gemini://mifuyne.capsule.town/gemlog/2024/solo_campaign_1

I'm tired of constantly thinking, "Oh, I'll start a solo TTRPG campaign and write about it in this gemlog." All I did was think, think, think. Time to do!

Of course, this prelim post will be more stream of consciousness. There isn't going to be any meaningful structure, I don't think. Mostly because I'm just jumping into it head first. But, I'll put each section into its own section so it won't be a huge wall of text that jumps all over the place. There will be markers!

I'm considering putting each campaign into a separate site. Partly because the capsule generator I'm using don't really handle multiple gemlogs. Will I host it on capsule.town again or roll my own?

I'm partial to hosting it on capsule.town. While I would like to learn to set up my own server and figure out the logistics around it, I don't have the time and this could just be an excuse to avoid doing the one thing I've wanted to do. Why would I be afraid to play a solo TTRPG campaign?

I've been told I set high expectations. What's worse is that I set them too high for myself. The few times I did try to play a solo TTRPG, I actually found myself disappointed by the lack of quality in it. That feeling ultimately caused me to lose my interest in the campaign and I stopped playing it. I thought it was because I wasn't keen on the setting as-is but I think I just didn't like how corny it felt.

I should be able to do better than that. I've spend decades consuming media, you'd think I'd have an idea for smoothing out the flow.

All that said, I did participate in NaNoWriMo last November and felt I was able to walk away from the experience a bit better at being happy with what I came up with. Maybe this time around, I'll be able to stick with this and be happy with the outcome!

Ironsworn: Starforged. I'm not a fan of retrofuturism, so I'll have to massage the settings in a way that appeals to me more. What I did like about Starforged is the fact that it's a scifi SOLO-supported TTRPG. It comes with a bunch of oracle/roll tables. Others have put out third party tables too so I might be able to find a way to use this system but set in a sub-genre I prefer.

There are quite a few I can choose from. I could go the fanfic route and make a Star Wars solo campaign. I still want to make a podcast out of this, too.

There's Eclipse Phase and its focus on transhumanity in the post-apocalyptic Solar System. Yeah, it's not limited to just Earth! I really, really liked that, but I'm worried the Second Edition is still a little too crunchy.

Speaking of Star Wars, I could also go with the Genesys system, via their Shadow of the Beanstalk sourcebook (Android universe). It's more focused on cyberpunk, not too far fom Cyberpunk. I don't recall if magic is a thing though, so I hesitate to compare it with Shadowrun.

There's NewEdo. It's cyberpunk in styling, but it's not grungy cyberpunk that we're seeing a lot of these days. This one has magic of sorts, through Qi, I think? A bit more like Shadowrun, a fusion of East Asian culture and cyberpunk!

Out of all of them, only Starforged supports solo-play as part of its system. Genesys wouldn't take much work since the narrative dice system lends itself to prompt-making and answering questions anyway. There are other means to make a traditional TTRPG work in solo play, but maybe for a "first" published one, I should stick with either Starforged or Genesys.

I love scifi. It's the genre that really keeps my attention. I'm not a fan of retrofuturism. I don't know, recalling the 30's to the 70's idea of the future isn't appealing to me.

I know some people don't think Shadowrun's setting is true cyberpunk because it has magic in it. But I've grown to like magic. I'm not opposed to fantasy as a genre. I just find "high" fantasy, or fantasy that takes place in the Dark Ages or the Middle Ages boring. They all feel very samey. I would say urban fantasy would sound great, but urban fantasy usually means paranormal stuff like vampires and werewolves. So...future fantasy? I know science fantasy is an established label for the genre but it doesn't really convey when it's happening. And I want high tech and magic to mash together!

I'm going to stop the train of thought here. I'm hoping by publishing this, it'll hold me to my own word, that I'll actually do this.

Hopefully, next post will actually be session zero, where I lay down the "facts" of the world and my character(s). Hopefully, it'll happen soon.

Solo Campaign 1 - Some preliminary thoughts

Digital Location

Living Up to Expectations

The Technical...

Which system?

Which setting?

More Soon