This is not the first TTRPG, nor the first indie TTRPG, I ever played, but it was probably the one that really cracked it all open for me. Although a pretty simple solo journaling game, something about it just worked for me, and shortly after playing it I found myself with a fully fleshed out world of mechas named after Greek mythology, space pirates, and a pilot trying to figure out their strange connection to their mecha.
The game itself is spare, only a cover page and a single page of rules, but those rules primed me for some serious creativity. The central premise is that you're a mecha pilot who will die at the end of a 24/32-episode anime, and the primary mechanic of the game has you roll a d6 to determine how many episodes further into the show you proceed. You start on episode 1, journal what happens to you, then jump forward by however much you roll on a d6. You could finish the whole game in 4-6 rolls if you got (un)lucky, but on average you're looking at something more like 7-9 rolls. This kind of sporadic progress through the artificial arc of a set episode count really challenges your ability to fill in the blanks in between what you explicitly see/write, which was something that I really enjoyed about it.
If I have any criticism of the game, it's that it really relies on you already knowing the tropes of mecha anime since its framework is so spare and simple. It certainly made it a little difficult for me, someone who isn't super well-versed in the genre, but solo journaling games like this have helped me start to let go of the idea that things have to be 'correct' or 'perfect' or even 'all that good' for me to still get enjoyment out of them. I salute you, plot ARMOR, for your service to the hobby.
Well really its just one page since one of those is the cover. At first I was outraged but the prompts are fairly good, but for the price it should have a lot more content. I'd also say its more of a creative writing prompt excerise than an rp. Its not bad but it does feel over priced
Nice! Great style, thanks for recommending this podcast. It's basically a guy doing live improv during one of the breaks from their regular rpg campaign, while someone off-mic offers feedback and a listening ear.
Just for fun, here's my #SHOCtober actual play of plot Armor. Of course, I took a few liberties with the rules such as time and scale, but I'm happy with the results. The Flesh Within
As a member of the Lonewolf solo RPG group on MeWe and r/Solo_Roleplaying on Reddit, sharing a solo play-thru happens more than you think. Gotta love technology. :-)
Haha, my bad! I assumed you didn't realize it was singleplayer. That's pretty cool, I never would've thought that was an active community. I'll have to check some of your stuff out.
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This is not the first TTRPG, nor the first indie TTRPG, I ever played, but it was probably the one that really cracked it all open for me. Although a pretty simple solo journaling game, something about it just worked for me, and shortly after playing it I found myself with a fully fleshed out world of mechas named after Greek mythology, space pirates, and a pilot trying to figure out their strange connection to their mecha.
The game itself is spare, only a cover page and a single page of rules, but those rules primed me for some serious creativity. The central premise is that you're a mecha pilot who will die at the end of a 24/32-episode anime, and the primary mechanic of the game has you roll a d6 to determine how many episodes further into the show you proceed. You start on episode 1, journal what happens to you, then jump forward by however much you roll on a d6. You could finish the whole game in 4-6 rolls if you got (un)lucky, but on average you're looking at something more like 7-9 rolls. This kind of sporadic progress through the artificial arc of a set episode count really challenges your ability to fill in the blanks in between what you explicitly see/write, which was something that I really enjoyed about it.
If I have any criticism of the game, it's that it really relies on you already knowing the tropes of mecha anime since its framework is so spare and simple. It certainly made it a little difficult for me, someone who isn't super well-versed in the genre, but solo journaling games like this have helped me start to let go of the idea that things have to be 'correct' or 'perfect' or even 'all that good' for me to still get enjoyment out of them. I salute you, plot ARMOR, for your service to the hobby.
This game looks cool from what I've seen but I cannot justify spending $7 for two pages.
Well really its just one page since one of those is the cover. At first I was outraged but the prompts are fairly good, but for the price it should have a lot more content. I'd also say its more of a creative writing prompt excerise than an rp. Its not bad but it does feel over priced
I think i am missing something, cuz the pdf is only a page long and has no actual rules within?
Loved this game. It opened up my mind to a lot of possibilities in ways to approach roleplaying.
Love it. Might actually try out a journal game because of this.
It’s good. I solid recommend.
Great game. Loved the concept. Highly recommended.
okay.
Hey I’m joining can I be admin
Join the Party just ran it on their feed!
https://www.jointhepartypod.com/listen/armor-party
Nice! Great style, thanks for recommending this podcast. It's basically a guy doing live improv during one of the breaks from their regular rpg campaign, while someone off-mic offers feedback and a listening ear.
Just for fun, here's my #SHOCtober actual play of plot Armor. Of course, I took a few liberties with the rules such as time and scale, but I'm happy with the results.
The Flesh Within
My DA gallery of other other solo play stuff
Has anyone posted an actual play of this game?
Probably not considering it would just be them quietly writing what happens each episode. It's singleplayer.
As a member of the Lonewolf solo RPG group on MeWe and r/Solo_Roleplaying on Reddit, sharing a solo play-thru happens more than you think. Gotta love technology. :-)
Haha, my bad! I assumed you didn't realize it was singleplayer. That's pretty cool, I never would've thought that was an active community. I'll have to check some of your stuff out.
I have: https://solorpgvoyages.wordpress.com/2019/05/01/a-long-war-lets-try-out-plot-arm...
Wow, how did I miss that? Thanks for posting. Working on my own play-thru for Shocktober. :-)
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