Hello everyone! First post here so I apologize if I'm in the wrong subdirectory.
I just bought the Beginner's Box and it should be arriving by mail soon(ish) and I would like to know if there's any particular Adventure Path or even Modules that you find suitable for new players and that can be converted to a small party (1 PC + 1 GM, I may add a "companion" NPC to help out in combat, although I would like to keep it simple)
I've been reading online and played with my girlfriend a "homebrew" quick adventure that I made in about 2~3 hours (basically Tavern meeting, the PC has a message from her Paladin Mentor about some strange noises in a graveyard and they go to investigate. Traps, skeletons, necromancer, saved by a rogueish character that disappears. End of chapter)
But I would prefer to run a premade story adventure since I can't keep up with writing material over and over again.
On a side note: Any tips on converting from a party to a 1 PC + 1 GM situation? (Both combat and investigation/general RP)
Thanks a lot in advance everyone! :)
Thanks for the tip, although from what I read about it, Kingmaker seems really a sandboxy adventure path. My player really prefers a streamlined narrative/story.
I was going to recomend kingmaker then saw the wants streamlined and was going to recommend RotRL and give her a couple of characters or run some friendly NPCs but you seem to have that covered so carry on.
Taldur: Rise of the Runelords sounds like a safe bet! Also thanks for mentioning Skull and Shackles, it looks really interesting from what I'm reading! I've also taken a look at the Carrion Crown adventure Path, it has a more Eerie feel and it seems quite interesting.
GM_Solspiral: Hah yeah thanks! I might just go with RotRL then, I'm not really experienced at GM'ing or Playing tabletop RPGs so I'll try to keep the extra NPCs to a minimum (hopefully one will be enough[?]) and dumb down the Challenge Rating on combats (maybe even change some enemies around)
I'm still looking though so any extra idea is always welcomed :D
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I finished the Carrion Crown AP with my group, and you could do it with one player and a companion for them. While combat needs to be scaled down a bit, it has a really good story that can be tweaked for a single player.....check out the Carrion Crown GM Reference thread for ideas and advice before you start.
alginon: That's great to hear! I really enjoyed the ambience of that adventure path and I'm pretty sure my girlfriend will like it a lot as well. I will take a look at the Reference thread before jumping into it! :)
Thanks for the feedback!
I have played a few adventure paths and believe the best one for one GM and one player is Skull and Shackles adventure path. The basic premise of it is player(s) get shanghi'd into working as crew for pirate ship and eventually work towards becoming pirate king. Would be great to do as a single player and easy to scale and pick up extra help if you feel PC needs it.
Nice, I was looking through Skull and Shackles before and it looked really great. Its good to know that it should work with One player! For now though my player wants to play something a bit more Lawful Good and morally right so I'll keep Skull and Shackles to a later date, I definitely wishlisted it though!
Thanks for your input :)
Assuming CR system works, any number of players balance themselves. For example, solo player will have four times the exp in any given moment, which will make him three levels higher that the party of four. One creature of CR+3 is a CR encounter, just like a party of four CR creatures.
So, just start the AP with level 4 PC. If the AP have good encounter design (that is, many average enemies, not one strong) you might want to give you PC an extra full round action every round. Extra 5 or 10 pointbuy and up to six extra skill points per level would help too.
I've heard Jade Regent storyline works very well for a solo. But it requires a bit more work for the GM to adjust encounters. I don't know, but that's what I heard.
One thing I've seen is to make the solo PC very good. Say plus 1 or 2 levels and 25-30 point buy.
Then provide a pool of not very good 1-dimensional NPC's that can provide some additional muscle or skills. lower level, only 10-15 point buy, and only NPC classes.
PC can take 1 or 2 NPC's along on an adventure, but they demand 1/4 of the pay/treasure value found.
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... saved by a rogueish character that disappears. ...
Quick note. Be careful of using this very much. While some like it, some hate having someone come in and save them. Unexpected assistance is ok, but they still want to be the victorious hero. Most want to be the rescuer not the rescuee.
We are in the middle of Jade regent and I wouldn't say that is as friendly to solo play unless your an experienced GM which you stated you are not. So I personally would avoid that one if I was you.
The other option is to find a few modules to run the player thru such as the Following:
Crypt of the Everflame
Mask of the living god
City of Golden Death
But then again it will take the PC understanding to play cautiously and the GM will have to make a few adjustments (understand it is just one PC).
I would suggest maybe playing one of the Modules instead of a full AP. APs can be very involved and take a long time to complete even with an experienced GM and Party. The Module, while more than a one night event, is a bit of a smaller bite. It will let you get more of a feel for the game and allow you to figure out what you like/dislike.
Carrion Crown, Hmm...
We just recently got finished with the Carrion Crown AP. Some people really like the story line. Since you are mostly killing obviously evil undead. No ambiguous 'hey should I really be doing this?'
However, I think it might be difficult for a solo run. There are a lot of save or suck (SoS) attacks in it. Things like charm, possession, and paralyzation. It was pretty common for us to have at least one PC out of action for most of a fight.* If you only have 1 PC... oops, campaign over. You could rewrite it for different attacks and spells, but again that is a fair amount of work for the GM.
* The caveat is that our GM did modify the encounters and I don't really know how much. But SoS attacks are pretty common for necromancers and undead.
Nyaa: I see, as my player is new though I wouldn't want her to feel she has too much things going on (as a Paladin, she would even get some spells) I will try to dumb down the combat encounters though just so the CR is more on par with her+NPC(s). I will give her some extra skill points when leveling up and try to make her character stronger than usual though, thanks for the pointers!
ElterAgo: Probably not a very good AP for us, mostly because it doesn't seem to be a theme that we would like a lot, and since I'm new at the game as well I'm not sure I can handle yet. Thanks for the tip though! About the character, thanks! I ended up using her since I wanted to introduce that character later on, some sort of rogueish/thiefs guild, but I will try not to overdo it!
Noteleks: I'll stay away from Jade Regent for now, until I get some more experience playing the game. I was looking at "The Dragon's Demand", this one looked really interesting. I also took a look at Crypt of the Everflame, looked interesting although a bit.. streamlined. I'll have to do some adjustments and I think I will end up just making more adjustments while playing the game, but we'll see how it goes :)
Thanks once again everyone! I think I will try Carrion Crown first.
I just purchased Dragons Demand so will take a look thru it tonight and respond back to this post if I believe it would work for a solo player.
Gah, new replys while I was typing the previous message.
j b 200: Hmm maybe, there's really a lot of them though (modules), if there's any particular one that you enjoyed, I would like to hear it! I'm mostly looking for one with a good narrative and perhaps a nice erm.. "DAN dan DANNN!" moment/ending reveal. (if you know what I mean)
ElterAgo: Ah I see :\ I will have to read up on the spells used so if I can find something that is game-breaking as one player, I can remove it/change it a bit. She is a paladin so if all else fails, I can end up giving her some sort of Deity blessing that gets her up on her feet, or some extra damage against the whole undead/necromancer encounters!
Noteleks: Awesome, I would really appreciate it if you do. The narrative looks quite interesting on that module!
It shouldn't be horrible if you are ok with the added work. Switch to debuffs instead of out of the fight effects.
Instead of the spell Ghoul Touch which paralyzes, use Blindness. The paladin can still flail around in the darkness while blinded. Instead of the Fear spell, use Crushing Despair.
Do something similar with the creatures. If X has a paralyzing touch, give it a sickening touch.
Paladin should at least have good saves and are good at hurting undead. Unfortunately not much in the way of skill ranks. Maybe one of the NPC's could be an expert NPC class for lots of interpersonal skills to help with information gathering. But it is a wuss character that shouldn't be taken into fights if avoidable.
Or you might just give an extra 1-3 skill points each level.
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j b 200: Hmm maybe, there's really a lot of them though (modules), if there's any particular one that you enjoyed, I would like to hear it! I'm mostly looking for one with a good narrative and perhaps a nice erm.. "DAN dan DANNN!" moment/ending reveal. (if you know what I mean)
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I think 'Up From Darkness' fits that description. But it might not be beginner friendly enough.
Now that I think about it, the 'Curse of the Golden Spear' trilogy (and I would recommend running Up From Darkness between books 1 and 2) might be pretty decent for a solo run.
I've run both Legacy of Fire and Curse of the Crimson Throne successfully right through with 1 GM (me) + 1 PC.
In both, we (me & player between us) ran a "full complement" of 3 party NPCs [typically, the player effectively ran the party NPCs tactically in combat & if necessary when talking to other NPCs, and I ran them from a "personality" point of view & when talking to the PC]. We find this works well & allows for some pretty rich GM to PC roleplaying (via the interactions with their friends in the party). It's easiest to manage naturally if the PC is the party face (unless you particularly like "GM talking to himself" cutscenes - we don't!). But it certainly is quite a different experience than running for a set of "proper" PCs - I would say pros and cons.
Both APs worked well, though I think Curse was perhaps a little easier - the really strong storyline pull helps with 1 GM + 1 PC, and at times Legacy's more open structure (esp. in module 4) needed an NPC kick to keep things moving. Another benefit to these earlier (3.5) APs is that the power curve is lower so you wouldn't need to tinker so much to avoid stomping your poor 2-person party: in both, with PF PCs, I ended up combining several later encounters together to challenge the (not particularly optimised) [N]PCs - despite the fact that they were generally a level or so behind the nominal advancement track.
I just purchased Dragons Demand so will take a look thru it tonight and respond back to this post if I believe it would work for a solo player.
I would say yes, a good choice. You could start the PC & NPC friend at level 2 & keep a bit ahead of the advancement track and call it done, I suspect - though you might perhaps need to provide some help of the sort you are suggesting with the nastier status effects (even 1/4 PCs paralysed can be a big problem if it's the tank). Particularly the earlier fights are pretty straightforward & there is lots of plot to pull the PC through.
Oh, if it hasn't been mentioned. For a new player and new GM, I would stick with only the Core Rule Book (CRB) for a while. At least until you are both much more comfortable with the rules.
ElterAgo: I see, I haven't heard of those two (Up from Darkness and the Curse of the Golden Spear trilogy) but from what I read they are for level 7 and level 5 respectively.. I don't want to overburden my newbie player (and myself of course) with so much info that comes from a "higher" level. Ah I'm thinking of just staying a bit with the Beginner Box (once it arrives) and introduce some elements from the Core Rulebook slowly (I also found a cheap copy, just waiting for it to arrive) along the way. Thanks though! We will probably move on to the CRB and then hold it there for quite a while so it doesn't become too Rules Heavy.
Elro: Ah I see, the Legacy of Fire didn't draw too much attention to me (from the short synapse/reviews I've read) but the Curse of the Crimson Throne does sound interesting! I feel 3 NPCs seems a bit too much though (in terms of enjoying the game I mean), I'll have to try and see how it goes, although I hoped I would just need an extra NPC "mentor" or "party healer/big damage dealer" (depending on the choices of my PC) and then dumb down the encounters so we had a nice experience. Good to hear about the Dragons Demand! I'll see what else Noteleks has to say about it and read a bit more online before making the plunge! Its mostly about the plot, the encounters don't really need to be extra hard, just a break from the whole narrative is nice, so I will try to modify it to my PC's taste.
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although I hoped I would just need an extra NPC "mentor" or "party healer/big damage dealer" (depending on the choices of my PC) ...
The paladin can self heal pretty darn well and has access to use condition removal scrolls. They can also damage spike very well on anything evil when needed.
A good thing to do with the NPC is a meat shield to get in the way and take damage. That won't be stealing any spotlight from the PC like a 'big damage dealer' might.
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Dragons Demand supplies the party with Npcs to bulk out the party. The experience/treasure are accelerated also. I'm running it with two players and they have had a few struggles but nothing a little DM fiat couldn't get them through. The module isn't in a hurry either so while not necessary it is easy to slip in some home-brew encounters/plot lines for practice.
ElterAgo: Sounds good, might give her a supporting/tanky NPC then!
Ziggy: That's great to hear, I'll take a better look at the Module and if there's any changes I need to do, I'll try to modify them to the best of my abilities. Thanks for the input! :)
Okay sorry for the delay, I had to peruse the Dragons Demand before giving my 2 cents on it. I do believe this would be a good one to work thru with one player with little tweaking from the GM.
I do like how they have it laid out in a series of mini adventures with in the grand adventure and from what I seen it does leave a little leeway to slip in a module you may find or like in spots.
The beginning is rather useful also for it works on getting PC familiar with area/people and sets up the plot rather well from what I seen. It focuses on all area's of the Pathfinder RPG from battles, to skill checks, to role playing.
I personally am looking forward to running a few players thru this myself now or at least maybe even playing it.
This module should take your character from 1st thru about 7th level or so.
Hope this helps.
No worries! Thanks a lot for the reply/mini review :)
Sounds great, seems right about what I'm looking for. I'll end up either starting with Carrion Crown or Dragons Demand, since she really enjoyed building her Paladin I might end up going with CC since it has a more Good vs Evil feel (although I'll have to make some heavy modifications on combat saves), but I'll see.
By the way, the Beginner Box arrived today, can't wait to give it a try!