I love group games, but they’re a lot more like ensemble TV shows. Playing solo gives you the opportunity to focus on a single character and create a more traditional protagonist.
An interview with the creator of solo rpg podcast Errant Adventures. Continuing with a mix of solo gaming interviews.
Chat with Steve of Errant Adventures
Errant Adventures is a weekly (fortnightly at busy times) solo rpg podcast using a variety of roleplaying games. Games played include Starforged, Traveller, the Sword the Crown & the Unspeakable Power, Ironsworn and Blades in the Dark. Season one was the first solo podcast I was gripped by when starting my own solo rpg journey.
We start with gaming history, then podcast backstory, challenges and highlights, podcast production, solo play and some solo tools. Among other things.
Disclaimer: I'm an affiliate for DriveThru RPG.
What was your gaming story before starting Errant Adventures
My first encounter with TTRPGs (Tabletop Roleplaying Games) started in college. I was a huge Lord of the Rings nerd, and I saw someone sitting in our dorm’s common room with a LOTR book I didn’t recognize. I asked him about it, and he explained what TTRPGs were. I was immediately hooked and a short campaign of that LOTR RPG led to D&D 3.5.
We played D20 Star Wars (including the saga edition), D&D 3.5 and 4e, Vampire the Masquerade, and a little Cortex. I was in love with the combination of storytelling and gaming.
Post-college, I went through a couple years where I “forgot” I played RPGs. I didn’t have a group and life was busy. Then a friend asked me if I would run Pathfinder for some people and I was back in!
My current group has been together since 2018, and they are such a wonderful group of storytellers. In 2019, I ran a campaign set in my own space opera setting (the same setting of Book One - Meridian) using Scum & Villainy, and I think it is my favorite campaign I’ve ever run. I love those characters so much.
In February of 2020, we bought audio equipment to start a group AP, but when the pandemic started, that plan derailed. With multiple people working in high stress, frontline jobs, gaming became more important as an escape and our serious campaigns were put on hold for more light-hearted fun.
How did Errant Adventures come to be?
Because I had all this audio equipment sitting in my house, and I was furloughed from work for a couple months, I started playing around with it in preparation for our eventual group AP.
At the same time, the Ironsworn: Starforged playtest started, and I joined that discord. I saw a bunch of people posting written play reports, and I thought: wouldn’t it be interesting to record audio of myself going through character creation and playing a few sessions. Maybe that would be helpful to Shawn Tomkin, the designer, to hear someone figuring out the game in real time.
I did just that and posted the audio files in the discord. Shawn was super generous and suggested I post it to a podcast feed, and with the prospects of our group AP far in the distance, I thought: why not!
And so, Errant Adventures was born. Those first few episodes of Season 1 are the actual audio I recorded and posted in the playtest discord.
What have been the challenges and highlights of creating the podcast?
The challenges have been many.
Figuring out how to use different pieces of technology and software, remaining motivated and creative, navigating all the necessary aspects of creating a show for consumption.
I know that I need to do more marketing and engagement on social media and other places to get the word out about the show, but I sometimes have enough of a challenge just getting an episode recorded and released. I’m really proud that I didn’t miss a week for almost three years until 2023 happened.
2023 turned out to be one of the most personally difficult and challenging years of my life and I had to take a break because I couldn’t keep up with the necessary pace of production and take care of all the things I needed to in real life.
I’m working towards creating a more sustainable production schedule, which is partially why I pared back my release schedule to every other week instead of weekly. I’d like to get back to weekly releases, but not until I am confident I can maintain that pace again.
Those are challenges, but there are so many highlights to creating the show.
First and foremost is the absolute joy of hearing from people all around the world who listen to and enjoy the show. It’s hard to believe that anyone would listen to me talk to myself, and yet there are people who show up every episode.
I’ve also made new friends on the internet through this process, and that has been incredibly exciting. Creating a solo AP is a lonely endeavor, but meeting and collaborating with other creators in the space makes it a little less lonely.
Which of the characters who has appeared on Errant Adventures is your favourite?
That’s like asking someone to pick their favorite child… so of course I have an answer. Honestly, I love all the characters on the show because they are all extensions of me, and since it’s hard for me to pick just one, I’m going to pick one from each season and I am going to restrict myself to not picking main characters.
Season 1: Adalee. I already broke my rule because she becomes a main character by the end, but I think there’s so much more to her story that would be interesting to explore.
Season 2: Lyfaelia Balewind. Love a crazy sorceress, and she’s so fun to imagine.
Season 3: Quickdraw. He was a blast to voice.
I also really love Xarfal Brightwind from my Tales of the Burned Stones mini-series. That was a really fun mini campaign!
What does the production process for recording one episode look like?
So this has changed. I used to sit down in front of the microphone with a vague idea for an episode, hit record, and talk for an hour and fifteen minutes. Once I was nearing that time limit, I would try to find my way to a cliffhanger or satisfying stopping point.
From there I would edit the audio, cutting out bits that didn’t make sense and stitching together my rambling into something resembling a coherent (usually) thought. If I recorded for an hour and fifteen minutes, I’d be editing for 3-5 hours. Occasionally there were errors I didn’t notice when recording, so I had to re-record little bits of rules explanation or connective tissue to help make sense of my blatherings.
Once that raw audio is edited, I typically add some background music. In the early days, I used Syrinscape and just recorded the music as an additional audio track. Then I would trim it to fit the sections where I wanted the music. Now I add the background music during post-production.
With my new campaign, I started doing more scripting, and I have now moved to scripting the entire episode and then recording that script, which makes the editing process a lot easier. I’ve always been a better writer than speaker, and because this campaign has a lot of moving parts, I find writing out the sessions to be better and I’m able to add more flavor and description than I tend to when GMing extemporaneously.
So, I sit down with an idea and start writing until there’s a conflict point, then I write out my explanation of the rules, just like I would if I was talking through them at the table, and roll the dice. Essentially I’m doing the same thing as before with an extra step. I’m writing out my stream of consciousness before I record it. I’ve been pretty happy with the results so far!
Once I’ve got the finished audio file, it gets uploaded to Buzzsprout, my podcast host, and I create an mp4 in Canva for the YouTube upload. I may eventually start doing video recordings of my script reading because YouTube really wants videos with more than a static image. I just upgraded my computer which should open up some of those possibilities. Then it’s release day and I let the episode out into the world and hope it resonates with people!
What is the appeal of solo rpgs for you?
I love group games, but they’re a lot more like ensemble TV shows. Playing solo gives you the opportunity to focus on a single character and create a more traditional protagonist.
I also find that solo games tend to be more serious in tone. I think about my show like I’m writing a novel, but using RPG elements to resolve conflict points. It’s a fun combination of my two favorite hobbies!
What advice would you give people playing solo rpgs?
Only prep as much as you need to get started, whether it’s character, world, or plot. Don’t feel like you need to know everything about any of those to start playing.
You’ll figure it out as you go. Also, it’s your game: skip the boring parts and if something happens that doesn’t feel right, retcon and move on.
I made a video about starting to play solo RPGs. Hopefully this is helpful!
What rpg tools or random tables do you like to use for your games?
I love the random tables in the Starforged Reference Guide. To me, Ironsworn is the gold standard of tools and random tables for solo play.
I’ve also used the Mythic GME, though I haven’t had a chance to try out the 2nd edition yet, and there are some great random tables out there by Matt Davids called the Book of Random Tables.
I also love using Maze Rats for some fun little tables. There’s a lot packed into that tiny game.
Ultimately, if you’re starting to play solo, there are so many tools out there. Find the ones you enjoy and go for it!
Have you ever made your own RPG?
I have dabbled. Nothing complete, but I’ve got a few ideas jostling in my brain. I’m glad to see the d12 getting some love with Daggerheart, but I have a d12 game idea I’ve been noodling on for a while. We’ll see if it goes anywhere!
What are your next big projects that you can talk about?
Jon from Tale of the Manticore and I are wrapping up a collaboration that has taken us over two years to create. We’re both really excited to share it with the world.
Other than that, I do a monthly podcast on the Bad Spot youtube channel with my buddy Matt where we talk about RPG topics: solo and otherwise.
I’d like to get some of my fiction whipped into shape and start publishing that, especially if people are enjoying my space opera setting in the current campaign.
Where can people find you on social media?
I’m errantsolopod on Twitter, Threads, and Instagram. I lurk a lot, but I’m pretty responsive. I can also be reached at errantsolopod@gmail.com or you can check out my website.
What is your favourite food to eat while gaming?
I definitely don’t eat while I’m recording because nobody wants to hear that! But I do enjoy chips and pretzels when around the gaming table with friends. I also will occasionally eat a bowl of Greek yogurt with chocolate chips and frozen blueberries while I’m editing.
Is there anything else you would like to talk about?
Just to say how grateful I am for the people who listen to my show and support what I do, and to thank you, Duncan, for the opportunity to do this interview!
Finishing Up
Make sure to give Errant Adventures a listen if you haven't already. More solo-rpg related Interviews coming up!
There are many more articles on Rand Roll. Plus a Rand Roll Discord and instagram of Random Tables. I also create Generators at Chaos Gen and have a monthly random tools Newsletter.
