Solo adventures

[Deadspark]

Is it possible to run a Pathfinder game with only a single player, and 3 NPCs? If so, what adjustments need to be made?

[Drahliana Moonrunner]

None at all if what you wind up with is a standard 4 person party.

Sounds however like a lot more work than what I'd want to do as a DM.

It's enough work for me that I have to run the world... Now you want me to run the bulk of the party as well? There's a major issue with proper mental compartmentation here. Most people who are running party members don't have the knowledge of what's on the other side of the DM screen.

[ckdragons]

Having 1 player run 4 characters is gonna get complicated at higher levels. Character have so many options available to them that it'll be almost impossible not to forget something at a critical time, especially with buffs, feats, and magic effects.

Finding a 2nd player so each player only has to run 2 characters would be a better option.

[Mark Carlson 255]

IMHO, it really depends on the GM and player.
As a GM I can design adventures to be played by 1 person with 1 PC and everyone will have fun. But if I as a GM have to run all the NPC's and adversaries things can bog down, unless I do a lot of prep work (pre-rolling or computer aided rolling, pre-planned moves and actions to situations.)

Having said that GM'ing one on one with a person can be a fun change and I have split the party up a few times and run one on one games with each of them at separate times for story reasons. (The bummer is that the players can lose social enjoyment by not having others there. But I also realize that do to other factors it can be hard to get more than 1 player and GM together in some situations. So if you (and your group) are having fun then you are doing it right.)
MDC

[Alni]

Given that the more the merrier... I'm doing it right now so, the good:

1. Yes, it can be done and we're having a lot of fun. One PC and he also controls all NPCs he chooses to take along (I roleplay them though).
2. I can move the story wherever my player wants. He gets all the shiny stuff, makes all the calls, no leadership issues. So, you want to spend a session setting up your own arcane school? Go for it. No one will complain.

The bad:

1. Way too much work. Random things "I hit on the barmaid", "I chat with the grocer" and arguments "should we go right or left" take up a lot of session time with one player there is much less arguing. I have the NPCs discuss but in the end I can't insist much or the player will feel I'm pushing him to a certain direction. So, I think a session with one player requires double the preparation than a session with 3-4 players.
2. Level ups. He has 4 NPCs he takes with him (two from his previous campaign, two from WotR: Sosiel and Aron you can't split them) The player only wants to level his own character, so I do the rest, I dread level ups.

Edit: The technical:

Switched to fantasy grounds after 4-5 sessions. The player with 5 character sheets in front of him was confused, the battles were going on forever, couldn't keep tabs of things... it was a mess. Fantasy grounds helped a lot. Really looking forward to see if they release the APs for fantasy grounds though. Would be really great to have the campaign ready.

[kainblackheart]

Soloing? can be a lot of fun, I used to run solo games with my daughter, before she found boys, and we had a blast. But I think you have to go into it as a DM very open minded and prepared to do a lot of it on the fly. If you like to have every thing toughly planned out then it's probably not the best idea.

[Kileanna]

When we play solo adventures the GM creates some NPCs and allows the player to do some recruitment of relevant NPCs from the adventure. The GM picks the basics of the NPCs and roleplays them but lets the player make the important decissions, choose some gear, combat options, etc.
It adds many interesting roleplaying options, and very personal stories.
I personally have been both a GM and a player in these kind of stories and I like it.

[Tinalles]

I've been running a campaign for a single player for the last five years. She started at level 4 and recently hit level 15, mythic tier 7. Tips for running things:

1) Avoid save-or-die effects. With just one player, a death means the game is basically over.

2) Avoid save-or-suck effects. See #1.

3) If your PC is totally incapable of dealing with a particular type of challenge, don't use that type. Example: don't stick magic traps in when your PC doesn't have trapfinding or any ranks in Disable Device.

4) Allied NPCs are very useful, but be careful not to let them overshadow the PC. The PC is the star of the show; any cohorts/allied NPCs are sidekicks.

5) Invest in a program that lets you build/level PCs and NPCs easily. I use Hero Lab, but PCGen is a pretty good free one. Doing everything by hand is madness.

6) The CR system is built around an assumption of 4 PCs. If you have only one, you need to tone it down. I shoot for CR -2 as an average difficulty.

7) KNOW YOUR PLAYER. You can customize the adventure and encounters to appeal specifically to just one person. Doing so makes it a lot more fun.

I find GM'ing for a soloist much more rewarding than GM'ing for a larger group. There's less side chit-chat. Combat goes faster because there are fewer participants. You can focus more on the story. The PC is likely to develop much deeper relationships with the NPCs -- certainly mine has, anyway. It's a lot of work, but well worth it.