You can’t escape that there’s been a massive rise in Solo RPGs over the past few years. A glance at itch.io makes it look like the industry is drowning in solo journaling games, and there’s a whole culture of youtubers and streamers who play solo and share their thoughts and approaches. 

It’s true, it can feel a bit awkward to start with. But if you’re ignoring this part of the hobby, even if (like me) you’d much rather play with a group, I think you’re missing out. In fact, solo RPGs can be a huge part of your prep arsenal, giving benefit to your group play.

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I’m going to talk about three ways Solo RPGs can help you prep for group play, and then go through what you might use for them.

1. Learning a System

I’ve blogged before about how, especially for one-shot play, system mastery is essential. You need to not only know the system well, but also be able to teach it effectively to your players. When I talked about this on Unconventional GMs, we suggested mock combat as an approach – but using solo RPGs can work just as well.

For this, you probably want a GM Emulator type of Solo RPG – because you’ll be putting your system of choice on top of it. I’ve used 9 Questions in the past, but can’t find a link for it, so you’re better off looking at Mythic GM Emulator or, for a different approach, Triple-O.

Mythic GME is a well-designed way to play solo that can take you from an open starting point into the game. You’ll naturally come across skill checks and challenges as you play, and it’s also a good way to get to know your setting – although there’s a balance of research and invention here you’ll have to get used to.

Triple-O is a different beast – more a player emulator, this is designed for published adventures, so if you’ve got one of those, consider using Triple-O. You determine player actions through a simple dice roll system, and you can then interact with the rules as you want.

2. Prepping a Plot

Another great way to use Solo RPGs is to get a sketch of a plot ready for a session. By playing solo, you’ll experience a range of encounters and actions that you can then polish into an engaging session.

While you could use Mythic GME for this, alongside your favourite setting and system, one thing that Mythic can struggle with sometimes is coming to a conclusion – it’s more designed for ongoing play. I’d recommend instead some of the bespoke solo engines / games. If you’re running science fiction or dark fantasy, you could do a lot worse than check out Ironsworn or Ironsworn: Starforged and run through a session of that. The rules are laser-focussed on an engaging solo experience, and the Iron Vow mechanic means you’ll naturally come to the end of quests. Both systems (and the newly-docked Sundered Isles expansion for Starforged) are also great in group play, as you can see here.

Alternatively, several recently-published RPGs have solo games built in to them. So, you can use Strider Mode for The One Ring to give yourself a start plotting a Middle Earth session, or look to something bigger like Flextale for D&D or Pathfinder.

I’d add that you’ll get a rough-hewn plot from your solo session – one of the things you learn from solo roleplay is that you have to go with what you get, which isn’t always as polished as you might like. A good application of editor’s chisel should get you something good to play with though.

3. Flexing the Creative Muscles

More generally, I think solo gaming is a great way to practise imaginative play of the sort that you need at the table. Often quite loosely linked to your group play, but gems will emerge. By virtue of what you’re doing in a solo game, you’ll find yourself with vignettes to work with and explore in your group games.

For instance, my 1000 Year Old Vampire, Gaius Vertutius, lives in post-Roman Britain surrounded by intricate carvings of his past life – couldn’t those carvings, deep in the woods, make their way into an adventure in the future. Beyond the literal experience I have from play, I’ve got  some scenes and encounters for my group games.

Have you used Solo RPGs as part of prep for group play? Are you interested in more content on solo or GM-less games? As always, let me know in the comments.