How to cope with only 2 players

[TerraDave]

Our current three PC game is going fine (Cleric, Rogue, Sorcerer, but all have now started to multiclass).

Two PCs on the other hand is my least favourite number, not just for the reasons mentioned above, but just in terms of the social dynamics. Having run a few two player games, it can just feel a little duller (on the other hand more then 5 and it gets a little crowded, and one on one is a whole other story). I have had fun nonetheless, in the end it is still better to game (at least with a couple of people you want to game with) then not game at all.

 

[was]

Hired NPC's.

 

[Voadam]

I've only got 2 players and me
I've tried a variety of things to help compensate for not having 2 other party members, increasing thier level, giving them more magic items/tailor made items, npc party members.
all of them have problems,
increasing thier level just meant increasing the difficluty of encoutners or they get less xp
more items/tailor made items made encounters to easy or dependent more on thier items
than the actions of thier characters
npc party members works well, but either distracts the dm, or steals some of the players thunder.

Does anybody else have less than 4 players? if so what do you do to help cope with it?
oh yeah and "find more players" doesn't work, I'm rabidly antisocial and live in utah

If you want to ramp up the PC power then there are options.

1 gestalt, two classes for each PC, get the best features from each (overlap, not stack for similar features like HD, BAB, Save).

2 High point buy or stat rolls.

3 high magic/wealth

4 action points

5 NPC cohorts or animal type companions.

6 A certain LA free

7 Increase the rate PCs get feats (a special player only rule).

On the other hand if you are only worried about rates of advancement for xp at challenges they are handling then change the xp awards, doubling or so if necessary to hit the same rate of advancement.

I'm playing in a solo game as a high level high stat character and having fun.

 

[Chaldfont]

I run into this problem too. We have three players and 3 PCs (ranger, druid, sorcerer), but about half the time, someone can't make it to the game. In the past, we would just have someone play the extra PC, but now that we are getting up in levels (12-13), playing an extra character can be a real pain--especially if both are spellcasters.

I have usually run games as written for 3 PCs, sometimes bringing in an NPC to help, most times not. My players are pretty crafty and they can usually take on an adventure written for 4 characters. But their lack of a cleric or rogue can give them fits in some adventures since they can't turn undead or find/disarm traps.

Bringing in extra NPCs to bolster the party is good at low levels, but is too much work at higher levels. I think the best thing is to just tweak the adventure--take out some of the challenges the party isn't so good at, and replace them with things they do well.

 

[palleomortis]

Well, That's all we really have on a regular basis. I don't really get the problem here, anyone want to explain this to me?

 

[the Jester]

Two suggestions:

1. Hirelings.

2. Gestalt pcs.

Between these two approaches, I suspect you can run a successful 2-player game.

 

[kanithardm]

I use hirelings that i con trol not the PCs. It works pretty well and i get to have the fun of character creation.

 

[jokamachi]

Only two players? No problem. They each play two characters. Problem solved.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'm one of a triad of gamers who have our own little game group that has been relatively stable for nearly 20 years.

Each of us DMs on occasion for the other 2. Our standard solution is to run 2-3 PCs apiece.

However, there is nothing wrong with running adventures with just 2 PCs IF YOU PLAN FOR IT.

If I may suggest reading the classic Fritz Lieber Lankhmar/Swords books which feature the adventures of only 2 heroes- Fafhrd and Grey Mouser- you'll see that there's rollicking fun to be had.

One way to do it is to run the PCs through adventures for lower-level PCs for a while to figure out how YOU should handle things. If you're starting them at low levels, pace the adventure more slowly and have more random healing potions available for the finding...

 

[scourger]

I know the dilemma. In ym group, membership is me and 1d3+1 players. I find it a particular problem to run D&D with only 2 or 3 players. My solution, suggested by 1 of the 2 solid players, was to let each player play 2 characters. I used the high-powered statistic generation method (they roolled 5d6 in order). I also allowed character type from other games that are more powerful. It worked for a while. But, the combats take too long. It is just a pain to have 4-8 combatants just on the PCs side in each & every combat encounter. The game slowed to a crawl (it was primarily a dungeon crawl anyway). So, I put it on hold. I'm not sure if I'll go back. I'll probbaly offer a different d20 game, a D&D game with gestalt characters, or a Savage Worlds game. I've got to have something that can handle 2 players always, 3 players sometimes, and 4 players infrequently.