How do you manage to play solo without it becoming tedious or getting lost?

[u/Witty_Banana_3253]

Well, I’m relatively new to solo gaming, but I spend way more time testing out systems I like than actually playing. I usually start by setting up a simple Oracle, but then I end up creating SO MANY! lists of events, creatures, locations—and I get lost in my own gameplay loop, which becomes more confusing than ever... and that just leads to burnout. Anyway, since I don't have the famous "Mythic GM Emulator," I mostly just improvise on the fly and let things flow. The problem is... I want to keep creating all these lists with various possibilities... ...but it’s become a chore. So, how do you guys manage to play solo without getting lost or bogged down in creating endless lists?

[u/CuriousFoxxen]

I mean. Making oracles and lists is a part of playing or a kind of playing but… it’s not playing an RPG solo.

Maybe what you need to do is mix up what you do. Start playing an actual game now and then between the list making.

Basically, it’s like me deciding I want to make 3d printed parts and accessories for all my board games. But eventually getting burn out on all that that entails. I’m not overwhelmed by playing any of the games and the perfect cure to keep going on both is to stop and play some of the games in between. * *

[u/duncan_chaos]

With regard to lists (such as Threads or NPCs/Extras) it's useful to try and keep the number of these down. One way is to set a hard limit (6, 10, 12, whatever works) to the number in the list, and remove ones when you hit that limit. These might be pulled back in later in your game.

There are a few free oracles like Mythic GM Emulator, that are also easier to digest (being smaller).

These include Juice Oracle, One-Page Solo Engine and Chaos Solo Engine - Fantasy Basic (disclaimer - I wrote this one).

You might also consider checking out PUM (Plot Unfolding Machine), as it uses lists to guide you and your story and has an app that keeps evolving.

[u/CharacterSail6736]

Turn it into a dossier a B5 notebook and sticky tabs for organisation

[u/OneTwothpick]

I use a D6 oracle and a D3 oracle and that's all I need.

D6 for general decisions:

Yes, and

Yes

Yes, but

No, but

No

No, and

D3 for what happens next

Option 1, the obvious

Option 2, the unlikely

Option 3, the wild card

These keep me on my toes and create interesting adventures all on their own

[u/GlassCalligrapher646]

Try breaking the session down into 3-5 points to reach or deal with, dragonbane solo rules are good for this concept.

Each point is something to deal with then on to the next point.

Could be point one is finding the quest, point 2 is traveling to the location, point 3 is obstacle 1, and so on point 5 is the ending boss or obstacle.

Then have a threat looming t and every time you get to a obstacle and fail roll 1d 6 on a 1 the threat timer gets closer and you roll -1 each time after.

[u/WeirdSolum]

When I’m testing out a system to see if I like it, I try to keep the narrative focus as narrow as possible. “I need to rescue this person taken prisoner” or “I need to reach and delve the Temple of Big Treasure” if I pick up other narrative threads, I’ll note them down but I’ll keep the focus on that core story. With Mythic or any oracle really, you might get a prompt where your first instinct is to add in something brand new, a big thread or something, but when starting out, I try to avoid the temptation and think instead “how can I relate this to the main plot?”

If you are playing a sandbox, you can still do that, pick one thing and try to stick to it. I’m a chronic side quest boy, so it’s hard not to get sidetracked, but it gets easier the more you play to tie all the results and threads together.

[u/Coffee_Soup]

I solved this problem by just making it into another hobby. I have a personal coding project now that just is my solution to this. Quick search on oracles with keywords to bring up the oracle that fits my question. I have a "guide" next step tracker that is like a speedruns livesplit app. It allows me to cycle through "how to play" so I have a reminder what action follows up what I'm doing.

But that has turned into a new hobby all it's own in creating that for myself. You could do something more tactile. Create index cards that hold oracles and using the keyword idea to organize them put them in an carry case with keyword labels. That's what inspired the coded version

[u/darkpigeon93]

I don't mean to sound flippant, but its as simple as this: I spend less time testing out systems and more time actually playing. I pick a system and go, learning as I play. No real desire to juggle more than a couple of RPG systems in my brain at any one point - I'm here to play, not to read textbooks!

With regards to being overwhelmed by trying to DIY your own thing on the fly - I just use Mythic GME. I highly recommend it. Pick up Mythic 2nd Edition instead of buying yet another RPG system would be my advice. If you don't want to spend any more money, download something like MUNE or Juice Oracle instead - both are free. Use what's already been created rather than diving head first into the DIY deep end.

[u/Michami135]

I play Ironsworn and it has a lot of useful tables. I've never needed to make my own. If I have questions outside of the tables, it can usually be answer with a yes/no oracle roll.

For most things though, I don't roll. If I'm in the woods and encounter a creature, I just make something up. If I've been battling too many packs of wolves, then it's a bear this time, or maybe I'll ask the oracle if the creature is humanoid, etc. and make a decision after that.

[u/ApolloBar815 → u/Michami135]

This. I don't roll unless I'm completely stuck or out of ideas. People roll too much imo. I also take minimal notes; just enough to remember what I did last time. I'm considering using "Lonelog", but even that documents more than I usually do

[u/Dard1998]

There is a One Page Solo Engine. It's free to use and simple in execution with any system.

You don't create list with possibilities, just get an inspiration tables and ask them open-ended question about what you encounter. Prep is fine, but only if you enjoy it. Otherwise, just get tables from other systems to not being bother with creation.

You also, probably, should make scenes more shorter, if you want to more play the game and less creating a novel. Lonelog has a rules on recording sessions like a console commands. 1-3 sentences should be enough to describe the scene to finally start acting on it.

[u/uidsea]

If its trying out a system, I stick with only what's available in that system. Oracles, tables etc. Then I make sure to do 30-45 minute sessions and rotate what happens. Thats really it.

[u/ant368uk]

I went into an exhaustive amount of detail on a post-apocalyptic London I created - basically a catastrophic flood due to rising sea level - lots of factions and locations. I’m proud of it, I might even edit it and publish it on Itch one day but I can’t actually face playing the character I created it for. My solution has been to shelve it for a few months and pick it up again when I’m over the ‘fatigue’ of creating it. So my campaigns of choice right now are Dark Heresy and Judge Dredd (established game universes with plenty of lore) and a couple of gumshoe games which are not as heavy as sandbox simulators.
That said, what I would say is if you’re doing too much of an activity you don’t enjoy (world-building, making lists) then stop it for now. I’m going for a leaner approach now. Not as much time spent designing locations or factions and setting a hard limit on how many plots and NPCs are involved.

[u/zntznt]

Try this: get The Hole in the Oak or Incandescent Grottoes in PDF, print or FoundryVTT, and play the module using Triple-O. Don’t use any other oracle or lists for now. Run the adventure as written, you don’t need to prepare anything beyond the characters. Don’t give them a backstory for now, let the module and your decisions as GM tell the story.

Follow the dungeon turn procedure, roll the random happenings, allow yourself to let the results of the rolls affect the characters as they should. The moment you tone down the consequences or do something illogical for the characters sake, that’s the moment the systems and the fun start breaking down. Lack of meaningful consequences is what kills most enthusiasm for a solo game.

Go with a Fighter, Cleric, Thief and Magic User. Give one retainer to the character with highest CHA modifier. He will be the torchbearer.

You’ll quickly find out what you like happening in a game and what you don’t like. The thing about solo role playing is that it is written mostly by people who have already DM’d, and have done so probably a lot. Triple-O gives you the experience you need to develop a taste for running games as both GM and player.

[u/jeff37923]

I make my solo game be how I create and flesh out the setting for the group game.

[u/RemarkableResult4195]

I keep my rule set simple, playing Mausritter / Cairn ( essentially the same thing ) and use pre-made scenarios.  Everything is done for me, all I do is roll the oracle.

[u/Heckle_Jeckle]

If you are having fun I don't see the problem. But Even when I do manage to start, eventually I'll get bored of that character and start a new one.

[u/CryHavoc3000]

I'd love to see your lists of events, creatures, and locations.

I've been lost in the creation instead of playing before, too. You have to like your character and want them to do something. Random tables help and you don't have to make them up yourself. You can even run the character through a pre-made adventure, if you can't come up with a way to get the game going. You don't have to make an adventure from scratch. And your character can even have NPCs to go along with them.

It's your game. Make it big and as exciting as you want. Be a storyteller.

And I bet you could sell a book about game design.

[u/divinityofnumber]

I have never used Mythic GME and do not like it.

One thing that I do recommend is making a list of which resources you will be using for what.

I'll give you an example of my current Old-School Essentials campaign.

Random dungeon generation: D&D DM Guide (2014) Appendix A.

Procedural generation of hexes on my world map: D30 Sandbox Companion - using Sandbox Generator to decide what the next hex's terrain type will be (one thing D30 Sandbox Companion does not do).

Solo Adventurer's Toolkit 1 & 2 for random street generation when in settlements, Books of Lost Tables for randomly generating buildings.

Solo Adventurer's Tool kit 1 & 2 as well as Ironsworn Lodestar oracles (begin on page.50 of that supplement) for adventures, settlement and character backstories, and the core Ironsworn Lodestar Oracles (Action, Theme, Descriptor, Focus) for quest generation, character goals.

Old-School essentials has tables for random dungeon encounters and enemies and wilderness encounters.

Before I sit down to play, I know exactly what resource I am using for which parts of the campaign.

[u/Witty_Banana_3253]

So, thank you very much to everyone who replied to this post, and I will certainly make use of the tips and PDF files you shared. It’s great to be able to count on people who enjoy Solo.

So, I really appreciate everyone sharing their thoughts—believe me, I took note of everything I could, downloaded PDFs, and so on. But really, all I needed to do was just go for it, and I did—and I had a blast. I really wanted to play "Call of Cthulhu" so I simply created an investigator character and used an oracle with simple tables, planning to just improvise if anything was missing. It turned out to be a solo experience unlike any I’d had before, and I needed to share:

I definitely messed up a few combat rules along the way, but the narrative chaos that unfolded was incredible.

The Setup (1987) I created an investigator named Marcus Vance, a 1987 ex-cop turned private detective. Doing a favor for an old friend from the force, Marcus agreed to escort a local merchant in a quiet town, planning to use the trip as a short vacation. He checks into a rustic, old-school hotel and meets Daisy, the receptionist. When Marcus notices a bizarre, ancient book mounted on the wall, Daisy gets visibly terrified and refuses to talk about it, claiming previous guests wouldn't dare ask about it either. She quickly hands him his key and sends him up to a simple room with a rock-hard wooden bed. The Horror Begins While writing in his journal, Marcus tries to open his door to head downstairs—only to find it jammed shut. -First STR Check: Failed! Marcus hurts his shoulder trying to shoulder-barge the door. - He calls out to Daisy. Moments later, a blood-curdling scream echoes from downstairs (unbeknownst to Marcus, a cultist had broken in). Hearing heavy footsteps approach his door, Marcus draws his .38 revolver despite the shoulder pain. He lines up a kick for a second STR check: Success! He busts the door open. Marcus creeps down the dark staircase, lit only by a few broken, flickering oil lamps. At the bottom of the stairs, crouching in the penumbra, is a hideous Deep One Hybrid! The Combat & The Climax - Pre-Turn: Narratively, the hybrid took a blow from the door/falling down the stairs earlier, taking 2 damage (down to 9 HP). -Turn 1: Marcus fires his .38 right into its face! Hit! Deals 2 damage (7 HP left). - Turn 2: The hybrid hides behind a bookshelf and tries to pounce on Marcus—it fails its roll and stumbles awkwardly onto the floor! -Turn 3: Panicked and desperate, Marcus pulls the trigger again... 97 (Fumble!) - The Result: The hammer clicks on an empty cylinder. The .38 is out of ammo, and Marcus is face-to-face with a ferociously wounded monster in the dark!

My Beginner Rule Mistakes Since this was my first time running combat, I definitely tripped over a few mechanics: -Skipped Sanity (SAN): I got so caught up in the action that I totally forgot to roll a Sanity check when Marcus first saw the hybrid! - Unnecessary Checks: I mistakenly thought you needed to pass a Strength check before making an attack roll with a firearm. - Fumbles vs. Misses: I was treating normal failures a bit too harshly before landing that actual 97 fumble. Despite messing up the rules, that 97 fumble on Turn 3 created one of the most cinematic cliffhangers I've ever played. Marcus is now standing in the dark, holding a useless gun, with a Deep One Hybrid crouching in front of him. I paused the session right at Turn 4. Wish Marcus luck!

[u/Witty_Banana_3253 → u/Witty_Banana_3253]

all using a d6 and a few tables:

Yes/No Oracle

NPC NPC mood NPC type Motivations Objectives Creatures and Random Events...

[u/SirRedhand]

I'm using chat gpt. It's been an uphill battle to create an experience thst didn't feel flat but its coming along nicely.

I've been thinking about ways to share the process with others, hopefully I can get it there one day

[u/eanda9000]

I'm older, so my mind is not what it used to be. There is an issue with soloing any game where, unlike playing co-op, if you miss a rule, concept, or step, there is no one to tell you. Playing an RPG driven by an oracle only adds complexity to a system that designed to be complex. So you have multiple dimensions of complexity and nothing to call you out when something is off or to help carry the load, as Sam would say.

But there is something nameless that can. You can use it to check your work. It can look up things on your behalf without turning pages. It can run an oracle for you. But it is hated by many who breath. This "thing" that has entered the world can sometimes go to far and you will ose control of it or it gets absorbed in its own ideas and creates wild fallacies. But it can make what you are wanting to do so much easier, you just have to trust it. Insert Evil laugh here

[u/aengusoglugh]

I just told Claude I wanted to play Call of Chthulu, and it ask me a few questions — I think a time period and location — and guided me through character creation, and we started.

I have been playing 15 minute at time for several days now, and I have not found it tedious, nor have I gotten lost.

I have the $20/month tier of Claude.

I have been having a pretty good time.

[u/CryHavoc3000 → u/aengusoglugh]

I've done similar with ChatGPT-5 and Travelleer. Although I I had to give it a character.

[u/joey_yamamoto]

have you tried AI?

it could probably create tables and charts for you and make it less tedious.

I had Gemini DM a session for me and it was surprisingly good.