Is it possible for a solo game to be unbalanced?

[Umbran]

Is there any way in which a solo game can be unbalanced?

I can think of two ways it might be "unbalanced".

One other folks have mentioned - the charcter can have more (or less) power than the GM is used to seeing, such that the GM has difficulty designing encounters.

The other way is to have power be very highly situational, so that a character's effectiveness varies wildly from one situation to the next. This is one reason why the "standard party of four" exists. Any individual may not be effective in a given encounter, but the party as a whole stays on an even keel in most situations.

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

I've been running a solo campaign for 2 years now. One thing you never have to worry about is favoritism. The focus is all on one player. I do have a tendency to throw lower CR challenges at the PC than I would otherwise, because, if the PC dies...there's no one to haul the body back for a raise dead and the campaign ends.

However, 9 times out of 10, there is a lot more interaction and story going on than combat as compared to a "normal" campaign. If the PC wants to spend an hour roleplaying through a trip to the magic shop, there aren't any other players at the table falling asleep or stacking dice or otherwise getting annoyed.

In terms of balance, I tend to favor the PC vs any opponents for the reasons stated above. I also add in NPCs as the situation requires.

Quentin