Triple-O: The Player Character Emulator

Triple-O is a tool for solo RPG players who want to invert roles and play as the GM instead of a character. This resource allows you to dynamically and naturally emulate character behavior and actions, making it ideal for running published adventure modules or exploring your own creations. Originally released as a one-page tool that sold more than 500 copies, this expanded zine edition builds on that foundation with clearer explanations, additional use cases, real-play examples, and a wider set of tables. No bloat, no filler, no complications. Just polished and enriched! PRAISE FOR TRIPLE-O "I have spent ages playing solo RPGs (D&D etc etc) and even with solo rulesets it just wasn't clicking. Got directed to these Triple-O rules and oh my, THIS is what I've been missing!" "This is a fantastic light player emulator that will let you be the GM and get to run the adventures you want to run!" "Phenomenal! I’ve been looking for something like this or just winging it for a while now, and Triple-O is exactly right!" "Wow! This seems quite popular, congrats! And well deserving. This is exactly the tool I need. I hadn’t thought of approaching things this way and it has been and elegant solution so far. Thanks!" Triple-O is useful in many scenarios: Run published adventures: GM a group of emulated characters through any adventure module. Explore your creations: Test your world-building, adventure design, or even your session prep against unpredictable character behavior. Delegate actions: Focus on a primary character while using Triple-O to emulate hirelings, allies, or secondary characters. WATCH THE DEMO: Watch me demoing Triple-O with a published adventure module: Its engine is based on one core assumption: Your character will do the most obvious thing—unless there is a reason not to. Every time such a reason comes up, you think of three possible actions (the Triple-O): The Obvious — the default, expected action. The Option — a reasonable alternative that still makes sense. The Odd — something unexpected, coming a bit from left field. You then resolve which one happens through a simple procedure, supported by spark tables that help you interpret character traits, moods, and situational pressures. Those traits can be pulled directly from any character sheet, regardless of system, or generated with the provided random tables. Triple-O is: System agnostic: you can use Triple-O with any system, no adaptation required. Highly compatible: bring your own oracles and random tables, mix and match as much as you want. It won't break! I am not messing with the core system. Its beauty lies in its simplicity, and I want to preserve that. But expanding it into a zine format allows me to do a few important things: More tables: Offer additional random tables for different situations Examples: Provide concrete, varied examples for people that never played solo as the GM Clarifications: Explain the core concepts more clearly, with step-by-step instructions More use cases: Show alternative ways to use the same mechanics One of those alternatives includes using the core Triple-O roll as a lightweight system on its own; especially for sessions where you’re more interested in worldbuilding, exploration, or story development than engaging with a heavier mechanical framework. The original one-page version remains fully compatible. It can still sit on the table as a cheat sheet, just now with supporting material that helps you ease into a mode of play that can feel unfamiliar at first. The final zine will feature: 50 pages, full color A tasteful layout with repurposed public domain images 10+ tables, ranging from abstract, spark-style inspiration to precise results for specific situations Step-by-step procedures with clear explanations Practical examples to show how everything works in play