My Six Favorite Tools For Solo Play

    Hi and welcome back to my blog! Today I want to talk about my favorite tools for solo play. These are websites, apps, and items I use to easier facilitate solo RPG game playing.

Two Notebooks

    To start, I use two different notebooks. One is for chronicling my adventure and is for story beats and keeping up with the current adventure. The second one is for keeping a combat log and keeping track of status effects and the current HP of my characters and the enemies they’re fighting, as well as little notes to remind me of things, like how long it’ll take me to get to the next settlement from the dungeon. Notebooks are cheap and can be found in just about any store. I highly recommend at least one per game, with the second notebook you can use for keeping track of combat in all your games.

Dice App

    I love using real dice, I really do. But sometimes it’s just not feasible. That’s where dice apps come in. They can be found in the app store on your phone. I use RPG Simple Dice for Android. It has the basic seven dice, plus a history of what dice you’ve rolled. There are surely more in the app store for whatever brand of phone you have. I highly recommend for when you want to play but using real dice just won’t work for where you are or what’s going on around you.

Inkarnate

    I use the website Inkarnate to make almost all of my maps. It’s an easy mapmaking software even for those with no mapmaking skills to speak of, like myself. They look clean and professional and while there’s a free version, the monthly subscription fee is nice and cheap at $5.

Google Docs

    Google Docs is the greatest idea anyone has ever come up with for creative writers. It lets you type on the same document from your phone to your laptop or computer. I use it for everything lore and mechanics-related. From making my own character sheets to detailing lore or making tables, Google Docs is always pulled up on my phone.

Fantasy Name Generator

    Fantasy Name Generator is a website with a plethora of randomly generated names for characters, locations, items, and even has more obscure generators for coming up with magic weapons and holidays. I always have it open in a tab on my phone. Best of all, it’s free and saves your name choices if you want.

Core Rulebooks

    If you’re playing a solo TTRPG based on a specific pre-made game, the core rulebook is a must. One core rulebook I always use no matter what game I’m playing, though, is Four Against Darkness for its dungeon generator. Another good one that’s full of tables is Worlds Without Number. Knave 2 Edition also has a lot of great tables that I’ve used for other games. As you explore more games solo, you’ll find things from one game that might work in another and that will evolve your gameplay.

    There you have it. Six tools I use in solo RPG gameplay. Feel free to leave your own favorite tools in the comments.