Horrendous Gaming’s Solo Tabletop Adventures System
A tabletop skirmish gaming system, unashamedly Solo, absolutely all about the Adventure and the Story, and unapologetically about fun.
This page is going to record current status as the project proceeds, in case anyone is at all interested, but I'll start by trying to explain why.
Early June 2025 and I was thinking about why I wasn’t excited about my next game session and trying to work out why.
It seems to me that games that try to be both head-to-head and solo are still really head-to-head, the crossover doesn’t work, the emphasis is on outfoxing your opponent and I don’t get any fun from that.
Then there is this whole thing about Adventure Wargaming or Narrative Wargaming, which I do get and really enjoy, but they seem to be trying to again be a crossover, this time between a wargame and a roleplay game, and that also is not working for me. I think it’s because wargames have always been seen as a simulation.
What do they seem to have in common though that is causing me this angst? They try too hard to simulate the combat. Roll to hit, ah yes you hit, but did you get past the armour? You got past the armour huh, yeah but did you actually disable them? Multiple rolls? All I want to know is whether the bad guy is down!
When I write a battle report, I don’t mention every dice roll that happens, I talk about the fun stuff, the whacky stuff, the unexpected, the calamities. So what am I playing for? Clearly for me I’m playing to see what happens, and what that means for my characters, and how that will influence what happens next. That’s what I play for.
So, great, that all churned over, conclusion reached, go back to sleep right? Oh no, that’s not me at all. What do I have to do? Naturally, I have to go and create that thing that I want to play but doesn’t exist. Oh and if that’s just too easy I want it to work the same way in multiple settings so I can swap around as the mood takes me without having to learn new mechanics each time.
Challenge accepted! Here comes the Horrendous Gaming solo tabletop adventure system. Truly solo, truly about the adventure, and there are eight Editions already planned, enough that I can check myself at each stage and go “yeah but how will that work for X” to keep the overall goal in play.
How does it work?
The games are not aiming to be in any way a detailed simulation of armed combat in a given period, instead they concentrate on getting to the action as quickly as possible. All rolls in battle are 1D10, with a natural 1 being bad and a natural 10 being good. A single roll takes into account hitting, penetrating, and wounding. Weapons are generic. It’s not a wargame, it’s an adventure, or that’s the intent anyway.
Each Edition has a selection of different locations (and therefore table layouts) where the action takes place, a selection of different adversaries, and a slow but steady increase in difficulty to balance the improvements and added gear your team will get along the way.
Every game has markers for the where the adversaries might be and your team have to uncover the actual foes. The adversaries always “React” to the team, hence true solo play rather than trying to play both sides. There are also often Bystanders getting in the way.
The core of each Edition is a set of 6 Story Arcs (campaigns) each of 15 games, that tell a story. You can select one or just start playing randomly and see which emerges, though making up your own story using all the different scenarios as a sandbox is fine too.
The versions
HG01 - Space Station Edition - Call Security!
Our heroes are the Security Officers sent to deal with various Incidents on a Space Station. Adversaries start with station workers using improvised weapons through criminal elements with slug-thrower weapons to alien military with energy weapons or even something more exotic. Opening doors and peering into rooms to find the badguys is currently unique to this version. Optional rules include incorporating gantries around the main areas and robots wandering about.
One of the original playtesters is now playing a campaign here - https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=150306.0
HG02 - Post Apocalypse Edition - Protect and Survive
Aimed at 1950s to current day, our heroes are the Response Team tasked with the security and survival of a small community struggling against rival survivour types or packs of beasts. Incidents include ambushes, raids on camps, and just happening across trouble while on patrol through woods, farms, ruins or outright desolation. Any replacement gear has to be found after a battle and options include big nasty beasts wandering into the middle of the battle.
My own campaign with these rules is in progress here - Protect and Survive
HG03 - Swashbuckling Pirates Edition - Plunder and Fighting!
The golden age of piracy with our Captain and crew plundering their way to infamy, facing off against landlubber thugs, the local military, and even other pirates. Whether on land or at sea, our heroes find ways to make flamboyant moves that the enemy can’t, and cut their way through any opposition, building up their haul of doubloons and gaining a fearsome reputation.
HG04 - Wild West Edition - Join the Posse!
Your Sheriff seems to need help about once a week as some calamity befalls your small town. With one of the Deputies and a random selection of townsfolk and other locals, can you keep the town and the local area safe from unruly mobs, upset miners, troublemaking cowboys, while also having to deal with various levels of outlaws and even some trouble from the local tribe? Whether it’s in the town, out at the ranch or mine, or riding out into the wilds, there’s always a new challenge.
HG05 - Superhero Edition - With great power …
Large team with various powers, pick wisely as those thugs or criminals you are going to deal with might have a powerful boss! Superpowers? Oh boy, how’s that gonna work?
HG06 - High Fantasy - Heroes for hire
A band of heroes embark on a quest and have to also deal with the trials their journey throws at them. Huge project to get enough flavour into different character types and all the potential enemies, plus leave it flexible so you can play with what you already have.
Current status (24 Aug 2025)
HG01 - Published on Wargame Vault - 03 Aug 2025 (with a minor update 24 Aug 2025) - https://www.wargamevault.com/product/531471/Call-Security?affiliate_id=4612915
HG02 - Published on Wargame Vault - 24 Aug 2025
HG03 - Playtesting done, story arcs in progress, on track for 01 Oct 2025.
HG04 - Making good progress, I would welcome anyone who fancies playtesting it, aiming to release in November
HG05 - Planning to release before the end of the year
HG06 - Big project to kick off 2026
Also on the list:
Space Western/Bounty Hunters/Mercenaries
Arabian fantasy
Urban Fantasy/Horror
Fantasy Thieves’ Guild
Steampunk
Cyberpunk
To get onboard with any of these, send an email to hg.wargames@gmail.com
Above, Call Security! being playtested on a very rough layout, to show how simple it can be.
Below, Protect and Survive set up for a playtest
Other ways to follow Horrendous Gaming progress:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1307314304342804 - only two other people so far, please join if you are on Facebook.
Boardgame Geek - https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamepublisher/60330/horrendous-gaming - please consider leaving a review or at least a rating if you have one of my games.
Discord - ready to roll if enough people are interested.
Comments
Post a Comment