Solo RPGs: How to Play a Tabletop RPG by Yourself

A solo RPG is a tabletop roleplaying game you play by yourself. You make a character, describe what they do, and use dice, cards, and random tables to decide what the world does back. Those tools take the place of the game master, so the story can still surprise you. Some solo RPGs are full adventure games with combat and exploration. Others are quiet writing games played with a journal. All of them let you play when nobody else is free.

The quick answer: pick a game built for solo play, like Ironsworn (free) or Four Against Darkness, or add a game master emulator like Mythic to a game you already know. Ask yes or no questions, roll to answer them, and write down what happens. If you want to try it in the next twenty minutes, our free RPG Demo Library has solo demos you can play in a browser.

What is a solo RPG?

In a regular tabletop RPG, one person is the game master. They describe the world, play every other character, and decide what happens when players act. A solo RPG removes that role and spreads the job across a few tools, so one person can play both sides of the table.

Solo TTRPGs come in three broad families:

• Solo-first adventure games. Games designed from the start to be played alone, with rules for oracles and progress built in. Ironsworn and Starforged are the best known.
• Game master emulators. Toolkits that replace the game master in any RPG. You keep your favorite system and bolt the emulator on.
• Journaling RPGs. Games driven by written prompts, where the main activity is writing your character’s story. Thousand Year Old Vampire is the famous example.

The rest of this guide explains how each one works and how to start.

How does a solo RPG work without a game master?

Four tools do almost all the work. Most solo role playing games use some mix of them.

Oracles and yes or no tables

An oracle is a random answer to a question. The simplest is a yes or no table: you ask a question (“Is the guard asleep?”), decide how likely the answer is, and roll. Many tables also give “yes, and,” “yes, but,” “no, but,” and “no, and,” which add a twist to the answer.

Other oracles answer open questions. Roll on an action table and a theme table and you might get “betray” plus “hope.” You decide what that means. Maybe the guard is awake, and offers to help you, for a price. Interpreting the prompt is the creative heart of solo play.

Game master emulators

A game master emulator, or GM emulator, packages oracles with rules for pacing and surprise. The best known is Mythic Game Master Emulator by Tana Pigeon of Word Mill Games, first published in 2003 and revised as a second edition. Mythic works with any RPG system or on its own.

Mythic has a few core parts:

• The Fate Chart and Fate Check answer yes or no questions.
• The Chaos Factor is a number that rises when things get out of hand and falls when you are in control. The higher it goes, the more likely surprises become.
• Random events pop up and add new threads you did not plan.
• Meaning tables give pairs of words to interpret, with 47 tables in the second edition.
• Lists of threads and characters keep track of open plot lines and the people in your story.

Progress and scene structure

Without a game master, it helps to have rules that give a story a shape. Ironsworn and Starforged use progress tracks: a vow or goal gets ten boxes, and you mark progress as you make headway. Mythic uses scenes: you guess what the next scene will be, then roll to see if it goes as expected, gets altered, or gets interrupted.

A journal

Every solo RPG asks you to record what happens. Some players write long prose. Others jot bullet points or draw maps. The journal is your memory between sessions and, for many people, the part they enjoy most.

How to play a solo RPG: a first session in six steps

1. Pick a small goal. “Find out why the well went dry” beats “save the kingdom.” Small goals finish in one sitting.
2. Make one character. Keep it simple. A name, a reason to care, and the stats your game asks for.
3. Set the first scene. Where are they, and what is the immediate problem?
4. Act, then ask. Describe what your character does. If the outcome is uncertain, ask the oracle or make a roll.
5. Interpret honestly. Take the first answer that makes sense, even if it hurts. The surprise is what makes it a game and not just a story you planned.
6. Write it down and stop on a hook. End when you hit a cliffhanger. It makes the next session easy to start.

A first session can be thirty minutes. Most solo players play in short sittings, which is one of the best things about it.

Can you play D&D solo?

Yes, and plenty of people do. Solo D&D usually works in one of three ways.

• Add a GM emulator. Make a normal fifth edition character and run your adventure with Mythic or a similar oracle.
• Use a solo toolkit made for D&D. Third-party creators sell solo kits for fifth edition. One well-known example is The Solo Adventurer’s Toolbox by Paul Bimler, sold on the DMs Guild, which adds a simple oracle and random tables for quests, encounters, dungeons, and towns.
• Play a solo gamebook adventure. Some third-party adventures are written as numbered sections you read in order, like a choose-your-own-path book, using your D&D character.

The catch: D&D was designed for a group, and a single character can struggle in fights built for four. Many solo D&D players run a small party or soften the encounters. If you want the D&D feel with less fiddling, a solo-first fantasy game like Ironsworn, or a solo dungeon crawler like Four Against Darkness, does the same job with rules made for one.

What are the best solo RPGs to start with?

There is no single best solo RPG, but these are strong first picks, each verified to be designed for (or built around) solo play. Pick the one whose mood sounds most like you.

Ironsworn

Shawn Tomkin’s free dark fantasy RPG from 2018, playable solo, co-op, or with a game master. Swear vows, roll a d6 against two d10s, and ask the oracles what happens next. It won the Gold ENNIE for Best Free Game or Product in 2019. Read our full guide to how to play Ironsworn, or try our free demo, The Bell Beneath the Fen.

Ironsworn: Starforged

The science fiction follow-up to Ironsworn, released digitally in 2022. Same core engine, plus starships, a huge set of space oracles, and legacy tracks for long campaigns. Our Starforged beginner’s guide explains it, and the demo The Long Sleep of the Lodestar lets you try it in a browser.

Mythic Game Master Emulator

Mythic is not a game on its own so much as a game master in a box. Choose Mythic if you already love a system and want to play it alone.

Four Against Darkness

Four Against Darkness is a solo dungeon crawl by Andrea Sfiligoi, published by Ganesha Games. You lead a party of four classic adventurers through dungeons you draw as you go. All you need is the book, a pencil, two six-sided dice, and grid paper. It is the most board-game-like pick on this list.

Thousand Year Old Vampire

Thousand Year Old Vampire is Tim Hutchings’s journaling game about a vampire living through the centuries, gaining and losing memories along the way. It won Gold ENNIEs in 2020 for Best Rules and Best Production Values. It is a writing game more than a dice game. Our guide to solo journaling RPGs covers it and others like it.

Alone Among the Stars

A tiny, gentle journaling game by Takuma Okada about exploring space and seeing wondrous things. You need a deck of playing cards and one six-sided die. It is pay what you want, and a session can take only a few minutes, which makes it a great very first solo game.

Is playing a solo RPG lonely?

Not usually. Solo RPGs scratch a creative itch on nights when a group cannot meet, and they often make people better players when the group does gather. You learn rules at your own pace, practice improvising, and come back with ideas.

The same is true of solo board games: playing alone can feed your social life instead of replacing it. Many solo RPGs also have co-op modes. Ironsworn and Starforged both play well with a friend and no game master, which is an easy way to share a hobby you started alone.

FAQ

What do you need to play a solo RPG?

Usually the rules, a few dice or a deck of cards, and a notebook. Many solo RPGs, like Ironsworn and Alone Among the Stars, cost little or nothing to start.

What is the best solo TTRPG for beginners?

Ironsworn is a strong pick because the rules are free and built for solo play. If you would rather write than roll, start with a short journaling game like Alone Among the Stars.

How do you play solo D&D?

Make a fifth edition character and use a game master emulator like Mythic, or a third-party solo toolkit for D&D, to answer questions and generate encounters. Expect to soften fights built for a group.

Can solo role playing games be played with friends?

Some can. Ironsworn and Starforged have co-op modes with no game master. Mythic can also run a game for a group with no game master. Journaling games are usually solo only.

How long is a solo RPG session?

As long as you want. Thirty minutes to an hour is common, and most solo games are designed to pause anywhere and pick up again from your notes.

Start with one small story

If you want the gentlest start, try a free demo in the RPG Demo Library, or read easy tabletop RPGs for beginners for group games to bring friends into later. Ludarium Letters, below, sends new guides and demos as they come out.

The game is the reason. The people are the point.

Sources

• Mythic Game Master Emulator Second Edition (Word Mill Games, itch.io)
• Mythic GME, 2nd Edition (Word Mill Games)
• Ironsworn (Shawn Tomkin, itch.io)
• Ironsworn (Wikipedia)
• Thousand Year Old Vampire (Wikipedia)
• Alone Among the Stars (itch.io)
• The Solo Adventurer’s Toolbox, a DMs Guild Review (Nonzero Sum Games)