Solo Legend

[alex_greene]

The current State of the Mongoose (2012 edition, issued 2013) mentioned Solo Traveller, a project which capitalises on the fact that Traveller has always had a solo provision.

Well, that got me to thinking of Mongoose releasing, at some future time, a Solo Legend for their roleplaying game.

What do you think?

 

[TrippyHippy]

Honestly, I don't think Legend lends itself as well as Traveller to solo play. Traveller is made up of tables and design features. Legend is a good system, but it works best with interactive group play.

 

[alex_greene]

I'd disagree with that.

The game can still be run as a solo adventure because characters' motivations are still the same as those of Traveller characters: at the lowest level the character wants to survive a challenge; at higher levels, he wants to improve his skills, learn new skills, perhaps pick up new spells and combat styles; and at the higher levels of achievement he would seek to rise through the ranks of his community, group, cult, sorcerous or martial order.

The game can also be played as a trading game at the same kind of level as a Traveller trading game, as well - the character sinks some money into a cargo, hires a wagon, perhaps joins a train of adventurers in wagons, and trades goods or sells his services in the next town ...

Of course, just trading is no way to build up a legend, but it's always a start ...

 

[Hopeless]

How would this be handled?

For example do you restrict this by profession or have a multi-path for each available combination a character can have?

For example you could have a straight investigate a missing shepherd and stumble across an opened cairn following tracks.

What if your character doesn't have tracking?

Your sorceror investigating rumours of an old cairn in the area stumble across one that has been opened perhaps for a season at best, do you bother investigating or assume its been looted and head onto the nearby village?

Would that serve better to differentiate characters by profession?

Could it be be better to assume a party but thats not Solo Legend so where do you begin with this concept?

 

[alex_greene]

How would this be handled?

You make sure the character has the requisite skills available at the beginning. Perhaps the character can have the requisite skills added to his character sheet, or skills points allocated towards those skills.

Either way, the character begins play with all the requisite skills available - let's also remember that they all possess all Common Skills, so they don't have to worry about, say, Brawn or Unarmed.

 

[Hopeless]

How would this be handled?

You make sure the character has the requisite skills available at the beginning. Perhaps the character can have the requisite skills added to his character sheet, or skills points allocated towards those skills.

Either way, the character begins play with all the requisite skills available - let's also remember that they all possess all Common Skills, so they don't have to worry about, say, Brawn or Unarmed.

How would you handle their starting equipment?

I'd assume clothing, some kind of normal travelling kit and maybe a specific weapon based on what combat style they go for, a few copper maybe?

For a solo game I'd assume they'd use some stereotypical background, say you've been asked by the village to look for a missing shepherd whose assumed to have taken shelter near an old cairn with a bad local reputation.
Start from you approach the cairn and discover its been opened and assuming the shepherd has taken shelter inside decide to investigate so the first selection stage is whether you light a torch before entering or just enter and use the light from behind you to see inside and go from there... sound about right?

Could even have them heading to a graveyard to meet a friend for a mission established by a patron as part of the opening introduction except when you reach your friend its to discover the tomb has already been broken into and as you approach something stirs inside so this would start off with a standard fight against say a zombie whilst your friend is dragged inside by two other zombies and you have to chase after them to save your friend... hmm how do you handle the addition of magic into this?

Most solo adventure books I've seen usually try to give you a set character rather than let you use one you made yourself and the fighting fantasy gamebooks may have allowed you to randomly roll your characteristics it still limits what you can access to accomodate the story.

Definitely need to think more about this, its something that could be added to a new signs & portents although whether its segmented in different issues...

One problem I see is how to make it interesting enough or should I say generic enough to cover a many genres of Legend as possible?

I mean a Solo Pirate of Legend gamebook might not be as interesting as say a Generic Fantasy Gamebook if its appeal is widened but a specific one can be easily handled.

 

[Hopeless]

From what i can recall unless they're a magic using profession any magic would be found during the adventure.

Keeping common magic would require either limiting that magic to a selection of spells any of the cultures can use unless the story is culture specific so perhaps that can be handled within a solo gamebook, but what else needs to be addressed if this is going to have any chance of being a successful product so more can be released?

I'm still seeing this as initially better off being released as part of a magazine ala Signs & Portents, question is should there be a designated setting for this solo gamebooks?

Figure I continue this in the Legend Forum