Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Tips for DMing a solo game
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Griffith Dragonlake" data-source="post: 3967013" data-attributes="member: 40379"><p>I've played in five solo campaigns and two one-shot adventures and have DMed two solo campaigns and un uncountable number of solo side adventures. It's an intense experience for both the DM and the player and frankly outside the skillset and capabilities of most players and a lot of DMs. Things to keep in mind:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Follow the literary (or film/TV) model: The PC is the hero and the center of the story. The story plays to both their strengths and their weaknesses. When it plays to their strengths, the hero can seriously kick butt and show off their abilities. When it plays to the weaknesses, the stakes are high and the player really sweats it out but success is all the more sweeter.</li> </ul> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">As a hero, the PC is a cut above the typical D&D adventurer. I recommend at 32 point buy, beginning play at 2nd level, giving the leadership feat for free, and giving maximum wealth allowed for 2nd level PCs, plus NPC wealth for the cohort and followers. Then have the PC outfit themselves, their cohort, and their followers.</li> </ul> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Don't let the PC play the cohort. Have the DM play the cohort and keep the character sheet a secret. This allows the DM to “cheat” on the PC’s behalf to advance the story.</li> </ul> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">As others have said, tailor the campaign to the player but don't go overboard. It has to be fun for the DM also.</li> </ul> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The DM must play to their own strengths as well. One DM I played solo for, hated designing worlds, NPCs, etc. So he ran me through a series of modules tweaking them here and there to keep the right challenge. Another DM loved all things Tolkein and so we played in Middle Earth using the MERP modules but used the D&D rules. My strength as a DM is spontaneous storytelling. So I avoided modules but fleshed out the world in my spare time. The solo players knew that neither I nor them knew what threats lurked around the corner but that I would keep the story interesting. One solo player was great at helping the story by saying things like “Man, I got a bad feeling about that sarcophagus. I'm know there must be some kind of big bad undead in there!”</li> </ul> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Call it quits when it's just not working out. As I mentioned at the top, not every player nor DM is able to run solo effectively and that's OK. If it's not fun for either or you or if one of you are really struggling (usually the same thing) then stop the show. No harm, no foul.</li> </ul> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">And finally, there must be an environment of high trust. The Player must trust the DM enough to keep the story going so that it's fun for both. And the DM must trust the Player that they will take the story seriously and try to be as self-reliant as possible. Being good friends goes a very long way towards establishing the high trust environment (HTE).</li> </ul></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Griffith Dragonlake, post: 3967013, member: 40379"] I've played in five solo campaigns and two one-shot adventures and have DMed two solo campaigns and un uncountable number of solo side adventures. It's an intense experience for both the DM and the player and frankly outside the skillset and capabilities of most players and a lot of DMs. Things to keep in mind: [LIST]Follow the literary (or film/TV) model: The PC is the hero and the center of the story. The story plays to both their strengths and their weaknesses. When it plays to their strengths, the hero can seriously kick butt and show off their abilities. When it plays to the weaknesses, the stakes are high and the player really sweats it out but success is all the more sweeter.[/LIST] [LIST]As a hero, the PC is a cut above the typical D&D adventurer. I recommend at 32 point buy, beginning play at 2nd level, giving the leadership feat for free, and giving maximum wealth allowed for 2nd level PCs, plus NPC wealth for the cohort and followers. Then have the PC outfit themselves, their cohort, and their followers.[/LIST] [LIST]Don't let the PC play the cohort. Have the DM play the cohort and keep the character sheet a secret. This allows the DM to “cheat” on the PC’s behalf to advance the story.[/LIST] [LIST]As others have said, tailor the campaign to the player but don't go overboard. It has to be fun for the DM also.[/LIST] [LIST]The DM must play to their own strengths as well. One DM I played solo for, hated designing worlds, NPCs, etc. So he ran me through a series of modules tweaking them here and there to keep the right challenge. Another DM loved all things Tolkein and so we played in Middle Earth using the MERP modules but used the D&D rules. My strength as a DM is spontaneous storytelling. So I avoided modules but fleshed out the world in my spare time. The solo players knew that neither I nor them knew what threats lurked around the corner but that I would keep the story interesting. One solo player was great at helping the story by saying things like “Man, I got a bad feeling about that sarcophagus. I'm know there must be some kind of big bad undead in there!”[/LIST] [LIST]Call it quits when it's just not working out. As I mentioned at the top, not every player nor DM is able to run solo effectively and that's OK. If it's not fun for either or you or if one of you are really struggling (usually the same thing) then stop the show. No harm, no foul.[/LIST] [LIST]And finally, there must be an environment of high trust. The Player must trust the DM enough to keep the story going so that it's fun for both. And the DM must trust the Player that they will take the story seriously and try to be as self-reliant as possible. Being good friends goes a very long way towards establishing the high trust environment (HTE).[/LIST] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Tips for DMing a solo game
Top