Solo RPG
Can you play an RPG by yourself?
Absolutely, you can play an role playing game (rpg) by yourself. With the Untrodden Ways, you can play solo. You can also play as a group unguided — sometimes referred to as ‘duet’, ‘co-op’, or ‘cooperative’. Both solo and unguided play rely on ‘oracle’ tables to act as the gamemaster.
If you have a regular group that plays with a dungeon master/game master (GM), The Untrodden Ways works for GM guided play as well. Our story-based adventure modules give the GM a framework to plan game play around. Behind the game shield, the GM can pick from the oracles or story actions that fit the direction they want the story to move.
How to get started with solo RPG?
Start with an Ironsworn-based RPG like The Untrodden Ways (or one of the other settings).
Review The Untrodden Ways: Players Guide. The Players Guide explains all the mechanical instructions needed to play an Ironsworn-based game. Learn about vows, milestones, and moves. Discover the brilliance of Oracles. Let your imagination spin your tales. That is the key. The Untrodden Ways is a story-first based system. The oracles, rolls, and moves should help you create the story. Don’t let them hinder you.
After watching hours of game play, the primary difficulty players of any experience level have is deciding where the next scene should go. The Untrodden Ways RPG has solved this problem with a mechanical device called a ‘Story Starter’. For each location or scene, we’ve written an introduction that matches the location Oracles. These introductions are intended to give your imagination a push. Read the Story Starter. Review the location milestones. Create your scene by thinking about how your character gets from the story starter to the milestone.
How to play solo rpg for beginners?
Here’s an example of how to play solo rpg from The Untrodden Ways: White Bluff.
PRE-CAMPAIGN
- I picked my character, Lilly Larson (free from www.theuntroddenways.com), and arranged her Character Sheet and Asset cards for easy reference.
- I rolled a lucky d10 and got a 3. I’m playing solo, so I marked #3 on my character sheet margin. I’ll read Secret #3 when I get to that point in the Story Outline.
- I decided to follow the Story Outline loosely using the Story Starters Oracles and location milestones to guide me.
THE CAMPAIGN
Beginning on page 10 [of White Bluff] I read about Lilly’s visit with Detective Bell. Lilly vows to help him. I write that vow on Lilly’s Character Sheet. On page 12, I have a choice about what Lilly could do next.
In the fiction, there are too many American Remembrance members in the bar for Lilly’s liking. Alice’s last known location was the grocery store. She’s going to start there.
Looking at the map on page 15, Kneipe’s is in B5. The grocery store is in G5. It is an easy drive and does not require a move to get around town. Looking at the location reference for White Bluff, the Grocery Store description begins on page 28 so I turn to that page and read about the Grocery Store. I could roll on the Grocery Store Story Starters Oracle, but there are only two options. My character, Lilly, does not have any magical training, but as an agent of the John Culling Society, looking for clues is her thing. I turn to page 29 and the Look for Clues Story Starter.
In the fiction, with all the visitors into the grocery store, it would be odd to find anything from twenty years ago. Lilly walks among the cars already parked there. She sees long weeds around the outside of the lot, and a trash can buzzing with hornets. Lilly enters the grocery store.
The story starter recommends using the Gather Information move. It seems like a good choice for Lilly so I pick up my Players Guide and turn to page 44 to review the Gather Information move for Lilly. Rolling my two d10s and one d6, my d10s are a 1 and an 8. My d6 is a 2. Lilly’s Wits are 2. That gives me a total of 4. Lilly’s Asset cards do not help at all (Lochlen did not come along and her umbrella is a defensive weapon). That’s a Weak Hit. Checking the Look for Clues Story Starter, I read what happens for a Weak Hit.
In the fiction, the store owner loses her cool and starts yelling at Lilly. What happened to Tennessee charm? The store owner has been having a bad day for a long time. Before Lilly loses her temper in response, she leaves the inside of the grocery store.
I feel like there’s more Lilly could do here. She does not have magic training, but what if her umbrella could help? Referencing the Break a Curse Story Starter, if the gravel dust is bouncing off something, Lilly’s umbrella should be able to shield and maybe break the curse too. Lilly is using an enchanted artifact to skip the spell preparation (see the Umbrella Asset card). I roll on the Magic Ritual move to have Lilly activate the umbrella. I rolled a 4. My d10s are a 1 and a 2. That’s a Strong Hit.
In the fiction, Lilly opens her umbrella as she walks around the parking lot. The umbrella lights up with white energy pushing the curse away from Lilly. She feels instantly calmer.
I check the Break a Curse Story Starter. On a Strong Hit, the curse breaks!
In the fiction, Lilly holds her umbrella high and its white light expands to cover the entire grocery store and parking lot. On the edges of the parking lot, Lilly sees black magic burn up and disappear as the white light pushes through the curse breaking it. Her umbrella’s magic was stronger than this curse.
Noticing the odd white light, the store owner comes outside, but she’s unarmed and seems much happier than she was before.
On my Character Sheet, I’m going to mark the store owner as a Bond for Lilly. This good deed makes for fast friends.
The store owner talks a lot about the state park. I decide Lilly is going to drive the Back Roads on her way toward the state park. There are restaurants, parks, and cemeteries to visit on the way.
Let the adventure begin!
Solo Fantasy RPG
Urban Fantasy is a thrilling genre for a solo rpg. There are many topics you can mix together to create your fiction. Cryptids, monsters, and magic can intertwine with real-world crime, ghost stories, local urban legends, or day-in-the-life-work-life balance stories.
The Untrodden Ways is location based. The ‘ways connect all places. As you Undertake a Journey, you’ll visit cities and towns across the world or found in other dimensions like Fair Elfland or Muspelheim.
Solo RPG Oracle
The power behind Ironsworn-based games are the RPG Oracles. When you are unsure of what to do next or need inspiration, roll on the appropriate oracle. Let the oracle’s suggestion guide your imagination to the next step.
The Untrodden Ways takes oracles one step further and provides four oracles per location: Denizens Oracle, Treasures Oracle, Story Actions Oracle, and Themes Oracle. Combine your rolls from these oracles to devise an entire campaign or just one scene.
The secret sauce for Ironsworn-based solo rpg games are the Asset cards. Like the oracles, the Asset cards bring something extra to your character or situation that spices up the storytelling.
Learning how to Play Solo RPG
When creating The Untrodden Ways, we watched and listned to hours of YouTube videos and Ironsworn podcasts. These are a few of our favorite Ironsworn players.
YouTube Solo RPG Game Examples
YouTube may be the best way to learn how to play solo table top role playing games (ttrpg).
Basement Fort
- Co-op, two person Ironsworn game play
- Light on the mechanics
- Heavy on the fiction and role playing
The Bad Spot
- The Bad Spot co-op combat example
- How to Play Ironsworn with the Bad Spot
Role2forge
- Co-op play for Ironsworn
- Beginners
Geek Gamers
- Solo game play start to finish.
- Ironsworn First Session
- Second Session
Podcasts solo rpg examples from Spotify
If you want to listen to robust game play, try these podcasts.
- Ask the Oracle – The Official Ironsworn RPG Podcast by the creator of the Ironsworn game-engine, Shawn Tomkin, and his son as they play Ironsworn co-op style.
- Dicegeeks – Spotify podcaster playing Starforged starting from zero with building their truths.
- Tales of the Ironsworn – start with episode 2. Co-op play.