| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| riot the outsider |
Posted - 13 Oct 2007 : 23:57:21
I have a friend that lives far away and its hard for if to make it to the games we play.Wondering if its possible to play if he could play just by himself,by following the rules and all as they are written and then join us when he can. |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Aravine |
Posted - 21 Apr 2008 : 18:16:45
quote:
Originally posted by AlorinDawn
quote:
Originally posted by MerrikCale
quote:
Originally posted by riot the outsider
I agree people on here need to grow up,
why?
Becasue some folks lack a sense of humor.
It's not that, kids can get on this site. |
| tenacious1 |
Posted - 16 Jan 2008 : 15:07:15
quote:
4. The Guest Spot - keep his character level current with the other PC's (assume he is adventuring on his own when not with them) and just have his character show up whenever he can make it.
That's the way my old PnP groups would handle it, if one of our members were out to sea, vacation, previous commitments etc, that person's character would be omitted most of the time. If the player had been gone for multiple sessions, then, at the next session he attends, the player who was absent was granted just enough xp to make him level appropriate (typically this was within 1-2 levels if memory serves and it depended on the DM). If one session ended in the midst of a dungeon or some other large event where the players are stuck in the middle of something, the DMs would occasionally take him over and run him mostly just by the numbers...as the RP could never be true to the player who created him.
In the end, other than online games, there's really no good way to play with yourself.
(I'm 34 and I still love 15 year old humor  ) |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 06 Jan 2008 : 01:09:55
quote:
Originally posted by Stonwulfe
Is it possible to play D&D by yourself? Yes. In fact, BioWare's made a killing because of it.
Heh, great point. There is a such thing as D&D-based, single player CRPGs. |
| Aureus |
Posted - 05 Jan 2008 : 18:50:01
It's possible to play alone, but it is still.... rather pointless
The only exception would be when I'm preparing a campain to test the encounters and the traps, but then again that's not playing, but play-testing, since I leave out the actual roleplaying parts + most walking parts and focus on the CRs and DCs (after all I want them to barily surive, not to die nor to beat the monsters up easily) |
| Stonwulfe |
Posted - 05 Jan 2008 : 18:05:19
Is it possible to play D&D by yourself? Yes. In fact, BioWare's made a killing because of it.
Without a computer, is it possible to play D&D by yourself? Yes, but there's medication for that. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 05 Jan 2008 : 15:37:00
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by scererar
Did anyone ever read/ play the choose your own adventure books? They were great fun and good in a pinch, when no one else was around to game with.
There was a whole buttload of those, from lots of different publishers. I think Choose Your Own Adventure came first, but it had many imitators. TSR did two flavors of imitation books: the Endless Quest ones (fantasy or sci-fi flavored, regular Choose Your Own Adventure-clones), and the Super Endless Quest (the same, but involving some ability scores and occasional dice rolling) ones. I had some of each, and in fact the first fantasy book I ever read was an Endless Quest one.
And, much to my surprise, I just discovered that the Endless Quest line is apparently being revised: Endless Quest: Claw of the Dragon |
| MerrikCale |
Posted - 30 Dec 2007 : 03:48:32
I'll be 38 in a week. I'll grow up some other time |
| Kentinal |
Posted - 28 Dec 2007 : 23:15:36
Hmm, the older I grow the less I find humor in.
IAE the question has indeed been answered a few timwes with different answers. Perhaps scroll should be sealed as complete as it is likely to ever be. |
| AlorinDawn |
Posted - 28 Dec 2007 : 22:47:54
quote:
Originally posted by MerrikCale
quote:
Originally posted by riot the outsider
I agree people on here need to grow up,
why?
Becasue some folks lack a sense of humor. |
| MerrikCale |
Posted - 28 Dec 2007 : 21:12:08
quote:
Originally posted by riot the outsider
I agree people on here need to grow up,
why? |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 23 Dec 2007 : 19:37:19
quote:
Originally posted by scererar
Did anyone ever read/ play the choose your own adventure books? They were great fun and good in a pinch, when no one else was around to game with.
There was a whole buttload of those, from lots of different publishers. I think Choose Your Own Adventure came first, but it had many imitators. TSR did two flavors of imitation books: the Endless Quest ones (fantasy or sci-fi flavored, regular Choose Your Own Adventure-clones), and the Super Endless Quest (the same, but involving some ability scores and occasional dice rolling) ones. I had some of each, and in fact the first fantasy book I ever read was an Endless Quest one. |
| scererar |
Posted - 23 Dec 2007 : 18:15:19
Did anyone ever read/ play the choose your own adventure books? They were great fun and good in a pinch, when no one else was around to game with. |
| slay_4_pay |
Posted - 22 Dec 2007 : 19:34:41
quote:
Originally posted by Aravine
Can I ask where this thread is going?
Nowhere. Fast.
Playing D&D by yourself is pointless. Without the other players and the DM to interact with you are basically just making up a story, so why not forget the dice and just write a story.
I do however have a suggestion, about how to deal with your problem. If your friend can't actually make it to the game there are a few of ways you could handle it.
1. Speaker Phone - call him up, put him on speaker and have him play that way.
2. Instant Messaging - all of you stay at home and play through IM, it's very time consuming but it can work.
3. Play by Proxy - have his character played as an NPC or by another PC when he is unable to make it.
4. The Guest Spot - keep his character level current with the other PC's (assume he is adventuring on his own when not with them) and just have his character show up whenever he can make it.
Of course none of them will be as good as actually being there for a regular game, but they work in a pinch. And it is certainly better than playing with yourself (sorry couldn't resist). |
| LordArcana |
Posted - 04 Dec 2007 : 16:03:57
Well...
Personally i spend a lot of time writing down ideas for new adventures and new campaigns. After i get ideas jotted down i do my best to formalize them into notebooks or .txt files (depending if i am too lasy to write). Once this is done i consider the character creation rules i am going to use such as starting level, money, concepts etc.
Mind you to this point can take days, weeks months...
Now i have an outlined idea of what the first few paths are going to be for the pc's. At this point i want to test some of my planned encounters so i will build basic characters of the appropriate system i have decided on. Set up the encounters on my battlemap as how i want them to start. I then do my best to think of how i would play..setting up watches at night, using wagons for defense..etc. Then i start the encounter and play it out.
Now mind you when i get to this point my wife thinks i have lost my mind as i spend a good hour or more talking to myself...rolling dice...moving little plastic pieces across the table...sound effects and sometimes even background music to get me in the mood.
Conclussion: Sure its possible to play D&D by yourself.
~Corey~ |
| dwarvenranger |
Posted - 18 Oct 2007 : 03:41:41
There is a solo dungeon adventures appendix in the back of the Dragon Compendium. |
| Skeptic |
Posted - 17 Oct 2007 : 22:13:33
IMHO, an RPG can't be played alone, because the basic idea is to share a imagined universe.
If there is no sharing, there is no conflict, so you can simply write a story.
The result of some suggestions above would be a board game, not a RPG.
Could a D&D-flavored single-player board game could be made ? Yeah, of course. |
| Kentinal |
Posted - 17 Oct 2007 : 22:04:47
quote:
Originally posted by riot the outsider
All good ideas,is there any games for the computer that are layout like the table top is if you understander what I mean.( that aren't 3d)like its layout like the actual broad game its self. like they did with braod games like monopoly,life,clue.
Well a very old game "Survival in the Wilderness" (IIRC) provided a table top and the ability to have random encounters. Odds are you can not find the game, however you likely can find internet maps simalar to what was offered. |
| riot the outsider |
Posted - 17 Oct 2007 : 22:00:26
All good ideas,is there any games for the computer that are layout like the table top is if you understander what I mean.( that aren't 3d)like its layout like the actual broad game its self. like they did with braod games like monopoly,life,clue. |
| Kentinal |
Posted - 17 Oct 2007 : 21:27:04
Well I will repeat, there were self play modules, no DM required.
Also 1st Edition offered away to self play the game, axctually BD&D did as well (Just AD&D offered a way to generate a random map better).
Self play in a large part however is still dice dependent. Though the player could effect morale reactions, by PC acting first and asking questions later (if still alive of course).
It is not as easy as playing with people that have some experience to help advise and guide.
All in all before the game started there were no DMs, once the game started somebody became the first DM for a group (or one on one). Some were not good DMs, others clearly have kept groups together for years.
So yes self play is posible, however multiplay is advised. With the internet it clearly is posible to get some sense of group play, but that is never the same as table top play. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 17 Oct 2007 : 20:23:16
quote:
Originally posted by IronHammer
Some friends of mine and myself in the past have made one person adventures for each other. We set it up in a turn by turn of the page format. Of course for it to be in any way fun you had to be honest with yourself. This was in no way as good as group play but when your bored and theres nothing else to do it was a good diversion...
That would work, too... The objective here, at least to me, is to have this distant player able to play without actually running the show himself. |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 17 Oct 2007 : 20:19:56
Playing tabletop D&D by yourself sounds to me like it would be rather lonely. After all, part of the fun is the social interaction, I would think. |
| IronHammer |
Posted - 17 Oct 2007 : 20:15:48
Some friends of mine and myself in the past have made one person adventures for each other. We set it up in a turn by turn of the page format. Of course for it to be in any way fun you had to be honest with yourself. This was in no way as good as group play but when your bored and theres nothing else to do it was a good diversion... |
| Aravine |
Posted - 17 Oct 2007 : 17:41:13
Wooly's idea is a very good one. However, if he's the DM than it's kinda losing the player and if he's a player, no offence, I wouldn't let him/her. how easily the 20's come when playing by yourself. but it is good mental exersise. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 17 Oct 2007 : 17:33:38
It's theoretically possible, but since D&D is based around a group, it'd be really different. I don't think it would be much fun -- because if he is player and DM, then he knows how to deal with every NPC and every trap, where every monster is, where the treasure is, what the mysteries are... It becomes little more than a dice-rolling exercise.
You (or whoever the DM is) should at least consider setting up a one on one play by email thing with him. |
| riot the outsider |
Posted - 17 Oct 2007 : 16:57:30
I agree people on here need to grow up, Can one person play D&D by themselfs?,is that better frased for you all. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 17 Oct 2007 : 15:02:39
Well, it needs to not go any further down the path it's turned down... |
| Aravine |
Posted - 17 Oct 2007 : 14:41:52
Can I ask where this thread is going? |
| AlorinDawn |
Posted - 16 Oct 2007 : 20:50:24
Sometimes I play with myself. I am however more fond of the times my girlfriend plays with me.
What were we talking about again? |
| Kuje |
Posted - 14 Oct 2007 : 06:10:11
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Aewrik
In the novel I'm writing, I play with myself : )
You do realize, don't you, the many, many ways this statement is begging to be misinterpreted? 
I wasn't going to say it but since you did. :)
And honestly, this whole topic made me laugh because it could be taken in so many ways. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 14 Oct 2007 : 06:08:17
quote:
Originally posted by Aewrik
In the novel I'm writing, I play with myself : )
You do realize, don't you, the many, many ways this statement is begging to be misinterpreted?
|
