I began investing serious time into tabletop roleplaying games around 5 years ago when some friends decided we were going to get into Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition. Boy did we invest, because for the first two or so years we had twice weekly sessions that would last for about 4 or 5 hours - even sometimes extending to a third day if our schedules could work it in. Sadly, those were the easy times and as with all easy times it seems they've gone. We played weekly for another 2 years and then in the 5th years we sort of tapered off, often meeting once a month, or just when this or that person had time. Now into my almost 6th year of roleplaying game veterancy I have no group and my schedule barely, if it all, allows for things like a Play-By-Post game, but that is just part of growing up. Luckily though that isn't the sad end to the story.
Fast forward to about 2 months ago and I discover solo roleplaying. A sort of arcane art where you roll on various tables, apply them to your system of choice, and then document what you're doing to produce a one man show. It has enraptured me, quite honestly and now I spend most of my free time reading new blogs that I discover daily, researching new systems to explore and hack mechanics out of, and dreaming of new dungeons, kingdoms, or universes that I could design and explore - or even better gleefully share with others in the community. Reddit has been a huge help - initially finding the subreddit r/Solo_Roleplaying. I'd not managed to keep up with any trends in tabletop RPGs as my group was fairly set on D&D 5e and wasn't really interesting in moving, even though I had tried many times. Reading up in the subreddit led me to eventually come to grips with both the concept of solo roleplaying and the greater Old School Renaissance movement.
OSR, in the most layman's of terms, could be described as an effort to emulate or in some cases straight up clone the initial efforts of the Tabletop Titans we have built on for 5 decades. I have no nostalgia for the classics as I wasn't around for them, I didn't have older siblings or family members (save for an uncle) that played them, and I was never shown the ways of death at the hands of a devious dungeon master. Instead I came at the movement from an interest in the mechanics. Somewhere along the line in my play we drifted more into a video game mindset and played our game as we would a video game, which I found enjoyable - but I now find myself seeking a more authentic feel and a broader mechanical depth.
As I don't have a solid group or really the time for a solid group I find myself lingering on about how to get into and invest in solo play options, and thus far my attempts have sadly floundered. I've found more fun in the world building, dungeon creation, and the reading/dissection of the rulesets than I have in the actual play of the game - and that's okay. I might never actually play a game, but I will enjoy building worlds and dungeons and sharing them.
Finally, that is why I am here. I hope to share with the community my interests and takes, as well as my worlds as I build them. I hope I can provide an interesting prospective or be able to lend a helping hand in the community. So I hope in some way I can give back.
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