A sole product I'd love to see.

[CrazyMage]

I have a good friend who plays in a one on one instant message game with me. Fortunately he likes RPing more than combat, so at most I'll give him one combat per session, but it is a trick making sure he doesn't get killed off too quickly. (Time for the old "Should DM's fudge rolls" debate -- lot easier to fudge when DM's in Wisconsin and the player's in Colorado )

One thing that can be difficult is balanced use of NPC companions. And it's not just in combat. If the PC isn't open to talking to every stranger he meets, there's very little interaction going on for player/DM, whereas a trusted or long-time NPC friend allows for those conversations.

What's great, of course, is that everything is tailored for the player--we play the kind of game that he wants. I'm taking time to just let him explore my world and gain a few levels before the fur/scales/feathers really start flying. I've been having a lot of fun with the game so far, and look forward to many more sessions to come.

But back to the topic at hand, I'd also be interested in something that helped with 1 on 1 games.

For solo monster games, one can do no better than Bender's motto: Kill all humans.
http://www.gotfuturama.com/Multimedia/EpisodeSounds/1ACV03/13.mp3

 

[Endur]

solo = monk

My best recommendation for solo adventures is to play a Monk.

Particularly if its a high level adventure.

Most adventures will come to a "sudden end" if your solo character fails a saving throw and becomes a meal for the monsters.

Monks have high saving throws and the higher level Monks have SR and the ability to heal themselves. So the Monk characters should live a lot longer.

Cleave & Great Cleave seems to work very well in solo adventures too. (for that matter, Fireball works well in all kinds of adventures).

Monks also have lots of skills. And they don't really rely on finding the right magic item in a dungeon, unlike some classes (Paladin wants his holy sword, etc.).

 

[Xarlen]

Yeah!

I'd likely play a rogue, a monk (A blind master; donno if they get other monkish abilities) or a Wizard.

If this thing ever gets written, that will be noted in the points of classes.

Edit: Like the poster below, a Bard, Cleric or Druid too! Or even a Paladin!

 

[Crothian]

THis is a really good idea. I've been running a solo campaign off and on for about 8 years now. It's much different then group gaming and many of the assumptions RPGs make do not apply with the solo game.

 

[Krug]

Also don't forget the Thievery 101 products from Wyvern's Claw. Haven't heard from them in ages. You can still find their products at RPGnow.com

http://www.rpgnow.com/default.php?manufacturers_id=279

 

[Mistwell]

I too think this is a great idea. Some of the best cinematic displays of heroism are solo adventurers, with perhaps some backup from supporting roles (cohorts and NPCs).

In addition, it is not that unusual in even a normal 4-6 person campaign that one character needs to, or wants to, go on a short solo adventure for some reason (like a quest to obtain a Prestige Class, catching up on some experience, etc...).

Personally, I would play a Bard (preferrably a Monte Cook Bard), a Cleric, or a Druid. At almost all levels all of those can fight in melee, make ranged attacks, wear acceptable amounts of armor, cast a full array of spells, and heal. Rogue is also a decent option, if you have lots of ranks in use magic device and decipher script, and at least a wand of cure X wounds and some scrolls (though the armor and Hit Points will be difficult). Ranger & Paladin would have a fighting chance, once they get some spells going.

Fighter, Barbarian, and Monk would all suffer from lack of spells, though Leadership feat with a spellcasting cohort would help. Sorceror & Wizard would suffer from melee combat ability, though again Leadership with a melee combat cohort would help.

I'd be interested in seeing the CR and ECL adjustments for solo adventuring.

 

[Frostmarrow]

Remember the Challlenge-series? A bunch of adventures named Fighter's Challenge, Cleric's Challlenge and so on. All solo-adventures. There is even a conversion to 3 ed in the conversion library at EN World of Cleric's Challenge II. There might be some interesting info there.

 

[Roman]

I too have some experience with running and playing solo adventures. My strong suggestion to anybody planning on doing this is to have the PC multiclass. While multiclassing can be quite upsetting to an ordinary game in solo adventures it is much more appropriate. Not only does it provide the PC with a wider range of abilities, but it also allows for some "cinematic scenes" of "good at everything" action, which would be innapropriate in more normal games. Even so, I recommend concentrating more on roleplaying than combat in solo games (well in any games, but especially in solo ones ) and the combat that does occur needs to be scaled.

 

[Xarlen]

Right on, Roman. Especially in a Solo game, a single level or two in Rogue can go a long way.

There are SO many concepts there, too. One of my favorite is the Rogue/Paladin, Ala Batman.

 

[kreynolds]

I don't know if this is what you're looking for Xarlen, but a while back I was asked by a fellow DM to write up a guide that shows how I build my NPCs and help my players build their characters in my solo games (though it's the same for my other games as well).

The file is called Great Character Building.pdf. You can grab it from my ftp server right here.