Solo AP for wife


Advice


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Hello All!

It seems I cannot get enough of GM/playing, and I would like to run something for my wife.

Last week I ran a small dungeon crawl for my wife and she liked it. This was her first experience of D&D/Pathfinder. She is interested in playing but due to the fact that we have a 8 month old we cannot have the whole gang over, and we cannot both go out for a gaming night over at the gaming house.

So, I will be running something for her. I am thinking of running an AP for her, or possibly doing single modules and stringing them together.

Focusing on the AP side of my search, I was wondering what everyones thoughts were on which would be the best AP to solo? I did a little looking and the last question I found on this topic was from 2011, and a few new APs have been out since then.

The only stipulation I have is this cannot include APs that our group is currently playing. This would exclude Kingmaker, and Reign of Winter. I wouldn't mind an AP that is still in print to make it easy to acquire.

Thank you for any help in this.

The Exchange

Test waters with your wife first.

Run the following mods:

First Steps
Master of Fallen Fortress
Crypt of everflame

If she likes it and has commitment to continue you might want to look for Rise of the Runelords.


I highly suggest crypt of the Everflame! And yea if that goes well then definitely go into rise of the runelords


I see that Crypt of the Everflame is a level 1 module. Do you by chance know what level it goes to? Will it take them to level 3 or 4? Thanks for the help you two.

Scarab Sages

Everflame mod is the 1st of the Price of Immortality trilogy. You can also throw in Fangwood Keep module since it is in the Nirmathas area for another level or two.

Scarab Sages

What character is she going to play solo? I would suggest an Inquisitor or Druid.

The Exchange

One more PFS adventure(maybe tide of morning?) will bring her to 3.

The problem is I'm not sure if crypt of the everflame can be soloed. It'll need some modifications, for sure.

Crypt of everflame:

Its that nasty shadow. It drains your strength before you can kill it as a solo character, even if you do magic damage, since magic damage counts as half. The BBEG at the end is no slouch either.

Crypt of Everflame proppsed modifications:

Remove all the traps if she does not have a way to disable device. Replace bloody skeletons with normal skeletons if she does not have channel energy. And no bat swarms. Please remove those. Screws anyone who isn't an alchemist over.

So far the most powerful gestalt combination I've used is synthesist/paladin, and its not possible.


Just a Mort wrote:

One more PFS adventure(maybe tide of morning?) will bring her to 3.

The problem is I'm not sure if crypt of the everflame can be soloed. It'll need some modifications, for sure.

So far the most powerful gestalt combination I've used is synthesist/paladin, and its not possible.

I saw the possible issue of the creature in the tomb, I will be making a slight change with that.

Of the classes she found the rogue the most interesting. That being said this Crypt of the Everflame will be an interesting fit for the rogue.

I will be offering her some free hirelings to help with the crawl, but still letting her shine.


For an AP, you can likely adjust Hell's Rebels into a solo adventure as there are a lot of NPC allies. You're fomenting a rebellion, so a big part of the AP is directing teams.


Council of Thieves also gives you a pool of NPC's for assistance. She could run them along with her own character as she becomes more comfortable with the system.


I think Jade Regent might work well for a solo AP. Swap out Ameiko Kaijitsu (the main NPC) and replace with your wife's character (or get your wife to play Ameiko) and you could have the makings of an epic story on your hands.

You might need to tweak a few bits here and there but honestly I think the AP would make more sense with Ameiko as the main PC hero anyway.

Cheers


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Listen, I don't care what modules or AP you run, I am here to tell you to cherish that woman. Do you hear me?! You grab that girl with both arms and both legs and you frackin' hold on tight! I can't get my wife to even approach the area of the basement where all my gaming gear has been segregated. So, whatever you do, whatever module you run, you look that girl deep in her eyes and you say: "I love the guts right out of you!" Do it!


MendedWall12 wrote:
So, whatever you do, whatever module you run, you look that girl deep in her eyes and you say: "I love the guts right out of you!" Do it!

This has been the best response so far. Also, don't worry. I do.


I would suggest that your wife "solo" by running four characters.


Drahliana Moonrunner wrote:
I would suggest that your wife "solo" by running four characters.

This would be a great option, but I know it would be overwhelming for her to do as a beginner.


It may be overwhelming but I have some advice for you,

1: first off pick an adventure that's not long crypt of the Everflame and its continuations are perfect

2: id suggest you have her first create a character that is more or less hers top to bottom(backstory+build)

3: work with her to build the other party members but then take some time and give each of them a interesting backstory with cool plot hooks

4: next show her all the characters and go over their back stories with her and do any last min twiking

5: finally start playing is suggest you do some of the role playing for the side characters but most importantly let her take her time with each of her turns

Eventually the game will more or less become a video game she will also eventually grasp the use of all characters working together


I'd also suggest you make her character basically the main character of the story. With a group of players making 1 a main character can be dangerous as it can hurt other players feelings and the game loses some interest as players feel their character be less important to the game/story. But with a solo adventure there isn't really any pit falls with this, just give her some cool backstory with lots of room for exploration and growth and I'd think you both would have a great time.

If you feel any of the advice I've given is either useless or problematic I apologize while I am a knowledgable dm I've never dmd a solo adventure I'm just talking about the things I would think and consider if I was planning this.


I'm doing the same thing with my girlfriend. Definitely give her a good supporting cast of NPCs that can help her and that she'll like. Luckily, since she's the only player, she can kind of pick and choose how much spotlight they get. It's actually kind of refreshing to have a player care about another NPC without another PC getting irritated for it taking up time.


*Discretely drops off teddy bear that TOTALLY DOES NOT contain a microphone for eavesdropping this thread

I'm also trying to get my wife to give Pathfinder a try. Contemplating running her through the Beginner Box solo, with me providing some GMPC backup. Sound reasonable?


To make it easy you could even just use the icon characters they already have quite interesting back stories and the builds while not optimal are far from being bad (you could always make the builds better but keep the character and backstory)


Declindgrunt wrote:
To make it easy you could even just use the icon characters they already have quite interesting back stories and the builds while not optimal are far from being bad (you could always make the builds better but keep the character and backstory)

I was already thinking about going this route with the NPCs. Selecting a balanced party, using the prebuilds, and having her be the main focus. I am going to start off with the Crypt of the Everflame to get her feet wet and go from there.

If she likes it, then we will jump into an AP. Maybe even keep the same cast of characters if she likes it.


Crypt of the Everflame has 2 other modules that continue it all the way to I believe Lvl 8 which for a beginner is a great Lvl to end at soon enough to disappoint and Get their feet wet but long enough to really establish characters and a story

Grand Lodge

Give her a free animal companion or eidolon, I'd say. :) Make sure to have a good backstory. :)


You can do any AP with just two people. Have each person play two characters and one person be the GM that also runs two characters. It is not ideal but it can be done. My wife and I have done this with several APs.


Have her character be 3 levels above what a party would normally, and exp, gold, and combat will work out for the most part. Watch out for her not having a needed skill.

This is the method I use to test my builds. I run them through a module with them being 3 levels higher.


Thank you all for the advice, it has been very helpful as I plan to get things under way. I am planning on running Crypt of the Everflame, then going into an AP. She will have a head start, but will be soloing it with some NPCs.

A lot of you have been suggesting that I give her several NPCs, or a team, to play. Since this will literally be the first time she picks up some dice I don't think this will be the best for her. I am going to make he the leader of the team, and the follow her lead.

Maybe as we get further into the game, and she gets comfortable with her abilities and the mechanics, I will add another character for her to control.

Thanks again for all the suggestions.

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