Learning a new roleplaying game through solo play

Something a bit more in the direction of general GM advice for today. Learning the rules through solo play.

Preface 

As you can probably guess by the name of this blog, I really like solo tabletop games. Most of the time I simply play them because it's fun, but there are situations where you can use the material and experiences from these sessions in another capacity. Learning new rules is a perfect example of that.

I am planning to run a few multiplayer sessions of Traveller (specifically Mongoose 2E) and would like to share a method I use to familiarize myself with a new ruleset. This approach works with pretty much every 'traditional' RPG that has structured game phases and isn't overly focused on rules-light narrative gameplay.

Fair warning: this is much slower than simply testing a few example situations without context, but it is vastly more enjoyable (in my opinion) to play through a proper story instead.

The Concept

• Read the rules at least once
• Take note of major gameplay aspects (combat, exploration, social, vehicles, magic, etc.)
• Create a simple adventure and a new character for each aspect
• Repeat as necessary
• Use your solo adventures as a backdrop to your GM prep
  

Read the rules at least once

This should be obvious, but you should read the core book before you do anything else. Jumping right in and trying to learn 'on the fly' provokes needless misunderstandings and (in my experience) takes a lot longer than simply reading the rules upfront.

Allow yourself to absorb the most important core rules, and don't try to understand every special rule and exception at once. The most common rules will come up during your test adventures, so everything else isn't essential for your first few sessions.

Take note of major gameplay aspects

Most rulebooks will do the job for you and partition the gameplay into several distinct phases. If it doesn't, think about the typical gameplay you might encounter in the game and categorize it into groups that use the same rules. For example, there is no need for separate test adventures if social and combat encounters use the exact same rules.

Sticking with the example of Traveller, I wanted to test the following aspects

• Infantry Combat
• Vehicle Combat
• Spaceship Combat
• Social Encounters
• Psionics
  
• Exploration and Survival
• Trade

This may seem like a lot but keep in mind that I only plan to run a short self-contained adventure focused on each aspect. Simultaneously, it allows me to create several characters, which should make me confident enough to run my players through character creation later down the line.

Create a simple adventure and a new character for each aspect

Pick your GME of choice (I use the GEMulator) and generate a simple adventure for each gameplay aspect. Creating a new character for each adventure allows you to familiarize yourself with the process.

There will be major overlap in the actual gameplay, but you should try to really focus on the specific rules of the aspect you are currently testing. If you're testing spaceship combat, don't spend a lot of scenes interacting with the crew. Most of the action should be about fighting other ships.

Repeat as necessary

Are there some aspects of the rules you still have trouble with? Re-read the relevant rules and play another adventure focusing on that aspect.

Repeat this process until you feel confident to explain the rules to other people and to improvise within the restrictive framework presented by the rules.

Use your solo adventures as a backdrop to your GM prep

It would be a shame to ignore all the stories you have created through your various solo adventures. Use them as background lore for your multiplayer sessions!

Your former PCs could be NPCs that your group may encounter, and their escapades may have become legends told in taverns throughout the area.

Did you randomly generate a location for your solo adventures? Use it for your GM prep! If it has enough detail to allow solo play, it probably has enough detail for multiplayer sessions.

Your players may not know (or care) about the origin of these lore details, but being a GM is all about the little things. Do whatever makes your prep and GM-ing more enjoyable!