Hey want to become a player everyone wants to play with? Maybe try out a few Solo RPGs? Sounds counter productive but solo RPGs help you build skills that can make you the player people want at their table. open.substack.com/pub/croakerr...

So Solo RPGs can make you a GM but how can Solo RPGs also make you a better player? Read this week’s Lone Toad to find out how! Plus a smattering of solo RPG news from around the world. croakerrpgs.substack.com/p/be-a-bette... #ttrpgs #solorpgs

"Hear the Word of the God Emperor! Let his strength be your strength. Let his armour be your armour. To die for the God Emperor is to do your duty. Remember this!" #warhammer40k #40k #28mm

Some hobby updates. My townhouses are mostly complete. The removable tops will give them a lot of versatility for a game like Mordheim or Five Leagues from the Borderlands. Now to find a group to play with...

Alright i've thrown my hat into the ring for the Cassette jam. Cashettee is a game about metal music and a nasty demon who is trying to eat your hopes and dreams. #ttrpgs

A month after a big life move and I'm stuck in a bit of a creative funk. A lot of my creative work was done while on the train commuting to work but that's not an option anymore. Any tips or tricks on building a new creative habit? Feels like I'm rebuilding from scratch.

Look is it a bit odd that @gilarpgs.bsky.social wants to make a ttrpg about a Starcraft caravan? Yeah but who am I to judge.

Ever wanted to become a better Game Master? Well the good news is you can become a better Game Master by playing solo games. How? Well, read this Lone Toad article to find out more! #solorpgs #ttrpgs croakerrpgs.substack.com/p/run-better...

After my tragic and shameful failure with cardboard bricks, I've moved to a cardboard, styrofoam, craft stick creation. Going with two Mordheim-ish town houses with removable tops and playable interiors. A bit more construction then texture and paint.

Was feeling pretty god damn smug about these cardboard brick constructions. But u shouldn't have. Because disaster was waiting around the wings. A pure,texturing disaster. Only the archway survives. Do you want to see the disaster pics? #terrain #wargaming

We just moved houses so the game budget rolled a crit fail. But what I do have is imagination, stacks of cardboard and YouTube tutorials,(check out Selrahc Games for awesome cardboard tutorials). Going to see if I can take his paper and turn it into something cool. Or it will be a disaster.

Game: FIST Character: Beast (no pro-nouns, just Beast) Mission: infiltrate an abandoned nuclear silo and determined what has happened. Situation: mission accomplished, all enemies KIA. Specimen rescued. Scientists recruited. Complete victory.

Game: Mothership RPG Character: Cpl Blood, Marine Situation: protection of scientists and other crew. Retrieve sample. Status: Died doing what he loved, killing xenos while saying witty one-liners Insurance Payout: delayed.

Had a kickass time at Go Play 2025 in Brisbane. Put on by a great team that is hugely passionate about their gaming and being inclusive. I'll drop some small game summaries in the next day or two.

Going to an rpg convention in my new city tomorrow. I'm horrible at taking photos but I'll try to do some summaries tomorrow.

This little guy was a tiny bit hard to paint. From the Gloomhaven Button and Bugs solo game. Review on the Lone Toad coming at some point!

Back to reading RPGs after a life disruption. Had to kick it off with @rivetheadgames.bsky.social's Farewell to Arms Redux. And what could make it better than to read it with my #40k Krieg minis. Really makes it all work.

Kids discovering the Tooth Fairy isn't real. Why can't they just believe a goblin sneaks into their room and pays them money for teeth?

Today I start my extermination campaign against the ants infesting my house. Chitin will be shattered. Colonies obliterated. A sad day. A red day.

Take a trip I to the misty past of solo RPGs with Gygax’s very own solo rules! Probably the first set of solo tools ever published, Gygax walks us through how to create a solo dungeon and how to adventure through it. #solorpg #ttrpg open.substack.com/pub/croakerr...

This weekend's Lone Toad is a banger but will be delayed a day or two as I travel across the country. If you've ever been interested in the first ever published solo ttrpg tools, you'll love this.

Always wanted to get into Ironsworn or Starforged didn't know where to start? This excellent bundle has everything you need to play hundreds of hours solo, gmless or traditional! bundleofholding.com/presents/Iro...

Protect Your Skin and Eyes is an upcoming Solo RPG project, and I’m starting to drip-feed some in-world lore. These articles are probably a bit close to home, but things will soon veer into the drastic! open.substack.com/pub/sneaklea...

The Lone Toad has crossed the 50-post mark, crashing through it like the sound barrier. To celebrate this, I talk about my 5 favourite Lone Toad posts of the last 2 ½ years and muse on the future of The Lone Toad. #solorpg #ttrpgs open.substack.com/pub/croakerr...

I'm loving Trent's hobby vlog. If he doesn't post on a day, he will delete it all. It's great watching something made to be temporary, like a live performance. Plus the dude is super creative and talented! youtube.com/@trentholbro...

I played Cartograph at last year's PAX and had a blast. This win is so well deserved.

You are a frog but you were not always a frog. Cursed for a past sin, you live an amphibian existence. You hope against hope that your good deeds will be enough to lift your curse.

My first proper idea for the one page jam. Frosch a solo journaling game where you play a frog who must be set free… More info to come!

This week, we look at Princess with a Cursed Sword and see why it is consistently in the top 10 of Solo RPGs on Itch. We are also joined by the game’s designer @cyborgurl.bsky.social, who shares her motivations for creating Princess, other games she has made and what she has in the hopper!

First one page Rpg Jam idea. One Page Rpg - The Roleplay Game. Choose one of six tortured designers (A pbta fanatic, failed Blogger, Gronard, etc) and complete several challenges to get the great number of itch.io downloads.

Can't stop, won't stop (making one page RPGs. ) The @onepagerpgjam.bsky.social has started. Get to work folks!

Tyranid Warriors from 90s #40k were so fuckin goofy looking. If I was an Guardsman with these silly bastards charging me I'd probably have to take a break test for laughing. Still. I'd like some.

It's that time of year again where the One Page Jam calls to me, dashing all other TTRPG projects upon it's rocks. And you know what? I'm all for it. Let's make a one-page game!

First roll in my newest Starforged campaign. The gods smile upon me. Nothing bad will happen to this character.

This week’s Lone Toad is all about playing in established universes using the Ironsworn group of games. Why use Ironsworn games to play in my favourite universes Tips for getting the most out of those games I also share a smattering of Ironsworn news. open.substack.com/pub/croakerr...

Instead of working on mechanics, gameplay loops or statistics for Protect Your Eyes and Skin (a potential solo rpg about surviving a world blasted by an out of control sun) I wrote 11 pages of lore. Somebody stop me. Please. But the lore is kinda good...

So Protect Your Skin and Eyes started off as a joke but I'm considering working on it as a solo rpg. Attempts to cool the planet have gone seriously wrong. Random deadly bursts of sunlight make any outdoor travel a dangerous situation. But you must pick over the sun blasted cities for survival.

Well if I'm going to play an Old World campaign using Sundered Isles I'm going to have to play as a rat catcher right?

Why shouldn't I play a #solorpg campaign in the Old World using Sundered Isles or Ironsworn? Yes... Why shouldn't I...

No Lone Toad this weekend as I'm getting back into my regular schedule after a couple disruptive months. Got two great posts ready to go next month. How to play Ironsworn games in whatever creative Universe you want. And a review/actual play of Princess with a Curse Sword with author interview

Bus Hard, my solo RPG about riding the bus as a secret agent because you wrecked your car, is out! It’s fun. Makes your commute a bit more interesting, and hey, isn’t that worth it right there? croakerrpgs.itch.io/bus-hard #solorpg #ttrpgs

Been reading the Warhammer Undead Armies book from 4th edition. Boy the art and the fiction writing is just out of this world. Lore so thick you can stand a spoon in it. Lore so thick a straw wouldn't work. Lore so thick it would get called out for inappropriate clothing in a workplace.

I told you all I’d be releasing my solo RPG about riding a real-life bus as a secret agent. And I always make good on my threats. Check out Bus Hard, a solo RPG of sorts with real-world stuff in it. #solorpgs open.substack.com/pub/sneaklea...

Spent the morning commute whipping up a quick rpg about being a secret agent taking a bus to their mission because they wrecked their fancy car. Has real world elements like how late the bus is, if you tapped on (just good manners), if there are tickets agents on board (they are onto you!).

In Solo RPGs do the tools make the game? Or does the game make the tools? Well, that actually doesn’t make any sense. Check out this week’s Lone Toad for how I’ve played Solo RPGs over the years, including Physical, Digital and Hybrid! open.substack.com/pub/croakerr... #solorpgs #ttrpgs

Love this review of Queenless by @reyesraine.itch.io (Friend of the Toad). I love reading about folks’s bees and their various adventures through the valley. One day, I’ll get back to it with a sequel. www.wobblerocket.com/2025/01/22/g... #solorpgs #ttrpgs

Life goals.

I travel to a much warmer part of Australia and they get a cold snap. It. Isn't. Fair.

More content for Ironsworn! Let me grab my axe and get to sharpening!

On the train this morning I pretty much pounded out my “Why Should you Use Ironsworn games to play in your favourite Sci-fi and Fantasy settings” article. Look for its coming on the fourth week of the sixth month! 🐎🧙‍♂️