Howdy!
what's new?
Since the last issue I've just been tweaking things here and there, essentially organising it more to make it user-frinedly, and polishing the place up ahead of the end of the playtest period, which is definitely feeling like it's getting closer than ever before. So there's not much to report on that front, but feel free to take a look at the updated site as it continues to take shape.
Feedback
If you haven't come back to me with any comments or feedback yet about the game, it would be much appreciated. Not only will it help me finalise the game before the deck's sent to print, but if you're willing I could also use that feedback to help spread the word!
Feel free to comment below, use the contact form, or catch me in The Realm Discord.
playing solo
As you might've seen, this game's designed to fly solo, so you don't always need to find a group to enjoy it. Have you ever tried this?
I think there's a strange kind of freedom in playing a tabletop RPG alone. No scheduling, no waiting, no need to pitch your ideas to anyone. Just you, a character, and a world that builds itself one roll at a time.
At its core, solo play is simple: you take on the role of both player and guide. Whenever the game refers to a GM — that's you. Not as an all-knowing author pulling strings behind the curtain, but as a curious observer, finding out what happens right alongside your character.
Before the Game Begins
If you fancy giving it a go, first look to build your character with a bit more in your corner. Whatever game system you're using, The Chaos or otherwise, use the system's character creation as normal, but give yourself a little extra — a magical item, a boon, a bumped trait, a unique ability. Call it a narrative tax on playing without backup. Solo play can be unforgiving, and a bit more resilience at the start saves a lot of frustration later. In The Chaos, you can head to the souls of the chaos section to create your character before adding a few boons of your choice before you begin.
Next, try to give the world a shape before you step into it. You don't need a full setting — just a sense of what's going on. Something big, something going wrong, someone important pulling threads in the background. Think about the factions involved, how locals might be reacting, what pressure is building. In The Chaos, you can do this by rolling on the tables you'll see to kick this off, or just ask yourself: what's happening here that my character can't ignore?
Choose or roll a scenario to play through. A rumour, a job, a strange event, a place worth investigating. You don't need a full plot, just a starting point with some tension baked in. In The Chaos, the rumours & jobs tables are built for exactly this. Pick something that feels like it has teeth.
Then, give your character one big reason to care, and one big fear. Why does this matter to them? What are they hoping for, and what are they terrified might happen if things go sideways? You don't need detailed answers; a couple of loose, charged threads are enough. The goal isn't to plan the story, but to give it enough roots to grow from.
You could also do worse than creating a rival for your character. This is optional, but it can make a real difference. Give your character someone who's already one step ahead; Better equipped, morally opposed, chasing the same goal for very different reasons. As the game unfolds, check in on them. How close are they getting? What are they doing while you're struggling? A good rival makes the world feel alive even when it's just you at the table.
During the Game
I've always thought that the best way to get the most out of flying solo is to play your character, not the story. Move through the world as they would. When something is obvious, decide it. When something is uncertain, roll for it. Use your system's mechanics, random tables, or a simple yes/no oracle to answer questions. Let the results catch you off guard. Lean into outcomes you wouldn't have planned. That's where solo play comes alive.
For each encounter, make it sensory. Before you resolve what happens mechanically, take a second: what does your character see, hear, smell, feel...and fear? Even one or two details turns a roll result into a moment worth remembering.
When things go wrong, focus on the consequence, not the failure. So a 'bad' roll isn't a dead end. Rather, it's a new complication, a new pressure, a new direction. Ask what's changed, what now needs dealing with, and what your character does next. In The Chaos, failures on odds or traits rolls are designed to push the fiction forward, not stop it.
Skip what doesn't interest you, but note what's changed. You're not obligated to play out every moment. Screen-wipe scenes that feel flat or directionless. But before you do, jot something down. Something new that's entered the picture, something your character now has to deal with. If it still feels slow, try writing it as though someone years from now is piecing together the record of what happened. That shift in perspective often makes it click.
Map things out if it helps. Some players find that sketching a rough map gives the world a physical reality that keeps them grounded. Others keep it all in their head or jot only key moments. There's no right method. Only what keeps you in the game.
Use every tool you can get your hands on. Random tables, oracles, solo engines like MISO, Mythic, or CRGE, generators online, even other games' random content. In The Chaos, the chaos rolls generators, complication tables, and exploration loop are all built with solo in mind, but nothing stops you supplementing with whatever else helps. You're playing solo, not in isolation.
After the Session
Pause before you close everything down. A few sentences is plenty. What changed? What did your character learn? What's next? These small reflections give your game a shape over time, even if you only return to it occasionally, and they make it far easier to pick back up when you do.
Solo roleplaying isn't about perfectly simulating a group game. It's something a little different. It's quieter, more immediate, and often more surprising. You're not trying to tell a perfect story. You're exploring one as it happens, one roll at a time.
And sometimes, that's exactly what makes it work!
a solo prompt
So here's an example of how to make a solo session kick off well with The Chaos. Let's say you've rolled up, using the system rules or the one-button generator on the site, this character:
Name: Korrin
Thing: Weaver
Traits:
Brawn: 8
Smarts: 9
Instinct: 7
Agility: 5
Vigor: 7
Presence: 5
Max Health: 7(6 + 3 = 9 - 2)
Current Health: 7
Stress Level: 1
Armour Mod: -2(-1 + -1 = -2)
Gear & Whack Blunters
Blunter: Fireplace Shielding
Buckler: Broken HelmPack
19 Coins, Arcane Scrolls, Bedroll, Clothes & Boots, Rations (3 days), Rope (25'), Torches (3), Waterskin
Hittin' Tools
Stabber & Whacker: Ruin Axe (Attack Mod -1, Damage Mod +3)
Stabber & Whacker: Mercy Blade (Attack Mod -1, Damage Mod +2)
Notes & Scribbles
Check the Arcane Weavin' section to learn how to weave spells. Plus, if I roll under my smarts, I’ll be like one of those annoying quizzers who just seems to know more than what’s generally understood. My insatiable reading habits have gotta count for something, right? ... Beyond that, I used to be a grave digger (I must’ve seen some sights, right?)... Since then, I have been on the run (from my emotions? From someone?)... I need to ask one of the others here... where were we both kicked out of once? And why?... And let's keep this between myself and the GM for now... My main aim is to get my hands on something, or someone, but I’ll play along with this unrelated quest or mission thing until the time’s right.
How to inject your session with some flavour!
The thing Korrin's actually after. The most charged detail here is that hidden agenda. There's something or someone Korrin needs to get hold of, and they're biding their time. Before the first session, you could decide (or roll) what that is. A stolen arcane scroll? A person who knows something? An object connected to their grave-digging days? Keeping it vague is fine, but having one concrete answer gives the session an undercurrent. Whatever the "unrelated quest" turns out to be, Korrin's secretly measuring it against that private goal.
The shared history. That question - where were we both kicked out of, and why? — needs an answer, and it's a gift for a solo player. Roll or choose a companion, rival, or hireling who shares that history with Korrin. Maybe they're the rival who's one step ahead. Maybe they're an uneasy ally on the current job. Either way, that shared secret is a live wire in every scene they appear in.
The grave-digging past. Korrin has seen things in the ground that most people haven't. This is a brilliant hook for a scenario involving burial sites, undead, cursed objects, or forgotten nobles. Something Korrin recognises (a burial rite done wrong, a marker they dug up themselves years ago) could surface mid-job and make things personal fast.
Being on the run. From what, exactly? If you roll on the complications or rumours tables, you might find that whatever Korrin's fleeing catches up with them mid-scenario. A face in a tavern. A name on a job notice. A symbol they thought they'd left behind. This is the kind of twist that makes a cliffhanger.
The Weaver angle. Korrin's arcane abilities combined with that Smarts score (9) and the reading habit makes them someone who understands more than they let on. In solo play, this is a great excuse to use the oracle liberally. Korrin might just know things when the player rolls well, adding flavour to uncertain moments without it feeling like a cheat.
For a first session, therefore, a tight starting scenario might be that Korrin takes a job. Something mundane, a retrieval or a location scout. But maybe the site turns out to be connected to a burial they personally dug. What they find there is either the thing they've been running from, or a clue to the thing they're secretly hunting. The person who shares their kicked-out history is already there when they arrive. So you could think up something like this yourself, or just use what you've mulled over as above before you start blending them into your results from the rumours & jobs tables and the watch rolls, etc. in the game.
However you approach it flying solo, I hope you'll find that although you're doing it alone, given all the juice you can squeeze from your tables, your oracles, and from your imagination, in fact you're nowhere near alone. I'd love to hear how you get on with it, so be sure to share your experience!
thanks so much!
for your support & inspiration
Please share the game with all & sundry, spreading The Chaos into every dark corner its flickering torches haven't quite reached. My aim is for the game to grow like an invigorating fungus on the minds of the OSR community and beyond, and I can't thank you enough for being a part of this.
Meantime, if you've not yet joined The Realm discord, here's the link for that, and I look forward to seeing you there! Be sure to let me know any suggestions you have about what to include in the next issue, or about the game itself, and enjoy the rest of your day. :)
Best,
Scott
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