For the last few days, I have soloed my way through All Hallow’s Eve from BAM! Basic Action Magazine #1. The system that I used to play it was Bash! Basic Action Super Heroes (Original Edition). I used SoloCutz (DriveThruRPG) as the solo engine. I did use the six characters that are included in the RPG rules.

So, the first scene was investigation (crime scene). The second scene was combat. Things really got interesting with the third scene. The P.C.s were up against a litch-lord. My White Witch cast a magical duel arena spell. The litch cast wizard tower. The end result – both teams ended up in the White Mausoleum. The White Witch was still with Baby Face, but all of the other characters were on their own. This could have ended badly if they ran into the lich too soon. They did have a chance to explore 21 rooms full of challenges, tests, and a combat. They did find the lich’s weakness (a coin from a sorority house). They used it to incapacitate the lich, they tossed him through the black portal, they found the exit, and arrived back to their home city. The final scene is where the sorority girls find their lives getting back to normal after the coin disappeared from the necklace around the sorority president’s neck. The White Witch took the most damage, so she is ready for some R&R to recover from her wounds.

Give this exciting adventure a try!

Recently, I soloed my way through The Flesh Changers. This is one of three fun adventures included with the d20 fantasy RPG system Peasants and Pitchforks (62 pages, free at DriveThruRPG). The d20 RPG system that I used was Sojourner’s Quest (166 pages). I used the FlexTale Solo Adventuring Toolkit (same place) as the solo engine. So, I created four characters and threw them into the adventure. This RPG system does have an Old School Revival feeling to it.

My four sorcerers started in a small town looking for a quest. They realized that they would need some muscle, so they hired a warrior (Brock). While they were in the town, two children were captured and taken into the woods. The sorcerers asked some questions, accepted the quest to rescue them, and headed off into the woods. They did some tracking and then they were forced to do some climbing to get down into the gorge. They were using ropes and this did save them. However, during this climbing, Florence was attacked by a gorge wasp. After two hits, she was unconscious. The adventuring party killed the bug, tied Florence’s body to some roots, and continued to climb down the ravine. At the bottom, they had to fight and kill a hobgoblin and a wolf. In the cave system, they had to fight and kill four goblins. The fighter was not impressed with the magic users. Every time they cast a spell it did not work (magic saving throws by the enemy). They did find 100 platinum pieces in the cave. When they got Florence up to ground level, Brock refused to carry her. He did craft a travois, put her into it, and dragged her to town. The town healer was able to heal Florence. The sorcerers started a meeting and it was decided that Brock would join the team with all of the benefits. Brock accepted because financially, this was working out. All five characters made second level. Give this a try!

RPG game system - Note - four character classes, eight monster stat blocks

Recently, I soloed my way through Ambush on Empire Road. This is one of three adventures included with this d20 fantasy RPG system Peasants and Pitchforks (62 pages). I used FlexTale Solo Adventuring Toolkit (DriveThruRPG) as the solo engine. So, I created four characters and threw them into the adventure. This system does have an Old School Revival feeling to it. The four did seem pretty tough for first level characters, but they only started with wood axes, no armor, and minimal skills (Does laundry worker count as a skill?)

In town they questioned a survivor of an ambush and saw that he had been hit with an arrow. They accepted the quest, but they did ask for a donation of four round shields. They did receive them. So, they walked to the site of the ambush. They did see a body but they were immediately attacked by a wolf. They killed it and followed a trail to a watchtower. There they had to kill a giant spider. They looted the place and then went back to town to get healed by clerics and report on the clues they had seen. They then went back to the watchtower and followed the clues to a goblin cave. They spied on the entrance and were surprised when one of the goblins teleported. Soon after this they were attacked from behind by six goblins. After killing the six goblins, they went into the cave and killed six more. One goblin crawled up into a crack. They could not attack him or see him. It was now dark so they set up camp in the cave with one guard. The three had nightmares. So, they moved their camp outside, but the same thing happened. Their solution was to head back to town, but once there, the nightmares continued. At noon they went to the clerics and discovered that they had been cursed. The clerics healed them and removed the curses. The four characters then borrowed two horses so they could bring back the wagon and cargo (quest items) from the goblins. Once they got to the goblin site, they could see that the wagon was gone, the cargo was gone, and a new trail led off into the distance. Well, that would be another adventure for another day. Maybe you will have better luck. Give this a try!

A few days ago I soloed my way through Dee Sanction (RPG 70 pages). This dice system (not the d20) is described as an award-winning tabletop role-playing game about serving Queen and country in the late Tudor period (the year 1585). While kingdoms vie for power and the Church splinters under the pressure of reform, folklorish creatures emerge from enforced hiding seeking revenge against those who imprisoned them. I used Four House in Chaos (DriveThruRPG, free/pay what you want) as the solo engine. This RPG does include an investigative adventure and I did use it. I rolled up four characters.

Here are the highlights. So, they received their quest. They did not have any choices about that. Because of their troubled past, they started with limited gear. Manaen the doctor only started with twine, a short staff, and a repaired hourglass. When they reached the farm (where the quest item is supposed to be located) they talked to the farmer and searched the farm. Manaen wanted a better weapon, so he did take a shovel from the barn. It was his intention to put it back. He now loves this weapon and it is always close to him. The first time that he got to use it was when they discovered a disturbed patch of ground. He started digging at that spot and found a buried wooden shrine (the quest item was not in this shrine). Later, he found another odd patch of ground. When he moved in position to dig there, he disappeared from sight and ended up in another “realm”. The other three characters did join him there. So, weird stuff did happen and they completed the quest. However, they did create a new problem which they will eventually have to deal with. That would be for a later quest. Give this unique setting/game a try!

Recently, I soloed my way through Pariah Volume One (OSR game, 64 pages at DriveThruRPG). In this fantasy system, you start with a clan of outcasts which are “primitive”. They start with primitive weapons, no armor, no skill of reading, and my clan included three elders and one five year old boy. Oh, and I need to say that drugs are bad. Don’t use them. This clan was using shaman mushrooms and they ended up in a fractal piece (the future) of the realm of dawn. The adventure I used was Bassy and Marl’s Most Excellent Eggstravaganza (19 pages, free at Dungeon Masters Guild). I used Four Houses in Chaos (tarot cards, rules free/pay what you want at DriveThruRPG) as the solo engine. Here are the highlights.

So, my clan entered the town and saw the posters that were posted. They could not read the signs, so, they followed people around. They ended up in the tavern where they learned about the egg hunt contest. The first stop for them was the Frumious Forest. The Myconids were not a problem because they were weary for some reason or another, but the ankheg was in rare form and killed two party members with its acid attack. Nasty, but they did kill it. They found their first egg here and they did take an hour rest to eat and recover from wounds. Soon after this, the scuttlers attacked with stolen cakes. The five year old loved the cake.

In the Slithy Swamp they had to deal with druids. The clan could not get past them. Ever heard the phrase, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” . Yep, the entire clan will become druids. To get the second egg they had to kill a crocodile which made a tick-tock sound. The crocodile had a clockwork heart. In Mount Mimsy they talked to a dragon. They also had to fight mudlarks and another clan member died. At the Burble Brook location they ended up splitting the party because not everyone wanted to be attacked by quippers. At Bandersnatch Barrows one of the clan became possessed by a ghost. At Chortle Cove they talked to a dragon turtle. At Golumph Glen they enjoyed a dinner with some harengons.

Ending score: three P.C.s died, one egg they were carrying hatched (an owlbear), five eggs turned in, a quest win, acquired the contest prize, and of course they still had the clockwork heart. Now they will go back to the druids for training. Give this fun system a try!

Recently, I soloed my way through Pariah Volume One (OSR game, 64 pages at DriveThruRPG). In this fantasy system, you start with a clan of outcasts which are “primitive”. They start with primitive weapons, no armor, no skill of reading, and my clan included three elders and one five year old boy. Oh, and I need to say that drugs are bad. Don’t use them. This clan was using shaman mushrooms and they ended up in a fractal piece (the future) of the realm of dawn. The adventure I used was Bassy and Marl’s Most Excellent Eggstravaganza (19 pages, free at Dungeon Masters Guild). I used Four Houses in Chaos (tarot cards, rules free/pay what you want at DriveThruRPG) as the solo engine. Here are the highlights.

So, my clan entered the town and saw the posters that were posted. They could not read the signs, so, they followed people around. They ended up in the tavern where they learned about the egg hunt contest. The first stop for them was the Frumious Forest. The Myconids were not a problem because they were weary for some reason or another, but the ankheg was in rare form and killed two party members with its acid attack. Nasty, but they did kill it. They found their first egg here and they did take an hour rest to eat and recover from wounds. Soon after this, the scuttlers attacked with stolen cakes. The five year old loved the cake. In the Slithy Swamp they had to deal with druids. The clan could not get past them. Ever heard the phrase, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” . Yep, the entire clan will become druids. To get the second egg they had to kill a crocodile which made a tick-tock sound. The crocodile had a clockwork heart. In Mount Mimsy they talked to a dragon. They also had to fight mudlarks and another clan member died. At the Burble Brook location they ended up splitting the party because not everyone wanted to be attacked by quippers. At Bandersnatch Barrows one of the clan became possessed by a ghost. At Chortle Cove they talked to a dragon turtle. At Golumph Glen they enjoyed a dinner with some harengons.

Ending score: three P.C.s died, one egg they were carrying hatched (an owlbear), five eggs turned in, a quest win, acquired the contest prize, and of course they still had the clockwork heart. Now they will go back to the druids for training. Give this fun adventure a try!

Note - there is no map

Last week I played Runes and Ruins (7 pages), a solo fantasy dice game. I would compare this to D100 Dungeon. There are no character stats, but you do pick a character class. I have been using the class Mesmer. It is difficult trying to find the exit to the dungeon and your weapon is constantly breaking (not a complaint, just a game mechanic). On my first attempt I explored about eleven rooms and found 20 gold pieces, but I did die.

So, it is easy to make changes to the rules. Here are the rule changes for my second attempt. One of the five six-sided dice is numbered zero to five. I actually have one of these. It is one of my favorite dice. I have no idea where I got it, because I have been playing games for a long time. Anyway, if you roll a zero on that die you get a scroll. It is lightweight and there is no inventory cost or penalty to carry it around. Roll on the spell chart to see which scroll you found. I used my new rules, acquired 19 gold pieces, and escaped the dungeon. 19 gold equals 19 experience points. It takes 30 points to get to second level (you get an extra hit point) and 40 more points to get to level three (you get the idea). For my third attempt, I am working on a dungeon where you roll a random room (12 possibilities) to give the dungeon a bit more flavor.

Give this a try! Easy to carry around. No mapping required.

Recently, I soloed my way through One Night at the Manticore’s Maw! (free/pay what you want at Dungeon Masters Guild). It is for third level characters (Fifth Edition). This wild adventure takes place in the city of Sigil. I have never soloed in Sigil before and this is a nice introduction to it. Because it is so “welcoming” I prepared six Barghest monsters as my characters (Monstrous Races 2, same place). I could have used Monstrous Races (free/pay what you want, same place). I used Magic the Gathering cards as my solo engine.

So, my characters had gotten stuck in Sigil and had run out of money. They wandered into this tavern for jobs. The tavern owner slit the team into two groups and sent each group on an errand. One group got to deal with a beholder. After this, the tavern owner had to leave for a day or so, and he left the barghests in charge (99% of the time they are in goblin form). One of the things they had to deal with were vermin. Another was a dead body that turned up (Jarbynn ate it, took him one minute). Some humans came in to rent a room to summon a devil. My characters were okay with this. The summoning was botched and a monster appeared. There was killing (cult members died)and destruction. My characters killed it. Several times during the night the bard Cleo had to use her persuasion skill, performing skill, and even had to show some leg to solve some problems. One problem was a health inspector (not). He ended up causing problems and the characters had to deal with a shambling infrastructure. The wizard had to deal with customers that did not want to leave and a man who transformed into a praying mantis type of creature. The wizard won that battle. So, the barghests won the adventure. Which type of characters will you choose?

Recently, I soloed my way through One Night at the Manticore’s Maw! It is for third level characters (Fifth Edition). This wild adventure takes place in the city of Sigil. I have never soloed in Sigil before and this is a nice introduction to it. Because it is so “welcoming” I prepared six Barghest monsters as my characters (Monstrous Races 2, same place). I could have used Monstrous Races (free, same place). I used Magic the Gathering cards as my solo engine.

So, my characters had gotten stuck in Sigil and had run out of money. They wandered into this tavern for jobs. The tavern owner slit the team into two groups and sent each group on an errand. One group got to deal with a beholder. After this, the tavern owner had to leave for a day or so, and he left the barghests in charge (99% of the time they are in goblin form). One of the things they had to deal with were vermin. Another was a dead body that turned up (Jarbynn ate it, took him one minute). Some humans came in to rent a room to summon a devil. My characters were okay with this. The summoning was botched and a monster appeared. There was killing (cult members died)and destruction. My characters killed it. Several times during the night the bard Cleo had to use her persuasion skill, performing skill, and even had to show some leg to solve some problems. One problem was a health inspector (not). He ended up causing problems and the characters had to deal with a shambling infrastructure. The wizard had to deal with customers that did not want to leave and a man who transformed into a praying mantis type of creature. The wizard won that battle. So, the barghests won the adventure. Which type of characters will you choose?

Note = a map of the tavern is not included.

For the past few days, I have soloed my way through Fearsome Wilderness: The Roleplaying Game – Trial Version (158 pages). It is a science fiction game, it does include an adventure, six characters, and I used all of them. The solo engine that I used was Star Dogs Referees Handbook (62 pages). This adventure is a fun sandbox, and your characters have lots of choices to make on where to go and what to do.

The adventure starts with the player characters as prisoners on a ship which crashed down on to the planet. They start with no equipment. If they are lucky, they will find the emergency crate (my team did find it).

On the first day, they made two-handed clubs and went fishing. That night a forest cat (100 pounds) creeped into their ship/base and attacked. They killed it.

On the second day, Jackal (the drug addict) tried out a mushroom and became very ill. The team made spears and fished.

On the third day, they discover that Jackal is dead inside their ship/base. His body is covered in mushrooms. The team fished, explored, and discovered a barren patch of land in a circular pattern. They are attacked by a Glawackus and they kill it.

On the fourth day, the hide and cooked meat inside their base has mushrooms all over it. Mushroom spores are on everything and in the air (of the wrecked ship). Sasha tells the team that she had a dream where they camped at the barren spot and it seemed to be working out. They wash thin panels (wall material) in the lake, take it to the barren spot, and create a new base.

On the fifth day, a thirteen year old Illithid boy comes up to them. He is running away from home (under the lake) and wants to start a new life. The team accepts him as a new member. Later, six family members show up, ask questions, and then allow him to stay. They state that they will be back in a few days to check on him. During the night the ground vibrates, they run, there is a bright flash, it gets quiet, they go back to the base and sleep.

On the sixth day, they are attacked by a dungavenhooter. They severely damage it and it gets away. Stanton goes down and Trick is wounded. They receive medical help and get partially healed.

Give this a try! Can your team survive?

Reboot Hill is a fun 58 page Sci-Fi RPG with a western flavor. The game designer included an adventure with this document (which I did use). He also answered a question I had for him, so the rules will be getting an update. I rolled up four robot characters. To solo this, I used the Star Dogs Referee’s Handbook (also at DriveThruRPG).

So, the two military robots received the quest to kill marauding bandits. They knew they needed some more help, so they recruited two robots (one science and one service) which had repaired them in the past. The Quest Giver had mentioned that there was a bandit hideout, so the four robots looked for that first. Instead, they found a messed up XLT vehicle. It needed some electrical wiring work and some chassis work. Beep the service robot did the repairs and got it working. The next day, they went to the town of Saint Saratoga (Quest Giver lives here). They recharged for a bit and then had to fight off a group of bandits. My four robots did take some massive damage. They went out to the field to do the repairs. On the third day, they went back to town to try and get an advance on their pay. Well, that did not work, and they had to deal with the second wave of bandits. They went back out to the field for repairs and powered down for the remainder of the night (they see better during the day).

On the fourth day they examined the loot from the bandits. They found a device that tracks a specific GPS signal (this particular robot bandit has the bad habit of getting lost). They used the device to find some more of the bandit gang at their hideout. Again, my group took massive damage and had to do field repairs. During the night, they encountered a pus zombie which they killed. On the fifth day, they went back to the hideout to try and do a recharge. The hideout had taken too much damage and that did not work. So, they went to Mala Colina, a much bigger town. While they were there, they were approached by a flashing robot. After they listened to it recite two commercials, they heard a new quest request. Well, that is another story for another day. Give this a try! You will need several decks of playing cards to play this.

Serving the Squash is a fun 10 page Halloween themed adventure for Fifth Edition D&D, but I wanted to try a system that I had not used yet. So, I used Beasts & Barrows (free/pay what you want at itch.io/games, 15 pages). To solo this, I used The Ultimate Toolbox (402 pages at DriveThruRPG). This is a part two adventure. Part one was The Spookiest Night Ever (free/pay what you want at Dungeon Masters Guild). During part one they were forced to look for a magic pumpkin head. This led them to the Serving the Squash adventure. The two connected perfectly.

This time they explored a town and it had a festival too. After investigating a farm and some town buildings, they took some time to enjoy the festival. Ambrosia performed on stage, Cinna and Scarlett danced, and the others played dice and card games. They even won some prizes. When the Mayor made his speech, Gourdkin arrived and the gourdlings appeared. Yep, a big battle. The six characters kill three gourdlings, but take some heavy damage. So, they sneak off to camp. The next morning they discovered that all of the town has been destroyed except the Mayor’s house. They killed Gourdkin, broke into the Mayor’s house and killed him (he is the one that summoned Gourdkin). The next day the characters help the homeless town folk.

The following day they make an attempt to take out the Big Bad back at the village (after turning in the magic pumpkin head). It did not work at all. So, the characters help evacuate the villagers and the village gets destroyed. So, even though they failed this part of the adventure, the exit from this land finally appeared and they were quick to get the heck out of there. Maybe you will have better luck with these two adventures. Good luck!

The Spookiest Night Ever is a 26 page Halloween themed adventure for Fifth Edition D&D, but I wanted to try a system that I had not used yet. So, I used Beasts & Barrows (free/pay what you want at itch.io/games, 15 pages). To solo this, I used The Ultimate Toolbox (402 pages at DriveThruRPG). I created five characters for this fantasy adventure.

The first thing you need to know is that the characters woke up with a hangover and could not remember what happened during the last few hours (sound familiar?) They did have a few vague clues to help them. The second thing you need to know is that the characters are now in the domain of Zuccavia. If a character dies he will respawn. My characters went through a lot in two days, so I am going to write about the love story.

After a busy day of exploring this new domain, they spent some of their cookies (yes, you read that correctly) on a room at the inn. They had just gotten comfortable when they heard a faint knocking at the door and a female voice say, “Cinna”. Cinna the wizard stepped out into the hall, closed the door, and looked her over. This woman was wearing thigh high boots, a cloak, and a hood that covered her face. She could tell that he was acting like he didn’t know her (he did not remember her at all), so she proceeded to tell him about his secrets, how they met, how they fell in love, and how they are in a relationship. His heart melted listening to her soft, sincere words. He did love this woman called Scarlett. He pulled back her hood and discovered that she was a scarecrow. He was not expecting that, but their love had no limits. They got a room for themselves and had a passionate encounter. The next day she was introduced to the party. Their first impression was not good, but once they listened to her talk about Cinna, they wanted to keep her safe at all costs. So, she did join the party. This day they found about the festival and had a chance to participate in a few of the festival games. However, a group of boys saw Scarlett and pulled back her hood to see what she was hiding. She cowered in fear, and they tore chunks of her straw/flesh to the ground. She screamed, cried, whimpered, and died. Cinna could not stop what happened, but he did pick up her pieces. He knocked down two people that interfered and called her a monster. He took her to the pumpkin field and the rest of the party eventually turned up. They were all upset. Hours flew by. At dusk a witch showed up and was willing to help for a price. She would not disclose the price. Cinna agreed. The witch cast her spell. The pieces of silk and straw came together and she was alive again. Her straw then became elven flesh and she was now an elven woman. Cinna and Scarlett kiss and then Cinna turns into a scarecrow. Alex the fighter wants to kill the witch, but the party talks him out of it. The witch leaves.

I will continue this story next week. I do not know yet what will happen. I hope the dice will behave themselves. Give this amazing adventure a try!

For the last few days, I have been using RedHack (85 pages). This fantasy system is a 1d20 system where you are trying to roll high. It skips all the stuff for beginners, so you do need to have some RPG experience to use it. I used Grail-Quest #6 Realm of Chaos as the solo engine. I created four RedHack characters: a frogfolk, a slimefolk, an air genasi, and a fire genasi. I used the adventure that is included in RedHack. I made the mistake of having these characters low on dexterity, no armor, and minimal fighting skills. What was I thinking?

This exciting adventure started at the inn. My characters talked to six of the ten NPCs and picked up the quest. They walked to where they thought the mining complex was supposed to be, but they could not find it (this is where my bad rolls started – the bad rolls did not stop). They found it six hours later. It was now dark, so they set up a camp 300 yards away. It was a quiet night. On the second day, they used a rope to get down to the “dungeon” where they were immediately attacked and forced into close combat. They were able to wound some of the attackers, but then two characters died which included Blue Eyes the air genasi. The slimefolk character, which had been hit three times, collapsed to the floor, acting like he was dead. He then slowly oozed himself to another room by squeezing through a crack in the wall. This new room was a woodworking room (generated by the solo engine). It contained sawdust, wood, tools, and a chest with some gold. My slime hid in here until everyone in the place was asleep (day 3, and yes my fire genasi is now dead) and then he snuck out. It helped that he had the feat Climb Up Walls (this RedHack document has three pages of feats).

So, this adventure was a disaster, only one character survived and only two rooms were discovered. Maybe you will have better luck. Enjoy!

Last week I played Princess In A Dungeon (183 pages). It is described as a game book, but I would compare it to D100 Dungeon. All you need to play this is some six-sided dice and some graph paper. It starts off with a story so that you get to know your character – Gerald the bard. His quest is to find the princess and he gets the quest from the king. I had Gerald explore 20 “rooms” both above and below ground level. He ended up with 20 items and his health actually increased from 30 to 34. “I feel fit as a fiddle”. He killed five ghoul ghosts a lute siren, a wood medusa, and a shadow fighter. He did not find the princess. He could have gone deeper, but he heard the sound of water below, and he knew that he would not need another bath for two more days. He had easy access to the exit and he was hungry and sleepy. He decided this quest should have been given to a knight and not a bard. He will leave this kingdom behind and explore a new one.

I did enjoy this. I recommend changing the rules on doors. I ended up using this: (1d10), 1-2 equals one door, 3-6 equals two doors, 7-8 equals three doors, and 9-0 equals four doors. Good luck!