A few days ago I soloed my way through Not Another Portal, Please! (14 pages, free/pay what you want at DriveThruRPG). This d12 system is set in the time of Victorian England. It also includes an adventure and several characters. I used Solo Cutz (same place and price) as the solo engine. So, I used four of the characters and created one more (you should do this too). The damage system in the game encourages storytelling (there are no hit points, only status effects). Here is my favorite scene. Earlier in the adventure, Ishaan had taken some acid damage to his hand. It forced him to lose his knife. Later, after much physical exertion, his hand began to itch. He begged the group to cut off his hand. Doc looked at the hand. The damage was not that extensive and he refused to do it. Nedra the Burglar told Ishaan to place his hand on the table palm down. She then came up behind him and knocked him out with the hilt of her knife. He had to be dragged around the rest of the adventure. Before this, Feng had received a concussion and had to be moved along in the same way. At the beginning of the adventure Lord Masterson was killed by a sliding door. Yep, this adventure got nasty. Good luck with this one! You will need it! - - Note: To make the adventure longer, I did add some stuff to the "maze" (portal three). I did not use the backup characters.

The Haunting of Hargrave House is a three-page adventure for The Between RPG, but I used Magical Fury (also at DriveThruRPG, 35 pages). To solo this, I used The Solo Investigator’s Handbook. This adventure starts in London, 1837. Because Miranda the P.C. had died in an earlier adventure, she was replaced with Selma giving me five P.C.s total.

The story started Christmas Day 1837. Sir Aubrey got electrocuted to death, Selma heard the noise, and discovered the body. This death was not just an accident. The Gunnysack Demon was involved. Spiritual manifestations started soon after this. Fall 1838, Selma attends the School of Magic and teams up with four other girls. She brings them to the Hargrave House for Christmas. The first night they see Charlie Morgan in the full-length mirror. He explains how the demon abducted him and he also gives the girls his address. During the morning of the second day, they investigate the Morgan Home and borrow some of Charlies clothes and toys. That afternoon at the Hargrave House they meet Sir Aubrey’s son John and his fiancé Ruby. She is friendly and suggests a séance. During the evening of day three, John, Ruby, the medium, and the adventuring party, start the séance. The medium channels Gammer Greenough (the deceased witch). Her full name is revealed and she boasts of her summoning abilities. The demon hears this, makes an appearance along with his portal, grabs John, and the two of them disappear through it. The portal vanishes and a dark shadow remains. Belinda the shadow mage tries to change the shadow back to the portal, has a spell failure, and is attacked by the shadow and takes trauma damage. Selma uses her crystal ball, uses the witch’s name, and gets the address of Gammer’s place (partial success, she takes trauma damage).

On the fourth day, the five girls go to Gammer’s house (abandoned) where they run into a Dark Magical Girl. Robin the Ribbon Mage takes her out with a magical duel. In the wine cellar they find witch stuff. Meera finds a scroll/ritual and uses it to unsummon the demon. They also find an enchanted distaff. So, the demon has been taken care of, but John and Charlie are now stranded, lost in time and space (oops). The girls then have a meeting and decide that Selma will be the one to go back to the Hargrave House and deliver the bad news. Maybe you will have better luck with this interesting adventure.

The Green Hack SRD (free/pay what you want at DriveThruRPG) is a 25 page fantasy RPG. The game designer started with the Black Hack rules and created his own version (He did a great job). I rolled up five characters. To solo this, I used The FlexTale Solo Adventuring Toolkit.

So, on the first day in the dungeon, the adventuring group had to deal with a puzzle, a tripping hazard, and then a lightning trap. This trap killed Sheena the conjurer. After this, they exited the dungeon, buried Sheena, and then went back to the inn (and recruited another conjurer). On the second day, they fought a manes demon, recruited a fighter they found in the dungeon, and killed some kobolds. The team was damaged again, had only found one gold piece, so they retreated and spent the night in a barn. On the third day, they found another trap, a slippery obstacle, and more kobolds. This time they found a total of 13 gold pieces. They were wounded and headed back to town, but ran into a group of deranged bandits. The team won the battle but were disgusted when it was discovered that the bandits did not have one coin on them. They then made it back to the inn for a good nights sleep. Give this a try!

The Green Hack SRD is a 25 page fantasy RPG. The game designer started with the Black Hack rules and created his own version (He did a great job). I rolled up five characters. To solo this, I used The FlexTale Solo Adventuring Toolkit (same place, now on sale, 612 pages).

So, on the first day in the dungeon, the adventuring group had to deal with a puzzle, a tripping hazard, and then a lightning trap. This trap killed Sheena the conjurer. After this, they exited the dungeon, buried Sheena, and then went back to the inn (and recruited another conjurer). On the second day, they fought a manes demon, recruited a fighter they found in the dungeon, and killed some kobolds. The team was damaged again, had only found one gold piece, so they retreated and spent the night in a barn. On the third day, they found another trap, a slippery obstacle, and more kobolds. This time they found a total of 13 gold pieces. They were wounded and headed back to town, but ran into a group of deranged bandits. The team won the battle but were disgusted when it was discovered that the bandits did not have one coin on them. They then made it back to the inn for a good nights sleep. Give this a try!

Recently, I soloed my way through The Eye of the Inka-Dinka-Doodle (41 pages, free/pay what you want at DriveThruRPG). The RPG system that I used to play it is Treatise of Adventure (10 pages, free, same place). If you have played Pathfinder or recent editions of D&D, you already know how to play this game. If there is a rule that you don’t like, change it. These products are advertised for young minds. I am young at heart, so I qualify. I used The Solo Adventurer’s Toolbox as the solo engine.

The adventure started in the evening at the inn. This is where my four characters (they are included in the adventure) picked up their quest. The next morning, three of them headed to the only ship in the harbor. Cheeks, the rogue, went to go buy some extra rope and then she went to the ship. It was a quiet ship journey and then the four arrived at the island to find the quest item. There was a trap and several battles. My group did make friends with the small dragon. It did kill the anaconda. However, the Witch Doctor killed my dragon. I was able to find the quest item and return to the tavern with lots of gold pieces. Great fun! It is time to find the next adventure . . .

Recently, I soloed my way through The Eye of the Inka-Dinka-Doodle (41 pages, free/pay what you want at DriveThruRPG). The RPG system that I used to play it is Treatise of Adventure (10 pages, free, same place). If you have played Pathfinder or recent editions of D&D, you already know how to play this game. If there is a rule that you don’t like, change it. These products are advertised for young minds. I am young at heart, so I qualify. I used The Solo Adventurer’s Toolbox as the solo engine.

The adventure started in the evening at the inn. This is where my four characters (they are included in the adventure) picked up their quest. The next morning, three of them headed to the only ship in the harbor. Cheeks, the rogue, went to go buy some extra rope and then she went to the ship. It was a quiet ship journey and then the four arrived at the island to find the quest item. There was a trap and several battles. My group did make friends with the small dragon. It did kill the anaconda. However, the Witch Doctor killed my dragon. I was able to find the quest item and return to the tavern with lots of gold pieces. Great fun! It is time to find the next adventure . . .

The Manor of Jeremiah Blackwood (free/pay what you want at DriveThruRPG) is a fun 17 page adventure for Fifth Edition D&D, but I wanted to try a system that I had not used yet. So, I used Fire & Steel (free at the same place and 40 pages). To solo this, I used OSR Solo. I created four rogues and two fighters (all first level). So, the adventure started in the village. Smugel the fighter tried to gather more information from the villagers, but this resulted in one fight and a shop closing up early. His “luck” continued when he triggered a curse on the first floor of the manor. He did manage to make his saving throw. They were successful at exploring the first floor, but they did go through a lot of time (it is a timed adventure). Things got ugly on the second floor. An illusion created by Esmeralda caused enough damage to put Sam the fighter unconscious. They were able to rest for one hour so that he could fight again. In another room they triggered a screaming painting. All six characters failed their Charisma saving throw. They were experiencing fear. Their solution was a long rest in the manor. However, this gave Esmeralda time to complete her ritual and her new reaper attacked the resting characters. It did manage to kill Drew the rogue. The reaper was killed but the manor caught on fire. Esmeralda did this and she escaped from the PCs. The only loot they were able to get included two alchemist fires (bottles) and a bunch of books. Maybe you will have better luck.

• • This adventure includes maps of the manor (12 rooms, my characters explored six of them), descriptions of six trinkets (my characters used four of them), four stat blocks and two handouts. It is for four to six characters of levels three or four.

The RPG Fire & Steel is 40 pages and includes 2 maps, 20 spells, and stat blocks for 10 monsters. You will need a variety of dice. Give this awesome game a try!

The Manor of Jeremiah Blackwood is a fun 17 page adventure for Fifth Edition D&D, but I wanted to try a system that I had not used yet. So, I used Fire & Steel (free at DriveThruRPG and 40 pages). To solo this, I used OSR Solo. I created four rogues and two fighters (all first level). So, the adventure started in the village. Smugel the fighter tried to gather more information from the villagers, but this resulted in one fight and a shop closing up early. His “luck” continued when he triggered a curse on the first floor of the manor. He did manage to make his saving throw. They were successful at exploring the first floor, but they did go through a lot of time (it is a timed adventure). Things got ugly on the second floor. An illusion created by Esmeralda caused enough damage to put Sam the fighter unconscious. They were able to rest for one hour so that he could fight again. In another room they triggered a screaming painting. All six characters failed their Charisma saving throw. They were experiencing fear. Their solution was a long rest in the manor. However, this gave Esmeralda time to complete her ritual and her new reaper attacked the resting characters. It did manage to kill Drew the rogue. The reaper was killed but the manor caught on fire. Esmeralda did this and she escaped from the PCs. The only loot they were able to get included two alchemist fires (bottles) and a bunch of books. Maybe you will have better luck.

• • This adventure includes maps of the manor (12 rooms, my characters explored six of them), descriptions of six trinkets (my characters used four of them), four stat blocks and two handouts. It is for four to six characters of levels three or four.

Til Undeath Do Us Part is a fun 33 page adventure for Fifth Edition D&D. To solo this, I used The Solo Adventurer’s Toolbox. It is for four first level characters and that is what I used. The characters picked up the quest at the Yonslow Coaching House which is on the Old Coach Road. They needed to find a missing newlywed couple. They left the coaching house in the morning. During the day they ran into a bunch of vultures (the coach driver hid inside with them). The vultures had been feeding on a thaumaturgist that had been murdered and put on display. At dusk they found the wrecked coach and they followed the clues to an old manor house. They explored twelve rooms in the underground area (this took two days). They fought several battles and found some nice treasure. However, they also found the deathtrap. The halfling sorcerer had found a potion of water breathing earlier and had gotten a bad feeling. He kept it close at hand and when the trap doors sealed them in and the water came flowing in, he drank it. The light sources went out and he floated in the darkness waiting for whatever happened next. The water then started to lower and his potion stopped working. After several tries he lighted a torch from the hallway. He saw the bodies of his three friends. He took their stuff and headed out of the dungeon.

So, Dale the halfling failed the quest, but when he sold the loot he ended up with 2,865 gold pieces. He plans on relaxing for a few weeks. He will be eating four meals a day. Give this a try! Maybe you will have better luck. - - This adventure includes one hex map, a map of the coaching house (two floors, prices and NPCs), a fifteen room dungeon map, and monster stats.

For the last few days, I have soloed my way through Den of Goblins: A Dungeon Blitz Adventure Game. In this fun adventure, you create a character and undertake an exciting and dangerous dungeon crawl with little more than your trusty weapon and wits. All you need is some paper, a pencil and three six-sided dice. The dungeon is random and could have up to 36 rooms.

For my first attempt, I used the RPG system Motif Action Engine. I found the boss in the second room I explored. I did win with that playthrough.

For my second attempt, I used four characters with the RPG system Tunnels & Trolls Classic 5th edition (1979). I used OSR Solo as the solo engine. On the first day, they killed six goblins, but Zach the wizard and Darius the elf took some damage. The group went back to Twilight Inn to spend the night and most of their money. They next day, they killed two orcs, two wolves, and the hobgoblin chief. They did win the adventure and only had to explore four rooms. Give this fun adventure a try!

For the last two days, I have soloed my way through Blood Castle: A Dungeon Blitz Adventure Game (24 pages). In this fun adventure, you create a character and undertake an exciting and dangerous dungeon crawl with little more than your trusty weapon and wits. All you need is some paper, a pencil and three six-sided dice. The dungeon is random and could have up to 36 rooms. When I did it, I explored 35 rooms and I killed 58 monsters. In the cistern room, I lost my balance, fell, and my treasure key bounced out of my pocket and fell into a crack never to be seen again. The boss battle was a real nail biter. It was so close, but yet, I died. Oh well, I will have to do this again sometime. Maybe you will have better luck. - - The attached image is of the castle during its glory years. The artist is at danielsmaps.com.(pinterist).

A few days ago I soloed my way through Kagegami High (168 pages). This d6 dice pool system is described as a comedic role-playing game where you take on the role of Japanese schoolgirls at a strange, surreal high school. I used OSR Solo (DriveThruRPG) as the solo engine. Here are the highlights. So, I started with one character and started the first day: initiation ceremony. The next day was the first day of classes. During the evening, Shigeo was checking out the library and discovered a secret passage. She was trying to avoid detection, but was seen by Izumi. The two of them explored the passage, talked to a spider, and Shigeo was attacked by a four foot long poisonous centipede (there are no creature stat blocks and no rules for poison). Her stress went to zero (there is no dying, you “freak out”). Izumi dragged her out of there and Yoshiko Serene the NPC healed her (check out the attached image of her – artist has the same name).

On the third day, Shigeo bought an occult knife used for occult rituals. She killed a six inch centipede later in the day. On day four, nighttime, Izumi’s roommate was possessed by a ghost. She was acting like she was carrying a lit lantern. My two characters followed her to the docks. Shu then waved her lantern and a ghost ship appeared and came to the dock. She got onto the ship and my two characters got on also. The ship had several adventures and the two PCs just watched. They could not interact with the crew. Eventually the ship sank and the PCs (now three) were pulled under the water. At this same time, the school club, Apocalyptic Death Cult, was performing a ritual with a deep clawfoot bathtub filled with water. Bellatrix reached into the water to pull out Death. They had some questions for him. Instead, they pulled out Shigeo, followed by Izumi and Shu. Cool. The three of them did get into trouble for missing the classes on day five.

Give this a try! One hundred of these 168 pages contain random tables which are perfect for solo play.

Terms May Apply is a funny 16 page adventure for Lawman RPG, but I used Hulks and Horrors Basic Edition (free at DriveThruRPG). To solo this, I used the solo engine - OSR Solo (same place) . This is a science fiction adventure for intergalactic bounty hunters. This short adventure will take between two and three hours to complete. If you were ever tempted to convert a sci fi adventure to your favorite sci fi RPG system, this is it (easy to convert). My P.C.s included an ex-soldier, a psyker, a scientist, and an empath named Sailor. Sailor broke a computer at the training facility and she was charged for it. All four survived their day of training. I do not want to say too much (spoilers) about this adventure because it is short. It does use “bad” words (adult language). Give this a try! - -This document includes one enemy stat block, three NPC stat blocks, and a map with twelve rooms.

A few days ago I soloed my way through the adventure included in Chew: The Roleplaying Game Quickstart (51 pages, free at DriveThruRPG). This d6 dice pool system is described as a crime drama food game. It is based on a comic book series, so you could say it is cartoon roleplaying (it depends on your perspective). I used Mythic Game Maser Emulator as the solo engine. So, I created four characters and threw them into the adventure.

The first scene is where they pick up their quest from their boss. She is the head of the FDA office in Baltimore. Scene two puts them at a crime scene. The P.C. Rachel Mead finds a spilled bottle of alcohol and takes it as evidence and also because she practices the art of psychometry. Next, they chase a fleeing suspect but they are attacked by wasabi sushi rolls (Did I mention that this game is wild and crazy?). The P.C. Charles, who does magic tricks, took some massive damage. They lost the suspect, but Rachel did her psychometry thing and got three leads (destinations). When they got to B.U.T.T., they ran into the next bad guy (gal), Annabelle. Rachel used persuasion on her and talked her into giving up. They handcuffed her and then the P.C. Hack, the computer hacker, hacked her phone and they got the phone number for the villain Derek Cho. They went to their HQ and asked for some stuff they could use. They were given a device to track down Cho’s phone GPS microchip and explosives (nice). They discovered that Cho was on his own private man-made island. So, they went to the marina and Rachel used her persuasion on the owner of a 14 meter catamaran yacht (Kukai) that has a helipad. He instantly falls in love with her. He is twenty years older, but he does go ahead and put her in his will. When they get to the island they blow up all of the boats there (but not their boat). They took out a bodyguard and then had to deal with Cho. He took out two of the P.C.s with his tranquilizer pistol, did his villain speech, and then Rachel used her persuasion and the P.C. Arrow used his fast talking skill. They tranquilized him, cuffed him, and took him to the authorities. This was a partial win. There were a few henchman that got away. Give this a try!

. Note – I am not a fan of the combat system. There is enough material in this document to run a second adventure. If I do it, I will make changes to the combat system.

Flesh Golem Laboratory (DMDave) is fun 10 page adventure for Fifth Edition D&D, but I used Shattered: A Grimdark RPG (DriveThruRPG, 290 pages). To solo this, I used random word generator dot com . I used the four characters that are included in the rules. At the beginning of the day, the characters picked up the fetch quest – find the manual of flesh golems.

As soon as they approached the residential home, they were attacked by a partial flesh golem. Inside they had to deal with two more golems and a marionette. They then had problems finding secret doors, unlocking doors, and believing the lies that they were told. At this point Risk The Rekindled was badly wounded and Lorelei the vampire got hit with a crawling sickness. They had to exit the home and go to a temple (the attached image is of the priest that helped them – artist Ja Zirebiec who does commissions). They were advised to rest for the rest of the day.

The next morning they took Pravok out when he stepped outside to get the milk that had been delivered. They rested during the day and went to a wedding reception at a bar at dinner time (free). After this, they headed back to the golem home and ran into Yohilde as he was walking home. They took him out too. Inside, they killed Mazus. One strange thing they found was a cage holding spice-spider-mouse hybrids. In the basement they encountered a secret door which was locked with a key puzzle and an arcane lock. They attempted to solve it and even their attempt to axe-it-into-pieces failed. Well, they did have the quest item and 250 pounds of books to sell. So, they exited the building and went back to the quest giver for their reward. Give this a try!

• • • Shattered comes with 7 stats, 8 races, 9 combat skills, 13 lore fields of study, 6 paragraphs of crafting rules, 10 genus creature categories, and 26 combat talents.