r/Solo_Roleplaying • u/Answulf • Aug 24 '26
I know AI is a contentious topic and I’m not trying to discuss or dismiss those concerns, or argue that anyone should use AI. I also appreciate this sub's stance on AI discussions!
What I’ve noticed is two very common states of AI conversation, ones that we've all seen many times. Either it is...
“I don’t use AI at all and no one else should either”, or
“I’m trying to use AI to replace a human GM, and it sucks.”
I know people are using it in a lot of interesting ways, and I’m interested in discussing a more nuanced and helpful approach to using AI as a tool with solo RPGs, and in ways that are ethically, creatively, and practically different.
I’ve been thinking about it in terms of “Tier” usage, based on how much of the solo-play process you delegate to the AI and what boundaries protect creativity. Higher tiers listed below are not better tiers; they simply delegate more of the experience to the AI, which means more potential usefulness but also more risk.
Here is my first pass at the different Tiers:
Tier 0: No AI
This is the foundation that everyone should use. You have maximum authorship, and even if you do plan on using AI, it will give you an important foundation from which to understand how AI tools might help. This one is a no-brainer.
Tier 1: AI as a Record Keeper
This is the least intrusive use of AI. If you keep your solo RPG notes digitally, you can use AI to parse them and keep you organized. You can summarize sessions, organize notes, track NPCs, list unresolved threads, and create “return to play” summaries after time away. If you struggle with organization or continuity, or if you just want to offload some of the administrative tasks of running a game, AI can assist. The boundary here is important: AI is not adding any content to your game.
Tier 2: AI as an Advanced Oracle
This is my personal favorite tier, and there are two basic approaches here: AI can help you create specific oracle tables on the fly, and AI can help you interpret oracles. Both approaches can surprise you, which can be valuable in solo play. The player still uses normal solo tools such as dice, random tables, tarot cards, Mythic-style prompts, random words, etc.
Example #1, Creating Tables:
You could use AI to quickly create a custom oracle table specific to your current situation. Let’s say you are playing a rules-light OSR dungeon crawl, and your character is sneaking through a flooded, goblin-controlled mine. You could ask the AI to create a d20 oracle table called “What Complicates the Flooded Mine?” with each result being two words and get entries like “goblin lanterns”, “runaway ore-cart”, or “rising water”. This table is more useful than a generic dungeon table because it’s tied to your actual location and situation. You can also ask for multiple words or even sentences if you find one-word prompts too vague.
Example 2, Learning how to Interpret Results:
We’ve all struggled to interpret results at times, and it is an important creative skill to build. Paradigm shift: AI can actually help you build that skill instead of replacing it! Take this prompt: “Help me interpret the oracle result Betray+Sanctuary for Ironsworn without providing specific suggestions.” When I tested this, it talked at length about the relationship between the two ideas, what they might imply, guided me towards a vague “something or somewhere associated with safety is no longer trustworthy” and then prompted me with several questions to think about, such as “Who or what is depending on that sanctuary?”
Example 3, Being Surprised with Options:
You can ask for options from the AI and select or riff off one of them. “Given (the current scene), give me five possible interpretations of Betray + Sanctuary.” Even if you are the best oracle interpreter in your hometown, you will almost certainly get some ideas that hadn't occured to you, and one of them might spark an idea that makes for the most interesting branch of the story. It can add an element of surprise, which is very difficult to create on your own, and you still have plenty of creative license to change the final interpretation.
The important boundary for all of these is that the AI is only suggesting possibilities. The player chooses, rolls, modifies, or rejects them. The AI does not decide canon.
Tier 3: AI as NPC Emulator
At this tier, you are using AI to portray NPCs in a scene. This addresses one of the most awkward and unsatisfying aspects of solo RPGs: dialogue.
In traditional solo play, you often have to roleplay both your character and the NPC, which can feel artificial. You already know what both sides are thinking, so there’s no real surprise or tension, and any kind of social uncertainty is hard to create. As the player, you can stay in your character role while the AI temporarily portrays a specific NPC.
This takes a bit more work and is a good candidate for a custom GPT, but the results can be very rewarding. You need a template of information to give to the AI so that they run the NPC effectively and don’t default to being too cooperative. What they want, what they know and don’t know, how they feel about the PC, etc. You can also include things like personality, accents, behaviors to give them more flavor. Often this can just come down to feeding the AI with NPC oracle results that you rolled. This is a deep topic that would need a separate conversation to adequately cover.
The important boundary is that the AI is still not the GM. It shouldn’t decide outcomes – it is just portraying a character from that character’s limited knowledge, motives, and emotional state that you gave to it.
Tier 4: AI as Scene or Encounter Assistant
I have experimented in this space, but I am going to take the easy way out and say that this is too detailed a topic to discuss here, plus this is already too long.
At this tier, the AI runs an encounter from structured inputs: situation, NPCs, hidden information, pressure, scene type, exit conditions, and consequences. The player still handles rules and dice. The key is that the AI is not being asked to run a whole campaign, just one structured unit of play.
What I will say is that I think this is the practical limit of where “AI as an effective GM” exists right now. I also think it takes a paradigm shift in thinking. Instead of trying to emulate a GM, focus on what an AI can do well that human GMs struggle with, and design it from the ground up. It also takes a lot of prompting experience, knowledge of building custom GPTs, and lots of trial and error.
The important boundary here is that the AI just runs the scene, not the campaign. The player still owns character agency, rules, dice, and canon.
Tier 5: AI as Full GM
Unfortunately this is where many people start - the most difficult tier - usually with limited AI knowledge and basic prompts, and then they run into real constraints and conclude that “AI sucks at being a GM”. This is also where most other AI discussions take place, so no need to rehash it here.
Final Point
I think it is useful to ask, “What challenge in solo play is this tool helping to address, and how much authority am I giving it?” rather than treating every use of AI in solo RPGs as equivalent.
Someone using AI to organize session notes is doing something very different from someone asking AI to be their GM. Someone using it to voice an NPC is doing something very different from someone using it to replace their own creativity.
Personally, I think the safest and most useful uses are the ones where the player keeps control of authorship and final decisions, while the AI helps with specific challenges that solo play can make difficult. I’m curious how other solo players think about these boundaries, including people who choose not to use AI at all.
Anyway, that’s my current framework. I’m not trying to settle any debate, just make the conversation a little less all-or-nothing and hear about how others may be using AI.
Your thoughts and ideas are much appreciated!
r/Solo_Roleplaying • u/NEVI2026 • 22d ago
I'm trying to work out how a solo mystery can give you useful clues without making you know the answer before your character does. The discussion here about choosing dungeon routes without enough information got me thinking about it.
Say you find a muddy footprint outside a locked room. Do you decide who left it straight away and keep that separate from what your character knows? Or leave the cause open until more clues turn up?
The second option sounds more surprising, but idk how you stop every theory from becoming true just because you thought of it. What rule or tool helps you keep the mystery fair? A small example from a game would help.
Context: I’m researching narrative play for Metlivi Adventure.
r/Solo_Roleplaying • u/superceleste15 • 1h ago
In a solo RPG, i feel like accessories make the game more real. I really like that. Like custom cards, playing sheet, etc. What are some of your favorite accessories and what are your recs for games including accessories?
r/Solo_Roleplaying • u/Positive-Capital1113 • 36m ago
I've been playing solo for a bit and have a bunch of published adventures I'd like to play through. I've been underwhelmed with the experience of doing it solo, and find it a little difficult not to meta game and separate my knowledge from my character's knowledge. I recently came across Triple-O PC emulator, and it sounds really interesting to play as the GM and emulate the PCs.
Triple-O looks fairly straightforward to implement, but I'm wondering if any of you have used it and developed some good techniques to really get some surprises out of it, the way players at a table would surprise the GM and do some really unexpected things. In particular, I'm interested in ways to implement it into combat encounters. This seems like a tricky task because characters could have so many different options of what to do.
I could imagine ways to set up the Obvious/Option/Odd choices in a given scenario, but my concern is that this could really bog things down if done too much. Looking for any tips on how to do this effectively so that it keeps the pace reasonable but still injects some surprises into the mix.
I haven't been able to find any actual plays using a system like this either, so if anyone knows of some, I'd also appreciate a link/reference. Thanks!
r/Solo_Roleplaying • u/Mulberry_Whine • 19h ago
I was looking at 1000-year-old Vampire and thought the book was amazingly beautiful. I'd like to find other solo journaling games like that -- games that offer the ability to purchase a hardback or professionally printed version of the rules/game. The genre isn't really all that important as long as it has a major journaling aspect to the game and has a gorgeous rulebook. I'm not looking for pdfs at this point, although I might be in the future so if there's one that stands out as stellar, please let me know. Any suggestions? I realize a lot of these might be kickstarters, so if it's commercially available NOW that's a huge plus. Thanks!
r/Solo_Roleplaying • u/FineCartographer9764 • 21h ago
like i'll roll on a table and get something vague and suddenly i'm stuck for twenty minutes trying to figure out what it means instead of just rolling with it. curious if this is just me overthinking or if other people have strategies for moving past it.
r/Solo_Roleplaying • u/Umedyn • 1d ago
Personally, I LOVE board games, but because of work, a lot of times I never have time to play them with other people, that is why I love finding board games with single player options or even designed. Does anyone have any favorite board games to play solo?
Some of my favorite are:
Final Girl is built around single play where you're the Final Girl in a horror scenario, like generic Friday the 13th or Poltergeist. The modules are mix and match, each with two protagonists and a haunt scenario.
Star Wars Outer Rim, even though I'm not a fan of the "just make a game controlled player 2" style, it has my favorite Star Wars character, Dr. Aphra in it, so it goes on my list.
Everdell has the same issue, but I love the art, same with a few other of the city builders.
Mice and Mystics is very "solo" DnD esque, it has more "control the party" than single character, the Zombicide games are like that too, I have a few of the stand alone ones.
I have a bunch more I'll post when I'm home, but those are a few off the top of my head I like.
r/Solo_Roleplaying • u/RealLifeArcher • 6h ago
Back in August I posted my game here. Since then I've torn it down and rebuilt pretty much everything.
Combat: fights run in initiative order now, and each turn you get a move, a bonus action and an action. You can press the attack for advantage, duck into cover for +2 AC, or use a class ability like Bloodrage. You can't see how hurt an enemy is until you size it up, and you can try to talk your way out in the middle of a fight. When you land the killing blow, you can type how you finish it. Every roll shows its math in the log.
Stories: the contracts on the job board are all hand-written, and I rewrote them so there's more than one way through. You investigate, ask around in towns, and solve riddles by typing your answer, or roll to force it if you're stuck. What you do early on can change the final fight.
There's also an optional AI Game Master mode you can try for free. It still has to use the same dice as everything else. And since people ask, the art is AI-generated.
It's free in your browser, and a free account keeps your hero on any device. Short clip attached.
I'm one guy building this, so blunt feedback helps more than anything. If you play solo a lot, tell me what works and what doesn't. This subreddit has already given a ton of great feedback so thank you!
Link in the comments if the sub allows it.
r/Solo_Roleplaying • u/Local-Beautiful-2067 • 1d ago
How Would You Describe/Market a Hybrid? And How Much Character Creation Is Too Much?
I've been working on my own solo fantasy RPG, and I'm starting to realize that what I'm creating might technically be considered more of a gamebook than a traditional solo RPG.
It has elements of both solo RPGs and choose-your-own-adventure books. There's character creation, stats, checks, different backgrounds, ancestries, specialties, choices that affect the story, and branching paths. But it's also a structured narrative where you're reading passages and making decisions that determine where the story goes.
So I guess my first question is: How would you advertise or describe something like this?
I feel like when I say "solo RPG," people generally understand what I'm talking about, but when I say "gamebook," I get some confused looks. 😂 I don't want to mislead people about what they're getting, but I also want to reach the right audience. Would you call it a solo RPG gamebook, a choose-your-own-adventure RPG, or something else entirely?
I've also recently had a pretty big revelation about how I want the story itself to unfold, which is exciting! Unfortunately, that also means I'm about to go back and rewrite a whole bunch of what I've already done
My other big question is: How much is too much when it comes to rules and character creation?
Right now, I have around 117 pages dedicated to that portion of the book. That includes the table of contents, a little introduction to the story, some brief world history, and all the rules and character creation options.
One of my biggest goals is replayability. I want players to be able to create completely different characters, approach situations differently, discover things they missed the first time, and have choices that genuinely affect their experience. I don't necessarily want someone to finish the book once and feel like they've seen everything it has to offer.
At the same time, I'm wondering whether I'm getting carried away with the amount of information and options I'm giving players before they even begin the actual adventure.
I'm trying to find that balance between giving players meaningful freedom and making the game approachable, especially for people who might be new to this style of game.
For those of you who play solo RPGs or gamebooks:
What terminology would make you interested in a hybrid like this?
How much character creation do you enjoy before starting an adventure?
Would a 117-page introductory/rules/character creation section intimidate you, even if a good portion is optional reference material?
What actually makes a gamebook replayable for you? Different character builds, branching storylines, meaningful consequences, hidden discoveries, or something else?
Is there anything you've encountered in solo RPGs or gamebooks that made you think, "This is way more complicated than it needs to be"?
I'm still very much in the development and playtesting stages, so I'd love to hear different perspectives. I'm not necessarily looking to simplify everything just for the sake of making it shorter, but I do want to make sure the complexity is actually adding something worthwhile to the experience.
r/Solo_Roleplaying • u/zeroframe_ • 1d ago
I have read good things about this tool but I'm finding it hard to understand how to use it, like how do you even put a dungeon on the map? I can't see any dungeon in the feature table.
The book provides a hex crawl worksheet and mentioned about atlas level hexes, sub level hexes and detailed level hexes, am I supposed to have multiple sub level hexes sheets?
Also in the sheet there is a section to fill your wandering monster table but basically the book advice is "at the discretion of the dm"
The same with the settlement generator there is a table based on population but it's basically "at the discretion of the dm"
The book doesn't even have a terrain type table, if you move to a new hex there is no table to roll for terrain type.
Then there is the d30 dm companion which is the book for filling dungeons but the sandbox companion book doesn't even have dungeons as a feature option to begin with.
r/Solo_Roleplaying • u/mystic-badger • 1d ago
r/Solo_Roleplaying • u/Legitimate_Teacher10 • 1d ago
Forbidden Lands Solo Actual Play, Session 4! Let me know what you think.
r/Solo_Roleplaying • u/DegreeUnhappy6223 • 1d ago
Hi all! I’ve made a small solo game and I’d love your help with one thing.
It’s called Your Pulp Week: a noir diary game in seven days. Each day you read your character’s diary and choose how the next sentence ends. Vices push you towards Too Much, giving things up towards Too Little, and the goal is to reach Monday morning somewhere in the middle. The week ends with an over-the-top pulp epilogue.
It started with The Cards of Cthulhu. I first made my own paper version of it, but instead of four kinds of monsters, I used the things that really wear a person down: drink, junk food, drugs and not taking care of yourself. That changed the whole game: it became an attempt to keep things under control before they go too far. My love for TTRPGs, for solo games and for worlds without dragons turned it into this project: something that touches the real world, but is still soaked in fiction.
It’s made to be played on your phone, but it works on a computer too. It runs in the browser, takes about 15 minutes and is free:
https://claude.ai/artifact/4pjj9kJwGhHr6smNSzA2yx?lang=en
My request: English isn’t my first language (I’m Croatian, the game exists in both languages). If any line sounds unnatural or not quite English, please quote it in the comments. Even one line helps a lot.
Thanks, and have a lovely weekend!
r/Solo_Roleplaying • u/true-neutral-adrian • 1d ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Lof6Jr1UEA
An infiltration mission + quite a bit of solo roleplay!
r/Solo_Roleplaying • u/Training-Tear9891 • 2d ago
I'm a stranger to solo roleplaying.
Doesn't it feel odd to play ttrpg solo? I mean, you're just sitting alone, scribbling some notes and throwing dice, or how is it even going? Isn't it more boring than playing with someone? Is it similar somehow?
I want to try it myself, where should I start? Are the links in the description of this subreddit good to start with? Any advices?
And yeah, I know I should've read guides first, but there are too many of them, it feels just overwhelming, though probably it's just my problem 🤒
Edit: Thank you all for your feedback! Reading your suggestions and about your experience really encouraged me! I guess I'm just overthinking as always, so I'll just try playing solo today or tomorrow
r/Solo_Roleplaying • u/Hagisman • 2d ago
I really enjoy video games with event logs Luke this. Fallout Shelter's event tree is also like this for me.
Is there solo ttrpg like this?
r/Solo_Roleplaying • u/calmdaze19 • 2d ago
i keep flip-flopping between prepping detailed scenarios and just rolling with whatever chaos emerges, and i'm never sure which actually makes for a better story. like, how much scaffolding do you need before things feel directionless vs over-railroaded?
r/Solo_Roleplaying • u/Hot_Tennis_2677 • 2d ago
Basically, I want to play Scarlet Heroes, not necessarily the campaign setting but I have no real issues with it either, with the goal of eventually getting to domain play or higher.
From what I've been looking at my options seem to be basic fantasy, BECMI, or An Echo, Resounding.
Can anybody help me decide which of these will work best with Scarlet Heroes and the eventual goal of my game? Does Scarlet Heroes even work effectively with domain level or higher play?
r/Solo_Roleplaying • u/Alastair367 • 2d ago
Hey everyone, I’ve been interested in solo games for some time now. I journal a lot on my own, so I wondered if there was a way I could find a game to help me avoid my phone when I’m bored. I typically travel with a small bag that’s big enough to fit my A5 size notebook and my A6 journal.
I’d like to find something physical I could fit in my bag, but would only require either some dice, a deck of cards (either regular or tarot) or nothing at all. It should be simple enough to pick up easily, and pack up quickly. I’d like something narrative or story focused. I’ve played Apothecaria, and Dead Letter Society and loved them both. So something somewhat similar would be nice. Any and all recommendations welcome, thank you.
ETA: Thank you all so much for the amazing suggestions! Y’all really are such an awesome community, and I appreciate the heck out of ya. I’m also glad that the post will be useful to others as well.
r/Solo_Roleplaying • u/PuddingConscious9166 • 2d ago
I made a little project, just for fun!
Write your own fantasy adventure, add characters and choices, and turn it into a playable RPG you can share with friends.
No coding needed, no AI storytelling. Just your imagination and some nostalgic ZX Spectrum-style graphics.
Give it a go and let me know what you think!
r/Solo_Roleplaying • u/Melodic_War327 • 1d ago
r/Solo_Roleplaying • u/TheVok • 2d ago
Hi folks! I'm looking to start my solo RPG adventures. I picked up Coriolis: The Great Dark and I'm finding it a little daunting to get started. I think mostly because it's painful trying to understand the game rules and then checking changes for solo play.
I'm open to any setting. I do like a bit of crunch and progression. Keen to hear any suggestions to get started on a journey!
r/Solo_Roleplaying • u/godspeed_rebel • 3d ago
Last week, the family and I visited SoCal to inurn my mother-in-law's ashes. We normally do an Orlando trip every three years or so, but we decided to hit Disneyland & Universal Hollywood this go round. I found myself with some time to kill in Batuu (as I waited for a backpack to be embroidered), so I parked at an empty table and busted out my Star Wars The Old Republic-themed Starforged game and played for about an hour.
I was so immersed that I did a triple take when Ahsoka walked by my table. MTFBWYA!
r/Solo_Roleplaying • u/1onemarathon • 3d ago
Finally grabbed some cheap and free solo games to play leading up to Halloween. The free mini game Prey looked interesting, just a little brochure-sized set of rules. I just now played two games (i called them parts 1 and 2) and found Prey quite cool. Just a d6, some imagination and a little journaling. Its up to you to decide what the monster is thats following you, as well as your role. I chose to be a paranormal investigator in an unfamiliar neighborhood, being tracked by a werewolf, my favourite of all the monsters. The game begins at midnight, and you must survive til sunrise at 6am. I survived night 1 but was still trapped though hidden during that day. Not only did I get through night 2, but I escaped. But I shall return! Anyone else play and enjoy Prey?
r/Solo_Roleplaying • u/theartofiandwalker • 3d ago
I put out the first Q&A video answering questions from the community over here on Reddit and YouTube. I hope this video can be a resource for everyone. It's a bit raw and informal, so i hope everyone still enjoys it. If you have any questions, let me know!
