This is definitely the best set of rules that I have seen so far for an osr/nsr rpg that also integrates a framework for solo gaming. Without a doubt going to be my solo rpg of choice for quite some time since this game fundamentally contains rules from some modern osr/nsr rule sets that I love (Such as abstract distance) with all of the fundamental procedures you need to solo this type of game (especially dungeon generation).
As far as feedback, if possible, I probably would add maybe one more page for the wilderness section that would contain some expanded examples for the discovery’s you can find. That being said, this is pretty much just a nitpick since, for example, if I needed a specific landmark, I can roll for that in one of the games you mentioned as attributions (such as maze rats or the upcoming knave 2e). This would also give you that nice two page spread to make it consistent with some of the other sections in the book.
Hope more fans of solo gaming discover this game so that it gets the attention it deserves.
Hi there, thank you very much for your kind words and feedback!
I do agree that the wilderness section could be fleshed out slightly - my goal is to try and include everything needed to run a solo game, all in one book. Plus you are definitely right about the two page spread layout.
I am conscious of not making tables too prescriptive, as I find that tends to hamper imagination, however I totally get that others may feel differently. As you say, I think expanding the wilderness discovery table one level deeper (similar to the dungeon discovery table) will be a step in the right direction, without overdoing it.
After seeing the recent Dolmenwood PDF, I was also thinking that I could add a table or two expanding on foraging in the wilderness too, such as example plants and herbs (e.g. edible, inedible/poisonous). I'll have a play around and see what looks good. I do need to be careful, as I want to give people the tools to easily create their own game worlds, rather than force feed them made up plant names from my own setting :)
Thank you again for your comment - collaboration is key to creating the best product!
Im really happy with this system! Genuinely! Its become my go-to for solo.
Because youre looking for feedback, id suggest a dedicated section on hirelings, just for the sake of having those rules available on the table of contents.
As it stands now it seems they are only mentioned in passing on the combat section, and on the shopping section as just a thing you can use your money on. It's not impossible to piece things together, but i was confused initially, especially because there is a playsheet dedicated to them. Aside from that, i love this game.
Thank you so much for your comment. I'm really glad you're enjoying the game!
The way I play hirelings is that they usually start off as generic 'Footman', 'Archer', etc recorded on the notes and hirelings sheet (sometimes with names assigned). They are presumed to have their own inventory etc but I don't track it as I'm effectively treating them as mercenaries. I'll put a tick in two attribute boxes for each to mark them as primary, either randomly (d6) or whatever I think suits their role. These hirelings are generally for above-ground wagon guarding or similar.
My PC's actual companions were generally elevated from hireling status (or met through other circumstances etc), at which point I flesh them out on the companion sheet, tracking inventory, conditions, experience, etc, and these guys follow my PC down into dungeons and get a half share of loot, as well as an increased wage (though more often than not I remove the wage if they are getting a share).
Mechanically there isn't much difference between hirelings and companions, except companions can gain xp and become stronger with your PC. They should all hopefully be quite quick to run. I'll generally establish more character details for companions too, such as appearance, quirks and motivations, however I track that separately on my character list.
The total number of followers that a PC can have (CHA check bonus +2) are the number of hirelings and companions combined. However, when playing solo I think it's fine to be a bit less strict with this.
I'll definitely add a section on hirelings and companions to my to-do list, thank you!
Hello, I have reviewed the latest version and I think it is a great system, I usually play solo and I think the tables and oracle will be very useful for me, I only have one question, how are the initial values of the attributes assigned? I look forward to version 1.0
Hi there! Thank you, I'm really glad that you like it!
If you check the top of page 11, I mention rolling 3d6 for each attribute in turn (3d6 down the line - STR > DEX > CON etc.) This will generally result in lower attribute scores than in more modern versions of d&d, but also they have slightly less mechanical impact too..
I'm hoping to release 1.0 soon, I just want to make sure I've got all the wrinkles ironed out.
Hi, thank you for the feedback (I do appreciate it). I included a 'button' to take you back to the contents page on every page - I use this on my own documents as it helps streamline my solo-play experience. I deliberately put it in the footer so that it would be easier to hide/remove from later versions if people don't like it.
I made an effort to add hyperlinks to all the sections and tables, again in an effort to speed up solo-play, but yes you are right, there are no bookmarks, which some people prefer. I will add them to a future release.
This is just... beautiful. I've spent good money on significantly smaller documents. The layout is excellent, and the amount of content is ridiculous for the page count. I love the tables and procedures included. The Knave and Maze Rats influences on these areas are obvious, and that's not a complaint. The occupation system doubling as race or class replacement is great, Worlds Without Number if I'm not mistaken? Overall, I've wanted to put together my own OSR solo book for a while that fits my tastes and I think you've just done it for me. I may have to print it off in A5 size.
Thank you for the kind words! I hadn't originally intended on making a full book, but it just blossomed into one over the course of a year or so. I'm primarily a solo player, so that's why there is so much focus on the random tables. Ideally i wanted a full system and oracle/adventure/item/creature generation that synergised with itself without needing to convert on the fly.
The result is a heavily modified combination of procedures and tables from various sources (including my own) that i have used for years with great success.. all in one place!
Oh, and the fact that the page count is divisible by 4 is no accident - you can print it as a booklet in Adobe and saddle stitch/staple to give you an A5 booklet.
When i get around to it, I am intending on adding a spread of example items after the treasure pages. Plus anything else that I think of that might be helpful.
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This is definitely the best set of rules that I have seen so far for an osr/nsr rpg that also integrates a framework for solo gaming. Without a doubt going to be my solo rpg of choice for quite some time since this game fundamentally contains rules from some modern osr/nsr rule sets that I love (Such as abstract distance) with all of the fundamental procedures you need to solo this type of game (especially dungeon generation).
As far as feedback, if possible, I probably would add maybe one more page for the wilderness section that would contain some expanded examples for the discovery’s you can find. That being said, this is pretty much just a nitpick since, for example, if I needed a specific landmark, I can roll for that in one of the games you mentioned as attributions (such as maze rats or the upcoming knave 2e). This would also give you that nice two page spread to make it consistent with some of the other sections in the book.
Hope more fans of solo gaming discover this game so that it gets the attention it deserves.
Hi there, thank you very much for your kind words and feedback!
I do agree that the wilderness section could be fleshed out slightly - my goal is to try and include everything needed to run a solo game, all in one book. Plus you are definitely right about the two page spread layout.
I am conscious of not making tables too prescriptive, as I find that tends to hamper imagination, however I totally get that others may feel differently. As you say, I think expanding the wilderness discovery table one level deeper (similar to the dungeon discovery table) will be a step in the right direction, without overdoing it.
After seeing the recent Dolmenwood PDF, I was also thinking that I could add a table or two expanding on foraging in the wilderness too, such as example plants and herbs (e.g. edible, inedible/poisonous). I'll have a play around and see what looks good. I do need to be careful, as I want to give people the tools to easily create their own game worlds, rather than force feed them made up plant names from my own setting :)
Thank you again for your comment - collaboration is key to creating the best product!
Im really happy with this system! Genuinely! Its become my go-to for solo.
Because youre looking for feedback, id suggest a dedicated section on hirelings, just for the sake of having those rules available on the table of contents.
As it stands now it seems they are only mentioned in passing on the combat section, and on the shopping section as just a thing you can use your money on. It's not impossible to piece things together, but i was confused initially, especially because there is a playsheet dedicated to them. Aside from that, i love this game.
Thank you so much for your comment. I'm really glad you're enjoying the game!
The way I play hirelings is that they usually start off as generic 'Footman', 'Archer', etc recorded on the notes and hirelings sheet (sometimes with names assigned). They are presumed to have their own inventory etc but I don't track it as I'm effectively treating them as mercenaries. I'll put a tick in two attribute boxes for each to mark them as primary, either randomly (d6) or whatever I think suits their role. These hirelings are generally for above-ground wagon guarding or similar.
My PC's actual companions were generally elevated from hireling status (or met through other circumstances etc), at which point I flesh them out on the companion sheet, tracking inventory, conditions, experience, etc, and these guys follow my PC down into dungeons and get a half share of loot, as well as an increased wage (though more often than not I remove the wage if they are getting a share).
Mechanically there isn't much difference between hirelings and companions, except companions can gain xp and become stronger with your PC. They should all hopefully be quite quick to run. I'll generally establish more character details for companions too, such as appearance, quirks and motivations, however I track that separately on my character list.
The total number of followers that a PC can have (CHA check bonus +2) are the number of hirelings and companions combined. However, when playing solo I think it's fine to be a bit less strict with this.
I'll definitely add a section on hirelings and companions to my to-do list, thank you!
Hello, I have reviewed the latest version and I think it is a great system, I usually play solo and I think the tables and oracle will be very useful for me, I only have one question, how are the initial values of the attributes assigned? I look forward to version 1.0
Hi there! Thank you, I'm really glad that you like it!
If you check the top of page 11, I mention rolling 3d6 for each attribute in turn (3d6 down the line - STR > DEX > CON etc.) This will generally result in lower attribute scores than in more modern versions of d&d, but also they have slightly less mechanical impact too..
I'm hoping to release 1.0 soon, I just want to make sure I've got all the wrinkles ironed out.
Thanx, english is not my first lenguaje and I was looking in the wrong page.😅
Can you rename the subfiles so that they start with FORGE - there are so many and they wont sort together.
Good point to be fair! I'll do that now.
There’s a “Contents” footer on every page.
Hi, thank you for the feedback (I do appreciate it). I included a 'button' to take you back to the contents page on every page - I use this on my own documents as it helps streamline my solo-play experience. I deliberately put it in the footer so that it would be easier to hide/remove from later versions if people don't like it.
I made an effort to add hyperlinks to all the sections and tables, again in an effort to speed up solo-play, but yes you are right, there are no bookmarks, which some people prefer. I will add them to a future release.
Oh! OK. I didn’t realise it’s a link.
Bookmarks would be nice.
This is just... beautiful. I've spent good money on significantly smaller documents. The layout is excellent, and the amount of content is ridiculous for the page count. I love the tables and procedures included. The Knave and Maze Rats influences on these areas are obvious, and that's not a complaint. The occupation system doubling as race or class replacement is great, Worlds Without Number if I'm not mistaken? Overall, I've wanted to put together my own OSR solo book for a while that fits my tastes and I think you've just done it for me. I may have to print it off in A5 size.
Thank you for the kind words! I hadn't originally intended on making a full book, but it just blossomed into one over the course of a year or so. I'm primarily a solo player, so that's why there is so much focus on the random tables. Ideally i wanted a full system and oracle/adventure/item/creature generation that synergised with itself without needing to convert on the fly.
The result is a heavily modified combination of procedures and tables from various sources (including my own) that i have used for years with great success.. all in one place!
Oh, and the fact that the page count is divisible by 4 is no accident - you can print it as a booklet in Adobe and saddle stitch/staple to give you an A5 booklet.
When i get around to it, I am intending on adding a spread of example items after the treasure pages. Plus anything else that I think of that might be helpful.
I hope you get as much use out of it as I have :)