This website is currently a WIP | Feel free to browse | Sign the guestbook!
I've been playing Dungeons and Dragons for almost two years now with a group of my friends online. Not only that, but I've been privileged enough to have the chance to play almost every single week while many of the more unfortunate among us only get table time with their pals once or twice a month, if that. That may come across as me bragging, and that's because I am, in fact, bragging. But more importantly, it's not enough. I need more. My autism grumbles from deep within the void, commanding me to play more table-top roleplaying games. Well, how the fuck am I supposed to do that? Join another group? Absolutely not; what if there's a straight man there? What then? No. The solution to my problem was simple. I needed to solo roleplay.
"But what is solo roleplaying?" I hear you ask judgementally and also kind of stupidly. Put it together, it's roleplaying by yourself. Which IS NOT sad or depressing, despite what you might be thinking right now. More specifically, in this context it refers to playing a TTRPG by yourself. You are both the player and the GM. You design the world and live in it. It's like that egg creation story from a few years ago. Everything and everyone that exists in your game is you. Some people do this with already established systems like DnD or Pathfinder. But there are games that were made specifically for solo RP. Often, these are either journal/narrative heavy or combat/dungeon crawl heavy. It's hard to find an equal mix of both in one game but there's something out there for everyone.
Personally, I prefer the journal heavy games. Being able to just sit down with a nice cup of coffee and some dice while telling a fun and interesting story is the bee's knees. I can go anywhere and do anything I want to through these games. I can run a business or explore space or tend to a garden or get married to a dragon (bardcore activities) or literally anything else my mind could think up. I've been running different games for myself off and on for about six months now and, I have to say, it has been a complete blast. And because I mostly do narrative games, I've been writing a lot more than usual lately, strengthening that specific skill.
But, considering the title of this post, I have to tell you how solo roleplaying has changed the way I think. I want to preface this by saying it hasn't been some complete overhaul of my thought process or a foundational change in my daily operation, but it has changed me. It has changed the way I create and how I use my imagination. It used to be, back when I was fully brainrotted, that I felt that I couldn't create anything original. I didn't feel like I even had an imagination anymore. But now, because I've spent so much time basically forcing my brain to work within some strict limits to create a story that pleases me, I feel so much freer than before. Some things I do now that I didn't used to be able to include: drawing fucked up little creatures, improv, writing silly stories, drawing MORE fucked up little creatures, think up fun scenarios in my head, daydream, dream at night, stare longingly out a window for more than 30 seconds, and most importantly, not being on my phone doomscrolling for nearly as long.
I cannot stress to you enough how serious I am when I say that I am happier than I was six months ago and I really do believe a large part of that has come from the unintended rewiring of the right half of my brain. I've been trying to use this new-found joy and extend it to other avenues of my life. I've recently started crocheting again, an activity I dropped over a year ago because my depression and lack of motivation got in the way. I also take better care of myself; chores don't suck as much when I'm able to entertain myself anywhere and with no accessory technology. My life isn't perfect, mind you, but I do feel better; and I think a lot of people need to feel better right about now. So, with that being said, I'm going to recommend my favorite solo roleplaying games to you. I hope you'll check them out and, if you do, please let me know what you think!
(BTW, if you click on any of the titles of these things, they'll bring you to their main page on the web) This one is like beyond fun. It's fun++. You play as a bookseller who works on a boat which is also a book store. You decorate and repair your shop throughout the year while selling books to customers and sailing up and down The River to get to different towns. There are holidays and fun events and you can create the most lovable NPCs to interact with. Currently, a digital copy costs USD$16 which may be a bit much if you're just trying solo RP out for the first time, but I can attest that this game is 100% worth the price!
Iron Valley might be my favorite game on this list. It's a cross between Stardew Valley and another solo roleplaying game, Ironsworn. More specifically, it's the vibes and community based narrative of Stardew combined with the mechanical guts of Ironsworn. The gamebook explains everything but I must warn you that there are so many mechanics and rules and tables and pieces of information to have noted down. It's very thorough. But, I think the amount of rules and information is a good thing, especially for beginners. It gives you a clear path forward which can be very helpful if you're sitting there wondering what you should do next. This one also has a built-in mechanic for building NPCs and maintaining relationships with them, so it's perfect if you have a bunch of OCs you want to make kiss or whatever. This one is free, so you really have no excuse but to play it and have fun.
This one is a lot less involved than the others on this list. Mandrake Sanctuary has you tending to a garden full of various mandrakes (or sentient plants). This game is very unique in that it takes place over real-life days rather than in-game days. The gameplay loop has you choose a mandrake to plant, making sure you plant them with the right kind of soil/fertilizer. The kicker is each different type of soil requires you complete a little challenge, typically some form of self-care. This can be a fun way to get some chores done or try something new while also growing a little friend. I honestly really like this game and for USD$5, you really can't complain if it's able to get you productive.
Ultimately, solo roleplaying is what you make of it. It's helped me reframe the way I think about creativity and how I apply my imagination to my day-to-day. But for some people, it's just a way to blow off some steam in a solo dungeon crawl. I've seen a few people using some of these solo games as writing prompts for original stories even. The world is truly your oyster and you should shuck that fucking shell! If none of the games I recommended are up your alley, search for some on your own! There's a whole community out there on itch.io and there's even an entire subreddit dedicated to this stuff: r/Solo_Roleplaying.
Alright, that's it from me. Thank you for reading and have a great day!!