[5e] Solitary Play • 4 characters • No DM

[Shesheyan]

If you are interested in Solitary Play I started a blog in which I will chronicle the adventures of four characters and discuss what technics I use to solo play.

Articles #1 is online.
I hope you enjoy!

D&D 5e Solitary Play Link : https://jeuxdredi.blogspot.com

[Shesheyan]

Article #2 : Before the Adventure Begins :
https://jeuxdredi.blogspot.com/2018/12/before-adventure-begins.html

[tchntm43]

I'd be interested to see how this goes.

I have some experience playing D&D solo, but not with 5E. Mind you, playing solo pretty much takes away the role-playing and turns it into a Roguelike, or at least it was the way I played it. I don't see how you can effectively role-play with yourself but maybe there is a way to do it.

I did this with 2nd Edition, using the random dungeon & wilderness map generation from the 1E DMG. FYI, I believe that this section of the 1E DMG can be used for 5E, I see no reason why it wouldn't. You'd just have to adjust/replace the monster encounter tables and treasure tables with ones that work with 5E. Using these random map tables, you play on a square grid and it's basically move into/through new terrain squares that have random terrain types based on what is adjacent to it, and then roll to see what, if anything (like a town, city, dungeon, cave, etc), is in it. Then you go to the random dungeon tables and progress downwards until the monsters for that dungeon level are too hard, and go back up and start exploring again and/or go back to the nearest settlement. I got a party of 5 characters up to level 6 or 7 (which is a lot more work in 2E than 5E) before calling it quits. But it also involved a lot of smudging the die rolls (i.e. "nope, we don't encounter a red dragon at level 2 even though the dice say we do").

[MaxWilson]

If you are interested in Solitary Play I started a blog in which I will chronicle the adventures of four characters and discuss what technics I use to solo play.

Articles #1 is online.
I hope you enjoy!

D&D 5e Solitary Play Link : https://jeuxdredi.blogspot.com

Awesome.

In some ways, solo play is the perfect D&D, in the same way that a war with no quartermaster and no subordinates to keep happy is the perfect war (according to Sethra Lavode). At any rate I'm interested to see what techniques you are using to keep the story fresh.

I'll check out your blog.


I have some experience playing D&D solo, but not with 5E. Mind you, playing solo pretty much takes away the role-playing and turns it into a Roguelike, or at least it was the way I played it. I don't see how you can effectively role-play with yourself but maybe there is a way to do it.

It's actually more like novel-writing than a Roguelike, at least when you're playing as an TTRPG instead of a combat minigame. The story tends to go in unexpected directions, much like an improv sketch, because you have such radical freedom of choice and no one to steer you back on track if Plan A and Plan B fail due to bad dice. I guess it basically is improv. Maybe you thought you were going to have a straightforward infiltration mission, but a few bad die rolls later you find yourself in a prison-break scenario, or maybe shanghaied onto a naval vessel, or accidentally starting a war between your nation and the modrons.

(The shortest possible summary of solo play rules is: when in doubt, ask a question and roll a d6. 1 = No, and... 2 = No. 3 = No, but... 4 = Yes, but... 5 = Yes. 6 = Yes, and... For scenarios where one answer is more likely, like "does the merchant have anything valuable in his pockets?", roll the d6 twice and take the max or min as appropriate. When necessary for an open-ended question, use a random book to choose two "oracle" words and interpret the answers using the Yes/No approach. E.g. if the question is, "What are elves doing here in the mountains?" and the random words are "peanut" and "despair," you might ask the yes/no question, "Are the elves here looking for the magical cure to a loved one's malady?" and if you roll a 4, the answer is, "Yes, but they just got word the loved one has now died." Then the PCs proceed from there, asking more questions of the "DM" as necessary.)

You can of course also play it Roguelike style on purpose, but that's more CRPG territory than solo D&D proper. I'm almost ready for the alpha release of my 5E CRPG BTW, just need a couple more features...

[strangebloke]

Haven't yet checked the blog, but have you looked at Gloomhaven? It's basically exactly this: A beat-em-up DND campaign where the board plays itself. Its very well-designed, although possibly not for solo play.

Might be good inspiration even if you don't buy it.

[Shesheyan]

Awesome.
The shortest possible summary of solo play rules is: when in doubt, ask a question and roll a d6. 1 = No, and... 2 = No. 3 = No, but... 4 = Yes, but... 5 = Yes. 6 = Yes, and... For scenarios where one answer is more likely, like "does the merchant have anything valuable in his pockets?", roll the d6 twice and take the max or min as appropriate. When necessary for an open-ended question, use a random book to choose two "oracle" words and interpret the answers using the Yes/No approach. E.g. if the question is, "What are elves doing here in the mountains?" and the random words are "peanut" and "despair," you might ask the yes/no question, "Are the elves here looking for the magical cure to a loved one's malady?" and if you roll a 4, the answer is, "Yes, but they just got word the loved one has now died." Then the PCs proceed from there, asking more questions of the "DM" as necessary.)


That is a very good system! I do something similar but I use the d20 because its D&D.

[Shesheyan]

I'd be interested to see how this goes.

I have some experience playing D&D solo, but not with 5E. Mind you, playing solo pretty much takes away the role-playing and turns it into a Roguelike, or at least it was the way I played it. I don't see how you can effectively role-play with yourself but maybe there is a way to do it.

I did this with 2nd Edition, using the random dungeon & wilderness map generation from the 1E DMG. FYI, I believe that this section of the 1E DMG can be used for 5E, I see no reason why it wouldn't. You'd just have to adjust/replace the monster encounter tables and treasure tables with ones that work with 5E. Using these random map tables, you play on a square grid and it's basically move into/through new terrain squares that have random terrain types based on what is adjacent to it, and then roll to see what, if anything (like a town, city, dungeon, cave, etc), is in it. Then you go to the random dungeon tables and progress downwards until the monsters for that dungeon level are too hard, and go back up and start exploring again and/or go back to the nearest settlement. I got a party of 5 characters up to level 6 or 7 (which is a lot more work in 2E than 5E) before calling it quits. But it also involved a lot of smudging the die rolls (i.e. "nope, we don't encounter a red dragon at level 2 even though the dice say we do").

The 1e DMG was a great ressource. I used it often in the 80s to generate dungeons for my home-brew stories. 5e has something similar but instead of diagrams it provides a list of tables that are used to determine the size, the shape, number of doors and other features of the room. But I not did use that system for my first session. Instead, I used the tiles from the D&D coop board game. More on this when Article #3 is ready next week.

[Shesheyan]

Haven't yet checked the blog, but have you looked at Gloomhaven? It's basically exactly this: A beat-em-up DND campaign where the board plays itself. Its very well-designed, although possibly not for solo play.

Might be good inspiration even if you don't buy it.

Good suggestion. I almost bought Gloomheaven but after watching How to Play videos I didn't like the combat system. Also, the designer in me wants to try different solo ideas so buying a ready to roll game isn't want I'm looking for.

[Shesheyan]

Article #3 : The search for Shindra Tallstag :
https://jeuxdredi.blogspot.com/2018/12/article-3-search-for-shindra-tallstag.html

[Inscrutable]

I've been reading your blog and it seems like you do more prep work than play. How do you decide what questions to ask yourself?

[Laserlight]

I ran across this site (http://tinysolitarysoldiers.blogspot.com/2012/04/solo-rpg.html?) which might provide some ideas

[Shesheyan]

I ran across this site (http://tinysolitarysoldiers.blogspot.com/2012/04/solo-rpg.html?) which might provide some ideas

Very interesting read. Thank you!

[Shesheyan]

I've been reading your blog and it seems like you do more prep work than play. How do you decide what questions to ask yourself?

Hello, thanks for reading the blog!

I've actually played through all three levels of the dungeon last Sunday. I found the 5 clues and triggered the final encounter - which I haven't played yet. I just taking me longer than expected to do the write-ups. Because of that, I've decided to make shorter articles so I don't bulk at the amount of writing I have to do ! :-D

I would says prep takes more time at the beginning but once you enter the dungeon, dice hit the play mat and it's intoxicating.

« How do you decide what questions to ask yourself?» :
There is no formula for this. I just ask what seems like the obvious and appropriate questions for the situation at hand. I let the dice answer. You can ask location questions, environmental questions, investigation questions, social interaction questions, etc. The number of question depends on the style of play you like. If you want fast paced just ask enough questions to continue, otherwise keep digging. The characters, due to their backgrounds and personality, could trigger questions if you are into a deeper role-play approach.

[MaxWilson]

I ran across this site (http://tinysolitarysoldiers.blogspot.com/2012/04/solo-rpg.html?) which might provide some ideas

You can use these rules for group play too btw, if you are so inclined. E.g. three players, no DM.

[Shesheyan]

Article #4 : The search for Shindra Tallstag - Part II
https://jeuxdredi.blogspot.com/2019/02/article-4-search-for-shindra-tallstag.html