Can i play FR campaigns solo? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Can i play FR campaigns solo? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
duke8019
01-08-08, 12:59 PM Basically I was wondering if I bought the books, sheets, campaigns, ect, could I play this solo? I ask, because i have zero gaming centers where I live, and cannot find anyone who would want to play this with me. Could i simply sit down and play this by myself, running all characters and settings?

Is it even possible?

Thanks a lot!

Also if this is possible, please explain how I would go about this.

Please list what I need to get started also.

Thank you so much!
Bonzai
01-08-08, 03:27 PM You could.... but it wouldn't be as fun.

Actually I do this sometimes to test out encounters for campaigns I am writting. But nothing beats a good group.

If you want a solo realms experience, I'd recomend checking out Netherwinter Nights and going through some of the player made mods.
Shiftkitty
01-08-08, 03:41 PM I know there are some old solo adventures out there, but they're more like those "Endless Quest" books, where you read a passage, make a choice, and follow some instructions. I think they're 2e, also. I have made solo runs, but it involves a lot of honesty with yourself.

Back during the Keep on the Borderlands, I made a template based on the 1 square=10' grid to show only what the party I was creating could see. I placed the posterboard template over the map and could only see 30 square feet at a time, which was the ruling for vision by torchlight.

As I entered a new room or chamber, I allowed myself enough of a peek to see what number the room was. Then I'd flip to that entry and only read the boxed text. If I wanted more detail, I'd scan the unboxed text, intentionally ignoring anything that looked like monster or NPC stats. Then I'd make choices based on what the character would do according to his or her concept.

For example, I move my template and see that I've entered room 12. The entry reads in boxed text: "This 30 by 30 square room is damp and reeks heavily of mildew. Strewn about the floor are various rolled up, moldy rugs." Based on this, I might decide that one of the characters starts prodding at the floor to make sure the floorboards aren't rotten. This action will quite possibly stir up any spores or rile up mimics, slimes, molds, etc. So I throw a quick look to the unboxed text and see a line that looks like monster stats. I shut that out and decide that the party enters the room (I saw nothing about a collapsing floor in my quick scan). I decide their attitudes, their positions, and their state of readiness. Now that they're in the room, I go ahead and read the rest. Entering the room, it turns out, alerts the 2 giant centipedes who haven't had anything to eat for a long time. Time to roll initiative and slug it out!

It's sort of like writing a story and letting dice tell you what to write next. When they meet the BBEG, you have to try on a split personality and spend half the encounter trying to kill the party you created earlier. If you play them honestly and according to character, you can come up with some pretty exciting adventures, especially if you write them down.

Sometimes I use Dungeon Tiles and Minis, but they aren't necessary.
duke8019
01-09-08, 10:19 AM Cool, I think I am goign to give this a try.

Can anyone tell me the starter books, and what I would need for the basics?

Also how the game would evolve, and what items, books, ect i would need.

Is there a starter kit?

Thanks a lot!
MarkusTay63
01-09-08, 02:32 PM If you can get your hands on the 2e Knight of the Living Dead (http://www.amazon.com/Knight-Living-Forgotten-Realms-Catacombs/dp/0880385987) solo FR adventure, its a lot of fun and gets you familiar with Waterdeeep. I had a blast playing it when it came out.
duke8019
01-09-08, 02:42 PM Hmmm, that looks very cool. I will order one today I think. :D

So there is nothing like the D&D starter kit for FR?

Thanks!
MarkusTay63
01-09-08, 03:10 PM The old basic Set has an adventure that takes place in Freedale, which is a tiny thorp located in the vicinity of Shadowdale, within the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.

I'm not sure if you can play the adventure solo, but it is included in the 2e 'starter set'. If you want to see where exactly freedale is in the Realms, click on the Candlekeep Compendium link in my sig - #9 contains a map of Mistledale that shows Freedale up in the NE corner. ;)
Shiftkitty
01-09-08, 03:34 PM If you're 3e or 3.5, there are D&D Starter Kits and Beginner's Sets that'll get you going if you've never played before. The FRCS is a must if you want to maximize your FR environment. Some published modules are FR specific, but you can easily adapt any module to FR. Any major city can easily become Waterdeep, and the spaces between major settlements are vast enough that smaller towns and villages could be anywhere. When you can, get a PHB, DMG, and Monster Manual 1. I think they're still pretty cheap on Amazon. (Don't sweat the impending 4e. It won't kill you to not get it as soon as it hits the shelves.) You'll want the MM1 because it lists the strategies and tactics of the monsters so that each encounter has it's own flavor.
KismetRose
01-09-08, 11:44 PM You could probably find a game online to get into.
Shiftkitty
01-10-08, 08:58 AM I had terrible experiences with online gaming and Play By E-mail. If someone doesn't type too well you might as well turn on the TV and wait for them to post their action. So and so had a fight with his wife and can't use the computer because she's online bawling her eyes out to her best friend, little Billy has to use the computer to do his homework because the teacher won't accept hand-written homework anymore, someone else can't get a connection, etc. Play by Email takes days for everyone to get their actions posted, and all assume that their computers don't go on the fritz. It blew chunks by my experience. Took too long and was too squirrelly.
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
01-10-08, 02:24 PM I'm doing a Play-by-email right now and I'm having fun with it. Sure, it takes a long time for everyone to respond much of the time, but that's not always a bad thing--I can't (and don't want to) be on the computer all the time. I'm enjoying the slower pace.

I've had less favorable experiences with play-by-post games.
Shiftkitty
01-10-08, 03:39 PM I did play in one e-mail game where the moves came in regularly enough, but then something went screwy and I went two weeks without getting anything. (This was waaaaaaaay back in the 80's.) The DM swore she had been sending me posts, but I never got them. We had the SysOp check to see what was happening, and things got back to normal, but then it happened again and again so I just bowed out rather than hold up the game. The DM later posted me that she simply had my character vanish in the middle of the night with a few valuables, and tracking me down for revenge became a new adventure with my PC becoming the BBEG.

In spite of my bad experiences, I'd probably try it again if I knew the group was committed enough.
dethmetal
01-10-08, 04:06 PM I'm doing a Play-by-email right now and I'm having fun with it. Sure, it takes a long time for everyone to respond much of the time, but that's not always a bad thing--I can't (and don't want to) be on the computer all the time. I'm enjoying the slower pace.

I've had less favorable experiences with play-by-post games.

how do you handle the dice rolls and stuff on email? lots of trust in the players?
Storm_Silverhand
01-10-08, 05:10 PM Heya,

how do you handle the dice rolls and stuff on email? lots of trust in the players?

Some DMs might make all the rolls required.

I think there are online servers to roll dice that are fairly secure and you can use them in e-mail.

I know that there are add ons for programs like mIRC to roll dice within the client.

And there's also a site (or two) that facilitate online Role Playing, but I can't seem to find the URL for the one I remember... and even more frustrating, I can't seem to remember the name either... gone blank. :( Sorry.
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
01-10-08, 08:29 PM Well, we haven't really gotten to any combat yet (and if social rolls were being made, I didn't realize it:P ), but for the record, yes, I do happen to trust my DM and fellow players when it comes to the mechanical stuff.
MerrikCale
01-11-08, 10:50 PM Could i simply sit down and play this by myself, running all characters and settings?

Considering what Rich Baker and company have officially released on the status of the 4e realms, you very may be the only one playing any way.
Lord Karsus
01-12-08, 03:29 AM -You know, you can do just about anything solo...
Shiftkitty
01-12-08, 09:00 PM Aw, come on, Lord Karsus! Let's not go there!:D

Back in the old days (cue sound: creaking rocking chair and the noise of a 2400 baud modem firing up) I ran an Old West RPG on a BBS (forerunners to the modern webpage) called MegaByte. The players had to trust that I was rolling fairly for them (I was). I'd base my descriptors on the die rolls and, being a person who loves to write, rolling fairly was in my best interests. The roll could make all the difference between

"The barrel next to the one you're hiding behind shakes a little and begins to leak."

and

"You feel your hat fly off of your head. It's awfully drafty up top now, and your hair has a new part in it."

Because E-mails in a SIG (Special Interest Group) were open to anyone who had access to the SIG and to whom the E-mail was addressed "ALL", it was easy for the group to see general posts, like a modern forum site. MegaByte had the ability to do private messages, and the protection for the DM was that anything not made known to the DM was assumed not to have happened. That way a player couldn't decide, after the dynamite blew, that his character had previously moved across the plaza or something like that. The DM could send PMs to players, such as to let them know that the crate they jumped into was home to a black widow spider, somethig the rest of the party might not know, but in game context, the players couldn't PM moves to each other. (A player could PM the DM, though, usually for clarification on certain details. "If I'm up in the rafters, I should have a good view of where the bad guys are. What do I see?")

I think it's far easier for the players to trust the DM (which is what they'd have to do to an extent in a face-toface game, what with DM screens and secret rolls) than it is for the DM to trust the players.
Lord Karsus
01-13-08, 01:53 AM Aw, come on, Lord Karsus! Let's not go there!:D

-What? I was talking about playing D&D...Where was your dirty mind? :P

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
duke8019 01-08-08, 12:59 PM	Basically I was wondering if I bought the books, sheets, campaigns, ect, could I play this solo? I ask, because i have zero gaming centers where I live, and cannot find anyone who would want to play this with me. Could i simply sit down and play this by myself, running all characters and settings? Is it even possible? Thanks a lot! Also if this is possible, please explain how I would go about this. Please list what I need to get started also. Thank you so much!
Bonzai 01-08-08, 03:27 PM	You could.... but it wouldn't be as fun. Actually I do this sometimes to test out encounters for campaigns I am writting. But nothing beats a good group. If you want a solo realms experience, I'd recomend checking out Netherwinter Nights and going through some of the player made mods.
Shiftkitty 01-08-08, 03:41 PM	I know there are some old solo adventures out there, but they're more like those "Endless Quest" books, where you read a passage, make a choice, and follow some instructions. I think they're 2e, also. I have made solo runs, but it involves a lot of honesty with yourself. Back during the Keep on the Borderlands, I made a template based on the 1 square=10' grid to show only what the party I was creating could see. I placed the posterboard template over the map and could only see 30 square feet at a time, which was the ruling for vision by torchlight. As I entered a new room or chamber, I allowed myself enough of a peek to see what number the room was. Then I'd flip to that entry and only read the boxed text. If I wanted more detail, I'd scan the unboxed text, intentionally ignoring anything that looked like monster or NPC stats. Then I'd make choices based on what the character would do according to his or her concept. For example, I move my template and see that I've entered room 12. The entry reads in boxed text: "This 30 by 30 square room is damp and reeks heavily of mildew. Strewn about the floor are various rolled up, moldy rugs." Based on this, I might decide that one of the characters starts prodding at the floor to make sure the floorboards aren't rotten. This action will quite possibly stir up any spores or rile up mimics, slimes, molds, etc. So I throw a quick look to the unboxed text and see a line that looks like monster stats. I shut that out and decide that the party enters the room (I saw nothing about a collapsing floor in my quick scan). I decide their attitudes, their positions, and their state of readiness. Now that they're in the room, I go ahead and read the rest. Entering the room, it turns out, alerts the 2 giant centipedes who haven't had anything to eat for a long time. Time to roll initiative and slug it out! It's sort of like writing a story and letting dice tell you what to write next. When they meet the BBEG, you have to try on a split personality and spend half the encounter trying to kill the party you created earlier. If you play them honestly and according to character, you can come up with some pretty exciting adventures, especially if you write them down. Sometimes I use Dungeon Tiles and Minis, but they aren't necessary.
duke8019 01-09-08, 10:19 AM	Cool, I think I am goign to give this a try. Can anyone tell me the starter books, and what I would need for the basics? Also how the game would evolve, and what items, books, ect i would need. Is there a starter kit? Thanks a lot!
MarkusTay63 01-09-08, 02:32 PM	If you can get your hands on the 2e Knight of the Living Dead (http://www.amazon.com/Knight-Living-Forgotten-Realms-Catacombs/dp/0880385987) solo FR adventure, its a lot of fun and gets you familiar with Waterdeeep. I had a blast playing it when it came out.
duke8019 01-09-08, 02:42 PM	Hmmm, that looks very cool. I will order one today I think. :D So there is nothing like the D&D starter kit for FR? Thanks!
MarkusTay63 01-09-08, 03:10 PM	The old basic Set has an adventure that takes place in Freedale, which is a tiny thorp located in the vicinity of Shadowdale, within the Forgotten Realms campaign setting. I'm not sure if you can play the adventure solo, but it is included in the 2e 'starter set'. If you want to see where exactly freedale is in the Realms, click on the Candlekeep Compendium link in my sig - #9 contains a map of Mistledale that shows Freedale up in the NE corner. ;)
Shiftkitty 01-09-08, 03:34 PM	If you're 3e or 3.5, there are D&D Starter Kits and Beginner's Sets that'll get you going if you've never played before. The FRCS is a must if you want to maximize your FR environment. Some published modules are FR specific, but you can easily adapt any module to FR. Any major city can easily become Waterdeep, and the spaces between major settlements are vast enough that smaller towns and villages could be anywhere. When you can, get a PHB, DMG, and Monster Manual 1. I think they're still pretty cheap on Amazon. (Don't sweat the impending 4e. It won't kill you to not get it as soon as it hits the shelves.) You'll want the MM1 because it lists the strategies and tactics of the monsters so that each encounter has it's own flavor.
KismetRose 01-09-08, 11:44 PM	You could probably find a game online to get into.
Shiftkitty 01-10-08, 08:58 AM	I had terrible experiences with online gaming and Play By E-mail. If someone doesn't type too well you might as well turn on the TV and wait for them to post their action. So and so had a fight with his wife and can't use the computer because she's online bawling her eyes out to her best friend, little Billy has to use the computer to do his homework because the teacher won't accept hand-written homework anymore, someone else can't get a connection, etc. Play by Email takes days for everyone to get their actions posted, and all assume that their computers don't go on the fritz. It blew chunks by my experience. Took too long and was too squirrelly.
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin 01-10-08, 02:24 PM	I'm doing a Play-by-email right now and I'm having fun with it. Sure, it takes a long time for everyone to respond much of the time, but that's not always a bad thing--I can't (and don't want to) be on the computer all the time. I'm enjoying the slower pace. I've had less favorable experiences with play-by-post games.
Shiftkitty 01-10-08, 03:39 PM	I did play in one e-mail game where the moves came in regularly enough, but then something went screwy and I went two weeks without getting anything. (This was waaaaaaaay back in the 80's.) The DM swore she had been sending me posts, but I never got them. We had the SysOp check to see what was happening, and things got back to normal, but then it happened again and again so I just bowed out rather than hold up the game. The DM later posted me that she simply had my character vanish in the middle of the night with a few valuables, and tracking me down for revenge became a new adventure with my PC becoming the BBEG. In spite of my bad experiences, I'd probably try it again if I knew the group was committed enough.
dethmetal 01-10-08, 04:06 PM	I'm doing a Play-by-email right now and I'm having fun with it. Sure, it takes a long time for everyone to respond much of the time, but that's not always a bad thing--I can't (and don't want to) be on the computer all the time. I'm enjoying the slower pace. I've had less favorable experiences with play-by-post games. how do you handle the dice rolls and stuff on email? lots of trust in the players?
Storm_Silverhand 01-10-08, 05:10 PM	Heya, how do you handle the dice rolls and stuff on email? lots of trust in the players? Some DMs might make all the rolls required. I think there are online servers to roll dice that are fairly secure and you can use them in e-mail. I know that there are add ons for programs like mIRC to roll dice within the client. And there's also a site (or two) that facilitate online Role Playing, but I can't seem to find the URL for the one I remember... and even more frustrating, I can't seem to remember the name either... gone blank. :( Sorry.
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin 01-10-08, 08:29 PM	Well, we haven't really gotten to any combat yet (and if social rolls were being made, I didn't realize it:P ), but for the record, yes, I do happen to trust my DM and fellow players when it comes to the mechanical stuff.
MerrikCale 01-11-08, 10:50 PM	Could i simply sit down and play this by myself, running all characters and settings? Considering what Rich Baker and company have officially released on the status of the 4e realms, you very may be the only one playing any way.
Lord Karsus 01-12-08, 03:29 AM	-You know, you can do just about anything solo...
Shiftkitty 01-12-08, 09:00 PM	Aw, come on, Lord Karsus! Let's not go there!:D Back in the old days (cue sound: creaking rocking chair and the noise of a 2400 baud modem firing up) I ran an Old West RPG on a BBS (forerunners to the modern webpage) called MegaByte. The players had to trust that I was rolling fairly for them (I was). I'd base my descriptors on the die rolls and, being a person who loves to write, rolling fairly was in my best interests. The roll could make all the difference between "The barrel next to the one you're hiding behind shakes a little and begins to leak." and "You feel your hat fly off of your head. It's awfully drafty up top now, and your hair has a new part in it." Because E-mails in a SIG (Special Interest Group) were open to anyone who had access to the SIG and to whom the E-mail was addressed "ALL", it was easy for the group to see general posts, like a modern forum site. MegaByte had the ability to do private messages, and the protection for the DM was that anything not made known to the DM was assumed not to have happened. That way a player couldn't decide, after the dynamite blew, that his character had previously moved across the plaza or something like that. The DM could send PMs to players, such as to let them know that the crate they jumped into was home to a black widow spider, somethig the rest of the party might not know, but in game context, the players couldn't PM moves to each other. (A player could PM the DM, though, usually for clarification on certain details. "If I'm up in the rafters, I should have a good view of where the bad guys are. What do I see?") I think it's far easier for the players to trust the DM (which is what they'd have to do to an extent in a face-toface game, what with DM screens and secret rolls) than it is for the DM to trust the players.
Lord Karsus 01-13-08, 01:53 AM	Aw, come on, Lord Karsus! Let's not go there!:D -What? I was talking about playing D&D...Where was your dirty mind? :P