One on One (which Level)

[Dryder]

Hi!
I plan to make a solo-session for one of my players. His character is an 4thFighter/4thRogue.
I want to play a module from Dungeon but I don't know which levels should use.
I planned "Mad Gods Key" but think this will be a bit too easy for a single 8th-Level PC.
I also thought about "Racing the Snake", but this might be too hard.
Both adventures are good for a single PC when it comes to story, but now I need some advice about the levels.
All adventures are made for a group of 4 of the given Level, but how should I calculate this for a single PC.
Any ideas or experiences ?

[Taricus]

my guess would be about lvl 2, but I guess it really depends on the PC you are talking about.

the reason i say this is that I usually just divide by 4 if there's only one PC, but you really have to read it and use ur own judgement. There's just alot to consider... --but if u look at the average CR 8 NPC/monster, he's gonna be about even with the PC. You don't want his avg fight to be a 50/50 shot, especially when you stack more encounters on top of it. That means that his 'normal fight' in that lvl 8 mod, he'd better hope to come out with the better rolls or he's dead. Lvl 2, altho it sounds way too easy, gives u room to have more encounters ect. He should be able to compensate for the missing allies.

The lower lvl will usually keep xp balanced with him based on the challenges, too. Instead of a constant stream of HUGE xp and even worse... HUGE challenges. Treasure might suffer tho... Another issue is that he will cap at about 10 or 11... The avg party lvl (his lvl) won't be able to keep up with that lvl guide (lvl/4). The xp chart will say that his encounters aren't worth xp anymore. I don't know what to say about that, except to boost it up higher than that when they reach that point.

Another approach is to start out easier than you think is neccessary and slowly and carefully boost the power lvls up with each adventure to see where the line is. It'z kind of trial and error on your part, if you take that route.

I'm having the same problem now. Only 2 PC's and they're starting to raise in lvl. I've just been dividing their total lvls by 2 to get a good EL. It has worked so far, but they are only lvl 4, so everything is a challenge right now LOL. I find that CR 1-3 is perfect for them... and CR 3-4 might be boss lvl to them. (plus there's a big difference between 2 lvl 4 PC's and one lvl 8...)

The way I did it tho is to start low so u don't risk the PC's life in the process of experimenting. Find that point when u think it'z a good challenge without the risk of death around every turn. LOL

and if u find a good way... LET ME KNOW! ROFLMFAO I had a pretty standard group (4-5 PC's at all times) up until this point. Dropped a few players cuz it worked better for the group.

[Taricus]

Actually, lvl 2 sounds really really low.... I don't know... The best way to experiment is to use random encounters. As the 'random' encounters happen, boost each one up a notch to see where the line is.

Or, if you have a copy of his char sheet, play out battles when he's not there. Good way to test out an encounter when there's no game.

I've done that before. I take all their character sheets or my copies of them, whatever, and I'll play out an encounter I'm iffy about. This isn't the greatest tho... cuz I usually do alot better than they do in the actual situation LOL.

Something tells me that I should have a talk with my players about STRATEGY! LOL (took down a 5-headed hydra in one round with their chars when they were 3rd level, in testing, but when they played, they all almost died... I even fought it twice with their group, cuz the first time I rolled really well for them LOL. I still whooped it good LOL. Just goes to show ya that luck has alot to do with it, too. --but they really need to think more... *wizard runs in to stab the hydra* LOL)

[Dryder]

Taricus - Thanx for your answers!
The idea of playing a sample encounter beforehand is very good and I've already done it!
I think the PC will be able to handle an adventure which is written for four PCs of about 3rd level.
When I've done it, I will let you know how it worked out here in this thread - if you are interested!
Have a good time and a lot of natural 20s ;)

[Taricus]

Dryder wrote:

Taricus - Thanx for your answers!

The idea of playing a sample encounter beforehand is very good and I've already done it!
I think the PC will be able to handle an adventure which is written for four PCs of about 3rd level.
When I've done it, I will let you know how it worked out here in this thread - if you are interested!
Have a good time and a lot of natural 20s ;)

Yea, let me know what u figure out. I had 5 PC's in my group (2 lvl-2, 3 lvl-4)--until one player decided it would be more fun to go get high every weekend with their new friends, another is wrapped up in a needy relationship (hasn't talked to anyone for months LOL poor sap...), another is working ALOT lately (but it'z kewl, we just work it around her schedule), and I just plain don't like another one.

LOL the most drama-filled group who ever roleplayed... *sigh* What happened to the good ol' days? LOL

Another thing I thought about would be to lower the ECL by 1 for every char missing, but I dunno. At lvl 4, it doesn't change it from dividing by 4 much :P LOL

All I know is that I have a big scene where their hometown is attacked that was written for 5 chars and now I just have 2 (or maybe possibly 3) chars. *shrug*

[DMFTodd]

There's some solo adventures in older issues. Tomb it May Convern was a solo Paladin adventure that could be adjusted over for a Rog/Ftr. And I seem to remember a solo adventure for a thief character against some frost giants. No idea on issues for either of those.

[ASEO]

Yeah! Something in the Scaling the Adventure Side Bar that says "This adventure may also be run with a single X level (incert class)" Would be awsome.

ASEO out

[FireLance]

As a general rule of thumb, I would say that a solo PC can handle challenges roughly as well as a 4-PC party 4 levels lower. However, this only provides a starting point, as a solo PC's capabilities tend to be more narrowly focused. When using an adventure designed for a party of PCs, it would be best to mentally walk through all the challenges to see if the PC in question has a chance (and how good a chance) of overcoming them. Adapting the adventure would almost certainly be necessary.