I solo played through the starter set as DM and as PCs. I know the complaint of doing this is the DM knows too much, but that's only if you actually read everything you're supposed to. I read through the monster encounters and basics of the story but any spoilers like what we're going to run into, I read those as we got to them. It wasn't perfect but it made it like an interactive choose your own adventure. Throw in some random generators like some Rory story cubes or deck of many things and you can easily make your own solo game without using a solo engine. Also helps to be able to mentally separate yourself as DM and PC which I know was another problem people mentioned but it's doable with practice.
I solo played through the starter set as DM and as PCs. I know the complaint of doing this is the DM knows too much, but that's only if you actually read everything you're supposed to. I read through the monster encounters and basics of the story but any spoilers like what we're going to run into, I read those as we got to them. It wasn't perfect but it made it like an interactive choose your own adventure. Throw in some random generators like some Rory story cubes or deck of many things and you can easily make your own solo game without using a solo engine. Also helps to be able to mentally separate yourself as DM and PC which I know was another problem people mentioned but it's doable with practice.
It's not tricky at all, and there are adventure modules for it. The people saying such things either 1) never tried or 2) didn't understand how to make it work.
Not sure where anyone says there is any mechanical difficultly doing it.
The problem most are envisioning is, you are going to be missing out on some of the key elements that makes D&D with other players and a DM more fun. The surprise. The surprise of not knowing what's around the corner, or is something a trap or isn't, or how your other party members are going to act and react.
Solo play boils it down to to statistics. And there is nothing wrong with that if you are fine with that. But you are missing out on so much more.
Not sure where anyone says there is any mechanical difficultly doing it.
The problem most are envisioning is, you are going to be missing out on some of the key elements that makes D&D with other players and a DM more fun. The surprise. The surprise of not knowing what's around the corner, or is something a trap or isn't, or how your other party members are going to act and react.
Solo play boils it down to to statistics. And there is nothing wrong with that if you are fine with that. But you are missing out on so much more.
You can use random generators for surprises. And every time I see anyone talk about this, usually from reddit, everyone is saying you have to use something like DM Yourself to play solo.
I solo played through the starter set as DM and as PCs. I know the complaint of doing this is the DM knows too much, but that's only if you actually read everything you're supposed to. I read through the monster encounters and basics of the story but any spoilers like what we're going to run into, I read those as we got to them. It wasn't perfect but it made it like an interactive choose your own adventure. Throw in some random generators like some Rory story cubes or deck of many things and you can easily make your own solo game without using a solo engine. Also helps to be able to mentally separate yourself as DM and PC which I know was another problem people mentioned but it's doable with practice.
It's not tricky at all, and there are adventure modules for it. The people saying such things either 1) never tried or 2) didn't understand how to make it work.
Seems like everyone I find online who solo plays uses, and says you need to use, a solo engine such as DM Yourself. The two most popular solo engines aren't even free.
As for playing D&D solo, I don't know that I ever would have considered it tricky. My main concern is it's just downright unfulfilling. I'd love to play D&D more regularly and not have to worry about coordinating schedules and all that. But it's the other people that make rolling the dice and coming up with a story together fun. If it's just me by my lonesome I don't feel like getting out the dice, rolling tray, minis, the terrain I 3D printed, etc. - I'll just fire up Baldur's Gate 3 on the PS5 and play that solo.
DnD is, to me, a social game. Without other players I would rather just play one of dozens of DnD like video games.
One could also say I'd rather play social video games. A video game and table game whether social or solo has a completely different feel. Also how many video games let you create the game as you play it? None, that's how many. If you're only enjoying it for the social aspect you're missing out. Dnd is much more than just hanging out with people.
The issue with solo DMing is that there are certain assumptions baked into the game that aren't valid with solo DMing. One of the big ones is that often in the published adventures, there is a lot of context to what's happening in part A that isn't discussed until part C. They assume that the DM has read the whole adventure and so knows the reason Nibbles is hiding out in Neverwinter in chapter 1 (which presents Nibbles as some random Duergar) is that he's actually the second in command of the antagonist Duergar faction in chapter 3. That's quite a different character...but you'd only know how to handle it if you've read chapter 3 (names changed since I can't be bothered to search through the book and to avoid spoilers...but that's pretty much what happens in one adventure).
Another issue is that the game can easily devolve into running from one fight to another because that's the bit that the crunch can handle well. Lastly, puzzles are challenging to implement - how do you know when you've gotten the right answer without reading it? If you read the right answer, then the puzzle becomes pointless.
It's not impossible to run D&D solo, no. It's quite possible to have fun with it as well. It's just that it tends to not reach the full scope of what the game can be like. TOR has a supplement that lets you adapt the game to single player and the set up of the materials lends itself better to solo. It also contains a bunch of tables that lets NPCs respond to your questions in a non-predetermined way. Essentially you roll the dice, which gives you a bunch of details, then you have to use that to come up with a coherent answer. This really helps the roleplay aspect because you're now getting responses that you have to respond to, without the DM's knowledge of the end goal motivating you to find a specific answer.
I can't speak much for ChatGPT. I tried experimenting with it a year or so ago, but it wasn't very productive - it kept hallucinating or regressing to the super generic. Perhaps it's improved since then.
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
There's a bunch of content out there that's designed to be played solo, like what Linklite referred to. I'm positive I've seen a bunch on DMsGuild. I absolutely recommend looking at the modules and encounters that content creators have made there and supporting human beings creating things. Solo D&D isn't my cuppa, but the creators are out there making content for it and they deserve support for their work.
Let's stay focused on the topic at hand folk, rather than get too side tracked.
As for solo D&D it's actually got a long history. All the way back even, in Dungeon Magazine:
The Djinn’s Ring, Dungeon Magazine #9, 1988. It was For BECMI D&D, where you play a lvl 3 elf who gets 'whisked away on an Arabian adventure'. Played through link a traditional game, but with a Choose your own adventure twist where you followed numbers to the next instruction in the module depending on the out come of a combat or roll. It immediately got mixed reviews with letters in the next issues discussing whether they should have more or less. The curated opinion seemed to be 'Yes, they're fun occasionally'.
Scepter of the Underworld, Dungeon Magazine #12, 1988 had the next one, For AD&D 1e, and an early 'isekai' where you, yes you! get transported into a AD&D game and take over the body of a 12th level fighter. Transmigration novels are a long standing tradition.
And then again with White Fang, DunMag #20. For AD&D 2e, 10th level thief adventure. But not many after that.
Some folk liked them but decided that wasn't what they were buying the magazine for. They wanted modules to run with their groups, not D&D/CYOA mashups, as fun as they could be.
I think that's the general issue with 'Solo' D&D. It's not D&D in the traditional sense and plays very differently. Either as a computer game or a choose your own adventure book.
There are solo TTRPGs out there one can take inspiration from, but they work more on emergent story telling and tend to be more simple and short. D&D doesn't lend itself as much to such. So it's definitely doable but if folk are after that same D&D feel, and not really being sure where the story might go, and that freedom of roleplay- that's harder to emulate by oneself.
Solo D&D can be good as kind of structured storytelling, but I feel like once you've had practice with it you should just write stories if that's what you're into.
I think the real magic of D&D does come from the social aspect. You're a group making stories together. The only thing close to it is improv. Other people can push you and challenge you and delight you in ways you cannot anticipate. That's the surprise solos miss out on - not who the BBEG is, but what the barbarian is going to do when they find out it's their father.
[Redacted] Solo play is easy with chat GPT. You can upload an entire pdf module and it will play it verbatim and handle all encounters, initiative, damage rolls, maps clipart Etc. There is no more need for human DMs.
The social aspect of d&d is overrated. It's about theater of the mind, not about the people you're playing. When you read a book, do you make it a group thing? D&d is about immersion, not about socializing. The problem now is there's too many gimmicks that actually break the immersion... Figurines, .physical sceneries, smoke machines. LOL. All you need is your imagination and a map... Otherwise, you're turning it into more of a board game than a role-playing game. I think that's what people have drifted away from... D&d happens in your mind and the things in front of you are just for reference... Now they're trying to make d&d happen with the things in front of you.
[Redacted] Solo play is easy with chat GPT. You can upload an entire pdf module and it will play it verbatim and handle all encounters, initiative, damage rolls, maps clipart Etc. There is no more need for human DMs.
The social aspect of d&d is overrated. It's about theater of the mind, not about the people you're playing. When you read a book, do you make it a group thing? D&d is about immersion, not about socializing. The problem now is there's too many gimmicks that actually break the immersion... Figurines, .physical sceneries, smoke machines. LOL. All you need is your imagination and a map... Otherwise, you're turning it into more of a board game than a role-playing game. I think that's what people have drifted away from... D&d happens in your mind and the things in front of you are just for reference... Now they're trying to make d&d happen with the things in front of you.
You might as well go play 1970's text adventures on your computer in the basement.
[Redacted] Solo play is easy with chat GPT. You can upload an entire pdf module and it will play it verbatim and handle all encounters, initiative, damage rolls, maps clipart Etc. There is no more need for human DMs.
The social aspect of d&d is overrated. It's about theater of the mind, not about the people you're playing. When you read a book, do you make it a group thing? D&d is about immersion, not about socializing. The problem now is there's too many gimmicks that actually break the immersion... Figurines, .physical sceneries, smoke machines. LOL. All you need is your imagination and a map... Otherwise, you're turning it into more of a board game than a role-playing game. I think that's what people have drifted away from... D&d happens in your mind and the things in front of you are just for reference... Now they're trying to make d&d happen with the things in front of you.
You might as well go play 1970's text adventures on your computer in the basement.
Why so specific about year, device and location? You can easily play a 2020s text adventure on your phone in the livingroom.
[Redacted] Solo play is easy with chat GPT. You can upload an entire pdf module and it will play it verbatim and handle all encounters, initiative, damage rolls, maps clipart Etc. There is no more need for human DMs.
The social aspect of d&d is overrated. It's about theater of the mind, not about the people you're playing. When you read a book, do you make it a group thing? D&d is about immersion, not about socializing. The problem now is there's too many gimmicks that actually break the immersion... Figurines, .physical sceneries, smoke machines. LOL. All you need is your imagination and a map... Otherwise, you're turning it into more of a board game than a role-playing game. I think that's what people have drifted away from... D&d happens in your mind and the things in front of you are just for reference... Now they're trying to make d&d happen with the things in front of you.
What? 🤣 That's gotta be one of the most ridiculous takes on anything I've ever read.
[Redacted] Solo play is easy with chat GPT. You can upload an entire pdf module and it will play it verbatim and handle all encounters, initiative, damage rolls, maps clipart Etc. There is no more need for human DMs.
The social aspect of d&d is overrated. It's about theater of the mind, not about the people you're playing. When you read a book, do you make it a group thing? D&d is about immersion, not about socializing. The problem now is there's too many gimmicks that actually break the immersion... Figurines, .physical sceneries, smoke machines. LOL. All you need is your imagination and a map... Otherwise, you're turning it into more of a board game than a role-playing game. I think that's what people have drifted away from... D&d happens in your mind and the things in front of you are just for reference... Now they're trying to make d&d happen with the things in front of you.
You might as well go play 1970's text adventures on your computer in the basement.
Why so specific about year, device and location? You can easily play a 2020s text adventure on your phone in the livingroom.
Because I played them in those years, on a TRS-80 computer in my mom''s basement. I had no idea you could play them on phones today.
[Redacted] Solo play is easy with chat GPT. You can upload an entire pdf module and it will play it verbatim and handle all encounters, initiative, damage rolls, maps clipart Etc. There is no more need for human DMs.
The social aspect of d&d is overrated. It's about theater of the mind, not about the people you're playing. When you read a book, do you make it a group thing? D&d is about immersion, not about socializing. The problem now is there's too many gimmicks that actually break the immersion... Figurines, .physical sceneries, smoke machines. LOL. All you need is your imagination and a map... Otherwise, you're turning it into more of a board game than a role-playing game. I think that's what people have drifted away from... D&d happens in your mind and the things in front of you are just for reference... Now they're trying to make d&d happen with the things in front of you.
You might as well go play 1970's text adventures on your computer in the basement.
Why so specific about year, device and location? You can easily play a 2020s text adventure on your phone in the livingroom.
Because I played them in those years, on a TRS-80 computer in my mom''s basement. I had no idea you could play them on phones today.
Yeah, there's plenty of text adventures on phone and even on game consoles. Text adventures are still popular. As a kid I didn't fully understand the concept of them so I just played my Nintendo. Had I been older when those were first popular I probably would have played them but I was born in 82 so I grew up with home video game consoles starting with my Atari. Technically my sister's Atari handed down to me when she moved out. Text adventures feel more like a choose your adventure book these days. From what I recall with the old ones I tried as a kid it was pretty limited and the story was lacking. You enter a room, which way do you go.
I don't know if I'd say ridiculous, Trtlman. But it certainly feels like shoehorning a cumbersome accessory into the game to solo multiplayer content when there's so much solo content out there that's designed to play alone. The counterintuitive thing about D&D content that's designed to play solo is that it's made by people who are part of the D&D community. Proper solo play is still about being part of the community by supporting those creators.
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I solo played through the starter set as DM and as PCs. I know the complaint of doing this is the DM knows too much, but that's only if you actually read everything you're supposed to. I read through the monster encounters and basics of the story but any spoilers like what we're going to run into, I read those as we got to them. It wasn't perfect but it made it like an interactive choose your own adventure. Throw in some random generators like some Rory story cubes or deck of many things and you can easily make your own solo game without using a solo engine. Also helps to be able to mentally separate yourself as DM and PC which I know was another problem people mentioned but it's doable with practice.
It's true that playing as both DM and PC can be a challenge, but as you said, it can become a kind of interactive game and an adventure.
It's not tricky at all, and there are adventure modules for it. The people saying such things either 1) never tried or 2) didn't understand how to make it work.
Not sure where anyone says there is any mechanical difficultly doing it.
The problem most are envisioning is, you are going to be missing out on some of the key elements that makes D&D with other players and a DM more fun. The surprise. The surprise of not knowing what's around the corner, or is something a trap or isn't, or how your other party members are going to act and react.
Solo play boils it down to to statistics. And there is nothing wrong with that if you are fine with that. But you are missing out on so much more.
You can use random generators for surprises. And every time I see anyone talk about this, usually from reddit, everyone is saying you have to use something like DM Yourself to play solo.
Seems like everyone I find online who solo plays uses, and says you need to use, a solo engine such as DM Yourself. The two most popular solo engines aren't even free.
DnD is, to me, a social game. Without other players I would rather just play one of dozens of DnD like video games.
[Redacted]
As for playing D&D solo, I don't know that I ever would have considered it tricky. My main concern is it's just downright unfulfilling. I'd love to play D&D more regularly and not have to worry about coordinating schedules and all that. But it's the other people that make rolling the dice and coming up with a story together fun. If it's just me by my lonesome I don't feel like getting out the dice, rolling tray, minis, the terrain I 3D printed, etc. - I'll just fire up Baldur's Gate 3 on the PS5 and play that solo.
One could also say I'd rather play social video games. A video game and table game whether social or solo has a completely different feel. Also how many video games let you create the game as you play it? None, that's how many. If you're only enjoying it for the social aspect you're missing out. Dnd is much more than just hanging out with people.
The issue with solo DMing is that there are certain assumptions baked into the game that aren't valid with solo DMing. One of the big ones is that often in the published adventures, there is a lot of context to what's happening in part A that isn't discussed until part C. They assume that the DM has read the whole adventure and so knows the reason Nibbles is hiding out in Neverwinter in chapter 1 (which presents Nibbles as some random Duergar) is that he's actually the second in command of the antagonist Duergar faction in chapter 3. That's quite a different character...but you'd only know how to handle it if you've read chapter 3 (names changed since I can't be bothered to search through the book and to avoid spoilers...but that's pretty much what happens in one adventure).
Another issue is that the game can easily devolve into running from one fight to another because that's the bit that the crunch can handle well. Lastly, puzzles are challenging to implement - how do you know when you've gotten the right answer without reading it? If you read the right answer, then the puzzle becomes pointless.
It's not impossible to run D&D solo, no. It's quite possible to have fun with it as well. It's just that it tends to not reach the full scope of what the game can be like. TOR has a supplement that lets you adapt the game to single player and the set up of the materials lends itself better to solo. It also contains a bunch of tables that lets NPCs respond to your questions in a non-predetermined way. Essentially you roll the dice, which gives you a bunch of details, then you have to use that to come up with a coherent answer. This really helps the roleplay aspect because you're now getting responses that you have to respond to, without the DM's knowledge of the end goal motivating you to find a specific answer.
I can't speak much for ChatGPT. I tried experimenting with it a year or so ago, but it wasn't very productive - it kept hallucinating or regressing to the super generic. Perhaps it's improved since then.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
[Redacted]
There's a bunch of content out there that's designed to be played solo, like what Linklite referred to. I'm positive I've seen a bunch on DMsGuild. I absolutely recommend looking at the modules and encounters that content creators have made there and supporting human beings creating things. Solo D&D isn't my cuppa, but the creators are out there making content for it and they deserve support for their work.
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ModeratorLet's stay focused on the topic at hand folk, rather than get too side tracked.
As for solo D&D it's actually got a long history. All the way back even, in Dungeon Magazine:
The Djinn’s Ring, Dungeon Magazine #9, 1988. It was For BECMI D&D, where you play a lvl 3 elf who gets 'whisked away on an Arabian adventure'. Played through link a traditional game, but with a Choose your own adventure twist where you followed numbers to the next instruction in the module depending on the out come of a combat or roll. It immediately got mixed reviews with letters in the next issues discussing whether they should have more or less. The curated opinion seemed to be 'Yes, they're fun occasionally'.
Scepter of the Underworld, Dungeon Magazine #12, 1988 had the next one, For AD&D 1e, and an early 'isekai' where you, yes you! get transported into a AD&D game and take over the body of a 12th level fighter. Transmigration novels are a long standing tradition.
And then again with White Fang, DunMag #20. For AD&D 2e, 10th level thief adventure. But not many after that.
Some folk liked them but decided that wasn't what they were buying the magazine for. They wanted modules to run with their groups, not D&D/CYOA mashups, as fun as they could be.
I think that's the general issue with 'Solo' D&D. It's not D&D in the traditional sense and plays very differently. Either as a computer game or a choose your own adventure book.
There are solo TTRPGs out there one can take inspiration from, but they work more on emergent story telling and tend to be more simple and short. D&D doesn't lend itself as much to such. So it's definitely doable but if folk are after that same D&D feel, and not really being sure where the story might go, and that freedom of roleplay- that's harder to emulate by oneself.
D&D Beyond ToS || D&D Beyond Support
Solo D&D can be good as kind of structured storytelling, but I feel like once you've had practice with it you should just write stories if that's what you're into.
I think the real magic of D&D does come from the social aspect. You're a group making stories together. The only thing close to it is improv. Other people can push you and challenge you and delight you in ways you cannot anticipate. That's the surprise solos miss out on - not who the BBEG is, but what the barbarian is going to do when they find out it's their father.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
[Redacted] Solo play is easy with chat GPT. You can upload an entire pdf module and it will play it verbatim and handle all encounters, initiative, damage rolls, maps clipart Etc. There is no more need for human DMs.
The social aspect of d&d is overrated. It's about theater of the mind, not about the people you're playing. When you read a book, do you make it a group thing? D&d is about immersion, not about socializing. The problem now is there's too many gimmicks that actually break the immersion... Figurines, .physical sceneries, smoke machines. LOL. All you need is your imagination and a map... Otherwise, you're turning it into more of a board game than a role-playing game. I think that's what people have drifted away from... D&d happens in your mind and the things in front of you are just for reference... Now they're trying to make d&d happen with the things in front of you.
You might as well go play 1970's text adventures on your computer in the basement.
Why so specific about year, device and location? You can easily play a 2020s text adventure on your phone in the livingroom.
What? 🤣 That's gotta be one of the most ridiculous takes on anything I've ever read.
Because I played them in those years, on a TRS-80 computer in my mom''s basement. I had no idea you could play them on phones today.
Yeah, there's plenty of text adventures on phone and even on game consoles. Text adventures are still popular. As a kid I didn't fully understand the concept of them so I just played my Nintendo. Had I been older when those were first popular I probably would have played them but I was born in 82 so I grew up with home video game consoles starting with my Atari. Technically my sister's Atari handed down to me when she moved out. Text adventures feel more like a choose your adventure book these days. From what I recall with the old ones I tried as a kid it was pretty limited and the story was lacking. You enter a room, which way do you go.
I don't know if I'd say ridiculous, Trtlman. But it certainly feels like shoehorning a cumbersome accessory into the game to solo multiplayer content when there's so much solo content out there that's designed to play alone. The counterintuitive thing about D&D content that's designed to play solo is that it's made by people who are part of the D&D community. Proper solo play is still about being part of the community by supporting those creators.