by Peter Chiykowski
There’s a special kind of magic when you worldbuild 100% by (and for) yourself.
You're not trying to impress a table of players. You're not trying to write the next fantasy bestseller. You're creating a space where your own stories can unfold without the weight of external expectations.
It's the same magic that brings people to explore solo RPGs and solo DnD adventures.
The challenge, of course, is how you create a story and world that still surprises you if you want to explore it through the eyes of your character. It's a bugbear that every solo RPG player is familiar with, and probably the biggest barrier most new players face when they dip their toes into the solo RPG genre.
I thought I'd share my simple, step-by-step approach for creating solo RPG settings that feel rich and alive. The process is compatible with basically any solo RPG or oracle system of your choice.
Step 1: Start with the Big Picture
I like to approach worldbuilding the same way I do sketching: starting with the rough outline, then filling in details.
For solo RPGs and solo DnD adventures, it's a balancing act. You want the world to feel like its driven by your creative choices, but you also want to feeling of it being out of your hands so the story has stakes that are outside your control. A classic solo RPG paradox.
My solution is to use random prompts. Specifically I use randomized prompts that offer a coherent structure and a limited number of interesting choices. That way, I get to make meaningful decisions about the world, but I still get enough randomization to make sure I don't know what's going to happen next.
Prompts: Canyon(s), Island(s), Forest
Not everyone has access to a randomizer, so for every step of this blog I've included a sampling of prompts from Deck of Worlds, since I designed every card in the deck to offer a balanced range of worldbuilding prompts. Specifically, these are from the free sampler pack we're releasing through Free RPG Day on June 21.
To kick off your solo RPG setting, pick one of the three Region card prompts above to establish a general environment type.
Next, you'll want to pick a point of interest as an anchor for your setting. For that, I use Landmark cards. Go ahead and pick a prompt below.
Prompts: Library, Cave, Beach, Tower, Bog, City
I usually take a moment here to let my story brain wake up and explore potential connections between the Region and Landmark. In other words, I ask: what makes it interesting that this Landmark is located here instead of anywhere else in the world?
I chose to go with "Island(s)" and "Library." I'm intrigued by the idea of a library on a remote island or chain of islands. The idea of having to travel to an isolated location to find a specific book or document is really interesting, especially as the premise of a quest.
Step 2: Give Your World a Past
Even in a brand-new world, something old is always lurking. A forgotten name. A buried origin. A shadow the past casts over the present.
You don’t need a 100-page world wiki—just enough mystery to suggest there’s more below the surface.
When worldbuilding for a solo RPG or for solo DnD adventures, remember that your world is both your setting AND your story. As you explore your setting's past, look for potential story seeds: details that could grow into adventure hooks if you shine a bit of attention and imagination on them.
To jumpstart this process, I like to use 2 types of prompts.
Namesake Prompts: Roaming, That Knows, Of Glass, Of Fools, Empty, At the End of the World, Of Gold, Of Lungs
Origin Prompts: Origin of a popular game or sport, Founded as a claim of independence, Linked to apocalyptic lore, Was once encased in ice, Home of a vanished people, Founded by outcast(s), Last known location of an ancient artifact, Said to have been the home of god(s)
- Pick a Namesake prompt from one of the orange cards below to give your Region or Landmark a nickname. You'll actually combine the two pieces of text to give a name, like "The Empty Canyons" or "The Library at the End of the World."
- Pick an Origin prompt from a blue card below to sketch out a moment of interest in the past.
This is usually where my worldbuilding brain really starts to cook. If you're stuck, you can watch the full video tutorial for Deck of Worlds, or ask yourself a few questions, like:
- How did this location earn this nickname? Who today still knows how it happened?
- How did the Origin shape the location? What signs of the past still linger today? What scars are left unhealed? What mysteries left unsolved?
I chose to name my setting "The Roaming Island," imagining an island that actually changes location throughout the year, making it extra hard to track down. The island's library is the last-known location of an ancient artifact, probably a rare and powerful tome.
As I scan my setting, I can already see story seeds ready to sprout: the quest to find the elusive island, the peril of the high seas around it, the hunt for the ancient artifact
Step 3: Where Is the Story?
We've got the past figured out. Let's stir the pot.
The present is what makes a world feel alive. It’s what gives your character a reason to explore.
For this, we've got two types of prompts.
Attribute prompts: Religiously diverse, Known for street food, Seasonal flooding, Carnivorous plants, Famous for archive(s), Known for a delicious reptile dish, Located above cave(s), Headquarters of a crime family
Advent prompts: A leader’s sudden death is creating a power vacuum, Earthquakes are uncovering something long buried, they are under siege by a foreign power, Wildlife is behaving peculiarly, An iconic cultural object has gone missing, A respected thinker just made a startling prediction
- Pick a prompt from an Attribute card (turquoise/teal) to establish the present day status quo for the area or the people who live there.
- Pick a prompt from an Advent card (red) to create a current event that could change the future of your location. The secondary text offers some suggestions for further refining the prompt.
The Advent card is like a pod full of potential story seeds. It's the most reliable starting point for the plot of your solo RPG or solo DnD adventures. Ask yourself:
- How does the coming change affect your character?
- What they might do about it?
- If they get involved, who will oppose them? What enemies could they make?
- What happens next?
Here's what I came up with as an example.
I chose "seasonal flooding" as a prompt because it would be particularly high-stakes if the island doesn't just move periodically—it sinks! That would put a timer on my hero's quest and give an element to the story that's outside of my control.
The Advent prompt was very hard to choose. So many options! I eventually settled on the siege prompt. A storyline was coming into focus: an ocean armada carrying out orders to blockade the library as part of an empire's violent censorship campaign. A heroic booklegger smuggling ancient wisdom out of dangerous archives for fun an profit.
Hell yeah!
Step 4: What Happens Next?
Review your whole setting and decide where you want to start your story. If you're not sure, start with the Advent card.
You can also restart the process to create a new setting in the same world to give yourself more options. If you'd like your own set of cards to expand your options, check out the free sampler pack, available at your FLGS through Free RPG Day on June 21 next month.
(Or order the physical or digital deck for 10% off when you sign up for the mailing list.)
Whatever starting point you choose for your solo RPG story or solo DnD adventure, place your character in the middle of the situation unfolding and ask: "What happens next?"
You can use an oracle and/or solo RPG system to guide yourself. The Story Engine and Lore Master's Deck are versatile oracles for creating characters, items, creatures, and other elements of your story, and they're system-agnostic (although especially compatible with Deck of Worlds).
If you need help choosing a system/oracle, we have a blog to guide you through the process.
If you're planning to use 5E to run solo DnD adventures, you can use an oracle to create the story, and then create the stats/mechanics by drawing on NPC or monster stat blocks from D&D Beyond, the Monster Manual, the Dungeon Master's Guide, third-party homebrew, and more.
If you want to see what a session of solo RPG worldbuilding and play looks like using Deck of Worlds, solo RPGer Clare Marshall joined us for a livestream earlier this year to show us the process.
The Secret to Worldbuilding for Solo DnD Adventures
Remember, you don’t need to worldbuild everything. Just enough to start the story. You can fill in the rest as you go with prompts, oracles, rolling tables, or pure imagination.
In other words: start small, explore big.
I like using Deck of Worlds because I designed to break down the worldbuilding process into simple steps that build on each other and offer a lot of depth for exploration and expression.
If you want to try out Deck of Worlds, you can get 10% off by signing up for The Story Engine mailing list below, or you can track down the Free RPG Day Sampler Pack on June 21.
Whatever gear you take with you, we're rooting for you on your next adventure!