Gaming Primitive RPG - Planning a Solo Game with a Non-Solo RPG (1)

During Covid, I acquired a massive collection of games, largely PDFs, but I have been a poor player of them. Or, perhaps I have always desired a way to play RPGs alone. So, I have read up and tried to learn how to play solo RPGs with various oracle engines including small ones, and big ones such as Mythic, various random table books, ideas from games like Micro RPG or Four Against Darkness, and some other self-storytelling techniques. I finally reached a point where I stopped collecting, and I decided I have enough tools to finally embark on my own solo game.

The first step in this journey is the character, and what the first adventure is going to be about. I may apply different tools as I go and share what I use. It is my first attempt at doing this, so I will post my progress little by little. For this, I wanted to choose a set of rules that would allow me to really personalize my characters and be very open to applying various RPG mechanics and tools, as I felt were needed to make an interesting and dynamic story, and ultimately make a story that felt like it was mine.

For this challenge, I settled on trying to do some solo RPG gaming with a new table top RPG called Gaming Primitive brought to you by James and Robyn George of Olde House Rules, who specialize in old style RPGs that are rules light. They were kind enough to send me a free PDF of the rules simply for being a dedicated fan of their games!

This game joins the tradition of games that are myth-inspired with an implied quasi-medieval setting. At about 82 pages, the PDF is an easy 2d6 skill-based game, but an inspiring read. Rather than feeling sparse on rules, it feels rich in possibility and always invites the players to add their own ideas to the game. In this sense, it almost makes one feel that larger rulebooks are too confining and that with more rules - one becomes bound by more prescription in how they are supposed to be played. 

In Gaming Primitive, character creation combines traditional stats, but it includes a very novel short narrative description written by the players. The game master or Delver, as he or she is called in this game, makes the final approval on the narrative.

The stats themselves are achieved without any dice rolls by simply allocating 3 points between three stats (Fast, Strong, and Wise) called Aspects. There are also two Boons a player can choose that give their character certain abilities or advantages in game play. While ostensibly, the game is played in a world where magic has mostly faded away, some of the boons such as Arcane or Skinchanger allow for a very free form type of magic. The Arcane boon, for example, allows beginning players to cast a spell that duplicates "any non-combat action perfectly" taking about the same amount of time as you would to do the action by mundane means. I imagine such a skill could be used to float across a small river infested with crocodiles rather than swim. If wading across takes 5 minutes, then floating across would take about the same amount of time. A small flame or spark could be conjured that would ordinarily be achieved by striking any type of flint stones together such as quartz. A door could be opened, closed, locked, or unlocked magically and even at a distance with the Arcane boon.

As you can see, there are many possibilities with the Arcane boon, and it gives me some pause for thought to find ways to limit the time of usage. What if the river took 10 minutes to float across? I might consider a possible house rule for requiring players with the Arcane boon to expend Hit Points to use this boon. But I'll write more on that later in a future post.

Players may also decide to make their characters illiterate, and receive a Hit Point bonus. All players start with 50 sp or silver pieces to equip their characters at the start of the game. Armor and shields can be used to take more "hits" in a battle, and larger weapons can do more damage. Certain weapons can be used in ranged combat, and the type of armor worn can affect movement and opportunities to do acts of thievery such as stealth or hiding. 

Players then make an origin story in the form of a 35 word or less narrative which includes the character's background and Secondary Skills which they learned, such as hunting. This background, as I discovered, really helps define who the character is, and where the adventure will begin.

Now that I have given an all too brief overview of the kind of game Gaming Primitive is, I will share the character I will use for solo play:

Character Sheet

Name: Mux            Aspects: Fast +2    Stong +1    Wise   0      

Boons: Rogue (Master Thief when not holding spear), Arcane 1

Literacy: Illiterate - can speak Low Speech      

Encumbrance: 13 of 20 items     Money: 2 sp        

HP: 15     Skill (Experience): 0    Move: 50'

Origin Story: Abandoned in the Winterlands, Mux was raised by white-furred archaic Snow Warriors who taught him hunting, stealth, and basic weapon and armor crafting. However, Mux has recently been forced to seek the world of humans.

Gear: Armor light (fur/hide) +1 HP (may do thievery), backpack, bedroll, rations for 1 week, waterskin, tinderbox, 10 wooden torches, spear (thrown 30' for +1 hits), 50' rope, medium sling (range 70'), 24 sling stones, dagger (thrown 30' for +1 hits)

From the character background, we learn Mux lives close to the land and learned to hunt to survive and make basic tools for this purpose in the form of weapons and armor. We also learn he is an orphan raised by an another kind of humanoid. And, we learn that Mux can no longer live with them for some reason, and must enter the world of humans. The first two scenes (or adventures) came to me quite quickly as I looked over the background, and I came up with some ideas below:

Scene 1 - Escape from Dlatanes - The Caves of the Snow Warriors

Grok, the medicine man of the Snow Warriors agrees to help you escape in the cover of night after the tribal leader Zuk condemns you to death: (roll 1d6)

1. for using forbidden dark magic to produce fire
2. for being exotic and therefore a perfect sacrifice to appease Hrawyy, the winter goddess
3. for gaining too much favor from one of the chief's wives
4. for accidentally disturbing an ancient ancestor's grave while foraging for food
5. for making the chief jealous of your superior hunting skills
6. so that bands of human hunters recently spotted nearby do not mistake you for a captive and start a war against the white apes

(If someone wanted to try this with characters of other origins, even a group, they could begin as prisoners of a raid against a human settlement. The reason for being condemned to death could be on a 1d6 roll: 1-3 number 2 above, or 4-6 number 4 above. Either way, escape back to the human world is the goal and Grok is a sympathetic Snow Warrior who frees them).

In my scenario, this will begin with Mux as a prisoner tied up in a jail cell in a series of unfamiliar caves. At an appointed time, Grok will cut the ropes to free Mux, give him a basic map, and tell him the location of supplies for his journey. Mux will mostly sneak and fight only when necessary to get his supplies (weapons and equipment as listed above), and then try and escape the caves. These caves will be new Mux, but the map will help show the general locations. The encounters will be randomized though some of the Snow Warriors will know Mux. Some will be sympathetic and others will support the chief. Encounters will be modified with a table of sorts to describe this and their characters. 

(For players wanting to try the captured scenario I mentioned above, all encounters will have a modified role with a reduced chance of having sympathetic Snow Warriors encounters. The caves will likewise be unknown to captured adventurer or group, but they will have a map and encounters will be randomized).

Something that also occurred to me is that a random naming chart for Snow Warriors would be useful. I'll try and add one in the next blog. Finally, note that there is probably friction and overall antagonism between the Snow Warriors and Humans in the Winterlands setting I'm creating.

Scene 2  -Journey Through the Winterlands

Afer Grok frees Mux, and Mux manages to escape the caves, he will attempt to travel east towards the nearest human settlement over snowy plains and hills. Encounters may include pursuing Snow Warriors, human bands, unknown enemies, harsh weather, strange features, and caves. 

I'll address this scene in a future blog, once I've fully developed and played through scene 1. Note that this scene will play well for either a captured group or an orphan raised by the Snow Warriors as both groups have the same objective - to get the hell away from the Snow Warrior settlements to the human world.