What kind of encounters can I throw at a solo character?

[SoulsFury]

I will be DMing my first solo tabletop game. The character is going to start at level 1, and figure he will reach level 2 very quickly. I plan on giving plenty of roleplaying experience, especially at first so that he can get into some more complex battles if needed. This is also the first time I will not be using a modified store bought adventure so I am not that good at creating encounters. I haven't created my own adventures since 3rd Edition.

The character will start out by being trapped underground in a collapsed mountain. When he works his way from where he is trapped, he will be in a tunnel, currently being used by goblins attempting to escape the collapsed mountain (this is post a cataclysmic event).

The character is an elven swordmage. How much is too much to throw at him? I need as many suggestions as possible, I plan to take him through enough sessions to get him to level 11, at which time, I believe we are switching DMing responsibilities and I will be a new PC.

Thanks!

Nik

 

[GreyLord]

Try to stick with the suggested XP for a solo character, or at first level that would be like the first level monsters worth 100 XP. Since he doesn't work off the synergy of a group, I'd also suggest you give him plenty of time to rest every two or three encounters.

If you want bigger groups, throw in some minions, for example perhaps 2-3 minions, or for something a little tougher depending on his class, maybe 4-6 minions.

Rest could be an essential part of his playday though. With those numbers maybe it could be more of a stealth mission of sorts as well?

 

[Spatula]

I would (a) use a lot of minions, and (b) halve the hit points (and XP) of non-minion monsters. Monsters have the hit points to go toe-to-toe with multiple players at once, and when you factor in only having one player, missed attacks, and the low damage of a swordmage, you're going to want foes that go down faster. Or even a 1-on-1 combat will drag on.

The swordmage's aegis is pretty useless without allies, isn't it?

 

[Mengu]

Is it possible to use a companion character? I feel they increase your options in encounter design dramatically. Using rules in DMG2 for companion character, you can basically double the XP budget, creating more opportunities for interesting encounters, not to mention it would give the swordmage someone to defend.

4e combat mechanics are largely built on synergy, and without it, combat becomes a bit bland.

You can control the companion, or have the other player run him, either way is fine. Also you don't have to be married to that one companion. When escaping from captivity, he may have a thievish companion. After he escapes, they could part ways. In the next adventure he might run into a priest being attacked by shadows, help him fight them off, then help his quest to slay some undead. After that adventure, the priest might go back to his temple, but leaving him the name of an alchemist friend who is looking to gather some components for a project, and the alchemist could be the next companion. These can all be NPC's in the same town, and you could swap companions depending on the needs of the adventure. Perhaps an encounter goes sideways, the NPC alchemist gets captured, and the PC barely gets away. He might ask for his thief friend's help to rescue the alchemist from a dungeon the alchemist is being held captive. It becomes a more involved and colorful campaign this way.

Part of the fun with playing in a 4-6 man party is that you get to see all the different things each character can do. Otherwise, a game of swordburst every round, with nothing to add diversity could quickly become stale. I'd definitely recommend going with the companion character approach.

 

[SoulsFury]

Try to stick with the suggested XP for a solo character, or at first level that would be like the first level monsters worth 100 XP. Since he doesn't work off the synergy of a group, I'd also suggest you give him plenty of time to rest every two or three encounters.

If you want bigger groups, throw in some minions, for example perhaps 2-3 minions, or for something a little tougher depending on his class, maybe 4-6 minions.

Rest could be an essential part of his playday though. With those numbers maybe it could be more of a stealth mission of sorts as well?

I made a few encounters last night that should work. His first encounter could actually change the course of the entire setting. The first encounter is with a goblin warrior and two minions trying to dig through to noncombat goblins stuck from a collapsed ceiling. He can potentially help the goblins, in which case the two other goblin encounters will be switched for one bugbear encounter. I might have to weaken the bugbear a bit though.

The second encounter is with a Goblin Hexar, the third is a young kruthik, the fourth a stormclaw scorpion, and the fifth is with another warrior and two goblin minions.

Each encounter can easily be a stealth mission, depending on the character, except the kruthik.

I would (a) use a lot of minions, and (b) halve the hit points (and XP) of non-minion monsters. Monsters have the hit points to go toe-to-toe with multiple players at once, and when you factor in only having one player, missed attacks, and the low damage of a swordmage, you're going to want foes that go down faster. Or even a 1-on-1 combat will drag on.

The swordmage's aegis is pretty useless without allies, isn't it?

The aegis is pretty useless, however we hope to bring other players in. Otherwise, see below.

Is it possible to use a companion character? I feel they increase your options in encounter design dramatically. Using rules in DMG2 for companion character, you can basically double the XP budget, creating more opportunities for interesting encounters, not to mention it would give the swordmage someone to defend.

4e combat mechanics are largely built on synergy, and without it, combat becomes a bit bland.

You can control the companion, or have the other player run him, either way is fine. Also you don't have to be married to that one companion. When escaping from captivity, he may have a thievish companion. After he escapes, they could part ways. In the next adventure he might run into a priest being attacked by shadows, help him fight them off, then help his quest to slay some undead. After that adventure, the priest might go back to his temple, but leaving him the name of an alchemist friend who is looking to gather some components for a project, and the alchemist could be the next companion. These can all be NPC's in the same town, and you could swap companions depending on the needs of the adventure. Perhaps an encounter goes sideways, the NPC alchemist gets captured, and the PC barely gets away. He might ask for his thief friend's help to rescue the alchemist from a dungeon the alchemist is being held captive. It becomes a more involved and colorful campaign this way.

Part of the fun with playing in a 4-6 man party is that you get to see all the different things each character can do. Otherwise, a game of swordburst every round, with nothing to add diversity could quickly become stale. I'd definitely recommend going with the companion character approach.

I like the idea of a companion. I'll see how this first session goes tonight and see what the player thinks. We plan on doing a ton of rping and village building so combat won't be the main focus.

 

[Pseudopsyche]

Your biggest challenge with combat encounters will be keeping them dynamic. A battle between five PCs and five monsters naturally involves plenty of movement, but combats with only one monster have the potential to grind, whether it's a solo monster against a standard party of five or a standard monster against a single PC.

Giving the PC a companion character to protect should help make the battles more interesting and involve those class features that assume a larger party. It'll also increase your XP budget significantly. This is what I intend to do in my solo campaign with my wife. She's been playing through Dragon Age: Origins, so it should not be too unfamiliar to have DM-created companions that she can direct in combat.

As the DMG2 suggests, for small parties, start by lowering the monsters' levels before you decrease their numbers. Unfortunately, you can't officially go below level 1, but others have had success by creating level 0 and -1 monsters, by subtracting the appropriate HP and attack/defense scores. For example, a level -1 monster has HP equal to its CON score. I would guesstimate that a level 0 monster is worth 75 XP and level -1 50 XP.

But it sounds like you're on the right track by focusing on RP and exploration. Good luck!

 

[SoulsFury]

The PC, after killing a couple of goblins, made friends with a goblin and helped to rescue his family. So the PC had two goblin warriors helping him through the first encounters I had set up. He dropped to -1 once, and a goblin warrior stabilized him.

After the combat part of the session, me and the player started rping what would happen as things progressed in the world. He expressed desire to be leader of the 'clan' that is forming and insists he would not venture out alone, but only with strong companions. So, my character, his character and then two other NPCs will be going through a modified form of Keep on the Shadowfell. If he expresses a desire to play two PCs, I'll let him. I'm hoping to find another player to play.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

For encounters involving only one pc I would go with lots of minions and avoid elites and solos.

 

[Zaran]

I've put alot of thought into a solo campaign.

Basically you base each encounter after the XP of one base monster of equal level.

So an easy encounter would be 75% XP, Equal would be 100%, +1 Level encounters would be 125%, The big epic fight at the end of an adventure would be 175% .

Use alot of minions, use skill challenges that the solo PC has skills in.

For minions, don't be afraid to make unusual minions. Like a Minion that has controller powers. As long as they do minion damage they could really liven up the encounter. There is one caveat to that though. The PC will only have 3 actions every round. If you hit them with Daze or immobilze every turn that will really hamper them so take that into consideration.

Avoid using monsters several levels higher than the PC. Even for the epic fight, if you use a regular monster 3 levels higher they will be hitting regularly and the PC will be missing just as regularly.

Do not take the PC's feats into consideration when designing monsters. If they have Weapon Expertise or Iron Will then good for them. They SHOULD hit more often or resist mental attacks more often.