Bivius Solo RPG

October 2016 by Riccardo Fregi

Solo roleplaying constitutes a particular niche in the gaming world, many games of this type have come out in recent years.

To play a solo RPG you need a solo rule system and a tabletop RPG of your choice. After playing with many different systems I've found that I prefer very simple rules, this helps me focus on the story and characters, and I do not need to print a lot of material or bring with me too many files.

Recently I wondered what could be the minimum necessary for a solo role play .... flip a coin and write a story?

I said it is ridiculous, too casual and largely ineffective, the challenges will be too trivial and then how I would find the inspiration to continue an adventure?

Meanwhile, however, I kept thinking it would have been interesting to have such a simple game to learn it by heart and play with it forever, a game that did not require any particular type of dice or deck of cards or many tables.

If you, like me, want a game that is extremely simple but that includes both the Solo Rules and the RPG, an auxiliary system to play when you do not have time or space to use more conventional RPGs, here it is.

The name is Bivius Solo RPG, it has 8 rules. I could not do anything simpler than this that works for me and I find it surprisingly fun.

If you have some solo role-playing experience maybe it is worth a try.

What you need to play

* BIVIUS RPG rules
* writing tools
* a binary "something"

Rule 1: Make Even or Odd (randomizer)

You need something that has an equal chance of giving one of two possible outcomes. The good news is that the world is full of these things.

A quick search on the internet led me to discover the history of the binary dice. There are not just coins to flip but bones, shells, sumerian binary d4s, broken pottery, stick dices etc. but you can also use almost every type of dice and more. Whatever you chose it's your B.R.O. (Binary Random Oracle).

EXAMPLE:

• Dice: Every type of dice with even sides is good, you roll an even or odd number, right? It's time to use your special d30, your lucky d20 or an old teetotum (spinning dice) but always remember to roll only one dice at a time, no 2d6 or d10+d8 !
• Poker Cards: This is a great choice, red suits cards are Even and black suits cards are Odd.
• Book: Randomly select a page. What's the page number, Even or Odd?
• Coin: You toss a coin, Heads is Even and Tails is Odd

Rule 2: This is the only table you need (oracle table)

Yes, it is.

	Level	Option	Answer
Even	High	A	YES
Odd	Low	B	NO

RPG System

Rule 3: High is above average (character generation)

When you make a PC or an important NPC, remember that a character is defined by:

• Name
• High Level Stats: list everything that the character is able to do better than average (attributes, skills, advantages, profession, powers, spells etc.)
• Low Level Stats: list any ability that the character has average or below average (attributes, skills, advantages, profession, powers, spells etc.)
• Data: add everything else you want to remember about the character (story, personality, goals, special equipment, flaws, age, friends, etc.)

You can make your character from scratch, or you can convert a character created with another RPG. If you can easily remember the average level used in the rules of the original RPG then no convertion is even necessary, you can use the original character sheet!

Rule 4: You always face a threat (difficulty)

When a character wants or is forced to use his stats to pass a skill check or a conflict (e.g. a combat) you would usually assess the situation, calculating modifiers, consult tables, considering various factors (equipment, environment, etc.) and finally you can settle the difficulty of the test. At the end of the process you always have a single percentage chance of success.

In Bivius Solo RPG you use the reverse process, there is no difference between skill check and contest.

To calculate the threat level you use the B.R.O. and refer to the Level column of the table.

Now describe the factors that can explain why the threat level is high or low. In this way the procedure is faster and easier also the difficulty level of the test is always balanced with the abilities of the character.

Rule 5: Two rounds for equals, one for the stronger (test)

Test Between Equals (High vs High or Low vs Low):

your character corresponds to Option A the threat level corresponds to Option B it lasts 2-3 rounds

In the first round: taking into account what happened before:

Describe under Option A as your character manages to get ahead Describe under Option B as your character ends up in disadvantage Ask B.R.O. which option occurs

In the second round: taking into account what happened before:

Describe under Option A as your character may be able to win Describe under Option B as your character is likely to be beaten Ask B.R.O. which option occurs

If one party has won both rounds describe how it manages to win otherwise it is a draw or you run a third round to determine the winner.

Test Between Unequals: (High vs Low, stronger vs weaker):

the stronger corresponds to Option A the weaker corresponds to Option B it lasts 1-2 rounds

in the first round: taking into account what happened before: Describe under Option A as the stronger succeeds without much effort Describe under Option B as the weaker unexpectedly gets ahead Ask B.R.O. which option occurs

if the round was won by the stronger, continue the adventure but if the round was won by the weaker then you run a second round:

taking into account what happened before: Describe under Option A as the stronger manages to win Describe in Option B as the weaker unexpectedly wins Ask B.R.O. which option occurs

Rule 6: One Brownie saves your life, three makes you better (experience)

After each adventure is completed with success the PC gets a Brownie point.

The Brownie points accumulated by a character can be spent in two ways:

• (1 Brownie pt) Automatically overcome a test: when the character must pass a test following the procedure of Rule 5, if you spend 1 Brownie pt then all of the required turns are automatically passed
• (3 Brownie pts) Get a new Low Level Stat or transform a Low Level Stat already owned in a High Level Stat

Solo System

In a solo adventure when you create a scene, instead of consulting oracles, tables and random sub-tables and then trying to adapt them to the scene, you use the reverse procedure again:

Imagine two options and describe them, it may seem difficult without external inputs but it is not necessarily so.

To create the Option A is sufficient to describe the first situation that seems suitable, what you would expect given the previous events, what you would like it to happen, it is not necessarily an event favorable to the character. An adventure consists essentially of a series of obstacles and problems which the hero has to overcome. Do not forget to add to the scene a detail or two to make it more particular and interesting.

To create the Option B, if you already have an idea in mind use it otherwise use as inspiration Option A and create a scene at odds with it.

Add one or two interesting details to Option B.

When you create the options have no hurry, only when you think both choices are interesting to play you can ask the B.R.O. which of the two options occurs.

At this point you have to play the character to decide how to react to the situation.

The time required to create the discarded options is not wasted because they can be used with some modifications as inspiration for scenes in other adventures.

You can also use the same process to create encounters and NPCs and even to define what kind of adventure play at the beginning of the game.

Rule 8: Yes/No is quick (details and context)

The answer column of the table is for quick questions about some details you want to know as you play, for example. "Is it raining?", "I have enough money to buy it?", "There are visible traces?" etc.

The answers must be fast, you can put any kind of nuance and elaboration when you describe an option for a test or a scene.

Also you can use the quick answer column when you want to ask questions about the adventure context before or after the description of an option, for example before a test towards the end of a mission you can increase the climax asking "it is a mortal risk?" If the answer is yes you will have to expect a bad end for the character in case of failure.

other quick questions about the context may relate to the presence of an imminent plot twist, a special encounter, the initiative in combat etc.

What to ask, if and when to do it is up to you.

Remember, do not ask too many quick questions to not slow down the flow of the story.

1. MAKE EVEN OR ODD
2. THIS IS THE ONLY TABLE YOU NEED
3. HIGH IS ABOVE AVERAGE
4. YOU ALWAYS FACE A THREAT
5. TWO ROUNDS FOR EQUALS, ONE FOR THE STRONGER
6. ONE BROWNIE SAVES YOUR LIFE, THREE BROWNIES MAKE YOU BETTER
7. CREATE TWO AWESOME OPTIONS
8. YES/NO IS QUICK