Playing your first solo TTRPG can be daunting, scary, and awkward, but trust me, all of that melts away pretty quickly once you begin. I've been playing solo games since I first started playing D&D. In fact, as a newbie who wanted to prepare for her first campaign, a solo supplement helped me learn how to play 5e. This came in the form of a ruleset and an adventure. The ruleset is called The Solo Adventurer's Toolbox and the adventure is called The Dead Don't Sleep. Both are written by Paul Bimler and are available on DM's Guild [here](https://www.dmsguild.com/product/252355/The-Solo-Adventurers-Toolbox) and [here.](https://www.dmsguild.com/product/278809/Toolbox-Solo-Adventure-A1-The-Dead-Dont-Sleep) Now, you don't have to stick to D&D to play solo TTRPG's. There are plenty of self-contained systems out there. Many can be found on itch.io for free or pay-what-you-want. With all that being said, let's talk about *why* you should be playing solo TTRPG's. There are tons of reasons, but I thought I'd talk about the top 10. ## 10 - No Scheduling Conflicts We've all been there. Scheduling hell. Trying to get a game between 3-6 people scheduled can be really difficult. Everyone has conflicts, things that come up, or trouble remembering the date and time of play. When you're playing by yourself, you obviously don't have to worry about that. I tend to actually schedule in solo sessions that last about an hour a few times a week. ## 9 - Affordable Content As I mentioned before, there are tons of great solo games on itch.io that you can get for free, pay-what-you-want, or very cheap. We all love the big systems, but let's face it. Those sourcebooks ain't cheap. With solo games, you can save yourself a little money and still have a lot of fun. ## 8 - Practicing Mechanics Before I ever played my first game with a DM, I played the solo supplement I mentioned above. This helped me learn the flow of play, how combat works, and what dice to roll. Of course, it's not exactly the same as playing at a table with a DM, but you can learn some basics by playing solo. ## 7 - Experience Multiple Worlds Often when playing in a campaign, you only experience one setting or world. And that setting usually showcases a particular theme or genre. When playing solo games, you can switch between worlds at will without upsetting your non-existent fellow players. One week you can be a vampire and the next week you can be a pirate. And because these games are so affordable, there's no limit to how many different worlds you can explore. ## 6 - Getting to Know your Character If you have a character you're thinking about playing in a campaign, but aren't quite sure about, playing as that character in a solo game can help you learn more about them before you commit to taking them on for an extended period of time. You can also revive PC's that have either died or that you've played in a campaign that might have ended due to scheduling conflicts or other table issues. Giving a character the journey they deserve can be really cathartic. ## 5 - Getting to Know Yourself A lot of solo *journaling* RPG's will help you learn more about yourself. You can discover what type of stories you like or dislike, what kind of characters you like to embody, and the kind of problems you like to solve and how you like to solve them. Depending on the solo RPG you choose to play, you can learn a lot more about yourself. Self-discovery is often a theme in the journaling RPG space and each one is unique in its approach which leads to unique journeys. ## 4 - Lean in to Your Playstyle People play RPG's for different reasons. Some like to feel powerful, some like to experience a rich story, some just like to kill things and find treasure. Whatever the reason, your playstyle relies on that reason. When playing solo you can play the kind of game you want to play without upsetting other players or stepping on the toes of others. So, if you want to be a murder-hobo, this is your chance to go crazy. Dive into a dungeon and get gritty. Or, if you want to play a more laid-back whimsical journey of discovery, you can find a game that will allow you to do just that. ## 3 - Boost your Creativity Maybe you don't consider yourself to be a storyteller or maybe you want to improve your story-telling skills. Solo RPG's can help with that too. Many of the solo systems you'll find rely on random tables or "oracles" to help you fill in the blanks when you can't seem to come up with an idea or when you need to figure out what to do next. Think of these as story-telling training wheels. They're there when you need them, but if you have your own ideas, just ignore them. Either way, solo RPG's will help you hone your storytelling skills and you can go on to use those skills in other areas of your life such as at a table with your friends, writing your own stories, or even when creating visual art. ## 2 - Cognitive Benefits Creating stories can help exercise your brain. Rather than passively watching a tv show or reading a book, you're actively using your brain to build a story, make plot connections, and determine outcomes for your character. All of this leads to increasing the neural connections in your brain and clearing out those cobwebs in the old noggin. ## 1 - Mental Health Benefits Whether you've chosen an elegant journaling game or a weird and whacky game, you're likely to get something good out of it for your mental health. Sometimes we just need an escape from our daily lives and a solo RPG can help you do just that. And the wonderful part is that *you* are in control of the story. You decide what happens and what doesn't happen. You just don't get that level of control when it comes to books, tv shows, movies and other escapes. Additionally, RPG's can help you explore some of your tough life problems in a unique way. They can help you problem solve in ways that aren't possible in real life. This can help you feel more confident and optimistic.