6 x Exploration (setting and area tool - WIP)

THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS

Sometimes you want to keep your soloRPG game going, but you need 1) to slow down and figure out your next move 2) details to play off of 3) want to do some world building.

6 x EXPLORATION is a tool to generate 6 standout/spotlighted elements that can trigger a new scene, add NPC  and connections, or can give reasons to prompt your PC's thoughts and memories. It can also be used as a table when you need a connection later in your game.

1. KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO EXPLORE? (Overview map, street scene, a building, room details, content of a suitcase, group of people, etc.)

ex: I arrive at a sea side town

2. Add 0 to 3 obvious/expected/desired items. Write or draw them!

ex: there is surely a 1) lighthouse 2) hotel

3. Roll on the area table and/or location table till you have 6 prompts to interpret for elements. For each table item you can pick one of the listed words or use a dice to help.  Write or draw them!

ex: 3) museum (no 18) 4)  ruins of grand structure (no 8) 5)  a mansion of the governor (2) 6) the old church (no 6)

note: These 6 items are just the standout ones, you can flesh them out more as you place and fill in the gaps.

4. Roll on the DETAILS table for each item and modify/record the new details with pictures and /or words. 

ex: 1) lighthouse  {NEXT PROMPT SUBJECT} 2) hotel {pc "I stayed at a fancy place like this when I was 8"} 3) museum {pc "something is...off..about this place"} etc

1 PC’s Memory / History / Familiarity ◊ THESE ARE A GOOD WAY TO DEFINE THE PC MORE!
2 PC’s Observation /  Intuition ◊ MORE PC BUILDING
3 Connection / Scene Callback  (I LIKE TO ROLL A D6 to SEE WHAT ENTRY I AM MAKING A CONNECTION TOO)
4 Add NPC(s) / Creature(s) (familiar?) ◊ 
5 Barrier / Complication / Activity (A WALL/CAGE/GUARDS, A MOB, A FIRE, etc)
6 AS A SCENE = Next scenes focus
   IN A SCENE = Trigger / Conflict (YES, sometimes I use it in a scene I am  all ready in)
◊ = optional for overview/map scenes
* = when you roll a 6, re-roll for an additional element (optional).

note: if you are doing an overview/map, some of the prompts might not work (since you can not see people or details at that moment)

5. Use your favorite Yes/No/and/but oracle to discover more.

ex: Is the lighthouse in good shape?  Yes, but it's showing it's age.

6. Use the 6 items as a table for the next scene(s) if you like.

ex: who is arriving at the bar: (rolls on the setting, d6=5) The Governor drinks here, or is he up to something? 

FOR: low-prep, general, mapping adjacent, improvisational, authoring, creativity prompting, oracle making, world building  for solo (and co-op) TTRPG’s.

You can use them with pictures (and words) like I do, or in any way you chronicle your adventures.

You will need a d6 (six-sided dice) and a d20 (twenty-sided dice) along with any game materials of choice.

 I created these tables for use in my home-brew Sketch Book Solo RPG games when I found that my campaigns lacked time to explore and discover new things like you might in a computer adventure game like Monkey Island, Kings Quest or Myst. These tables sometimes give you out-of-place elements, but to me that makes a solo TTRPG world more memorable.