Solipstry
A downloadable game
Origins
Solipstry was originally created as an attempt to merge the best parts of D&D 4e (tactical combat, meaningful choices, a reasonable number of skills) with the best parts of D&D 3.5 (emphasis on roleplay, enough choices to matter, powerful abilities not restricted by class). Since then, it has shed its D&D roots and become a system of its own (You can still see these influences in some areas).
Mechanics
Solipstry does not have classes. It is a skill-based game, where every time you succeed in using a skill, you get better at using it. Because you can pick which skills to emphasize, you can make your own "class" by combining different sets of skills. You also have abilities, which cost points. How many points you have total is determined by one attribute, while their regen rate per turn is governed by another. No more having to judiciously manage your most powerful spells for the day!
For those that want a little more control, the Luck attribute allows you to re-roll dice, avoid fail-by-one scenarios, or just add a little more oomph to your damage when the time really matters.
Our damage system uses multipliers to maintain consistent averages, while emphasizing interesting effects. On a normal roll of 3d8, you have the most chance of getting around 14 points of damage, while 3 and 24 would be outliers. In Solipstry, we inverted those odds, so you are more likely to get an extremely high or low result, rather than consistently average.
Who is it for?
Solipstry is simple enough for beginners to grasp, but complex enough for veterans to wet their hands and stay entertained. Our goal was to give DMs the freedom and flexibility to create whatever world they want to make and tell their own stories. Solipstry can be played in ANY setting. We have mechanics that are flexible enough, without bogging you down with supplements and point-buy tales. Try it out!
For more information, see our 2016 Kickstarter.
Chronicle
The Chronicle is technically a collection of monsters, but it is in no way required to play. The Solipstry core book has everything you will ever need to play, including sample monsters and instructions on how to create your own. The Chronicle is mostly lore and descriptions about how you might bring various monsters to life in your own game world. It includes quotes from people who've fought bears, seen ghosts, and encountered stranger and more outlandish creatures, varying from Network Spikes seen while hacking, to reality-bending Errata, supervillains, and more. You can find it on this project, or listed separately.
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $8 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Exclusive content
Support this game at or above a special price point to receive something exclusive.
Exclusive Rights
You gain exclusive, nontransferable rights to the Solipstry RPG. This allow you to to sell, hack, remix, print, or modify the game in any way, including making sequels or otherwise utilizing the IP. This does NOT grant you rights to create or license adaptations in other mediums (e.g. film, radio, plays, board games, or novels).
While you are in possession of these rights, I will sell no copies of Solipstry in any form.
These rights revert after a period of 5 years and 5 days from the date of purchase. Any adaptations, sequels, or remixes you make in that time remain solely yours.
Community copy
If you cannot responsibly afford this game at the listed price, please help yourself to a free copy of the digital version.
Physical Copy
A physical copy of Solipstry, mailed to you. The Chronicle is PDF only. If you live outside the US, please add $8 USD for shipping. I will send you an email with further instructions.
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Comments
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for some reason the pdf doesnt have bookmarks
Solipstry is a crunchy and flexible unisystem for tabletop rpgs. It shares a lot of design dna with 5e, but its focus is on giving you everything you need for your game to feel gamey, and then getting out of your way and letting you tell your story.
The PDF is 100 pages, with a high density of excellent art and a very solid layout. Every page looks good, and the illustrations are gorgeous.
The rules are semi-complex. If you've already read at least one trpg, they shouldn't be tough to follow, but if this is your first you might have to take a few minutes to puzzle out the book.
If you've played DnD, most of this book will feel like a very familiar landscape. Things here are calculated differently, but there's still AC, fort/ref/will, Hit Points, Initiative, etc.
That said, there's a lot more character customization in Solipstry than in unmodded 5e. Talents are 1/level, and there are also smaller bonuses that you get per point of skill or stat modifier. Races are created from the ground up, not selected from a pre-existing pool. Equipment can be heavily tailored. And there's a boatloat of Talents and Abilities (Solipstry's spells) to choose from.
Characters have a Luck stat, which can be used to affect rolls, and which also determines things like encounter tables and drop rates. Affecting rolls is clear and mechanical, but beyond that most of how Luck functions is up to the GM. There's a lot of that approach in Solipstry, and it expects individual groups and GMs to all put their own spin on the game.
Character progression is very granular, and relies on passing skill rolls. Each successful roll adds a tally, and if you get tallies equal to your skill modifier, you raise the skill. Raise a skill ten times, and you level up.
Combat is grid-based and uses move/minor/standard, following 5e pretty closely---but with a lot of little modifications. Your Luck stat gives you Fortune Points, which you can use to take additional actions or improve your rolls, and your Enlightenment gives you a pool of points you can spend on a la carte bonuses called Truths. Enlightenment recharges easily, and this gives combat a sense of flow and gives players a good feeling of control over their characters and their resources.
For GMs, a lot of advice is provided throughout and a small sample bestiary is included, but this is really a game that wants you to build your own custom elements. There are a lot of sample settings, but they're all short, intended to be used as jumping off points and not complete references.
There's a huge rules and terminology reference at the end of the book, and there's solid character sheets with a lot of tightly organized space to write in, so Solipstry gives you all the tools you need, but it's also looking for GMs and players who enjoy the act of building and balancing game elements.
Overall, I think Solipstry is a solid engine. It opens up elements of 5e's system to make things more hackable and setting neutral, but it still keeps the overall structure. It also introduces elements like Truths and Fortune to make the gameplay less dependent on rolling a good number, and more centered on making good choices. If you're looking for a crunchy grid combat game for your own custom setting and characters, I'd recommend giving this a look.
[Posted as review]
This combat-focused adventuring game features a fairly crunchy core system, classless character creation, large tables of advancement and power options, player and/or GM-created fantasy(?) races.
- Big number stats and skill bonuses
- Complex tactical, grid-based combat
- Lots of special powers to keep track of
- Skill repetition based character advancement
- Limited guidance on out of combat skill use
- Example settings in the back
- Limited direction, but GM centric setting creation/rule selection
- If you want to fight the bad guys with your "original characters" this is the game for you.