Death in Freeport--A Solo Adventure?

[Acmite]

I was thinking of running Death in Freeport as a solo adventure for my girlfriend. This will be her first time playing D&D (or any RPG for that matter) other than an email game or CRPG.

Is this doable? I've only skimmed through it, so I'm not sure how much I'd have to change. Right off the bat, I know I'll have to weaken the opponents (one is CR4, frex).

How tough is the puzzle aspect. Is it something that will give a newbie a rough time? From what I read, I don't think she'll have a problem, but IME adventures where the PCs have to figure stuff out are always a heck of a lot easier with other players to bounce ideas off of.

Any suggestions on how to scale back the encounters? I was thinking of adding an NPC, but I don't want her to feel like the NPC is running the show or anything like that.

I was also thinking about NeMoren's vault, but that seems more combat oriented.

Any other suggestions for solo mods?

Edit: Me spell bad at 2am

 

[Liminal Syzygy]

Thievery 101: Joining the Watchers is specifically designed for solo play, and reviews are generally positive.

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=23&

 

[Gizzard]

How tough is the puzzle aspect. Is it something that will give a newbie a rough time?

The politics are always a big problem, especially if you are going to run it as a solo adventure. The adventure is well designed in that it tries to pull you back on track if you miss some of the clues, so its not necessarily a fatal problem, but still. Basically, you are investigating, putting two and two together the whole time. Every time you add two and two and get five the DM really has to hop to keep the adventure making sense.

Any suggestions on how to scale back the encounters? I was thinking of adding an NPC, but I don't want her to feel like the NPC is running the show or anything like that.

The foes are built on one of the smaller point-buy systems so you have the option of powering up her character by allowing a 40 point buy or some-such. If you do this, then add an NPC with a more standard point-buy then she'll generally be the big kahuna.

One definite suggestion is to take a look at Dr. Nuncheon's Freeport Storyhour. He runs two people through a modified Freeport series. He's got some nice finesses to make things run smoothly and I advise you to steal everything you can from him. ;-)

 

[drnuncheon]

Thanks Giz!

One of the tricks I used was to keep the opposition level the same, but start the characters at a higher level. (I had two PCs at 3rd level instead of four at first.) That might be good for a newbie too: although they have more options, a character who is, say, 4th or 5th level would be a lot more capable of doing the sorts of heroic stuff you generally see in fantasy movies and fiction.

Both of my PCs were multiclassed (Ftr/Rog & Ftr/Wiz), which can also be a good thing - it lets them cover multiple bases, and if they're spellcasters, it means that they don't have access to spells that would destroy either the mystery or the opposition.

Death in Freeport shouldn't be too bad for just one person if you keep the above in mind. Continuing the series could get hairy, especially considering some of the opposition in the third book...it would be very easy for a single character to wind up helpless and/or dead.

J

 

[Acmite]

I think I'll start her at 3rd level, then. As far as another character goes, it looks like I'll make an NPC as well, probably 2nd level with a lower point buy as suggested.

She's playing an Elven Ranger (var. Monte), so I might throw something in like a Rogue/Wizard or a Cleric to balance her out a bit.

Any other suggestions? Cordo mentioned a solo adventure (although it's designed for rogues, so I don't think I'll use that one)....are there any other good ones out there?

I'm probably going to just use Death as a intro to a homebrew--obviously one that will contain Freeport--so I'm not sure I need higher level adventures. Maybe something for 3-4th level?

Or heck, if you want to suggest other starting options than Death in Freeport, I'm open to that as well.

Anything on NeMoren's vault?

 

[Acmite]

Stealth bump

 

[Acmite]

Anyone else?

 

[Acmite]

One more bump after the holidays......

 

[Guillaume]

I have not played Death in Freeport, nor have I read it, but I have run a few solo games for my wife (she goes by the handle of Julie on these boards).

Here is what I have noticed with solo games in general :

• The power structure shifts dramatically when you reduce the number of players. True, on paper, a 5th level PC is probably on par with a 1st level group of 4 PCs. However, I have tend to notice that the combats are much more deadly as there is no dilution factor (ie there is only one PC to hit).
• Puzzles, charades, and other things of the sort can make or break a game. In a group, you have a few brains bouncing of ideas off each other. In a solo game, the player is all alone and must solve these obstacle her/himself. When the player gets stuck, there is no elegant way of breaking down the walls that block his/her way. When a PC starts mouthing ideas that might serve as hints, it always feels contrived.
• In a convoluted plot, it is much easier to loose the PC/Player. In a group, one or more individual may be lost in the plot sequence but generally, at least one player will catch the clue, the hint or the message sent by the DM. In a solo adventure, if the plot thread is lost, it is lost. Be prepared to improvise a method to get the PC back on track.

Hope this helps.