One player party. A one on one DM to PC game?

[Bride of Cthulhu]

(First off, I'm new to this forum and this is my first thread, so if I am long winded, please forgive me.)

What has your experience been, if any, with this scenario? I have always had gamer friends and sometimes it's hard to get the group together so we will play 'one shot' campaigns for fun just between the the Dungeon Master and player.

Recently, however, one of these games turned out to be so much fun that in addition to regularly running for my group, a PC and I have agreed to create an on going campaign involving just their character and a few under powered NPCs. (They don't play a main role in the game but are supporting 'party members' or reoccurring characters who don't steal any thunder from the player.)

It isn't cutting into the regular group time as it is played on a separate day. Obviously this has pros and cons but has anyone else experienced this? Does anyone have any suggestions for me as a DM in this particular scenario?

(Also, I should mention that I happen to LIVE with this PC so it has become our 'rainy day' activity to play these one on one games, it is just odd to have an ongoing campaign of this nature.)

 

[Dwimmerlied]

Welcome to the forums!

I've done this before, and quite enjoyed it. There are, in my experience two challenges; firstly trying to balance power to challenge ratio;- but this is just a matter of mechanics, so not a big deal. In my game, the player ran multiple characters, and I had a DMPC, so it worked fine. We didn't initially make a big fuss over in-depth character development, though individual personalities and traits kinda evolved (e.g. our cleric kept falling over and fumbling dex checks, so he became "fat").

The other is having the strategic advantage offered by several minds coming together to nut out strategy or problem solve the magic door. This was probably the only problem really worth mentioning. Its all up to the one player. I sometimes employed intelligence or wisdom checks to help out with things, tried to avoid too much of the problem solving stuff, and felt free to offer suggestions through my DMPC on occasion.

It was an awesome campaign though, and I'll run another if I get the opportunity again!

 

[Weather Report]

Just out of curiosity, what race and class is the character, and what edition are you playing?

 

[Jacob Marley]

In 2nd Edition, there were a series of modules (HHQ series): Cleric's Challenge I & II, Fighter's Challenge I & II, Thief's Challenge I & II, and Wizard's Challenge I & II. They were designed for one DM/one player games. You could look to them for inspiration. IIRC, they are relatively cheap to find on Ebay.

I have run one DM/one player campaigns. The game I ran focused on interaction and exploration, as opposed to combat. I think that being able to focus in on the PC's interaction with the world around him/her is the main benefit to running one DM/one player games. Combat, on the other hand, can be a bit tricky as the game is balanced around having multiple PCs per fight. You can ameliorate this by giving the PC various henchmen and hireling types. Just be sure that you don't overwhelm the player.

 

[the Jester]

(First off, I'm new to this forum and this is my first thread, so if I am long winded, please forgive me.)

What has your experience been, if any, with this scenario? I have always had gamer friends and sometimes it's hard to get the group together so we will play 'one shot' campaigns for fun just between the the Dungeon Master and player.

Recently, however, one of these games turned out to be so much fun that in addition to regularly running for my group, a PC and I have agreed to create an on going campaign involving just their character and a few under powered NPCs. (They don't play a main role in the game but are supporting 'party members' or reoccurring characters who don't steal any thunder from the player.)

It isn't cutting into the regular group time as it is played on a separate day. Obviously this has pros and cons but has anyone else experienced this? Does anyone have any suggestions for me as a DM in this particular scenario?

(Also, I should mention that I happen to LIVE with this PC so it has become our 'rainy day' activity to play these one on one games, it is just odd to have an ongoing campaign of this nature.)

I've been in nearly this exact circumstance before- with one of my housemates wanting MOAR GAMING than the regular group met for- and it worked just fine.

One possible trouble spot is if the player takes his pcs' deaths personally; with a one-player game, pc fatality tends to be pretty easy to achieve.

 

[Bride of Cthulhu]

Dwimmerlied:

My player is only running one character and this character has a very elaborate personality and history that play directly into the campaign. Balancing power has been tough. CRs are USELESS in this situation! Luckily, he is a skilled player and understands there’s more than one way to skin a kobold and even when his enemies seem too powerful for a single member party (even ne supported by NPCs) he usually can use his wits to still come out on top.

Thanks for the encouragement!

Weather Report:

The player is a unique multi class combo of human: Cleric of Olidammara, Rogue and Bard. Level 5 . We are playing edition 3.5

Jacob Marley:

My only experience with 2^nd edition has been for novelty purposes at conventions. Our game is very similar to what you describe. It is very focused on interaction and exploration. There is still combat, but even the strongest adversaries can be defeated by swindling or overwhelming/trappeing etc. instead of basic hack and slash. We have had SO much fun focusing on his character and the world that in our spare time, we are working on a comic based around the most recent campaigns just for fun.

The Jester:

MOAR GAMING is definitely what is in demand here. Haha I have always been a merciful DM with my favorite players when it comes to DnD. I am happy to slaughter them in other games, especially Call of Cthulhu, however I believe that the amount of investment placed in this character by the player would make his demise too painful. He’s a good player, though, and always figures a way out of situations. I never have to ‘save’ him but then again, I don’t go out of my way to kill him.

 

[Mike Myler]

My experience with one-on-one GM and PC games has been in one-shots that tied back into the bigger game; my character is doing a burglary the other PCs are not aware of, other side quests, etc etc. They are always great fun and now I do the same for the groups I run for. As a matter of fact, I think the PC I live with has some thievery she was supposed to do before the next adventure.

I wouldn't totally ignore CRs, just count their effective level as 2-3 reduced.

Here are three things that I think are worth mentioning:

Combat has an entirely different dynamic. Swarms of minions and kobolds pose a threat that isn't quite there when you have serious support, but it opens up different scenarios that just don't work as well with groups. Think cinematics. How many times does the protagonist work his way through ten-twelve guards/three combat specialists/<insert story element-based antagonists here> as they make their way to the point of conflict? Don't be afraid to drop the support NPCs or make a demand for their attention elsewhere. Which brings up another point.

You're no longer limited to a group perspective. Just like in a book or a movie, you can jump from this narrative view to the next and break the story apart into different simultaneous scenes. Have your player designate which character is 'dominant' if you like, but now since they are a 'player-characters', they have access to a multitude of sensors to perceive what's happening.
For example, your player is trying to gain entry into a fort. The rogue sneaks up to the guards while the barbarian scales the far wall and the wizard silently floats down from far above. Instead of dealing with passing notes, taking players aside and generally trying to keep a secret from folks within whispering distance, as soon as one character sees the guards transform into a werewolf the player knows about it. This is a double-edged sword but you can use it to your advantage.

You aren't playing with a diverse audience and they aren't a crowd. Does your player dig combat? Social roleplay? Heists? It doesn't matter which one really, because you can tailor what you're doing to their interests. A well designed story and game will keep players attention but appealing to their favorite part of tabletop is never a bad idea and you're in an excellent place to do that without having to juggle the preferences of multiple people.

This sounds to me like an excellent opportunity for 'Trials' scenarios or Gladiator combats. I might also consider looking at some Conan stuff for inspiration.

 

[Bride of Cthulhu]

Mike, I agree, especially on the 'group perspective' bit. It also focuses the player to play a more dynamic character, rather than pigeonholing into one specific 'I'm the meat shield' or 'I'm the glass cannon' etc. I also don't have to worry about motivation as much. Only one player has to be motivated so if the mood for the night is leaning towards combat or investigation, I can ensure the campaign satisfies with out much effort of balancing on my part.

 

[Mark CMG]

Welcome to the boards!

Will the one-on-one PC be gaining XP while away from the group and will the other PCs have the same opportunities to gain similar amounts?

 

[Bride of Cthulhu]

Welcome to the boards!

Will the one-on-one PC be gaining XP while away from the group and will the other PCs have the same opportunities to gain similar amounts?

I have had experience balancing this scenario while running professionally at a gaming store in Illinois. The group met every Sunday but after 5 pm the majority went home. At this point the remaining gamers wished to continue. Being a professional DM I was pretty much forced to tailor to the demand of the players. I would whip out a one shot or improvise on the running theme of the day in order to provide gaming fuel.

This did pose problems with unbalanced levels. Unfortunately at this time I was actually dating one of my pcs and I was accused of giving him special treatment by offering him more opportunities to get experience. (Not an issue most gaming groups have to consider.) In reality, there were about four characters who stayed after the session and all gamed together with me for an additional 5-6 hours after the regular game.

It was at this point I decided to just run two different games every Sunday in order to avoid this conflict. I ran the regular group from 12-5 and then we had a 15-30 minute break and the remaining players played in a separate game from 5-10pm Needless to say this was exhausting. There was no DM rotation so I was running two separate games every week. This is aside from my regular nonprofessional gig of just hanging out and running with my girlfriends throughout the week etc.

This game that I am referring to NOW is fortunately not tied in with another campaign involving a larger party. I don't worry about other pcs having similar opportunities to gain xp with this particular campaign but when I do have breakaway side quests from a main multi-pc game I always try to incorporate fair xp opportunity for all.