I recently cataloged my solo RPG play entries on RPG Geek, so if you want to check out my stuff going back to late 2019, visit this link. I plan to post copies of all of these here eventually.

Another thing that has slowed down my posting is that I am now in a regular RPG group that plays weekly. And by group, I mean me and my college buddy. We’ve been playing a co-op game of Ironsworn: Starforged. We are about 22 sessions in, and it’s been a fun Star Wars-like campaign. If you are here for solo RPG, let me recommend that you try Starforged or Ironsworn as a GM-less co-op game with one other player.

A new solo game I tried this year is The One Ring, using the Strider Mode solo play expansion. I will be posting my solo campaign here soon. I’m not sure if I’m going to keep playing it, but it’s worth a recommendation if you are into solo RPG play and enjoy Tolkien lore.

The post Life gets in the way… appeared first on O Solo Mayo.

I asked her why anyone would attack a site like this and she responded, “Practice.” So to the aspiring hacker out there that used my creative outlet like a hitting cage slow ball, I hoped you learned something useful. I personally learned that once your website is blacklisted, sites like Twitter will ban your ass for a good two months before letting you back in. Even though you cleaned up your site and put on the tie the hostess handed you.

Okay, now here’s the game I’ve been playing…

After backing the standalone expansion for Sword & Sorcery way back in November of 2018, I have finally gotten the original base game to the table after trading for it in 2019. I still haven’t gotten the stuff from the campaign, but I hear it should get here before the four-year anniversary of the campaign launch, so there’s that.

Now the good news… I love Sword & Sorcery. It’s got what I like in an RPG board game: grueling tactical decisions that get smashed flat by the cruel hammer of randomness.

After failing the Prologue quest in my first go, I brushed up on the rules I missed (there are a lot of rules–unnecessarily fiddly board games are my jam) and grabbed two Dwarves and a Sorcerer. I made it through the first quest and immediately bought the “Act II” expansion and this game will probably be on this table over here for a decent part of 2022.

OK, it’s actually two tables pushed close together. Bigger is usually better.

The post Swords, Sorcery, and Malware appeared first on O Solo Mayo.

This was my version of the Avengers and included:

Aquarius: Possessor of a magic water jug that magically produced water, like his eponymous constellation. But, like, a LOT OF WATER. Like… enough to blast people and maybe drown the shit out of them. The details are fuzzy at best after nearly 40 years.

Malleable Man: My tribute to the Elongated Man. With a bit of Plastic Man, throw in as well, I think. I can’t remember exactly, but I think he had extremely high “Armor” and was indestructible.

Gold Eagle: He was my cross between Iron Man and Falcon. His powers were all gadget-based. I remember his powers mainly came from his wings and gloves. I also remember fleshing out his backstory a bit. He had a mother that was in trouble or something, and he either created his gadgets to rescue her, or they might have been from his missing father. Honestly, I can’t remember.

Spectrum: This was my Green Lantern knockoff. The ROC (Rulers of the Cosmos) gave him a ring that granted flight and light-based powers (the ol’ Power Pool from Champions gave him any power I felt like mathing out) and a bolo with prisms on each end that entangled foes. I vaguely remember that his character felt unworthy of the powers he had, or something to that effect.

Molecular Woman: No idea what powers I gave her, but her logo had an M above a W and looked cool, I thought. I feel like she was a straightforward energy super, but it’s also possible I modeled her after Firestorm–I was a big fan of that comic.

This post is about yet another RPG that I’m trying to use to recreate them: Sentinel Comics RPG. And not just create, but actually play, something I was never able to do with Champions.

As you can see, I’ve created Molecular Woman, but that was mainly for a Play by Forum game on RPG Geek. But I plan on using a very similar build for my solo campaign. I have a rough draft of Malleable Man, too. So wish me luck. It’s taken me 40 years to get this far…

The post Getting the Old Team Back Together appeared first on O Solo Mayo.

My subconscious is so very contrary.

But the truth is, my two gamer nephews are visiting in a week or so. Their combined ages are about 10 years younger than me, but that didn’t stop me from texting them a video of one of my favorite games, along with a message begging them to play. In my defense, they had already threatened to bring their Magic: The Gathering cards, so I had to think fast. I picked a game that would dazzle them…

And save me from having to sit and watch them play MTG… and excitedly nerd out without me.

Yeah, I ain’t gonna make fun of MTG. I played back in the 90s. But I’ve played it with a couple of times in recent years, and I’d much rather play a game where the real fun part isn’t the collecting and/or deck building, but the actual playing the game part.

Of course, I picked Too Many Bones. I have many games I could have picked that might be an easier sell and/or teach, like Marvel Champions or Mansions of Madness, but this damn game is waterproof!

Let’s be honest… I actually have too many games. So it’s a good thing to have one on the table. Um, tables.

So tonight I set up the game and will be playing Boomer and Picket vs. Duster solo this weekend to make sure I have the rules down pat.

It’s funny… I used to get a bit defensive when I would mention playing solo in BGG forums and immediately get back this response: “Yeah, playing solo is a good way to learn a game and get better for group play.”

No, dammit. I play solo because I like it. You shut up, you.

But with the right people, I like playing something other than a solo game. And my nerdy nephews are the right people. Hell, they may be the only “right people” I know.

The post Too Many Games appeared first on O Solo Mayo.

Lately, I haven’t felt much like playing solo board games. I played them intensely from 2016 until not too long after the pandemic hit. By the end of 2020, I had shifted almost exclusively to solo RPGs. The big, complex board games I used to love became less and less compelling.

However, this little game is always a favorite when my brain is too burned out for anything complicated. I decided to play Dungeon Roll as Legend Marpesia, Amazon Queen. I like how the Legend heroes make you feel powerful with their game-changing abilities. I scored 26 points. Is that a good score? Don’t know; don’t care. I play to be entertained now. Playing “intensely” wasn’t working for me. I’m hoping this shift in how I play will bring the joy back to board gaming for me.

We’ll see…

The post Sometimes You Gotta Roll With It appeared first on O Solo Mayo.

Two years ago, my solo tabletop board gaming obsession expanded to include a new species to the genus: solo roleplaying. After a chance viewing of Me, Myself, and Die, I realized I could play role-playing games solo using tools, often called oracles. So I bought a copy of Mythic Game Master Emulator and got started.

Marcus was my first character, who I played using the Dresden Files Accelerated system. Two years and 400+ hours later, I decided to start this blog.

Welcome!

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