Always fancied trying role-playing games but feel too shy or don’t have a willing friend group? Solo RPGs may be your new favourite pastime!

I guarantee that you’ll be amazed not only by the creativity of solo RPG designers, but also by the creative responses that the games call up from the depths of your mind-aether.

What are Solo RPGs?

1. A solo RPG is a private storytelling experience driven by randomised decisions. 
2. The solo player is guided by a rule-book which may be anywhere from a page to hundreds of pages long. These rules lay out how the story progresses, and how it gets resolved.
3. Dice are frequently used to randomise story elements, but some stories employ more unusual methods, such as playing cards, tarot cards or even Jenga towers.
4. The result of these random throws/draws may be to update a score, to move across a map, or to look up a prompt (among other possibilities).
5. How much of the narrative you choose to write, and the amount of detail you wish to include depends on you.

Solo RPGs for Writers

Since the focus of solo RPGs is on storytelling, it’s hardly surprising that they appeal to writers.

Solo RPGs are a great opportunity to:

• Warm up
• Break out of a creative rut
• Experiment with your writing
• Practice your storytelling skills
• Write for yourself (rather than for an audience)
• Try a POV or genre you wouldn’t otherwise venture into
• Take a productive respite from a long & difficult WIP
• Learn to trust the process (again)
• Practice languages
• Use fancy stationery
• Have fun

Furthermore, a little familiarity with how the games function can lead you to come up with ways to alter them to suit your own tastes, or even to create a solo RPG of your own.

Solo RPG to Novel

If you want to flesh out your solo RPG gameplay into a novella or novel, The One Page Novel method can help you structure it.

I also have one-page character creation and one-page worldbuilding frameworks that are perfect for Solo RPGers or busy GMs.

What You Need to Play

You will need…

• The rule-book for your chosen solo RPG. You can usually opt for either an electronic or a physical copy (or both). Most of the RPGs are available on DriveThruRPG or Itch.io, or from the author’s website.
• A notebook and pen. I think solo RPGs are the perfect opportunity to enjoy a relaxing, tactile writing session, but of course you can record your game in a digital document if you prefer.

Depending on the game, you may also need:

• A set of dice
• A pack of playing cards
• A tarot deck

Again, you can find digital substitutes for these, but I think part of the fun of table-top gaming is having physical objects that you enjoy handling and imbuing with the memories of the stories they help you craft.

Solo RPG Recommendations

If you like sword and sorcery role-playing, you’re already plentifully provided with options, from games designed specifically for single players, to the option to deploy “gamemaster (GM) emulators” that take the place of the person guiding the game and allow you to play any TTRPG on your own.

However, if, like me, you’re looking for a more calm, contemplative and wholesome narrative, here are some suggestions:

1. Apawthecaria: play the part of forest creatures on a quest to heal their fellows.
2. Apothecaria: you’re a healing witch who creates potions to cure strange magical ailments.
3. Artefact: write a story from the point of view of a legendary artefact that gets discovered, forgotten, and rediscovered by a succession of keepers.
4. Be Like a Crow: play a corvid, have adventures.
5. Cartograph: you’re a cartographer mapping the new lands you’re travelling through.
6. Dead Letter Society: play a vampire and send letters.
7. Fox Curio’s Floating Bookshop: play the (animal) owner of a boat bookshop, and interact with customers through the seasons in an established world.
8. Koriko: a gorgeous solo RPG inspired by Kiki’s Delivery Service.
9. Last Tea Shop (one page version | complete version): run a tea shop that offers a final refreshment to those crossing over from life to death.
10. The Librarian’s Apprentice: explore an infinite library and complete tasks for the Librarian.
11. The Lighthouse At The Edge Of The Universe: keep the light shining and save spaceships from falling into the void.
12. The Magical Year of a Teenage Witch: a gentler spin on Thousand Year Old Vampire in which you play a teenage witch composing her spellbook and making friends.
13. Quill (and Quill: Love Letters): write letters, and try to win favourable responses through the skills of Language, Penmanship, and Heart.

Potentially more harrowing/combative but still interesting from a literary standpoint:

1. Agon: a band of heroes face monsters and the displeasure of the gods as they island-hop their way back home from a war.
2. Chalice: play an Arthurian knight on a doomed quest for the holy grail.
3. Galatea: play the impossible part of an artist’s sentient masterpiece.
4. To Honour and Obey: play the wife of an Arthurian knight who’s left you to look after his keep while he goes off on a quest.

Note: I haven’t personally played all these yet – you’re (finally) on your own!

One Page Solo RPGs

If you’d like to dip your toes into solo RPGs, or if the idea of reading and implementing a long set of rules feels boring or overwhelming to you, you could always dabble in a one page RPG, a bookmark RPG, or even a 24-word RPG.

Here are a few that caught my eye:

1. A Little Nudge: a solo RPG about giving your world a little nudge towards how you want it to be.
2. Bard: write songs to warn your lord about an impending danger.
3. The Cafe Shop: people-watch at the café where you’ve started working.
4. Diedream: a solo RPG that you can play to help you fall asleep, requiring no pen and paper.
5. Dory + Apsis: play a Homeric hero trying to defend your patron and your compatriots.
6. Fiction is What We Flee: help save fictional characters who are seeking refuge in the “real” world.
7. The Shopkeeper’s Saga: you’re a humble shopkeeper selling wares to heroes who are trying to defeat a villain.
8. Souvenirs: go on a journey and journal about the places you visit, and the souvenirs you collect.
9. Spellbook: craft spells from the books around you.
10. The Wandering Library: play the custodian of a wandering library encountering new customers and new locations.
11. Wasted Hours: you’re on desk duty at the paranormal institute where you work, and you need to find ways to pass the time.

Languages

I’ve mentioned before that learning languages is a great exercise in becoming a better writer, and solo RPGs can be a fun way to practice composition; a nice alternative to keeping a target-language diary that prompts you towards acquiring vocabulary and making your learning more memorable through telling (strange and wonderful) stories. Many RPGs are even available in translation thanks to the generous work of their creators or of fellow players.