Solo and Wardenless Play

Solo and Wardenless play are very different methods of approaching Mothership because they require that the players know how to both play and run the game.

If you want to keep the OSR's idea of "player skill" alive in a solo or Wardenless game, it takes a different approach than the co-operative worldbuilding, journaling, or oracle use common to other games. Instead, Advanced Rules provides procedures and automation to give players a simulation that runs independently of them, and that they can react to. In this way the Advanced Rules solo and Wardenless play method emulates the feel of old school Dungeons & Dragons tournament play, with dice based automation replacing the referee.

Without a traditional game master or warden, no single player has full authority over the game world. Instead, players are challenging themselves and each other by applying all of their skill to novel situations, hunting for those problem-solving moments where everyone feels .

Finally, if you are a designer who wants to incorporate solo or Wardenless play into your own modules, you can also use this methodology to help you build the right tools directly into your writing.