Play Solo RPGs and become a better player

Become a player everyone loves to play with. | The Lone Toad

Sep 19, 2025

Self-improvement is an important part of life, and that should extend to our hobbies. It may seem like playing in an RPG is just something you do, but it’s also something you can get better at.

What is a ‘good’ RPG player? It’s hard to define, but in my opinion, as an occasional GM, a good player is someone who contributes to the story, who lets other players shine and whose character grows with time.

‘But Mr. Croaker, how can solo RPGs help make me a better RPG player? That seems impossible?”

Well, recurring voice in my head, just read on to find out!

red dragon action figure on table — Other people are sometimes fun! Photo by Clint Bustrillos on Unsplash

Character Narrative Arcs

Like people, RPG characters shouldn’t be static. If you watch any good movie or TV show, the main characters grow or change in some way. It isn’t always in good ways (See Breaking Bad), but a character should not be static.

In solo RPGs, we have a ton of opportunities for character growth. In a game like Ironsworn, character growth is a main component of the game. So, as you are playing solo RPGs take note of the following times your character grows and think about implementing that into your next group game.

When your character accomplishes something great: How does it change them? Do they react in a positive way or does it go to their head?
When your character helps or fails someone: Does it change how they will help people in the future? Will they be more likely to help or less likely?
When your character gains a new skill or power: New skills or powers should just be tools on your character sheet. If your character learns a new spell or talent, how does it change their character?

Failing Forward

Failing is hard. Trust me, I’ve done it a whole lot. But it’s a fact of life and a fact of RPGs. No matter how many dice you have in your dice pool. No matter how high your modifier is. No matter how low the target number is. Your character will fail, from time to time.

Now, traditionally, when you roll a miss, you just shrug your shoulders and pass the turn to the next player, but in solo RPGs, you can’t do that because there is no next player. Additionally, many solo RPGs have mechanics for when you miss or even have ‘weak hit’ mechanics.

Take the lessons you've learned from your solo RPGs and apply them to your traditional games. When you miss, make it a dramatic miss. When you get hit, describe how you go flying backward into a dumpster. Failures create the most exciting parts of solo RPGs, so bring that to your group.

man in blue t-shirt and blue denim shorts sitting on concrete stairs during daytime — When you fail your ‘walking down staris’ roll, make it look good. Photo by Sander Sammy on Unsplash

Creative Solutions

Not every situation needs to end up in a fight, but when you're playing a combat-first game (you know, one of those games with ‘four pillars of play’ but 90% of the rules are devoted to fighting), you often find your party defaulting to combat.

Well, bring in some of your fancy solo RPG experiences. Lots of solo RPGs have a focus that isn’t combat. Even in an action-oriented game like Starforged, there is combat, but it isn’t always about defeating your enemy.

So, when your party starts unholstering their guns because an NPC looked at them wrong, maybe suggest some ideas that don’t involve a shoot-out in the streets.

a person sitting on a stool with a leather belt — He looked at me funny, so now we have to fight. Photo by Jon Sailer on Unsplash

Co-Gming

Some RPGs and some GMs enjoy a bit of co-GMing. What is co-gming? It’s the concept where not all the GMing or storytelling is on the shoulders of the GM. Some systems, like Powered-by-the-Apocalypse (PBTA) based ones, thrive on this shared storytelling.

The good thing is with all the skills you’ve learnt playing solo RPGs, you won’t be stumped when the GM springs a question onto you about the relationships between elves and humans in the world or if the alien Quuaran species can breathe under water. You’ll be prepared (hopefully).