I am running a single character though an adventure and am havinga bit of trouble keeping it balanced. The CR of a monster is geared towards a 4 person party, correct? Table 4-1 in the DMG stating number of monsters to make an effective EL...I can't tell if it is also geared towards 4 people. I believe it is. Anyone have any tips to generate good encounters for a single character?
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Balancing for 1 character
- Thread starter Lordrel
- Start date
Painfully
First Post
You're really relying on the experience of the DM here. Since you only have one player in your game, it's important to challenge your PC's abilities without handicapping him for not choosing another race or class.
NPCs might be helpful, or possibly allow your player to use two characters (as a pair of siblings, twins perhaps), using their close bond to let them think alike.
If you still insist on solo play, my only suggestion is that it will take practice and "seat-of-the-pants" DMing to make things work out smoothly. You can't rely on a mathmatical form when your party might have NO access to magic spells, or cannot hold up in physical combat with more than a couple of opponents.
NPCs might be helpful, or possibly allow your player to use two characters (as a pair of siblings, twins perhaps), using their close bond to let them think alike.
If you still insist on solo play, my only suggestion is that it will take practice and "seat-of-the-pants" DMing to make things work out smoothly. You can't rely on a mathmatical form when your party might have NO access to magic spells, or cannot hold up in physical combat with more than a couple of opponents.
Thanee
First Post
EL = Encounter Level
CL = Character Level
EL = CL-3 or less should be easy
EL = CL-2 would be average (like EL = average CL of 4 chars)
EL = CL-1 would be challenging, but should be possible to overcome
EL = CL would result in a 50/50 chance to win or lose
EL = CL+1 would be very difficult
EL = CL+2 or higher would be extremely difficult
Now you should also consider, that some characters are far better at dealing with different situations or encounters than others.
While a Cleric would be able to defeat minor undeads in an encounter of EL = CL fairly easy, a Rogue would have trouble to deal with them!
Bye
Thanee
CL = Character Level
EL = CL-3 or less should be easy
EL = CL-2 would be average (like EL = average CL of 4 chars)
EL = CL-1 would be challenging, but should be possible to overcome
EL = CL would result in a 50/50 chance to win or lose
EL = CL+1 would be very difficult
EL = CL+2 or higher would be extremely difficult
Now you should also consider, that some characters are far better at dealing with different situations or encounters than others.
While a Cleric would be able to defeat minor undeads in an encounter of EL = CL fairly easy, a Rogue would have trouble to deal with them!
Bye
Thanee
kreynolds
First Post
Lordrel said:
Yes. Also, the party is assumed to have adequate resources.
Lordrel said:
Yes. Four people.
Lordrel said:
The easiest way is to just allow them to have a lot more wealth. I run a bunch of solo games, and a couple of games that have only 2 players in them. For the games that have only 2 players, the get the full wealth of a party of 4 divided between them (basically, their wealth gets doubled). I do this because they travel alone and without NPCs to fill out the party.
Increasing their wealth is the easiest way to balance out the EL's without actually having to adjust the encounter difficulties.
Also, Thanee's breakdown seems like a pretty good guide as well.
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Mustrum_Ridcully
Legend
Encounter Level = average Class Level +4 => Tough Encounter.
Vor every doubling in numbers, increase the EL of creatures by 2.
Standard party consists of 4 characters. This means: Average Class Level +4 = Encounter Level if encountering the characters.
If you go back to 1 character, I assume that an enemy with a CR equal to the one of the character is a tough encounter.
Mustrum Ridcully
Vor every doubling in numbers, increase the EL of creatures by 2.
Standard party consists of 4 characters. This means: Average Class Level +4 = Encounter Level if encountering the characters.
If you go back to 1 character, I assume that an enemy with a CR equal to the one of the character is a tough encounter.
Mustrum Ridcully
Thanks for the replies so far.
My experiace with this adventure so far has been that equal CR monsters are quite tough, and I've had to fudge (the horror!!) a few times to keep the character alive. This part is critical to the plot, and can't really be fatal (it's some dream like quest) so I'm a little lenient. I guess I'll try maybe CL-2 and see how that goes. I keep the encounters small (1-3 creatures), and the character is a 10th level paladin and quite poweful, so hopefully he will be ok.
My experiace with this adventure so far has been that equal CR monsters are quite tough, and I've had to fudge (the horror!!) a few times to keep the character alive. This part is critical to the plot, and can't really be fatal (it's some dream like quest) so I'm a little lenient. I guess I'll try maybe CL-2 and see how that goes. I keep the encounters small (1-3 creatures), and the character is a 10th level paladin and quite poweful, so hopefully he will be ok.
NPCs is good. At one point, I had two players (A cleric of Luck and an Illusionist). So, I squirted an NPC Fighter/ranger, who's still with the party, to help them out. Every other NPC in the party was per adventure (They need to hire a trapmaster to get them through, Paladin leading them into caves under the city, etc).
If you want to still go solo, then I agree with what's above. But class depends. A Bard may have an easier time in a lot of situations (Depending on how the bard is geared), Especially roleplaying. Putting a lot of RP in there will really help out.
Also, if there's a task that they need something their class cannot, an ability (And consequence) could be offered for them to get out. For example, they're playing a bard, Wiz/Sor, etc, and they're challanged to a fight, allow them to back down. However, it'll likely have reputational backlashes, they could be hastled where they live, etc.
If it's a 10th level paladin, he should be able to handle himself. Also, getting a squire or cohort (paladin in training, etc) would bre reasonable.
If you want to still go solo, then I agree with what's above. But class depends. A Bard may have an easier time in a lot of situations (Depending on how the bard is geared), Especially roleplaying. Putting a lot of RP in there will really help out.
Also, if there's a task that they need something their class cannot, an ability (And consequence) could be offered for them to get out. For example, they're playing a bard, Wiz/Sor, etc, and they're challanged to a fight, allow them to back down. However, it'll likely have reputational backlashes, they could be hastled where they live, etc.
If it's a 10th level paladin, he should be able to handle himself. Also, getting a squire or cohort (paladin in training, etc) would bre reasonable.
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Well...he is a paladin, but is trying to join an elite (prestige class) organization...they don't get squires (or at least I haven't decided if they do or not). Plus, since this is a dream like quest to see if he can get in the organization, I can't see fitting a hireling or squire in at this time. He is not exactly in the same "dimension" as his church. : )
A hireling might work, but the player is good at role playing, and wants his character to succeed on his own. So I'm probably stuck with just winging it....my own fault really.
A hireling might work, but the player is good at role playing, and wants his character to succeed on his own. So I'm probably stuck with just winging it....my own fault really.
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