I have been trying to find the perfect method for playing a roleplaying game solo for a while now (OK, some would say "obsessing" about finding it). But what makes a good solo game? What makes it perfect for use with one like Blades & Black Magic?
Surprise and A Good Story
To me, first and foremost, any solo game must tell a good story. You are not getting the interaction between players or with a Referee, so you need something to make the game more than just an exercise in rolling dice. To do that, the game must support some kind of storyline, and not just be a series of random combats or encounters.
Another key item that a solo game must support is the ability to surprise the player. Some of this should be within the storyline itself, but some needs to be within the structure of the game. This goes beyond combat, too–it can include anything from who the main villain is to where the end of the storyline will take place.
To me, first and foremost, any solo game must tell a good story.
These two features are extremely important. Obvious, yes, but it is also important to keep them in mind when looking for solutions to the solo roleplaying problem.
Simplicity At Its Finest
Yet another critical item for any good solo roleplaying game is to be dead simple. The more rules you layer on top of any existing roleplaying game, the harder it is to actually play that game.
This is my major complaint with most GM emulators and oracles. It just feels like they take on a life of their own, and you are playing that game, not the original one you wanted to play. I’ve found that this conundrum is also the hardest to crack. Every rule to handle a different situation adds to the complexity, taking you out of the game. Keep it simple.
Play It Again, Sam
Finally, an optional–yet important–feature is any good solo game must be able to be played over and over and still maintain surprise. That was an underrated feature of the old play-by-numbers games–you could make different choices and get different outcomes.
I may not always want to play a scenario or storyline again, but I might. If a solo ruleset can keep surprising me within a given scenario–especially with different villains and challenges–then that is a win.
To me, all of these factors must be accounted for in any solo roleplaying game. Each brings an aspect of roleplaying that is needed if you are playing by yourself. Ultimately, though, you as a player must decide what is important to you.
For myself, I am trying to come up with some minimalist rules to cover these factors. I am shamelessly taking parts from other games or rules that better gamers before me have produced, but cutting them down and tailoring them for use with Blades & Black Magic.
We’ll see what I come up with, but I expect it will be a process, more than a single set of rules that don’t change over time.
But what do you want out of a solo roleplaying game? Let me know in the comments below!
Marko ∞
(Originally published on middle-lands.com, on 4/12/2019.)
