How best to run 2 PCs through the official modules? KOTS etc

[Silverblade The Ench]

trying ot get my pals back to playing 4th ed...still, months later!
But, just 2 of them and they aren't big fans of 4th ed, trying to get them back to it.

runnng extra characters = too much hassles for them.
I don't want to cut the # of creatures in encounters, as that makes them boring, not enough to make it roisterous.

so maybe thought of making a cleric to run along with 'em to help. And add +2 levels to the PCs to make it up in levels for KOTS?
I know 4th is better balanced, but # of enemies isn't so easy to sort IMHO, and lots of critters makes 4th ed fun, IMHO.

 

[Kzach]

Unless you're specifically redesigning challenges to cater to the two classes played, then my recommendation is: don't.

If you're happy to play an NPC, then it's workable by reducing the challenges to be appropriate for the level and number of PC's. Upping the level of the characters is just going to make things too easy. You're really much better off in reducing the numbers of monsters.

Part of the balance and 'fun' is the difficulty to hit and how much damage you're doing. If you're hitting every attack then there's no real excitement or tension and if on top of that you're doing more damage, then fights are going to be over very quickly.

In this case, my recommendation would be to encourage a leader, striker and defender and you to NPC whichever role isn't played. A controller in this situation is, IMO, a very big detriment because if you're rebalancing encounters, then usually minions are the first to go and even if they're not, all classes have controllerish powers to pick up the slack.

Without a defender, the PC's will all be vulnerable. Without a striker, the enemies won't go down quickly enough. Without a leader, the PC's won't have buffs and extra healing.

Since, in general, it's more fun to play defenders and strikers, I'd probably opt to take the leader role as a support NPC.

 

[Herschel]

I would agree with Kzach, and depending on the builds might lean Warlord over Cleric. Vs. the kobolds anyway, I think there were enough minions and low powers that the +2 to initiative could be big. When you reach the kobold lair, you could maybe keep everything the same, except split them in to another wave or two so the concentration is less.

 

[Mal Malenkirk]

Well, you could allow them to play two PCs each.

Roleplaying aspect are automatically decreased when you play two PCs but the tactical aspect are still quite fun.

 

[Oompa]

Give them the fighter and the rogue and let the warlock follow them.. if its getting to tough, let encounters come in waves or add another npc..

 

[evilgenius8000]

I attempted to DM 4E for two PCs and a DMPC (also a healer, much like your idea), but running a character while also DMing seems to be much more taxing than in other game systems. But, that is just my opinion from doing it a few times.

Honestly, I'd probably advise you to hold off until you regain more players.

 

[Dragonblade]

You could make some rules tweaks to run with two PCs, similar to how you could use the gestalt rules in 3.5 to run a smaller party.

Essentially if they are a party of 2 instead of a party of 4 or 5, then they need to be twice as effective as normal if you want them to still take on a full complement of monsters in encounters designed for a standard party of 5.

I would give them +5 to saves, since with only two of them they will need to be able to overcome conditions twice as quickly.

I would cut all monster HPs in half (or have the PCs always do double damage)

I would grant 1 AP every encounter, would allow spending two per encounter, and I would allow APs to be spent to reroll misses instead of just to get extra actions.

I would double their HPs and surge values (but keep the number of surges the same) and the amount of HP that potions heal.

I would also allow two Second Winds per combat, and change the action for a Second Wind to a minor action. Free action for Dwarf PCs.

I would also grant say +2 to every ability score.

 

[gtoasnt3]

When we have just two or three players, we let the guys run multiple PC's. Since we have been playing 4th ed exclusively on the day it was on the shelf, I can give you my advice on what makes this system fun: teamwork. That being said, different character classes add different skill sets to roleplaying encounters and a HUGE improvement during combat encounters.

Of course, if you feel that no player should command more than one PC because of the roleplaying efforts, I stand corrected and can't offer the constructive criticism you are looking for.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

You could make some rules tweaks to run with two PCs, similar to how you could use the gestalt rules in 3.5 to run a smaller party.

Essentially if they are a party of 2 instead of a party of 4 or 5, then they need to be twice as effective as normal if you want them to still take on a full complement of monsters in encounters designed for a standard party of 5.

I would give them +5 to saves, since with only two of them they will need to be able to overcome conditions twice as quickly.

I would cut all monster HPs in half (or have the PCs always do double damage)

I would grant 1 AP every encounter, would allow spending two per encounter, and I would allow APs to be spent to reroll misses instead of just to get extra actions.

I would double their HPs and surge values (but keep the number of surges the same) and the amount of HP that potions heal.

I would also allow two Second Winds per combat, and change the action for a Second Wind to a minor action. Free action for Dwarf PCs.

I would also grant say +2 to every ability score.

maybe a bit too much...

use real gestalt characters

two classes taken simultaneous, and elite defenses (1Ap per encounter, +2 to defenses and saves)... don´t change monsters...

 

[Blackbrrd]

I would let them choose one choose one additional at-will power, and one additional class feature from another class. I would also, as you said, let them be 1-2 levels higher than they are supposed to be. You might want to let them take 1 extra minor action every round.

Example characters:
A Fighter with the Healing Word class feature and the Righouts Brand at-will power from the cleric.
A Swordmage with the Hunter's Quarry class feature and the Hit and run at-will power from the Ranger