I played it using Goggle Gemini Pro and Chatgpt to help move the game along. It did a great job, lots of interesting decisions and scenes for my simple corporate espionage mission that barely succeeded and with the team captured. (dice started out hot and then poof... nothing) I can't wait to start the Star Crew aspect in the Traveller setting and get my hands on my hard copy. I also plan on seeing what expansions they have as well. Here is my report on my first mission, it started out so well! https://rpggeek.com/thread/3336643/starting-an-ai-assisted-session-after-buying-it-on

As a fan of Paul's Solo for the Cepheus Engine I was excited by this book.

I expected it to be a straight port of the earlier book to the Hostile rules but there are some interesting additions.

The chapter on Randomised Interiors deserves a special mention as it enables you to create interesting space stations, ships or settlements.

The addition of Inspiration Tables is a valuable one which add colour and prevent the other oracles becoming repetitive.

There are many more campaigns and that means there's a lot of variety. The campaigns for Colony Survival, Mining and Troubleshooting add new tables and ideas so you can play in urban environments, in asteroid belts or under bio-domes.

Even if you are not following the suggested campaign structure you have more raw material for inspiration.

It seems better organised and there's more depth. If I had a criticism of the original it was that the missions quickly became repetitive but I think there's more in this version to spice it up and keep it interesting.

Overall I was a fan of the original and this is an improvement.

(To be clear I was given a copy of this publication but I don't think it has coloured my opinions.)

When Paul Elliott (Zozer Games) announced he was working on an update for SOLO (the Traveller/ Cepheus solo rules) I was looking forward to it with real anticipation. SOLO works really well and I used it to run The Currents of Space solo Game for 3 years. I thought that it would be an update and revision, removing Jump Drives and redesigning ship encounters (etc.) to match the gritty, retro-80’s feel of Hostile (and also planet design; something which is often missed is that the planet design system is not the same as in Traveller/ Cepheus; for example you can’t generate a multi-billion population on any of the colony worlds, neither can you generate a Class A starport, the best you can get is a Class B.) SOLO clocks in at 153 pages of excellence, but you do need setting rules and Game-system.

Paul has delivered big-time.

Hostile: Solo is an impressive 230 pages and offers a complete Game-system, task resolution, setting details and six campaign styles. A lot has been streamlined (character generation and world generation) but it is all 100% compatible with the Hostile Rules and Hostile Setting and all of the published setting books. The book is packed with fantastic artwork and plenty of examples. There are design notes and tables to quickly create bases, outposts, space platforms, starships and encounters.

Character Generation – I have put together a crew of 6 to try out a Shipping Campaign (Number 1 in the book – each campaign type has its own section with a set of dedicated tables.) Character creation for all six took 30 mins in total and already threw up some ideas and potential conflicts.) It is a design system rather than a ‘roll lifepath’, but as I said, you can use the full system if you want to.

The PDF is available now on DrivethruRPG, the Softback and hardback comes out in September from Zozer Games.

"Hostile Solo is a stand-alone solo roleplaying game set in a grim and gritty future, inspired by movies like Outland, Alien, Dark Star, Pitch Black, Event Horizon and The Thing. It allows a single player to create and play the roles of a group of blue-collar workers out in deep space, overcoming difficult challenges and facing unknown terrors. Although the name and the cover art suggest that the player will create only a single character, in fact the game is best played with a ‘crew’ of characters. Your crew will interact, fall-out, develop their own schemes and build bonds of friendship. Steer them through their chosen career; either asteroid mining, exploring, freight shipping and salvage, corporate troubleshooting, colony operations or US Marine interventions."

"Both full-colour and printer-friendly versions are provided. PRINT VERSION TO FOLLOW IN SEPTEMBER, Hardback and Softback. Please check the product Discussion Forum at that time. "

Sweet mother of God, I wasn't expecting the pdf rpg package that Paul Elliot dropped on me this morning. The Hostile Solo rpg is two hundred & thirty pages of conscisely laidout and entwined 2d6 solo rpg Hostile goodness! And it rocks! Hostile Solo brings you all of the Hostile rpg action that you can handle alone! This is a great rpg and clever at what it does. Where do one begin?! At the beginning with Hostile Solo, we get all of the world of Hostile introduction we can handle from career prospects, Earth in Hostile, quick sample bites of technologies, politic, the interstellar scene, etc. In other words everything you need to turn out a PC with several quick rolls of the 2d6 dice.

And there's something to remember that everything in Hostile Solo is designed to get you to play and this game is a love letter to the 2d6 system that gave it birth. You a bit of everything right from the start highly sectionalize, organized, & sampled out. So that the player ( that's you) can literally make a character from scratch as soon as you have the pdf. The layout is well done, the artwork captures the world of Hostile and the interstellar scene from work, to duty, etc. is layed out in spades.

Hostile Solo is a working man's or blue collar interstellar world where the hazards are there right in the front of the book. You can & will die repeatily within Hostile Solo and that's alright because's it's dead easy to create a PC's and Hostile Solo does a solid job of bringing the reality of your situation to you the reader. Paul Elliot has an easy & breezy sense of style about his writing & game design. The man has done many products over the years & it shows. Ian Stead, Shawn, Fisher,& Paul Elliott all handle the artwork like pro's giving a simple, effective, and forceful number of artwork pieces that showcases and yet, implies the menace of the world of Hostile.

And while other companies are moving in weird or strange rpg directions Zozer Games continues to impress with games such as Hostile Solo. Paul Elliot does a brilliant job of showcasing his chops by giving us the next generation of his Solo rpg in the form of Hostile Solo. The fact that this game allows you as the player to take charge of your own play, destiny, and 2d6 gaming means that you can chart out a whole Hostile campaign from the inside out. And this allows the DM to pull their own adventures apart as both the player & the DM. And while this isn't revolutionary it puts the pressure back on the DM where it belongs. And the fact that the author includes a print friendly version of the game means that he wants this game played tonight!

Hostile Solo is a game of our times designed with the asthetic to be played and used. This isn't a sit on the shelf or sidelines game. Hostile Solo is designed by the a man whose played lots & lots of 2d6 solo games and he's taken that experience into this his latest Hostile publishing project. And given the fact that it works with all of the Hostile rpg products that's an incredibly good bonus.

So inconclusion there's lots to like about Hostile Solo and it's great value for 20.00 for what you get. Hostile Solo is a complete rpg in every sense of the world. This book is all you need to get in on the ground floor of running your own Hostile adventures tonight!
Thanks for reading our review Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery blog Want more 2d6 action? Please subscribe to https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/