See the enhanced and updated version of this guide here.

Are you new to solo RPGs, feeling overwhelmed by the rules, or confused about where to start? Do you spend a lot of time prepping, but struggle to actually start playing?

In this post I share a simple, novice-friendly, zero-prep, step-by-step framework to improvising fun storytelling-focused adventures, one 5-minute scene at a time.

In seven steps, you will complete your first mini-adventure, and learn how to improvise stories that can turn into a series of longer adventures or campaigns. You will dive into solo roleplaying, and see how simple and straightforward it can be.

At the end of the post, you will also find systems and tools that will add depth and variety to your gameplay, and a 30-day Solo Roleplaying Challenge that will help you turn solo roleplaying into a habit and make it a part of your life.

You should try this framework if:

• You're new to solo roleplaying, and it feels complex and overwhelming.
• You get bogged down in worldbuilding and character creation, you prep a lot, but struggle to dive in and actually start roleplaying (people say "prep is play", but prep can also be a form of procrastination).
• You struggle with "paradox of choice" and "analysis paralysis" - you read many rulesets and supplements, but can't choose one. You're looking for a simple game to help you get started.
• You like games focused on storytelling, roleplay, and making up creative ideas (rather than crunchy mechanics).
• You're busy and want a simple way to play short 5-10 minute games.
• You're looking for a creative tool that will help you discover and develop worldbuilding and character ideas as you play.

How to play

Your goal is to improvise a single, self-contained, 5-minute scene.

You'll define where the scene takes place, who the characters are, what they want, what stands in their way, and describe what they do as they attempt to achieve their goal.

Once you understand how this gameplay works, you can repeat it to create a series of scenes that add up to a campaign.

1. Location

• Define a location where the scene takes place, using adjective + noun.

Old Shipwreck, Underground Lab, Spooky Mansion, Steampunk Castle, Orc Camp, Mountain Temple.

If you need help coming up with ideas, use this adventure prompts tool for inspiration.

• Describe the location in a single sentence.

The Spooky Mansion looms in the moonlight, its windows dark and its walls covered in creeping vines.

2. Characters

• Come up with two characters who are in this location, using adjective + occupation.

Runaway Princess and a Sad Orc
Naive Barbarian and the Spider Queen
Grumpy Robot and a Charming Space Rebel

• Choose which one of these characters you'll play as - the hero of the story. The other character will be your ally, antagonist, or someone in need of help.
• Describe these characters in a single sentence, and come up with the first line of dialogue between them. The purpose of the dialogue line is to add some context to the scene (establish the reason the characters are here, what they're doing, or the relationship between them), and to make you dive into roleplaying as early as possible.

The Naive Barbarian, with muscles bulging and a determined look, faces off against the Spider Queen, a sinister figure with an aura of menace and eight eyes glowing faintly. "So, we meet again, Spider Queen," the Barbarian says, gripping his axe tightly. "This place reeks of your dark magic."

3. Objective

• Come up with an objective your hero will actively pursue during this scene - a goal they want to achieve, or a problem they need to solve. Think small, it should be a task you can succeed or fail at by the end of the scene, not a long-term goal that requires complex planning. It can be something the hero wants from the other character, or something the other character prevents them from getting, or something the other character needs help with.

• When in doubt, use a McGuffin - an Object, Person, Creature, or Information the hero wants to obtain, that is kept at this location, and guarded by the other character.

Object: Obtain treasure, retrieve a stolen gadget, steal a vehicle, destroy a cursed portal.
Person: Rescue a captive, liberate a prisoner, arrest an outlaw, defeat a rogue wizard.
Creature: Capture a runaway pet, tame a wild beast, defeat a monster, exorcise a ghost.
Information: Location of a lair, secret potion recipe, clue to a mystery, a battle plan.

• Through dialogue or description, introduce the objective the hero will pursue during this scene.

"I know The Orb of Shadows is hidden within this mansion," the Barbarian says, determination in his eyes. "I need it to save my village from the eternal night your curse has brought upon us." The Spider Queen hisses, her eyes narrowing. "You'll never find it, Barbarian. The darkness will consume you first."

4. Obstacle

• Introduce an obstacle that stands in the way of the hero getting what they want, a challenge they need to overcome.

Action: Defeat someone, chase or escape someone, sneak past someone.
Environmental: Explore, journey to, enter, or escape a dangerous or guarded place.
Social: Get what you want through persuasion, deception, intimidation, interrogation, trade.

• Describe how the hero encounters the obstacle.

Before the Spider Queen can react, the Barbarian dashes past her, bursting through a side door into a web-covered hallway. He encounters giant spiders skittering about, blocking his path. "Your minions won't stop me," the Barbarian growls, swinging his axe to clear the way.

5. Action

• Decide how the hero will attempt to overcome the obstacle to achieve their objective. This is the core of the scene, where you use creative problem solving to improvise fun action or roleplaying moments.
• Describe what your character says and does to get what they want.

"There's no end to them," the Barbarian mutters, realizing brute force won't be enough. "I need to find another way." He spots a chandelier above the hallway and decides to cut it down to crush the spiders. With a powerful throw, he severs the chain, and the chandelier crashes down.

6. Resolution

• Decide whether the character succeeds, or determine it by rolling the dice: set the difficulty number you need to beat based on how likely you think the character is to succeed (5 - easy, 10 - medium, 15 - hard), roll the dice to see if they succeed.
• Describe what happens as a result:
  • If the hero succeeds, they get what they want, resolving the scene (go to the next step).
  • If they fail, they face a setback or a complication that escalates the conflict, making their problem worse, making their goal more difficult to achieve. You can make another attempt by trying a different strategy (go to the previous step), or decide that the scene ends in hero's failure (go to the next step).

Rolling a 15 on the dice, the chandelier crashes down, crushing the spiders and clearing the path. "Finally, a clear path," the Barbarian says, panting. "Now, to find the Orb of Shadows."

7. Cliffhanger

• End the scene on a cliffhanger that leads the hero into the next scene: the character sets out to journey to a new location, has to deal with the consequences of failure, or gets what they want and that creates a new problem/challenge/desire.

As the Barbarian reaches the mansion's inner sanctum, he sees the Orb of Shadows on a pedestal. Just as he reaches for it, the Spider Queen appears, her many eyes burning with anger. "You may have defeated my minions, but you'll never leave here alive," she snarls, raising her hands to cast a spell. The Barbarian, realizing he can't defeat her in a fair fight, grabs the orb and turns to run.

More Gameplay Examples

Gameplay tips

• Characters. Every new scene, you have an option to switch your protagonist. Instead of continuing as the hero you started out with, you can play as one of the characters they've met. It's a great way to experiment with roleplaying as different characters, and it helps you avoid overthinking and perfectionism at the character creation step - you can start with any random character, knowing you can switch any time if you get bored of them or when you discover a better idea.
• Worldbuilding. To use this game as a worldbuilding tool, describe the locations you visit and your journey between them. Create and explore the world as you play, without planning it in advance.
• Series. You can play a series of scenes as the same character (to play a campaign), or you can play a series of unrelated self-contained scenes that take place in the same world (to explore character and location ideas).
• Longer plots. Once you're comfortable with the gameplay, try introducing overarching goals that take multiple scenes to achieve. Your hero comes up with a 3-5 step plan for achieving their goal. Play one scene for each step, where your objective is to take that step and get closer to your goal, and your obstacle is something that makes this step difficult.
• Progression. Your character can gain something that makes them stronger every time they achieve their goal (for example, obtain a valuable item, learn a magic spell, make an ally), that they can use in their future adventures.
• Explore rulesets. This framework is a great way to learn and experiment with multiple different systems. Play each scene with a new ruleset you want to learn or a mechanic you want to try out, and keep using the ones you like.
• Don't overthink it. Remember, you don't have to commit to any of the ideas for longer than a 5-minute scene. Use tropes and cliches, steal ideas from the stories you like. Experiment with really stupid and absurd ideas for characters/locations/scenes.

Tools and Game Systems

I have created several games that are a great way to add more depth and variety to this gameplay:

• Mirage is a novice-friendly one-page system that adds a bit more mechanics to this gameplay (while still keeping it simple and rules-lite).
• Strangeville Files is a lighthearted, storytelling-focused game where you’ll improvise supernatural mysteries in the style of Gravity Falls, Scooby Doo, Inside Job, X-Files, Men in Black, SCP Foundation. Try it out to play mysteries in this framework.
• Worlds Weird and Wonderful is a worldbuilding game about exploring the multiverse and creating weird ideas and worlds that defy our expectations (the style of “Rick and Morty” and “Gravity Falls”). Use it as a starting point for your adventures, and a great way to brainstorm interesting settings.
• Story Deck is a collection of prompts you can use to inspire Locations, Characters, and Objectives for your stories.

30-day Solo Roleplaying Challenge

If you really want to make solo roleplaying a part of your life and quickly gain confidence and skill, you should make it a habit.

The best way to do that is to take on a 30-day Solo Roleplaying Challenge: for the next 30 days, commit to playing at least one scene per day, and share your results.

You can do it in any format: physical journal, a bullet-point style "log" of your adventures, blog posts, audio voice recording, video, comics - anything you can share with other people.

Share your scenes on our discord in the Solo Roleplaying forum. If you need any help or advice, participate in our #solo-roleplaying-discussion channel.