Session 0 in The Last Parsec- Savage Worlds Solo RPG
When I decided to play a solo Savage Worlds campaign, I wasn’t just adding another bullet (pun intended) to my TTRPG résumé—I was signing up for a one-man voyage across the known (and unknown) cosmos.
As a player, I took on this solo experience for two main reasons:
- To internalize the full Savage Worlds ruleset—Edges, Bennies, dramatic tasks, social conflict—without relying on another player or GM to drive the pace.
- To experiment with different tools, play around with tech, and put my homelab to use hosting Foundry, running AI, and exploring integrations like Savaged.us, the SWADE core rules, the Science Fiction Companion, and The Last Parsec one-sheets.
Enter Savage Worlds’ The Last Parsec: a sci-fi setting defined by exploration, corporate entanglements, and frontier justice across hundreds of star systems. It’s open, it’s modular, and it fits perfectly with the vibe I wanted: Han Solo colliding with Tony Stark, wrapped in a layer of snark and high-stakes space adventure.
What Is the Savage Worlds RPG?
Savage Worlds is a fast, flexible RPG system that emphasizes streamlined play without sacrificing depth. It’s built to support multiple genres—from swords-and-sorcery to high-flying space adventure—and focuses on keeping the action moving without bogging players down in overly complex rules. Instead of strict class systems, Savage Worlds uses attributes, skills, Edges, and Hindrances to shape your character, offering a lot of freedom for roleplay and customization.
How Savage Worlds Compares to D&D
Compared to Dungeons & Dragons, combat in Savage Worlds tends to be quicker, more dynamic, and less bogged down in lengthy turn cycles. The system’s streamlined mechanics keep the action moving, which makes every fight feel cinematic rather than procedural. Character creation is also far less constrained by predefined classes—you build your character’s abilities from the ground up using attributes, skills, Edges, and Hindrances, which means you can create exactly the kind of hero (or rogue) you want without forcing them into a rigid mold.
That flexibility was a big draw for me when deciding to launch this Savage Worlds solo RPG set in The Last Parsec. If I’m going to invest my time in a game, I want the freedom to experiment and the ability to pivot the story based on the decisions I make. Video games can be fun and immersive, but even the best RPGs tend to have fixed narratives and limited dialogue trees. In a tabletop RPG like Savage Worlds, especially in a solo campaign, there’s no invisible wall stopping me from trying something unexpected—the “engine” adapts to me, not the other way around. It’s a more collaborative, story‑driven experience where the rules bend to serve the adventure instead of forcing the adventure to fit the rules.
The Last Parsec – A Savage Worlds Sci‑Fi Setting
The Last Parsec builds directly on the foundation of Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE)—the current core ruleset—and the Science Fiction Companion, which expands SWADE with gear, starship rules, alien races, and other sci-fi-specific mechanics. SWADE delivers the core mechanics for fast, flexible play, while the Science Fiction Companionadds space travel rules, ship design, advanced gear, and alien species. Rather than offering a fixed story arc like many D&D modules, The Last Parsec provides locations, factions, and adventure seeds for players and GMs (or in my case, the AI) to shape collaboratively.
Solo RPG Character Creation in Savage Worlds
Creating a character in Savage Worlds starts with five core attributes—Agility, Smarts, Spirit, Strength, and Vigor—each beginning at a baseline and improved with a limited pool of points. These attributes shape the foundation of your abilities, while your skills—linked directly to those attributes—determine what you can actually do in play, from piloting a starship to bluffing your way past a suspicious customs officer.
One of the most distinctive elements is the use of Hindrances. These aren’t just disadvantages—they’re roleplaying hooks that define your character’s flaws, debts, or quirks. Taking Hindrances earns you extra points to invest back into attributes, skills, or Edges, which are special advantages that set your character apart. It’s a trade‑off system that rewards leaning into your character’s weaknesses as much as their strengths.
Unlike class‑based systems such as Dungeons & Dragons, Savage Worlds doesn’t box you into a predefined archetype. You can mix and match abilities freely to create a concept that fits the story you want to tell. For my solo RPG campaign in The Last Parsec, that meant building James Conway as a quick‑witted, overconfident pilot with both the skill to fly into trouble and the charm to talk his way back out. In Savage Worlds, the system flexes to match your vision instead of forcing your vision to fit the system.
Meet James Conway

James Conway is the central character of my Savage Worlds solo RPG campaign set in The Last Parsec—a human starship captain who lives at the intersection of charm, risk‑taking, and sheer piloting talent. He’s the kind of man who can bluff his way into a high‑stakes card game, fly through an asteroid field without flinching, and then talk his way out of the docking fees when he lands.
Attributes: His Agility (d8) gives him the reflexes needed for tight maneuvers in the cockpit or a quick draw with a sidearm. Spirit (d8) fuels his confidence, his ability to read a room, and the unshakable calm he projects even when the odds are stacked. Smarts (d6) keep him sharp enough to navigate both hyperspace lanes and tricky social situations, while Vigor (d6) lets him shrug off the occasional hard landing or bar fight. Strength (d4) is his weakest point—Conway’s never been one for brute force when a smooth word or clever trick will do.
Skills: His bread and butter are Piloting (d8), Shooting (d8), and Persuasion (d8)—skills honed through years of scraping by on the fringe of The Last Parsec setting. Notice (d6) keeps him alert to danger, Stealth (d6) lets him slip away when needed, and Electronics (d6) makes him a passable hand with ship systems and security panels. Gambling (d4) speaks to his love of calculated risk, while Repair (d4), Athletics (d4), and Common Knowledge (d4) round him out as a jack‑of‑many‑trades, master of a few.
Edges:
- Ace – Conway is a master pilot, gaining bonuses to Piloting rolls and able to push his ship beyond normal limits without breaking it… most of the time.
- Charismatic – A natural people‑person (or at least, able to fake it), Conway gets a +2 to Persuasion, helping him cut deals, diffuse tension, or talk his way past the occasional checkpoint.
Hindrances:
- Overconfident (Major) – If it looks possible, Conway assumes he can pull it off—often biting off more than he can chew.
- Obligation (Minor) – Someone out there is keeping tabs on him, and they expect their due.
- Quirk – Flirt (Minor) – Conway has a tendency to turn on the charm at inopportune times, whether it’s with a bartender, a customs officer, or the person trying to shoot him.
In short, James Conway is a man who thrives on danger, dances around disaster, and somehow—by skill, luck, or pure stubbornness—usually comes out ahead. Picture the swagger of RDJ’s Tony Stark fused with Han Solo’s roguish instincts, and you’ve got the measure of him—a perfect fit for the high‑stakes, fast‑play universe of Savage Worlds in The Last Parsec.
Building the Thunderbird
In Savage Worlds, ships are built much like characters. You start with a chassis—the base framework of your vessel—and then customize it by spending a limited number of modification slots. Each mod changes how the ship performs, adding capabilities or improving existing ones, whether that’s better defenses, faster engines, or more advanced sensors.
For my Savage Worlds solo RPG campaign in The Last Parsec, the Thunderbird began as a Light Freighter—a balanced choice offering decent speed, cargo capacity, and room for a small crew. From there, I outfitted it with:
- Cargo Hold – For legitimate freight… and less legitimate side jobs.
- Living Quarters – Compact bunks, a galley, and just enough comfort for long hauls.
- Reinforced Hull – Boosting Toughness so she can take a hit and keep flying.
- Stealth System – A built‑in edge for avoiding unwanted attention, giving –2 to enemy sensor rolls.
- Sensor Suite – +2 to Notice rolls when scanning or using ship systems.
- Pulse Laser Turret – 3d6 damage, AP 2, perfect for a little persuasion in the void.
And then there’s Vera, the Thunderbird’s onboard AI. More than just a navigation system, Vera manages diagnostics, assists in gunnery, and delivers sharp‑tongued commentary whenever Conway’s decision‑making gets… creative. In a universe as unpredictable as The Last Parsec, a ship like the Thunderbird isn’t just transportation—it’s survival.
Behind the Scenes: Tools & Workflow
ChatGPT: My co-pilot for narrative prompts, NPC dialogue, and rules clarifications. Having a responsive AI means I can keep the game’s pace moving, improvise new scenes or encounters, and clarify rules on the fly without breaking immersion.
Savaged.us: This site handles all the heavy lifting for character creation and advancement. It keeps track of my attributes, skills, Edges, Hindrances, gear, and credits, while also making it easy to export polished character sheets for reference during play.
Foundry VTT: Hosted on my homelab, Foundry is my digital campaign hub. I use it for logging sessions, managing dice rolls, and, in the future, running maps and tactical encounters. Its modular nature means I can integrate Savage Worlds systems and customize it to my needs as the campaign evolves.
Session 0 Wrap-Up
With character and ship complete, Conway is primed for his first outing in The Last Parsec. This Savage Worlds solo RPG campaign kicks off with the Thunderbird armed, stealth‑capable, and home to Vera, an AI as likely to sass him as save him. The stage is set—the next ping could start something profitable… or catastrophic.
Coming in Session 1: Dockside at Karnak’s Refuge, Conway’s comms ping with a call from Creeg—a “friend” with a job that’s supposedly easy money. Easy, of course, being a relative term. Follow along for Session 1, share your plot ideas, and join me in charting a solo course through The Last Parsec.
If you enjoyed this and want to explore more campaign logs, check out the Tabletop RPG archives for other adventures I’ve run and played, including more Savage Worlds content and other solo RPG experiments.