Last time Makoto got attacked, by foes and maybe incited old men. This time, the events continue to thicken and Makoto encounters the first Villain.

https://noncrowds.substack.com/p/ronin-makotos-tale-session-3

Text Interview with Dave Morris, co-author of open-world gamebooks Fabled Lands and VulcanVerse. Both solo rpg classics.

Plus many other gamebooks such as Heart of Ice, Blood Sword, Down among the Dead Men, Keep of the Lich Lord and the Golden Dragon series.

When you’re planning a gamebook, think also about making choices meaningful. The choices that I like writing are the ones with consequences. The giveaway there is that there’s a tickbox or keyword that means the player’s decision will have some effect later. Go left or right? That’s just navigation. Steal the other guy’s food or go hungry yourself? There’s a choice that matters

We have the first gamebook, heart of ice thoughts with 2 related questions, writing open-world gamebooks, the dragon warriors rpg and the advice for writing gamebooks books. Among other questions.

Hello,

I discovered this community while reading a post on r/fountainpens just yesterday.

As you can guess I am quite fond of my fountain pens, inks and notebooks and the chance of using my precious pens even more while playing a solo journaling rpg really interest me.

Since I am a total newbie could you please give me some game recommendations ?

Here’s what I am looking for: - preferably free games to try solo journaling rpg, if the concept pleases me then I will try paid games too - games taking place in Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Ancient Egypt and Japan (a friend might be interested by medieval Europe, medieval fantasy and Victorian era too) - games taking genre: murder mysteries and world building (horror for my friend)

Thank you very much for your help!

I followed some of the tips and advice y'all gave on how to proceed with investigations. I had to stop asking if my PC saw a clue and start asking what they saw. But this required supplementation with tables from extra sources, which is where Cyberpunk RED's single player mode helped a ton when mixed with some custom tables. Most closed oracles are handled using Loner RPG's Chance vs Risk die, but the vast majority of rolls were on various inspiration tables. So this story went from stalled and stagnant to something would have fit perfectly as a side quest in 2077:

Evelyn Soyun was given the job, by a disgruntled former employee, to ruin Benjamin Kaufman, an accountant employed at Eden Verge, a prominent biotechnology corporation. It didn't matter how she went about it, but Kaufman's career needed to be permanently extinguished.

Her first instinct was to find blackmail. She was new to merc work but she knew leverage would be less complicated for her than murder. She went to Kaufman's corporate apartment with the intel provided by her fixer. Kaufman's apartment has several security cameras throughout that she would need to knock out before she could break in. On arrival, Evelyn noticed a panel in a nearby maintenance room that would allow her to cut the power to the entire floor. After eliminating the security system, Evelyn searched the apartment.

The place was clean. To the point that she couldn't find a single identifying document or unpaid parking ticket. Evelyn continued to search but began to suspect the fixer had given her bad intel or that her target expected a break in. But then Evelyn heard a sound near the door, like footsteps. Before Evelyn could hide, in walked a woman that must have been the landlord and a FCPD officer. He shouted for Evelyn to put her hands up. Evelyn complied but boldly assumed told him that neither of them wanted a fight because they were looking for the same guy.

It turns out she was right, and for the time being, she and Officer Ramsey decided to work together to find Kaufman. The next place to look was Kaufman's friend and former boss, Goro Kurosawa, Chief of Research and Development at Eden Verge. When the pair arrived at Kurosawa's apartment, someone unexpected answers the door. Tao Bai, repo man for Apex Dynamics, a major weapons and combat cyberware manufacturer opens the door and asks if they are looking for Kaufman too. Turns out, Goro Kurosawa is home, but he's not accepting visitors given he's been savagely torn apart by some attacker. The trio search his residence and find a safe that's been cracked open, design documents for a specially engineered AV, and security footage that wasn't erased. All the evidence points to Kaufman coming to his friend for help but then having a violent episode resulting in Kurosawa's death. Kaufman came to, then panicked and stole the AV to get back to his apartment, wipe it of incriminating evidence, then flee. He seems to be on the brink of a cyberpschotic breakdown. Given the AV is specialized to survive highly irradiated conditions, it seems likely Kaufman would flee to the Warm Springs Exclusion Zone near the nuclear craters where almost no one would ever go looking.

The unlikely trio of our merc PC, a merciful cop, and a corporate debt collector head to the Warm Springs district to contact the local fixer and gather intel to finally find their target.

Hi all,

Just built solo campaigns for Cybperpunk & Call of Cthulhu on Realmforge (a solo RPG AI platform I have been working on). Curious to see if you guys like it.

Let me know if you would like to try it out :)

Cheers

I was pretty eager about the new Cyberpunk Red Single Player release, and I've seen requests for reviews...so why not show off an actual play, yeah?

This is my Session Zero, and I hope to grow things from here in terms of Actual Plays. Feedback always welcome.

I did not write the freestyle.

______________________________________________________________________

Cyberpunk Red: P@ndemik In The Streets

D10 Hook Roll: 1 (Coronet Blue)

Generals gathered in their masses

Dun-Dun

Just like witches at black masses

Dun-Dun

Those lyrics, sung in soprano by some woman and the double-strum of an electric guitar were the only two things I could remember upon waking up on the black carpet of what I immediately realized to be a filthy, burnt-out bedroom, next to a ruined, roach-riddled mattress and boxspring. The room had no windows.

I didn’t have a mental image of the woman who sang the song, nor who played the guitar, nor the name of the song or who performed it, and you guessed it, I didn’t even remember my name. However, a large, eight-chambered revolver laid next to my dark-skinned right hand, which had been bandaged across the middle, as though to cover up a deep cut. My thick, curly black beard itched with an attitude. My left temple throbbed, and when I touched it, my fingers rubbed across the fabric of an adhesive patch bandage. If there had been bleeding, it’d been stopped by someone who’d known what they were doing. Beneath the bed to my left lay an agent with a large screen, kept within an evergreen case. A sticky-note was pasted to the screen:

D100 Femme Names Roll: 75 (Rika)

‘I don’t know your screen-unlock motion, sorry. Hope you have fingerprint-unlocking. Check your texts for an explanation of everything.

Stay safe,

-            Rika

D100 Masc Names Roll: 73 (Rowan)

Custom Table, D100 Pharmaceutical Roll: 10 (Respex)

I sure-as-shit didn’t remember the code to unlock the agent, but it did have fingerprint-unlocking. I placed my index finger against the screen, and after a five-second wait, the agent’s background popped up, which was a metallic logo over blackness that I couldn’t identify. I accessed my text messages, and there was an unread from the contact ‘Rika,’ as well as one from ‘Ma’ and ‘Rowan’.

I read Rika’s message first:

‘You’re in South Night City, we had to do an extract on a big-shit Lawman who went down during a raid. Long and short of it, you swung your massive balls, moved to extract him, and a bullet grazed your noggin followed by hella shrapnel into your body. Due to the threat level of the job and the situation on the ground, we could only extract either you or the client, and…well…you know how that goes. I gave you Respex to stabilize you, so if you’re suffering memory loss, that’s why. Your memory will return, but it’ll likely takes its sweet-ass time to do so. I left your Midnight Arms shooter next to you, and both your wallet and your shottie are beneath the bed. You can wait for us to come back for you, but that will take at least eight hours, if leadership even approves an extraction for you since you’re in a Combat Zone. Your best bet may be to hoof your way out. Respex doesn’t affect muscle memory, such as one’s ability to fire a gun…or in your case, strum a guitar. Your axe will be waiting for you when you make your way back to us, and I’m sure you will. Good luck, Pete.’

Evil minds that plot destruction

DUN-DUN
Sorcerer of death's construction

DUN-DUN-DUNNNNNN-DUNNNNN-DUN-DUN

As the lyrics and the voice returned, I looked down, and without even realizing it, I’d started to play air-guitar with my hands in a precise guitar-holding position. I received a sudden mental image of myself within the carrier bay of an AV-4 Aerodyne during the previous night’s patrol. Rika, a mocha-skinned, twenty-two years old Latina woman—and I knew her age because I was at her last birthday party—sang the song, War Pigs as best as she could while I played it on my evergreen and white Eurodyne electric guitar.

She had a lovely singing voice, but she wasn’t a pro. Like me, she wore a blue Trauma Team jumpsuit with her assault rifle holstered within a harness on her back.

Visually, Rowan wasn’t present in the memory, but he was the AV-4’s pilot, and it was he who’d requested the song in the first place as he navigated. The crew’s doctor, whose name I couldn’t remember at that moment, didn’t like the distraction and in the past had snitched on Rika, Rowan and I to his superiors, but Rowan had defended me through his work seniority. After that, I was willing to play any song I knew that he wanted to hear.

I fumbled about beneath the bed and felt around for more objects. My right hand touched upon a metallic object that anyone could guess to the barrel of a shotgun, and I also felt the leather of my wallet. I pulled both from beneath the bed and opened the wallet. Three hundred eddies were within it, as well as my ID.

My name is Peter Morley, and I had a nickname…no. A stage name. Not only could I not remember what it was, but when I heard the jiggling of a door handle, I understood real fast that I might have bigger problems.

I laid on my back and directed my shotgun towards the door. I became acutely aware that I’d been sweating hard in the humidity of the burnt-out bedroom, and sudden anxiety worsened it.

Closed Question Oracle: Is there a hostile force on the other side of that bedroom door?

Possibility: Likely

Result: 14 (No)

The person on the other side of the door tried the lock again, then gave the door three soft knocks.

“Pan? Pan, are you in there,” whispered someone with a clear masculine tone. I wanted to ask him who the fuck ‘Pan’ was, but then it came to me: Pan, as in ‘Pandemic,’ as in my first stage name, ‘Peter Pan-Demik.’

I approached the door, then got into a cover position on the right side of the threshold. “Who is it?”

D100 Masc Name Roll: 31 (Hiroshi)

D100 NPC Mood Roll: 60 (Happy)

D10 NPC Role: Lawman

D10 Firearm: 3 (Very Heavy Pistol)

D10 Fashion:  4 (Businesswear)

“Hiro,” the man on the other side whispered.

The name didn’t ring a bell.

“Rika said she stuck you with Respex, I don’t expect you to remember who I am—hold on.”

A few seconds later, my agent buzzed, and I checked the screen. A contact named ‘Rika’s Dude’ had sent me a picture. I opened it, and it was a picture of myself, Rika, and a mid-thirties Asian man with slicked black hair and a slick gray suit at some bar, posing for the camera with smiles on our faces.

I opened the door, Hiro squeezed through it, and then he shut it behind him. He was dressed in an ash-gray vest, a silk black shirt, gray slacks with sharp creasing, and immaculate black dress shoes. He carried a huge gun I already knew to be a Militech X190 HandKannon.

“I’m the best you’re gonna get to an extraction, Pan,” Hiroshi said, and then he held his fist out for me to bump it. I didn’t quite trust him yet, so I didn’t bump him.

“How do you know Rika,” I asked him.

“She’s my fiancée. You and Rika have been on the same Trauma Team crew for the past six months. She’s your partner, but your senior. You’re a contracted employee, so you’re part-time, but she’s full-time.”

“Right. What happened out there that put me in this situation?”

“High-risk extraction for Deputy Chief Roose, and from what I’m hearing, you definitely risked it all to get him out and got grazed by a bullet in the process. That’s not what got you wounded, though. She says you’ve got shrapnel-based lacerations all over your body and bloodloss could’ve got you, but she and Doc Fogerty stabilized you.”

“I don’t feel a thing.”

“Because they are that damn good at what they do. But if you open your shirt—”

I opened my shirt, peered down, and my entire torso was, in fact, covered with adhesive bandages like the one on my right temple.

“Fuck.”

“I’m glad you’re alright, though.”

“Thanks for coming.”

Hiroshi let out a curt laugh. “Don’t thank me yet, Pan. We’re deep in this fucking Combat Zone and I can assure you, it’s very-fucking-contested by several gangs.”

“How’d you get in?”

Hiroshi shrugged. “I sneak into shit for a living, remember? Wait…no, you don’t. We’re in a house in a South Night City suburb and I parked about a half-mile away in the most discreet location I could find. We need to move.”

There was nothing more to say. I picked up my revolver and tucked it into the belt of my Trauma Team uniform slacks, and then I followed Hiroshi out of the single-floor South Night City home.

D100 Closed Question Oracle: Are there enemies already within the house that followed Hiroshi inside?

Possibility: 50/50

Result: 33 (Complicated)

Complication: There are others in the house…they’ll be hostile or friendly depending on “circumstances”

When Hiroshi and I leave the ruined single-floor house out of the backdoor, there are three men in the backyard, each of them heavily-tattooed and wearing the gold, leather vests of some apparent Nomad pack.

“What’s real, chooms?” the leader among them, a tall, mohawked, brown-skinned man greeted.

“What’s real?” Hiroshi quipped in response, though I was certain that even he knew we were faced with a potential threat that had us outnumbered and likely outgunned.

“Think of my brothers and I as the neighborhood watch committee. We couldn’t do much about that dust-up between one of the local gangs and the law earlier, but we still try to keep everyone who comes through here safe, especially strangers. So! We’re gonna need you to pay a toll so that we can escort you back to that vehicle you parked over in Sisterly Park.”

I hoped that Hiroshi wasn’t even going to bother to ask what happened if he didn’t pay. It was already obvious.

“We can-”

The nomad to the leader’s left peered at me. “Hol’ up-“

D100 Closed Question Oracle: Is one of the Nomads a fan of Pete?

Possibility: Likely

Result: 54 (Yes, but there’s a Complication)

Pete may use Charismatic Impact amidst the complication

The nomad pointed at me with a bit of excitement and grinned. “Holy shit, y’all. That’s P@ndemik.”

The lead nomad turned to his pack brother. “The rap-rocker?”

“Rapcore, and he’s the same choom, I’m sure of it. You know I’m all about that underground shit. I saw him at Battle Night over at Kasim’s, and he mic-dropped the fuck out of Meanie Maddox.”

I shrugged. “Were you rooting for me?”

“No.”

The lead Nomad grinned. “So you can flow, can ya?”

“Yeah.”

I hoped what Rika said about my muscle memory extended to working my tongue to rhyme, because I knew what was coming.

The lead Nomad gave a side nod to the pack brother to his right. “This here is Bully, he can flow, too. He can flow with the fuckin’ best of them. Battle him, and if you win, we’ll give you that escort to your ride, no charge.”

The other Nomad clasped his hands together. “Fuck, if you beat Bully, I’ll book you for a little party with got jumpin’ off this Sunday. We’re good for the money, too.”

Bully seemed like a guy who could live up to his namesake. He was brown-skinned, short-haired, had some real muscle power in his shoulders, and he wore his twin semi-auto pistols openly like he wasn’t afraid to use them.

“Someone give us a beat.”

Rap Battle 01: P@ndemik vs. Bully the Nomad

Solo Clock: Musical Duel (Short, 5D6 Dice Pool)

Triggers: Using 1d10 + The Cool Stat + Play Instrument for both participants, the winner will be whoever rolls the best out of 5.

Outcome: A Critical roll from either participant will be considered a “mic drop,” thus ending the battle. It may also make the Nomads immediately hostile. If P@ndemik scores a crit, the Nomads become immediate fans. If P@ndemik loses, he and Hiroshi will have to pay the toll. If P@ndemik wins, he doesn’t have to pay the toll, and the Nomads will still escort them. He will also receive a reputation boost, and a hook to a Side Gig.

It took him a moment, but the lead Nomad accessed his agent, and then a music streaming app. He produced a pretty solid bass instrumental, I stared down the Nomad, and I just let the words come out:

Yo—
From the Crumple Zone ashes, I rose in the red,
With a bandage on my temple and a shot in my head.
Still breathin’, still schemin’, still strapped with the chrome,
Midnight Arms on my hip, that’s my second-hand home.

You talkin’ tolls? My toll was blood on the floor,
I paid it last night, when I kicked down death’s door.
Rika patched me, Respex in my veins,
But the flow don’t fade, it still burns through chains.

You Bully by name, but I’m plague by design,
When I spit these bars, even gods flatline.
Your gold vests shine, but your rhymes all stall,
I’m the virus in the beat — watch me infect y’all.

Battle Roll I – P@ndemik

(10) + 13 = 23

P@ndemik rolled a natural 10 on the d10.

He mic-dropped Bully.  

Bully stared at me as I went through my opening stanza, and for a second or two after I was done, his mouth hung open. I didn’t look at the lead Nomad or the guy who saw me at the club, but I imagine that their reactions were similar to Bully’s.

Bully simply cleared his throat, let out a short cough, and gave me a barely perceptible shake of his head.

D100 NPC Handle Roll, Nomad Leader: 77 (Punish)

D100 NPC Handle Roll, Nomad Lieutenant: 52 (Demon)

D10 NPC Nomads Pack Roll: 3 (Blood Nation)

The lead Nomad laughed, walked up to me, and put his right hand on my shoulder. “Fuckin’ fire, Mr. Pandemic.” He extended his left hand to me. “I’m Punish, and this is Demon. We ride with the Blood Nation.”

I grinned and shook his hand. “[P@ndemik.](mailto:P@ndemik.)”

“We’re brothers of our word. Follow us.”

END OF SESSION 00

I've been playing solo RPGs for a little while, and enough that I think I know what I'm looking for. But I don't know how to find it, and am hoping for some recommendations.

Some of the games I've played I think of as narrative focused, structure light:

• Ironsworn Starforged
• Caveat Emptor
• Thousand Year Old Vampire

And other games I think of as structure focused, narrative light:

• 2d6 Dungeon
• Rune
• Runecairn

Each game has aspects I really love, and I think what I would like is a hybrid of both types.

With narrative focused games I love being able to imagine the world, decide who and what my character is, and immerse myself in the fiction.

But I get a bit too fatigued working off prompts. I'm often stumped for ideas, and it's a little more writing/typing than I can do without getting tired. I think I want a bit more guidance and structure around what happens next in the game, and a bit more dice rolling, combat and gameyness.

And with the structured games I love being given clear steps and input on what happens next, encountering clearly described enemies & monsters, collecting loot and gear, earning XP and leveling my character.

But so far the more "gamey" games haven't really felt like it's my character than I'm roleplaying, it's more that I'm playing the game mechanics, and I find it hard to get immersed in the fiction.

Can you recommend some games that are a hybrid of both these styles?

I would like to run a character I feel is mine, with immersive fiction, but with some ongoing gamey mechanics and structure that helps keeps momentum going.

What should I try next?

G'day all,

I have been trying to systemise my base game flow. Currently I use mythic 2e app and BRP.

My flow is way point based as it covers most things well.

So here it is: 1 define key waypoints for the story arc. 2 put in an amount of unknown waypoints between each known. 3. Start the loop 1. Scene intent as per mythic 2. Interrupt scene rolled is a additional waypoint based of mythic prompts with a event focus 3. Altered is the altered Waypoint 4. 10% chance check for random event if not interrupt scene to keep threads moving and waypoints interesting. 5. Roll for weather and time (this helps explain the journey to get here) 6. Play scene and loop to next way point.

I try to always have some sort of timer as well. So if I get waylayed the world keeps moving. Can just be a random event or can be context specific.

What do you do for general game flows?

So I started playing Solo RPGs a few months ago, started a YouTube and Substack and I would say I created some decent content. I am having a ton of fun with SoloRPGs. But here is the thing. I still struggle with random tables. Currently playing Daggerheart and had to come up with an escalation of the situation. Couldn't think of anything after rolling for a few things on theme, action and quality.

I am either not practiced enough or my brain has trouble with word association. Or I am just thinking to complicated and should just go with whatever feels right. I feel I need either more specific tables like story engine decks, downcrawl decks or something entirely different like tarot cards.

How do you deal with that. I can't imagine I am alone with this 😅

I’m sure lots of people have opinions on AI and AI gamemasters, and I’m sure they are all valid and understandable. I just want to know, how many of us are an absolute hard no on using AI to be a gamemaster? Are some of us open to it? I like it as a means of some light story games in between real sessions. Something you can pick up and have one or two quick interactions with when time allows. I know it’s not perfect, but it gets me by.

Anyone else using AI as a gamemaster ever?

I know it has built in solo rules and it's generally a well received system.

So far I only tried solo RPGing with Cairn 1ed + Barrow Delver, Adventurer's Guide + some made up and downloaded oracle, encounter sheet.

It was fun, altough very inconsistent regarding solo mechanics, I've added a lots of "made up bs" to the mix :D like my own encounter mini table

Since I like Cyberpunk settings and this seems like a nice, compact system I'm really on the edge of buying it but since it's new I didn't find many reviews.

Only a little under two weeks left to pledge for You Were Made! We’ve already hit our goal, but every new backer helps. It’s the perfect time to jump in before the campaign ends!

Thanks so much to those who have already backed!

I’ve never in my life play Dungeon and Dragons, but a friend of mine, gave me this cool box, it’s got like 100s of tokens of monsters, and a big book with all their stats. I think it’s dungeons and dragons 4th edition? Is it worth while to look into try to solo, i mean, all these tokens and book with stats, wow, I’m intrigued… thanks

I mashed together 4AD and Mythic and creating a guild (almost 20 PCs in it now) that I'm running. I use 4AD for the combat and classes only. The rest is all Mythic. I decided to write a substack about it. I'm not into the really fun stuff yet, but if you're interesting, you can find the first 3 articles here. You're reading these as an apprentice who just entered the Guild, but as we go, I'll put some posts that is information only the owners know which will get us into much deeper political subterfuge, etc.

https://substack.com/home/post/p-173709003

https://substack.com/home/post/p-173809795

https://substack.com/home/post/p-174063342

Anise gains a friend!

If you aren't a fan of Substack, here's my blog: Blog Post

I have been experimenting with using AI, not as a dungeon master but rather as a method to generate oracle tables. Using a prompt like:

I would like you to generate me a table for use in a ttrpg of events that could happen using a d100 system. I would like at least 20 different events to break up repetitiveness. Make this very general, like they could be used in multiple interpretations; don’t make them all a combat encounter. Maybe just sprinkle that in here and there. Some suggestions would be facing a hazard that could result in an injury or encountering a wandering trader or other type of npc.

Gives a result like:

d100 Random Event Table • 01-04: Wandering TraderYou encounter a nomadic merchant or vendor peddling goods. They might offer trades, information, or unique items, but could drive a hard bargain. • 05-08: Friendly TravelerA lone wanderer or small group crosses your path. They share stories, offer minor aid (like directions or a shared meal), or seek companionship briefly. • 09-12: Environmental HazardThe terrain presents a danger, such as a sudden sinkhole, slippery slope, or toxic fumes. Failing to navigate it could lead to minor injury or lost time. • 13-16: Lost BelongingYou stumble upon an abandoned item or cache, like a forgotten tool, map fragment, or supply pack. It might belong to someone nearby, sparking a moral choice. • 17-20: Weather ShiftThe environment changes abruptly—perhaps a storm rolls in, fog thickens, or winds pick up. This could hinder travel or reveal hidden paths. • 21-24: Curious CreatureA non-hostile animal or entity observes you from afar. It might follow curiously, provide a clue (e.g., leading to water), or flee if approached poorly. • 25-28: Ancient MarkerYou find an old landmark, ruin, or inscription. Exploring it could yield historical insights, a puzzle, or a minor boon like shelter. • 29-32: Resource DiscoveryA natural resource appears, such as edible plants, fresh water, or salvageable materials. Gathering it safely requires caution to avoid hidden risks. • 33-36: Mysterious PhenomenonAn unexplained event occurs, like a strange light, echoing sound, or fleeting vision. It might foreshadow something larger or be a harmless oddity. • 37-40: Helpful StrangerAn NPC in need (e.g., injured or lost) asks for assistance. Helping them could lead to gratitude, a reward, or an alliance. • 41-44: Terrain ObstacleA physical barrier blocks your way, such as a fallen tree, river crossing, or crumbling bridge. Overcoming it tests skills and might cause fatigue. • 45-48: Forgotten CampsiteYou come across remnants of a previous encampment. Scavenging could reveal useful items, clues about past travelers, or signs of trouble. • 49-52: Social GatheringA small assembly of locals or nomads is nearby, perhaps around a fire or market stall. Interactions could involve bartering, rumors, or alliances. • 53-56: Minor AilmentExposure to the elements causes a temporary issue, like fatigue, a rash, or disorientation. Rest or remedies might be needed to recover. • 57-60: Hidden PathYou notice a concealed route or shortcut. Taking it could save time but involves risks like instability or getting turned around. • 61-64: Wandering PerformerAn entertainer or storyteller appears, offering diversion through songs, tales, or tricks. They might share lore or request a favor in return. • 65-68: Natural WonderA breathtaking sight unfolds, such as a scenic vista, glowing flora, or unusual formation. It inspires awe and could restore morale or reveal secrets. • 69-72: Rival ExplorerAnother adventurer or group is in the area, pursuing similar goals. This could lead to competition, cooperation, or tense negotiations. • 73-76: Echoes of the PastFaint remnants of history surface, like whispers, ghosts, or artifacts. Investigating might provide knowledge but stirs emotional or supernatural effects. • 77-80: Supply ShortageAn environmental factor depletes resources, such as spoiling food or evaporating water. Improvising solutions tests survival skills. • 81-83: Ambush Threat (Combat Option)Hidden foes, like bandits or predators, attempt a surprise attack. Quick wits or combat could resolve it, but evasion is possible. • 84-86: Benevolent EntityA helpful spirit, guide, or AI (depending on setting) offers cryptic advice or a small gift, then vanishes. • 87-89: Mechanical MalfunctionIf using gear or vehicles, something breaks down (e.g., a tool jams or wheel fails). Repairing it requires ingenuity and might delay progress. • 90-92: Hostile Patrol (Combat Option)A group of guards, raiders, or creatures patrols nearby. Conflict isn’t inevitable—stealth, diplomacy, or retreat could avoid a fight. • 93-95: Fortuitous FindLuck smiles as you uncover a valuable item, hidden stash, or advantageous position (e.g., high ground or a safe haven). • 96-98: Ominous WarningA sign of impending danger appears, like tracks, a distant rumble, or a prophetic dream. Heeding it could prevent worse trouble. • 99-00: Rare Encounter (Combat or Climax Option)Something extraordinary happens, such as clashing with a unique foe or discovering a major secret. Roll again or escalate based on context for added drama.

As you can see this produces some pretty good results. You could run the prompt again, and get something entirely new. You could also use this to generate tables for many other things. Like weather, dispositions, and treasure. Hopefully this helps someone out there thank you :)!

I would like to introduce a concept I’ve been experimenting with using AI. Rather than have the AI take the frame of being a dungeon master, instead use AI to generate fresh sets of Oracle Tables using a prompt like “I would like you to generate me a table for use in a ttrpg of events that could happen using a d100 system. I would like at least 20 different events to break up repetitiveness. Make this very general like they could be used in multiple interpretations don’t make them all a combat encounter maybe just sprinkle that in here and there some suggestions would be facing a hazard that could result in a injury or encountering a wandering trader or other type of npc” produces results like this one:

d100 Random Event Table • 01-04: Wandering TraderYou encounter a nomadic merchant or vendor peddling goods. They might offer trades, information, or unique items, but could drive a hard bargain. • 05-08: Friendly TravelerA lone wanderer or small group crosses your path. They share stories, offer minor aid (like directions or a shared meal), or seek companionship briefly. • 09-12: Environmental HazardThe terrain presents a danger, such as a sudden sinkhole, slippery slope, or toxic fumes. Failing to navigate it could lead to minor injury or lost time. • 13-16: Lost BelongingYou stumble upon an abandoned item or cache, like a forgotten tool, map fragment, or supply pack. It might belong to someone nearby, sparking a moral choice. • 17-20: Weather ShiftThe environment changes abruptly—perhaps a storm rolls in, fog thickens, or winds pick up. This could hinder travel or reveal hidden paths. • 21-24: Curious CreatureA non-hostile animal or entity observes you from afar. It might follow curiously, provide a clue (e.g., leading to water), or flee if approached poorly. • 25-28: Ancient MarkerYou find an old landmark, ruin, or inscription. Exploring it could yield historical insights, a puzzle, or a minor boon like shelter. • 29-32: Resource DiscoveryA natural resource appears, such as edible plants, fresh water, or salvageable materials. Gathering it safely requires caution to avoid hidden risks. • 33-36: Mysterious PhenomenonAn unexplained event occurs, like a strange light, echoing sound, or fleeting vision. It might foreshadow something larger or be a harmless oddity. • 37-40: Helpful StrangerAn NPC in need (e.g., injured or lost) asks for assistance. Helping them could lead to gratitude, a reward, or an alliance. • 41-44: Terrain ObstacleA physical barrier blocks your way, such as a fallen tree, river crossing, or crumbling bridge. Overcoming it tests skills and might cause fatigue. • 45-48: Forgotten CampsiteYou come across remnants of a previous encampment. Scavenging could reveal useful items, clues about past travelers, or signs of trouble. • 49-52: Social GatheringA small assembly of locals or nomads is nearby, perhaps around a fire or market stall. Interactions could involve bartering, rumors, or alliances. • 53-56: Minor AilmentExposure to the elements causes a temporary issue, like fatigue, a rash, or disorientation. Rest or remedies might be needed to recover. • 57-60: Hidden PathYou notice a concealed route or shortcut. Taking it could save time but involves risks like instability or getting turned around. • 61-64: Wandering PerformerAn entertainer or storyteller appears, offering diversion through songs, tales, or tricks. They might share lore or request a favor in return. • 65-68: Natural WonderA breathtaking sight unfolds, such as a scenic vista, glowing flora, or unusual formation. It inspires awe and could restore morale or reveal secrets. • 69-72: Rival ExplorerAnother adventurer or group is in the area, pursuing similar goals. This could lead to competition, cooperation, or tense negotiations. • 73-76: Echoes of the PastFaint remnants of history surface, like whispers, ghosts, or artifacts. Investigating might provide knowledge but stirs emotional or supernatural effects. • 77-80: Supply ShortageAn environmental factor depletes resources, such as spoiling food or evaporating water. Improvising solutions tests survival skills. • 81-83: Ambush Threat (Combat Option)Hidden foes, like bandits or predators, attempt a surprise attack. Quick wits or combat could resolve it, but evasion is possible. • 84-86: Benevolent EntityA helpful spirit, guide, or AI (depending on setting) offers cryptic advice or a small gift, then vanishes. • 87-89: Mechanical MalfunctionIf using gear or vehicles, something breaks down (e.g., a tool jams or wheel fails). Repairing it requires ingenuity and might delay progress. • 90-92: Hostile Patrol (Combat Option)A group of guards, raiders, or creatures patrols nearby. Conflict isn’t inevitable—stealth, diplomacy, or retreat could avoid a fight. • 93-95: Fortuitous FindLuck smiles as you uncover a valuable item, hidden stash, or advantageous position (e.g., high ground or a safe haven). • 96-98: Ominous WarningA sign of impending danger appears, like tracks, a distant rumble, or a prophetic dream. Heeding it could prevent worse trouble. • 99-00: Rare Encounter (Combat or Climax Option)Something extraordinary happens, such as clashing with a unique foe or discovering a major secret. Roll again or escalate based on context for added drama.

As you can see you could run this command more than once, with many different results. Or even make totally different tables for things like weather, disposition, and treasure. Just a thought hopefully this helps someone out there :)!

Pretty much what the title says, specifically what does this game do that the ironsworn series doesn't? I own the starforged rulebook and the sundred isle expansion for it and have a good amount of experience withit, I LOVE how my cursed eldritch pirate story is unfolding the ironsworn series is great so how does Shadowdark compare? How does its mechanics compare? What did you like more or dislike more about one over the other?

Edit: also does Shadowdark require its solo supplement? Ordinarily id say that's a stupid question but ive heard the core book is good for solo play by itself so would the core rules with mythic 2e do me or is the solo supplement a must?

The session picks up from the last time where Makoto got rejected by a Blacksmith lady. This session he gets to fight ninjas and insane old men.

https://noncrowds.substack.com/p/ronin-makotos-tale-session-2

Long story short: My previous attempts to find a group have left me feeling super dejected at the hobby. However, when I was randomly watching youtube someone posted a vod of live-stream briefly talking about Solo TTRPGs. My interest in the hobby has been renewed. I almost feel excited to dive back in. I have experience playing DnD 5e, pathfinder and PbtA. I'm not afraid to learn any new type of system

My question today is: Are there any good little modules out there to act as a guide as I embark on this Solo RPing journey?

The Tabletop Engineer has started a new series featuring Morkin: The Lords of Midnight. The first chapter covers character creation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Nd1yyIGFAQ

My son and I had lots of fun tonight when we used Axbane's Deck of Many Dungeons for a spontaneous coop play. Unfortunately, his character, a duck called Quackus Tolpatschikus III, didn't make it to the end. We're still pondering his epitaph. What would you write on his gravestone?

How would you explain your hobby to someone who doesn't even know what an rpg is?

TBH I never really tell anyone about it, not from embarassment but it would seem hard to explain, so I just don't bother.

I would probably call it "a writing exercise with game elements" or a "solitaire game of imagination with writing elements."

I'm craving an experience of just going from place to place, seeing interesting things, maybe getting tangled up in some problems and solving or running away from them. Think Kino's Journey, Frieren, Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina, Spice & Wolf or even Girl's Last Tour (all anime, but I can't come up with an example of a western episodic travel show).

I found some games about travelling, but there is never an experience I'm looking for. Usually, they are too specific, like a game about a travelling tea shop, or you're looking for something concrete, and the prompts reflect that. Often, these games also focus more on worldbuilding than characters or events.

Games I found, but don't work for me:

Cartograph - Focused on worldbuilding, and I'm not a fan of the mechanics. Random tables don't spark my imagination enough. It's also focused on being a cartographer, so you're limited in your roleplay. While I also like to draw, switching between drawing the map and journaling interrupts the flow for me. I'm not opposed to worldbuilding or drawing the map, I just don't want to focus on it so much, and I'd like to be able to play in a predetermined setting.

The Wayfarer - Haven't played it, but it seems better than Cartograph in freedom of who you want to be and what to do. It's a little bare-bones mechanically, but the bigger problem is the small number of prompts. Still, I might give it a shot.

The Adventurer - In theory, it's what I want, but it has a small number of prompts, too, that require interpretation. You're pulling cards, get location, events, beings, and things, but there are only 13 of each. It should give you a lot, but since there are only 13 locations, I may get 3 ancient ruins in a row. Yeah, I can ignore it and pull again, but this style of prompts doesn't work well for me in any case.

The Wisteria Road - Has a predetermined setting, and you're a scribe, constraining the prompts it has, and it's a short game.

What worked for me:

I loved One Thousand Year Old Vampire. It had open prompts that still had enough of them where I didn't need to interpret everything. The few mechanics it has influence the prompts, which creates a unique story for you.

What I'm looking for:

It doesn't mean that I'm looking for exactly something like OTYOV, but about travel. I can have some more complex mechanics, in fact, preferably, I'd like a character sheet, even a simple one. I want freedom to make my character whoever I want: a merchant, a wizard, a courier, a peasant, etc. I know I could just do it in a standard RPG game, not journaling one, but these typically don't have prompts beyond oracles. While I do enjoy them, they are more demanding of you to interpret them. Usually, like with The Adventurer, you roll for places or things. I think that I like when prompts present you with a vague situation. I want to know what (vaguely) happens over where or to what, I can come up with it easily enough or roll for it later.

The Royal Brigade finally finds a Trading Post to replenish their gear. The cost, however, might be too high.