How to Play a Tabletop RPG Solo
No group, no GM, no problem — just you, the dice, and an oracle.
You don't need a group to play a tabletop RPG. Solo play swaps the Dungeon Master for an oracle — a tool that answers your questions — and lets you be both player and audience, discovering the story as you go. It's perfect for quiet evenings, learning a system, or just scratching the itch when you can't get a group together.
The core loop
Solo play is a conversation with yourself, refereed by dice. The loop is:
- Set the scene — describe where your character is and what they want.
- Ask a question the fiction can't answer on its own ("Is the gate guarded?").
- Consult the oracle for a yes or no.
- Narrate the result and let it lead to the next question.
The solo oracle handles step three: choose how likely a "yes" feels, tap Ask, and it answers — sometimes with a "yes, and…" or "no, but…" to add texture.
Asking good questions
The trick to solo play is phrasing things as yes/no questions with a sense of the odds. "Does the merchant recognize me?" is answerable; "What does the merchant do?" is not. When you genuinely don't know which way the world leans, set the likelihood to 50/50 and let the dice decide. Lean the odds when the fiction clearly suggests one answer is more likely.
Letting the world surprise you
If every answer came straight from you, the story would never surprise you. Two things fix that. Random events — the oracle occasionally throws one in, shoving the scene somewhere unplanned. And generators: when an NPC walks on, roll one on the NPC generator instead of inventing them; when you enter a town, pull a tavern; when a fight breaks out, build it with the encounter builder. You react to what comes up, exactly as you would to a GM.
Keep a journal
In solo play the journal is the game — it's where the story actually lives. Write a few lines after each scene in the adventure journal: what you asked, what the oracle said, what your character did. Months later it reads like a novel you didn't know you were writing.
- Do I need a special solo rulebook?
- No. An oracle works on top of any system, or with no system at all. You only need a way to answer questions and a way to record what happens.
- Isn't it just talking to myself?
- In a sense — but the oracle and generators take decisions out of your hands often enough that the story genuinely surprises you. That's the magic of it.
- How do I start my very first session?
- Roll a character on the character generator, give them one clear goal, drop them into a place, and ask your first question.