Ideas for a smaller than average group?

[Aristotle]

So I may be losing a player from my game that meets every other week. To accommodate for everyone's schedules we meet in both PA and VA on alternating sessions, so chances of finding new blood that is willing to deal with the odd schedule is unlikely. (note: this is not the same game I am seeking players for in my signature.)

This will bring me down to 3 players. I've run games for just 3 for a while, but I feel a little constrained in encounter design in 4E by the limited XP budget that number of players allows for. The encounters feel less dynamic. Part of this is probably the mood/feel of the campaign. Games like Shadowrun really shine with small groups. 3 players is almost ideal for me in that game, and even 2 players can be a blast. That makes me think that it isn't the rules, but rather my campaign that needs adjusting for a smaller group. I was going for what felt like a pretty "classic" swords and sorcery style campaign. Now I'm playing with ideas that might work out better for a smaller group. I'd love some feedback, or additional ideas. Or maybe you can just tell me I'm on crack.

Urban Campaign
For some reason more urban campaigns feel more suitable for small groups to me. Maybe an outfit of thieves working the shadows, an investigative squad retained to solve local crimes/mysteries (too CSI?), or something like that.

Military Campaign
If the characters had a little more weight; say as officers, knights, or another appointed authority, I could give them access to minions. If 4 minions equal 1 character, then I could give them each 4 to control for the equivalent of 6 characters and run some pretty sizeable encounters. Or I could do something with NPC's if the minions are just not appropriate. Whatever it is, I would want it to have fewer options than a full fledged character. Running two whole characters (who are equals within the story) seems like it would take a lot of work and detract from the depth of the individual characters.

 

[Zogmo]

My Experience

Your ideas seem good. I think you'll be just fine.

I've always played to the group I have, large or small. I've run games with only one or two players a lot. I let them choose any class they want and then specialize the adventure to their strengths and interests. I find out what kind game they are interested in, be it political intrigue, hack and slash or whatever.

I do work to challenge them and if I have to adjust monster stats or encounters when I'm writing the scenario out before hand that's what I do to make sure they don't get overwhelmed in the wrong places.

Whenever I have found myself with one or two players I make sure they understand the problems that can arise from not having more players. There has never been a problem with this because the bottom line is they really, really want to play. When more people are available to play I add them in as we go.

With one or two people playing, the game isn't epic by any standard and it's usually small scale stuff but I try to make what they are doing important to the people who hired them or sent them on the quest. I do this by making sure there is some kind of social reward or recognition from the community/king/tavern owner they helped and not just gold or magic. Good NPC development and interaction is important to small groups.

In the end it comes down to how much fun your one player (and you too of course) had, rules be damned.

There is also letting each player have two PC's each and also the option of making sure you have in their group an NPC or two that can help.

 

[Aristotle]

Yeah, I just feel that running a second character puts way more decisions in the hands of a single player, or even all three if they all run 2, and makes the individual characters less important to them.

As a DM in a new system that has a lot of little status effects and whatnot to track, I'm not comfortable running a full-time character as well.

I thought about doing a single character and letting it rotate around the table each encounter, so every player takes a turn playing him. That would relegate that character to having zero personality though.

Bah. So close to a group large enough to take on the campaign full of ancient dragons and demon princes I had planned out, and then one player going flaky on me puts me in this position. Not cool.