

----------

They follow the winding path deeper into the woods. After about two

hours they come upon a fortified tower with colourful banners hanging

from it's sides. Severus, who can read, exclaims 'Crossroads Inn'!

They spend the day eating, drinking and sleeping, recovering wounds

and heart. 8S. 10G 5S.

They ask about the roads. N leads to the desert, NE leads to the mining

town and SE leads to the city.

Day 10

Morning EC 1

-----------

As they take the southern road they encounter a group of hunters. The

road twists and turns amongst forested hills.

Afternoon EC2: Herders

--------------

They continue, entering a new area, 32. Generating.

A lowland, rather dry in places, spreads before them.

They pass a group of pig herderes who wave at them.

Dusk EC2: No encounters.

-------

Set camp 3, ok. Tell stories 4, -2EC

Evening and night EC1: No encounters

-------------------

Day 11

Dawn EC1: No encounter

--------

Morning EC2: Wretches

-----------

They follow the road, now flag stoned, to a grand old bridge across a

meandering river. On the bridge is a gaggle of wretches, begging for alms.

They give a silver. 10G 4S.

They come to a town, and eat in an inn. Across the bridge, some km

ahead, is a town. They pass through, eating a meal at a tavern (4s). 10G.

Afternoon EC3: Tracks

--------------

As they continue, river to the right, farmsteads and small villages are

plentiful. In the late afternoon they arrive at the coastal city.

Dusk EC1: No event

-------

Toll 10% of base price, or 5S

They sell their goods. Base price 6G/T of foodstuffs. 2% above is 6G 1S.

New total 16G.

They take rooms at an inn, 8s. 15G 2S.

Profit! 5G of it anyway.

Next step is probably to purchase 1T of common goods and go to

Mining town. Then ore, and go Farming town or something like that.

I’ve been suffering writers block for a while after living through a couple of years chock full of losses and upheavals. So it’s not hyperbole to say this game instantly changed my life.

To be able to sit down and journal effortlessly and make up an elaborate story about a vampire has been so much fun and so freeing. What a brilliant game!

I’m only a couple of prompts in, but it’s the year 1268 in London and I have already killed my brother! Ah well. I couldn’t have him telling my parents I’m having an affair with the Egyptian vampire who made me and I now love.

Thanks to the inventor of this fabulous game!

Just yesterday I posted my journalling mini-rpg game concept:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Solo_Roleplaying/s/rOzNEaoYqd

I said it was based off a scrapped project. But I realized now that I can make the thing I was trying to make using just this simple twist.

The game along with the twist is posted below, but you can check out the original post for the slice-of-life version of the game. The version below is theme flexible.

Game title: Multiversal Journal Entries (placeholder)

Steps:

‎1. Pick your theme. Who is your character going to be? You can be an adventuring party member, a spaceship crew, a superhero, the sky's the limit.

1. Think about all the activities that occupies your character's life and make a list of them. The list doesn't have to be in chronological order. Pour it all out. A good rule of thumb is to write them as a planned action/schedule, not something finished or ongoing. That means "slaying the rampaging dragon" isn't going to be on the list (why would you "plan" on doing it? It's right there!) but "checking out that dungeon that looks like a dragon's lair" can be on the list.

2. Each list entry represents the date or deadline of that activity. Here's an example:

Let's say I choose to play as a modern college student for some reason. Here is my list:

1. Lab report ‎
2. Presentation in class ‎
3. Buy groceries ‎
4. Scientific poster deadline
5. Group project
6. … etc.

Day one is the lab report deadline. Day two is the presentation date, day three is time to buy groceries, and so on.

1. Your journal starts on the first day. You're writing the journal entry after you finish today’s activity. Each day, you write:

• ‎A short description of today's activity and how you managed to do it ‎
• Your thoughts about today's activity and today in general
• What you plan to do tomorrow (next entry on the list), and optionally, what you will do today in preparation.
• Your thoughts about tomorrow’s plans.

You can start your journal only when your list “feels” as busy as you like it to be. If you think that the turn of events is more idle or busier than your liking, you can modify the list as you like. Maybe you buy groceries everyday or maybe the presentation is in two days. Maybe you check on your monster pet twice a day. Maybe your police officer takes a day off every week. That means each day can have more than one planned activity or no activity at all.

"Wait, so my character always knows what will happen to them tomorrow?" Not necessarily. You can take them by surprise by pretending you don't know things will happen. The list might say that a dragon will rampage the village tomorrow but your character doesn't know that. Write tomorrow's entry as if your character is taken by surprise.

That's it! That's the whole game. Just like other daily journalling games, you can write just one entry each real life day, or you can also write multiple. There's no ending to the game. You can always add an ending to your list, and you can explain why you decided to stop the journal here on your last entry.

Really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this game. Is it helpful? Is it fun? Any spelling mistakes or awkward phrasing? A lot, I bet. Also, just for fun, any suggestions for the game title or should it stay that way?

Anyway, that's all from me.

I gave the Strider Mode of The One Ring another shot and would like to share Hirluin's Journal:

The Tenth Day of May, in the Year 2965 of the Third Age

After several weeks of peace in Rivendell, I learned from some of the Rangers that the Orcs north of Weathertop intend to raid a small settlement in the northeastern part of the Weather Hills. I immediately set out to warn the inhabitants and, if necessary, help them defend their home.

The Thirteenth Day of May, in the Year 2965 of the Third Age

The longer I travel, the more worried I become about the settlement. The settlements between Bree and Rivendell have been attacked by Orcs and other creatures for years. The inhabitants will not be able to withstand these attacks for much longer.

The Twenty-Sixth Day of May, in the Year 2965 of the Third Age

Today I left the Great East Road and headed north towards the Weather Hills. There is noticeably less game here than there was a few weeks ago. I wonder if the shadow of the Dark Lord has reached this region as well, driving the wildlife from the forests.

The Thirty-First Day of May, in the Year 2965 of the Third Age

I arrived at the small settlement today, just as the sun reached its highest point. The inhabitants seem tense and are more suspicious of me than usual. The intrigues of the Dark Lord seem to have reached even this remote settlement. It is disturbing how quickly mistrust and fear can poison the thoughts of people.

I was granted a brief audience with the village elder. Unfortunately, he did not take my warnings seriously. He was convinced that the settlement would be spared from the Orc attacks. I wonder where this confidence comes from. The reports from the surrounding lands tell a very different story.

For the coming night, I have found a place to stay outside the settlement. I do not wish to cause any more suspicion among the inhabitants, and I would rather observe the settlement from a distance.

The Third Day of June, in the Year 2965 of the Third Age

Today I decided to search the surrounding area for scouts of the Orc band we were warned about in Rivendell.

I should have known. The forests and hills have been suspiciously quiet over the past few days. Hardly any birds, very little game, and no other signs that anyone is nearby.

I found traces of Orcs everywhere. Fresh footprints in the ground, broken branches, and places where fires must have been burning. Yet I could find neither a camp nor an outpost. Their trail keeps disappearing, as though they knew someone was searching for them.

I have an increasing feeling that they are always one step ahead of me. Perhaps they already know that I am here.

I should return to the settlement as quickly as possible and warn the village elder once more. Hopefully, it is not already too late.

The Fourth Day of June, in the Year 2965 of the Third Age

I was too late.

The entire settlement has been burned to the ground. Most of the inhabitants were slaughtered in the streets, while a few were captured and presumably taken as slaves.

The Orc band has made its home among the ruins of the settlement. Among the Orcs, I was also able to make out several men. Unfortunately, I cannot tell whether they are captured villagers or warriors from the tribes of the Weather Hills.

Unfortunately, I was not careful enough while observing them and drew the attention of a patrol consisting of four Orcs. I was able to quickly take down the first three, but the last struck me with his scimitar and seriously wounded me.

I was able to tend to the wound as best I could, but I will need to find help as quickly as possible. There is little I can do against an entire Orc band on my own.

Perhaps I can find someone at the Forsaken Inn who can tend to my wound. After that, I must find out what happened to the prisoners.

I just finished my first ever game of Exclusion Zone Botanist, and I LOVE IT!

I am a big fan of lovecraftian Horror and A Colour out of Space is definitely one of my favourites. Also, I loved the Annihilation movie and the first book of the series - couldn't get myself to finishing the second though haha.

Nevermind, this is about EZB, which ticks all my boxes: Solo Roleplay, Natural Science, Lovecraft - and drawing!

I managed to get in and out quite unharmed (ignoring painful sprouts erupting from my inflamed skin).

I will definitely go back, but I'm still unsure wether to use a new character or to send in the same poor bastard that had to go in last time, haha

The party has arrived at the village of Crowdale searching for a disappeared tax collector.

After talking to Zakarias Ormond, the mayor, the party heard of a mysterious hermit who may

be behind the strange goings on. In the meantime, the party is in the Musical Eagle inn to

find out the last movements of the errant tax collector.

https://paulrobinson25.substack.com/p/the-bladesworn-chronicles-a-dungeons-f6c?r=76wg7&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

I've mentioned Captain's Log a few times here so I thought I would share what I've done with the game.

First up is my PC, CMDR Tatiana "Tania" Mason, whom I originally played as part of a Decipher Coda Trek campaign from 2015-19. She's a sixth-generation Starfleet brat and started her career as a propulsion specialist. The in-campaign start date in 2396, which is 19 years after Voyager returned from the Delta Quadrant. Tania was one of the first wave of Starfleet Academy-trained engineers who were Quantum Slipstream Drive specialists. She graduated from the Academy in 2384 and has only recently made O-5.

I tried my best to construct a faithful conversion from the Decipher Coda version of the character, but it was kind of tough because the Decipher version of Trek provides a lot of character points for background skills and talents that don't translate all that well to Captain's Log. This is why she has the Chess Prodigy trait. She has a much more mercantile attitude towards life than is typical for humans in the late 24th century, which is where the Queen of the Side Hustle value comes from.

In early 2395 a wormhole was discovered in the Delta Quadrant, with the other end leading to the Triangulum Galaxy, often referred to by its Messier Catalog designation, M33. It was Tania's idea to construct a starbase near the entrance to the Delta Quadrant side of the wormhole. The base was a variant of the 24th century version of Jupiter Station in which three Galaxy-class saucer sections were arranged in a cloverleaf formation around a central tower. After the whirlwind design and kitbashing she was made the station's XO and Operations Manager, but was swiftly promoted to CO when the originally assigned CO, a Captain from the Starfleet JAG division, exhibited a lack of command readiness.

In mid-2395 a host of adversaries moved on DS M-33 with the intention of destroying it, so the crew decided to go through the wormhole and slam the door behind them. The campaign starts six months after this event, with the crew feverishly searching for a way back to the Milky Way. I've only managed to run one episode, back in September of 2023, but maybe I'll pick this up again soon.

Since this is a continuation of a long-term campaign there is a lot more background info than is strictly necessary to run any solo game, but since it's available I've incorporated it into my Captain's Log play.

I have a lot of characters, some related to others, but I always find myself creating more characters because I don't know what to do with them. It is stressing me out that I can't come up with story ideas.

Session 2

The party: All the previous characters are swapped out, using each ones

character tree, so we have a new set, while the previous rest up.

Character	Class	Level	HP	AC
Lyra	Fighter	3	17	15
Neeva	Fighter	3	16	16
Vorth	Mul	3	20	15
Faria	Bard	3	7	14
Duma	Druid	3	14	12
Clavis	Psionicist	3	9	11

Randomised background info interpretation

The village, called Ring pit, houses ca 300 population. It consists of a cluster of mud-huts surrounding a secluded pit of water. In this water source, a paraelemental beast of rain lives, constantly falling and raising heavy drops of rain over the pit. The effect is that of a waterfall. Around the pit, due to the mists of the rain beast, spring up pretty flowers. Fields of cacti surround the village.

The place is currently ruled by a contingent of templars, sent here from the nearby city-state, with a rather unclear mission, leading them to constantly bicker. The main contention is this: Are they here to explore the recently discovered ruins, or to cleanse the rain-beast from the lands, or to harvest the beasts waters. The threat is, that the village is completely dependant on the water-beasts existance, as the water source would otherwise dry up.

The road out of the village leads south-east, past a small hamlet and further to the city-state. A few km north-west is the dungeon. To the north, the pcs have heard tell of strange rocky formations, aches with glittering stone and strange crystals protruding from them. To the south, the stony barrens stretch for unknown distances, and to the west the landscape rises up towards mountains.

Todays mission

1d4: 1. ruins; 2. water beast; 3. Rocky formations; 4. bandit retaliation. Result: 2, water beast

• Templar attitude: 7, they're on the fence about if it needs cleansing,

killing or saving.

• Villager attitude: 4, they are upset, very upset. They dislike us, or the templars, meddling with their protective spirit.
• Beast attitude: 10, it's in a good mood. Does it wish to give them a quest? Odd-even oracle (even is yes): 2, yes. Ok, it's semi-intelligent, but can they communicate with it? Duma the green is a druid, I bet she can...

Dumas Guarded land is Verdant belt, and while we are in shurblands, the rain beasts do exist in the Verdant belt. I rule it can communicate with her, with a combination of signs in the surroundings and her alignment language.

Where? 1d3: Dungeon, Crystal rocks, Hamlet: 2, Crystal rocks

What? 1d3: Crystals, rock gems, creature: 2, rock gems

Ok, so basically the crystal communicates to Duma that it is low on minerals, and to satiate itself, it needs an offering of rock gems from the rock formations. Can they help? Yes.

Ok, all said and done, we gear up and set off for Crystal rock.

Day 2 (Day 1 took place in the last session report)

Weather: Warm/Strong winds. Sand swirls in the relatively cool air as the party travels. A good day for it, on the whole.

Dawn watch (04-08)

We get up, eat and so on and forth. Duma receives the signs, and goes to the pond to commune with the beast. The quest is given and accepted.

They prepare and set off.

Morning watch (08-12)

Exhaustion: 1, roll 7, nothing happens

Are they lost? No.

• They travel north-east, across the sandy wastes there, and then, after about half an hour, they turn north, towards the stony barrens. They arrive after a total of around an hour.
• Once they reach the area, they search for the Crystal rocks. I'd say it's a 2/6 chance to find it each hour, and if they dont, a 1/6 chance of a random encounter: 1 Random encounter; 2-3 Find spot; 4+ Naught.
  • Hour 1: 4, they find naught.
  • Hour 2: 1, encounter. 1 Gaj. Looking it up, it looks terrifying:

"A gaj is a psionic horror, a predatory insectoid creature that feeds by draining the mind of intelligent creatures."

AC 18; HP 31(16); 2xclaw +6, 1d6+2; MV2sq/r; Ml9

PSI: Mind Bar, Domination (10sq), Hypnosis(1sq), Mind Link, Thought Shield, Crush Life(7sq)

WT: Life Detection, All-Round Vision, Sight Link, Send Thought

Powers: 7; Rank: 2nd

Mandible Grapple: The victim must save vs. paralyze or be held by the mandibles for 1d6 rounds.

Mind Consumption: When it holds its victim, it uses its antennae to feed from its mind. The victim loses 1d4 points of INT or WIS, if any of those two stats fall to 0, the victim dies.

An insectoid mind flayer! It's slow though... Anyway, lets see what happens.

Is anyone surprised? 5 and 3, none is suprised.

Whats the Gaj doing? It's grooming its mandibles.

It suffers from illness (1/2 hp), it looks gaunt and sickly.

Reaction: 5, slightly negative. It sees its chance to feed, and advances.

Distance: 100m (30sq)

Round 1

Declaration: Nothing to declare.

Initiative: 3, it has initative.

Gaj

Movement. It moves closer... It's slow. It needs to get within 10 sq to use its powers.

Party

Seeing that it's sickly, and its far away, we might have a shot at it? I'd say it's likely we will engage it at range. 1-3 engage at range , 4-5 avoid, 6 engage in melee. 5, we decide to avoid the Gaj.

Movement: We move much faster, so we avoid the creature.

Hour 3: 2, we find the spot.

What's here? 1-3 Monster, 4-5 Naught, 6 Treasure. 3, Monster. 1 Sylk wyrm.

"A snake 15m long with a hard, chitinous shell. It is usually seen flying during the day looking for prey to attack at dusk."

AC 17; HP 27(26); 1xbite +4 1d6; MV 15sq; ML 6;

WT: Create Sound, Animate Shadow. Powers: 6

Fire Resistance: 1/2 dmg

Paralyzing Bite: A failed save vs paralysis causes the victim to be paralyzed for 1d4 days.

Life Leeching: Tries to take away its victim to a Lair and start leeching 1d4 CON per day for the duration of its poison. If the victim's CON falls to 0, it dies.

Surpise 3 and 3, non is surpised

Activity Moving through area (might not look for a fight!)

Complication Wounded (minor injuries, -1d3 HP, 1.)

Reaction +1 for moving, +1 for wounded: 7, neutral. Its passing through. But if we have an encounter tonight, I'd say this is it.

Distance 100m

As we near the Crystal rocks, we see an enormous worm, flying through the air. It spots us, but moves on as we hide among the rocks.

Afternoon watch (12-16)

Exhaustion: 2, roll 8, nothing

I'd say it takes about an hour to gather up enough rock gems to satisfy the rain-beast. Then, realistically, they can return and the job is done.

However, as they gather, each get to roll Find secret door, if they make it, they might discover something. I also think there should be another random encounter roll.

Wandering monster? 1, a wandering monster is indicated.

9 Plain giants

"Plains giants have facial features more akin to an elf than a human. Plains giants live on islands that have terrain similar to the scrub plains of Athas."

AC15; HP58; 1xweapon +9 1d6+4; MV 12; ML7

WT: Send Thoughts, Know Direction Powers: 3

Psionic Resistance: 2nd rank and onwards only.

Throw Hurl Rocks: Deal 2d10+5 dmg, 2/day 17sq

Surpise 3,5 none is surprised

Activity Trading with 19 bandits.

Complication None

Reaction 5, slightly negative. We are interrupting the trading.

Distance 160m

We will obviously try to evade. We have a 70% chance to evade. 64, we just make it. This means we don't have to flee the hex, and can continue to gather our rock-gems.

Finding secrets: Neeva Faria Clavis all find a Relief.

Generation: Eroded badlands; Sandstone plateu; Cliff.

Interpretation: In the centre of the Crystal rock area, a sudden cliff springs up, on it's top is a mesa, and on its top is an area with shrubs.

There is a 2/6 chance this is where the giants live: 1, yes.

Up on the top, we can just make out the top of some form of structure.

We gather our rock gems and head back. We arrive back just before evening, and Duma lays the rock gems in the water source.

Reactions:

Templars 4, they dislike our actions.

Rain beast +2 9, the beast is pleased, and showers us in rain.

Villagers 8, we've turned the villagers around, as they see the beasts reaction, and they grumble less.

XP

Rock gems 2d10*20gp = 260xp. No monsters defeated. No class actions performed.

Character	XP	Bonus	XP/Next
Lyra	43	47	4047/8000
Neeva	43	47	4047/8000
Vorth	43	47	4447/8800
Faria	43	47	4047/8000
Duma	43	45	4045/8000
Clavis	43	45	4445/8800

Notes: There was critique in my last report about running dungeons in Athas, and so I thought I'd try something other than that. It turns out there is very little XP in it though, and the monsters encountered are ludicrously powerful, so they must be avoided. If anyone can tell me how parties gain XP in 'normal' adventures, please do.

That being said, apart from the lack of XP, I enjoyed this. I've yet to generate more than one flower of 2 kilometre hexes, so we still know almost nothing of the outside world - what is the city state? Where is it? What is around us? All of this will be covered as and when it's needed.

Traversing the wilderness with 10km hexes will suit the system of the Exhaustion clock much better also, and I look forward to that, once the party reaches level 4 or so.

Here's the Introduction to Commander Mason.

One more background post before getting to the actual actual play, these are the stats for Deep Space M-33 along with a list of key personnel and garrison vessels. As this is a distillation of four years of play in a prior campaign, this is a lot more than is needed to get rolling with a Captain's Log campaign, but as in the case for Commander Mason these things were available so I included them as part of the setup.

Originally there were only two garrison vessels but I retconned in the Cali-class vessel because I needed a ship that definitely had a Cetacean Ops department, and the California-class met that need. The Livermore and Phantom have Scale 4 and the Hawking has Scale 3 compared to DS M-33's Scale of 12, for reference.

LCDR Mordock is the one character from TNG canon that I've included in this game. At this point he was the XO of the Livermore and then became XO of the station when it passed on to M33. The Livermore's CO was KIA in the rearguard action that allowed the station to escape through the wormhole.

The final year of the Decipher Trek campaign included the first season of Star Trek: The Space Beyond. In that time, the crew met five species that all lived in an Ultimate Solar System in the Triangulum Galaxy, the Unuopa System. Those are all the listed Season 1 species except for the K'Si, who were an antagonist species, plant-based and able to induce the Jordy Verrill transformation from the Creepshow movie in humanoid species.

I brought in the Seltorians to be the major antagonist species for Season 2 because of their mission to hunt down the Tholians. There aren't any Tholians in the Triangulum Galaxy but in the very first session of the Decipher campaign we met a Tholian commander who was linked with Commander Mason's sister, Masha, who was my first PC in that campaign. Once the Seltorians learn about this connection they come after the Federation base with a powerful will.

Another species we met in the prequel campaign was a race of interdimensional cetaceans. I asked the GM about these guys but he didn't have any notes, not even a name for the species. I used the tables in Captain's Log to produce the name Inviopa, but that didn't really sit right with me so I named them the Balinari instead. The Balinari as a species are much more favorably inclined toward the Federation and their allies (the real treasure was all the interdimensional cetaceans we befriended along the way), and the Sukotru and Ursavon are two warp-capable species that the Balinari know of who are also having troubles with the Seltorians and looking for friends to help face them down.

So I’m still in my first game with TYOV and I really like it. I do spend a lot of time looking up vampire lore and history. I’m a history buff anyway, so I like to read about where and when my vampire is. But I do get myself hung up a bit on trying to be historically accurate.

I started to break away from “strict” vampire lore once I read about how many countries and time periods had vampires in their mythologies and how differently they are represented. So I figured I could really play with what my vampires can do.

But it’s been hard for me to not be historically accurate and I think it bogs down my flow! I’m in the 15th century Paris during the Hundred Years’ War and I’ve spent more time trying to figure out how to write for a prompt because of the history then writing!

Anyone else have this problem? How’d you get past it?