Futuristic, Horror and Modern PDFs and Books for Solo RPGs

Here we are looking at paid or free pdf and book titles for non-fantasy solo gaming, including science fiction, horror, cyberpunk, post-apocalypse, modern and science-fantasy.

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Starting Points

Solo RPGs is the art of playing a tabletop roleplaying game on your own. You are player, gamesmaster, worldbuilder, narrator and audience.

There is a full guide of solo titles including many emulators and classic solo titles.

Some people like to journal, some like to play their favourite RPG, some try out new RPGs. Others play RPGs specific to solo play, adventure gamebooks or a lightweight RPG. I'm currently working my way through various British RPGs, old and new.

Other guides with Solo sections include Sci-Fi Solo Titles, Fantasy Basics, Horror Solo, Fantasy Dungeon Solo Titles, Fantasy Wilderness and Hexcrawls and Fantasy Sea Solo PDFs.

For resources and advice for solo rpgs, check out The Soloist blog on Substack.

Nov 2025: New titles. Jun 2024: new titles. Nov 2023: alt solo section added. Aug 2023: Cards section added. Free & pwyw split into rpgs & tools. .

Major Futuristic Titles

Some PDFs are much larger and comprehensive.

Ironsworn: Starforged from Mophidius is the sci-fi cousin of Ironsworn, also written by Shawn Tomkin. Make powerful vows and explore the workings of your part of the galaxy.
From Candlenaut is Entity, a solo game taking on the role of a synthetic AI explorer, stranded in an expanse filled with alien ruins.
Across a Thousand Dead Worlds from Blackoath Entertainment is a space horror that has you exploring all kind of ruins in search of alien technology.
Another RPG is D100 Space from Martin Knight, which is a solo adventure game captaining a starship through the galaxy, with supplements to support it.
In a solo game, to captain a Star Trek ship Mophidius has STA Captain's Log Solo Roleplaying Game (TNG Edition) PDF. There are 3 other versions for other eras, the same except for the covers.

Free and PWyW Solo Tools & RPGs

If you like free (or pay-what-you-want) pdfs and random tables then there are some options. And where you find one you might find more...

Stars Without Number from Sine Nomine Publishing is a free RPG, which also has many pages or random tables. And a cyberpunk version in Cities without Number.
To enhance Starforged, Eric Bright has Starsmith: Expanded Oracles, a huge pay-what-you-want supplement expanding tables from the original game.
For a free solo adventure using Call of Cthulu, Chaosium has Alone Against the Flames, set in the 1920s.
JV Random Tables: Cyberpunk and Modern from JeansenVaars has two pages of d20 tables for locations and characters.

Cards

Decks of cards are useful for random choices and playing screenless / offline .

The Sidequest Decks from Inkwell Ideas provide quest ideas and a map. They cover a number of genres, including Horror/Lovecraft and Sci-fi (depicted) among many.
For an oracle, gm helper and random generator in one, The GameMaster's Apprentice: Sci Fi from Larcenous Designs is a deck of cards for your solo game.
The Galaxy Builder Decks: Planets from Journey Mountain Studios is a deck of double sided cards with unique planets and planet traits. Its part of a series including Systems, Asteroids and Spooky Planets, all together in a Galaxy Builder Decks Bundle.
Sci-Fi Locations - Concept Cards from Artemis Games is a deck of 56 cards detailing unique worlds. Others exist for Sci-Fi Characters and Sci-Fi Planets.
From Zadmar Games is a solo system and deck of cards called Tricube Tales. The cards are used to drive the narrative and tricube tales can be paired with most rpgs.

Horror

If you want to play a vampire, then journalling game Thousand Year Old Vampire from The Hutchingsonian Presents-PlaGMaDA is the game for you!
For system-neutral group or solo goodness, Larcenous Designs has The GamesMaster's Apprentice: Horror Deck. A deck of 60 cards with prompts, dice rolls, npc traits, names and more for solo inspiration. There is also the GameMaster's Apprentice: Weird Horror.
For something a little different, Escape from Pumpkin World the PocketMod RPG from Doppelganger Publishing
Alone Against Fear from Ganesha Games sees you plying a variation of Four Against Darkness, exploring a town invaded by monsters, trying to close Severn Gates of Hell on Earth.
A bit different is Sidequest Decks: Lovecraftian/Paranormal from Inkwell Ideas, 55 cards with maps and adventure ideas.
Heinrich's Call of Cthulhu Guide to Carcosa from Chaosium, by Heinrich D. Moor is a horror gamebook or solo adventure. It's a replayable campaign where you can investigate Dim Carcosa.

Alternative Solo Games

Some solo games that aren't rpgs or just have some rpg elements.

An adventure wargame, as opposed to an RPG, Five Parsecs from Home from Mophidius is designed for solo, assembling ragtag crew of galactic trailblazers.
The Wretched from Loot the Room is set in a spaceship where you are the last survivor. But a hostile lifeform is onboard with you. Others in the series include Go Alone.
The Quiet Year from Buried Without Ceremony is a map game, detailing the struggles of a community in a post-apocalyptic setting, as they attempt to build something in a quiet year before trouble arrives.
From Lame Mage Productions, Microscope by Ben Robbins lets you explore the history of a collapsed empire, a galactic civilisation or an ancient line of sorcerers. Or a backwater town!
Gamebooks are an alternative to solo rpgs with oracle or journals. From PenguinComics is Random Solo Adventure: Post Apocalypse - Solo Gamebook, taking a romp through a wasteland of the world that was.

Other Solo Titles

Then there are a few other titles for solo that don't fit in other categories

From AlwaysCheckers Publishing, Notorious lets you play a bounty hunter hunting down fugitives and attracting trouble.
T-Rex Games has Space Aces: TNG (The New Guidebook), a lightweight adventure game with rules for solo and lots of random tables.
Glide from Sleepy Sasquatch Games is a solo game about desert wastes on a planet, hoping to restore it's past splendour.
Barbarians of the Ruined Earth from DIY RPG Productions is a rpg inspired by Thudarr the Barbarian, mixing in Mad Max and Pirates of Dark Water. With support from some random tables
By Cassi Mothwin is Tangled Blessings: 1-2 Player Magic Academy Horror, where you can play as either a solo journalling or 2-player rpg in a spooky magical academy. Powered by tarot cards.
For a solo rpg in modern era, MDO Design has Elegy, where you try to survive the big city nights as a vampire.