Tiny Solo Welcome to Tiny Solo!
Story
Game vs. Story
Context is everything. There is also the small matter of constructing not just a
plot that makes sense, but also one that is interesting to you. At the core of
the matter is the build and release of tension. In the simplest terms, each
story must present a problem, build tension around that problem, and then
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
reveal its solution in the most entertaining way possible.
Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
By Mara Smith Story Game
• Consequences: Choices need to matter, but the story must continue.
Tiny Solo Includes • Recurring Elements: If you really like an element, reuse it! But it needs
to make sense. If it doesn’t, that’s one more reason to lose interest.
Tiny RPG: Compact Story-Focused Rules for Drop-In Roleplaying • Sense of Scale: Seriously, draw maps! Maps should make you wonder
Tiny GM: Tiny Tools for GMs and Solo Roleplayers what remains to be discovered.
• Taking Notes: You might be surprised how little you need to write
down. Names of characters met, places visited, loot found, and things
Introduction to investigate further.
Tiny RPG and Tiny GM (together, Tiny Solo) are an ongoing project, the goal
of which is to condense the most essential solo roleplaying tools into a very
Setup
small space, while also not restricting the genre of play. They can be folded
into a notebook to play in the airport or on the bus, etc. You could use Tiny
GM without Tiny RPG and vice versa. Before you start, have a thorough look World Building
through the tables and rules so you can find them easily during play. You could go through the lengthy process of creating a world from scratch
(and there are many tools to make that quicker), but in a pinch you can also
If you haven’t played an RPG before, there are many excellent videos and just pick a world from those you already love. Or pick a few worlds and find
other resources to help you. Tiny Solo assumes familiarity with the basics. ways to combine them. Mix an established world with one you create.
Game on! Ultimately, it only has to be a world you want to explore further.
Whatever mix of genres you choose, there will be some core tropes,
The Rhythm/Cycle of Solo Play assumptions and conventions that define it. For example, the mech fighter
You may establish some details about your world ahead of time, or not! genre. The fact that there are huge, customizable mech vehicles is a given.
Deciding on some cool elements and themes ahead of time can help keep Your list of game and story tropes needs to establish the reasoning behind
the game interesting for you, but only if you really like those elements and those mechs, and how they affect daily life. This list of tropes will help you
are happy to spend a long time with them. decide which game mechanics are going to help and hinder your game.
1. Create a starting scenario using generators and oracles, like Tiny GM. • Enemy is too overwhelming to fight in a traditional way. (Major
There is no set amount of cards or turns for this. Use as many tools and enemies are made of several complex parts and phases.)
as much time as you need to. • High risk training program with emotional highs and lows.
2. Decide or randomly determine how each involved character would like (Morale affects all or most other game mechanics.)
to act in the situation. You make the decisions for your own character, • Every loss of an ally is a major tragedy. (Each squad is made of
and usually their allies. The actions of enemies and non-allied one primary character and several Companion characters.)
characters should be determined more randomly. Resources are limited
for this part of the game, whether it is for your characters or not. My preferred way of building a world quickly is to pick elements that I really
3. Make a random dice roll or card draw to determine the outcome. like from established settings and find ways to combine them into something
4. Use generators and oracles to determine how character actions affect new. For example, take the dark forest of Symbaroum and drop in the Lost
the world, or how the world changes in response. Unlike a multiplayer Boys from Neverland and their safe hideaway. How did this come to be, and
RPG, a solo RPG will require frequent reinterpretation of previous how does it affect the power dynamic of the forest? How does it affect trade
details, editing and adding to what you’ve established before. and everyday life? How about mixing the mechs of Lancer with the tradition-
5. And so on, back and forth. Don’t be afraid to use your tools in bound dragonriders of Pern? Or with Tanith Lee’s Lords of Darkness? There
unintended ways to make things less predictable for yourself. are so many amazing worlds to choose from, including the real world.
Getting Stuck Solo Tools
It is very common in solo roleplaying to lose your path forward, especially Playing this sort of game solo means you need to keep the two sides (player
after resolving the most immediate threat to your characters. One of the and game master) separate somehow, usually in the form of rule systems,
most critical skills a GM of any roleplaying game can develop is coming up generators and oracles.
with convincing ways to move the characters on to the next challenge, and it • Rule System: A good rule system to use for a solo game will minimize or
remains a tricky problem in a solo game. In my experience, one of the worst eliminate the need to arbitrarily choose a Difficulty level you need to
things you can do when these moments come up is to look at what you have beat with your skill checks. It will also simplify the creature stats and
so far and assume there is only one logical path forward. the choices you need to make for NPCs during play, such as which
actions they perform in combat or how they react in social situations.
Each time you get stuck, generate at least 2 or 3 scenarios that are either
• Generators: Anything that offers details and strangeness for you to
happening elsewhere or are smash cuts to the next interesting part of the
interpret in the context of your game fits in this category.
story. Pick and choose from these options or combine them in various ways
• Oracles: The simplest possible oracle is a coin flip, which turns the
until you have something that really gets your imagination flowing. Some of
game into a series of Yes/No questions. Oracles choose a result from a
the best details for sparking imagination and adventure are those that don’t
list of options; be they options from an established source or options
immediately make much sense. So don’t reject the more ridiculous ideas
that you come up with yourself.
unless you really can’t make them work.
Name and Background Name and Background
Tactics Athletics Perception Tactics Athletics Perception
Stealth Negotiation Knowledge Stealth Negotiation Knowledge
Current Task Current Task
Items Items
Advancements Advancements