Solo RPG quests you can play in your browser tonight
A solo RPG lets you play a role-playing adventure alone, without a game master. Text RPG quests in the browser are the quickest way in. Here is what to expect and how to choose a hero.
A solo RPG is a role-playing adventure you play alone, with no game master and no group to schedule. The quickest way to play one is a text RPG quest in your browser: the quest is the game master, it describes each scene, offers choices, rolls the dice and remembers what you did. On Lantern Saga a quest takes about an hour and needs nothing but a browser.
What does the game master's job look like here?
At a table, a game master describes the world, plays everyone you meet, calls for rolls and keeps track of consequences. In a text RPG quest:
- The scenes are the description, written as prose.
- The characters you meet speak in their own voices, and remember how you treated them.
- The checks are the calls for rolls, with the target shown.
- The flags, items and gold are the bookkeeping, kept for you.
Which hero should I choose?
Each hero has three stats and a perk. The ready-made heroes are a good start:
- Warrior (Might 4, Wits 2, Charm 2, perk Tough: +3 health). Best when you like to go through the door.
- Rogue (Might 2, Wits 4, Charm 2, perk Lucky: one reroll per quest). Best at noticing, searching and outthinking.
- Bard (Might 2, Wits 2, Charm 4, perk Silver Tongue: Charm checks are easier). Best at talking people round, including enemies.
Adventurers can also build their own hero: spread the points, pick any perk, and carry legacy perks earned by finishing other quests.
Which difficulty should I play?
- Story if you want the tale above all: lower targets, gentler enemies.
- Normal as written. Most players start here.
- Hard for real risk: higher targets and harder hits. Every quest is tested to stay fair on Hard, but it will cost you.
How do I get the most out of a solo session?
- Read slowly. Details in the prose are clues: the wet rope, the third bowl at supper.
- Play the character. Choose what your hero would do, not what seems safest. Failures are often the most interesting branches.
- Play it twice. With two to four endings per quest, the second run with a different hero often feels like a different story.
Questions
Can I pause and come back later?
Yes. The game saves as you play, and your saves follow your account to any device.
Is a solo RPG lonely?
Less than you would think: the characters in a well-written quest have voices and memories. And if you want company, Storytellers on Lantern Saga write quests to share with friends.
Do I need to know tabletop rules?
No. The rules fit in a paragraph (two dice plus a stat against 7, 9 or 11), and the game shows every roll.
More guides
- A story as a gift: making a personal quest for a friendA personal quest, full of the people and places someone knows, is a gift they can play. Here is how to write one in an evening and send it on the day.
- How to create your own text adventure (without writing code)You can make a playable text adventure from a story told in plain words. Here is what to put in your story so it becomes a good quest, and what the forge on Lantern Saga does with it.
- Gamebooks, text adventures and interactive fiction: what's the difference?Gamebooks, parser text adventures, choice-based interactive fiction and text RPGs all tell stories you play. Here is what sets each apart, and what modern text RPGs keep from each.