…I was playing with a group of friends. We played AD&D 2ed (Dark Sun, Ravenloft, Birthright), Shadowrun, Call of Cthulu and Star Wars.
It was the ’90s, we were teenagers, gathering to play once per week.
Time passed, friends changed, TTRPGs were put aside, stored in a warehouse. Computer RPGs and gaming scratched that itch a bit.
More time passed, family came along. CRPGs no longer could scratch the itch, but there simply was no time. I remembered how hard it was to get to play once per week, even with that tight group of friends, even when our only responsibility was to studying for school. But the love for TTRPGs was still there.
One day I stumbled upon a reddit post on solo roleplaying. At first I was sceptical. Then I found a subreddit, blogs from other fellow lonewolves. Solo roleplaying was something that worked, and there were tools designed to enable it.
Finally I decided to give it a go. I pulled my old Star Wars the Roleplaying Game (West End Games) books from the storage, found my dice, got some pen and paper, and journeyed to my first adventure. So this is my blog, where I will talk about all things relevant to solo roleplay gaming from my perspective.
This is Sir Roderick’s Retinue from the Blighthaven line of Demonworld range from Ral Partha Europe.
It’s only the retinue, without Sir Roderick, who is mounted. I don’t have appropriate basing for mounts and beasts, so he’s on hold until I get some bases.
For the red uniforms, I did a pink undercoat, followed by an orange ink overcoat. White shields with red X freehand.
Knight with Sword and ShieldKnight with swordKnight with bastard sword Knight with Warhammer and shieldKnight musicianKnight with bastard sword Knight with sword and shield
Here are a few single miniatures from the Demonworld line of Ral Partha Europe. A temple guardian and a few monsters. A couple werewolves, a vampire coven and a harpy.
In this batch job, I am still trying a few combinations of acrylic inks. Using transparent inks over a different color basecoat to achieve a combined color in the end. For the deep red inside of the vampire cloaks, I did a pink undercoat followed by red ink.
I also switched to a combined base texturing technique. I used CA glue and baking soda on the exterior ring of the base, and PVA glue and coffee grinds on the interior ring of the base. This gives a gradual change from a finer grain to a coarser one, stop the PVA from flowing outside the base and protects the miniature feet from climbing PVA glue. I’m going to keep this.
I think it’s a good opportunity to forage for some herbs Since the climate is most likely t (Cool Temperate) and we’re in a (D) Desiduous/Mixed Forest, the best option for herbs is to find Thurl, which has a Routine Difficulty (+30) or Rewk, which has a Light (+10) difficulty
Leowyn and Camthalion will split and search in separate directions The weather (9) stays cool, overcast, with light rain, and the wind becomes a gale again Encounters for each of the three groups: 05/145, 57/84, 128/100: No encounter for any of the groups
Camthalion Searching herbs: Thurl 87: Partial Success 93: Near Success 135: Success: One dose found, will search for Rewk next 39: Failure 96: Near Success 90: Partial Success No Rewk found
After hours of searching in the rain, Camthalion and Leowyn return from different directions. Camthalion brings out some cloves.”That’s all I could find.” He looks at Leowyn, who shakes her head. Camthalion brews the cloves of Thurl and gives to Dwalin to drink.
Heals: 1-4 hits: 3 hits. Also, resting, Dwalin heals 12 more hits, for a total of 15 hits healed. Dwalin is at 32 hits. I want to search for a couple more hours for Rewk, and then enter the Keep while it’s still daylight.
Day 12, Hithui, 4th Watch
The weather (11) becomes Cold, and Sleet falls, as the wind falls to Windy
Leowyn Searching herbs: Rewk 53: Failure 25: Failure Encounters check: 74/119, 05/121, -52/140: No encounter for any of the groups
Dwalin has healed 6 more hits, and is now at 38 hits.
Having found no more healing herbs, the party gathers their belongings and heads back into the keep.
Back into Level One, won’t go to the Arena with the bear, so before heading further down to the next Level, the party will go into the Storage Room. Dwalin at front, followed by Camthalion, and rear guard Leowyn. Q: Is everything as expected? A: No, but, roll 1d4 on TWENE: 3: Add Simple Element. Portent: Love birds Cobwebs and broken wine bottles litter the entire floor. It mustn’t have always been this way. As a sculpt of two birds singing at each other over the doorway shows of happier times. The party proceeds further into the Arms Storage area. Q: Is everything as expected? A: Yes, but, it will be Unlikely in next question So there are some interesting items, and piles of normal, but tarnished weapons and armor. I don’t want to just give away everything. I’d expect the party to go through them (especially since they’re looking for the relic), and roll perception for each party member for each interesting item on the list to see if they notice anything.
Broadsword +5: Camthalion: 109 (Near Success): 85:(Partial Success), Dwalin: 96 (Near Success), 52 (Failure), Leowyn: 97 (Near Success), 37 (Failure) Broadsword +5: Camthalion: 100 (Near Success): 101 (Near Success): 122 (Success): Camthalion identifies the item Morning Star +5: Camthalion: 101 (Near Success): 50 (Failure), Dwalin: 94 (Near Success), 66 (Failure), Leowyn: 102 (Near Success), 130 (Success): Leowyn identifies the item Javelin +5 that returns: Camthalion: 139 (Success): Camthalion identifies the item Three +5 Arrows: Camthalion: 64 (Failure), Dwalin: 83: (Partial Success), Leowyn: 49 (Failure) Battleaxe +10, 60% weight: I’ll also give a bonus here to perception due to the low weight: Camthalion: 102 (Near Success): 113: (Success): Camthalion identifies the item They also pick up 18 arrows, and all the identified items They will also take the three +5 arrows, but don’t know they’re good, so any arrow shot from now on that is Doubles (33, 44 etc) will have used a +5 arrow until they’re expended That’s some good loot! finally
Arms and armor, that the orcs can’t used are littered all over the place, Camthalion quickly fills up his quiver with much wanted arrows. Then they go through the items, see if the can find the relic Dwalin looks for. They did not, but they found some weapons of exquisite make. Camthalion equips himself with Javelin and a fine Broadsword, and Dwalin straps a Battleaxe to his back. Leowyn keeps a very spiky morning star to her side as a backup weapon. Dwalin is no longer a grumpy dwarf, and a wide smile covers his face. “Let’s go further! Treasure awaits!” he says, a bit louder than he should…
So, there are two ways to go downstairs. Either go back and get the stairs, or continue from the direction the part is already going. I won’t bother to roll about their choice, as common sense dictates they continue on this path, follow the hallway and go to Level 2-A of the underchambers.
Q: Is everthing as expected? (Unlikely) A: No, and roll 1d10 on TWENE: 2: Decrease Simple Element: Not much to decrease here, since all elements are major. Maybe I’ll state that there is less dust and cobwebs here than usual.
Since there is a secret passage on this room, I’ll roll Dwalin’s Perception. Dwalin: Perception: 67+23=90: Partial Success. You may not try again in the same area, same topic for 1 hour. So they miss the chance to find the secret passage leading further down to the riches (and dangers).
The party goes in the dungeon chambers, and I will roll on each of them to see if everything is as expected.
Dungeon Chamber #4: Q: Is everything as expected? A: No, Intervention! TWENE: 5: Increase major element. The doors are barred heavily, and do not open. Intervention: 6: Wild: d144: Bolt from the blue The figurative meaning makes no sense here, so I’ll go with the literal. The dungeon chamber door was trapped (as well as barred) and a ‘B’ Electricity Critical strikes Dwalin: 90-10=80: Strike to side devastates nervous system. Severe shock results. Victim is a living vegetable for 1 month.
The trio walks through the underchambers opening every door they can find, searching for anything interesting. Maybe a sign of Ledon, maybe a sign of the dwarven relic. A series of doors in a narrow hallway, points to them for prisoner chambers. “Ledon could be here!” Leowyn whispers. Dwalin nods, and without any precaution tries to open the first door to their left. As he touches the metal bar, a surge of blue lightning passes through him. He locks fingers with the door, unable to let go as the nerves tighten and he clutches harder. Finally, he drops down to the floor, to the horror of his companions. Leowyn and Camthalion look at each other. Leowyn moves in front to reach the motionless body of their friend. Camthalion reaches out an arm to stop her “Whatever hit him… it could still be dangerous…” his words trail off. “We must.” Leowyn responds. She puts her ear to his chest, which is still moving, she makes out a faint heartbeat. “He is still alive.” Carefully, they drag Dwalin away, and carry him back out of the keep, to their camp.
So, this is an interesting point. With such an event, for sure the party must return back to the inn.
Day 12-13, Hithui, Overnight
The weather (11) stays cold, overcast, and sleet falls, as the wind becomes a gale The weather (11) stays cold, overcast, and snow falls, as the wind becomes a storm The weather (10) stays cold, overcast, with snow Flurries, and the wind becomes a gale. Right before dawn, the weather (10) stays cold, overcast, with snow flurries, and the wind becomes a windy again. Encounter check: 64/34+50: No encounter
Day 13, Hithui, 3rd Watch
The weather (10) stays cold, overcast, with snow flurries, and the wind stays windy Encounter check: 28/-13: No encounter
Day 13, Hithui, 4th Watch
The weather (10) stays cold, overcast, with snow flurries, and the wind becomes a gale Encounter check: -06/74: No encounter
Day 13-14, Hithui, Overnight
The weather (10) stays cold, overcast, and snow flurries fall, as the wind becomes a breeze The weather (10) stays cold, overcast, and snow flurries fall, as the wind becomes windy The weather (10) stays cold, overcast, with snow flurries, and the wind stays windy. Right before dawn, the weather (10) stays cold, overcast, with snow flurries, and the wind stays windy. Encounter check: 24/92: No encounter
Day 14, Hithui, 3rd Watch
The weather (12) is freezing, overcast, and the wind becomes a gale Encounter check: 68/36: No encounter
Day 14, Hithui, 4th Watch
The weather (12) is freezing, overcast, and the wind stays a gale Encounter check: 47/67: No encounter
The party reaches The Last Inn
Battered, and freezing cold, after two days, Leowyn and Camthalion guide the horse carrying the comatose dwarf to the Last Inn. They desire the warmth of the fireplace, and a hot plate of soup.
Q: Is everything as expected? A: No, roll 1d4 on TWENE: 4: Remove Simple Element. There are no customers at this time in the main hall.
I take a pause here to deliberate. The GM hat cannot be completely avoided. See, I know according to the pre-written adventure module that Bura Grumm is a 5th level Animist, and there is a far-fetched chance that she has the spell list to heal Dwalin. Nevertheless this would normally cost around 25 gp, and the party hasn’t saved Leddon to say for example that they get a discount, or for free. So I seriously doubt that Bura can help them right now. I will ask the Oracle though with an Unlikely result to see if she helps in any way.
Q: Does Bura help the party with her skills? (Unlikely) A: No
So, we’re in a dire position right now. It’s make it, or break it. The party cannot afford to wait for Dwalin to recover (if he ever does, see, they do not know it). Leowyn wants to find her lover’s killer and Camthalion wants to find his missing brother. Both are time-dependent events. Dwalin’s cause for the relic is considered null and void right now, and Leddon is left to his fate (or another party of adventurers). The way I see it, either the party breaks up, leaving Dwalin at the last inn with a hefty amount to Bura to take care of him (until when?), or they try to help Dwalin right away, taking him with them in the cold to find a healer in the nearest town (and pay him with the gold from the manuscripts). Maybe they could consider a combination of the two. Leowyn could set off on horseback to fetch a healer. I think this is the best course of action right now, and what I believe a party would do. Maybe Camthalion will stay behind to look after Dwalin and find some way to pay for their rent. Now the GM hat tells me that there’s a high chance that the story of how Dwalin got hurt may leak while they stay at the last inn, and according to the pre-written adventure module, Ar-Gular, the owner of the keep that my party raided is a regular in disguise there. So maybe a random event triggered by an intervention could lead to an orc raid by Ar-Gular, or something similar.
The Grumms see Camthalion and Leowyn carry Dwalin inside. “We will need a room. And some hot soup for the night.” Bura sees him and bites her lips. She calls for her daughters to help. “I can do everyday healing, but nothing I can help with this. You will need to take him to see a healer.” She pauses for a second as the wind howls outside. “Or better yet, bring the healer to him.” “I can ride fast. I’ll go first light.” Leowyn says. “Everything else will have to wait.” Camthalion nods. “I’ll stay with him.” He turns to Rubb. “Innkeeper, we have coin. But I would like to know if there are other ways we can support, to reduce the cost, before we expend every single one of our coins.” Rubb nods. “We’ll work something out.”
By first light, Leowyn will leave on horseback. This night’s meal and lodging (separate room) will be payed normally, when I continue with Camthalion, I’ll consider the various options.
Day 14-15, Hithui, Overnight
The weather (12) is freezing, overcast, and the wind becomes a breeze The weather (12) is freezing, overcast, and the wind becomes windy The weather (12) is freezing, overcast, and the wind becomes a breeze Right before dawn, the weather (13) is cool, the clouds clear, and the wind becomes windy
Q: Does anything unexpected happen overnight (Unlikely) A: Intervention: Entity Positive, Yes, and it’s something good for someone. Maybe Leddon returns alive. Q: Does Leddon return alive? (Likely) A: Yes.
As Leowyn goes to the Grumms, to ready up her horse to leave in the morning, she can’t help but notice the huge smile on their faces. “Is everything alright?” She asks Bura. “More than alright! My boy! He’s returned! Alive! He was rescued by a company of folks like you. Adventurers! You may not have found him, but I thank you nonetheless for your efforts. I will do my best to take care of the stout dwarf as long as you are here. A day of joy!” Bura tells her, tears of joy running down her streaks. The warmth of her happiness filling the room, and for a second Leowyn forgot they’re in the middle of winter. “That’s great news.” She says. “I am really happy for you!”
I’ll do some bookkeeping now, before splitting the adventure into two parts.
Bookkeeping
Name
Days Rations
Camthalion
3
Dwalin
3
Leowyn
5
Arrows: Camthalion is at 36+3 arrows, Leowyn is at 35 arrows (forgot to bookkeep in last session).
Criticals Received
EP
Camthalion
0
Dwalin
200
Leowyn
0
Travel Points
EP
Camthalion
80
Dwalin
80
Leowyn
80
Non-Idea EP Total
EP
Camthalion
80
Dwalin
280
Leowyn
80
I’ll give the entire part half the total as idea points. 440 EP total, 145 each.
Summing up, from previous session.
Name
Experience Points
Camthalion
3713 EP
Dwalin
5666 EP
Leowyn
2914 EP
Money: The party pool is 9sp, 3bp, 6cp and 9tp.
Hit Points: Dwalin is at full hit points, Leowyn is at full hit points, Camthalion is at full hit points.
Session Summary
I did not see that coming! A great example of the deadliness of MERP. At first I had done a mistake and hadn’t calculated the -10 of the B critical, so Dwalin would have been dead, with completely different results to the party structure. Now there’s hope, and a new story thread has evolved. Now as far as my three major choices.
The magical items. In a regular ttrpg, the GM would have described the items, and the players would have acted accordingly. They would need a proper identification, to know the properties first. This is solo, and a pre-written adventure. I made it easier to find what it was about, which makes sense since a magical item would look better than the other tarnished weapons in the pile. So of all the weapons, the party only failed to identify one broadsword, and left it back in the pile.
The trap being a B critical. I tried to be in line with the feeling of the adventure. In the same floor there was a trap on the secret room, that gave a B Fire critical to anyone not uttering the words engraved. Luckily my party missed the room altogether, but this gave me a good idea of what the authors had in mind. I did not give Dwalin a chance to avoid the trap, but it was a ‘bolt out of the blue’ so I felt that I shouldn’t.
Ledon’s return. It felt right. Entity positive. There are other groups looking for the same reward. It gives the feeling of a living world, and closes up the thread. For my next session I will follow the footsteps of Leowyn as she travels to a major city to sell the manuscripts and find a healer and get him back. Once that is done, I will switch back to Camthalion for the set time period it took Leowyn to (hopefully) succeed to her task. Since I wanted to get back to my other d100 systems I do not know if this is a good time to do a quick switch over to Harnmaster or Mythras. I know that Harnmaster has a mounted combat specific section for combat. Mythras covers mounted combat as well. MERP, not so. Let’s not forget that Leowyn is a Rohirim shield maiden, a rider. I will sit on it.
With this post, I’ve reached my photos backlog with up to date paintings. This means that I will be only able to post miniatures posts as I paint them, and it will take longer.
Here are 4 big ones in 15mm. An Ogre, a Troll, and two Minotaurs. These are from the Ral Partha Europe Demonworld range.
Painting the squares on the Ogre pants was hard, but I really enjoyed the end result and it goes well with the stripes.
For the troll, I did something I hadn’t done before. Instead of painting it green directly, I gave it a light blue basecoat, followed by a yellow ink once dry. My yellow ink is transparent and weak in pigment, so I had this beautiful green as a result, with yellowed parts.
I tried to do something similar with the Minotaurs, using red ink over yellow ochre, hence the evil demonic look.
Finding halflings in 15mm in Europe is not a very easy task. I have found only 2 vendors so far. I decided to try my luck with Irregular Miniatures and I wasn’t disappointed.
Village Event: Herbs are blooming. Pay Upkeep: -1 Gold Restock Ammunition: Since I fielded 3 Ranged Weapons, -1 Gold. Healing Up: Rudiger RT, reduced to 0. Carry Out Activities: Forage for Herbs: (Roving Wanderer): No herbs found. Just the one from Herbs are blooming. 1 Medicine Herb. Track: Managed to locate signs of the enemy. Study (Evie): Dodge Skill. Where are we going?: Go Adventuring Sell Unwanted Gear: Selling all damaged items for 4 Gold total. Trade: War Spear (Bought, Bruno), Rare Item: Fine Full Armor (not bought). Outfit for Adventure: Ready Recruit Some Villagers: None
Go Adventuring: Combat Encounter: Outlaws: Desperate Mob: Encounter While Travelling: 7 Mobsters: Enemy Leadership: No Leadership Presence: Personality: Heretic Deploying Figures: 17″, 3 groups, 6″ apart Seize the Initiative: Seized Fight It Out. Table Theme: Near a Farm House Battle Objective: Scout Oddities: Gloom (Still Seized Initiative)
The Wardens, 9 strong, are celebrating the return of Rudiger in action. The hardened veteran is ready to get back to combat. As they empty another flagon of ale, Evie feels a tug to her cloak.
She turns around and sees a young child, fear in her eyes. “Dear lady, we need your help. Some evil men came to our farm. They wanted our belongings. My mother kicked them out, but they returned, more of them. One of them looks crazy. Screaming some unknown rites. My mother is barred inside, can you help us. Please?”
The child needn’t say more. Evie stood up. “Wardens we have work to do. The sun is setting, but these people need our help.”
She heads out, and the rest of the warband follows without hesitation.
The Fight
Swiftly, Evie guides them through the woods, behind the hills, outside of the line of sight of the enemy. They advance quickly. She sees three groups of ragged people coming towards the farm. She splits the warband in three groups as well. Frans and Alida head towards the orchard and the farm house to see if the girl’s mother is still inside.
Evie, Ardus and the Roving Wanderer take the hill towards the pond where one mob is approaching, while Bruno, Rudiger, Wigmar and Gustav head to the side to meet with the other mob.
Under the gloom, the enemy is taken by surprise. Despite the lack of visibility, Evie’s arrows find their target and the first mobster falls.
“There they are! Sacrifice them! Kill them! Smear their blood on you and we shall ascend!” One man shouts as he holds up a severed head. Taking the opportunity, the Roving Wanderer, shoots at the man. The arrow finds him between the eyes, and he drops dead. To the Warden’s surprise the enemy doesn’t disperse at the death of their leader, but instead they push on with renewed vigor!
Joing in melee combat Ardus kicks back one mobster, while Rudiger does the same in the other side of the farm house.
The push back isn’t enough, and soon Ardus is surrounded. One hit after the other, he parries as many blows as he can, but finally, he is overcome, and a blow brings him down.
Alida checks the orchard, it’s empty. Frans checks the farm house, and the door is still locked. Most likely the mob hasn’t managed to get inside yet.
Alida moves further to the fence, to get an opportunity to shoot his crossbow to the enemy, but as he does, he is attacked by a crazy mobster. He manages to push him back, and they both stand behind the orchard fence looking at each other from a small distance.
Rudiger bashes at the mobster with his shield, pushing him back, while Bruno extends his spear, and the enemy holds off. The war spear allows him to take advantage of the situation, and as a second mobster comes for him, Bruno thrusts him, the spearhead coming from the other side. Another mobster is dead.
Alida aims and shoots the mobster looking at him from the other side of the fence, but the crossbow bolt, doesn’t eliminate his enemy, despite finding it’s target.
Evie and the Roving Wanderer shoot a hail of arrows at the gang that surrounded Ardus, and kill the lot of them.
The mobsters behind the farm house try another charge at Rudiger and Bruno, but they’re no match for their skill, and soon the enemy perishes.
The last mobster, wounded by the crossbow bolt, lets off a war cry and jumps over the fence. Alida stuns him with the butt of his crossbow and rebounds with a dagger thrust between the ribs, ending the fight.
The Wardens close in on their fallen friend. Frans tries his healing touch, but he can’t save Ardus. His luck seems to have run out. The warrior would be dead if it wasn’t for Evie. She brings out her medical herbs from her bag, and quickly stops the bleeding. Ardus is saved. The wound is serious and he will need to stay a long time in the village to recover.
Alida checks the farm house. “Madam? Will you come out please? The threat is no more. Your daughter sent us to save you.”
The door is unbarred, and the woman comes out. “I can’t thank you enough. If there’s ever anything I can do, let me know. I owe you.”
“Thank your daughter. We just did our duty.” Alida says with a smile.
The Wardens gather whatever they can find from the enemy, and return back to Eerfeld.
Everything seems quieter now.
Session Summary
This fight ended quickly. I think that my warband is at such strength that only a strong enemy can be dangerous. I’m on a good roll to clean up the village of Eerfeld.
Writing out these blog reports starts to become repetitive, and I’m afraid that I might become burned out. I really enjoy the game, but writing out every single movement and capturing every single event in a photo is no longer that fun. I will switch to a more high level style of blog posts, and maybe gather them all in a Journal style format. I’ll try doing that, maybe retrospectively, for the previous sessions to see how it works out.
My only 5 resin miniatures are the Security Force Alpha (SFA) from the Hordes of Future (HOF) range of Alternative Armies. Very clean sculpts, but I miss the weight of pewter minis.
SFA Sergeant SFA Trooper with gunSFA Trooper with gunSFA Trooper with gun SFA Trooper with gun
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