No D&D group? Try solo play!

Hey nerds, today we're going to talk about how to

play

with yourself, no, DMs will especially love this, it's like Dungeon Master bait, please stop seriously, this will be a real right hand resource, this book will be so popular that the DM's guild will have. to beat him, then they will be alone rolling the dice, okay, I'm divorcing you, no, there are many reasons why you might want to

play

alone, maybe you want to play more, but you can't find a

group

or your friends' schedules they're really restrictive, maybe you want to try a new character or one more adventure with a character whose campaign ended, maybe you really want to be the main character, maybe you're a DM and just want a chance to play for once or more.

You want a fun way to test campaign concepts or brainstorm ideas for your

group

games or it could even be simpler than that, maybe you'd just prefer to play alone, while

solo

RPGs may seem like a foreign concept to people who are accustomed to playing in groups. The history of single-player role-playing games goes back a long way. Choose your own adventure. The books were written as early as the 1930s, 70s and 80s. There was a wave of popular

solo

role-playing adventures, such as fantasy fighting and lone wolf, some competitors like tunnels and even trolls. have solo play built into the core system today i will introduce you to a book designed for solo play d d this is not a module or a choose your own adventure book, it is a flexible system that allows you to mimic a dm guided experience Through From an open world that you generate as you go, I'll walk you through the system and then show you the highlights of my own solo play so you can see exactly what this type of session is like and whether you want it or not.

If you want to try it for yourself, let's take a look. The book I'm referring to is called Solo Adventurers Toolbox by Paul Bimweller. There is a part one and part two that you can include in one package, but both also work as standalone resources with the second. book that adds more depth and details. We're exploring these books today because the Dungeon Masters Guild has sponsored me once again so I can talk about a book that I think is amazing and help you decide if it's worth purchasing for your own use. Guild is a community content program partnered with Wizards of the Coast where creators can legally use official DND material to create and share their own game content, from adventures and character options to monster collections and magic items.

There are thousands of PDF files, all created by d d players like To solve problems and provide resources for your games, you can use the solo player code to get 10 off your specialized digital dm purchase of 10 or more, either whether or not it includes the solo adventure toolbox. You can find the link and code in the description. What exactly is in this toolbox? This pair of books provides a practical and simple system for playing solitaire. The word Toolbox in the title is apt because it's neither a module nor an adventure, it's a collection of tools that suit solo play by replacing the dungeon master with random dice rolls and a healthy touch of your own. creativity, there are quite a few resources out there for solo adventurers, in fact the author of this recommends a few more in the books, in my opinion the toolbox for solo adventurers is really a good resource for beginners who play solo.

People who have played a lot of solo may find this collection a little basic, but for newbies it's a great starting point. It is full of practical and simple systems for answering questions and generating ideas. I would especially recommend these books to people who want to emulate a freeform guided dm experience rather than being guided through a pre-made adventure, you can pick up tons of solo adventures in dm's guild and elsewhere if you want more direction for your adventure, but this provides a flexible system that you can use to reproduce any story that interests you or even to generate a story from scratch, if you can, I suggest purchasing the bundle because, while each book can stand alone, it is They complement each other very well and each has useful resources that are not duplicated in the other, just like with group d, you will need a character, you can even play some characters.

The author says that he prefers to run solo adventures with two characters so they can play with each other and interact. create a new character or choose one you already have, for example, maybe you run some solo adventures to really dig in and experience a character's backstory before playing them in a group game or maybe your campaign flopped but you're just not You're ready to let that character go, but a game of solitaire can allow you to play out their arc on your own. Once you've chosen your characters, you can choose what kind of adventure you want to have, maybe you know exactly the setting you want to explore. like I want to go on a spy mission to reveal corruption and nobility or maybe you don't know the details but want to pick your vibe like I want to make a psychological horror game set in the Feywild or if you want to leave it all to chance you literally could Roll on mission boards to create an adventure from scratch.

The nice thing about playing alone is that if you ever get to a point where you'd rather make your own choice rather than randomly, you can do that, it's your game and you can follow or ignore whatever rules you want when it comes to the actual game. , the mechanics of a solo dnd game using these books are pretty similar to regular dnd, but instead of your dm setting the scene, providing information, and answering your questions, your dice do all that. this happens in three main ways: the oracle, the 6d12 method, and random tables, the oracle answers your yes or no questions in the first book, it is simply known as a question answering mechanic, but in the second book you receive a catchy name and some tweaks. you could ask something like if this door is closed or if there is someone in the tavern acting suspiciously;

You can then roll to learn the answer even using modifiers if you think a yes is particularly likely or unlikely, for example if you are in a school checking to see if a classroom door is closed it could be a direct roll at the oracle table. , but when testing the door to a professor's private office, you might decide that the door is most likely closed, so you will add a five to your roll, increasing the probability of A yes result, the second book too introduces method 6012, which is optional but was created to make it easier to quickly develop an area of ​​the map.

With this method, you have a collection of six d12s in different colors and each color correlates to a characteristic like npcs. or random events, let's say you are exploring a dungeon when you enter a new room you immediately roll 60 12. If any of them exceed the value listed on the table you will be directed to the other tables in the book to gather details. so you could get a low result on the monster element and there would be no monsters there, but you got a high result on the treasure element, so there is a treasure in this chamber, then you would move on to the treasure tables to find out what it is that treasure and, finally, most of the Both books are filled with random tables.

You need a random person role to determine name, age, gender, race, alignment, and occupation. Approaching a settlement. There are tables that tell you the type and size of the settlement. What is happening there. What merchants and shops are nearby. You need something to change your character's life, the cataclysm table can tell you that there is a bounty on his head, that they were stolen, or that a natural disaster hit his homeland. Many of these random tables are very specific to things that are common in fantasy adventure games. like castles and dungeons, but if you need information that isn't covered, there's a huge keyword table that can fill almost any gap.

Let's say you asked the oracle if an NPC was keeping a secret and then successfully convinced him or her to share it. You can shoot. in the keyword table to find out what that secret is, you might get the words payment disciple and bones, this could tell you that this npc accepted a payment from a local religious figure to dispose of a body or that they paid a cleric to perform a ritual. about a set of bones or something completely different, you can choose something that sounds interesting and fits your adventure or you can even ask the oracle follow-up questions to narrow down what those keywords mean.

There are mechanics that allow you to do nice things. Pretty much anything you do in normal DND in a solo game, you can do skill checks, you can loot bodies, you can talk to npcs, and of course you can fight monsters and bad guys. DMless combat has its challenges. This is the area of ​​play where Most will need to play the role of dungeon master. There's a lot of guidance on how to generate encounters, so it's not like you have to create and balance encounters yourself, although you can certainly choose your own monsters instead of rolling for them if you have something specific.

Note that if you want to play with a map, a gridded dry erase battle map or similar can be a useful way to keep track of space to avoid boring combat and introduce an element of unpredictability into your opponent's actions. Both books offer rolling charts. To determine monster and villain motivations, tactics, and actions, these actions can be as simple as the monster making its main attack or as complex as the monster making an intimidation check against you to impose disadvantage or the monster calling for reinforcements. , roll a d100 and a 10. or less, another creature appears in two rounds outside of the mechanic, there are still a few other things that are different from group play first, when playing alone you may not have the same rituals as when You play as a group, schedule to meet in advance together at a specific place at a specific time sharing food and drink, things like that, but to get the most out of a solo game, the author recommends setting aside dedicated time and finding a quiet space to play to so you can get into the mental space of the game.

Also, as you play it will be helpful to take notes. This is already a good idea in normal dnd, but it's especially important here, where you can't just ask the dm to repeat something if you forget it, although this isn't specifically. In a journal-based single-player game, like others, keeping a character journal could be a fun way to keep track of what's going on, especially if you're playing a long-term solo campaign and eventually when you're the only player, you are completely If you are in control, you can change literally anything if it doesn't make sense, doesn't work or isn't fun, if you roll to get an answer and it doesn't fit the game, that's fine, roll again or just choose your own answer if not.

I don't want your character to die, they don't have to, it doesn't matter what the dice say, the only person who needs to have a good time here is you, no one else needs to know how your adventure went if you don't want to get cheated. steal retcon ideas get silly get emotional whatever seems like a good time to you that's what you should do use the rules to create intrigue mystery excitement surprises and challenges but the moment the rules make the game less fun let them go now we can Talk about just gameplay until we're blue in the face, but don't you want to see what it really looks like?

I did too, so I tried it next, an abbreviated version of my first solo tabletop session. Today I'm going to play as nimwin. and nacrusha, two of the characters you may have met before on this channel, i think the first thing we need to find out is what they are doing together because in my canon, nimwin and nakasha have never met so i guess we should ask the oracle some questions is nimwin and nacrosha's relationship a working relationship 15 yes, nimwin was used to being the smartest person in the room, but that has never been a lower bar than on this trip so far with her newly hired bodyguard a half work necrusha, let's just do a little keywords to see what their working relationship is, okay, a d8 and a d100 505, the freshest mouth hmm, maybe it's a message that needs to be conveyed because this is good, when only I'm going to ask the oracle if this has anything to do with necromancy or dead 14 yes, they were traveling a short way to the kingdom of thethia to deliver an ancient necromantic tome to the king there a recent widower the unusually hot weather had nimwin more irritable than usual, which the necroshas seemed to find amusing.

They had camped and were settling in to rest whenLet's just roll around to see if they bother them while camping, that's a natural 20. Necrosha's hands moved in the name of his great deeds at the sound of approaching footsteps, who goes there, nimwin shouted a curious npc, okay, they are disturbed by trina an elf servant well, matt said the elf as he emerged from the darkness Looking curiously around the camp an excellent find for your camp my lord foxclaire would certainly prefer ours could we join you? Nimwin doesn't like that, but I know what I could change. things oracle is trina sexy yes but keywords savior okay, she is sexy but she is very religious there is no place nimwin said forcefully but necrosha ran his eyes evaluatively over the maiden who had bowed her head to pray for a favorable response in the desert is nothing more than security in the room is with numbers, yes, let's play a contested persuasion role.

Nakasha Nimwin Trina and Necrosha spent the night talking while Nimwin was in a bad mood, as it turns out that Lord FoxClaire and his servant were also heading to Thethia, so after a restful sleep the four of them left. Together through the woods, this seems like the perfect time to try this 60-12 system. Well, the skull is a 10, which means there's a monster. Pink is a 9, which means there is a clue. Teal 11, that's the environment, that means there's a trap. Green. is a three, meaning no npcs, clear is a two, meaning no treasure, and bright is a nine, meaning random event, in short, the small one.

The group arrived at a small clearing between the trees 25 hidden hole, but Nakasha got a natural one by perception. Nimwin noticed the hole too late just as Nakrush's foot broke through the loose tangle of branches and leaves that hid it, presumably a dex save that is a natural 20. ...but instead of sinking into the trap, the half-orcs sprang into action by launching themselves from the earthen wall and executing a clean move with their feet again, catching Trina's eye to make sure she had seen, be careful with the marrow , he said, extending his hand, he helped. you about the creature is what the hell it is in nilbog you might be too big for my trap but i could catch your brain with a thimble a small gnarled figure with a pointy pink hat made a mocking gesture towards nakasha from the clearing i guess it's time to rolling initiative, he felt the words trying to invade his mind, but as rage flooded his veins, he quickly forgot them, charged towards the creature and brought down its great ax with a sweeping swing. 20 points of damage, oh a nilbog only has seven hit points, that's disappointing. that was a really fun little oh wait i ruined something any creature trying to harm the nail bug must first succeed on a dc12 charisma saving throw or become charmed that's a 10 or at least that's what she would have done, but instead, as she raised her axe, she suddenly realized that this creature was incredible.

Daini goblin. I see that now you are strong, brave, beautiful. As a bonus action, he will use her agile escape to disengage and then run here. I'll just ask the oracle if Norman would do it. Fight, I feel like it's unlikely, so I'm going to do minus three, no, but Trina, Lord Foxclaire blurted out, what are you waiting for? Help them, then he turned his tail and fled towards the trees like a small garbage dump, yes, my lord, Trina cried grabbing a He gets up from the ground and charges towards the monster, but as he approached, he slowed down his eyes, shining, praise.

Surely you are unique proof of the divine simply by your creation. It's Nimwin's turn. This must be very frustrating for her. 5 10 15 20. So that's it. a 16 so she saves you fools, get out of the way nimwin marched towards the creature and hit her shoulder. Arcane energy surged through his touch, but even as flesh and fabric blackened beneath his glove, he quickly disappeared leaving the creature unharmed with a laugh. She ducked under her outstretched arm and scurried out of reach. Well, that's her reaction for this round. It removes all the damage Nimwin just dealt and now she's on top of the round again and gets a new reaction.

Now I see how this. The little seven hit point elf can be a challenging enemy. The goblin led them on a merry chase, dodging every blow and reveling in the forced praise of his opponents. I guess you're supposed to be the brains of this operation. He mocked Nimwin until now. again he evaded his spells, necrosha's wrath came and went as the creature charmed his wrath every time he tried to attack oh my god okay he ends up praising the void swamp again what a nightmarish little creature that does hit oh no , but it's a new round with a blow of his heavy wooden scepter the seriously injured monster trills leading her back to the trees with his lord nimwin's mind racing was this thing truly unkillable there was only one way to find out nakrusha she cried we both must hit him immediately surely there is a limit to his resistance gathering the last of his energy nekrosha once again felt his blood rise, you can do it 15 16 she saves now going to attack recklessly natural 20. even with the full force of her body behind from necrosha's swing The great ax bounced off the flesh of the small goblinoids as if it were a child's toy, but a mere breath later, Nimwin was behind her reaching out with cult power gathered at the tips of his fingers, he is okay Nimwin it's time baby oh that's an 18 and he's already used his reaction. meaning it is dead the creature's eyes widened as nimwin's touch rotted and blackened its flesh in a rapidly spreading wave the small body collapsed beneath the dappled shadow of the trees at the edge of the clearing with no holy life. shit that thing was horrible good food blog in the desert clues oracle of the abandoned camp is this random camp related to our quest 14 yes accomplice familiar metal in the remains of the camp a piece of metal shone nimwin subtly scraped it with his boot revealing a shape that he looked awfully familiar his eyes went to trina whose modest veil was embroidered with this same sacred symbol she crouched down pretending to adjust the laces of her boots and tried to slip it into her sleeve nimwin's sleight of hand trina and norman's perception oh the Nimwin's piercing eyes did not miss the panic that briefly flashed over Lord FoxClaire's face.

Nakasha restrained him. He was forced to easily grab the struggling noble. Nimwin reached out to grab Trina's wrist. Oh, I can't, so I'm going to say Trina runs away. Nimwin held out his hand and murmured some guttural words, but Trina slipped into the trees and disappeared. he turned around to face lord foxclaire there's no point in lying to us this is your camp isn't it why lie about your direction of travel explain yourself or i will rip your soul from the very bones intimidation of nimwen that's an eight so he oh he spits at her she will just say nice he should do something nakasha grabbed his forearm with a meaty hand and raised it high lifting the thin man off the ground a little she raised her big ax do you want I should take his arm off that's natural 20...in that moment norman would probably start talking please no you're right it's our camp we're lying please don't take my arm so now I can ask the oracle everything is fine did Norman help the king murder his wife?

No, but he did help. he covered up the real reason for his death was normand fleeing the city 16 yes nimwin frowned if you were fleeing the city and your king why intercept us why travel back to thethia this seems like a good time for the keyword table cover surprise story I recognized it You, Foxclaire, he said nodding towards Nimwin, it was a surprise, but I have a story with your temple. He knew the king must have called a necromancer, he was going to bring the queen back and he couldn't allow that and he wanted to cover, wait a minute.

The oracle told me that Normand did not help the king kill the queen. Oracle, did Norman kill the queen? Cover it, Fox Claire said with a roll of her eyes as Nakasha took a practice swing in the direction of her shoulder, and if everything had gone according to plan, the king would have been next. Her eyes widened, but why that's a big question and since a few have passed. hours, I think that seems like the kind of question we'll have to answer in the next session, so is it worth answering? I wasn't sure how much I'd like to play solo, but a lot of it was really fun, I'll say that.

I think the roleplaying part is a little lost in this format, as it's a little strange to verbally roleplay against yourself, but if that were the important part for me, I'd probably focus on writing the events of the game afterwards. . as a story to fill that void I was definitely imagining character interactions in my head even though I wasn't acting them out out loud at the table I was worried about the combat but I think it was actually one of the best parts I ever went through For the most part I just chose the most effective moves for the monster as I knew it would be more fun to have a challenge, but in the moments where I wasn't sure what to do, the rolling table for the monster's actions was very helpful for keep things moving and unbiased.

I don't necessarily think this is a perfect replacement for party d d but if you really wanted to play and couldn't make a party I think it's better than nothing and in some ways it was really liberating to have complete control over everything and be able to change the story if If something happened that I didn't think was that fun personally, I could see myself using this more as a brainstorming technique, the little plot that developed in my game was a great setup for a quest arc and I could absolutely see myself adapting that concept in an arc for a group game and Oracle keywords and rolling tables made it really easy to make things move whenever the game slowed down or stopped even if I never play alone again d d these PDFs they will definitely be part of my dm toolkit now, if you've never tried solo gaming these books really make you feel approachable even though there are hundreds of pages of content between the two books the vast majority of these books are rolling boards, making it easy to jump right onto them.

Play and track what you need as you need it. Much of this is information that's available elsewhere or that you could create yourself, but for only $15 it's really nice to have it all packaged up in one neat, easy-to-navigate package rather than feeling in the dark trying to find the tables and the right resources that work well together if you want to try solo play, check out the solo adventures toolbox in the dm guild or search for solo adventures to find plenty of more structured adventures for solo players, no matter what. you decide to choose. Don't forget to use my discount code on your purchase, check out the link description and terms, and if you want to check out my other videos highlighting some of my favorite dm skills titles, check out this playlist here and you can learn all about it. from ancient magic weapons to how to create balanced mixed-race player characters