In this guide, you will learn how to play Fallout solo with ChatGPT, using Fallout: The Roleplaying Game by Modiphius. If you want to buy Fallout: The Roleplaying Game because you want to play it instead of running it for other players, then you’re in luck. In this guide, I will show you exactly how to play Fallout the RPG solo, without needing a game master or group of players.

What makes Fallout such an excellent choice for solo play is the high quality of the setting overall. Fallout dates back to the ’90s, and the lore is extensive. This is good news for AI roleplaying, as ChatGPT can draw upon decades of games and their respective lore. This allows for highly immersive, compelling gameplay, as the AI has a formidable amount of information to use as a reference.

Another good reason for playing Fallout: The Roleplaying Game solo with ChatGPT is the core rulebook itself. Modiphius’ 2D20 system works great out of the box and requires very little tweaking to make it suitable for solo play. Secondly, the rulebook does an excellent job of turning the Fallout universe into a tabletop roleplaying game, with many of the goodies from Fallout 4. This includes guns, loot, enemies, and locations to explore.

The core rulebook provides a wealth of information for you to draw upon, allowing you to use it as a strategy guide of sorts to explore The Commonwealth. It is perfectly possible to explore the wastelands of other areas of the Fallout universe; however, this will require some homebrewing on your part to match enemies and loot with your chosen location.

Fallout the RPG solo prompt for ChatGPT

Preparing ChatGPT for solo play

• On PC go to (Settings > Customize ChatGPT >Custom Instructions)
• On the mobile app (Settings > Personalization >Customizations)

Copy/Paste the following prompt into Custom Instructions in ChatGPT to create your Fallout campaign.

What would you like ChatGPT to know about you to provide better responses?

Assume the role of an expert post-apocalyptic writer that specializes in interactive fiction, as well as the storyline, quests, characters and character descriptions, locations, descriptions, groups and organizations, stories, events, and technology of Fallout 1, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, and Fallout 4. The adventure takes place in the Commonwealth.

How would you like ChatGPT to respond?

Describe everything that follows in the present tense, in response to what I type, while strictly and accurately adhering to only the established lore, descriptions, monsters and enemies, events and technology of Fallout 1, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, and Fallout 4, and written in the descriptive style of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Provide names for characters, locations, groups and organizations, events, and technology. Characters should always use dialogue, enclosed in quotation marks when speaking, addressing, or interacting with, written in the conversational style of Fallout 4. Do not type, compose, dictate, influence, script, generate, control, or describe what I am doing, saying, acting, behaving, thinking, feeling, experiencing, or any other aspect concerning me throughout the entire adventure, scenario, story, location, quest, mission, scene, event, description, dialogue, and conversation. Keep all responses to 80 words or less.

The opening scene

After you’ve set up ChatGPT for Fallout solo play, you need to enter the opening scene of your adventure. The opening scene acts as a spawn point for your character and seeds ChatGPT with the information it needs to start the game.

To start the game, enter the following prompt in the chat box as your opening scene:

I arrive at/travel to/enter [Insert Location]. What do I see when I arrive?

Example:

Player: I arrive near a small settlement in the Wasteland. What do I see when I arrive?

ChatGPT: The settlement, a cluster of ramshackle buildings, stands in a desolate expanse of the Wasteland. Rusted metal sheets patch gaps in crumbling walls. Smoke rises from a makeshift chimney. A tattered sign reads “Dusthaven.” Muted voices and the occasional clatter hint at life within. Guard towers, manned by wary figures with makeshift rifles, overlook the perimeter. Barren land stretches around, dotted with skeletal remains of long-dead trees.

Exploring settlements in Fallout: The Roleplaying Game with ChatGPT

When you play Fallout: The Roleplaying Game solo with ChatGPT, you can explore any place you wish. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a bustling city or a sun-blasted wasteland; the same method can be used for all locations. This allows the player to create an endless number of places to explore.

The method is fairly straightforward and is as follows:

1. The player prompts ChatGPT to create a list of places to explore.
2. The player then travels between these locations by using simple commands.

Creating a Fallout settlement with ChatGPT

Whenever you enter a town or city, you can use ChatGPT to generate locations for Fallout solo play. This method works for any location, whether it’s a small settlement,  an irradiated swamp or a large city. First, decide on what type of location you want to explore, whether it’s a town or city. Then, consult the table below to determine how many important locations it contains. The larger the habitation, the more places of interest it contains.

The settlement prompt for Fallout: The Roleplaying game solo play

You can create a list of places to visit in a settlement by using the prompt below. This prompt can be used at any point when you arrive in a settlement.

Create a list of [Insert amount] places in [Insert settlement name] consisting of short, one-sentence descriptions.

Example:

Having arrived in the town of Dusthaven, we need a series of places to explore. Our player enters the following prompt into ChatGPT:

Create a list of 6 locations in Dusthaven consisting of short, one-sentence descriptions.

Location list

Our player’s prompt created the following list of locations for them to visit in Dusthaven.

1. The Rusty Barrel – A dimly lit bar with scavenged furniture and a jukebox that occasionally sputters to life.
2. Dusthaven Market – A bustling open-air market where traders hawk their wares from rickety stalls.
3. Clinic of Dr. Jansen – A small, clean clinic run by an aging doctor who treats wounds with a mix of skill and luck.
4. Sheriff’s Office – A sturdy building with barred windows, home to the settlement’s lawkeeper and a single jail cell.
5. Hollowed Out Schoolhouse – An abandoned pre-war school turned community center, where children learn basic skills.
6. Rusty Arms Depot – A fortified shack selling a motley collection of weapons and ammo scavenged from the Wasteland.

Visiting a location in a settlement

During Fallout solo play, you can visit any location on the location list. Moreover, you can interact with anything or anyone you meet there. There are no limitations on who or what you can encounter in your city. Every person in the city has a potential tale to tell.

To visit a location on your settlement’s location list enter the following prompt into ChatGPT.

I arrive at/travel to/enter [Insert Location].

Example:

Our player decides to explore location 1 on the list: The Rusty Barrel.

Player: I enter the Rusty Barrel.

ChatGPT: The Rusty Barrel exudes a dim, smoky ambiance. Scratched wooden tables and mismatched chairs are scattered haphazardly. A battered jukebox hums softly in the corner, playing an old tune. Patrons, mostly rough-looking wastelanders, murmur in low voices. The bartender, a burly man with a scarred face, wipes down the counter with a dirty rag. Behind him, shelves are lined with dusty bottles of various liquors. The air smells of stale beer and grilled meat.

Talking to NPCs in your solo game

You can talk to any NPC you encounter when you play Fallout: The Roleplaying Game solo. However, to avoid confusing the AI, use proper punctuation during conversations and always make it clear to whom you’re speaking. Failing to do so might cause unpredictable results.

Example:

Player: I walk up to the bartender and say to him, “Howdy partner. My name’s McCoy and I’m a bounty hunter who brings troublemakers to justice. Know of anyone who might need my services?”

ChatGPT: The bartender looks up, eyeing you with cautious interest. “McCoy, huh?” he says, his voice gravelly. “Name’s Hank. We always got trouble around here. Folks talk about a gang causing a ruckus out near Deadman’s Hollow. Sheriff might have more details.” He sets a glass on the counter, pouring a generous measure of amber liquid. “Drink?”

Player: “Yes sir. What do you have there for me?”

ChatGPT: Hank slides the glass toward you, filled with a deep amber liquid. “This here is Dusthaven’s finest homebrew,” he says with a faint smirk. “Ain’t much, but it’ll put hair on your chest. On the house, seeing as you’re lookin’ to help out.” He leans on the counter. “Sheriff’s office is down the main drag, can’t miss it.”

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The D6 oracle

Roleplaying oracles are the most basic tools for solo play. These dice tables help procedurally generate content for your solo roleplaying games through a question-and-answer format. Players create the adventure by asking questions and then use their chosen oracle’s answers to improvise and steer the scene. This introduces unpredictability into the game and allows the player to use skill tests to affect the storyline.

The D6 oracle is a variation of the oracle in this article and contains two parts:

• Yes/no answers
• Action outcomes

Yes/no questions and answers

The simplest question you can ask a solo roleplaying oracle is a yes/no question. The yes/no oracle answers a range of simple questions about your game world. Whenever you have a yes/no question, roll D6 and consult the D6 oracle above.

When the oracle has given you it’s answer, write the question in the chat box with the yes/no answer from the D6 oracle.

Here are a few examples:

• Does the factory have a basement? (yes, and)

• Are there guards posted outside? (no,but)

• Can I pick the lock without being seen? (no)

Example:

Our player leaves the Rusty Barrel to see the sheriff of the settlement.

Player: I look around the town of Dusthaven, does anything interesting catch my eye?  (yes, and)

ChatGPT: Among the settlement’s clutter and dust, an old, pre-war billboard stands out, remarkably intact. It advertises “Silver Valley,” a once-luxurious resort now lost to time. Faded but discernible, it features an idyllic scene: pristine lakes, lush greenery, and elegant buildings. The slogan reads, “Paradise Awaits.” The mention of Silver Valley stirs curiosity and whispers of hidden wealth and untold secrets. Locals glance at it occasionally, a mix of hope and wariness in their eyes.

Changing the outcome of the Yes/No oracle using skill tests

The only way to influence the outcome of the yes/no oracle is through skill tests. Each success allows you to add +1  to the oracle’s answer. Alternatively, you can subtract -1 from the answer if it will be more favorable. Players can spend Action Points to gain more successes and thus change the outcome more dramatically.

Example:

Are the locals willing to talk to me about Silver Valley?

Yes/no oracle answer: No, but…

To alter the outcome of this answer, our player decides to roll a Speech skill test and gains two successes. The answer from the oracle becomes “Yes”.

Player: Are the locals willing to talk to me about Silver Valley? (yes)

ChatGPT: A grizzled settler, leaning on a rusty cane, eventually shares his tale. “Silver Valley, huh? Used to be a high-class resort before the bombs fell. Now it’s a ghost town. Rumor has it, there’s still treasure hidden there—pre-war tech, caps, who knows what else. Problem is, it’s crawling with raiders and worse. Folks who’ve gone lookin’ ain’t come back. If you’re thinkin’ of goin’, best be prepared for a fight.”

Skill Tests and Action outcomes

To make Fallout: The Roleplaying Game compatible with solo play, changes need to be made to how skill tests function. To find out the outcome of any roleplaying actions, whether you are picking a lock or intimidating an enemy, roll a D6. Then consult the D6 oracle for the action outcome.

To change the outcome of the roll, perform a skill test. Any skill that’s relevant to the action can be used. Each success from a skill test adds +1 to the action outcome.

Rolling a 1 on the 1D20 or using a Tag Skill generates two successes and 1 Action Point. You can use Action Points to roll more D20s.

Creating dungeons for Fallout: The Roleplaying Game solo play

Fallout dungeons, whether they be forgotten vaults, abandoned factories, or bombed out cities, can be generated easily for solo play.

To create a dungeon, use the following prompt:

Create a list of  locations in [Insert dungeon] consisting of short, one-sentence descriptions.

Example:

Our player wants to explore Silver Valley; a bombed out resort crawling with raiders, but might contain pre-war items and loot.

Player: Create a list of  locations in Silver Valley consisting of short, one-sentence descriptions.

ChatGPT:

1. The Grandeur Hotel – Once Silver Valley’s premier accommodation, its lobby is a blasted ruin, littered with broken chandeliers and upturned marble statues, now used as a raider fortress.
2. Blue Cascade Pool – An Olympic-sized pool gone stagnant and murky, its surface barely visible beneath a thick layer of algae and floating junk.
3. Valley Plaza Mall – A sprawling, gutted shopping complex, where skeletal mannequins stand among burnt-out storefronts and scavengers sift through rubble for scraps.
4. Emerald Casino – This half-collapsed casino reeks of stale smoke and mold, its slot machines jammed with grime, and its tables claimed as raider gambling dens.
5. Starlight Cinema – An abandoned theater where broken film reels dangle from the ceiling; gutted projector rooms serve as grim shelters for drifters and ghouls.
6. The Overlook Lounge – Perched at the valley’s edge, this once-glamorous bar now holds only shattered windows and a panoramic view of desolation.
7. Sunset Garden Spa – Overrun by weeds and broken fountains, this spa’s rotting massage tables lie beneath holes in the ceiling where rainwater drips through.
8. Luxury Cabins – Formerly private retreats for the wealthy, these cabins are now looted husks with splintered furniture and walls lined with raider graffiti.
9. Glassway Monorail Station – The rusted station remains frozen in time, with half-buried tracks and the remains of shattered monorail cars littering the platform.
10. Echo Falls – Once a scenic waterfall, now a dry cliffside where abandoned structures cling, echoing the valley’s past wealth and present ruin.

Entering a dungeon location

You can enter any location when you play Fallout solo with ChatGPT in this manner. You can use the exact same method as visiting a location in a settlement.

To enter a location in your dungeon enter the following prompt into ChatGPT.

I arrive enter [Insert Location].

Example:

Player: I enter the Grandeur Hotel.

ChatGPT: The lobby yawns open like the mouth of some forgotten beast, columns crumbling and floors slick with grime. Broken marble tiles crunch underfoot, and the air smells of mold and stale smoke. Tattered remnants of red carpets snake toward a ruined front desk, where a flickering lantern casts jittery shadows. Empty eyes of cracked portraits stare from the walls, watching the shattered grandeur decay. A faint murmur of voices echoes from deeper within, punctuated by laughter and the clang of metal.

To use your encounter alongside ChatGPT, enter the encounter description in brackets ().

For example:

• (an untriggered booby trap)
• (mole rats)
• (a rampant AI)
• (Raiders have taken over a small set of shanty huts and shout demands)

Example:

Our player has entered The Grandeur Hotel in Silver Valley and has an encounter.

Player: (an enemy encounter)

ChatGPT: From the shadows, a hulking figure steps forward, his armor a mishmash of welded scrap and dented steel plates. A scarred raider, face twisted into a half-mad grin, raises a sledgehammer hefted high, muscles straining beneath grimy tattoos. “Well, look what wandered in,” he sneers, eyes gleaming with vicious delight. Behind him, two more raiders fan out, each brandishing rusty knives and cracked pistols, their faces hidden behind masks fashioned from shattered helmets and torn cloth. “Ain’t no one leavin’ the Grandeur tonight,” one of them laughs.

Combat in Fallout solo play

Combat during Fallout: The Roleplaying Game solo play is extremely deadly if you don’t stay on your toes.There are two main requirements for solo combat in Fallout:

1. Generating a battlefield.
2. Controlling enemies through dice rolls.

Generating a battlefield

Fallout: The Roleplaying Game doesn’t use crunchy, grid-based combat. Instead it visualizes the battlefield as an environment divided into zones and ranges.

On pp. 38-39 are a series of tables that describe battlefield conditions. Whenever you enter combat or move from one zone to the next, roll on the following table.

Then roll a random die on the appropriate tables on pp. 38-39 to select the terrain features on the battlefield. You will need to use a non-standard die roll on certain tables.

To determine the correct dice roll for non-standard dice, consult the following table.

Controlling enemies during combat

To control enemies during combat, select one of the enemy’s attacks at random using a die roll. Most enemies in the Fallout core rulebook have either two or three attacks. You can use the non-standard dice table above to determine the correct dice roll for controlling enemy attacks.

When you’ve determined the enemy’s attack, move the opponent within the correct range and roll for attack.

Important things to remember about Fallout solo play with ChatGPT

Be as clear as possible

Whenever you ask questions from the AI or engage in dialogue, be as clear and unambiguous as possible. When talking to NPCs, direct your conversations at them. Clearly indicate who you are talking to duringdialogue to prevent misunderstandings by the AI. Whenever possible, use the correct punctuation during the dialogue to show you’re talking to an NPC.

The AI makes mistakes

Due to AI token reference limits as well as other factors, the AI may make mistakes during a game. This is a broader issue in AI design that also impacts AI roleplaying.

Be careful when instructing the AI

The AI is quite easy to break with the wrong instructions. Even seemingly minor changes in a prompt or custom instruction can have unintended effects. Whenever the AI behaves strangely, make sure your Custom Instructions are written correctly and that the prompt you’re using is clearly worded. Avoid using suggested replies as they can break your game.

Don’t use the AI to generate enemies or loot

ChatGPT is not precise enough to generate enemies and loot in a satisfying way. Whenever you need to face an enemy, buy an item, loot an opponent, or receive a quest reward, refer the other tables in your rulebook instead of relying on the AI. The only exception to this rule is for quest items.