Gamemastering for 1 player - has anyone tried it?

[Nimor Starseeker]

Has anyone tried gamemastering an AP for 1 player?
I would assume increasing the player level consistently by 3 to compensate for 3 less players.
What are your experiences doing this? Good, bad, ugly?
I am considering trying to game master for 1 player, as an introduction before starting a second group. Can’t mix the groups right now because the first group is full.

[Steve Geddes]

I ran a single player through the Azlanti empire AP (can’t remember the name now but APs 7-9).

He had two PCs and I started them at third level, then kept them both two levels ahead of the expected level in the book. I kept loot the same as would have been received by four PCs (so 400Cr each reward became 800 each). I also said each PC could fulfill two different starship combat roles (no gunner-gunner) and take two actions in each starship combat turn.

It started as a walkover. The first book ended with a mildly difficult battle, but only because he didn’t realise who the BBEG was and focussed his fire on minions. Book two got tougher and the climactic final battle was a close call. We ended the game early in book three but I suspected he was going to die at some point. The extra power level doesn’t fully compensate for the action economy disadvantage as the PCs level up.

Worked well at very low levels though.

["Dr." Cupi]

If I were you I'd probably set up a little spreadsheet for normal and starship combat. input the raw numbers of the PC and build encounters based on those. Starfinder was built with a heavy focus on the numbers checking out. Therefore, ensure that the numbers check out.

(i.e. build the enemy's AC based on the PC attack bonus. Build their damage based on the PCs Stamina + Hit Points. Etc...)