I study solo play games, because I want to DM adventures for others. It seems to me that multi-player DM'ed Tabletop RPGs have drifted over time to emphasize Roleplaying over Game, and the rules of RPGs seem to have drifted that way as well. Some have even completely removed all Game mechanics. But I love the Game, and where I am finding the Game is in Games like D100 Dungeon and other solo-play environments (including: the vast majority of computer games.) So I find myself watching videos like yours, to understand the G in RPG, so I can try my hand at running a multi-player game incorporating the methods of these single-player games.
I want to add -- for me, OSR isn't about "simpler." I don't care if rules are simple or complex. What I care about in OSR is "Game." That there's a game, there are goals, there is progression. The dungeon (or the world at large) is like a puzzle to be solved. Some skills matter, some don't, and how to apply them: It's about solving a problem. You have to solve the dream-logic of the game environment to advance.
Thanks for watching and I agree that OSR provides the gameness many of us craved. And in my opinion, a solid game structure is what distinguishes RPG from Journal Games / Writing exercise :)
I like the way you have the actual rendering of the role playing....a list of obstacles, challenge rating, advance when skill check succeeds and a consequence when a skill check fails.... i would love to do this with D&D 5e. And you can always go back and novelize your adventure if it is a success.
This is a great video. I like the way you do not rely on an oracle to make decisions and how you minimize journaling. This has inspired me to try something similar.
Rogueland is one of my favorite games! Nice to see it get played. Good point about the soloist question trap...I think its the balance of solo play that is most challenging...how much to gamify vs. story tell - nice vid!
Great video. Would love to see you check out Mörk Börg with the Solitary Defilement supplement for solo play. Keep up the great work, I love how your videos aren't all about hairy, fairy, beardy, weirdy fantasy shite 😂
A great presentation of a very interesting set of rules for The soloist. Thank you for putting in the time marks, that's a great add to the value of your video. also your narration of the rules was to the point and moved along while giving a pretty complete picture. Really good video, thank you. I am now a subscriber.🙂
I really like the idea of using the Dungeon Hero mechanics for journaling and the 6 x 6 Tales for overland travel. I'll have to give it a go! Also, I think Solitary Defilement has a great way of doing an exploration/dungeon crawl/micro crawl. If you want a PBTA style solo game.
Thanks! and Yes, Solitary Defilement is great! Love that it is slowly narrowing the dungoeons so you will get to your objective room without needing to spend too many oracle rolls to get there!
I enjoyed how you added the Dungeon Hero system. I'm wondering if it would have made things a bit more interesting to have a roll for the difficulty rating (like in Dungeon Hero). In this case when you have Faint sounds 7 and Monster 12, the monster is always going to have the stronger effect. If there is a roll involved it can add to the narrative- maybe faint sounds ends up being higher than monster (maybe the faint sounds are more important because another monster shows up?)
This game looks fantastic except for the fact that there are no mechanical differences between characters. I really wish these small games had classes or professions or something.
I study solo play games, because I want to DM adventures for others. It seems to me that multi-player DM'ed Tabletop RPGs have drifted over time to emphasize Roleplaying over Game, and the rules of RPGs seem to have drifted that way as well. Some have even completely removed all Game mechanics. But I love the Game, and where I am finding the Game is in Games like D100 Dungeon and other solo-play environments (including: the vast majority of computer games.) So I find myself watching videos like yours, to understand the G in RPG, so I can try my hand at running a multi-player game incorporating the methods of these single-player games.
I want to add -- for me, OSR isn't about "simpler." I don't care if rules are simple or complex. What I care about in OSR is "Game." That there's a game, there are goals, there is progression. The dungeon (or the world at large) is like a puzzle to be solved. Some skills matter, some don't, and how to apply them: It's about solving a problem. You have to solve the dream-logic of the game environment to advance.
Thanks for watching and I agree that OSR provides the gameness many of us craved. And in my opinion, a solid game structure is what distinguishes RPG from Journal Games / Writing exercise :)
I like the way you have the actual rendering of the role playing....a list of obstacles, challenge rating, advance when skill check succeeds and a consequence when a skill check fails....
i would love to do this with D&D 5e.
And you can always go back and novelize your adventure if it is a success.
Hey, I recognize some of those illustrations! Great video, so happy to see Rogueland gettin' more love.
Love your artwork! Wish we can see a bigger version of them in the future. And Those are some of the smallest signatures I have ever seen :)
This is a great video. I like the way you do not rely on an oracle to make decisions and how you minimize journaling. This has inspired me to try something similar.
Glad you find it helpful!! Oracle / Journaling are great tools but at the same time they can become the blocker for soloist :)
An RPG game system I have fell in love with is D100 DUNGEON Mapping game with Martin Knight books!
Brilliant solo guide, Thank You!
I love your channel and the content you cover. It's my go to solo channel now. Thank you!
Well done. I will definitely be stealing some ideas for my own solo sessions.
That journal’s awesome
Rogueland is one of my favorite games! Nice to see it get played. Good point about the soloist question trap...I think its the balance of solo play that is most challenging...how much to gamify vs. story tell - nice vid!
Oh did I need this! Thank you sooo much! My rules light and osr games leave this out. Focusing on combat mostly.
Great video! Bought Rogueland a few weeks ago, and was looking for ways to solo it. Your video gave me some good tips. Thanks
Thanks! Glad you like the tips :)
Great video. Would love to see you check out Mörk Börg with the Solitary Defilement supplement for solo play. Keep up the great work, I love how your videos aren't all about hairy, fairy, beardy, weirdy fantasy shite 😂
A great presentation of a very interesting set of rules for The soloist. Thank you for putting in the time marks, that's a great add to the value of your video. also your narration of the rules was to the point and moved along while giving a pretty complete picture. Really good video, thank you. I am now a subscriber.🙂
Thank you very much! Glad you find it helpful!!
Awesome video, great insights. Keep it up :)
I really like the idea of using the Dungeon Hero mechanics for journaling and the 6 x 6 Tales for overland travel. I'll have to give it a go!
Also, I think Solitary Defilement has a great way of doing an exploration/dungeon crawl/micro crawl. If you want a PBTA style solo game.
Thanks! and Yes, Solitary Defilement is great! Love that it is slowly narrowing the dungoeons so you will get to your objective room without needing to spend too many oracle rolls to get there!
I enjoyed how you added the Dungeon Hero system. I'm wondering if it would have made things a bit more interesting to have a roll for the difficulty rating (like in Dungeon Hero). In this case when you have Faint sounds 7 and Monster 12, the monster is always going to have the stronger effect. If there is a roll involved it can add to the narrative- maybe faint sounds ends up being higher than monster (maybe the faint sounds are more important because another monster shows up?)
Absolutely! It requires more dice rolling but at the same time produces more unpredictable outcomes (which is great!)
Realy like the way you used Dungeon Hero to play
This game looks fantastic except for the fact that there are no mechanical differences between characters. I really wish these small games had classes or professions or something.
Nice random tables