So I've been running a homebrew solo campaign for my fiance (I just created a few npcs she could recruit along the way to form her party) and now she wants to do the same for me. But she's a lot newer to the rules than I am and wants to use something prewritten as a base. We were thinking of going with an adventure path so she wouldn't run out of material, and we were looking at Second Darkness because she likes Drow until we realized it was 3.5 as conversion is pretty much out of the question for her.
So with all that out of the way, I wanted to ask you guys which path (or even module combo) would be the best blend of fun and simplicity for a new DM? (Preferably one of the newer releases because the older ones are out of print, though we're not adverse to using PDFs if need be.) Thanks in advance!
Ah, I meant to say I'm currently also DMing a group using the Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition with her in it, so that one isn't really on the table.
If she is intending to provide 'support' NPC's, you might consider either Shattered Star or Mummy's Mask, although the second might be preferable given the somewhat spoilerish relationship Shattered Star has with the first three Varisian AP's.
I think Skull and Shackles would be really fun to run as a solo character. I've only gone through the first book, but there seems to be a lot of solo time.
Good advice so far, looks like we should avoid Shattered Star. Anyone else able to share?
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You'll need to decide if you want to give her DMPC help, if so, how much, or if you're doing truly solo. Either way, expect to have to make adjustments to the AP you're running, depending on what class the player chooses.
Off hand, things that get my goat solo(did some experimentation with gestalt) are:
Swarms
Incorpreals
Traps (I have no ranks to put into DD, damnit).
Haunts
DR (to a lesser extent)
Archers (not so bad after you pick up a composite longbow and rapid shot)
Also for really solo runs, I hope as hell your saves and defences are good, because 1 screwed save means death. If starting at lv 1, please start the player with some means to heal themselves I.e. wand of clw/infernal healing. Maybe a once-day reroll on a failed save.
We plan on having me (the PC) design two characters. She (the DM) will create the other two. We haven't decided whether I'll control just my character or two. So not entirely solo, but those remain good considerations, thank you.
Playing in a Giant Slayer game now and it's awesome, pretty straight forward. Jade Regent is also good and the caravan system could be fun for the two of you. I'm sure either will work in your format as long as you have proper party balance.
A lot of the games give you tag along NPC's that she could convert to help if she doesn't want the extra work of designing the two characters. This also seems like the format in which owning a town (Legacy of Fire), Ship (Skulls and Shackles), or Kingdom (Kingmaker) would work well, no squabbling over who is the leader although at least two of those are 3.5 :(
I know you didn't ask for notes for your PC's but since you are making two it's the perfect time for teamwork feats.
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Think it'll function like a 4 person party if you could get your GF to coordinate with you. Then just ask your GF to provide the Urban ranger and the Bard, while you play the reach cleric (Feather and growth domain please) and the wizard.
2 martials shouldn't be too much of a hassle to handle, just have the bard spec for archery, while the ranger goes in front, smacks stuff. Bard starts combat by inspiring courage, of course, then swops to bow. Easy peasy. You should be able to blow knowledge checks out of water and do whatever most APs require.
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Another option might be something like the Dragon's Demand module. It is designed as a sort of mini-AP, taking PCs from 1st to about 7th level.
That keeps things on the simpler side of the rules, since even at 7th level, the PCs and NPCs haven't started to get the abilities that break the game, yet, but have gotten into the area of lots of choices.