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It's Fun to Go Alone - Top 10 Solo RPGs

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Video Overview: “It’s Fun to Go Alone” — Top 10 Solo RPGs (Dungeon Dive)

This video is a ranked Top 10 list of tabletop RPGs that are either:

  • Built for solo play, or
  • Include official, game-specific solo rules

The host explicitly avoids:

  • Games that require stitching together generic solo engines/rules
  • “Pure dungeon crawl” titles (e.g., 4 Against Darkness, D100 Dungeon)

The emphasis is on solo RPG experiences across fantasy, sci-fi, and horror, including:

  • Combat
  • Exploration
  • Survival
  • Journaling/mystery play

#10 — Dragon Bane (Free League Publishing; author: Thomas Harren)

Storyline/structure: Missions in a solo supplement help you run adventure arcs, and the game’s world content can inspire additional solo scenarios.

Gameplay highlights:

  • Huge box set value: dice, cardboard standees, maps, decks, pre-generated characters
  • D20 “roll low” resolution system (skill/target checks)
  • Solo rules supplement with:
    • power/survival/randomization tables
    • mission framework
  • Bestiary includes randomized monster attack charts (useful for solo improv)
  • Features duck player characters (especially “awesome,” per the host)

Strategies / key tips:

  • Run the included solo missions first to learn the flow
  • Then use maps/charts to generate your own missions

Potential issue noted:

  • Solo rules are not as robust as some other entries, but are solid as a foundation

#9 — Downcrawl (author: Aaron A. Reed)

Storyline/structure: A procedurally generated, step-driven journey using “moves” for every stage (travel, NPCs, settlements, encounters).

Gameplay highlights:

  • Strong focus on generating bizarre, otherworldly worlds and encounters
  • Structured moves system: each situation has step-by-step procedures and outcomes
  • Lots of tables for locations, denizens, and NPCs
  • Survival-like play (e.g., exploration and collecting fungi; “fungal farmer” vibes)
  • Designed for solo and co-op (co-op also without a GM)

Strategies / key tips:

  • Use recommended card decks (worldbuilding/oracle cards) for on-the-fly generation

Potential issues noted:

  • Can feel daunting for complete beginners
  • Core premise is world/adventure generation; rules may feel too simple without add-ons

#8 — Heroes of Ceruvia (author: Lucas Faulk)

Storyline/structure: A Zelda-like quest with a clear beginning, middle, and end:

  • Collect three pieces of the trinity
  • Unlock the final castle
  • Defeat the boss

Gameplay highlights:

  • “Video-game logic” flavor (repetitive NPC dialogue like retro RPGs)
  • Small sandbox feel with random dungeons, but a clear overall mission objective
  • No solo rules in the book; solo rules are available via DriveThruRPG
  • Solo setup starts the hero stronger
  • Extensive solo-friendly charts for:
    • talking to inhabitants
    • generating dungeons/room sizes/puzzle difficulty
    • boss and miniboss creation
    • overworld exploration between dungeons
  • Includes sample dungeons and modular add-on PDFs

Strategies / key tips:

  • The “triptych to final castle” structure answers the “what am I working toward?” question

Potential issue noted:

  • Some lack of variety may reduce long-term replay unless you add tables/modules

#7 — Little Town (author: Gustavo Quo)

Storyline/structure: Twin Peaks–style paranormal investigation and mystery. Random prompts guide how you pursue clues toward a satisfying conclusion.

Gameplay highlights:

  • Strong theme: paranormal investigation with Twin Peaks vibes
  • Card-based “moves” combining rules + narrative outcomes
  • Not “Clue”-style; instead you spend/find clues to shape story progress
  • Journaling + mechanics:
    • stat/resource tracking
    • 2d6 tables
    • sometimes card-drawn prompts
  • Supplements shift tone:
    • Eldrich Town (Lovecraft/Cthulhu-style investigation)
    • Eerie Town (X-Files–like FBI cryptid/UFO investigations)
    • a town gazette with places and NPCs

Strategies / key tips:

  • No need for extensive journaling—keywords and short notes can be enough

Potential issue noted:

  • Some people dislike journaling games; this one uses journaling but isn’t purely creative writing

#6 — Broken Shores (Black Oath Entertainment; author: Alex T.)

Storyline/structure: Nautical fantasy apocalypse: the world is flooded. You escape cult capture, then survive and explore a raft-and-hex-crawl world.

Gameplay highlights:

  • Survival, crafting, hex crawling, and dungeon delving procedures
  • D100 roll-low skill system (percentage chances)
  • Classless character creation with background generators
  • Strong tone: deranged cults, malevolent gods, dark sorcery, weird tech
  • Scales between exploration and combat with a solo-first approach

Strategies / key tips:

  • Use the downloadable cheat sheet to make step-by-step procedures easier
  • Consider house rules to reduce survival pressure if it forces one “optimal” build

Potential issue noted:

  • Survival difficulty may make certain skills/talents feel mandatory, limiting variety

#5 — Fallen (From Perplexing Ruins; author: Perplexing Ruins team implied; art: Alan)

Storyline/structure: Faux-Victorian hammer-horror investigation with fog, cobblestones, cornfields, leather coats, etc.

Gameplay highlights:

  • Atmosphere is the main strength (Bloodborne / plague zombie / WWI-ish monster-hunt vibes)
  • Compact (~42 pages) but dense
  • Simple resolution:
    • roll 2d6 + modifiers
    • 10+ complete success
    • 7–9 success with complication
    • 6 or lower miss
  • Skills function like “moves” with distinct narrative outcomes (success/complication/miss)
  • Solo oracle sheet included
  • Point-crawl structure for wilderness/interior/dungeon exploration
  • Heavy on-the-fly generation: icon/mcGuffin generators, creatures, etc.
  • Supports hex/dungeon workflows via companion sheets (“Perplexing Ruins solo gameplay sheets”)

Strategies / key tips:

  • Pair with regional/terrain supplements (e.g., Tattered Leaves for forests; Hillgr for urban conspiracies)

Potential issue noted:

  • Reprint/edition timing: host suggests waiting for a possible second edition crowdfunding, but notes the first edition is solid if a physical reprint arrives sooner

#4 — The Unseen World (author: Thomas P. King)

Storyline/structure: Horror/paranormal investigator enters a town to uncover and work through randomized hauntings—a mystery with definite beginning, middle, and end, ending at the final location.

Gameplay highlights:

  • Horror tone compared to J-horror/Korean horror (e.g., The Ring, The Grudge)
  • Also described as similar to Silent Hill / Fatal Frame
  • Journaling required more than pure prompts (both mechanical and narrative use)
  • Deck-based resolution for outcomes/conflicts; can “swap out cards” as the character improves
  • Standard poker deck outcomes with improved cards as progression
  • “Money loop”:
    • gain money after each mystery
    • spend on recording gear (EVP/audio/video tools)
    • invest in writing blog posts/book chapters (adding realism to the fantastical setting)

Strategies / key tips:

  • Lean into the investment systems (gear + published write-ups) for deeper immersion

Potential issue noted:

  • Host wants the investment/gear/blog/documentary elements more fully fleshed out with fuller mechanics

#3 — Space Aces: Voyages in Infinite Space (Stephven Hans)

Storyline/structure: Explore a huge galaxy from a central hub (Starbase 42). Travel includes random encounters, missions, and dungeon-like dives.

Gameplay highlights:

  • “Wacky Saturday morning” sci-fi tone—comedy sci-fi fans (e.g., Hitchhiker’s Guide, Cowboy Bebop) may enjoy it
  • Extremely simple stats: ships and characters have almost no stats
  • Resolution system:
    • d20 target number system (easy → epic)
    • complication die (d6): 1–2 bad, 5–6 benefit
    • heat level increases peril as danger rises
  • Travel/exploration uses “pressure luck” d6 mechanics:
    • avoid “busting” thresholds (higher rolls become worse)
    • bust triggers really bad outcomes
  • Includes ship creation, space combat, ruins/dungeons—kept intentionally simple
  • Massive content via an atlas-like structure:
    • two-page spreads for planets/stars, with random encounters, finds, missions, and local trouble
  • Loot and encounter tables (including D20 captains table and D120 mission table)

Strategies / key tips:

  • Embrace simplicity (the host warns it may feel confusing at first, but doesn’t block fun)

Potential issue noted:

  • Simplicity can be confusing until you internalize how it works

#2 — Morborg (Pel Nielson)

Storyline/structure: “Weird black metal chaotic evil” campaign-adventure in a highly modular way; solo play is supported through custom rules resources.

Gameplay highlights:

  • Fast, immediate gameplay:
    • d20 meet/beat target rolls
  • Solo support:
    • Morborg doesn’t include built-in solo rules, but custom solitary defilement rules work great
    • in the spirit of Iron Sworn-style moves, but simpler
  • Solitary Defilement includes:
    • dungeon/wilderness exploration moves
    • beginning/end adventure complication procedures
    • oracles
    • urban/settlement (“alone in the crowd”) support
    • solo adventures
  • Additional support books:
    • Ferriator (bestiary + wilderness/random encounter tools)
    • Solitary Depths (expands the solo system)
  • Big selling point: generous third-party licensing → lots of community supplements
  • Characters can be “squishy” and easy to generate (scum generator / web tool)

Strategies / key tips:

  • Use modules/supplements as needed—even non-solo supplements still provide charts/monsters/locations

Potential issue noted:

  • Graphic design/typography can be polarizing; some may find it unreadable or headache-inducing

#1 — Scarlet Heroes (Kevin Crawford)

Storyline/structure: Sword-and-sorcery solo adventures in a dedicated setting (Red Tide), built around strong heroic protagonists and solo-first mechanics.

Gameplay highlights:

  • The host’s “this made solo RPGs click” pick
  • All-in-one solution: solo oracles/rules included in the book
  • Built for:
    • solo hero with no GM (explicitly supported)
    • one GM + one hero play
  • Strong power fantasy focus:
    • heroes are capable and relatively survivable (genre expectation)
  • Urban adventure handling:
    • scene setup
    • clue-finding procedures to ensure you always know “what to do next”
    • crime/criminal generation rules
  • Wilderness and dungeon tools:
    • terrain features
    • hex crawling/events
    • dungeon generation (size, layouts, rooms)
  • Adventure tag system:
    • pick tags like “Brutal terrain” to generate enemies/complications/locations
  • Combat scales cleanly solo:
    • Frey die for efficient damage resolution
    • hit point method derived from hit dice without rolling them
  • Oracles and NPC/character generation charts highlighted as key solo supports

Strategies / key tips:

  • Use adventure tags to theme your campaign quickly (terrain intelligence/malevolence, enemy types, complications, etc.)
  • Substitute bestiaries if you don’t want Red Tide’s more exotic monster ecosystem

Potential issue noted:

  • Setting preference: Red Tide’s pan-Asian fusion inspiration may not appeal to everyone
  • If you don’t have matching exotic bestiary monsters, OSR bestiaries can replace them seamlessly
  • Minor aesthetic complaint: host wants a better front cover / future edition cover

Gamers / Sources Featured (as named at end)

  • Daniel (Dungeon Dive host)
  • Thomas Harren (Dragon Bane)
  • Aaron A. Reed (Downcrawl)
  • Lucas Faulk (Heroes of Ceruvia)
  • Gustavo Quo (Little Town)
  • Black Oath Entertainment (publisher/team for Broken Shores) and Alex T. (author referenced for Broken Shores)
  • Stephven Hans (Space Aces: Voyages in Infinite Space)
  • Pel Nielson (Morborg)
  • Kevin Crawford (Scarlet Heroes)
  • Thomas P. King (The Unseen World)
  • Perplexing Ruins (publisher/creator for Fallen; Alan mentioned for art)
  • Kaips (author of Tattered Leaves supplement, mentioned)
  • Max Moon (associated with “Solitary Defilement” lineage; referenced)
  • DriveThruRPG (solo rules, decks, supplements, PDFs)
  • Dungeon Dive Patreon / Dungeon Dive Quest forum (community support sources)
  • Tublic (merch source)
  • lulu.com (printing option mentioned for custom PDFs)

No additional individual “gamer” interviews/player spotlights are presented—these names are authors/creators and referenced sources.

Original video