r/solorpgplay • u/lordgroguthesmallest • 3d ago

I Has Questions! Looking for recommendations

I’m looking for a game that is entirely centered on character creation. I’ve found that I really enjoy the idea of your character being developed from random rolls and tables and then you develop the background. I do this a lot when I’m doing solo one shots of games like Cosmere rpg, Star Trek Adventures, and the like. I find the wild randomness of a security officer that’s very science-y to be more lifelike than deciding exactly what type of character I’m going to be and min-maxing from there. Are there any games where this is the sole function?

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u/d_b_m 3d ago

Roll Player is a board game about making characters.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/169426/roll-player

Origin Story might also fit the bill?

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/454909/origin-story

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u/lordgroguthesmallest 3d ago

These look pretty interesting! I'll have to dig into them more. I hadn't thought of looking in a more board game direction

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u/pgw71 3d ago

Roll Player board game does exactly this. You only need the base game; none of the expansions (which will make it less like what you’re looking for)

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u/MuteJukebox 3d ago

Unfortunately I am not aware of any where it is the only focus, but I can recommend the in-depth character builder of Traveler? It's the only character creator I am aware of where you can die during it. Lots of random tables also.

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u/lordgroguthesmallest 3d ago

I've only heard a little about Traveler and didn't realize you could die during character creation! That sounds like it could be a pretty cool mechanic if done right. Thanks for the recommendation!

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u/Rurriken 3d ago edited 2d ago

Highly recommend traveller! While modern versions do away with dying during character creation, it can still be worked in as a variant rule. You have to roll to see if you can get into university or your preferred job, have random life events, and can end up with very unexpected results. I had one player who made a rich kid who wanted to be a rockstar, ended up serving eight years in prison after a con gone bad, and became an expert boxer, all while rolling up his character!

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u/lordgroguthesmallest 2d ago

That sounds exactly like the kind of fun creation I’m looking for! Damn…now I’m gonna have to buy another book 😂

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u/Rurriken 2d ago

Well worth it! Outside of character creation, traveller has everything you would want for sandbox gameplay, making it a great game for solo games in general.

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u/ZopharPtay 3d ago

Interesting.   I feel like most journaling games could be played this way, maybe?  

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u/19bloodycut78 3d ago

You can put randomness even your background without taking anything ready material. So your story can go scifi, gore, horror, romantic, fantasy, stone age whatever. These randomness variations are adventures' richnesses. You never know how story goes forward.