Running a WTF Solo Game

[Caedus]

Hey i thought it would be fun to run a solo game of wtf where the player is a fledgeling uratha who starts out as a mortal and undergoes her first change. But at the same time i know there is a certain group component to werewolf that isn't necessarily present in other Chronicles of Darkness games. Do you guys think a solo game of wtf is workable, and if so do you guys have any tips?

[nofather]

It's workable. Honestly my biggest tip in this place though is not to base a game after the First Change.

But if you want then just tone down the threats, or offer a lot more in the way of side-characters the PC can call upon or negotiate with for help. There's also a section in the core about building up to the first change in a story.

[Lost-His-Mind]

Absolutely workable. My first long game was a solo game, and creating memorable NPCs was really fun!

[Lyrics Of War]

You might skip the first change so the character is already established as a lone wolf. You could do interesting story arcs for anyone as to why they’re alone.

There’s also the option of the player being a bale hound.

[Caedus]

the game is going to start with the first change and the player being a ghost wolf. So the player character is a homeless single mom, so I thought that over the course of the story it would be interesting if she collected a pack of other strays((wolves, humans and stranger things besides))

[maryshelly]

Just for the record, there is a book on drivethrurpg about running Scion games solo. I have it but haven't looked at it yet. It is part of the community content section. I am sure that you can probably retool it so that you can play Werewolf games solo.

Come to think of it, there are a number of other games that have guides to playing solo. It looks like a new thing so I am sure there is a great deal of inspirational materials out there.

[nofather]

Sometimes it's damn hard to get a reliable group.

[maryshelly]

Mind you, playing solo can be a bit like marking your own exams.

I'm out on the hunt, I am fighting a claimed, he is tougher than I expected, I need to go into Death Rage...

...I then wake up in my bed ( not sure how I got there, oh well). I need to hunt again, I need to take on a pack of Beshilhu, I'll go into Death Rage again...

... wake up in my bed again. I am sure I killed the whole pack. I hope no one noticed...

[maryshelly]

Jokes aside, one idea for Kuruth in solo could be the 3 tries rule

the first time you go I to Kuruth and defeat your foe. You were lucky, nobody said nothing

the second time you go into Kuruth, you defeat your foe, but there are consequences. You messed up. The cops are coming, the Spirits are furious, another pack is out for you, you killed a pack mate. There is a steep price to pay.

the third time, you pushed your luck too often and fate is coming to collect. You collapse from Kuruth and the last thing you see is a spider shard crawling your way. You collapse and a spirit materializes or a mob comes forward. The thing you were fighting rolled enough to cause Aggravated damage and started the downward spiral to death. Anyways, game over.

alternatively you can roll a chart to see what happens.

[Iguazu]

In V:tM I started a few games with the PCs as mortals. A, "First-Change:, game can be fun! Try it out.

Absolutely workable. My first long game was a solo game, and creating memorable NPCs was really fun!

This is sooooo true!

[wyrdhamster]

You need to clarify if you run 1:1 game ( like only you and your signaficant other} or solo ( you are both ST AND player). 1:1 you run mostly the same as usual, in WtF you would only need bigger cast of NPCs.

Now coming to Solo games. In Scion Solo I've read you roll on everything, even thongs like 'is this bad or good shadow?' or 'am I alone here?' - you have special dicepool on narrative elements and rolls on those. Rules for Scion are here - https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product...olo-Adventures - as Storypath is 'sister' game engine for CoD one, it should more for you.

And, last one, Death Rage. For Solo games I would simply made player to roll his Down and Dirty Pool, modified by all the bonuses he can get from all his powers he can tap into. If he succeed before his enemies - he lives. If not - well, Uratha are known from short lives after the Change.

[nofather]

Going into Kuruth is no guarantee you killed your foe. While it gets portrayed as an instant-win button werewolves play with a ton of antagonists that are not obligated to fight to the death, and the repercussions lend more gravitas to the decision if you're running things properly.

You go into Kuruth, black out, and wake up, and you have no idea what happened to whoever you're fighting. For all you know they've just hidden and are now watching you slink home. Or you've killed a dozen bystanders to kill one azlu who watched with glee from a bolthole in the Gauntlet and stepped out to call the police on you after you passed out.

There's plenty of more ways to have it work out than through a random table or 'You win, onto the next antagonist,' and still continue a story.

[wyrdhamster]

There's plenty of more ways to have it work out than through a random table or 'You win, onto the next antagonist,' and still continue a story.

The problem is that - at least this Scion Solo engine - works exactly like that. You have general random dicepools to see if actions work, get bonus based on if it's plausible or not. If question is not simple one, you roll on the table of Icons, images that should let you decide what elements are in the scene, and from there, how it will unfold. Here is heart of this solution, on two tables (product have other 20 pages of advices ):

[Caedus]

update of the plot so far: The main character has formed a pack with 2 other ghost wolves + 1 strix and the humans in the homeless camp where the main character lives are all considered members of the pack as well. One of those characters is a reborn Alchemist. Recently two policemen came by the camp using the death of the mc's husband as an excuse to beat the crap out of people in the camp. The newborn strix in the pack senses one of them is similar to it((so either a vampire or a strix possessing a cop in other words)), the other cop is a begotten who has become the partner of the other cop. They both use their position as a tool to draw sustenance/pleasure from terrorizing homeless people and minority groups. The pack will probably make those two the Zakmur Dah of the pack, and while doing that I expect them to run into a Hero that is stalking the Begotten member of that party.

[viskarenvisla]

Hey there.

I run almost exclusively solos because I really like to get deep into the PC's heads and focus entirely on their thoughts, feelings, emotions and drives. Harder to do with even 2 - 3 players. There's enormous horror potential with this style of RP. I'd like to share one of my games that I ran, The Seventh Seal, which is a solo. Unfortunately I had to stop running due to RL shit but I still run solos and they're my favored style of gaming.

https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?thre...h-seal.775548/