Pendragon Solo Campaigns

[CourtofIvanhoe]

I've spent the last couple of months collecting and reading some of the older Pendragon books in preperation for a solo campaign, and I thought that creating a new area in the fourm for other solo players would be a good way for us to learn from one another.

I'm planning to work my way through the GPC, starting in 840. Have any of you had any luck running solo campaigns of this size?

[Morien]

18 hours ago, CourtofIvanhoe said:

I'm planning to work my way through the GPC, starting in 840. Have any of you had any luck running solo campaigns of this size?

I have not done any solo campaigns, but I did stumble to this video a while back:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_94ooLVhaI

I thought his point about using the Expanded Family Events, Manorial Events and Solos were a good idea to inject some personalized conflict and situations into the campaign.

My own thoughts about GMing Pendragon in general can be found on that other recent thread about a new GM asking for help. Here: 
New to Pendragon: seeking fresh Adventures and GM tips for early GPC - Pendragon & Prince Valiant - BRP Central - The Chaosium forums

 

I admit that I have a hard time 'getting' what is the point about solo-play? Having at least one player would double the fun, since now there are two people having fun. 🙂

 

Edited December 16, 2024 by Morien

[CourtofIvanhoe]

I can understand having difficulty understanding what the 'point' of solo play is. Speaking personally, I tend to prioritise story over system mechanics. The mechanics provide me with outcomes, or prompts for writing a story about my Knights. Much of my time spent 'playing' solo Pendragon is actually writing narratives informed by dice roles.

For example, lets say Knight A fails a honesty trait check, and acts against their typically honest nature. Once I see the dice result, I'll look over what I've written about the knight so far, such as their family history, passions etc. I'll then use that to write a short bit of fiction depicting the behaviour, and how the knight came to justify that behaviour internally.

 

I hope that makes sense, but in a nutshell, solo play for me is a creative exercise, rather than a replication of actual TTRPG play.

[Morien]

Ah, OK. More of a writing prompt. Yes, that makes sense.

[DaveinLedbury]

Will be following your progress with your solo Pendragon campaign. I'm also hoping to play this solo as well.

[Kingfisher]

On 12/15/2024 at 8:48 PM, CourtofIvanhoe said:

I've spent the last couple of months collecting and reading some of the older Pendragon books in preperation for a solo campaign, and I thought that creating a new area in the fourm for other solo players would be a good way for us to learn from one another.

I'm planning to work my way through the GPC, starting in 840. Have any of you had any luck running solo campaigns of this size?

On 1/14/2025 at 4:27 PM, DaveinLedbury said:

Will be following your progress with your solo Pendragon campaign. I'm also hoping to play this solo as well.

I wish I'd read this thread before sort of steamrolling in. I gues I got carried away and caught up in the need to do after procrastinating for so long. Hopefully it's not to late to say I agree with DaveinLedbury's sentiment in that if you do post, I too will follow.

I think your point about learning from each other is on spot on, although I don't necessarily agree about the need for a solo-specific sub section. I don't mean that with any negativity, just that I don't really see there being a division between group and solo play and can see how both benefit from the existence of the other. Both Pendragon and the concept of solo RP are new to me, but the latter isn't entirely foreign. I mean, is playing solo a huge step away from a GM creating an adventure for their players to experience? A creative writing and narrative-heavy approach may just be one angle to come at it from, but a more bare-bones approach is just as valid and more like designing a campaign - with the added benefit of playstesting it yourself before introducing it to a group.

In short, I can imagine being a GM and looking at what the solo folks are doing, thinking "oh, that's cool so I'm going to steal that" or "I would have done this differently." Likewise, as a solo gamer, what is there about group play that could help me? Pretty much exactly the same, maybe with a bit more "I like how that player has portrayed that character, I'm going to explore that myself." It's all inspiration at the end of the day and I don't think there can be too much of that! Or maybe I'm just greedy.

One of the things I would be keen to discuss is whether we could create a Pendragon-specific oracle as a team or as individuals, bounce some ideas around. While generic oracles are just fine, Pendragon has a specific spirit and DNA, regardless as to how YPMV and it could be fun to come up with more tables. Like, one of the things bouncing around in my head is about plot hooks/random events and how well they could work with the Passion Courts in the rulebook. Imagine, if you will bear with me, if there was a random table for Fidelitas, Fervor, Adoration and Civilitas. Then, depending on the situation, you roll on the most suitable table (or roll on a table to determine what table to roll on, either is fun).

So, imagine your knight is trotting down the road and you as a GM or solo player need an idea quick, well maybe the Civilitas table has a lot of knightly combat-themed ideas - You are Challenged to a Duel. Or You Encounter a Ruffian Robbing a Peasant... That kind of thing. Whereas, the Fervor table might have a lot of courtly-themed stuff.

To be fair, all this has probably been done before for a game of this age, but eh, still could be fun!

Edited January 15 by Kingfisher
I can't spell!