1st time GM needing help


Advice


I am about to start a solo campaign as a GM and I looking for advice as to how best to pull it off. I know that the player (my brother) will be playing as a Reincarnated Oracle with probably the Time Revelation, as well as a Chaotic Neutral alignment. I have an idea of setting the whole campaign in a huge dungeon, with each floor based of a sin and/or virtue (wrath, love, pride, etc) for two reasons. The first is to try and stop him from running off and breaking the game, as the dungeon setting will give a clear goal. Secondly, with each floor being themed, it will help me plan in a clear way how each floor should function. Any guidance is welcome, but I particularly need help on creatures, as I do not know what is balanced for what level, as well as some help for dungeon design (I already have a few plans, though they are complex).


For dungeon theme ideas you could look at the Rise of the Runelords campaign.

RotR spoilers.

Spoiler:
Chapter/Part 5 of the campaign is set in a dungeon with multiple wings based on sins. Whilst the monsters used here are going to be too high level for a new character they might give you some thematic ideas.

Silver Crusade

I second Turelus's recommendation of RotR. And constraining your own design space is a good idea, especially your first time out of the gate.

Solo games are a unique challenge to balance. The standard Challenge Rating system assumes at least four players, so it won't help you too much. As a rule of thumb, I'd suggest that anything with a CR more than your brother's level +1 is a seriously mortal threat. I'd shoot for CRs two below his level as standard encounters. So at first level, CR 1/2 or 1/3.

The thing is, not only does a solo character have fewer actions per round than a team, but also a vastly narrower toolbox/bag of tricks.

Never be afraid to adjust a planned encounter on the fly, should you discover that you miscalculated its difficulty. Balance is a tricky thing; don't punish your players for design errors!

Good luck!


Starting at level 1? There are many ways you could keep him on track, is there any specific reason you think he will get off track or try to break the game?


Godsmouth Heresy. Lv1 adventure that has a bit of sin themed stuff
Cambion Demons are by default aligned towards a sin and get different powers based on which one
Thassalonian Magic is based on the different types of sin

Does he have any like surface base/camp he will be returning to heal and rest? Does he have the ability to buy/sell what he finds? Going to need both especially for a solo. Also make sure he has a good build because he doesn't have a party to act as a buffer


Thank you everyone for the advice you have given me, as it has helped me out a great deal. After seeking additional advice however, I have changed plan to a single city in a small island of my own creation. This was done to allow social interaction that would be difficult to explain a massive dungeon (the zombie wants to talk to you??), the potential for side quests as well as the potential re-use in future GM sessions (when additional cities are created on it. I have plans for 4 in total).

The city in question (Roxic Prime) is a navel centre of trade and industry, with it's biggest landmarks (so far, still under construction) being a a boat factory at the juncture of 2 rivers, a sea gate to control ships entering the rivers, as well as a palace which holds the royal family. I am working on the principle that the city should function as a city first and foremost, so I am placing homes next to areas that would employ them and the religious buildings that are soon to be placed.

Because it's now a city, I have also changed my campaign plans as well. Because I know he will be playing as a Samsaran, I can claim his past life was murdered by a religious cult, which views him as a heretic because they are not sent to any of the Outer Planes when they die, as they reincarnate instead. Also, because I know his alignment (C.N), I was thinking about this cult doing it in the name of a L.G deity, for added drama and spice.

Tell me what you now think.


CannibalKitten wrote:
Starting at level 1? There are many ways you could keep him on track, is there any specific reason you think he will get off track or try to break the game?

Nope. Just standard first time G.M nerves.


Aaron Tysen wrote:

I second Turelus's recommendation of RotR. And constraining your own design space is a good idea, especially your first time out of the gate.

Solo games are a unique challenge to balance. The standard Challenge Rating system assumes at least four players, so it won't help you too much. As a rule of thumb, I'd suggest that anything with a CR more than your brother's level +1 is a seriously mortal threat. I'd shoot for CRs two below his level as standard encounters. So at first level, CR 1/2 or 1/3.

The thing is, not only does a solo character have fewer actions per round than a team, but also a vastly narrower toolbox/bag of tricks.

Never be afraid to adjust a planned encounter on the fly, should you discover that you miscalculated its difficulty. Balance is a tricky thing; don't punish your players for design errors!

Good luck!

Thank you SO MUCH for the CR help. It can now truly get off the ground.


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I'd suggest softballing the first few encounters to get you both into the feel of things, and so you can adjust the difficulty upwards if need be.

As already noted, one key issue with a solo campaign is going to be "action economy", namely the fact that facing multiple enemies means they get many more turns than the PC. I'd therefore suggest limiting the number of enemies early on, and ensuring they aren't too strong.

I'd also sugest avoiding any particularly hard-hitting enemies at very early levels (for example, a single barbarian with a greataxe could easily kill a 1st or 2nd level PC with a single critical hit).

The other issue for a solo campaign is going to be negative effects from spells or other sources. A single PC in a group of four getting nauseated is an inconvenience. The same thing happening to a solo PC is probably going to be lethal. Same for things like sleep, paralysis, etc etc

So bear that in mind with enemy choices, and think about whether any of their abilities could be game-ending.

Hope that advice helps, and best of luck!


Remember your goal is to tell a good story. Be flexible and expect the unexpected from yoru players. Go ahead and prepare all you can, but preparation is the foundation. The house happens in the actual playing.

Keeping the game going and the action flowing is more important than following the rules.

A dungeon based on the 7 Deadly Sins sounds fun.

Will he be trapped in the dungeon until he completes it, or will he be able to emerge from time to time to re-equip, and level up? The ecology of the PC normally requires trips to the market and visits to his sensei (such as there is one) in order to thrive. If you are cutting him off from those, you need to consider that. If he is frequently emerging with cartloads of fabulous treasure that he is liquidating in the local bazaars for gear and magical tomes, the townsfolk may start to talk. There might be rival expeditions, local boys who would resent the PC if he killed them or would blame him if they died.


He is playing CN? I would recommend then that you make the game undead friendly. When he hits lvl 4 he can start creating zombies and skeletons one at a time. Evil, yes. However having only 1 player is risky business. This would offer non NPC support that does not require in combat actions to supply. It could save his life. Also seriously don't start at lvl 1, lvl 3 minimum, with 25 point buy minimum in all seriousness.

Remember an oracle at level one has probably 10ish hit points, and that's the whole party. One unlucky round and the campaign is over.


Scott Wilhelm wrote:

Remember your goal is to tell a good story. Be flexible and expect the unexpected from yoru players. Go ahead and prepare all you can, but preparation is the foundation. The house happens in the actual playing.

Keeping the game going and the action flowing is more important than following the rules.

So don't go overboard with rules. Got it.

Scott Wilhelm wrote:
The ecology of the PC normally requires trips to the market and visits to his sensei (such as there is one) in order to thrive. If you are cutting him off from those, you need to consider that.

I have actually changed plans quite considerably to counteract this. Instead, I am developing a coastal trade town with lots of different buildings and people to interact with, hopefully creating a more balanced and well rounded adventure.


Hogeyhead wrote:

He is playing CN? I would recommend then that you make the game undead friendly. When he hits lvl 4 he can start creating zombies and skeletons one at a time. Evil, yes. However having only 1 player is risky business. This would offer non NPC support that does not require in combat actions to supply. It could save his life. Also seriously don't start at lvl 1, lvl 3 minimum, with 25 point buy minimum in all seriousness.

Remember an oracle at level one has probably 10ish hit points, and that's the whole party. One unlucky round and the campaign is over.

In that case he would probably start at level 10. Then he gets more spells and revelations to play around with, while also allowing him to fight something tougher than boars


As a counterpoint to Hogeyhead's suggestion, I would note that as a new GM, it's much easier to start at a lower level. (Level 3 might be fine, as Hogeyhead suggested, but I worry level 10 might be a mistake.)

Once you get up to higher levels, the monster abilities tend to be more complicated (and there are more of them), and the PC also has a lot more to manage, especially as a full caster.

If both you and your brother are newbies, I'd recommend you start at 1st level to make things easier on yourselves. You can also to choose to play without tracking experience points (as many do nowadays), and just decide when he should level-up yourself.

That way you can control the pace of advancement to suit your comfort level and the needs of your campaign, without having to start off so high.


my advice, is if it's a solo campaign, give him max hp, then double it. It'll take some of the threat of death by simple random chance, and make him a bit tougher, more able to deal with threats.

just my 2 copper


Also, don't forget that encounters don't have to be monsters. You can build environmental hazards, traps, and crafty NPCs. Since the only PC is a magic user, maybe downplay the physical confrontations, and promote skill checks and incorporate the character's magical abilities into your design.

Another note is that, this is as much about you as GM as it is about the player/character. Since this is your first time out, don't forget to allow yourself to explore the game by incorporating things you might be curious about. Try working things into your design you'd like to see in games, and see how it goes.


The PFS scenario Portal of the Sacred Rune is a small dungeon levelled with thematic ties to the seven sins. You should give it a look. It could easily be combined with something like the module Seven Swords if Sin for a longer campaign.

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