>In any gamebook - especially any FF book - not mapping it out leads to an inability to explore efficiently on future runs. Mapping it out keeps you on track and if you hit a dead end you can avoid it next time.
Interview with Graham Plowman at Rand Roll
Graham Plowman is the author of House on Sentinel Hill, the Sept 2026 read for the 100 Endings Book Club. Graham is also a composer of Orchestral Horror Music, with more info at grahamplowman.com.
We have the creation of the House on Sentinel Hill, composing horror soundtracks, favourite compositions, and advice for House on Sentinel Hill. Among other questions.
This is one of several gamebook interviews, with more coming soon!
The House on Sentinel Hill by Graham Plowman is an investigative horror gamebook in the Cthulhu Mythos. Set in 1926 New England in the rural town of Durham (mostly in a haunted house!).
It's our September read for the 100 Endings Book Club. It's available in physical book format (hardback or softcover).
There's also a soundtrack for the House on Sentinel Hill! (The author is also a composer of horror music)
It'll be my first time playing it (had it for a while!) so I'm short on advice, but it's been recommended by several Book Club members (and folk on this subreddit)
Leave a comment here or join us on the Discord if you've got thoughts or questions.
Recently came across Roll Ruin, a generator which creates one dungeon room at a time. It includes a description, room map and other details.
There's also a list of other tables to integrate into the room, such as door trap, treasure, npc and secret. There are filters for biome, room/passage/entrance and tier (although click on a filter removes it from the selection!)
It's based on tables created by Natural Peocock, the Roll 4 Ruin: Classic Dungeon Generator.
3 Rules have been added for the rpg_generators sub, and may be tweaked following feedback or for clarity.
1) Tools and tables related to ttrpgs
Tools, random tables and methods related to tabletop (and solo) roleplaying games.
These can be online (procedural generators, digital random tables, map generators) or physical (printed random tables, rpg decks, custom cards)
2) Max of one self-promotion post per week
You're welcome to promote on the subreddit, just keep (loosely) to once per week.
Comment as often as you want if it's relevant to what's being discussed or asked
3) No AI-generation tools or art
The sub was originally made to share and promote procedural generators and random tables. The focus still remains on tools and tables created by humans.
Restricting AI-generation for the foreseeable future (it's ok if you're using AI tools in your tech stack, but any content should be non-AI)
If you're interested in reading / playing along with our book group, then the gamebook for September is the House on Sentinel Hill by Graham Plowman.
I can't see a digital version so physical copy will be needed. It's available in hardback and softback with a fair supply of secondhands too (at least from the UK).
Our options for the September read for the 100 Endings Book Club are a mixture of classics highlighting all manner of gamebooks.
The poll is on our Discord server (direct link).
The gamebooks are...
Have you played any of these?
What physical tools(s) are your favourite for playing solo screenless?
Card decks, methods of dropping dice to generate things, map tiles, custom/weird dice, etc. (Not books, regular polyhedral dice or random tables)
For me playing screenless is one of appeals of solo so getting ideas and planning next "Month of" series.
My preference is to play screenless so looking for more suggestions of decks of cards, custom dice or other physical tools you use for sparks/inspiration in your solo games.
Or ways you might use regular (polyhedral) dice such as dropping different ones to create a dungeon or location.
Kicking off my Season 4 (dungeons) of Solo Actual Plays using old-school blog format.
Part 1 - Delve Map-Drawing Solo, Intro and Start introduces Delve (by Anna Blackwell), a map-drawing solo game as a dwarf overseeing digging a hold.
Part 2 - Delve Map-Drawing Solo, Disaster and Sequel charts the downfall of the hold and a new chapter from the ashes.
Part 3 will be more map-drawing and using the Biomes expansion. Plus wrap-up thoughts.
Have you played Delve?
A text Interview with Joe, Creator of Juice Oracle, is up at Rand Roll. If you've not seen it, Juice is a free light-weight solo oracle packed with tables (link in interview)
We have how Juice Oracle came about, appeal of solo rpgs, unofficial cheatsheet for DMs who are lazy, working on the Nimble rpg solo rules and the solo rpg community. Among other questions.
Have you used Juice Oracle in your solo games?
Juice Oracle is a free lightweight solo oracle packed with tables, and there's now an Interview with the Juice Oracle Creator at Rand Roll (text interview).
We have how Juice Oracle came about, appeal of solo rpgs, unofficial cheatsheet for DMs who are lazy, working on the Nimble rpg solo rules and the solo rpg community. Among other questions.
Have you used the Juice Oracle?
It's niche, but The Tool is a hex-map generator for Mythic Bastionland, create a Realm with various terrains, Myths, dwellings, hazards and other bits for your MB game.
Mythic Bastionland is an RPG by Chris McDowall, playing a Company of Knights who Honour the Seers, Seek the Myths and Protect the Realm.
You are Dog by Iain Murray is a free 100 entry gamebook for the Lindenbaum contest. Voting for the contest is open until 27th August.
You play a puppy trying to gain acceptance in a household. There's a cat antagonist / villain.
Dice mechanics are a simple d6 based test. You can use your health to help you succeed on tests.
I found it a fun gamebook and found a couple of the several possible endings.
We've also got a Lindenbaum discussion on the 100 Endings Book Club server.
What was your experience with You are Dog?
Rand Roll is my blog on random tables, rpg generators and solo gaming. It's reached 8 years and 101 interviews so here's 8 Years of Rand Roll in 10 Interviews from through that time.
The interviews include tools and table creators such as
Any suggestions for future interviews welcome!
I've published a number of Spelljammer (5E) random tables on my blog and on DM's Guild
On DM's Guild these all have full previews and are...
All in the Spelljammer Tables Bundle.
If you've used these in the past hope they've been interesting, useful or enjoyable.
Final Steam Highwayman post (for a while) is Getting Started in the Reeking Metropolis, book 3 of the series. It has 5 starting ventures, 5 places to visit and 5 further adventures. These only need this book and there's some other SH tips too.
The Reeking Metropolis has a different flavour to books 1 and 2, set in alternate steam-age London. But the books don't get harder so you can start in book 3 as easily as the others. There are two more guides for Books 1 and 2 (and they'll be another for book 4 when it arrives)
Steam Highwayman was our last read for the 100 Endings Book Club in May, and we're on a break until returning in September.
Hope you've enjoyed Steam Highwayman or plan on doing so in the future!
Watabou is a legendary creator of fantasy map tools, collected together in Procgen Arcana (free).
The newest one is Tavern Map Generator, creating a multiple level floor map for a tavern.
It's light on features so far, as it's barely 2 weeks old. But normally watabou adds features pretty quickly.
I'm a big listener of solo play podcasts (not videos, rarely group plays), and I've been listening to the Luck Roll with Brian.
It's a solo play podcast using Mythic Bastionland, following the adventures of Knotte, the Gilded Knight. Alongside other characters such as squire, rivals and allies.
It gets on with playing, explains things at a reasonable pace and has been easy to listen to and episode length varies (average an hour). If you want to hear how Mythic Bastionland works when played by another, or just enjoy actual plays, give it a try.
So far there are 8 episodes.
Have you listened already?
If you've been playing Steam Highwayman this month, I hope they've been going well. Or at least in a memorable way!
Steam Highwayman is an open-world series set in alternate steam-age Britain. It's the 100 Endings Book Club read for May.
So have you been ambushing the rich to give to the poor? Joined the Compact to foment revolution? Raced in the Spencer Cup? Gone to prison? Gone to the big city? Ridden in an airship?
