Today, we look at the phone-book-sized solo play system!
Someone who buys this could be instantly put off by solo play of any sort. This book is bigger than most of the games it supports in page count (613 pages). Compared to Mythic and other solo-play systems, this is not rules-light.
But it is.
The book is divided into sections that each cover a topic, and most of the pages are filled with charts for each option. The random-dungeon generation section is only 43 pages long, and it covers five different game systems, giving you CRs, damages, and DCs for:
- Pathfinder 1e
- 5E
- Pathfinder 2E
- OSR Games
- Dungeon Crawl Classics
Using this for games like Castles & Crusades, GURPS, Mutant Crawl Classics, or your favorite would be simple. Just understand the difference between a hard, moderate, and easy check in your game, and you can easily translate the tables. This isn't limited to any genre, so you could create anything from sci-fi, and modern, to fantasy adventures with the system.
This is easily the most complete and comprehensive random dungeon system out there and can create an amazing variety of rooms, traps, encounters, and treasures. The rooms are more generic, so it is up to you to make one a 20x20 and another a 40x40 with a corner removed, so there is room for a little artistic freedom. The system is concerned with the master grid and what is in each 'cell' instead of trying to draw a pretty map. That is your job.
If you ignore the rest of the book, this solid random dungeon creation system can provide hours of fun. This is honestly how I approach this book, and at this point, this is all I am using it for. There are plenty of other chapters here, including:
- Quick Start (with the random dungeon generator)
- How to Solo Play
- Play Techniques and Variants
- PC Roles
- Solo Quests
- Balance and Rules Adjustments
- Rewards and Penalties
- Generators and Tools
- Encounter Tables
- ...Appendixes
The Solo Quests chapter is enormous, with over 150 pages of quest templates and charts for creating the 'flowchart style' adventures common to other games. A great system is hidden here for 'generic and specific clues' that can be used as counters to fill quest objectives. If you need 3 clues to find where the bandits ran off to with the princess, there are systems to generate and place those clues in the environments you explore - and even on the enemies you defeat. Some clues you can collect, and you won't know what quest they are for, and they have a chance to become relevant later when you pick up a new quest. It is really a smart and innovative syste.
This is the sort of book where you aren't supposed to use it all, but it has it all in case you need it.
I am taking this one part at a time, starting with the most valuable pieces and ignoring the rest until I read and discover them. The quick start rules are excellent and are probably where 90% of the book's buyers should start - and leave the rest of the book for later. My reviews will probably come in as I discover new parts of this book, but that is okay since I doubt anyone would (or should) use every table on every page of this book.
Supporting so many games is a plus, and it doesn't use much space to get the job done. You won't find conversions between systems here, but guidelines to get you started. The hardest part about using this book is creating a way to deal with how much you have at your fingertips.
This is recommended if you lean more towards 'random generation' and less 'off the cuff' style of solo play.
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