DMing a solo Bard

[Gregor]

Hey everyone,

I have a new player about to join my ongoing campaign and he asked for a quick solo adventure to get his feet wet. I am more than willing to accomodate this request, that way I can work him into the full party at the next session.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a suitable adventure I could run a 4th level Bard through? Maybe just some ideas of what I could throw at him?

Cheers,

 

[Darklone]

I'd go with some nice intrigue stuff in a little town. He should be able to best some level 2 dudes with the sword and may use his wits and spells to do the rest.

 

[Mark]

Send a bard to catch a bard, I always say...

The Whispering Woodwind

(There's a nice chunk of material in the middle you can easily remove, and use in some other capacity for a later adventure or random encounters.)

 

[Bards R Us]

An adventure that emphasizes use of social skills, i.e. diplomacy, bluff, gather info, sense motive, disguise, bardic knowledge, etc. Something that allows quest completion through alternative means than just simply 'bashing the door down'.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

Does anyone have any suggestions for a suitable adventure I could run a 4th level Bard through? Maybe just some ideas of what I could throw at him?

How about a variation on the Pied Piper of Hamlin? In this instance, a malicious bard has used charm spells on the children of some friends. They've accompanied him away to a secret hideaway. The solo bard has to find it, defuse the charms, and defeat the bad guy?

You get intrigue with talking to the shady elements in town to find out where this guy went. You get a little stealth and/or guile in getting into the place using his magic. And so on.

 

[JoeBlank]

An adventure that emphasizes use of social skills, i.e. diplomacy, bluff, gather info, sense motive, disguise, bardic knowledge, etc. Something that allows quest completion through alternative means than just simply 'bashing the door down'.

Bards R Us appears to be describing the Whispering Woodwind, the wonderful pdf adventure suggested by the author, Mark, above.

I am running the adventure for my online group, and am keeping virtually everything in so it is taking a while (we are slow when we play online).

You can't beat the price, and can quickly download it and keep what you like. Much of the rest can but inserted in your campaign later. The Trundlefolk are excellent for this.

 

[Gregor]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far!!!! The Whispering Woodwind looks pretty good, I might pick it up.

It turns out I may have another player joining in on this and I was thinking about maybe running a murder mystery in an Inn or Manor in a sort of clue-esq style. Has anyone ever tried this?

Cheers,

 

[Sparky]

• The bard has laryngitis and has to jump through hoops to get a cleric to heal him/her before a big performance.

• The bard goes to an auction to get a new instrument (wins one instrument or another) which is stolen before he can claim it (probably by someone he outbid - a rival bard... a noble collector... a craftsman looking to study it).

• The bard is playing high falutin' party and gets caught up in the feud of a couple.

• The bard attends a masquerade and is mistaken for someone he/she isn't. Classic camp, but sometimes you just can't beat mistaken identity hijinks.

 

[Aeolius]

You might find inspiration on another thread: http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=70357

Suppose the bard had to track down an elusive songbird and learn it's distinctive and haunting melody.

 

[Steverooo]

The Quest for Fame!

Does anyone have any suggestions for a suitable adventure I could run a 4th level Bard through? Maybe just some ideas of what I could throw at him?

The Bard wants to increase his fame, and his Performance Ranks just don't seem to be doing it... He seeks better methods. Bardic Knowledge tells him he needs a great Epic song, about a band of heroes and their adventures... Enter the other PC... Do the other PC's goals lead the same direction? A few quick (mis-)adventures lead to the remaining PCs...

Again, base it in a town, with social interactions, and maybe a climactic fight, at the end. The town Cleric should intervene to prevent death, unless the PCs are really dumb, or seem to want to die...