Solo RPG - what is it and is it worth while?

As much as I would love to play D&D, let's face it, I have no friends that play.

My librarian suggested I try Solo RPG (solo role playing game) where we use dice, cards, or some other random chance to guide us through a unique adventure.   Little bit confused, but intrigued.

There are a lot of different styles from gardening to herbal medicine soft playing games, to battle adventures treasure hunting games.  I'm no explaining it well.  Maybe someone else can?

I found a list of free solo rpg games to get a better idea.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Solo_Roleplaying/comments/v2v47e/some_cool_solo_rpgs_all_are_free/

How we play has all sorts of variety.   A lot seem to be about journaling.  Some is about walking and observing.  Some use photography or drawing as a method of keeping track of the game.  Some is about exploring dreems we had when asleep and others dive deep into psychology.   Most of them seem to be just fun.

this game seems designed for artists, but it's no longer free, but the cost is small.  It looks a bit difficult for my game playing and art skills.  

Here is a game based on victory gardening and seems to be journaling focused.  

into the woods uses a deck of cards to explore the woods and observe how it changes over the year.

her journey is another one I'm considering as it looks a lot like what I imagine rpg is like.  

There are also a bunch on amazon but I don't know what they are like.  Most of the popular ones seem to be on this itch io site.

I don't know where to start or even if it's worth trying a solo rpg.  Personally, I am more interested in drawing than writing stuff these days.  

So, anyone out there tried solo rpg before?  What's it like?

Apothecaria appears to be the most popular solo rpg on YouTube for people new to the game.  It looks like fun, but a bit complicated.

Here is a person playing the first day.

I might start with the wandering tea garden or its predecessor, the wandering library.  These are both very open world journalling style games.  Sort of soft world building.  

And they are both free.  



The library is two pages and uses 2, 6-sided dice to give prompts of location and events.  There aren't many challanges to overcome, more prompts like describe a local landmark at this location,  "a curious creature enters your library.  What happens?"  

Tea garden has the same gameplay style, but also foraging component.   2, 6-sided dice are also used to decide the location and event.  Again, the events are very open and low stress. A restful, exploration game.  This feels like more opportunity to draw in the journal.



I imagine, eventually, there could be a way to combine the two games prompt list as an expansion.

A soft place to start.  It feels weird to have a game without inventory and challanges. I also don't know if this will fit well in my day or theif time away from other tasks.

Anyway, I would love to hear from people who have tried solo rpg playing.  

Can't say as I know much, as it's my son that's into this sort of thing, however, your descriptions of journaling and drawing make me wonder if it would be a way of encouraging your creativity in a gentle way. I wonder if it would help people who are scared to write, because writing is too attached to the concept of school, and many people don't have fond memories of school.

If you have a chance to ask him, I would love to hear what thoughts your son has on solo rpg.

I think it would be a wonderful tool for people who want to write fiction but are afraid.

Although, maybe stay away from youtube as some of the journals people make are intimidating...and they don't even play the game, just like combining scrapbooking, fancy journal spreads, etc.  Beautiful, but scary how much money and energy go into it.

Just a writing journal is enough with room for sketching.  I think that's the fit for me.

I have done my share of solo rpg's but have always found them lacking compared to team play like DnD.  They have their place, and it is very true they end up being self reflection mostly.

I usually enjoy them for a few weeks then retire them.  Self reflection isn't as big for me now as it used to be (or even should be).  I think that is the major driving force in why team based is far more satisfying, I'm no longer alone in my own little word and instead have to adapt to situations that my party causes (often times I'm the DM so it's even funner since I can throw what I want their way).

I guess the point I'm trying to make is they are the same genre but completely different livestock.  If your goal is reflection and journaling/art then solo is an amazing experience.  It won't be anything like the companionship and laughs you will get from the other side though.  Both fulfill a different niche in the system.

Honestly you don't need to pickup a game to do it either.  Set yourself in an imaginary system and roll for things you may encounter.  "I attempt to make a hugel", I roll a d20 and add a modifier (-4 for lack of materials on hand, +2 for proficiency due to prior hugels). If I get below 10 then it's subpar and I waste time.  If I get a natural 1 on my roll I'd get an injury, or my hugels spontaneously combusts and I gotta put it out.

At the end of the day it's all role playing, it can be as complicated as you want, as simple as you need, and ultimately limited by your own imagination.

Pardon any grammer or spelling mistakes, done on my phone.  I might edit for those later.

I imagine having a team of people would be awesome.  The creativity can feed off eachother to make something one person alone could never imagine. One day I will find the right people.

My goal is to stretch my imagination beyond where it would normally wander on its own.  

I wonder...

...could we hivemind a solo rpg game for permaculture?