About a year ago, I started a series entitled “Learning GURPS” and set about the task of learning to play the GURPS roleplaying game. Around that time, the Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game, which is powered by GURPS, arrived at my home. I was encouraged and took the game to the school club where we played for a couple of sessions before the players got distracted and I was left without a group. I took that as an omen.
Ever since the resurrection of the school club’s fortunes in July 2018, about which I have written much and podcasted even more, I have stuck to the Old Ways: I’ve been playing B/X Dungeons & Dragons and, more recently, Castles & Crusades. While I am currently working on my upcoming Open Table campaigns for both the school club and Friday Night Roleplayers, the truth is that I still have an underlying hankering to learn to play GURPS.
My recent interview with Douglas Cole, creator of the excellent Dungeon Fantasy RPG adventure, “The Hall of Judgment” struck a deep chord with me. His encouragement was that, aside from character creation being time-consuming, the GURPS game system is both simple to play and highly flexible. He claims that all the maths is front-loaded in character creation and that, once gaming, the system is highly playable and very intuitive. Having revisited that interview this weekend alongside recording a forthcoming episode on solo gaming, I find myself very much wanting to combine to two: revisit GURPS and set up a new solo game.
My solo excursions have generally been short-lived. I tend to use the solo game as a means to either test a new system or simply enjoy a couple of hours of play. The largest barrier has been the slow rate at which I can type up the record of the game – a very important element in solo play. With the addition of sound recording devices in my life – bought for the Roleplay Rescue podcast – I reckon it might be pretty satisfying to record my solo adventures aurally. It’ll certainly be easier – simply narrate and describe as I play, with a microphone set up nearby.
Thus, today I am beginning a new solo project. Following the sage advice of Kenny Norris, that great inspiration of my hobby, I have created a sentence to describe the game that I intend to play:
Mythic and I will create a post-apocalyptic fantasy adventure using the Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game.
UbiquitousRat, Feb 2019
I will use The Tome of Adventure Design, the Story Forge deck, and Crooked Staff Publishing’s Dungeon Deck as key tools in the adventure creation. I’ll also use the Fantasy Game Master’s Apprentice deck as an idea generator.
The goal is two-fold: begin to play one of the games that I have wanted to play for a VERY long time; additionally, try to play through a complete adventure as a solo gamer. I’m not sure I’ve ever really done those things before.
How can you follow along? I’m not sure right now. I will be recording the sessions as a series of sound files instead of publishing them as text. That pretty much rules out posting them here. Perhaps I’ll edit them together for a podcast bonus. Or perhaps I’ll just keep them private. I am undecided.
For now, I just wanted to share that I was initiating the project. It’s going to be a slow and probably long journey… but I feel the urge to create and play alone.
Game on!
Possibly an occasional written reflection on the rules rather than an actual play report?
I guess I can do that. Someone in MeWe has just pointed me at Otter, an app for transcribing audio too. Interesting idea.
If you are interested in playing at “entry level” rather than the default 250 semi-super heroic level, you can check my blog for worked exampkes of 75point play, and I should be posting this week about some more 135 point play (there is a bunch of it already on my blog, and the definitive playbook for that level is Peter Dell’Orto’s Henchmen supplinent for GURPS Dungion Fantasy, #15.
Very interested in the lower points value play. I have grabbed DF15 Henchmen – thanks! I think I will use the DFRPG rules and stuff but customise to my own vision of play. I definitely feel that 250 points is too high for my tastes.
I too would like to see some reports on how you go with the solo play. Lessons learned, tips and tricks, that sort of thing. Even a few snippets from play just as worked examples is something I’ve found useful. It is something I’m interested in trying out, as well as potentially getting back to GURPS.
As always though, whatever you have the time and enthusiasm for.
Fantastic blog. I gonna start solo playing pretty soon. Collecting the tools right now
Thanks for the vote of confidence! Welcome to the solo arena. It’s a lot of fun.
There is a blog called Dungeons on Automatic that has a DFRPG dungeon generator.
http://dungeonsonautomatic.blogspot.com/2017/11/beta-time.html?m=1
Thanks! Will check it out.
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