Is it Possible to Roleplay D&D by one's self?

[Elven Paladin]

Hi, it's me again. Just had another question.

I've been wondering about this for a while. Is it possible to just play by yourself in a D&D game, and if so...what would be some good tips for doing so?

Now, I understand that D&D is made to be enjoy in a group, and I totally agree, but there are times when I really want to play some D&D and there always happens to be no one else around. So, I was curious if anyone has tried to do this before.

Thanks in advance for any replies. Any advice is appreciated.

[Dhavaer]

You might want put a 'by' in between the 'play' and the 'one' in your thread title, it looks like you mean playing yourself as a character.

Answering your actual question, not really. You need at least two people, one to DM and one to play. You could DM and play yourself, but that would be more akin to writing a story than playing D&D. You could make a party and run them through a few encounters as a kind of balance testing exercise, but I don't imagine that would be terribly enjoyable.

[Elven Paladin]

Excuse me but I'm new. How would I go about changing the title?

[martyboy74]

You might want put a 'by' in between the 'play' and the 'one' in your thread title, it looks like you mean playing yourself as a character.

Answering your actual question, not really. You need at least two people, one to DM and one to play. You could DM and play yourself, but that would be more akin to writing a story than playing D&D. You could make a party and run them through a few encounters as a kind of balance testing exercise, but I don't imagine that would be terribly enjoyable.

That doesn't work very well, because you know what you're going to do, and will inevitably either give yourself an advantage, or overompensate, and act like an idiot.

[the_tick_rules]

could, i suppose. But man that'd just be weird.

[Dhavaer]

Excuse me but I'm new. How would I go about changing the title?

Double click next to the title on the index page.

[Innis Cabal]

you mean using the stats you think you have? Done that a couple times though have friends do your stats so you remove personal bias. The role play part? How hard is it to be yourself? Just think "How would i react to a red dragon trying to eat me if this was normal" and boom your RPing yourself

[brian c]

you mean using the stats you think you have? Done that a couple times though have friends do your stats so you remove personal bias. The role play part? How hard is it to be yourself? Just think "How would i react to a red dragon trying to eat me if this was normal" and boom your RPing yourself

as Dhavaer pointed out, hes not actually asking about that, he's asking about single-player D&D.

Yeah, it's technically possible but it would probably get really boring. You could try playing Neverwinter Nights, Baldur's Gate or any other D&D themed game though.

[Darkxarth]

you mean using the stats you think you have? Done that a couple times though have friends do your stats so you remove personal bias. The role play part? How hard is it to be yourself? Just think "How would i react to a red dragon trying to eat me if this was normal" and boom your RPing yourself

At least we know how much of the thread you actually read.

In answer to the question actually posed...

I once played a full campaign by myself, as both DM and player. It was very much like telling a story, but I rolled randomly for encounters and treasure. So, I had to adapt the story around that. It's definitely not something that everyone would enjoy, but I am easily amused sometimes.

[MusScribe]

Yeah, it really depends how well you can separate in-character and out-of-character knowledge and get into different mindsets at the same time.

I can do parts, and usually use a premade adventure then play through as I read it. It does miss quite a lot, but, for example, if you ARE writing a story and want the characters to be realistic, it's one way to do it.


Could be useful for preparing a high-level character, too - play the character and his companions. You have a general idea of what he'll become and can get a feel for the character as you go.

(Fairly obviously, I've thought on this one as well...)

[Matthew]

Randomly generated dungeons and monster scripts work well for this sort of thing, but most of the fun for RPGs comes from the shared interactive experience.

[Daze]

You could DM and play yourself, but that would be more akin to writing a story than playing D&D. You could make a party and run them through a few encounters as a kind of balance testing exercise, but I don't imagine that would be terribly enjoyable.

Balance testing can provide hours and hours of quiet enjoyment. I feel it makes you a better DM too.. test out how things "sound", explore different avenues your players might take... particulary when designing your own world, or heavily modifying an existing one.
It easily fairly to get players I think (specially newbies, keeping them is another matter though).. good DM's are hard to come by... so might as well be one yourself!

could, i suppose. But man that'd just be weird.

Not as weird as you think! However if a good looking member of the opposite sex wants to hang out and you still stay home to play D&D by yourself? well...

It's definitely not something that everyone would enjoy, but I am easily amused sometimes.

I'm tempted to quote that ;)

[idioscosmos]

Given the gamers I've known it might not be the best idea to play character that's used Dexterity and Constitution as dump stats.

And Charisma.




And Wisdom.

[Mewtarthio]

Beyond "test runs" I'd imagine it'd be like playing chess against yourself.

[Fhaolan]

Long ago, TSR (the company in charge of D&D before Wizards of the Coast bought them out, and were in turn bought out by Hasbro, in case you didn't know that) published a couple of 'play by yourself' modules. They were basically 'choose your own adventure' books using the D&D rules. They used invisible ink markers and the like, and they didn't sell well, so TSR dropped the idea.

I have one of them, the Maze of the Riddling Minotaur, and it's... about as good as many of the modules made at the time, which is not so hot.

[BCOVertigo]

I suggest getting a videogame like NWN or maybe joining a PBP game. Playing games that require innovative thought like this by yourself always ends up being less than amusing. MTG also sucks in solitaire mode but at least that can serve a purpose.

[Roland St. Jude]

Excuse me but I'm new. How would I go about changing the title?

I took care of it for you.

Long ago, TSR (the company in charge of D&D before Wizards of the Coast bought them out, and were in turn bought out by Hasbro, in case you didn't know that) published a couple of 'play by yourself' modules. They were basically 'choose your own adventure' books using the D&D rules. They used invisible ink markers and the like, and they didn't sell well, so TSR dropped the idea.

I have one of them, the Maze of the Riddling Minotaur, and it's... about as good as many of the modules made at the time, which is not so hot.

There are a few old solo play modules out there, including one published in Dungeon Magazine. (called Dagger Alley, maybe?) These did use invisible ink or some other hidden answer deal so you can run the adventure yourself.

There was also a series of "choose your own adventure"-type books put put by TSR. Called Endless Quest books. I still own them, but I haven't read them in a long, long time. In that same vein are other non-D&D, but choose your own adventure type books that are D&D-like. These all you need are the books (no invisible ink) but they don't exactly follow the D&D rules - though they have the same feel as the early D&D modules. Like the Lone Wolf series; in this one you keep track of life points, equipment, etc. And things even carry over from book to book.

These are very D&D by yourself kind of deals. And I enjoyed them back in the day.

[Tor the Fallen]

You could set the adventure up by roling everything randomly, but...

[clarkvalentine]

You can get a little mileage out of setting up some combat encounters, then playing both sides alternately to the best of your ability.
It's not really roleplaying, but it lets you exercise the rules at least.

[TheOOB]

It's hard to acually get honest-to-god roleplaying in by yourself, and the core essence of roleplaying is how you react to unexpected situations. A character can have a great description and personality, but it's their reactions to others that gives roleplaying depth, which is something you can't really get on your own.

If you want to play D&D by yourself, try getting a computer game, Neverwinter Nights, Balders Gate, Icewind Dale, ect. All of these are good single player games using the D&D ruleset.

[Tor the Fallen]

It's hard to acually get honest-to-god roleplaying in by yourself.

Unless you're crazy, but then it's not really roleplaying.