Talking Solo: GMEs pt 2
After gathering comments and information from various readers and other sources, I’m back to talk about more Game Master Emulator’s (GME’s). (Check out my first GME post here!)
First, I’d like to plug a very good review of Shawn Tomkins’ Starforged: Ironsworn game. It goes into more depth behind the rules and content of the game than I’ve done previously, so if you’re interested or intrigued by my actual play but haven’t purchased the game and would like more information about it, check out that review.
Now, onto some more GMEs and other solo role-playing systems.
“Breaker is a rules light solo roleplaying game rules set focusing on helping you tell stories that are centered around character emotion and motivation in the face of intense struggle. It places the characters emotional state first and requires a narrative change for every roll that is made. These simple tools help you visualize and roleplaying your character. The game does not have a setting attached to it. The rules of Breaker are easy to create a setting for either before or during play. It works great in established settings.”
This sounds like a good system if you’re really interested in dramatic, emotionally-driven role playing. The stakes are high and you have to see if your character will break or keep going when put to their limits. It works for any setting, is very flexible and the rules are simple.
“Make your own adventure!
Libre Solo Role Playing lets you tell the stories you want, in your way.
Create your protagonist. Let the world challenge your character with obstacles to overcome, plot twists, setbacks and surprises. Recruit allies to help your player character’s cause, and square off against dangerous foes and recurring rivals. Take your character on perilous journeys, conduct thorough investigations, and seek to overcome the threats of an unpredictable world.
The game includes a story engine that creates and runs plots on the fly. Use it as a standalone with your own role playing game of choice. Or combine it with the included role playing game rules, streamlined to plug directly into its game master engine, to support heroes from any setting. Challenge yourself and your protagonist, play to win, and tell great stories along the way.”
I have zero experience with this system but just by looking at the table of contents, it provides a ton! A GME system, a role playing game to go with it, including character creation, skill checks, conflicts, situational rules, powers, experience, etc. It has two sample settings (a bronze-age city-state and a modern noir), and appendices with what look to be lots of random tables. A great find.
“One Page Solo Engine is a minimal, all-in-one toolkit to play your favorite tabletop RPGs without a GM. It was designed to be incredibly concise and minimalistic, but still have all the essential tools required to play a game without a GM. It provides tools for scene framing, action pacing, unexpected results, random events, answering questions, and generating setting-neutral content for things like quests, NPCs, dungeons, and more.”
This is a simple, free, GME that you can print, download or use as an app on your phone. It’s versatile, works with any rpg system, and just seems like a great tool, especially for mobile solo-gaming. It may require some previous knowledge of role playing games in general but if you want something slick and easy, try this.
THE MADEY UPY NAMEY EMULATOR or MUNE,
MUNE is a simple yet elegant, yes/no oracle with a few add-ons that is specifically tailored toward playing D&D solo. It’s short, easy to learn and play with, and it’s free! If you’re interested in D&D solo, give it a try.
“Scarlet Heroes is an old-school tabletop role-playing game designed to provide classic sword and sorcery gaming for one player and one gamemaster. Unlike most other RPGs, Scarlet Heroes is built to support one-on-one play, with no need for a full-fledged party of adventurers to provide an evening's entertainment. Whether for a spouse, kid, curious friend, or just as an alternative to boardgames for those nights when only one or two friends can make it to the gaming session, Scarlet Heroes gives you the tools for good old-fashioned skull-cracking adventure.
Solo adventure tools for genuine single-player RPG gaming. Mix your own creativity with table results to create a narrative for your own hero's adventure... or use them as inspiration in crafting something for a group.”
Not much more to say as I don’t have much experience but if you like the old-school role playing style, this seems like a pretty great system and setting to use. It comes with a bunch of solo rules and oracles as well. Many role-players recommend it.
“Mythic Variations 2: Introducing new rules variations to power your Mythic adventures! Mythic Variations 2 is a collection of rules modifications for Mythic Role Playing and Mythic Game Master Emulator, giving players a new way to experience GM-less and solo role playing.
Mythic Variations 2 expands on the core Yes/No mechanic of Mythic, splitting questions into 5 separate types of questions, or Checks, including:
• FATE CHECK: To answer any Yes/No Question, exactly as was done with Mythic's Fate Chart except now without the chart.
• DETAIL CHECK: This is used to answer any plain language Question and it replaces the Complex Question from Mythic Variations.
• EVENT CHECK: This Check is to determine an event that is happening, has happened, or will happen. It replaces the Random Event roll from original Mythic.
• BEHAVIOR CHECK: This Check is to determine the specific actions of NPCs on a round-to-round or as needed basis. It is rolled to determine an NPC’s behavior.
• STATISTIC CHECK: This Check is used to determine game statistics for NPCs and other crunchy elements of your adventure.
Mythic Variations 2 makes Mythic more useful than ever, tackling any question you might throw at it and giving your characters the kinds of adventures they deserve!”
Lots of solo-gamers have said this product is great on its own even without the other Mythic game books. It looks to be a really solid system for generating outcomes and pushing the story forward.
“Calypso is a narrative solo ttrpg system, powered by the apocalypse, revised from the original Compendium and blended with new techniques developed over several years of play. It is designed to support an open-ended, strongly narrative (as in "writing with dice") style of solo gaming that aims to produce an experience that's as much fun in the moment of creation as it is to read later!
It doesn't try to model a traditional GM and player experience, instead letting you, and your own reservoirs of creativity, steer the show (and push your characters around) overtly, using dice, system prompts, and step-by-step scene guides to build and maintain momentum.”
Calypso uses the powered by the apocalypse (PBTA) system, which, if you’re already familiar with, will make this resource very easy to use. If you’re not familiar with PBTA, it still gives you many good options and tools, as well as explaining how it works and how to use it in solo play. It uses frameworks, scenaros, motifs and moves to push the story. By it’s own description, it’s less of a game where you move from the player role to the GM role and more of a system where you play out a story as both, using the tools provided to create the story you want to tell.
“PET is a framework for running your favorite system with virtual Players. Doesn’t that sound nicer than “imaginary friends”?
system agnostic; use your favorite mechanics
uses a 2d6 pbta-style Oracle based on your desired outcome
supports intraparty conflict (you can totally replicate those early D&D experiences where the rogue got bored and murdered the paladin for his stuff)
an entire page of plot-pushing random tables”
Instead of a Game Master Emulator, this is a Player Emulator! It’s a very cool idea, with mechanics for pitting ‘players’ against each other, giving them ‘agendas’ they follow, and generally giving you the experience of dealing with (sometimes annoying) players.
These are but a handful of the resources out there. I also recommend checking out the Solo Roleplaying subreddit and/or Lone Wolf Discord (link to it in the subreddit). Both are great places for sharing actual plays, asking for help, discussing solo-gaming and finding resources.
There are more out there, of course. Very recently, the Mythic Game Master Emulator Second Edition came out, which looks incredibly comprehensive and useful.
If you have any recommendations of your own or want to share what you use and how you like it, please drop a comment. Or just let me know if you found this useful. I appreciate it.
Thanks for reading. Next week, I begin my Thousand-Year-Old Vampire campaign.
Thanks - this write-up is insightful, and useful! I'm really excited to see how your play-through of TYOV shapes up. I just picked up the game Friday and am on my first run-through, finding surprises in every prompt (even though I'm the one creating the story).