So I'm still new to the hobby of solo role-playing, and sometimes I still get stuck, or maybe just want a richer deeper experience. I was thinking, maybe it would be cool if a veteran role player would come over to my house and sit down at my table and help me out.

So I wonder, what would this veteran do? Probably ask me some questions. After all, they can't help me if they don't know about my game. Ah there's the problem, I don't know enough about my game.

So what would they want to know about? Perhaps they would ask me questions about my world, how magic is handled, what's the location or region like that I'm in, what are the factions, who exactly is my character, what is society like, and what's out there in the wilderness when you want to travel?

Perhaps that conversation would look something like this:

World and Politics

Q: 29 Are there any non-official factions with some influence?

A: 52 Limited, insufficient, lacking, incomplete, missing, Army, troops, soldiers, mercenaries, recruits

Magic and Technology

Q: 49 Is it possible to store, reproduce, or share them?

A: 05 Call, rally, reunite, meet, group, summon, gather, Chemical, alchemical, biological, elemental, organic

Character Backstory

Q: 70 Who is your rival? Do you have competition?

A: 49 Charge, tax, bill, demand, impose, levy, collect, Crew, brotherhood, fraternity, faction, family, cult

Location and Region

Q: 19 What is the worst thing that could happen right now?

A: 33 Take, steal, raid, sabotage, secure, confiscate, get, Money, supplies, resources, wealth, assets, surplus

Factions and Groups

Q: 69 How does it differ and contrast from other factions?

A: 23 Offer, give, provide, present, gift, grant, trust, Deadly, dangerous, toxic, decadent, sick, poisonous

Relations and Society

Q: 67 Are there people who belong to specific sub-factions?

A: 93 Civilized, urbanized, elegant, decorative, organized, Harm, damage, blood, injuries, pain, suffering

Travel and Exploration

Q: 13 How is this area defended by its owning faction?

A: 96 Include, increase, incorporate, merge, aggregate, Commander, mercenary, captain, general, soldier

Situational

Q: 43 Would we feel any esoteric or divine forces in here?

A: 61 Numerous, filled, quantity, together, grouped, Desolation, absence, loneliness, emptiness, void

Now I didn't fudge any of these numbers. In fact I rolled all 16 before I looked up the first one. I could've/should've rerolled some. It's interesting that it ended up being so faction focused. Which is awesome because that's something I've been wanting to implement more into my games.

The GUM, Game Unfolding Machine v2, is a great tool that allows me to whip up some engaging Adventure or Setting prompts quickly that gets me into the action quickly.

The various tables are useful and evocative so there is room for interpretation as well as using the results as is.

Jeansen is a machine too! So much hard work for this, grab it now!

Last week I soloed my way through Mage Camp (20 pages, free/pay what you want at DriveThruRPG). It is for several players and one game master. I rolled up four characters and Tina had the best numbers. To solo this I used the Plot Unfolding Machine (9 pages, free/pay what you want at the same place).

So, the adventure started right after breakfast. Aggie the NPC was out collecting mushrooms when she was taken. She tried to put up a fight and she did scream. My four PCs, armed with their wands, rushed to the scene and looked at the evidence. Tina took out her teacup and cast Teacup to Dog. She now had a West Highland White Terrier. The dog picked up Aggie’s scent and led the PCs to a manor. They went to the back of it and searched through the tool shed and the garden. They found one hand axe. They used it to break into a window at the back of the house. This room belonged to a servant and she did walk in on them once they were all in the room. A Bewitched Sleep was cast on her and she slumped down to the floor. They put her in the closet and braced it closed with a chair. In the hallway they ran into a skeleton that was walking around (yep, there is a necromancer somewhere in the building). Alex did take some damage, but it was turned into a teacup (a bone teacup – loot) by a spell. Next they checked out the library, but they were attacked by a three foot tall vengeful porcelain doll. Yes, she was turned into a teacup. Brian took some books. This room led to the study where they found Aggie tied up with rope (she was going to be fed to the spider later in the day). They untied her and Brian took the rope. They tried to make a quick escape back the way they had come from, but they had made too much noise. Now, they had to deal with a five foot long spider (necromancer’s pet) and the dog high-tailed it out of there. Alex tried to kill the spider, but it killed him and the hungry thing immediately started to suck him dry. The other three PCs and Aggie ran all the way back to camp.

Give this solo system a try.