Hi!
Has anyone successfully run the above mentioned modules with only one PC? I think I'll be game mastering them for my younger brother during the summer and I'm wondering what kind of changes I need to do. I don't have enough time/patience to do extensive changes to the modules, so I'm thinking about starting at a higher level, maybe at 3rd or even 4th.
Unless the PC has cleric levels, healing will definitely be a problem so stashing him with potions or a wand of cure light wounds sounds like a good idea. Or a NPC cleric to accompany him.
What do you think?
-Krovenko
|
-Don't do the NPC party member, bad idea.
-If he can handle it you may allow him another PC though I don't recommend it
-Let him gesthalt a PC, certainly.
-Give him max HP and a wee bit extra stuff for his AC
-Give him a free Wand of Cure Light (maximized) and let him wield it as a free action
-Cut down the number of wimpy NPCs so that, in a fight, you don't have several NPCs to his one PC
-Pay close attention to potential save/or/die stuff and feel free to fudge EVERY initiative so he's somewhere in the middle or near the beginning
-W. E. Ray
-Don't do the NPC party member, bad idea.
-If he can handle it you may allow him another PC though I don't recommend it-Let him gesthalt a PC, certainly.
-Give him max HP and a wee bit extra stuff for his AC
-Give him a free Wand of Cure Light (maximized) and let him wield it as a free action-Cut down the number of wimpy NPCs so that, in a fight, you don't have several NPCs to his one PC
-Pay close attention to potential save/or/die stuff and feel free to fudge EVERY initiative so he's somewhere in the middle or near the beginning-W. E. Ray
All very good ideas, thanks! Though I don't think he can handle two characters - he's still quite young and inexperienced :)
Just out of curiosity why do you think having a NPC party member is a bad idea? My biggest concern with only one PC is that if he ever gets under 0 hp it's basically game over. An NPC cleric could save the day.
I've tried gestalt characters once with two party members and it certainly helped a lot but the characters still had fairly low hp. A multiclassed non-gestalt character could perhaps be a better idea - e.g. your ordinary 2nd level PC is still better than 1st level gestalt, if I remember the rules correctly? What do you think the starting level should be?
Do have a small number of NPCs. It makes the world come alive. The 1 PC campaign I DM had the PC racing to save her BFF (an expert) from the plague that was affecting her back in Falcon's Hollow. She had her brother (a Warrior/Commoner) and her pseudodragon with her to provide support and have someone to role play with. Back on her ship, under quarantine was her Cleric 2 and her goblin crew. And she had personal relationship, in-depth, with every one of them.
And don't be afraid to let one of them die: it certainly sent a message when an NPC she was friends with died.
Make each NPC memorable with a readily identifiable quirk you can easily role play (a viewpoint, a habit of speaking, an accent). You're going to be doing lots of them.
Hell, when your brother gets to 6th level, encourage him to take the leadership feat.
In short, I'm not a fan of gestalting and extra PCs and free magic items, although that clearly works for other people. I'd rather RP a few NPCs and kill them off when combat goes badly for the PC. For me, the fun of the campaign is that you're succeeding while playing the game as a regular PC.
|
|
Initiative Order:
1 NPC ally (run by the DM)
2 NPC BBEG (run by the DM)
3 NPC mook (run by the DM)
4 NPC mook (run by the DM)
5 PC (run by the Player)
6 NPC mook (run by the DM)
7 NPC mook (run by the DM)
8 NPC ally (run by the DM)
9 NPC BBEG (run by the DM)
10 NPC mook (run by the DM)
11 NPC ally (run by the DM)
See any problems there?... I mean, the DM is sure playing alot...
Another problem, especially if the Player is young and inexperienced, he may want to rely on an NPC ally for advice on what to do. In other situations there's way to do it well but for one-on-one play, and especially with an experienced Player, I don't recommend it at all.
-W. E. Ray
Initiative Order:
1 NPC ally (run by the DM)
2 NPC BBEG (run by the DM)
3 NPC mook (run by the DM)
4 NPC mook (run by the DM)
5 PC (run by the Player)
6 NPC mook (run by the DM)
7 NPC mook (run by the DM)
8 NPC ally (run by the DM)
9 NPC BBEG (run by the DM)
10 NPC mook (run by the DM)
11 NPC ally (run by the DM)See any problems there?... I mean, the DM is sure playing alot...
Another problem, especially if the Player is young and inexperienced, he may want to rely on an NPC ally for advice on what to do. In other situations there's way to do it well but for one-on-one play, and especially with an experienced Player, I don't recommend it at all.
-W. E. Ray
Yes, but that's a trivial thing to fix, really. First, the player decides who comes along on adventures. She's done solo. She's had just the cleric along. In Falcon's Hollow, she brought along the brother and the pseudodragon. On other occasions, she's brought along a host of crew to serve as red shirt. It's options. She's in control.
Second, they all look to her for orders, which, as free actions, she can give outside of initiative. Sometimes she gives them, sometimes they act on their own. It's not waiting. It's "You, get that guy! You! Give me some cover fire! Where's the medic? Oh, it's my turn now." It's options. She's in control.
Third, as the DM you can make it go faster than players ever could. Look at the NPCs: a warrior, an expert, crew, a low level cleric... these are uncomplicated character builds. It's rolling a d20. I'll be adding a sorcerer to the mix for the same reason. Players trick out their characters; you shouldn't do so for the NPCs. Select feats for them that are under the hood or create one-trick ponies.
Finally, the extra people give her time to think what she's going to do, which helps the less experienced you are.
But I definitely agree with W. E. Ray that you should avoid the DMPC phenomenon. To avoid telling your brother what to do, give your NPCs easily predictable character flaws. In my campaign, her brother is sweet but dumb. Her BFF is smart, but magic is the solution to any problem. The cleric gives lawful boilerplate answers. Because of their flaws, they are opinions, not DM directives.
Some other threads...
Guide to solo campaigning:
http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=553739
Tips on running a solo:
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=137948&highlight=Solo
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=82392&highlight=Solo
Best class for a solo adventure:
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=64651&highlight=Solo
1 PC adventure paths:
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=197046
And there's this:
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=221083
I like the idea of using a single NPC with access to healing (Every Don Quixote needs a squire). A psuedo-dragon is a fun idea, too.
If your brother is young and inexperienced, recommend a fighter or fighter varient over a spellcaster, but give him a pretty decent offensive magic item (enchanted weapons are fun, especially when they talk back!)
But most importantly, capture the story in the campaign journals if you get a chance! I'd love to see how it goes -- I'm going to have to go with a small party as well if I am ever going to get back to gaming!
You might want to consider a battle sorcerer for your brother.
Almost a warrior, but can cast spells when needed.
If you take the Arcane Bloodline from Pathfinder RPG, he can take the pseudodragon as a familiar, or keep the pseudodragon as companion and have him arcane bond his sword.
We just finished Hollows Last Hope with a solo + NPC/ DMPC and it worked fine. Out characters leveled up to 2nd level before the monastery which made it a lot easier. We didn't have a cleric but we used the PfRPG alpha rules so the character had a lot more hit points at first level plus the heal skill allowed them to do some overnight healing beyond the typical 1HP/ level.
Our character was a ranger and he rolled well with his animal empathy when he encountered the fox so the fox followed them and helped them also. Personally, solo or small groups make animal companions or pets like this shine.. not so great when you have 7 people in a group though.
The encounter with the 2 wolves and the worg was pretty challenging, you might consider just one wolf.