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<blockquote data-quote="Herobizkit" data-source="post: 6433338" data-attributes="member: 36150"><p>My go-to answer is "run it like a TV show".</p><p></p><p>Your main character is exactly that, the main character. The main character (of action/adventure shows) generally excels above the supporting cast; if she does not excel, she will eventually excel via destiny/leveling up/finding the magic comet/whatever and her story becomes the Zero to Hero / Hero's Journey plot.</p><p></p><p>Speaking of plots, pick any TV series, put aside a big chunk of time (when it happens, you'll know), and search it at <a href="http://tvtropes.org" target="_blank">TV Tropes</a>. You'll understand story design pretty quickly from seeing how tropes are used to build a TV cast, setting and plot.</p><p></p><p>Single-character adventures work best when they're urban-centric, but if you're comfortable having the Hero adventure with a regular team of pals with their own goals/ambitions (like, say Dragon Age, or the Final Fantasy series of video games), by all means, have your Hero brave the dungeons, kick the doors and loot the rooms - just be sure to adjust encounters appropriately. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /></p><p></p><p>One interesting thing I noted about the video game Dust: An Elysian Tail, is that the protagonist is actually a three-person party: The Hero (Samurai Cat), his companion (a talking, magic-using dragon/cat/thing), and his weapon (an intelligent blade containing the Soul of a Warrior). You COULD conceivably have a Warrior-Caster-Rogue relationship with a team like this without ever adding a new meat-shield to the team.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Herobizkit, post: 6433338, member: 36150"] My go-to answer is "run it like a TV show". Your main character is exactly that, the main character. The main character (of action/adventure shows) generally excels above the supporting cast; if she does not excel, she will eventually excel via destiny/leveling up/finding the magic comet/whatever and her story becomes the Zero to Hero / Hero's Journey plot. Speaking of plots, pick any TV series, put aside a big chunk of time (when it happens, you'll know), and search it at [URL="http://tvtropes.org"]TV Tropes[/URL]. You'll understand story design pretty quickly from seeing how tropes are used to build a TV cast, setting and plot. Single-character adventures work best when they're urban-centric, but if you're comfortable having the Hero adventure with a regular team of pals with their own goals/ambitions (like, say Dragon Age, or the Final Fantasy series of video games), by all means, have your Hero brave the dungeons, kick the doors and loot the rooms - just be sure to adjust encounters appropriately. ;) One interesting thing I noted about the video game Dust: An Elysian Tail, is that the protagonist is actually a three-person party: The Hero (Samurai Cat), his companion (a talking, magic-using dragon/cat/thing), and his weapon (an intelligent blade containing the Soul of a Warrior). You COULD conceivably have a Warrior-Caster-Rogue relationship with a team like this without ever adding a new meat-shield to the team. [/QUOTE]
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