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The GEMulator - a GM emulator with a campaign structure

A free Game Master emulator with a focus on long-term campaign play.

Download from DriveThruRPG

Version 1.1
Form fillable sheets - Download
Printer-friendly sheets - Download
Printer-friendly version (rough) - Download


Old Version
Video Overview from Geek Gamers
Tutorial playlist from Lucas Engelhardt
Version 1.0 Download

What is this?

The GEMulator is a GM emulator, that allows you to play traditional multiplayer RPGs in a freeform solo format. It's genre neutral and could even be used for narrative wargames.

The book assumes that you're already familiar with the concepts of solo play. As a new player, you'd be better off checking out something like MythicGME. It includes lots of examples and explanations.

The Campaign structure combines your Adventures into an overarching narrative with an evolving cast of characters, locations, and factions.

The Campaign Turn gives you the chance to explore your character's downtime between adventures. It also generates several random events to simulate the world around them. It's a very easy way to introduce future Adventure Hooks that already have a connection to the ongoing Campaign.

The Book of Tables has plenty of random tables to generate Campaigns and Adventures.

The Main Oracle has a detailed Yes/No table, an Approach/Intent/Theme table, and miscellaneous other tables that are convenient to have at hand.

Why did I make this?

Because I never found an emulator that did exactly what I wanted. MythicGME (first edition at the time) came the closest, so I started to tinker with it and modify it to my liking. It quickly became something that feels distinctly different to play, so I decided to write it up in a shareable format.

Who is this for?

Basically anyone who enjoys a restrictive structure in which they can explore their narrative. The Campaign Parameters and the random events during the Campaign Turn provide plenty of context to help you with interpreting any oracle answers.

You could also just use The Book of Tables as an adventure generator and ignore the rest of the emulator.

I prefer detailed/crunchy/complex (whatever you want to call them) rulesets, and the GEMulator was definitely designed with them in mind. It might be a bit overkill to use this emulator with a one page rules-light RPG.

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Comments

  1. ptrjstFebruary 19, 2023 at 8:48 AM

    I'll have a very dedicated look into this! - The intent of putting a meta approach on top of potentially any rule set is great. That would be even beneficial for non-solo gamers, when not having someone GM'ing.

    Cheers
    Peter

    ReplyDelete

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