Guidelines for Crafting Solo Adventures

[Kzach]

Ok, I think it was probably not the best forum to post my previous thread in and in retrospect, it probably fits better here.

Basically, I'd like to come up with some guidelines for making adventures that are suitable for one DM and one player. The adventures would have to cater to the various classes strengths and weaknesses.

My main problem is understanding just how to go about these issues. How do you design an adventure for a wizard? Would an adventure designed for a wizard have a lot of minions in it, with arcane puzzles, and history checks, etc.? What repercussions are there for having too many minions? Will the wizard get overwhelmed if he doesn't get initiative? How do you balance an encounter to cater to a specific role and class?

Oh, and I should point out that the idea here isn't to 'cheat' and simply put in NPC's or whatever to balance things out. The idea is to solve the issues creatively and constructively to allow for interesting, engaging and easy to run solo adventures

Any ideas are welcome.

 

[Jack7]

I can tell ya how we do it K, game editions irrespective.

In my setting I have created a Vadding/Sharper/Acer (that's the different names of what we call them) character type.

A Vadder is someone who has their own class but also learns certain skill suites, like thieving skills (regardless of class) and how to Vad. So it is like a mini-class overlay. A specialized set of skill suites and capabilities.

Once they learn these suites and become pretty good at them then they can operate on their own, regardless of their character class, because they have a wide range of thieving, infiltration, espionage, and survival skills to rely upon in any given situation.

Consider it like Special Forces training for an adventure, and the suites learned concentrate upon purely useful skills and necessary ones, skills that will increase effectiveness and survivability.

When I say that they then operate alone I mean they operate entirely alone, without help in the field, and often without back-up or any real hope of extraction or rescue.

They also often work undercover. So skills like stealth, developing good cover stories, being a convincing liar, etc. are all essential, because you want to be able to talk and/or trick your way out of trouble rather than fight your way out of trouble, especially if outnumbered and/or outarmed.

Now since a single adventurer, no matter how good, is usually at a severe disadvantage operating alone most of these solo adventures are urban adventures, not penetrating dangerous and complicated dungeons. But there is aloe work like infiltrating Guilds and organizations, hostage rescue work, scouting, theft, reconnaissance, surveillance, work for hire, etc. And Acers can work either for others or for themselves, on their own initiative.

I've never created an Acer mission solely for "class purposes" but that shouldn't be hard to arrange. Just build the mission around some function, item, event, or objective peculiar to the class, or the particular character you have in mind. Adding in NPCs and minions would be up to you but as far as I'm concerned the real effort should be put into developing ways, like the Vadder described above which makes it possible for individual characters to survive on their own, in the cold, perhaps for long periods of time. Perhaps undercover and likely with a new or assumed identity. I suggest a study of undercover operations to give you some idea of how it works because such people become very, very good at surviving within hostile environments without being either detected for what they really are, or without being killed (most of the time).

Now classes that are already excellent disposed towards making good Vadders include the Rogue and the Ranger and the Barbarian (to a degree) as well as a Cleric. Spies and Bards make good Acers. Others who make good Vadders are charismatic types, good liars, and shrewd and clever characters and players. Successfully operating on your own is often as much about misdirection and quick thinking as it is any set of skills or class abilities.

As far as what skills are needed or suggested for good, single character operatives, I suggest thieving skills, camouflage and stealth, disguise, languages, good verbal skills, survival skills, being able to track and especially manhunt, reconnaissance and surveillance skills, being able to avoid or escape pursuit (escape and evasion), and being good at infiltration.

How I typically build adventures or missions is around the individual character or player I have in mind or who wants to undertake such an adventure, rather than around the class. Just find the player who wants to do this and build a scenario suited to him or her, to that character. It make it a lot more interesting than just a "class affair." Because then the player takes an especial interest in the assignment, knowing it is about him or that he is particularly suited to the work, and because you can play to that particular player and character's strengths and weaknesses, rather than just to the class idea. It makes it much, much more personal.

 

[FireLance]

I think 4e actually lends itself fairly well to a solo adventure game given that characters are assumed to be balanced by an equal number of monsters and the reduced reliance on clerics for healing.

That said, characters with the ability to trigger additional healing surges in combat (clerics, warlords, paladins, etc.) have an additional safety net that other characters do not. Healing potions and other magic items may alleviate this. When designing adventures for characters that lack healing options in combat, it may also be better to avoid fights that exceed the XP budget for a single character.

If the character is fighting solo, he may find it difficult to get combat advantage. Encounters with soldiers and other monsters with high AC should thus be kept to a minimum (unless of lower level than the PC), and players of rogue characters will need to be quite creative in order to get sneak attack bonus damage.

Conversely, if the PC is fighting a monster that deals additional damage or has some other effect that triggers when it has combat advantage, the ability is unlikely to come up in a one on one fight. In order for such a monster to be used effectively (and be worth its XP award), it should have a few allies or another ability to grant itself combat advantage. The same applies to a monster with Leader abilities.

Skill challenges work pretty well in a solo adventure because the PC has to take action or fail (there are no other party members to deal with the problem). I like to use the four successes before three failures approach as the XP award for succeeding is the same as that for a standard monster of the same level. On a strict mathematical basis, a PC with a 50% chance to succeed at each individual skill check only has about a 35% chance of overcoming the challenge overall, but the odds can improved by allowing the PC some ways to earn automatic successes, and by giving the PC some way to "aid himself": succeeding on a skill check with a secondary skill could (depending on the degree of success) give him a +2 bonus on his next skill check or on all subsequent skill checks with the primary skills for the challenge, for example.

 

[MonkeyMage]

Here are the rules my wife and I use.

Solo Player Rules

Ability Scores: 18,16,16,14,12,12

Feats: Pick 1 feat per level.

Template: May take either a Functional or Class Template.
- Hit Points: Do not add Constitution Score a second time.
- Action Points: Do not add bonus Action point.
- Class Feature Choices: May take any normally available.

Paragon Path: Take only one, but may be from either class if a Class Template was taken.

Healing Surges: Gain 2 additional surges.

Actions per turn: 2 standards, 1 move, & 1 minor.

Treasure: Gain equipment as a party of 2. No single item may be higher than level +4

Encounter Design: As if a party of 2. Give only 1/2 xp, so advancement is not increased.

Cohort:
- Gain use of a cohort, which is created as a NPC.
- Uses the follow ability scores: 16,16,14,12,12,10
- Gain one feat per 4 levels.
- Must be brought back to life with the regular Raise Dead ritual or replaced.
- May pick a Paragon Path for purposes of power selection, but does not gain path features.
- Handle as you would a Beast Companion, except as noted above or in the NPC rules.
- May use magic items, but is subject to Magic Threshold restrictions.

 

[Crowley42]

So, while I play very little in the realms of solo adventures I have foudn that 4e is pretty flexible with regard to it. Using fewer and lower xp monsters to obtain a one-man budget is easy enough but the key is to create encounters that are set up with at least one way for your player to have an upper hand and to make sure that if he doesn't he wont be devestated or at least as an easy way out. Or maybe he gets captured and thats the whole poitn hehe. Either way solo play is big on out of combat advantage taking and pre combat preperations. A solo player must be ready to watch his opponents, plan an attack , and have an escape.

Basically don't let him get in over his head! All in all though there may be no tweaks needed, but maybe a bit more feats or such to empower your epic solo character would be good. And why not let him explore dangerous dungeons? Create them around single traps and skill challenges as mell as minions, lower lvl creatures, and one on one battles!

 

[dammitbiscuit]

Mobile rogues using Deft Strike and constant flitting in and out of shadows can get combat advantage all by themselves just fine. Most of your Encounter/Daily powers will need to come from Martial Power, or grant you combat advantage long enough that you don't need to re-hide for a round or two. Terrain is important, of course. Being an Artful Dodger helps.

 

[Wik]

Good question!

First, remember that just because it is a solo DM/Player adventure, it doesn't necessarily mean that the PC is alone. A single DMPC (whether it be a henchman, a loyal animal companion, or an orcish prisoner) can really come in handy, and enable the character to truly shine (a warlord has someone to use his abilities on, a rogue can more easily get his sneak attacks in, and the wizard has someone to keep the enemies at bay). I'd recommend using NPCs that fill a "brute", "Soldier", or "Artillery" role, as these roles are usually the easiest to run.

Second, get rid of the railroad. "Railroads" exist in RPGs because, with a group of multiple characters, it's hard to predict the flow of the game, and a prepared course will make it easier for your group to act. In a solo game, you should be able to react to the solo player's actions much more easily. The game will be usually be much more freeform - I've found that solo play supports Sandbox gaming very easily.

Third, try to tailor the adventure to the character in a very real way. You're on the money when you suggested using many minions for a solo wizard adventure. Carry this on for all the classes - a warlord should be able to lead a small group of soldiers; a fighter should have to hold a narrow hallway; a ranger should be sniping and using the terrain to his advantage, etc. There is a switch, here - in group play, the standard operating procedure is to build an encounter with the monsters in mind (i.e., build an environment that suits the abilities of your monsters).

In a solo game, build an environment that suits your character. If you do this right, you can throw in a fight that's much more than just a monster of equal level. You can set up encounters where the ranger is a true guerilla, and the rogue is a true assassin.

Fourth, don't run adventures with a group design parameter for a single player. IN other words, many games are built with a group in mind, and the settings reflect this. Really embrace the fact that the character is alone, and run adventures that would never work for a group. Stealth-based adventures are an obvious one (stealthing in as a long-term part of the game very rarely works in an RPG, because the non-stealth PCs are just sitting there). Weird magical rituals are another, as are dream quests, weird training quests, and duels/personal vendettas. Don't be afraid to build your adventure around the solo character, and really tie everything to him.

Fifth, remember that the game is going to run MUCH faster. Think of this - in a standard game, there are five PCs and one GM. If you run a combat of 5 monsters vs. 5 PCs, the GM gets to "Act" 5 times in the round, and each player gets to act once. So, the GM has 50% of the game time, and the players have around 10% each.

In a solo game, each round will consist of the GM moving one or two monsters, and the player moving his character. Maybe an ally will also move. In other words, the rounds are going to be short, and you'll find that one combat, even a grind, should take much less time than normal. This is a good thing, but it often means the GM has to be comfortable winging things for a long period of time, when the solo PC wanders off the edge of the map.

And they will wander - in the solo games I've run, I've learned that PCs tend to be much more independant (which, of course, only makes sense).

Sixth rule - if a PC is at zero, he's pretty much dead. Think about this one. real hard. In a standard 4e game, if you're hurt, you're out for a few rounds, until the cleric or warlord gets to you and brings you back in the fight. IN many fights I've run, a PC goes down and the rest of the group isn't really that worried. The game almost seems designed to have PCs take hits and get knocked below zero. In 4e, if that happens (whether by critical hit or just an inability to heal), the game could very well be over.

Keeping in that theme, also think that second wind is pretty much useless in a solo game, unless you're a dwarf. Why? Because you'll be spending your action to heal, and most monsters will deal enough damage to knock off those HP you just restored. the only time to use a second wind in a solo game is when you spend an action point, which is kind of lame.

Seventh point to consider: Use a smaller map. There will be much less in the way of individual PCs/NPCs in the fight, so use a smaller map to encourage the use of the terrain. If you use a large map in these small duels, much of the map will be unused. You are much better to use a narrow map with many details, because it will give the player many more gaming options.

 

[erf_beto]

If you want diversed monsters in your encounters, you could try a houserule suggested a couple of threads down: multiply all monsters' HP per 1/2, but only award 2/3 of XP, while keeping the same Encounter Budget. (I think that's the same as just upping the budget by 50%). That way, you can add a couple more monsters of different roles to complement each other.

 

[grickherder]

Great suggestion erf beto. The only thing to watch though is that while the HP might be cut in half, the damage output isn't.

I know this doesn't really answer the OP's question, but I've found the best way to play with only a single player and the DM is to have multiple characters.

 

[FireLance]

Keeping in that theme, also think that second wind is pretty much useless in a solo game, unless you're a dwarf. Why? Because you'll be spending your action to heal, and most monsters will deal enough damage to knock off those HP you just restored. the only time to use a second wind in a solo game is when you spend an action point, which is kind of lame.

While this is generally true at low levels, it becomes less of an obviously bad choice when your hit points increase. At 5th level, a fighter or a paladin might have 52 hit points and recover 13 hit points on a second wind. This is higher than the expected damage that most 5th-level monsters will deal in a round, especially after taking into account the fact that second wind boosts your defenses.