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Post by DungeonDevil on Oct 6, 2023 21:42:12 GMT -6
Has anyone successfully and regularly used this concept (whether 1st or the current 2nd edition) in the implementation of an (O)D&D session? The second edition is far better written and has many great examples of how to use it, but -- perhaps it's my 50-something brain and the onset of inevitable geriatric decrepitude -- I'm still having trouble wrapping the grey matter around it.
The core concept (well, one of them) is to divide a session into "scenes", but there's something in my Old School sandbox RPG brain that flinches at such a concept as, well, railroady. Perhaps I'm overreacting.
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Post by simrion on Oct 7, 2023 4:24:22 GMT -6
Has anyone successfully and regularly used this concept (whether 1st or the current 2nd edition) in the implementation of an (O)D&D session? The second edition is far better written and has many great examples of how to use it, but -- perhaps it's my 50-something brain and the onset of inevitable geriatric decrepitude -- I'm still having trouble wrapping the grey matter around it. The core concept (well, one of them) is to divide a session into "scenes", but there's something in my Old School sandbox RPG brain that flinches at such a concept as, well, railroady. Perhaps I'm overreacting. I don't think you're alone in not "grokking" this. I think I have the 1E version and have never really clicked with the concepts presented. I balk at making my game "cinematic" in overall concept. I've a few games in my accumulation that have that "scene" concept and it's just not for me. |
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oldskolgmr
Level 3 Conjurer
Can the Cleric heal me? What? Alright, the Clerk will have to do.
Posts: 99 
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Post by oldskolgmr on Oct 7, 2023 5:27:29 GMT -6
My GM in Marvel Superheroes uses the computerized cards for our game to make decisions (along with Chat Gpd for plot specifics), so he can use a GM PC hero. We've been playing successfully (all having fun   ) for months now using these methods. |
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Post by Finarvyn on Oct 7, 2023 5:44:46 GMT -6
I've not used one of those, but my understanding is that we're talking about a GM emulator so that one can play games solo?
It seems to me like there are only two main design options for something like this:
(1) linear (i.e. "railroady")
(2) random
There is either a plan or there isn't.
If there is a master plan to run characters through scenes there will probably always be a feeling of "the tracks go that way" as one goes from one scene to the next. If you take that away, however, there is likely a feeling that the tracks don't go anywhere. The random approach goes back to the Strategic Review (at least) when Gygax published a random dungeon generator which produced all sorts of rooms that overlapped and hallways that went nowhere.
Apologies if I totally misunderstood the question.
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Post by dicebro on Oct 7, 2023 7:31:33 GMT -6
My GM in Marvel Superheroes uses the computerized cards for our game to make decisions (along with Chat Gpd for plot specifics), so he can use a GM PC hero. We've been playing successfully (all having fun ) for months now using these methods. Cool, what are the “computerized cards”? |
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Post by Punkrabbitt on Oct 7, 2023 9:12:16 GMT -6
I've looked at this, and it's just not for me. One of the most important aspects of tabletop roleplaying games is getting together with other people and rolling dice together. I've tried some solo scenarios, I've done my own solo adaptations... it is not for me.
The flip side is that I have no issues playing solo miniatures games. I do that whenever I have the time and energy.
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Post by derv on Oct 7, 2023 11:43:03 GMT -6
Has anyone successfully and regularly used this concept (whether 1st or the current 2nd edition) in the implementation of an (O)D&D session? The second edition is far better written and has many great examples of how to use it, but -- perhaps it's my 50-something brain and the onset of inevitable geriatric decrepitude -- I'm still having trouble wrapping the grey matter around it. The core concept (well, one of them) is to divide a session into "scenes", but there's something in my Old School sandbox RPG brain that flinches at such a concept as, well, railroady. Perhaps I'm overreacting. I don't own Mythic but I have been doing a bit of a deep dive into methods of solo play and it comes up often as a favorite tool for some. There remains a problem when a person attempts to replicate table top roleplay without a GM. It just doesn't feel the same. That's because it is usually the GM who creates and describes the setting and introduces the unexpected. The GM is also the one who answers any of the many questions players may have regarding the immediate environment they are playing in. For the most part a good GM allows for the flow of the game to go uninterrupted. All these roles the GM fills must now be replicated with some sort of procedure. To address this, many of these sort of tools are more narrative in nature. You, as the player, are expected to generate a story line to play through. So, there is an idea of a beginning, middle, and end, at the start. You will be prompted along through the use of tables to develop ideas of what is taking place. It requires a bit more inquiry and interpretation before actual play can unfold. The approach can be a little foreign to people use to traditional rpg's, myself included. That being said, there are some useful tidbits to be found in these narrative emulators. For example, the use of an Oracle to answer yes/no questions seems valuable, if not essential, for solo play. And, of course, the use of these tools doesn't necessarily mean you have to play alone. They are just a replacement for the GM and can make for entertaining off the cuff games with a couple friends. There a few PWYW systems on DriveThru that may be simpler in presentation and are certainly worth a gander. Look for Plot Unfolding Machine, Scene Unfolding Machine, and Game Unfolding Machine. They're all by the same author with the first two being distilled into a few pages. I'll be posting my latest draft of solo rules in the resource thread. It's still a work in progress. I intend to eventually offer a few separate random tables to go along with it- a more concise dungeon generator and name generators for example. |
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Post by Finarvyn on Oct 7, 2023 20:11:11 GMT -6
I have no issues playing solo miniatures games. I do that whenever I have the time and energy. I used to play miniatures battles (usually Chainmail) and wargames solo a lot. I feel like a lot of that style of play doesn't depend upon surprise, but instead on strategy, so knowing what the opponent is doing isn't usually a bad thing. With an RPG adventure I feel like surprise and not-knowing is half of the fun, which is why I rarely play the same module repeatedly. |
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Post by DungeonDevil on Oct 8, 2023 0:11:56 GMT -6
For illustration purposes only: www.drivethrurpg.com/product/422929/Mythic-Game-Master-Emulator-Second-EditionN.B.: I am not affiliated with the publisher, nor is this to be (mis)construed as an endorsement, etc., etc. I've referred to this (in a tongue-in-cheek manner, mind) as The World's Most Complicated Magic Eight Ball. And that's not too off the mark. I was initially informed of this book on a wargaming website several years ago by a member who professed to using the 1st edition of Mythic in running solo wargaming campaigns, but, IIRC, he didn't go into any nitty-gritty about how he accomplished this. I can readily envision how this can be used in low-level skirmish wargaming (which is, admittedly, not dissimilar to RPGs), but as for higher-level (e.g. divisional or corps-level actions), I'm not quite as confident. However, I did recently have a brainstorm that each division or corps could be regarded, figuratively speaking, as an NPC with attributes, traits or characteristics which set it (and its all-important leadership) apart from the others. In all, when reading the 2nd edition of Mythic I get the strong impression that I've got in my hands something positively brilliant, but I lack the creative spark to make it work for me. The struggle continues... |
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Post by tdenmark on Oct 8, 2023 3:35:02 GMT -6
I've referred to this (in a tongue-in-cheek manner, mind) as The World's Most Complicated Magic Eight Ball. And that's not too off the mark. It seems that any solo rules are essentially that. And if the contemporary science on our brains is correct, we are basically Magic Eight Balls too. But I don't subscribe to Determinism, we are free-willed beings. Perhaps there is a way to devise solo rules that are a puzzle to be solved, rather than an algorithm to be followed. |
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oldskolgmr
Level 3 Conjurer
Can the Cleric heal me? What? Alright, the Clerk will have to do.
Posts: 99
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Post by oldskolgmr on Oct 8, 2023 7:18:43 GMT -6
My GM in Marvel Superheroes uses the computerized cards for our game to make decisions (along with Chat Gpd for plot specifics), so he can use a GM PC hero. We've been playing successfully (all having fun ) for months now using these methods. Cool, what are the “computerized cards”? As it has been explained to me (I could be mistaken) the GM Emulator allows for solo play by "drawing"/running a program for a yes/no question by giving "computer image card results". It also gives degrees of +/- to future decisions. The "magic eight-ball" explanation fits with what I understand. |
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Post by Starbeard on Oct 8, 2023 9:58:13 GMT -6
In all, when reading the 2nd edition of Mythic I get the strong impression that I've got in my hands something positively brilliant, but I lack the creative spark to make it work for me. The struggle continues... As a card carrying solitaire RPGer for almost 30 years now, I think this is the main problem with almost all solo RPG systems out there. The truth is, anyone who has the creative spark to realize their potential doesn't actually need them, and those of us who don't can't use them effectively. |
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) for months now using these methods. 
