Solo Advice: Getting Started with Mythic, Part 1 - Someone Walks into a Bar

After posting this, I ended up making a shorter, more visual version of this post and shared it as a pdf at: The Seven Steps in a More Visual Format + Gameplay Loop. You might want to glance there afterward or even first and then come back to this one.

The Problem of (Solo Play) Freedom

I see regular posts with people asking some variation of the question: "I have Mythic, now what?" By extension, the question can be read, "How do I roleplay by myself?," but that's a broader a trickier topic. 

A slight glitch towards answering the second question is that there is not one answer. If you ever read the strange web-comic of some years back, A Softer World, post 391 asked the question "What can you do with a drunken sailor?" and then answered with, "Man, what can't you do with a drunken sailor?" 

And, that, in a nutshell, shows one of the central problems with communicating the core of solo roleplay. You can play roughly whatever you want and how you want it. More so than group roleplay though, where some rules and systems are in place just to emphasize the group nature of it all. For some Forever GM types, where creating a stack of encounters is a Saturday night, it might not be too hard of a transition. For others, realizing they are standing on a great blank page can be intimidating. We are all strange and beautiful artists but getting that first brushstroke of paint down can be daunting.

A tool like Mythic provides a wonderful framework (one that I have used for many hours of my life and had great fun) but if you picked it up to be on par with How to Solo Roleplay 101 then you might get confused just trudging through the table of contents and the opening bits and seeing phrases like "Fate Chart" which is somehow different but similar as "Fate Check," Then there are words like "Meaning Table" and "Random Event" and "Interrupt Scene" when you are kind of hoping for a "Step 1," "Step 2," and so forth type language. 

The idea of this post is to start with a fairly generic example and with each step to add a few Mythic pieces. This is one approach. It might click for you. 

One caveat, though, is that it assumes that you have either Mythic or One Page Mythic (at least) in front of you. If you do not, I will include some free-form variations of things but this is largely intended as some showing off some basic and key concepts that I enjoy in the system. 

I will break down and hopefully gently explain what I consider to be the important elements by a kind of "real world" example of a fairly typical roleplaying session (not just a solo one, but also a solo one). In order, the concepts I will go through are:

• Fate Chart
• Setting and testing expectations
• Adjusting the likelihood of a question
• Using Meaning Tables
• Adjusting Chaos Factor
• Scene Checks (with Altered and Interrupt Scenes)
• Building Adventure Lists
• Random Events
• Wrapping Up a Plot Thread

Step One - Someone Walks into a Bar (aka, Trying out the Fate Chart)

Pick a game. A genre. A character. Any will do. 

Use a character you already made. Use a pre-gen. Make one up with quickstart rules. In whatever game/genre you pick, imagine "a bar." This is the classic starting spot of many stories:

• A tavern along the road in a fantasy world
• A cantina on an alien world
• A saloon in the Wild West
• A jazz-era speakeasy in Arkham
• A fancy club in Victorian England
• A dockside dive in an 80s city
• A black-light infused synthetics distillery in a cyberpunk future
• A tent serving moonshine in a post-apocalyptical camp

Wherever this is, whenever it is, and whichever character you are playing: they are about to walk into a "bar" and they are going to do something. Think up a single task they have to accomplish. For instance:

• Meet a contact
• Drop off a package
• Look for strangers
• Pick the pocket of some rich patron to get some cash
• Assassinate a target
• Hide from the authorities

Using that character, in that world, trying to do that task: think a bit about this scene and what sort of things you (and your character) expect to see, to hear, to witness in general. You do not have to come up with intricate backstory or details, just come up with a few base-line assumptions to get a decent mental sketch. If you like, write it down, map it out, or describe it out loud. Mostly, just have it in mind. 

Setting and Testing Expectations

Tossing aside all the specialized language, the dice rolls, the threads, and lists you can think of Mythic at its core being a system (see also: framework, structure) all about helping you as a solo player to set and test expectations. There are tools to help generate some content in the Mythic books and magazines and such, but largely your first step is to have something you want to do that Mythic can help you to test and track. There are times where Mythic will say your expectations are not quite right, but you start with some ideas and grow from there.

The First Fate Question

Now that you have a character, a location, a goal, and some basic descriptions of what is happening: think up something you are not sure about or one of the details that might be wrong. You are not going to answer this, you are going to let the dice answer this. Examples include:

• Is there a band (or other live entertainment) playing?
• Does the bartender (etc) know your character?
• Has a fight broken out at the bar? 
• Does the bar have a private location to accomplish the task? 

If you are using the full Mythic book, set the Chaos Factor to 5 and the likelihood to "50/50." If you are using One Page Mythic just set the likelihood to "50/50." Ask the question and consult the Fate Chart to see if the answer is yes or no and adjust your expectations accordingly. If you get an exceptional yes then the expectations are not only correct but more than you realized. If you get an exceptional no, the expectations are incorrect and the "reality" is somehow the opposite of the expectation. 

If you are not using Mythic because you want a slight test drive then just roll a die, any die (or flip a coin). Whichever die you are using, getting the highest possible even number = exceptional yes. Getting a 1 = exceptional no. If you are flipping a coin, heads = yes and tails = no and there is no exceptional variant. 

To go with one of the questions, above, "Is there live entertainment?":

• Yes = "There is live entertainment and people may or may not be paying an attention"
• No = "There is not live entertainment (there could be a stage which is empty, though)"
• Exceptional Yes = "Not only is a band playing, but it is a pretty big deal and most people at the bar are there specifically because of it"
• Exceptional No = "The bar does not have a set-up for live entertainment and folks would probably not like it if there was"

Now, put all this together. Adjust your expectations and your mental image of the bar. Scratch anything that might have disagreed with the answer (in actual play, you might choose to ignore something that makes no sense but for now roll with the punches, pun intended). Carry out the task in your game system of choice. Roll a skill check. Make an attribute test. Spend a token. Resolve it through pure roleplay. Your call.

Just like any other roleplaying session, imagine your character doing the task and either failing or succeeding. In a traditional game, the GM would tell you how NPCs are reacting. In solo play, you get to do both the PC and NPC side of things so imagine how your character reacts and imagine how it makes others react. Again, you do not need a lot of details for this, just a few quick words or ideas will work fine. 

Note: If you are using the full Mythic Fate Chart do not adjust Chaos Factor, yet, we are still in a single scene.

Whatever the results, keep that in mind [aka, write that down] as we move on to...

Step Two - In Which Things Develop (aka, Adjusting the Fate Chart, Slightly)

How does the world react to whatever your character just did (or failed to do)? More importantly, what does your character need to do right now to keep the story going?

• If they were meeting a contact (and successfully made introductions), what do they need to do next?
• If they were pickpocketing (and got caught), how do they handle their mark catching them?
• If they are hiding for authorities (successfully or not) how do they keep from standing out as time goes on?

This is going to be the second task of the scene but to expand your Mythic skills a bit think up two questions this time to test and make one of them "Likely" and one of them "Unlikely." You have the freedom to play your character as you want so focus on the non-player characters in the bar. Pick whichever one is most impacted by your task and then either pick another one or pick another detail you are unsure about. Examples might include:

• Is this person with the Authorities? (Unlikely)
• Does the bartender have good memories of your character? (Likely)
• Does the band stop playing due to your actions? (Unlikely)
• Is there a back exit? (Likely)

Consult the Fate Chart (again, assume Chaos Factor 5 if you are using it) and roll against those new odds. 

If you are again just free-forming this, you can use this quick system: Likely means roll two dice and if either are evens the answer is yes, unlikely means roll two dice and if and only if both are even the answer is yes. 

Again, adjust your mental expectations, write down additional details, tweak the map you are drawing, and then make your second task roll or resolve the action in however you see fit. Then, move on to Step Three when you are ready, where we will finish out this first scene and set up the second one...

Figuring Out the Likely Odds Is More Art than Science

One thing that can be tricky to grasp at first but gets to be second nature is establishing the odds for Fate Questions. When in doubt, you can stick to 50/50 (I love taking something that seems like it should be adjusted one way or the other and making it 50/50 because it sometimes feels like testing the "meat" of the world) but a lot of flavor shows up shifting things from Likely to Very Unlikely. A dozen rolls in, you will better get the hang of how the odds shift and it will get easier. 

Rather than worry about some hypothetical perfect game or worry about getting it wrong, just go with your roleplaying instincts at that time. You will make mistakes during solo play. You will be inconsistent. That is ok. The you that rolls the dice and reads them at that point in time is playing the correct game. Later, adjust expectations and odds but the little imperfections often lead to most interesting roleplaying. 

Step Three - Someone Is Leaving a Bar (aka, using Meaning Tables and Adjusting Chaos Factor)

Your character has had to resolution rolls. Things are happening (some because of your character). You have had some expectations confirmed, some changed. Now it is time for your character to leave the bar. Maybe they are heading outside. Maybe they are going down into the basement to fight some giant rats. Maybe they are being drug out by force. Maybe they are going into the owner's office. 

To figure out why your character is leaving the bar, you are going to use Meaning Tables. You can either roll to find out the results and then decide to which NPC it applies OR you can pick an NPC and then roll the results. 

For Mythic, find the Action Meaning Tables 1 and 2. Roll once on 1. Roll once or 2. For One Page Mythic, find the Action Table and roll twice and combine. Here are four examples of the former (handpicked for clarity at this stage):

• 12 on Action Table 1 = Bestow. 8 on Action Table 2 = Benefits. (Bestow Benefits)
• 70 on Action Table 1 = Protect. 60 on Action Table 2 = Normal. (Protect Normal)
• 71 on Action Table 1 = Punish. 31 on Action Table 2 = Failure. (Punish Failure)
• 53 on Action Table 1 = Increase. 90 on Action Table 2 = Tension. (Increase Tension)

Depending on whether you picked an NPC or just rolled, think about how whatever you rolled might fit into the scene as you have built it up with the expectations and details that have been established. Does the answer fit someone (or something) in particular? Is this something out of the blue that might be a twist in your story? 

Make note that if you have been free-forming these examples, it can be hard to wing this portion without something as a base but pick one of the ones above and go with it.

Maybe your character's bartender friend gets "Punish Failure." Does that mean your character is about to be punished? Is your character being asked to punish someone? Is your character witnessing the bartender screaming at another NPC and thinking about intervening (or leaving the scene to avoid being a witness)? 

OR, you already have a clear reason to leave the bar (e.g., fleeing the police that just burst in to arrest you), this Meaning Table result could show some other detail, how someone else is altering your character's world. 

The nature of Meaning Tables is that whatever results you get are open to a lot of interpretation and the same words can often mean wholly different things in difference situations and there is rarely one right way to solve them.

Whatever you get, roll with it (again, pun intended) as best you can and ask yourself what this means for your character and how it relates to you needing your character out of the bar. A third resolution task might be required. New expectations and details might be created.

Sometimes Meaning Tables Feel Perfect and Sometimes They Feel Like Nonsense

Having played a lot of Mythic based games, I can say from experience that sometimes a result from the Meaning Tables will hit the perfect sweet spot. Sometimes, though, you are left with figuring out what your character's grandmother is doing and you get "Repair Success" and have to stop and think what that might possibly mean. I have witnessed some actual play folks rerolling results when they do not fit in but my hearty recommendation is to try and fit them into the expectations you have established. "Punish Failure" might mean a literal punishment for a failure, but it could also mean someone is being harsh on themselves, or that the punishment did not work, or failure is a form of punishment. Again, the little imperfections often tease out the better moments in solo roleplay. 

Finishing Up a Scene, Adjusting Chaos Factor, and Setting Up New Expectations

We are coming to an end of your first scene and getting ready to do the second one. One of the first things you need to ask yourself is, "Did the scene work out for my character?" 

If the scene did work out for your character, adjust the Chaos Factor down to 4. 

If the scene did not work out for your character, adjust the Chaos Factor up to 6. 

If you are unsure or if the scene felt pretty neutral, just go on whichever down/up vibe works the best for you at the moment. 

Lower Chaos Factors mean the odds more heavily favor "no" answers while Scene Checks are more "As Expected" while higher Chaos Factors more heavily favor "yes" answers while Scene Checks are increasingly likely to have Altered and Interrupt scenes. 

Your Chaos Factor should change a lot as you play to show swings in fate. 

If you are using One Page Mythic or just free-forming this, you will not be able to do this step (and the remaining steps will not make a lot of sense, so you can just continue to play more scenes using the above first three steps). 

Once you have adjusted your Chaos Factor, move on to Step Four...

Step Four - Someplace New (aka, Scene Checks)

You are going to now play a new scene with your character in this new place. Essentially, you are going to play out Steps One through Three again (except more combined, though feel free to separate them out if you need). This means you are again going to establish some expectations, you are going to test some of those expectations with Fate Questions, and you are going to using Meaning Tables to help figure out NPC actions. 

One important change is going to happen at this time: you are going to do a Scene Check.

Before you do anything else outside of establish some rough expectations and a place for the scene, roll 1d10. If you roll below or equal the current Chaos Factor (either 4 or 6 depending on how well it went last time) then you will either get an Altered Scene or an Interrupt Scene. 

If you roll below or equal to your Chaos Factor and the result is odd, the scene is Altered. An altered scene is essentially the same as the expected scene but some details are different (a little or a lot). Maybe your character runs out into the street to flag down a taxi and bumps into an old acquaintance. Maybe your character goes down into the basement to kill the giant rat but the basement is flooded. Again, the scene sort of matches your expectations but something happens that you did not expect.

If you roll below or equal to your Chaos Factor and the result is even, the scene is Interrupted. An interrupted scene means your expected scene is not happening (or delayed) and a new scene is currently taking its place. Your character runs out into the street to hail a taxi and finds a gunfight happening (or is shoved into a van). Your character goes to go down into a basement but finds a hidden door that less open and something significant inside and goes to figure that out instead. Maybe your character goes to go down into the basement but remembers some prior commitment and has to leave right away. 

An Altered scene means your expectations need to be tweaked. An Interrupt scene means your expectations are not happening (again, at least not yet). 

When in doubt, use Fate Questions and Meaning Tables to generate some details that might help you decide (there is also tables in the Mythic book to give you some prompts but for this primer example just go with your instincts). 

If your Scene Check is above your Chaos Factor, then the scene fits your current expectations. 

Play out this new scene, be it Expected, Altered, or Interrupted. Try out the Description, Location, Characters, and Object meaning tables to help generate some details. Try some Nearly Certain and Nearly Impossible (etc) Fate Checks. 

At the end, again decide if the Chaos Factor increases or decreases based on how things are going for your character and set-up expectation for a third scene. We are going to start adding a new element that is important to Mythic: lists. 

Step Five - The Plot Literally Thickens (aka, Adventure Lists)

As you play your third (and maybe fourth) scenes by recycling Steps One through Four, make note of the important characters and the important plot lines developing. Find the Mythic Adventure Lists (page 45 of the Mythic book and you can see them in the appendix). Pick a few characters besides your main character and jot them down one line at a time. Pick a few plot threads and jot them down. In this sample game, you do not need a lot. 

In general, how many you have is up to you and your sessions. I have seen some that work best with lots of characters and seen some that work best with just a core few. Likewise with the plot threads. You can always add more and you can cut those out that are not working or no longer feel important.

It is likely that specific details will change and threads might shift (growing or shrinking) as your character accomplishes things. 

Maybe you treat an entire organization as a single character. Maybe you write down individual members. Like a lot of things with Mythic, there is a lot of going with your vibe (and expectations) and being open to those changing over time. 

There Are Lots of Ways to Use These Lists

When you are playing full sessions with Mythic there are times where you are prompted to roll on the lists. 

Outside of this, there are several ways you can  use the lists to make your sessions better or to help inspire your scenes and story beats:

• You find out someone is betraying you, roll on the characters to find who has a dark secret
• You get an Interrupt Scene and check on the Plot Threads to figure out which one it will be about
• You just want to add in a couple of characters to a scene
• You find a clue but are not sure to which plotline it is related
• You just keep the lists handy as a reminder to yourself the important elements as you make up new expectations and new details

Once again you can reroll results that make no sense but for now trying to just take what comes can be great practice. 

Step Six - Things Go Pear Shaped (aka, Random Events)

At this stage you are on your fourth or fifth (or more) scenes and that initial encounter in the bar has likely changed into something either perfectly expected or completely different or a mix of both. The Chaos Factor has probably swung back and forth a couple of times. Lists are getting some details added. The world is taking shape. 

The final element we will work in is Random Events. As you are doing your various Fate Checks, you will sometimes get a roll that is doubles (11, 22, 33, 44, ...) and which is equal to or below your current Chaos Factor, you generate a Random Event. 

Random Events can change the current scene and the entire campaign a little or a lot and should be thought at as alterations and twists to your own expectations and details.

On page 37 of Mythic there is an entire Random Event Focus table that you can use if you wish to have the full experience but for the first few times you can simply just treat them as a twist to your current question until you get into the habit of spotting them. 

• "Are the doors locked?" could lead to a twist that there are guards posted that were not known about
• "Is he going to pay my character?" might lead to the entire plotline about finding out who is betraying the mission was all a lie to sow discord in the ranks
• "Is she going to sell off her family heirloom?" might lead to another NPC stepping in to help

You can blend in Meaning Tables, roll on Character/Threads lists, or just go with your sense of what is interesting. 

Once you get the sense, add in the Random Event Focus which can prompt such things as "NPC Negative" (the twist causes something to be bad for one of the NPCs), "PC Positive" (the event is better for your character than expected), and "Ambiguous Event" (the twist does not seem to have an immediate impact on things but could hint towards something else brewing behind the scenes). 

You can treat Interrupt Scenes as Random Events and use the same tools to add details.

If you do not have any Random Events showing up in your scene, just add one or two in so you can get some practice for now. 

Step Seven: Someone Heads Back Home (aka, Getting the Hang of It All and Closing Your First Thread)

You now should have a few scenes, some characters, some plotlines, and a few twists. Pick one of the threads/plotlines and play out a final scene to wrap it up (or alter it into a new plotline). Figure out what expectations must be met to do this in one more scene and then set it up. Check the scene as normal. Treat Interrupt Scenes as a sign that something unexpected is needed to clear it up. 

Think up between one and three tasks to finish the scene and play those out. If you get stuck, use Meaning Tables or check on your Adventure Lists. Otherwise, just go with what you got. You should have a good sense of what is expected and have some ideas for the kind of things that might show up as twists so you are ready to respond. 

At the end of the scene, your character heads back home. Or back to the office. Or to the morgue. Or maybe even heads back to the bar. 

Look over at all the details on the lists you have and for each one ask if that detail is sticking around. Are the characters going to still be important? Are the the plot threads still open? If yes, keep them around if you want to keep playing. If not, then erase them and clean up the list to only have the things important going forward. 

At this point, you have the grasp of the Fate Chart, Chaos Factor, Likelihoods, Random Events, Adventure Lists, Meaning Tables, and Scene Checks. That is many of the major concepts. 

Still, the most important concept of the whole Mythic experience remains your expectations and ways to test and alter them.  

As you read through the book you can see a lot more examples, a lot more optional mechanics, and so forth but you can also play for hours and hours and many sessions with just these concepts. You can also ignore any parts that do not work for you. 

As this series continues, I will look at things like blending Mythic in with other solo experiences, adding in other oracles, and so forth. 

Happy playing.