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Author
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Comment
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Parasite God
Pie
(12/6/02 6:17 pm)
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Going Solo?
Greetings everyone,
I rarely have a large D&D group to play with, and usually end up with having a single player available at a given time. When running modules designed for 4-6 characters I run into troubles.
Has anyone else attempted to run this campaign for a single character? If so, any recommendations? I don't find that simply boosting the character to a higher level than the recommended works appropriately - some encounters become a cakewalk, and others too challenging.
Parasite God
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serleran
Orc
(12/6/02 6:30 pm)
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Re: Going Solo?
It can be done, but you'll have to have a lot of NPCs, and the character will have to know that there's a HIGH chance of being killed.
Life's been so good to me. Has it been good to you? Has it been everything that you expected it to be? Was it as good for you, as it was good for me? Has it been everything that it was set up to be? Now is that gratitude?
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Parasite God
Pie
(12/6/02 9:23 pm)
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Re: Going Solo?
Yes, running additional NPC's is always an option.
Unfortunately, in a solo game I find that it really bogs the game down, and creates yet another thing for myself to keep track of. NPC Party members just don't feel right when playing solo. That NPC is probably going to be pulling just as much weight as the PC.
Ack, a horrid thought just came to mind. I could give my player an item to teleport him to town once per day - to let him get out of sticky situations. But this just makes me think of Diablo...[shiver]. I think I'd like to avoid that. 
Parasite God
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Annah
Pie
(12/7/02 4:56 am)
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Re: Going Solo?
You might consider letting the player control one or more of the NPC's, if he is up to that.
If you set things up witht he NPC's as followers, (one or two levels lower than the PC's and in a strictly "follow the leaders commands", this will keep the focus on the main PC, while giving the player a bit of room to fumble, occasionaly.
Annah Bluelocks, gnomish-trickster! :)
* I want roomservice! * (Johnny Mnemonic, 1995) |
deafdungeonmasterRIT
Orc
(12/7/02 11:41 am)
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hmm
Let the sole character to start off at either level 8 or 10 character and see how it goes from here.. be sure that he level really fast, but it will be amazing if he can survive an encouter against Imix
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Ztyx
Looking around
(3/13/03 8:56 am)
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Re: Going Solo?
This subject touches me as well, since (as it looks right now and foreseeable future) I'd have to lead solo as well.
How did it work out?
If one makes a tie-in to 'The Temple of Pacifistic Evil', would it work better for a wheeling dealing bluffer pc?
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Midus
Here for a while
(3/13/03 6:11 pm)
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Re: Going Solo?
I'm doing a duo that isn't very high on firepower. As long as they stay in disguise I usually give them a chance to use their bluff and diplomacy skills. We've had fun. It moves fast without constant combat.
Personally, I think the inner or outer fane is going to kill my party, not Imix. Keep Imix off you with things like walls of force and he has nothing but a fireball, firewall, and single summon.
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 Infiniti2000
Still here? Wow.
(3/13/03 6:25 pm)
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ezSupporter
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Re: Going Solo?
D'Gran! Don't forget D'Gran! Poor Jammol! 
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DestyNova1
Human
(6/29/03 9:31 pm)
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solo
Heres an idea. If you want to have NPC backup, do up some templates of barebone NPCs. Just write down basic stats that are important and stick with class skills. Have them loaded with a 'kit' appropriate to their levels. These would just mill around in the back for roleplaying sessions.
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ronin
Faen
(6/30/03 4:59 pm)
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re: solo
Another idea is to have the solo PC take (or give them as a bonus) the leadership feat. That will supply some extra NPCs for the lone PC. One of them could be close to the PCs level but the others would be of a lower level. Then perhaps you could play just one NPC instead of an entire party of NPCs.
The only thing you'll have to be careful with is if the lone player decides to bring his lower level NPCs along with him. If that happens his ability to attract new followers will certainly decline as these lower level NPCs will drop like flies in such a deadly place.
Good luck and let us know how it goes!
ronin
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deafdungeonmasterRIT
Litorian
(7/1/03 11:40 am)
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well
Let your PC plays a monster. Maybe a troll.
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Roland the red
Faen
(7/1/03 12:07 pm)
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Different Style
I have done this many times in the past, but not with this module.
The basic thing to remember is that the style of play is different.
1. It moves a LOT faster
There is less "spotlight" competition
2. Character raises levels faster
An EL 5 encounter is probably EL 9 (+4) for a lone character (roughly), so the module as-written could be done for a single 8th level character, and progress him to beyond 14th...
There are numerous "problems" that will arise (say a wizard with Fireball vs. the ruined temple...) but the fact that he is alone should counter that. The player should be allowed to breeze through the lower levels if he can, but don't go too easy on him...he is, after all, higher level. Other balancing factors are the weak treasure he'll glean, etc.
At some point the style of play should become clear: A lone PC is best suited for AVOIDING encounters and gettin' straight to the BBEG, so to speak. So more hiding, more role-playing, more avoiding encounters, etc should be emphasized, try to avoid the hack-n-slash as this will surely lead to a TPK! 
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