D&D 4E Advice on running a 4e game for a single player

[Silverpath]

I’m looking for a bit of advice for running a 4e game for a single player.

I’m planning to round out the roles of the group with npcs generated using the guidelines given in the back of the DMG. There should be less to track doing that rather than using npcs generated as characters, which will make the whole game run easier. The problem I’m having at the moment is how to handle treasure and xp.

The section on treasure in the DMG lists a method to reduce the amount given to match a single player. Since the npcs won’t need treasure, following that guideline should work, although I am wondering if it might give out to much in the way of coin.

In addition, I’m not 100% sure on how to handle xp. The simplest, and probably most logical way to handle it, would be to divide the xp for each encounter or quest by the number of party members (pc and npc) and award that amount to my single player. Whenever she levels up, I would just advance the npcs, as described in the DMG. Something about that solution doesn’t seem quite right to me, but I can’t figure out what is off about it.

On a slightly unrelated note, does anyone have an idea of how large gemstones are supposed to be? The treasure table lists them by value, but I’m not sure how large of a stone that represents. It especially doesn’t help that the art objects table has entries for huge diamonds and rubies.

Thanks in advance!

 

[generalhenry]

gem size is pure fluff. It depends on the style you prefer.


as a note, I've never seen DM + 1 PC work. DM + 2 PCs is much much better

 

[Oompa]

If an level 1 encounter for 5 pc's is 500 xp, for 1 pc is that 100 xp, so run combat that focusses on one character around 100 xp value, you can also add one minion to make it an bit harder..

 

[phil500]

you are going to have a terrible time running the monsters and the npc's as well.

i think you are best off letting the player run 2 characters, like defender and striker or leader and striker.

then scale the encounter down for 2 players.

 

[aurance]

as a note, I've never seen DM + 1 PC work.

I've both DMed and played 1+1 mini-campaigns, and they work just fine.

 

[Andor]

I'm with Phil500, the player needs more than one character, or at least some minions.

 

[TheNovaLord]

make him a fey pact eladrin warlock and he can hit and teleport and conceal and invisible

he'll be fine

 

[Mistwell]

I hope you add more skill challenges to the mix (ones geared to his skills).

 

[Styracosaurus]

You will have to tailor the campaign/session to fit the player. Each class will be better at a certain style of combat. You can set up some encounters where he can shine and then you can set up an encounter that ill suits him just to keep him on his toes.

Don't overwhelm with numbers. Minions can be fun, but if a lone PC has a bad round it will be all over. So if you throw in a bunch of minions, make sure that the PC will have a way to survive.

Don't have a bunch of win or die situations. Being taken captive or being mutilated is just as serious to a player as actually losing the character.

You will have a lot more adventuring with only one PC. Believe me, you better plan a lot to keep you busy or else you'll be out long before the mountain dew runs dry.

 

[NorthSaber]

Ignore the rules for XP and treasure, and give as much as seems appropriate.

Try to make the encounters challenging but not impossible - use either swarms of minions OR the BBEG, not both (unless they're at a low encounter level). Make the battles meaningful, have the really nasty enemies spend turns with witty dialogue or menacing gestures instead of optimizing their every attack.

Start off with easy encounters and add difficulty gradually so you'll find the appropriate challenge level before killing the character.

Try to have a friendly NPC who can save the PC if he would otherwise die (but don't overuse this as that will strain the imagination and take away the fear of dying).

Expect the single PC to make a lot more headway as he will have all of your attention, and it is much easier to get together and play if there's only the two of you.

I think a one-on-one campaign may be the most satisfying one, however, as the player will know it has all been tailored just for him, and you can make the storyline really gripping and relevant to the character's history and nature.