campaigns for small groups? (2-3 players)

[GlassJaw]

Unfortunately, my long-running group has recently lost some players due to life getting in the way of gaming. So it goes I suppose.

Anyway, we went from 6 to 3, but the 3 that remain (including myself) were essentially the core of the group so we want to forge on. We've been tossing around some campaign ideas for small groups (2 players so far in this case) but haven't really decided on anything yet.

Has anyone ran a campaign for a similarly-sized group? Does anyone have any good ideas for campaign backgrounds for only 2 players?

I'm not really looking for ruleset advice so much as as I am campaign ideas that support only 2 players.

 

[Oryan77]

My group went from 6 players to 3 now. I haven't changed anything except for turning one of the former PC's into an NPC so the group is at least 4 strong. We actually like this way better. They each get more attention from me and they focus more on their adventures and they seem to bond a lot more as a group.

I don't think you need anything specific for a smaller group as far as adventures go. You just need to scale back on what you throw at them. They won't be able to do more complex adventures until they gain more levels. The benefit of having only 1 or 2 players though is that you can run adventures that solely focus on their PC's history and preferences.

 

[lior_shapira]

My Eberron group consists of 3 players. They're all pretty devoted which makes it easier. They do lack some abilities (no rogue and no arcane caster in the group) but they hang in there. Currently they're part of an church sponsored archeological expedition to Droaam which is the beggining of my campaign arc and also a good excuse for them to have backup.

So I don't think a campaign for 3 players is very different and there are good things: battles don't tend to drag on forever, there's more opportunity for each player to shine, each character really needs to use ALL his abilities in order to survive. It's fun

 

[amethal]

I have 6 players, but some can make it more often than others.

I'll run the adventure (scaled on the fly if necessary) so long as at least 2 turn up, and if the player isn't there then neither is the character. Leads to some weirdness, but we decided it was the way which best suited our group.

With only a few players, it is amazing how much more gets done. As a result, there's more need for preparation by the DM. The dice also become more important - a couple of bad rolls by the players can spell disaster. I'd recommend doing more role-playing type encounters which don't rely on luck

 

[Steverooo]

For groups of less than four, seriously consider using the Gestalt rules, and adjust your CRs to account for the smaller party. This allows them to play the class that they really want, while still having the four basic food groups...

Also, be a bit more generous with the magic items, as these can account for a lot. Even a Gestalted Elf with only one level of Wizard can make use of any arcane magic item found!

 

[GlassJaw]

For groups of less than four, seriously consider using the Gestalt rules

In my haste I probably should have mentioned that we won't be playing D&D. We are all fairly burned out and are looking for something significantly different.

Some ideas we have been tossing around are a pirate campaign, a futuristic, space opera campaign where the characters are the captains of a ship or mercenary company, or a world-hopping, gritty, modern day spy campaign. Again, we are trying to think of ideas where it's easy to justify having only 2 "major" character and that will work mechanically within the campaign.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

Fantasy James Bond.

Call of Cthulhu or similar horror genre.

Takeoffs on The Three Musketeers.

Assassins for hire!

Good luck. Been there. It's always better to keep the flame alive. Sorry you lost some players. (Seems to be the year for it.)

 

[Old One]

Fantasy James Bond.

Call of Cthulhu or similar horror genre.

Takeoffs on The Three Musketeers.

Assassins for hire!

Good luck. Been there. It's always better to keep the flame alive. Sorry you lost some players. (Seems to be the year for it.)

I think Varianor hit it right on the head. When you think of fantasy and modern entertainment (books, movies, TV shows) that support this kind of campaign - those are the styles. The Matrix, Master and Commander, James Bond, KEW's Kane, Robin Hood and others...most of them have a primary protagonist with an important side-kick integral to the story, with most other players (NPCs) on the periphery making occassional appearences.

~ OO

 

[Raflar]

I have been DMing a group of 2 for years now. We have had several different campaigns with new characters each time. Normally I will play a permanent NPC that goes along but with the understanding that since I am controlling him/her then I can't be too helpful with ideas/clues/mysteries type stuff.

The benefits are actually really good. Try to focus the storyline to the PCs, maybe take turns on who the focus is on during each story-arc. With only 2 players I can really personalize the campaign and the players tend to really sink themselves into character. I try to tie in as much character background as I can, or at the very least tease a little something from their past which then leads to another adventure in the future.

I also find you can really get into the 'role playing' much more since you are only focused on 2 players. It will make your encounters much more memorable and enjoyable.

Of course what others have said about scaling your (combat) encounters is true, either scale them back a bit, leave an 'out' or have the cavalry standing by.

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

I think that you should move to the DC area and just play with us, GlassJaw.

... but, really - I'd love to play a game that small. I think I want to make it a sweeping game that starts at 1st level and spans the entire life of the heroes (childhood friends turned adventurers?)... maybe skipping a few levels along the way... and ending up Epic.

Wow... that was really broad.