A downloadable character emulator

Buy Now$11.90 USD or more

Physical copies available at Critical Kit



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! 

If you own the one-page version, you have a special discount!


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!


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 zine features:

  • 52 pages, full color
  • A tasteful layout with repurposed public domain images
  • 13 tables, ranging from abstract, spark-style inspiration to precise results for specific situations: combat, social, exploration, delving, downtime and more!
  • Step-by-step procedures with clear explanations
  • Practical examples to show how everything works in play

Purchase

Buy Now$11.90 USD or more

In order to download this character emulator you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $11.90 USD. You will get access to the following files:

Triple-O_zine_v102b.pdf 41 MB
Triple-O_zine_printer-friendly_v102b.pdf 2.3 MB
Triple-O_zine_no-bg_v102b.pdf 31 MB
Triple-O_tables only_v102.pdf 419 kB
Triple-O_meta-tables.pdf 101 kB
Triple-O_trait sheets-A5.pdf 769 kB
Triple-O_trait sheets-A4.pdf 852 kB
Triple-O_Bookmark.pdf 110 kB
Triple-O_bookmark_pnp.pdf 139 kB
Triple-O_companion-app
External
Triple-O_one-page.pdf 6.4 MB
Triple-O_one-page_printer friendly.pdf 2.6 MB
Triple-O_one-page_color_no-bg.pdf 2.6 MB

Development log

Comments

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Hello there. 

Imagino que sem chance de ter a versão física no Brasil né?  Amei a versão de uma página na sua página, e adoraria ter a versão física pra jogar na mesa. Mas talvez o jeito seja pegar o PDF e imprimir em casa mesmo né?

Outra coisa, o aplicativo funciona também em aparelhos móveis? 

Abraço!

Fala, Diego

Infelizmente, por enquanto sem previsão de uma versão física em português. A versão em inglês deve chegar até o Brasil pela Critical Kit, mas não faço ideia o quão proibitivo o frete pode ser. 

Com relação ao app, sim, rola perfeitamente pelo celular. Abraço!

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Hi! Your work is so revolutionary that I would love to see an Italian translation of it. If you don't have one planned, I would be happy to handle it myself in exchange for a digital copy. In any case, congratulations on the magnificent idea!

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Thank you so much! In fact, there might be some good news soon about an Italian version! :) 

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Yessss!

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First off, I think this idea is pretty mind blowing and am all in on the idea.  The one thing is I can't help but mess with stuff.  I don't just play any board game I try and rip it apart and put it back together in a way I think is better.  Here's what I would change.  First off I would have just one roll to both get the added information and the 000 outcome.  I would also add another option.  Instead of Obvious, option and odd.  I have Standard, Smart, Stupid, and Strange.  Also instead of a more open tag system I would have each outcome use a different tag used specifically in the case of the Standard (Personality), Smart (Advantage), Stupid (Flaw), and Strange (Quark).   This gives us a general theme of what the action is.  For example, the flaw of "Greed" would mean any Stupid action has to include their greed in some way.   I would make it you roll a d4, d6, d8, d10, and d12 altogether.  The d4, d6, and d8 determine both which of 4 tables is used and gives you an action and a word describing the What, Why, and How of the action that was taken.  The d10 and d12 is either used for a disposition, and Method or the Action and Objective in combat.  There would be four different personalities that change how likely one result is to another.  For example, Aggressive characters tend to do "Stupid" actions related to their flaw.  Here's a example

That's really cool, I like your implementation!

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Hey Cezar. Do you think that there will be the possibility in the near future to buy Triple-O in a physical form via a seller in Europe? At the moment I am a bit deterred to order in the USA (because of shipping costs, import duties and because I don't like the direction they are getting in that country).

Would love to buy a physical copy.

Thank you for making great games. Just found you via a podcast.

Greetings from germany
Frank

Edit: Ok, shame on me. I just saw, that the company is located in the UK. I got tripwired by the banner on the page saying "Our US team". Unfortunately UK is subpar too because they are not in the EU anymore. Ether way, don't bother with my question above. But I would like to ask, if there is a way to buy physical and digital copy as a bundle, because that is what I would like to do.

Hi Frank, thanks so much for the kind words, and welcome aboard!

No shame at all, the banner can definitely be misleading. Critical Kit is based in the UK, but you'll be happy to hear that they're actually in the process of setting up local distribution in Europe specifically to avoid the extra shipping costs and import duties. So there's news coming on that front soon, and that will include distribution to local game stores as well.

As for a bundle, there isn't a formal one at the moment, but here's what I can do: if you grab a physical copy, just shoot me a message and I'll work something out for the digital version. No problem at all.

Thanks again for reaching out, and greetings back to Germany!

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Heard about this from a YouTuber I follow about Solo RPGs. Followed the link and happily purchased what I thought was the whole product but discovered was only the a one page version. Nothing clearly labeled it as such. Then there was a link to buy the full version at a discount which I tried to follow from the page where I bought the one page version, which I thought was the full version but it wouldn't allow me to pay for it at the discounted price. 

While I think this is an innovative and interesting product, the way it's presented is pretty shady. I get that it's hard to make money as an independent game writer developer but it really left a bad taste in my mouth. Can't really recommend this for that reason despite the merits of the idea. Perhaps more clearly label the products and either fix the discount link or remove it.

Hi, thank you so much for taking the time to share this. I'm really sorry about the confusion, and I completely understand the frustration.

You're absolutely right that the labeling could have been clearer. That's on me. I've gone ahead and updated the title to make it clear that it's the one-page version, so hopefully no one else runs into the same issue. I've also looked into the discount link. I've double-checked on my end and it seems to be working normally, but I realize that doesn't help if it gave you trouble when you needed it.

To make up for the hassle, I've requested a refund for both versions. You shouldn't have to deal with any of that just to get what you were excited to pick up in the first place.

Thanks again for letting me know about this. Feedback like yours helps me do better, and I genuinely appreciate it. Sometimes it gets a bit hard to do everything by myself, so your pointing that out is truly helpful. 

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I want to buy this, but I'm confused by the roll tables. It looks like d66 but the tables start at 11 and some numbers are skipped over. I'm new to ttrpg, so I'm just wondering what the purpose is? Am I supposed to combine tables? Thanks.

Hi there! A d66 table is an industry term that refers to a table where you roll two d6, but instead of adding them together, you use the first number as the tens and the second as the units. So if you roll a three and a one, you get 31. That's why it starts at 11 and then goes to 16, and then to 21. It's not actually 66 entries; it's just 36 entries, but the name d66 is the default used in the RPG space. Hope that helps!

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Thanks! That makes sense to me. I look forward to trying out this system.

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Tem versão em portugues irmao ? Outra pergunta... posso t pagar por pix ? Vlwww

Fala! Versão em português por enquanto só a de uma página. É de graça no meu site.

Mas consigo t pagar via pix esse produto completo ? to sem cartao de credito

Eita, perdi essa mensagem nas notificações. Cara, me manda um email e a gente ajeita um esquema. 

capacle@gmail.com

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Where can  I order a physical copy?

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Hi there! You can order one here: https://www.criticalkit.co.uk/products/triple-o

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Thank you. Ordered!  Shipping to the states is more than the book. 

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I just noticed from previous comments that you might offer a discount on the PDF since I purchased the hardcopy?  Is that true?

Yup, shipping is indeed insane. Yeah, hit me up at capacle@gmail.com and we work something out :)

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Any plans for North America distribution?

Yes, in fact they are currently ongoing. There should be news very soon in that regard. :)

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Another fantastic creation by Cezar! An easy to learn, fast to use, lightweight tool that doesn’t get in the way even if you’re constantly leaning into it, and makes you understand and develop your characters.

Even if you’re solo playing with a single character, using a more traditional GM emulator, Triple-O can be useful when you wish to ‘incorporate’ your hero and decide on a course of action. It can also make your life easier by ‘managing’ companions and NPCs.

I've written a full review here, if anyone is interested: https://thelonebard.com/triple-o-review

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Thank you for the thoughtful review, Jake!

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Hello, sorry to bother, I have a few questions I wish to ask (no pressure to answer them though!) about the Triple-O emulator(s):

1. May I know if there will be further updates or new contents to be added in the future? Or is the emulator largely considered as completed? If there will be more content, I'm looking forward to it!

2. I understand that the emulator is fairly new/recently published, but I was wondering if there will be any sales or discounts in the near future? It's all right if there won't be one this soon though! I'm only asking so I could better plan my purchases around the currency difference (context: my local currency isn't USD and I will need to pay more than the number shown). 

3. Lastly, may I know if purchasing a copy on the Zine version would give a Community Copy for the One Page version? Or do we need to spend above the shown amount in the Zine to provide a Community Copy for the One Page version? I understand that purchasing the One Page version only would provide a Community Copy for it. However, seeing as the version is added into the Zine, I was wondering if purchasing the Zine would provide a Community Copy as well.

Thank you! And apologies for the massive wall of texts.

Hi there,

No worries at all; it’s my pleasure to answer the questions.

1. I would say the tool is now considered completed. The final meta tables were the last extra content I planned for it, and it is fully delivered.

2. I can’t tell exactly. Sometimes I’m offered participation in bundles or sales, which might happen. Otherwise, there is the winter sale that itch hosts, but that’s a bit far ahead into the future.

3. I honestly haven’t considered that. I’ve been replenishing community copies regularly on both versions; however, I tend to keep the sales of a product generating copies for that product specifically for most of the time.

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Hello, thanks for the swift response!

1. It's great to know that the tool is completed! Though I'd be glad to see more updates, I think there's also something wondrous about seeing it completed as well.

2. Oh, I see. I'm not sure if I could wait patiently 'til the winter sale or a potential sale, but at least I have a better idea of my budget. In short, I have decided to buy the tool at it's full price and looking forward to using it in my solo games! ^_^"

3. I think I understand. I thought to ask as it was something I noticed and wondered that if I were to purchase the Zine, it could help someone out with a Community Copy of the One Page version as well. Still, it's nice to know that our purchase will help both the creator and anyone that may need it!


Thank you once again!

I appreciate your support and I hope you enjoy it!

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I wasn't expecting much from the new meta questions, then I read them. They are awesome, it's like a piece missing from Triple O just fell into place and clicked perfectly with the rest.

That's awesome to hear! Have fun! ^^

Just picked up this digital version, and would love the physical copy but shipping is too expensive. Any chance there will be a print-on-demand version made available via drivethrurpg or lulu?

I am afraid it won’t be available as PoD since I have a publisher partner for this one. Depending on where you live, you might be able to pick it up at a local game store soon. 

We are also working with distribution partners, so perhaps there’ll be cheaper alternatives in the near future. 

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Thanks! I’ll keep an eye out. 

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thank you for all your hard work!! i received my physical copy recently, excited to start a solo campaign with it soon (:

in regards to the digital version, i saw others who backed on backerkit asking about it here. what all information should i provide in the email? thank you!

(no worries if i cant claim the digital version, i can repurchase here when i get my next check in a month if thats what i need to do)

Hi there!

Glad you received your physical copy.! Just email me at capacle@gmail.com with the email address you used on BackerKit, and I can provide you with your download key. 

Cheers!

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Do the physical orders come with PDFs as well or should I grab those here?

Hi there, I can sort that out for you. 

Please shoot me an email at capacle@gmail.com

Hi Cezar, 

I have a question. I probably just don't quite get it :D

I just pre-ordered the physical copy. Do I need to make another purchase to access the digital content—including the 'app' and the other files provided here—or did I simply miss an email? D:

Hi there! Could you drop me an email, I’ll sort this out for you :) 

capacle@gmail.com

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sent it :)

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Hello! Is the one page version included in this?

Hi there! It will be soon; I just couldn’t find the time to update it yet ;)

It is now!

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Hello! I would love to use this but I can not pay for it at the moment. Will there be community copies available?

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Hi, love the companion app but I've noticed that the traits for the first character keep getting overwritten by the traits for the fourth character. It seems to happen when I haven't had that tab open for a while. The other slots that I've used (2 and 3) seem to be unaffected. 

Hi there! Thanks for pointing that out. I'll look into it. 

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It seems I have identified the issue. It should be resolved by now!

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Awesome! Thanks!

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Could you include the original Triple-O sheet with this purchase?

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I believe I could! I'll figure out a good way to do it; thanks for the suggestion!