Character Compass (EN)

Designed by Ali Rivera – 2025

A tiny personality engine for characters in solo RPGs.

Character Compass is a lightweight system that gives autonomy to characters in solo RPGs. 

 When playing solo, the player often knows everything that will happen in the story: hidden traps, betrayals, plot twists, and secrets. Because of this, decisions can become predictable. 

 This system allows characters to make decisions based on their personality so that even the player can be surprised by the outcome.

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How it works

Each character has three personality axes. 

Each axis has a value between 1 and 6. Lower values favor the right trait, while higher values favor the left trait.

• Courageous ↔ Cautious
• Cooperative ↔ Self-Centered
• Curious ↔ Pragmatic

When a character must make a decision without the player’s meta-knowledge influencing the outcome:

1. Choose the axis relevant to the situation.
2. Roll 1d6.
3. Compare the result with the character’s value.

• If the roll is lower than the value: follow the left trait.
• If the roll is higher than the value: follow the right trait.
• If the roll is equal: the character hesitates (narrate doubt, reroll, or follow another character).
• On a 1 or 6, the closest trait is always activated.

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What it’s for

• Add personality-driven decisions to solo RPGs
• Reduce meta-knowledge during exploration
• Create unexpected narrative moments
• Works with any RPG system

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What’s inside

• The full Character Compass rules
• Examples of use in play
• Sample characters
• A compact mini-sheet for your character sheet

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Credits

Design: Ali Rivera / Cocosoft
Visual assets: AI

You may use this system for free. Sharing with attribution is appreciated.

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Looking for another solo RPG experience?

If you enjoyed Character Compass, you might also like these games from Cocosoft:

⚔️ Midgard Offline
A solo fantasy RPG designed for offline play, exploration, adventure, and emergent stories.
Visit Midgard Offline

☕ Café 90
A lightweight solo and GMless RPG inspired by sitcoms, where ordinary problems have a habit of becoming much bigger ones.
Visit Café 90