RPG Solo Forums

Hello everyone.  I'm pretty much BRAND NEW to tabletop RPG aside from seeing some guys playing D&D on a school bus about 30 years ago and an attempt a couple of years ago to join a small Pathfinder group/campaign that didn't work out.

I very recently started looking for some type of "single player" tabletop rpg and read that with an imagination and an engine of sorts, almost any of them can be "solo", so I began searching for something that seemed more my style than the classic fantasy D&D type games.  In this effort, I ran across one called "Corporation" which offers a free campaign called Grab the Cache.  After doing more research on the game itself, I decided to invest the $15 on the PDF version of the core rulebook because it seems like a rather different style of game than what I'm used to and was reasonably priced for what it seems to offer in terms of replay and future campaigns.

What follows is a combination of using the pre-generated characters and mission objective from the free trial http://www.corpgame.com/try-for-free.html, and using information out of the rulebook to base locations, items, etc along with my imagination to produce the story.  Since I'm super new to this, I'd LOVE some feedback on if I'm even doing it right, but it kind of feels like I'm writing a book/story and playing a game at the same time.

I'm also using the RPG Solo-Play engine found here for questions/decisions in combination with my own dice (I haven't used them since I tried that Pathfinder campaign and is really what this whole thing is all about...) for unknowns such as numbers and checks.

And so it begins.

Chapter 1: Getting the Band Back Together

Chapter 1: Getting the Band Back Together


It's 4 am, May 22nd, 2513. Sergeant Jack Anderson of the Western Federation's 3rd California Tactical Division wipes the sleep from his eyes as he reaches for the alerting communication device on his nightstand. "Sergeant Anderson", he says while sitting up and trying to find somewhere to put his feet in the small apartment the Federation had provided since he enrolled as an Agent.
"Sergeant Anderson, this is Captain Taylor, we just got a call from the UIG informing us of a missing truck of theirs that was carrying a shipment of arms. We need you and at least (Roll 1d4, 4 = re-roll) of your members to go after the criminals and attempt to find all (Roll 1d6) of the missing cases."


1d4 Rolled a 3
1d6 Rolled a 2


"Alright.", says Jack, "I'll get the rest of my division together and do our best to locate both cases, send the last known location to my PDA and we'll head that way."

After hanging up and still in his underwear, he picks up his comm device and calls Dr Perez first, then Dirk. He hasn't spoken to Veronica since the last mission they were on together and is still kicking himself in the ass for telling her how he felt about her relationship with her "ex-con" boyfriend.  He didn't mention how he felt about her, but he could tell that she already had her suspicions.


Does Veronica sound indifferent when he calls to inform her? (SL)

No


He dials the number to the last member of the division and she answers on the first ring.
"Sergeant Lang here."
"Hello Veronica, it's Jack. Just got word from Captain Taylor that we're needed to help locate a couple of cases of missing arms and the criminals that stole them.  I've already notified Philippe and Dirk but called you last because I also wanted to apologize for the things I said about Ben."
"Don't... When I got home that evening he wasn't the only one sleeping in our bed. I'll see you at the office in 20 minutes."

Had started writing "Chapter 2: Where Do We Go Now?", but then read another post by Mark about how to solo play a Dungeon. The use of custom lists intrigued me, so I'm working on building some of these for Corporation based off of the World Map and some of the facility designs. This has put a damper on the story line because of my desire to have more randomized plots. Hoping to get back to the story soon.

Hello biminnix, and welcome to rpgsolo!

You are correct that it sometimes seems like you are writing a story while playing the game. You will find all types of "actual play" posts here. Some solo RPG's like Jingo and myself focus a lot on the story aspect and use the rulesets to run the mechanics and other tools to spark and challenge our creativity. Other's are more interested in the game than the story Their posts tend to be terser, favoring dice rolls over description and using the tools primarily as a means to steer them to the next encounter. Both are legitmate ways of roleplaying solo and it really boils down to personal preference and what you are looking for from the experience.

When you say the custom lists have put a damper on your storyline I'm not sure if you mean using the lists will restrict the story or if developing the lists has simply put the story on hold for a while. Re-reading your post,  I think you mean that latter, but if it is the first I would simply encourage you to do what is the most fun and meets your desires best. I have constantly found myself changing tools or methods mid-stream based on what I needed or felt best suited my story at the time.

The only format suggestion I would offer deals with your dice rolls. You might consider incorporating the mechanics within the narrative instead of placing it after. For instance:

Luke and Han rounded the corner only to encounter [1d6] four stormtroopers.

It's a little easier to read while letting the reader know how you determined the number.