Pathfinder 1E [3.P] Going through a module solo

[ImperatorK]

Did anyone here ever try running through a module/adventure path with just one character, without re-scaling any of the encounters or heightening the character's level? Something like a challenge or test of your optimization prowess. With gestalt being allowed (even expected).

 

[Dwimmerlied]

One player and one DM? or are you thinking to DM for your own character?

 

[PFBeginner.com]

Does that include cohorts and hirelings for the lone PC?

 

[Unwise]

I run a game with 1 player with 2 characters. I don't scale any of the encounters at all. I run him through equal level printed adventures making no allowance for the lack of other PCs other than making the occasional skill-challenge quicker. As a player I have run a solo character through epic level encounters designed for groups of 5. I highly recommend it.

The thing is, when you have the one player you open up the game more for out of the box thinking and lots of pre-planning. A solo character won't just charge into the orc den, they will find a way to poison their water supply, redirect a river, enrage a rabid troll or some other way to deal with them. It leads to a lot more "combat as war" moments when straight up encounters are not advisable. It also allows you to play in ways that are interesting but would not be in a full group, e.g. assassinating the slaver stronghold one by one over the course of a few days. This would be very dull for all the non-assassin players in a group environment, but works perfectly for a solo game.

P.S. I should note that the choice of character does very much matter in this style of game. I strongly recommend a sneaky and preferably charismatic character. A straight up paladin or some other class that tends to meet foes head-on will lead to grinding combat and inevitable demise. An illusionist, bard, secret agent or assassin type however has a lot of interesting ways of dealing with 'impossible' situations.

 

[ImperatorK]

One player and one DM? or are you thinking to DM for your own character?

Solo means DMing for one PC.

Does that include cohorts and hirelings for the lone PC?

The solo player can have those if he wants.

 

[Dwimmerlied]

Solo means DMing for one PC.


The solo player can have those if he wants.

I possess a manual for solo gaming in which the DM is the lone Player, as well; It was a legitimate question

I ran a solo dungeon crawl once, and devised ways that stealth and diplomacy could be used to get through as many encounters as I could, but due to the nature of the dice and the game-mechanic, diplomacy, stealth and combat still have a high frequency of failure, and those failures are often costly. Admittedly, the character was only first level, and I might try this again with a higher level character; but a lot of the problem is likely to still be there.

 

[Systole]

The thing is, when you have the one player you open up the game more for out of the box thinking and lots of pre-planning. A solo character won't just charge into the orc den, they will find a way to poison their water supply, redirect a river, enrage a rabid troll or some other way to deal with them. It leads to a lot more "combat as war" moments when straight up encounters are not advisable. It also allows you to play in ways that are interesting but would not be in a full group, e.g. assassinating the slaver stronghold one by one over the course of a few days. This would be very dull for all the non-assassin players in a group environment, but works perfectly for a solo game.

This. Can be done, and can be fun. The only thing is, encounters where you get the drop on the bad guys and can sneak around and poison the wells are WAAAAAAAY different from encounters where you're the one getting ambushed. It can be a lot of fun, but the GM does need to scale back the surprise encounters and award full XP for when you poison the wells.