Solo RPGs on Your Table - October 2019

1. GeekList: The Adventures of Thur the Barbarian - a D&D Solo RPG campaign

Andreas

(de_la_poer)

Germany

I am

the Ninja

There are two (tiny) sessions that I haven't added to my Geeklist yet. I hope to find some time to add them this month. But with the three D&D groups that I run now I am quite busy.

Classic Monster: Drow. I guess they count.

[+] Dice rolls

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2. RPG Item: The Valley of Bones [Average Rating:8.33 Unranked]

Eric Dodd

(Red Wine Pie)

New Zealand
Martinborough

Halloween 2019

I'm about 5 hours into my play through this sandbox solo gamebook. The structure of the game is similar to Fabled Lands Gamebooks, the goal being to publish 6 interlocked books. You'll be free to start your game in any book and choose the path you want to take and the adventures you want to undertake. The two major differences from Fabled Lands are that you use (or create) 4 characters to run simultaneously; and that there are individual adventures for the pre-generated characters to undertake. This includes forming relationships (of different sexualities) with other party members.

Like Fabled Lands you can buy a ship and start trading in cargoes between the ports. The Valley of Bones is not the richest place to start off, however. The major campaign you might get involved in is a military campaign to overthrow the tyrants of the Valley and replace them with the benevolent (?) rule of the Everchild.

So far my group of Sar Jessica Dayne and her half-sister Amelia Pass-Dayne, Akihiro of Chalice and Brash have survived the gladiatorial pits of Saltdad and escaped through forgotten tunnels to the city. To earn money for gear and spell recharging we have joined a local Bandit in robbing a rich merchant, hunted troglodytes in a salt mine, guarded a flower-hunting expedition into the jungles and persuaded the Lord of Chalice to lend the Everchild troops.

My characters have gained 7 points of characteristics so far.

The Creatures I've fought the most so far (apart from humans) are Lizardmen, a race of creatures in D&D since the early days and now a playable ancestry in Pathfinder 2.

About 8 to 10 hours in, and I have thoroughly explored a dungeon complex on the southern coast. I have killed plenty of orcs and freed the goblins and human slaves they were holding. The orcs were searching for something mysterious in the lower mines, but I also found the boat they arrived in, and the freed slaves offered to sail it for us. We bribe an ogre into fighting for us, and we manage to clear out a section of the dungeon filled with undead.

Back in the town of Lhasbreath we help an expedition lead by Amelia's step sister to find some new plants for cultivation in the nearby jungle. Sar Jessica wrestles a bear (!) to impress the local king, and he promises a unit of his berserkers to the Everchild's forces.

Akihiro feels more confident and again attempts the test to become a Kensai. While on a quest for a silver idol he achieves Enlightenment, and finally overcomes a dangerous spirit to complete the quest. The heroes aid the Everchild in the Battle of Saltdad, hindering the Iron King's forces before the battle and then directing the troops to victory afterwards. There are more Battles to be won, though. During all this action the heroes have become closer, and Sar Jessica confesses her feelings to Akihiro after his confirmation as a Kensai. Amelia saved Brash from a knife throwing rogue, and he shared a tender moment after the battle. Is there a real chance for the lovers? We shall see if the other books are published...

[+] Dice rolls

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3. RPG: Starfinder Roleplaying Game [Average Rating:7.98 Overall Rank:186]

Loren Larkin

(onaplake)

United States
New York

It's been awhile since I posted but I've been playing a lot of PBF's which have actually helped me to learn new systems. Doing some of these alone can be challenging to say the least. I decided to try a Starfinder solo adventure using two PC's that were already built for PBF's. In hindsight, two wasn't enough and I should have added my third character.
But it turned out to be fun. The adventure is free and is called Starfinder Society, Quest Into the Unknown.https://paizo.com/products/btpy9u7x?Starfinder-Society-Quest...

While I love Starfinder in a PBG setting, it is a little too crunchy to operate more than one PC solo, which is why my next solo will be using the Savage Worlds system, inspired by Trevor Duvall's very entertaining videos.

The Adventure:

EsS is a Lashunta Damaya Xenoseeker from Castrovell. She has bright blue eyes, red and green swirls on her face, and the two raised markings that look like lightning bolts. She presents a rather commanding, attractive and capable presence. It was in her blood to move to greener pastures, so she left her home planet of Castrovel for the hustle and bustle of the melting pot that is Absalom Station.

Nol, an Android Spacefarer Operative, was originally enslaved by an illegal corporation on Abalon. He managed to escape on a pirate ship to The Diaspora. He found the House of the Void and was taken in by the monks there. They educated him and sent him on his way to make his mark in the world. Absalom Station had a rich variety of culture and industry, so the station was an obvious choice.

Both joined the Starfinder Society and began their new lives. Eventually they received their first mission. A band of pirates had plundered a Starfinder ship called the Unbounded Wafarer. They sold the crews’ uniform insignias to a disreputable pawnbroker named Julzakama. The Society found out and Venture Captain Arvin assembled a team consisting of Nol, and EsS. Their mission was to purchase the insignias and find out more about their source, and hopefully the disposition of the missing ship and crew. He gave them directions to the pawnbroker’s shop, located in a poor and densely populated area in a section of the spike, below Absalom Station. They arrived at the rundown store and spoke to the Vesk, Julzakama. Nol paid the Vesk who was able to give them some good information. The seller was an Eoxian named Exogera. Nol updated the captain and was told to press on since they were close to her location at the Vat Garden.

They arrived at the Vat Garden and went up on the walkway. The two were barely able to make out 3 ugly thugs and Exogera, down in the gardens under the thick vine canopy. Since neither of them were particularly athletic, sneaking to the ground floor by climbing down the vines was out of the question. They would have to creep down the steps and remain unseen for as long as they could.

Nol could be pretty stealthy, so she attempted to sneak down the steps, remaining hidden as long as she could with the straggly green vines blocking a clear view. EsS remained on top, waiting.

Nol didn’t get far before being spotted by two of the ghouls. Fortunately, Exogera and one of the other ghouls had walked to the far end of the garden. “We need to act NOW, while only two of them are aware of us. It won’t be long before the others hear the commotion,” Nol whispered up to EsS. Nol took his diaspora rifle off his shoulder and EsS drew her laser pistol. “If we can take these too out from here, then it’s two against two when the others come running.”

Nol hit the first mercenary but then it was game on. Both approached and fighting ensued. Nol got hit and bitten several times and was paralyzed and subsequently killed. Exogera was alerted by the commotion and she and EsS fought. EsS managed a quick retreat and fired her laser which wounded and burned Exogera. After several rounds of fighting Nol was victorious but injured and sadly, she had lost a companion.

[+] Dice rolls

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4. RPG Item: Dresden Files Accelerated [Average Rating:8.38 Overall Rank:2165]

Corey Mayo

(cmmayo)

United States
Schertz
TX

You can go off and rule the universe from beyond the grave.

Or check into a psycho ward, which ever comes first, huh?

Hi! This is my first ever post to a Solo RPGs on Your Table thread. I discovered solo RPG-ing a month ago thanks to Trevor Devall's wonderful "Me, Myself, and Die" channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtiBzkVoYrugJkrpW7_75Ag/fea...).

I decided to use Dresden Files Accelerated because I am a fan of the books and wanted to dive in quickly, which the "Fate Accelerated" is designed for.

My primary resources were Mythic Game Master Emulator and ÜNE: The Universal NPC Emulator. I also used the following additional resources:
- The Perilous Wilds
- Xanathar's Guide to Everything
- The Secret Language of Birthdays https://www.amazon.com/dp/0525426884/
- Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot Deck https://www.amazon.com/dp/0880793082
- The I Ching Workbook https://www.amazon.com/dp/038512838X

My Character:

Dr. Marcus Livingston is a respected research scientist and lecturer in the field of Paleopathology, the study of ancient diseases. A year ago, while studying mysterious remains found in the Turkish region that seemed to be a mix of wolf and human, he accidentally came into contact with the extracted DNA through an open cut on his hand. He spontaneously took on the form of a wolf. Skeptical of magic, but left with no reasonable explanation for his newfound power, he is compelled to unlock more animal forms. He enjoys his nightly runs through the woods outside his home as a wolf and scours academia for more specimens to examine.

Adventure:
Marcus hears of enigmatic human-cat remains after the discovery of a hidden chamber in one of the tombs in the Valley of Queens outside of Luxor, Egypt. He uses his connections to gain a place on the lecturer schedule at a Paleopathology conference close to the site of the discovery.

Scene 1: He delivers his lecture with Flare, attracting the attention of scientist Dr. Hentie Safar.

She has access to the newly discovered remains discovered in Tomb QV73 and he uses his Intellect to convince her to let him examine the site that night. Marcus detects an attendee eavesdropping on their conversation and pulls Sabaf Asker into their conversation.

Sabaf is a bit of an adventurer with much knowledge of the nearby archeological sites and interest in the new find, but Marcus can't read him. Sabaf refuses to help them and leaves. Hentie tells him they need to gather her equipment from her office at the university on the way to the site.

Scene 2: Marcus senses they are followed to the university but cannot make out who or why. Once in her office, Marcus surreptitiously inspects the data on her desk while she collects equipment from the nearby lab. She catches him being noisy, but he plays it off as Intellectual curiosity and they head out.
They are interrupted by a former lover of Hentie's named Thethi.

Thethi is a self-appointed shepherd of ancient beliefs and emplores Hentie to leave the tomb alone. They argue for a prolonged amount of time and Marcus pushes for them to stop arguing so they can leave. Thethi demands to go with them to the burial site to prevent desecration. The duo accepts, begrudgingly. They head out.

Scene 3: As they leave paved roads and enter the sandy landscape, headlights come out of the darkness and a car T-bones theirs. Hentie and Thethi are both knocked unconscious and are in dire need of medical attention. Marcus shifts into wolf form and jumps from the car in time to avoid serious injury.
Sabaf and three thugs approach the car. Marcus attacks. He surprises the 4 men and rips into them. The three thugs run screaming and bleeding from the scene. Sabaf fires his gun at the beast, which lunges at his throat. He is bleeding badly, but continues to fire. Marcus knocks him down and the gun goes flying. Sabaf is gravely injured, bleeding into the sand from a gaping neck wound, and stays down.
Marcus spends time attempting to provide medical care for his two allies, despite no adequate equipment. The time he takes means the loud crash has drawn attention.
He shifts back to wolf form, grabbing his clothes (the keys to the dig site in his pocket) in his teeth and escapes to the nearby tomb.
Other than a swarm of angry wasps, he has no troubles at the tomb and Marcus is able to secure the samples of the cat woman in the sub-chamber. He returns to the scene of the accident and pretends to have been looking for help. They are suspicious of him leaving the scene and demand he goes back to Police HQ. At the accident site, an informant makes a phone call to a shady figure who realizes they have underestimated Marcus and now has evidence of his power.
He demands to ride with his allies to the hospital, but fails. He's going to the Police Station, stolen sample in his pocket, and an unknown figure that wants to meet him.

Scene 4: Marcus is greeted in the police station by a sociable Egyptian man of holy bearing. They are left alone.

"Hopefully you got what you wanted. I arranged for Sabaf to remove the interference you were encountering. I have a business proposition for you. Work with me and you will discover the power you seek. I've arranged for your wounds to be treated and you can be on your way back to America unimpeded."
Marcus: "I'm not working with you or anybody else..."
He hands Marcus first-class tickets and a business card and leaves, saying, "I'll be in touch."
The card has no info. Just an image of a Falcon's head on a symbol of a red sun.

End Session.

Postscript I Ching reading: 43 to 11

43: Resolution - The forces that may threaten you are now in a position to be eradicated. This must be done without retreat... You cannot engage your adversary in battle... for acknowledging their strength gives them power.

Dominant changing line (Heavenly Authority becomes yielding): When attempting to overthrow adversaries in power, great resolution is necessary. A calm thoroughness is necessary.

11: Prospering - The time resembles the exciting beginning of Spring. Many things will become possible... Business situations will experience a most direct benefit...

[+] Dice rolls

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5. Board Game: Knot Dice [Average Rating:6.75 Overall Rank:8589]

John Fiore

(casher)

United States

Knot Dice’s “Knot the Whole Story” solo + Universal Celtic Tarot

MONSTER: A Red Dragon (of the Celtic Myth Variety)

1,000% inspired by the combination of Jessica’s Icarus post last month and Eric Miller’s brilliant reply to that post, I had to give the Knot Dice storytelling variant a go. I added the new and gorgeous Universal Celtic Tarot to my play as a rich source of thematically-related inspiration, as well as writing up simple original mini-RPG rules, which you can see HERE.

What I got out of my first emergent narrative play with these beautiful Cetic-themed dice and cards was a lovely Celtic tale that I'm calling Song of Nareena...

NAREENA [2 of Swords, The Hanged Man, 8 of Cups]
Young Nareena believed a recurring nightmare involving the death of her family at sea was nothing more than an awful dream. When the nightmare came true, she knew she had the gift of prophecy. Grieving and scared, she spent time in the wild, often in solitude, communing with nature to bring herself to find peace with her gift. Eventually, Nareena was able to return to the lands of her kin on the Moon Coast to use her gift to help others, no matter what the visions of the future might reveal.
Courage – 1, Honesty – 3, Honor - 3, Hospitality – 2, Justice – 1, Loyalty - 2

*****

KD1: START [4 of Pentacles, 5 of Wands, The World]
Miserly old King Moryn of the Moon Coast Clans knew that his time was waning, that his end was coming and, soon after, his son Bardon’s rule would begin. But King Moryn feared Bardon’s generous nature and peaceful hand would be the Moon Coast’s downfall, and the tightfisted patriarch refused to let go. For five days and five nights, Moryn sleeplessly fasted with his eyes wide-open toward the sea until the red dragon Great Aislingworm heard his plea – his request for the power to live longer, and the ability to recreate what people saw and believed. Illusions, King Moryn believed, could be the key to ensuring the Moon Coast Clans would be ruled his way forever…

KD2: CHAIN [The Emperor, 3 of Wands, 10 of Swords]
Driven by his desperate conviction, King Moryn decided upon his first illusion, and, with guidance from Great Aislingworm, he cast it upon Bardon. Appearing like a dream to the young man were the images of Bardon himself, his arms open in welcoming friendship to a phantom enemy in the distance, followed by a lost battle to come – Bardon broken and defeated, his people enslaved because of his weaknesses. Where once existed the protected and secure Moon Coast Clan villages, there was only destruction, smoke, and barren earth.

Nareena, hearing word that Bardon has been troubled by a secret vision, asserted her loyalty to the Moon Coast Clan nobles in an effort meet with Bardon and let her counsel him on his prophecy.
[DRAW 2 – Queen of Swords, Knight of Swords] – Grand Success
It was Queen Alane herself who granted Nareena her request and, furthermore, gave her complete freedom of the King’s land and castle. She, too, wished her son to be a strong ruler, but not in the callous, cynical way that her husband has been leading the Moon Coast these last many years. Queen Alane wants Bardon to rule with the strength of his natural goodness and love – the kind of love that King Moryn lost a long time ago for his people and for her.

KD3: BRANCH [The Chariot, Ace of Pentacles, 8 of Pentacles]
[Branch 1, Bardon] With his peaceful ways seemingly undone, Bardon struggled with his feelings of inadequacy and future guilt. He feared that he would not have a hand strong enough to steer the Moon Coast away from its impending catastrophe. Bardon begged his father for guidance, and King Moryn was only happy to oblige, getting his son to promise to heed only his word. [Branch 2, Aislingworm] Meanwhile, it was not only Nareena who had the freedom to walk through Moryn’s holding at will. The red dragon Great Aislingworm, now transformed into a Moon Coast warrior with bright red hair and beard, physically walked through the castle, amused at what Moryn had done with the temporary power he had given the old man. The dragon what more fun he could have during this visit to the world of men.

Nareena summoned the courage to use the Queen’s permission to urgently request a private audience with Bardon, despite King Moryn’s possessiveness of his son.
[DRAW 1 – The Magician] – Success
With her gift of prophecy preceding her and Moryn figuring the girl would only reinforce the illusion he had created for his son, Nareena gained access to Bardon.

KD4: CHAIN [B1, Bardon] [9 of Swords, 9 of Wands, The Lovers]
Upon meeting Nareena, Bardon was unable to disguise his deep dread; he was a man haunted by the nightmare of a future failure, adamant that what he had seen would likely come to pass. His phantom enemy was sure to find him an unworthy leader, and he was convinced that he needed to change his ways. He did not deserve to lead the people of the Moon Coast, least of all someone as talented and beautiful as he declared Nareena to be.

Nareena spoke with the most vulnerable honesty to Bardon about the death of her family and about how prophecy truly feels, hoping to convince him that what he had experienced was, perhaps, something else.
[DRAW 3 – Queen of Cups, 3 of Pentacles, 8 of Wands] – Grand Success
Bardon hung on Nareena’s every word, feeling deeply that she spoke a truth from the heavens. The realization struck his mind as keenly as Nareena’s purity had pierced his heart: If he had not been given a prophetic vision, then what had caused this most disturbing illusion? He grabbed his sword and urged Nareena to stay by his side and hasten with him to action!

KD5: CURVED CORNER [B1, Bardon] [8 of Swords, The Wheel, The Moon]
Bardon brought Nareena with him to his father, King Moryn, to report his belief that an enchantress or a malicious spirit has targeted him, causing his hallucinations. He insisted that they take some sort of action. Moryn agreed and then summoned his warriors to arrest Bardon for treason, claiming that Bardon had just tried to kill him! Bardon grabbed Nareena’s hand and fled.

Nareena, wanting justice for Bardon, insisted that they appeal to his mother, Queen Alane.
[DRAW 1 – 9 of Cups] – Failure
Bardon refused to involve the queen. He was still too shocked to consider anything but escape.

KD6: CHAIN [B1, Bardon] [Knight of Cups, 4 of Swords, Queen of Pentacles]
Impetuously, Bardon continued his flight from his father with Nareena in tow and headed into the forested lands just beyond the Moon Coast’s village boundaries. Naturally, Bardon’s escape led the people to believe that King Moryn’s accusation was, indeed, true – that Bardon was a traitor who had tried to kill his own elderly father to take the throne. Without a plan, Bardon hoped that something would show him the way toward a resolution to this terrible circumstance.

Nareena wanted to be the one to show Bardon the way, to help him through these troubles to become the good king he was sure to be. Having spent much time in the wild on her own, she offered to Bardon the hospitality of the natural world that she knew and loved, hoping it would calm his fears and give them a chance to consider their situation with calmness and clarity.
[DRAW 2 – Queen of Wands, Death] – Grand Success
Bardon caught his breath and welcomed Nareena’s compassion. In fact, he could not resist; as she sat beside an oak, she appeared a noblewoman of nature itself, lovely and strong, with a confidence in the rightness of guidance, and the oak’s mighty trunk reinforcing her like a sentinel.

KD7: END-CAP [B1, Bardon] [9 of Pentacles, 6 of Pentacles, 2 of Cups]
Recognizing the wisdom of Nareena’s trust in nature, Bardon rededicated himself to his belief in the good in all things. He raised a fallen branch of oak like a king’s scepter and vowed to follow Nareena’s counsel as his future queen. He promised to temper his generosity with the strength of the oak, and to be worthy of his crown. That meant it was time for Bardon to return to the Moon Coast to find the source of his illusions and the betrayal that had befallen him.

Nareena first wanted to commune with nature, to call forth a prophetic path of justice that might show them the way…
[DRAW 1 – 6 of Swords] – Failure
…but she could not force a vision, and, so, they proceeded back to land of King Moryn, not knowing what awaited them.

KD8: SHARP CORNER [B2, Aislingworm] [Ace of Cups, King of Swords, The Fool]
The next day, Bardon expected that he would need to use stealth to reenter his own home and find allies to support him in his search for the source of his ill fortune, but what he and Nareena found was nothing like they had expected. Overnight, King Moryn had apparently regenerated and now he sat on the throne looking as he had in his physical prime! He declared to the people that the gods had bestowed the gift of renewed youth to him to usher in a new age of prosperity, and many of the citizens believed the miracle and celebrated like fools in the streets! No one seemed to care that Bardon had returned.

Nareena was certain that the “miracle” was somehow related to what had befallen Bardon, so, she summoned the courage to demand an audience with the king without Bardon knowing. In her request, she claimed to have had a vision involving his renewed youth.
[DRAW 1 – The Empress] – Success
It did not take long for Nareena to receive word that young King Moryn would see her.

KD9: SHARP CORNER [B2, Aislingworm] [3 of Cups, King of Cups, The High Priestess]
While the people celebrated outside, young King Moryn greeted Nareena with an air of seriousness in his throne room privately. He had confirmed from others earlier that she was, indeed, a respected seer, so he confided in her the truth: he was not the king. He was the dragon Great Aislingworm disguised as young Moryn in an illusion. He explained to Nareena the favor he had bestowed upon Moryn, and then added that, after the king had so horribly treated his son, Queen Alane – who never believed Moryn’s lies – expressed her repugnance at his actions, and guilt overcame the old man in the night. Before the dawn, King Moryn had died from his shame. So, Great Aislingworm decided on this flamboyant ruse to keep the Moon Coast from falling apart, but he didn’t know what to do next! Let the Moon Coast fall? Eat the people? Or stay as king and lead the people (even though he was sure that would get boring rather quickly)? Great Aislingworm hoped that Nareena could show him the way.

Nareena sought justice for Bardon and tried to convince the dragon that restoring the rightful heir to the throne was the proper course of action for Great Aislingworm.
[DRAW 1 – Knight of Pentacles WITH A RED DRAGON ON IT!!!!] – Grand Success!!!
Harmony of the elements! Great Aislingworm agreed and decided that he would create a grand illusion to convince the people that the strange events of the past few days were the beginning of a new era, one which would presage great things for Bardon, the new King of the Moon Coast!

KD 10: FINISH [King of Wands, Strength, 5 of Pentacles]
And so, in a grand gesture, Great Aislingworm re-revealed himself to the people as a powerful druid who welcomed back Bardon with a flurry of illusory creatures of air, land, and sea! The people were overcome with glee by yet another “miracle” which prolonged their celebratory joy. Queen Alane proudly presided over the wedding of Bardon and Nareena, followed immediately by their coronation as the new king and queen. Theirs would be a rule of compassion and empathy, but of strength as well. For the visions and wisdom of Nareena could be the guide for Bardon’s gentle strength. The Moon Coast was surely destined for many, many years of good fortune!

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6. RPG Item: Alone Among the Stars [Average Rating:0.00 Unranked]

W v. Geel

(pzler)

Netherlands
Nieuw Vossemeer
noord brabant

I stumbled upon this and decided it would be a safe game to attempt a bit of journaling. I went for English because I thougt it might be nice to share.

I enjoyed the game and the writing. But in the future I might choose to type it. My hand hurts and english without a spell checker is not easy.

But I really recommend this to others. It is pay what you want and I donwloaded it for free but since I probably will play this again I will give something to the developer. I do love this option in pay wat you want games.

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7. RPG Item: Dresden Files Accelerated [Average Rating:8.38 Overall Rank:2165]

Corey Mayo

(cmmayo)

United States
Schertz
TX

You can go off and rule the universe from beyond the grave.

Or check into a psycho ward, which ever comes first, huh?

Dr. Marcus Livingston Adventure, Part 2...

Scene 4: Attempting to unlocking the cat form from the Egyptian specimen.

Marcus returns to his personal lab outside Commerce, Texas, and works tirelessly with his new specimen. His first attempt fails. He fears he has destroyed the specimen.
Disappointed, he drives to the Texas A&M - Commerce campus. It's a Friday night and he decides to blow off some steam by having a few beers at the Low Keep, the basement bar at the Student Center. His ambitious post-grad student, Diego Cortez, is there and grills him for information about his Egypt trip. Marcus isn't in the mood.

He promises Diego to tell him all about it another time.
A few beers in, Marcus notices that a pale, frail-looking young woman has been staring at him for a while. He smiles back tamely and watches as she composes herself and approaches. She introduces herself as Marie Drabek, a veterinarian student.

They chat and Marcus can tell she has ulterior motives for approaching him--but seemingly not the typical motivations found in a bar setting. She orders a strong drink and downs it...
"Okay, look..." she says, "You're going to think I'm crazy, but I'm kind of psychic."
"Isn't everyone a bit intuitive, given information and applied thought? What are--"
"No, I have visions. And I saw you in one of them--and I've never seen you before tonight." Marie holds up her hand in a "let me continue" sign. "You were working in a lab with someone. Real normal... but then it turned weird. There was a person with glowing eyes. And I was there, too, I think."
Marcus looks at her glass. "What did you order?" he jokes.
"I'm serious. I don't talk to ANYONE about these visions. Had 'em my whole life."
They sit in a silence that quickly edges toward awkwardness.
"And not only that, something compelled me to leave my apartment and come here tonight."
"You wanted to drink? That's why I--" starts Marcus.
Marie puts her hand up again, "The vision gets stranger. You... you turned into a cat."
"Oh, shit," says Marcus.
"Look, I'm not crazy and I'm not drunk. My visions almost always come true... eventually. I'm SERIOUS."
Marcus finishes his drink in a gulp and says, "I think you ARE serious. Let's go back to my place."
Marie shakes her head. "I'm not interested in THAT."
"No, you misunderstand. I have a lab at my place. And I've been working on a specimen I brought back from Egypt... of a mummified corpse that was half woman-half CAT."
"Whoa," says Marie.
"Yeah. 'Whoa.'"
She grabs her stuff as Marcus slams some cash on the bar and they head out together.

Scene 5: Returning to his lab with Marie.

"Wait!" exclaims Marie.
"What?" asks Marcus, fumbling for his key fob.
"We've been drinking. Neither one of us can drive back to your lab! We've got to Uber or something."
Diego steps out of the shadows and asks, "Going back to your lab? Need a lift?"
"Not now, Diego."
"Are you sober?" Marie asks.
"Sober as a priest! Come on, Marcus. You said you'd tell me about the Egypt trip," he half-whines.
"So you really did go to Egypt," Marie says to Marcus, obviously a bit relieved.
Marcus sighs. Maybe Diego can help him determine if the specimen is still viable. Diego is pushy, but he's an artist in the lab.
"OK," says Marcus to Diego in resignation. He thinks for a moment. "Let's take your car."
"EXCELLENT!"
The three head northeast into the woods towards Marcus' home. Marcus sits in the back again, keeping an eye out, his suspicions raised after the last driving encounter with Hentie and Thethi. Diego asks about the trip and Marcus casually discusses his difficulties extracting DNA from such an ancient specimen.
"Dude, I was just studying up on that. I might have some ideas."
Maybe this will work out, Marcus thinks. He can probably trust Diego with anything that comes of his attempts. But "glowing eyes" keeps echoing in his head. He's never believed in psychics or anything supernatural, but he also never believed in men that could change into wolves, either...
He decides to tell them about the cat-woman mutated corpse hidden in the tomb for 4000 years. He finishes an edited version of his trip as they arrive at his home.

Scene 6: Working on the specimen with Diego, with Marie in tow.

The trio arrives safely at Marcus' home. Not yet 40, Marcus has already published two successful academic texts on Paleopathology--one on ancient human diseases and one on animals. Animal Paleopathology is still a relatively new field and the success of his book, along with money from frequent lecture appearances has afforded him quite a nice house and plot of land on the outskirts of Commerce.
He and Diego head in to immediately get to work. Once inside, Marie notices muddy paw prints tracked in from the back door that stops near the fridge.
"Oh, do you have a dog?" she asks.
"Not exactly," replies Marcus. "The lab is in the basement," he says to Diego.
Marcus and Diego work all night. Marie finds the business card with the red sun on it that Marcus received from the mysterious man in Egypt. She rubs her thumb across the raised print and ponders it for a while before falling asleep on the futon. When the sun dawns through the basement window it shines on the card and the red ink flows up her arm and disappears into her eyes.
"I think we got it," says an exhausted Diego as he pulls an Eppendorf tube from the microcentrifuge and holds it up to the light before pausing.
"Diego, my man," says Marcus, "you are a godsend." Then he notices the look on Diego's face.
"No, actually, I am the godsend," says a voice from over Marcus' shoulder.

It's Marie, and her eyes are glowing red. The ghostly outline of a woman-sized serpent surrounds her as she speaks again, "...and I'm here to make you an offer."
"Are you seeing what--"
Marcus interrupts Diego, "Yes."
"Marcus Livingston, My name is Wadjet and I demand a blood sacrifice in exchange for the power you seek. Kill this man beside you and I will grant you the power to take on all of the forms of my followers: Cobra, Cat, Lion, Falcon, and more. Or you can battle me, at your own peril. Feel free to take the cursed form of the Wolf and fight me... but know that you will have to kill the woman whose body I possess. And if you win, you will only gain the form of the Cat, from the spirit of my follower Henuttawy, which that man now holds in his hand. Make your choice now, or I will kill you all."
Diego begins stuttering but Marcus shushes him and moves to stand between the two.
Marcus feels the adrenaline course through him.
"...take the cursed form of the Wolf and fight me."
His body is screaming for action and he can feel the power of the Wolf form begin to take hold. Time slows as he forces himself to think.
"...you will have to kill the woman whose body I possess."
No. He can't let that happen.
"I demand a blood sacrifice."
A blood sacrifice. He has an idea.
Marcus grabs a scalpel from the nearby table, holding it to his own throat, "If it's blood you want, take mine and spare these people's lives." Marcus sinks the scalpel into his neck and the first drop of blood trickles out.
Marie's face twists into a sly grin and Wadjet speaks again, "Khafra was wise to offer this power to you. You have shown that you are indeed the man destined to assume this mantle."
She moves to Marcus in the blink of an eye, knocking away the scalpel and sinking Marie's mouth and her ghostly fangs into his neck. He stiffens, first with pain, and then with ecstasy. Red liquid flows from her eyes, down her cheeks, and into the cut on his neck.
She pulls her mouth from his neck and whispers, "Take all that I offer."
Wadjet kisses him with her bloody mouth and, as she does, the ghostly form disappears. Marie finds herself kissing Marcus. She pulls back in shock and confusion.
"What are you...?" she gasps and instinctively swings her hand at his face. But he's not there anymore and the slap continues, striking the nearby Diego with a glancing blow.
They look down between them to see a black cat sitting on a pile of clothes where Marcus had been. They look at each other and down again, and watch as Marcus reappears between them in human form, now naked...
He looks down at his hands, turning them over in amazement.
Marie faints.
Diego shudders for a moment before letting out a scream...
"WHAT THE F*** IS GOING ON!!!???"

End Session.

Postscript:
Upcoming Event Tarot reading:
1. WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HAVE IN STORE?
Marcus has searching to do, and it will be his responsibility to ask the questions that will allow the others involved to understand the circumstances.
2. WHAT DOES MARCUS NEED TO WATCH OUT FOR?
Marie and Diego are confused and emotionally distressed.
3. WHAT ACTION WILL BENEFIT MARCUS NOW?
Marcus must deal with their mistrust by being honest about the events that have led to this moment.
4. RESULTS OF THE UPCOMING EVENT:
The result will be planning and moving forward – progression.

[+] Dice rolls

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8. Board Game: Vanguard: Seeking Sanctuary [Average Rating:10.00 Unranked]

Kai Bettzieche

(schattentanz)

Germany
Ladenburg
Baden Württemberg

I'm planning the next chapter for my Vanguard System ..

Next "campaign" is going to be a dungeon crawl, where the mercenaries are descending into a dungeon hoping to wipe out the big bad evil ..

Classic Monsters:

Skeletons and Zombies - along with some not so classy cultists ...

The dungeon...

Cpt. Aurik and his band of mercenaries are ready for the descent..

Whereas...

...the Cult...

...is determined...

...to take them out.

Driven by... whatever this is...

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9. RPG: Basic RolePlaying [Average Rating:7.07 Overall Rank:136]

Arielle

(PinkCupcake)

United States
Sacramento
California

(And continued from last month...

) ....after trying my first solo rpg play-through, I decided to try out Pendragon (1st - 5th Editions) solo. I made two characters, and then, to my great surprise, I was invited to play a PbF version Pendragon. I accepted the invitation and I am now enjoying playing online!

Instead of rolling up a new character to play Pendragon Solo (since I was already playing that one now in a multiplayer campaign) I decided to try the Basic RolePlaying for solo next. I really like this role playing system! It allows for lots of detail while remaining relatively non-complicated. It is scenario agnostic. And it allows for great flexibility. It will be very interesting to play overlayed with various solo engines.

Rolling up my character.

Although I think it is much more reasonable for those who jump into dangerous adventures to venture forth in groups, even as a solo player running several adventurer characters, I really prefer playing just one character. So, I decided to just play one character this next time, and I wanted to play a lone female. So, I decided I needed to give her super powers! I wanted a character who would not die for quite a while, no matter what I threw at her, because I wanted to try out a variety of solo game methods, settings and engines. And I thought keeping one character consistent between all these rpg solo tests would give me a better idea of how I want to play solo going forward.

Thus, I created my new character, Argentia. I have never played a super before, so this was new territory for me. Usually, in multiplayer settings and campaigns, I generally create a low level, more-or-less average-type of adventurer or hero, a common thief or fighter, seldom even a magic user. I don’t like feeling like I am all powered-up when I start a game. I want to grow with my character, get more powerful as I level up, and I don’t want “chancies” — I want to earn my place in the game! That’s just how I roll.

I put my character sheets in handy protectors so I could use a dry-erase pen to track changing conditions such as hit points.

Allowing myself extraordinary powers was quite a new experience for me. I still did not want to be a god of a character, so I took some flaws as well. I made Argentia an amnesiac. She doesn’t know her real name or where she came from. And I can explain that she can be in wildly different dungeon settings because she phases between dimensions and worlds, often without notice! So, she is sort of like a one-person “Sliders.” Although firmly planted in the 21st Century USA, with her Jeep Wrangler, her Beretta and her hunting rifle, she also has an alternate form! Deliberately, and sometimes spontaneously, she becomes a silver unicorn, her were-creature transformation, who has some serious attacks with her horn and kicks. As a unicorn, she is magical and holy.

But she is just as clueless about who she is and why she phases in and out of different realities as when she is human. And she is hunted — by someone or something. Plus, silver, sterling or higher, is her kryptonite, in both her forms! She can’t even touch it!

Soon it will be time to see how she fares in this world and others.

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10. RPG Item: One Page: A Dungeon [Average Rating:0.00 Unranked]

Arielle

(PinkCupcake)

United States
Sacramento
California

The first adventure I ran my new SuperHuman Basic RolePlaying character, Argentia, through was a from the one-page-dungeon contest held each year. I am very impressed by many of these creative dungeon pages. I bought three volumes in pdf form from the Bag of Holding which I thought was quite worth it, But it is important to note that these are all Creative Commons Licensed and available for free.

And the first such one-page-dungeon Argentia tackled was in was a free one I downloaded from this year’s contest, called "Hidden in Plain Sight." It was simple and fun, and I was even able to work in some a way for Argentia to find clues about where she came from and some of her mystery.

For a Super, though, the dungeon was a bit easy for her. And for me the biggest disappointment is that most of these one page dungeons do not have the stats of the creatures one will be fighting. It would slow game play significantly to find or roll the stats (I tried). And reading ahead to make stats before-hand will definitely kill the surprise factor. What to do?

I wound up using the Mythic Game Master Emulator to determine some of the combat which was not as much fun for me, especially after I so carefully crafted Argentia’s stats. Not sure how I will address this going forward.

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11. RPG: Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls [Average Rating:8.81 Overall Rank:174]

Carl Clare

(carlc)

United Kingdom
Watford

I've been preparing for a period of enforced sick leave and now the first week post Op is over I could start on the many resources I acquired in preparation for the expected boredom.I

First up: The Necropolis of Death, a CYOA/tutorial for Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls. It's written in a humorous style that doesn't try too hard (and therefore doesn't grate on the nerves). The adventure itself walks you through character creation letting you make choices in creating your PC before the adventure proper starts. The adventure is a nonsense (literally a necromancer lives up the hill from the village) but traps and combat all happen with frequency and are clearly explained. The whole book is quite short: taking about 2-3 hours for the first successful run (assuming starting again when you die) and repeatability is limited due to the small number of encounters. However though I know T&T is not a difficult system to grock this was a nice little introduction for someone a bit spaced out on painkillers.

ETA: classic monsters- giant rat, zombie, skeletal warrior

Next: Alone Against the Flames using Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition Quick-Start Rules. The adventure took less than 2 hours but has some replayability. As for the adventure content itself:

Spoiler (click to reveal)

Anyone who has seen a certain film knows where this is going fairly soon. The trick is to 'play the game without meta-knowledge spoiling it.

As a tutorial the adventure is not particularly useful (especially compared with The Necropolis of Death as many things are not explained, just used. Having said that this is a much more complicated system and you are supposed to use the Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition Quick-Start Rules (though I know the basic system enough to have never opened the rules during this adventure). As a solo adventure it was unsatisfying but I think this is more due to the genre not being conducive to a more linear narrative (unlike a dungeon crawl).

Classic monsters? Humans I guess....

Third was The Black Hack (1st & 2nd Ed.). I tried using Solo-HACK-tastic! but it didn't interest me so moved on to first CYOA in The Solo Hack, which was short, uninteresting, and lacking in any narrative.

Edited Fri Oct 18, 2019 10:01 pm
Posted Thu Oct 17, 2019 3:50 pm
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12. RPG Item: Scarlet Heroes [Average Rating:7.70 Overall Rank:2957]

Catalina Gerlein

(thredith)

Colombia
Bogotá

Eryssel's Journeys

Cu ena durus Tae'Nah arcis!

Today, I decided to get back on track with Scarlet Heroes. I've been reading a lot of different RPGs lately, but there's something about this one that keeps pulling me in.

I love the character creation process, so I chose to roll a new one from scratch. I went with a fighter build, but instead of emphasizing strength or dexterity, I decided to focus on charisma. I'm pretty much porting one of the four characters I had already built for playing Mazes and Minotaurs, Kalliopi of Eleusis (the other three, Nikandros of Heraklea, Chrysantos of Argos, and Lyssandra of Heraklea will have to wait). I changed her name to Kallia, and I made her inhabit one of the continents of a world I created some years ago (the world of Mithralond).

She was born in the city of Atthan, in Sangara. Because I hadn't previously explored Sangara in any other of my games, I used the Ultimate Toolbox book to help me come up with details for the city.

For some reason, I generated a detail that described a noble, Lord Damis the Holy, who liked to collect exotic animals, and another detail that described a famous foreign pit fighter, Garen Steelfang, who was visiting Atthan for a tournament. Once I started playing, the random storyline I rolled was that of a hunt (kudos to Paul Carden and his Fighting Fantasy - Solo Roleplaying #1 video for recommending the storyline chart from Advanced Runequest by the Games Workshop as a tool to accomplish this). So, my task was actually connected to the random noble I rolled. Lord Damis had posted a hunting quest, offering a reward of 200GP to anyone who dared hunt an Albino Ape (taken from the Labyrinth Lord monster manual) for him. Rumors said that the visiting fighter, Garen Steelfang, had decided to hunt the beast himself to gain some glory, and to prove to everyone in the city that his people were superior to Sangarians.

Because my character only had 1GP in her pocket after creation, the reward sounded quite appealing. Also, as a local from Atthan, she wanted to prove the foreign fighter wrong.

Using the Scarlet Heroes solo system, I devised a plot that was quite fitting! "An antagonist (Garen Steelfang) seeks the assassination of a target (Albino Ape)." It was perfect!

Finding some inspiration from my Bivius RPG games, I gave Kallia two options to handle the quest:

A - Find clues and learn about where to find an albino ape, kill it before Garen does, and claim the reward.
B - Sabotage Garen's plans, find the ape, kill it, and get the reward.
B.R.O. - A

So, I followed plan A!

It all started easy enough. Kallia went to the market to ask the local fruit vendor (an expert on Sangarian flora and fauna) about the legendary albino ape and where to find it. She used her charisma and succeeded. However, just when the man was going to answer her question, a group of bandits attacked the man. Apparently, he had some unpaid debts, and they had come to collect the money by force. Kallia did not allow it and chose to fight the men instead. It was a fast victory, taking only 2 rounds to defeat 3 thugs and 1 veteran thug.

The second scene saw Kallia being sent by the vendor to retrieve a map of the region from a friend of his at the local merchant's guild. She found the man's contact, but unfortunately, the merchant had already sold the map to Garen. Nonetheless, he kept a second map at home with his wife. So, Kallia decided to go and get it.

The third scene was Kallia looking for the merchant's house. Right when she thought she had found it, the fourth scene changed things around a bit: On her way to the merchant's house, she found Garen talking to a servant of his at the entrance of a modest inn. After seeing them exchange a few words, Garen went inside to rest, leaving the servant to wait outside. Kallia, using her charisma, chose to flirt with the servant, and see if he could get the map his master had bought earlier that day. She succeeded her roll, having the servant going in to retrieve the item. He got the item easily and handed it to the flirtatious fighter. I personally liked this part because my character had run out of money during the initial setup, so I hadn't been able to buy a map for myself.

This led to the sixth scene, which was handing the map to the vendor. He became somewhat inquisitive, demanding to know why Kallia wanted to learn about the whereabouts of such a rare creature. Another successful charisma roll had Kallia telling the truth to the man, who appreciated her honesty and helped her. However, there was a small detail he had to mention: albino apes were a rare encounter unless you had the right item with you —a flask of garlic oil. Fortunately for Kallia, the man kept one stored in his house. So, he handed her a note that she was meant to give to his son. That way, his son would know she had been sent by the vendor to get the item.

Scene 7 had Kallia visiting the vendor's house and talking to his son. But, right before he could read the note, a loud crash coming from the inside alerted both of a sudden attack by a group of burglars. Kallia faced them all (5 thugs and 1 veteran thug), achieving another victory. She received some minor scratches, but this earned her the trust of the vendor's son. He gave her the item and insisted his father needed to know about how she had saved him.

The last scene took Kallia back to the market, where she was greeted by the vendor. He thanked her for everything she had done for him and his family, and told her where Garen had stored his rations for the hunting adventure. Kallia used this information to go to the exact location of the loot, and passing a dexterity check, managed to infiltrate the building, and steal its contents. She received 4 neatly packed sets of daily rations.

With this, she concluded her urban adventure, and she obtained a complete victory.

The results of this gameplay were:
- Garen Steelfang had his efforts ruined, so he's out of the hunt.
- Kallia got a map.
- Kallia was told where to look for an Albino Ape.
- Kallia got the necessary items (flask of garlic oil) to summon an encounter with an Albino Ape.
- Kallia won extra rations for her adventures.
- Kallia found a new ally (Atthan's fruit vendor).
- Kallia earned +1 XP.

I really liked how things went, and how the story developed almost on its own.

One thing I found to be weird was the number of scenes it took to get the fruit vendor to tell Kallia where to find an albino ape.

This time, I took quick notes, in a bullet point list format, to help me keep the story flowing instead of just writing pages upon pages of text. I liked the outcome in the end. I got to enjoy the game while keeping quick and easy track of my progress. Also, I played an entire urban adventure in one sitting! Last time I tried, it took me one day per scene due to the amount of text I was writing back then, which is why I never finished my previous Scarlet Heroes game.

I'm looking forward to seeing if Kallia gets to hunt the ape or not. I'm pretty confident she will.

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13. Board Game Publisher: WizKids

Arielle

(PinkCupcake)

United States
Sacramento
California

I’m still experimenting with various RPG systems, solo rpg engines. and accessories I’m my solo play.

This week, I continued with my Super-Human Were-Unicorn player-character Argentia.

I thought I would play around with various visual play items. I have not used many of these during the years I’ve been role playing. Playing in groups, I tend to dislike minis and map mats. Typically, they are placed on large tables so far away from the players that it is hard for me to move mine around — I’m usually much shorter than the guys playing. And sometimes it’s even hard for me to see exactly what is going on the play area if the tall guys moving their pieces around are blocking my vision, LOL! But solo, at least I can play with them up-close. So I thought I would try them.

Left to right: Liz Sherman mini from Hellboy: The Board Game ; Chronoscope Bones "Jane Porter, Victorian Heroine" mini from Reaper Miniatures; Pathfinder Battles Deepcuts Unicorn mini by WizKids; Sparks Free-for-All printable standees (pack mule and wizard) by Cumberland Games & Diversions; Dice shown for scale, and all on top of some tiles from the Pathfinder Flip-Tiles: Dungeon Starter Set.

Recently, I ordered some Pathfinder flip cards. They are okay. I thought I might choose each card at random while my character explores each room of a dungeon. But as I played around with them I found there was too much of a chance of not getting the right pieces for even one room or passageway. I can still use them, I suppose, to gauge combat positions when my character has to fight.

Then I picked up an adventurer mini and a unicorn mini, for Argentia’s two forms, from my local game shop. The unicorn mini is really superb quality. The adventurer mini, not so much. It was really hard to find a modern woman in any kind of practical terrain exploration gear — like normal shorts or slacks (instead of say a leotard or even a g-string! Yikes! Can’t you just imagine scaling jagged rock walls wearing only that!?! (Oh, no, Argentia has runs in her leotards again! Hope you have a stack of new leotards stashed away in your ration kit, Girrrl! And don’t forget the iodine for those skinned knees!). But I did find this female “Victorian” explorer figure with a rifle — although I was really hoping to find a more modern female with a pistol. Also, she was kind of leaning in as if the figure had been bent from the feet forward. She was the only figure like that for sale. So I bought her. Perhaps I will be able to heat the figure up in water and re-bend her into position.

I also printed out some standee figures I could color myself since I do not have a color printer, nor do I want to print them out at a print shop. I’m glad I went with this decision to try out the free standee print files, because I decided these standees did not really work for me. They are okay. But really not my art style — too cartoony for my tastes. The standees are also super-fussy, at that scale, to color by hand. And it was quite tedious to color them in, then assemble them with cardboard in their stands, so they look relatively attractive.

I realize hand-painted minis and hand-made terrain would look so much better. But that would be a hobby unto itself that I am not sure I want to invest in, money- or time-wise. I will play awhile with these aids. Maybe I could make some basic terrain eventually. And I know I can buy some pre-printed Pathfinder standees. We’ll see.

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14. RPG Designer: Dyson Logos

Arielle

(PinkCupcake)

United States
Sacramento
California

Continuing my exploration and experimentation of my solo role-play, I continued playing Argentia, my SuperHuman Were-Unicorn character, using the Basic RolePlaying system, and using only the Game Master's Apprentice (GMA) deck as my solo engine.

Ready to draw the GMA cards.

I made some other changes to my method of play for this session. I voice-recorded my notes, then wrote them up bullet-journal style afterwards in my journal. Because I was not keeping a journal as I played, I dispensed with tracking the individual scenes, nor did I use a chaos factor from the Mythic Role Playing Fate Chart and FU: the Free, Universal RPG.

Also, I wanted try random map cards or tiles, so I printed and laminated the ones I found from my copy of Dyson Logos in my Old School Revival Bundle of Holding.

A stack of Dyson Logos map tiles I printed out and from which I randomly drew the map.

Last time, at the end of my one-page-adventure where Argentia defeated an evil wizard, she found herself remaining in the area with no phasing into another universe occurring. I did not roll for this, just decided she would stay. From now on I think it will be better to roll each time, with the chaos factor increasing after each adventure, perhaps.

The map and route drawn in dry-erase marker.

Meanwhile, most of this session was created using the GMA deck and rolling on various tables I owed in a variety of sources.

The grateful owner of the magic shop — from my last session — escorted Argentia to the Old Gatehouse Inn in the center of town. I rolled the name Elk Springs on a table and rolled that it was a prosperous bustling fishing town of 14,000 people near a lake fed by local springs.

While resting up and replenishing her hit points, Argentia was approached by a local wizard and his pack mule. The Wizard, Rodrig the Green, brother of the magic shop owner, explained that he had been out of town during the visit of the Evil Wizard. But having returned to Elk Springs, Rodrig asked if Argentia would accompany him into one of the abandoned underground lairs of a mysterious local cult. He said that the symbols of this cult were appearing through-out the city, mysteriously, and he believed the cult was responsible for the evil wizard roosting in the attic of the Magic Shop. Rodrig said he and his brother wanted to drive the cult out of town permanently.

The quickly cobbled together prototype minis, of Rodrig and his pack mule, for this adventure.

It turned out to be a very strange adventure, which I generated almost entirely randomly. But it turned out to be not terribly interesting. For one thing, there were very few encounters. Secondly, the underground lair appeared to be an abandoned college of clerics or acolytes. It was very clean, only a little dusty, mostly empty of treasures, but with well-kept built-in statuary, with offerings, as if deities were still being worshipped there.

The two prominent deities were designated with lettered plates, and called the “Long Lost Siblings”, a youth and his sister. Oddly, though, the only offerings were bowls of water and fresh flowers! Hardly the sort of offerings left by an evil cult!

Argentia did not know what to make of such a peaceful place nor did she know how to deal with the fact that Rodrig didn’t seem to know much about the cult or recognize obvious spells and symbols, despite his training (and the high probability that he would!) Also, he gave Argentia conflicting information and admitted that the Elk Springs population avoids him, only buying from his brother when they have to, and that the locals don’t seem to like him! Argentia questioned him and learned that Rodrig and his brother have been in town for only five years. Rodrig claims that the townspeople do not like wizards, or magic generally, and that he wants only to help them trust wizards again.

Argentia's journal with bulleted information this time, and an overhead view of Argentia's unpainted mini.

Argentia and Rodrig do manage to snag potions that Rodrig claims will recover memories. (One of the GMA cards came up “yes!” at least!). But Argentia secretly tucks her bottle away, determined to check it out with another magic user before she actually imbibes the potion.

Rodrig and Argentia eventually left the underground college only partially explored. Then, Argentia returned to the hotel pondering the mysteries of her adventure.

Things I learned in this session:

d10-2

I did not like the lack of structure. I think I will need to go back to the scene-plus-chaos-factor structure, creating more tension in the adventure. All random answers this time through were, just by luck, pretty lack-luster — nearly every room, chest, and desk came up quite empty. And there were no random encounters or modified “scenes”.

d10-7

I did like using the map cards from Dyson Logos. I have been wanting to make my own, a larger set of individual rooms and passages, but was not sure I would like this method. I would have preferred not so see so much of the dungeon ahead — so I think making a room-by-room deck, instead of a section-by-section deck (which is what I printed out for this adventure) might be a very good idea.

d10-3

I did like rolling on the random tables in my various resources. But there are quite a few I have, and the indices and tables-of-Contents are not as descriptive as I need. For example, I really wanted a table of symbols, and knew there must be one somewhere, but could not find one. Much later, I came across such a table in the Tome of Adventure Design, and it would have been perfect — had I known it was there! I need to get more familiar with my materials, and perhaps even make up my own master index based on key words or tags that make sense to me.

d10-9

Voice recording made play MUCH faster. However, writing down every thing later took time and was a bit tedious, especially when I had to listen to all the recording I had done. I did like bullet-journal-style method to make my notes, as opposed to writing pages and pages of text. I think next time I will just bullet journal my play and try that out.

During each play session I use so many resources that it is hard to enter the all on this list. I think I may create my own Geek List of RPG resources that I am using for my sessions as I explore the best aides and methods for me!

[+] Dice rolls

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15. RPG: Scarlet Heroes [Average Rating:7.30 Overall Rank:686]

Arielle

(PinkCupcake)

United States
Sacramento
California

Today I continued to play Argentia’s adventure in Elk Springs, this time with then help of Rory's Story Cubes, and my Game Master's Apprentice cards. I also learned and used Scarlet Heroes, just the solo section. I have to say, I quite liked using Scarlet Heroes for solo play. There are quite a few helpful tables for solo play, and some very interesting concepts on actions within each kind of adventure: urban, wilderness, and dungeon. I am not sure I really understand all of these action concepts and how they are to work in the game, however. For example, I did a search of my Scarlet Heroes .pdf (my hard bound book is on the way) to find further explanation of exactly what a “clue” is, how it works, and how that differs from an “investigative” action. I didn’t find much elaboration, unfortunately.

Ready to play!

I started keeping track of my adventure’s scene number again, and also my level as a character. I like the leveling up in Scarlet Heroes, because it introduces a way to randomly “discover” the threat level. And the threat level equation uses the character’s level. I decided that “threat level” made far more sense (to me) than the “chaos factor” of the Mythic Game Master Emulator.

I am not sure how leveling up using the Scarlet Heroes rules will affect my characters skills or abilities however, since I am playing the Basic RolePlaying system otherwise. I decided to table the question for now.

Argentia's adventure journal, on the right, with my "Binder of Useful Solo Game Information" on the left.

Now back to the story. The first thing I did was to roll whether or not Argentia phases out of this and into another universe during the afternoon. She did not. Pondering the strange conflicting information about the cult, she went down to the Old Gatehouse Inn Tavern to see if she can investigate any rumors about the cult or about the towns peoples’ supposed uneasy dislike of Rodrig the Green.

Argentia walked up to the bar maid, Felicia, a pretty woman in her thirties with a disfiguring scar on her face Yep, all this was randomly rolled off of tables, and was very interesting and not what I would have thought of all on my own. Argentia struck up a conversation with Felicia and learned that the the cult was, in fact, peaceful, and that no one actually disliked Rodrig and his brother. They were simply leaving Rodrig and the Magic Shop owner out of the information loop.

For the town’s relationship with the cult was fraught with intrigue and mixed feelings developing over the years as a reactionary, fundamentalist theologian began spreading vile rumors about the cult — yeah, this was all rolled up randomly! Who would have thought? And where have we heard this story before?!

In short, the intense, fanatical theologian, wildly jealous of the local cult’s popularity, was the guy who hired the evil wizard to bring horrific monsters and eerie happenings to Elk Springs!

Felicia promised to tell Argentia more, but in the back room, out of earshot of the casual tavern customers. And that is where I left Scene 1.

One of the many nifty pages of tables in Scarlet Heroes. This one I laminated and keep handy for frequent use!

d10-3

I did like the addition of the Scarlet Heroes material into my game.

d10-7

I really think I need to use the threat level to reintroduce the action of possible interrupted or altered scenes. Otherwise, there does not seem to be enough tension in the game.

d10-8

As for Rory’s story cubes, I know that others like them very much, but for some reason, I have not been able to successfully use them — not this time either. I found myself rolling off the Scarlet Heroes tables instead, or else using the Game Master’s Apprentice cards as back-up to set my imagination going.

d10-5

I did like bullet journaling my adventure, and drawing boxes around thoughts and ideas or game play I wanted to explore or add.

FAVORITE CLASSIC RPG MONSTER is, and always will be, the mighty and magnificent Dragon, the monster that brought me into D&D in the first place, when D&D had just been invented, starting me off on a lifetime of role playing!

My all-time favorite monster, though, I was completely stunned and delighted to see, is detailed in Scarlet Heroes!!! The Aswang! I seldom meet or hear of anyone in my everyday life who has heard of the fearsome Aswang! The Aswang harkens far back into Filipino mythology, and is still believed-in by some today! Beware this terrible shapeshifting vampiric monster who feeds on humans in the night!

[+] Dice rolls

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16. RPG Item: Index Card RPG Core (Second Edition) [Average Rating:0.00 Unranked]

jonathan schleyer

(provence)

United States
Manhattan Beach
California

This is my first try at ICRPG and I used the Blood and Snow supplement to create a randomly generated character.

Appearance: savage: face paint, dark eyes, man of few words, an ominous look

Story: banished: my defiance has cost me my home. There is no turning back - except that if I find The Relic, the terrible cold winter, that may threatened the land, may change

Oath: seeker: find The Relic and decipher its relationship to the fate of all

Occupations: Hunter (spearman and tracker)

Gear: wooden spear, bow, scale shield (+8 AC), 8 slagg arrows (provide ultimate damage for d4 turns after impact but use them and lose them)

ADVENTURE

I rolled that The Relic is 30 miles away.

On day 1, HERO walks a mile in flat lands when a violent earthquake occurs. He survives it but the result is a terrible maze of broken ice. The weather shifts to sticky ice so all his gear is unusable. Another earthquake happens which opens up an area under the ice sheet that is marshy. A thunderstorm starts which conceals the arriving Anacon giant snake's attack!

Anacon has 3 hearts and 2 attacks per turn (constriction and venomous attack).

Turn 1: Anacon constricts HERO around the legs and bites his shield that starts cracking absorbing the bite. Hero responds by using his strong legs to push himself out of the snake's grasp while he grabs his bow and precious slagg arrows because this is a deadly foe!!! He shoots an arrow at the snake for 13 damage!

Turn 2: The snakes misses twice!!!! including a roll of 1 so I give HERO an extra attack. The damage from the slagg arrow continues (6 damage) but he then shoots to other slagg arrows which both miss!!!!

Turn 3: The snakes constricts HERO so hard that in one turn he'll die if he can't get out! The snake follows is a terrible bite (roll of 20) for ultimate damage d6+d12 for 11 damage to HERO. His shield crumbles to pieces and his winter clothes get torn apart as he has 7 HP left. But HERO fails to untangle himself. But, his first slagg arrow is still doing damage to the snake and he unleashes another slagg arrow hitting on a 20 so adding ultimate damage and miraculous succeeding in killing the giant snake.

Phew, all this happened within the first mile of this 30 mile trek.

What will happen next without a shield, half of his slagg arrows and part of his winter clothes ripped?

[+] Dice rolls

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17. RPG Item: Fiasco [Average Rating:8.31 Overall Rank:6]

Jessica - the Secret One?

(busdjur)

Sweden
Örebro in Sweden

They are a treasure - I don´t need lots of them...

Yay - Stretch goat!

"During a session you and your friends will engineer and play out stupid, disastrous situations that exists at the darkly comic intersection of greed, fear and lust. It´s like making your own Coen brothers movie - in about the same amount of time it´d take to watch one."

With the help of a few dice-throws you can quickly create character relationships and situations. Put them in a location, adding an object or two, a need of something being done and a tilt (how the situation will change to the worse). My thought before I got the game was to see if I could tweek it and use it as a quick scenario setup for improvised one shot scenarios for groups. However I quickly realised this can easily be used for Solo-roleplaying too. With an add of a dicethrow for success/fail-outcomes of situation it actually works very well for solo-play. I only used the material in the system-book this time but there are several "scenarios" released as free pdfs that one can use to put the story in a different settings.

A few dicethrows and I had my startingpoint:

Relationship: professional (pastor, lawyer, doctor, dentist, drug dealer) & client
Needs to: Get rich through robbing a business
Location: Commerce street, Bill Rivers Poolroom for pool and illegal gambling
Object: Weapon in the form of a poisonous snake
Tilt: A neighbor walks in.

And then the building and story began and with a few more dicethrows and some of my own imagnination the poor dentist and his client were soon escaping the neighbor through the back dooor of the pool room on their way to try to rob a toystore downtown (armed with only a posionous snake), barely surviving that, getting out and then bumping into two drugdealers with the intent of showing off and getting the respect they deserved from town.... Lets just say it didn´t end up well...

[+] Dice rolls

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18. RPG Item: Fate of Cthulhu [Average Rating:0.00 Unranked]

Eric Miller

(govmiller)

United States
College Station
Texas

It's coming.... it's coming....

No, really. This is a Kickstarter and I have all the PDF stuff... the print copies will hopefully get here before the end of the year...

I've printed a few pages out and begun work on setting up what I think may be an adventure. This particular flavor of FATE is set sort of in today's world- but has you working to stop the Great Old Ones (or Ancient Old Ones) from taking over in the future. So it's got a lot of time travel in it. So I may be setting up an adventure or a campaign, or writing up a summary- not really sure which. And that is part of the fun...

Since I know I *can* go it alone, I brought out my helpers...

(And you thought it was Tequila in that box...)

and realized there isn't a good fit for Cthulhu... Which makes sense...

The "Timeline" part is what I was working to fill in. I need to do it in such a way that I really can work to have some characters try to foil the Great Old Ones. But do it in a way that will give me some choices, and some randomness so I have to DO something other than just follow along...

I've got some map generators, so this may be a job there. Generate a map and then randomly distribute the various elements. I could roll a Fate to see the alignment when I get to a point of interest and then fill it in on the Timeline.

And this:

Weldon didn't like the box as much as he likes his cardboard Halloween house.

[+] Dice rolls

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19. RPG Item: The Valley of Bones [Average Rating:8.33 Unranked]

Michael

(Deerhorne)

United States
Texas

I ordered this a few weeks back and received it in the mail after completely forgetting I had even ordered it. Surprise!

I had a chance to sit down last night and start a play-through and I have found it very enjoyable thus far. I will say it is a little "brutal" in the sense that dice rolls were a contributor to losing one of my strongest characters early-on. Apologies in advance for the wall of text (and sub-par creative writing)! I may have the timing of one major attack mixed-up as I'm typing this from memory but will fix later once I have a chance to review

BEGIN PLAY-THROUGH 1:

Starting out in slaver captivity was a sign to me that we were going to have a rough time and that we would need to take bold actions to secure our freedom. The only glimmer of hope was that the rag-tag group of 4 heroes had managed to stay together in spite of everything: Sar Jessica Dayne, Amelia Pass-Dayne (Jessica's half-sister), aspiring druid and Earth-magic specialist Tasha, and our cunning and aptly-named Brash.

Once thrown into the cells, we attempted to align with the prison gang in order to secure a food supply, but we were laughed at (failed charisma check) and had to wait for whatever scraps of food were leftover--reduced to chewing on bones like scavengers in search of marrow.

We soon started actually "competing" in the arena and found that we were luckily allowed to use standard equipment from the stock on hand--swords which barely could be called a weapon (+0 Fighting), a maul, and one wooden shield. Luckily, Milagros (a slave girl attending to the competitor-slaves and other arena tasks) gave us a friendly warning that use of magic would not be tolerated by the authorities. Tasha's strategy would be reduced to using bare hands (-1 Fighting penalty) for the first fight along with Brash. Sar Jessica took the sword and wooden shield as she was the most proficient while Amelia wielded the maul.

To our shock, we soon found ourselves squaring-off against untrained peasants led by what could only be described at the time as prison thugs. While the peasants out-numbered us, we were able to systematically chop them down in order to free our attention to focus on their leader. All of us took some damage in this initial skirmish (failed fighting checks), and were relieved when we were offered drink, proper food, and rest later. Being the combatants we were now, a proper cell was allotted to us so we no longer had to struggle for food scraps in the common and over-crowded receiving cells of the prior day.

The next fight delivered tragedy to our team. Sar Jessica found herself one-on-one against a formidable foe wielding a giant ax. As Jessica was struck off-balance and grounded, Amelia sprung to her aid in order to divert the lethally-posed ax blow which seemed to be unfolding in slow-motion. Sadly, Amelia was only in time to receive an up-close view of her half-sister being cleaved in two (failed fighting check!).

Our team was down to three at this point with a gaping wound where Sar Jessica used to provide leadership, fighting prowess, and noble insights.

We had little time to lick our wounds, much less grieve or begin the mourning process for Jessica. Far too quickly for our liking, we found ourselves in front of two lions. These otherwise beautiful beasts had been captured from the wild and were now fighting for their lives--reduced to the human level for sport and entertainment. We were able to make quick work of the lions, and were set to return to our cells for another brief respite.

Upon leaving the arena, we could not help by notice a guardsman harassing and being cruel to Milagros--the slave girl that gave us the friendly warning about the use of magic. We all felt an immediate and undeniable urge to help and thus sprang into action without weighing the consequences. We set upon the guard to give him a taste of his own medicine but failed in the execution of the rescue (failed check!). We also failed to remember that where there is one guard, there are many more within earshot. The guards made short work of our feeble insurrection and beat all three of us to the very doorstep of death (all characters were reduced to one health point!).

However, everything in the universe seems to play-out in its own way. Our bond with Milagros was strengthened as she saw and felt our desire to help her in spite of all odds. She led us to a secret tunnel where the fantasy of escape was quickly becoming a possible reality...

END PLAY-THROUGH 1 (approx 1+ hour)

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20. RPG Item: Savage Worlds Deluxe Explorer's Edition [Average Rating:8.02 Overall Rank:54]

Corey Mayo

(cmmayo)

United States
Schertz
TX

You can go off and rule the universe from beyond the grave.

Or check into a psycho ward, which ever comes first, huh?

Orktober Special!

I decided to try out the Savage Worlds system as an homage to this month's theme and the great new solo RPG series, "Me, Myself, & Die" by Trevor Devall: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtiBzkVoYrugJkrpW7_75Ag/fea...

Additional resources: Fantasy Companion Explorer's Edition (Savage Worlds), Mystic GM Emulator, ÜNE, the üniversal NPC emulator, Xanathar's Guide, Perilous Wilds, and Scarlet Heroes

Hero: Gladius Nocere, Half-Orc Assassin

BIO: Gladius was born to a Human herbalist named Affra after she was brutally raped during an Orc attack on her nomadic tribe, the Massi, in the mountainous Highlands surrounding the fortified valley city of White Sweep. Affra taught her son not only to fight well using his natural strength, but also to weaponize the mountainous flora for obfuscation, traps, and poisons.
As a young man, Gladius eventually tracked and spied on the Orc tribe that had attacked his mother. At first, he sought to connect with his father but was disgusted by the carnage he saw. He used his skills to poison to kill many of the Orcs, but an Orc tracker named Ront followed him home. His mother was killed as retribution, and Gladius was left scared, his human-looking nose cut off his face.
Consumed with hate, he seeks vengeance and to discover his father's true fate. He has since disconnected from the remnants of the Massi and has spent many years preparing himself by working as an assassin for a Half-Orc Assassin Agent, Thokk, in White Sweep and the surrounding areas.

Scene 1: Gladius pays his respects at his mother's grave and collects the poisonous flowers he has planted there.

Gladius kneels before his mother's unmarked grave in the White Sweep Highlands, saying a few muted words in her honor. His monthly ritual is to reaffirm his oath to wipe out the orc tribe as vengeance for the malice wrought on her. As usual, he ends the ritual by picking a fresh supply of poisonous flowers from the garden of lethal flora he has planted atop her. He loads handfuls of Mountain Laurel, Delphinium, Nightshade, and Poison Hemlock into his backpack.
"May your soul feed the death I will rain down upon them."

He is disrupted by the sounds behind him. Approaching is a group of three men, led by a forthright cleric named Father Savou who is demanding they approach Gladius for help, sensing he is both a religious man and knowledgeable of the medicinal plants they seek to help their parishioners.

The field scholar, Seamus, who he has tasked with helping him search for useful plants for medicine is arguing--bringing up the legends of killer orc tribes in the area that rape and pillage. He believes Gladius is an orc that will kill them. Behind them, the meek clergyman Jasper clutches a canvas bag as he prays to his god that nothing bad will happen.
Gladius sees no threat and listens to Father Savou's offer. He is in search of medicine and doesn't trust Seamus to do the job. Gladius asks for money in return, but the priest instead invites him to stay at the Chapel Of Ufdis while working and offers him food, room and board.
"Not a bad offer. The guild does that, but makes me kill for a living."
Father Savou shakes his head. "We can offer a better life than that. And we are in dire need of your help. Many of my parishioners have become ill from what we believe to be poisoning. Nine people have died. Someone with your knowledge could save many lives."
"That would be a nice change. OK, show me the way to your chapel."

Scene 2: Gladius returns with Father Savou to offer help.

The Chapel Of Ufdis is a peaceful, humble place, filled with streams descending from the Highlands above them, populated by beautiful gardens and simple priests. Father Savou says that the gardens that feed them are naturally tended, so it's unlikely that is the source of the illness. He also has had the communion wine inspected--no problem there. Savou admits, in confidence, that at a time like this, his faith has become shaken.
"Sometimes, I admit, I feel that we are but playthings of the gods. They no longer walk amongst us, and, in my weakest moments, even I resent their remoteness. But my faith tells me they sent you to help."
"Doubtful, but I'll see what I can do," grunts Gladius.
Father Savou, after a late lunch with Gladius, takes him to the infirmary, where Seamus is tending to a patient, alongside a few priests. The priests can't help but recoil a bit at Gladius' scared face and partially missing nose. But then they seem repentant and bow their heads, seeking forgiveness from their higher power.
He mutters at them as he passes, "No harm... I get that a lot. Usually, right before I kill someone."
They recoil in terror this time.
"Brothers, calm yourselves. Gladius is here to try to help."
He takes a look at the elderly man in the bed but sees no signs he recognizes, even after long moments of careful study.
"Are you sure it's poison?" asks Gladius.
"As sure as we can be," Savou responds. "Seamus has consulted with the city's finest scholars."
"And you're sure it's not the wine?"
"We all drank it. But not all of us became sick. And not all are elderly, like Kyrilu here. One child who ate at our dining hall--who had no wine--also succumbed to the poison."

"Then I must investigate the chapel. And I must do so alone..."

Gladius sets aside all of his belongings but his armor and weapons and wanders off into the depths of the chapel. The chapel seems to pre-date the city surrounding it. He suspects Dwarves may have carved it into the naturally occurring cave systems beneath much of White Sweep. It's even possible it was once home to the ancient Elves that have all but vacated this land since the influx of the more war-like Humans, Orcs, and various other races.

After skulking around in the shadows of the chapel, Gladius sees know suspicious people lurking about or any other signs of foul play. However, in the underground room where stools, utensils, plates, and wine glasses are stored, he sees a thin, amorphous Slime covering the stone walls. From the combination of his assassin's patience and his naturally acute vision, he can see that the slime is emerging from cracks in the walls, and is slowly moving across various items, leaving a residue on anything it touches. It's alive, and he's fairly certain it is to blame for the illness and deaths.

Gladius quietly returns upstairs to the main prayer hall and grabs some items. He returns to the storage room and successfully sets the slime on fire with anointing oil and a torch. As the fire spreads across it, unexpectedly, a tendril lashes out at Gladius. He parries it successfully with his short sword and, in a few slices, cuts off several tendrils reaching out wildly from the main body. He sets them aflame as well and leaves.

He returns to the main chapel and tells Father Savou of his find.
"I've seen that slime, but I've never noticed it moving," says the priest.
Pointing at his eyes, "I can see in the dark. A gift from my father."
Father Savou says a silent prayer, and the look on his face seems to indicate that he is asking his higher power forgiveness for his doubt. Then he embraces Gladius, who all but recoils from the intimate touch.
"How can we repay you?"
"I need Seamus to help me create some things to deal with the orcs I am seeking that plunder the Outlands from time to time. He's right to be afraid of them--they are worse than animals. And I think they are my father's people. They must be stopped." Steel and hatred fill his now glistening eyes.
"Can I ask what you are going to create?"
"It's best you don't. And stay out of the Highlands in the coming weeks," says Gladius as he grabs his backpack and begins to inspect his collection of deadly flora.

To Be Continued...

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21. RPG Item: The Adventure Crafter [Average Rating:8.00 Unranked]

Arielle

(PinkCupcake)

United States
Sacramento
California

I finished up my adventure in Elk Springs with my Super-Human Were-Unicorn character Argentia. It was a bit more exciting when, using Scarlet Heroes, Argentia discovered the name of an evil cult which was causing all the trouble in town. She then gathered evidence against the evil cult’s members and turned that evidence over to the authorities at the request of the peace-loving religion that did not want to cause any trouble in the city. The evil cult was ousted and its leaders arrested, to be eventually exiled from the province. For Argentia’s investigations turned up that the evil cult was composed of outsiders who had invaded the area to specifically create chaos and win new converts to their dark cause, driving the original peaceful religion underground.

I was a bit disappointed that the adventure only used Argentia’s investigative and persuasive skills. She has so many super powers! And she did not change into a unicorn even once!

She phased to another universe/reality after this adventure was over. And I decided I wanted to return to the Mythic Game Master Emulator to give my next adventure more suspense and challenge for me. I set up a new scenario with just a starting scene from The Adventure Crafter with help from Tome of Adventure Design.

Now, Argentia finds herself in a strange world where giant beetles are used draw carts (freight) and provide both ground and flying mounts for the population! Argentia pulled her jeep into a city where she had to pass through a customs area. In this area, all those entering the city are scanned for a special tattoo, invisible to the naked eye. When Argentia was scanned, the scanner broke! And that is where we left her to investigate the city another day, and for the city to observe this strange creature in a strange vehicle visiting them! The random rolls from The Adventure Crafter designates this as a special adventure where Argentia will learn something about her past and history!

Returning to the Mythic GM Emulator has been interesting. I think the first adventure for me next month will be to explore the Mythic Role Playing System and its many tools. So the next time I will create a new character from the Mythic System for those particular solo experiments.

I am still pretty far from finding what I am looking for in Solo RPG adventuring. But I do feel I am getting closer all the time. I am trying to find a happy medium between creative story telling and a certain crunchiness to the game mechanics. I actually like Basic RolePlaying RPG core rules very much. But I will leave it for the time being to learn how all the Mythic System tools work before using the Mythic GM Emulator with another RPG system. The Mythic tools have a bit of a high learning curve, for me anyway, but I so far seem to be the best overall solo engine I have found for how I want to play.

Happy Halloween, everybody! See you next month!

[+] Dice rolls

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22. RPG: Survey the Stars [Average Rating:0.00 Unranked]

Caroline Berg

(adularia25)

United States
Washington

...124 to run fleeing from the mountain. ...125 to use a rope to climb the steep cliff. ...126 to quickly cast "summon stairs." ...127 to dodge under the falling rocks.

So, posting it to this list a bit late, but I did play this back in October - the example of play write-up in the game is me actually playing it to make sure all the numbers work. I like to make at least one solo RPG a year - though this is the second (or possibly third) I've made this year.

My favorite planet is the one that actually was worth the least. I have to say, despite being a miserable planet, planet Nightshade had a lot of personality!

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