Ok so I'm going to be running a Ptolus game with the pathfinder core rules and its going to be just the one player and me for what seems like an indefinite amount of time. I havn't run a single player 3Ed game before and pathfinder's rules on single player encounter design is a little rough for me to digest. So here are the questions.
1# With one level 7 PC how do I determine an appropriate CR for an encounter? Do I take their APL which I think would be 6 ( or 2,400 XP) and 'buy' monsters with this amount of Xp? or do I shoot for a lower CR? Example 3 CR 3 Ogres would be balanced!? (800xp each 2400xp total)
2# Has anyone done 1 PC adventures before? and if yes, then anything I should be aware of when running these kinds of games in Pathfinder?
3# Leadership feat? do I add the Cohort into the APL/XP division?
Thank you in advance for the help!
Ok so I'm going to be running a Ptolus game with the pathfinder core rules and its going to be just the one player and me for what seems like an indefinite amount of time. I havn't run a single player 3Ed game before and pathfinder's rules on single player encounter design is a little rough for me to digest. So here are the questions.
1# With one level 7 PC how do I determine an appropriate CR for an encounter? Do I take their APL which I think would be 6 ( or 2,400 XP) and 'buy' monsters with this amount of Xp? or do I shoot for a lower CR? Example 3 CR 3 Ogres would be balanced!? (800xp each 2400xp total)
2# Has anyone done 1 PC adventures before? and if yes, then anything I should be aware of when running these kinds of games in Pathfinder?
3# Leadership feat? do I add the Cohort into the APL/XP division?
Thank you in advance for the help!
I would allow him/her to control more than one character or let the player have a gestalt character.
I would also not place him against multiple monsters. Action economy would mean he would have a good chance of losing a fight. If you don't mind running an NPC that might help also. That way if he goes down there may be another character there to heal him.
1. I would have his fights be between CR 4 and 5 monsters.
3. The cohort does not get XP like a normal character, but I can't remember how they get their XP. I will try to find it and then edit this post.
Edit: You have to consult the leadership feat and go by the chart. The leadership score of the PC determines the level of the cohort.
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/feats.html#leadership
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Have you considered adapting Expeditious Retreat's 1-on-1 Adventures to Ptolus? You'd need to do some conversion on them to make them flow together and work for the same character from one to the next, but it couldn't be any more work than designing a 1-on-1 campaign from the ground up.
I have done a bit of this myself in 3.5, although mainly as a mechanism to get my fiancee involved in the game.
If you have a one-character party there is a huge problem with a string of two or three bad rolls dooming them. Also, anything even close to save-or-die becomes unworkable as a challege. Others may have work-arounds for such issues, but I think it is better to avoid them altogether.
I found it works fairly well to have the player run two characters and to run a semi-permanent NPC yourself. This make setting up CR-appropriate encounters straight-forward. My xp rewards were mainly plot-based (e.g. you just level up when I say), so I cannot comment on that. Allowing the leadership feat would probably be a good alternative to just having the NPC as well.
From a role-playing perspective, it is also helpful to have the NPC because it gives the player at least some little time for party interaction. This is important to give their character's a foil to develop their personality with as well as give you a reasonable way as DM of helping the character if they get stuck in a riddle or plot decision. I can comment on the one-player role-playing aspect more if you are interested...
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Ok so I'm going to be running a Ptolus game with the pathfinder core rules and its going to be just the one player and me for what seems like an indefinite amount of time. I havn't run a single player 3Ed game before and pathfinder's rules on single player encounter design is a little rough for me to digest. So here are the questions.
1# With one level 7 PC how do I determine an appropriate CR for an encounter? Do I take their APL which I think would be 6 ( or 2,400 XP) and 'buy' monsters with this amount of Xp? or do I shoot for a lower CR? Example 3 CR 3 Ogres would be balanced!? (800xp each 2400xp total)
2# Has anyone done 1 PC adventures before? and if yes, then anything I should be aware of when running these kinds of games in Pathfinder?
3# Leadership feat? do I add the Cohort into the APL/XP division?
Thank you in advance for the help!
I would allow him/her to control more than one character or let the player have a gestalt character.
I would also not place him against multiple monsters. Action economy would mean he would have a good chance of losing a fight. If you don't mind running an NPC that might help also. That way if he goes down there may be another character there to heal him.
1. I would have his fights be between CR 4 and 5 monsters.
3. The cohort does not get XP like a normal character, but I can't remember how they get their XP. I will try to find it and then edit this post.
Edit: You have to consult the leadership feat and go by the chart. The leadership score of the PC determines the level of the cohort.
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/feats.html#leadership
Actually... the chart is just what level you can recruit after that they gain XP as so:
A cohort does not count as a party member when determining the party's XP. Instead, divide the cohort's level by your level. Multiply this result by the total XP awarded to you, then add that number of experience points to the cohort's total.
If a cohort gains enough XP to bring it to a level one lower than your level, the cohort does not gain the new level—its new XP total is 1 less than the amount needed to attain the next level.
As for the OP question, I'd agree that either having an NPC via leadership or DM fiat would be the best way to make a single-PC campaign easier to run.
BUT, if that character is supposed to be alone for story purposes or something, then I'd recommend just giving them "luck" points or something that give them a number of times per level they can get a reroll on either their own check or an opponents check in order to survive. This way they don't fall prey to the unlucky roll that insta-kills them, but they aren't invincible either.Outside of that, just balance them as a party of 3 levels lower. I would say to work backwards on the SRD CR Equivalencies, but that would put a party of 4-5 capable of handling CRs 4 higher than a single character. If the person is solo I'd assume they're rather experienced, and could probably handle an average encounter a point or two harder than that.
A lot depends on what character class the solo player takes. Classes that get Animal Companions are pretty easy to run as Solo campaigns without much difficulty. Others need guard dogs or an npc with them, at least at lower levels.
Save or die is a big problem, especially in regards to paralyzation spells/effects. Substituting Dex damage is the easiest way to get around it.
Starting above 1st level is also highly recommended.
The biggest thing you can do, is simply to work frequent opportunities to rest/regain spells into the adventure path.
The most important issue, tho, is the character class of the solo player. That really determines the specific difficulties you will have to deal with.
The biggest thing is choosing a class. Encourage some of the more flexible classes, druid and cleric are top of the list, summoner and inquisitor too if you intend to use the APG classes.
Allowing the leadership feat or the hiring of cohorts is also a really important factor. Even a druid cannot cover all bases. Next be very careful in combat, a small or single person party cannot handle large encounters, even if the CR is low (at least 3-4 bellow their level in CR) if there are a lot of enemies the player will likely be overwhelmed. Your 3 CR 3 Orgers will almost certainly wipe a single person party, even with a cohort.
I have never done a 1 person party but i have done 2-3, and the biggest thing you need to consider is your party's strengths. You have a lot more 'face' time with the player, so focus on what they can do. If you have a paladin, don't send them through a trap filled dungeon. Have them taking on big bad undead/outsiders/evil dragons. Focus on the characters individual goals when concerning plot hooks. You only have one backstory to work around, so do it. You can get some really compelling stories that way.
Also like others said, the cohort doesnt change the Average Party level, it just gets a fraction of the xp the controlling player gets. Full xp for every encounter will go to the player in your case, then you give a portion of that to the cohort (in the portion mentioned earlier).
Ok so I'm going to be running a Ptolus game with the pathfinder core rules and its going to be just the one player and me for what seems like an indefinite amount of time. I havn't run a single player 3Ed game before and pathfinder's rules on single player encounter design is a little rough for me to digest. So here are the questions.
1# With one level 7 PC how do I determine an appropriate CR for an encounter? Do I take their APL which I think would be 6 ( or 2,400 XP) and 'buy' monsters with this amount of Xp? or do I shoot for a lower CR? Example 3 CR 3 Ogres would be balanced!? (800xp each 2400xp total)
2# Has anyone done 1 PC adventures before? and if yes, then anything I should be aware of when running these kinds of games in Pathfinder?
3# Leadership feat? do I add the Cohort into the APL/XP division?
Thank you in advance for the help!
I would allow him/her to control more than one character or let the player have a gestalt character.
I would also not place him against multiple monsters. Action economy would mean he would have a good chance of losing a fight. If you don't mind running an NPC that might help also. That way if he goes down there may be another character there to heal him.
1. I would have his fights be between CR 4 and 5 monsters.
3. The cohort does not get XP like a normal character, but I can't remember how they get their XP. I will try to find it and then edit this post.
Edit: You have to consult the leadership feat and go by the chart. The leadership score of the PC determines the level of the cohort.
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/feats.html#leadership
Actually... the chart is just what level you can recruit after that they gain XP as so:
A cohort does not count as a party member when determining the party's XP. Instead, divide the cohort's level by your level. Multiply this result by the total XP awarded to you, then add that number of experience points to...
My streak of correct answers is over. Now I have to start over.
My fiance and I play together, her the player, me the DM. I pretty much have her run 4 characters and I run an NPC myself. Its fairly easy and she enjoys it. My only problem is some minor lack of the normal rping you get between players and characters. At times I have to take control of her characters so they can interact.
Past that, if you want to do soloing adventures, definitely need to tweak the system a bit. CR and XP is honestly up to you. Its not a set in stone amount that you have to give out, nor is CR a true measurement of how well a party can handle an mob (some parties can handle higher and some can't). Essentially, if I were running a game with one player and they're running one character, I'd make sure they have extra abilities, no matter what class they have. The gestalt modification to classes work, but its not core PF. Honestly, I don't think you could go core unless one of you ran extra chracters.
Just my 2c.
Ok, This is some great advice thank you. Were RPG veterans and I wanted to run a game in Ptolus and she wanted to use a character from a past group. I just never had a chance to run a 3.5 game and she never had a good chance to play a 3.5 character. So after talking with my player she thought her character would best be a Inquisitor of a knowledge god gestalt Draconic Sorc.
I put her at level 7, and she gets a +3 sword with some powers on it and her cohort (rogue) plus a DMPC wizard around for utility.
So my biggest concern was the economy of actions, and CR but NPCs fix the EoA, I just need to eye ball the mobs/traps/general challenges from here on. But I should Aim for a lower CR. k.
Any Advice on dungeon design?
I've done a one Pc campaign and they are intensely rewarding and intensely demanding. You have to be flexible. You need tons more NPCs than you do with a party of four. And I recommend setting up a variety of people who have a single RP hook. In my campaign, we have a BFF, a big brother, a pseudodragon with a Napoleon complex, a Paizo goblin who was slowly being converted to having neutral tendencies before his death, a LG cleric, a knowledge cleric, and more. Why so many? Because it gives the PC flexibility on who they want to accompany them and it gives the PC advice from recognizably not-DM sources. Playing a PC alone is really tough. You want to let them ask for advice and get combat aid.
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A possible solution is to have her create her character, whether you stick with 7th or go with 1st level, then following computer RPG examples like Dragon Age, Neverwinter Nights, and so on, introduce NPC’s of appropriate level that the character can adventure with along the lines that roguerouge suggested. Where I’d change it up is try to keep it focused on the PC, where the majority of the story centers on the character or at least one character that the player can control. Then introduce group encounters as needed.
So if the player is playing the inquisitor as you mention the game sessions could be along these lines:
1. Inquisitor starts off with a small intro encounter, similar to how Van Helsing started where it’s just the character.
2. PC returns to church and is assigned a task, perhaps rooting out an evil presence affecting one of the local towns. Before PC leaves he/she is partnered with a NPC cleric or paladin.
3. PC & cleric/paladin have an encounter on the way to destination.
4. They arrive in town, establish camp (at inn or local church) and while exploring area find group of thugs attacking someone, intercede, and save a NPC rogue who can join the party.
5. Player rotates through cast of characters, individually or in twos, gathering information and perhaps has combative encounters while doing so.
6. Back at camp the party makes plans and either encounters or decides to hire extra muscle (i.e. barbarian, fighter, monk, whatever).
7. Inquisitor begins actively pursuing enemies of the church, either monsters or cultists, whatever is behind the problems he/she was commissioned to deal with.
8. Continue weaving story as desired, introducing various elements as needed such as different NPCs to fill needs.
When it comes time for group encounters let her decide which of the NPCs will accompany her character. Some things to think about to help game play since it’s affectively solo play:
• Consider implementing a second wind mechanic similar to 4e
• Borrowing from Dragon Age and similar videogames by ruling the PC doesn’t die unless everyone in the party dies.
• Make healing potions more available
I hope these suggestions give you some ideas to go along with the other things people have suggested. Good luck.
Subtract 4 from her character's level to get her party level, not 3. Three is accurate, but if you make one mistake, there's huge consequences, so 4 is the safe guesstimate.
According to 3.5 ruleset, your cohort does NOT subtract xp from the party.
Cohorts earn XP as follows:
The cohort does not count as a party member when determining the party’s XP.
Divide the cohort’s level by the level of the PC with whom he or she is associated (the character with the Leadership feat who attracted the cohort).
Multiply this result by the total XP awarded to the PC and add that number of experience points to the cohort’s total.
If a cohort gains enough XP to bring it to a level one lower than the associated PC’s character level, the cohort does not gain the new level—its new XP total is 1 less than the amount needed attain the next level.
Any Advice on dungeon design?
She's going to function as a 3rd level party. Design accordingly. The great thing about solo campaigns is that the campaign stays in the sweet spot of game play and of module design much longer.
As for dungeons, do NOT put her on a clock. An example is what happened with Crown of the Kobold King. The save all the children without resting hook gets people killed. I can hardly imagine a moral group of people doing four encounters and then resting every day for a week, knowing that children might be being tortured, sacrificed or eaten at the first opportunity.
I ran a bard 9/fighter 1/rogue 1, with her coterie of a pseudodragon Dragon Shaman 1, two town guards, and various charmed kobolds through it. Bard made it to the final battle, only to be blinded by the kobold shaman, then killed.
Ah, and that brings us to the next topic: always have something ready to avert a TPK.
1# With one level 7 PC how do I determine an appropriate CR for an encounter? Do I take their APL which I think would be 6 ( or 2,400 XP) and 'buy' monsters with this amount of Xp? or do I shoot for a lower CR? Example 3 CR 3 Ogres would be balanced!? (800xp each 2400xp total)
Using the Medium progression (20 typical encounters = one level) and the fact that it takes 16,000 xp to go from level 7 to 8, that breaks down to an 800 xp award per encounter which equates to CR 3 using the "Exact XP" method or CR 6 according to the "Abstract XP" method.
CR 3 sounds too low, and CR 6 sounds a little high for a typical encounter. Maybe CR 5?
@Hogarth: I started messing around with encounter design last night and I think her first dungeon will be somewhere between CR 4-5 (as she will have a NPC wizard and Fighter Cohort) pretty straight forward dungeon with orcs and a few neutral monsters to do a trial by fire session.
@DM4hire: I have been digging around and found Monte Cooks Book of Experimental Might. He has a optional HP system where its divided into "Grace" and "Health". Health being Con score + con mod per level, and Grace being HP derived from HD (which she is taking max rolls from). Grace heals 1 point per minute, health heals normally. so at 7th level she has 56HP that will be just about always be there.
@Roguerouge: Ill keep "on a timer" encounters out of the game for sure. she is in a big city that has a guild dedicated to "Delvers" and a clause in her membership that says she will be rescued if some one reports her missing. (TPK averted in most cases). And I am feeling the heat already from her being the only one in the game. but I think we can explore an adventure much easier this way.
Maybe Ill start weaving "The Night of Dissolution" into the game... hmm...
Does the PF encounter design work well with 3.5 published adventures? Or am I looking at a per encounter rewrite?