Do you run a solo adventure?

[Awakened]

I was thinking of running a solo adventure for my wife. So I have a few questions:

1) Do you run a solo adventure?

2) If so, how do you scale it? Do you provide the character with NPC companions a lot? Is it fun?

3) Do you drink Tea, Coffee, both, or neither?

1) Yes. I play one with my younger brother.
2) He has a cohort he controls and I play a NPC on his side as a follower.
It is very fun- things get accomplished very quickly, its easier to communicate emotions through the game, and character advancement happens quickly. I generally make him pay trainers to gain feats and I award 80% xp.
3) I drink a huge mug of coffee before school every day, or I will die a slow and agonizing death.

 

[Voadam]

I was thinking of running a solo adventure for my wife. So I have a few questions:

1) Do you run a solo adventure?

2) If so, how do you scale it? Do you provide the character with NPC companions a lot? Is it fun?

3) Do you drink Tea, Coffee, both, or neither?

1 I have.

2 Very few if any adjustments, solo or group there are easy encounters and overpowering ones, PCs evaluating the situation is key. No. Yes, more opportunity for fuller descriptions, more screen time for the player, more chance for NPC interaction without having players who are not center of the current action sitting around.

3 Neither regularly, tea occasionally.

 

[Trainz]

I'm about to start a solo now.

Yesterday, my friend came over and we rolled his character (8th level) and his two cohorts (4th level each). Today, I prepared the adventure. Tomorrow night, we play the first game.

A few weeks back, we closed a solo campaign that went from level 13 to level... 57.

It is more role-playing oriented than group gaming (that I also do every sunday), and easier for the DM to plan, because like others said, you only have to focus on one character.

Solo gaming is fun !

 

[JoeGKushner]

I've done it several ways.

Method one: The player starts at first level but in essence, has a party of NPCs to fill the traditional roles and classes.

Method two: The player starts at first level but has several friends who owe them favors and get minor items like potions of cure like wounds, thunderstones and other things to help them survive and give them hiding places when others are after them.

Method three: The character is generally 2-4 levels higher than other things and generally takes them down in a fitting and powerful fashion save for the bad guy who is at least the same power level if not a little more.

 

[Li Shenron]

A couple of years ago I have run "The Burning Plague" for my girlfriend, which seems to be a common practice for people on this board

She was playing a Druid, and I gave her a NPC friend (Bard) with a good escort of healing potions. Not a real cohort, the NPC didn't usually make decisions about what to do or where to go in the dungeon, but he was just a fighting and healing backup - yes, I could have picked a better class to do this! And also he rolled many knowledge checks to basically give her clues throughout the adventure.

Overall it went quite well, but we always prefer to play with more people at the table, it's part of the best fun of RPG.

 

[NeuroZombie]

I had planned a solo rogue campaign for my wife a while back using the "Thief Among Us" series of adventures (forgot the company). These adventures were made for one on one role-playing. Unfortunetly, we have never had the time to play it.

 

[Bendris Noulg]

1) Do you run a solo adventure?

Been playing in them for nearly 15 years and running them for nearly 7. Have three going at the moment: Myself as a PC in Oathbound (Have Army, Will Travel...), one with my wife as a PC (on its 6th year) and another for a friend (on its 3rd year, although this one's gone to a PBEM because I moved from Chicago to Florida).

2) If so, how do you scale it? Do you provide the character with NPC companions a lot? Is it fun?

It goes up and down. The game I play in, I created the character at 10th level, being a NE Human high Charisma Fighter with Leadership and a small army, with his cohort (NE Gray Elf Witch/Shaman/Mystic Theurge with BoVD and BoEF features added in), which is an absolute blast to play.

Of the games I run, both started as no-companion games. One (that with my wife) has grown into a mission of world-wide conquest (which reminds me, I need to update my When the Walls come Crumbling Down thread...), and she's begun raising her own army, acquisition of followers, cohorts, command staff, etc. The other game is more akin to the Elric and Conan books: Sometimes he has companions, sometimes he's alone, although he's usually the most potent character in the batch (on occassion equalled, but never bested). He does have a side-kick akin to Short Round from Temple of Doom (young oriental kid that he rescued from Slavers a short while ago).

3) Do you drink Tea, Coffee, both, or neither?

I used to be addicted to Mountain Dew, but I've recently kicked that habit.

(Someone pass me an Amp, will ya?)

 

[Munin]

Not much to add here that hasn't already been said.
I GM both a normal sized party and a solo game. I find that it is more difficult to keep things going with a solo game, because you don't catch a break from party discussions. You need a different mindset to run a good solo game.
You don't have to worry about balance as much. Less combat and more roleplaying is generally good.
Giving her an npc+ is a good idea, but I find it easier to let her run the character during combat. You have enough going on and it just makes sense to me to share the load.
The 'threat of death' doesn't work as well in a solo game. But it does work for npcs the character has an attachement to.
That's about it. Oh, and have fun and play loose.

 

[Nifft]

I've DM'd a friend through some solo adventures. He started at 3rd level with some background, and his companions were NPCs (with backgrounds that I designed, and he initially knew nothing about) of lower level and lower wealth... he was a hero, they were basically mercenaries.

He controlled them in combat, but they had distinct personalities out of combat. Think of how games like Baldur's Gate and Fallout delt with companions... except these people wanted a share of the loot.

Anyway, much of the RP happened between the PC and his companions, and some interesting situations came up because the NPCs were "free" to act in non-optimized ways and get in trouble, or to have debts to various other NPCs which come back to bite the hero if he chooses to protect his companion).

Prepare good NPC companions. It can be a rich experience.

-- N

 

[Allura]

I'm in one, Not as GM but as player. My husband is running a Star Wars D20 game for me. Playing an Imperial (for now...) spy. Much more roleplaying than combat; actually ran away from possible combat. I do have a companion (droid NPC), as well as a partner that I'm currently trying to rescue <g>. Due to this thread, I just suggested that we try out making her a gestalt character, mostly as a way to test those rules.

Oh, and coffee when I need caffeine, herbal tea when I don't.