1 on 1 [Archive] - Wizards Community - Pages Merged by Solauren

1 on 1 [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Denveso
01-15-08, 06:24 PM Me and a friend have played together before but with a larger group. Most of us had to leave for school and work. We decided to try and play with just the two of us me as the DM and him as an neutrel evil warrior.

Im not very familiar with how to DM these games. I dont know how to find the correct challeng rateings, or how to make the game really exciting. (Ive only DMed a couple games and still learning) With a larger group it was easier because they could do alot more.

If anyone can give me ideas on how to DM a one person game, just about anything you might think is helpful that would be great. Thanks in advance.

Denveso
VulcanStormwrath
01-15-08, 06:44 PM Hitman
iserith
01-15-08, 07:02 PM Make him 6th-level to start. Give him the Leadership feat and some followers or let him employ hirelings. Be generous in creating his cohort and followers - make sure they are detailed and have their own goals and personalities.

Start the campaign with him as the leader of a small band of thugs trying to take over another thug's territory in a big city. When he accomplishes this (level 10?) now he has to hold onto that power by fighting rivals and the local government. Once he's secured his position and has a nice big guild under his command, threaten the city from an outside force like an army or extraplanar invaders.

Rent Gangs of New York for inspiration and have fun.
Denveso
01-16-08, 11:25 AM Thanks the second reply was helpful im not to sure what the first one ment thou.
BalogTheFierce
01-16-08, 11:37 AM He probably means one of two things.

1st: Have your warrior be hired on to do hitman type missions for the local thieves guild or evil lord who needs others in the neighborhood taken care of or..

2nd: Run the game like the 'Hitman' game found on PC and console platforms (I've never actually played it)

My guess is #2
spongeknight
01-16-08, 12:34 PM I've been playing 1 on 1 with my friend for years now, and I can tell you how it worked for me. First, forget about traditional power levels. If you want to have fun and actually kill things stronger than a bugbear you're going to have to give him nice stuff. Make some magic items that do things his class can't (especially since he's not a wizard). Since he's not a cleric, he'll need a reliable source of healing as well, either a cohort or an improved belt of healing or something similar.

Obviously, the CR of encounters need to be reduced drastically in order for him to survive, but you still have to give him appropriate experience in order for him to level up. Try giving out a few mock combats before you start playing so you can get a feel for how much he can handle. Alternatively, run a DMPC that provides support (Cleric works great). Just don't put it in anything more than a support role or you'll start playing with yourself (DMPC vs. monsters). Be sure to always buff up the player before battle and heal him afterwards, you'd be amazed how much that helps his survivability.

Since there's only two of you there, you may want to simply let him be a beast. There's no reason to worry about party balance since he IS the party. The only thing you have to balance against him is the monsters, which is fine anyway since he is the entire focus of the campaign. Let him have Spellfire. Allow him to take a template and forget the level adjustment. Give him haste as an innate ability 1/day. In short, the rules are much less important in a game where balance is no longer an issue.

Also: tailor the game to his playing style. I assume this will be a hack'n'slash because he chose a warrior (Seriously? An NPC class?) to play, so make sure there's lots of stuff for him to kill. However, roleplaying NPC's can be a very rewarding experience, since it'll basically be the PC and NPC is conversation with each other. Try to never have more than 1 NPC in a conversation, you don't want to talk to yourself. But people are very willing to roleplay when they don't have 5 other people waiting for a turn to speak, so use this opportunity for him to get deeply involved with his character and really give it a personality. And since he's evil, it should be really fun.

That's pretty much my two cents. I find that I actually enjoy 1 on 1 games more than games with too large of a group since you get to have such a large role in everything. DMing can be difficult since the player may move in surprising directions at times, so make sure you have plenty of material ready for each game. Other than that, experiment a little bit and have fun!
Denveso
01-16-08, 06:02 PM Thanks those were helpful. No i didnt mean the NPC class warrior i ment the fighter. We always just call him a warrior because just easier for us.
VulcanStormwrath
01-16-08, 06:37 PM He probably means one of two things.

1st: Have your warrior be hired on to do hitman type missions for the local thieves guild or evil lord who needs others in the neighborhood taken care of or..

2nd: Run the game like the 'Hitman' game found on PC and console platforms (I've never actually played it)

My guess is #2

Actually meant both.
Heros_Backpack
01-16-08, 07:33 PM You might also want to take a look at the Guide to Solo Campaigns (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=553739) for tips and techniques.
tuby2008theMTGwizard
01-16-08, 07:55 PM He could be in a "GODFATHER" like family. use your imagination:)
Denveso
01-17-08, 02:00 AM Thanks guys these gave me some great ideas.
Axiomatic_vampire
01-18-08, 04:00 AM I did something similar to this once, on the DM side. Put the player in a sort of generic "crime guild" (they had their hand in everything, murder, theft, extortion), statted out quite a few guildmates, and let him decide how much help he wanted on jobs. The guildmates were ran DMPC (which is bad) but only if he wanted them there (which salved my conscience). It added a nice tactical angle, as he'd have to size up the next job, take appropriate help along, but not so much that his reward would be split too many ways. In my case, it ended after a few sessions (DMs, lament with me the 12 wasted NPCs. You know the feeling.) I don't think the game itself was flawed though, short-lived as it was.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Denveso 01-15-08, 06:24 PM	Me and a friend have played together before but with a larger group. Most of us had to leave for school and work. We decided to try and play with just the two of us me as the DM and him as an neutrel evil warrior. Im not very familiar with how to DM these games. I dont know how to find the correct challeng rateings, or how to make the game really exciting. (Ive only DMed a couple games and still learning) With a larger group it was easier because they could do alot more. If anyone can give me ideas on how to DM a one person game, just about anything you might think is helpful that would be great. Thanks in advance. Denveso
VulcanStormwrath 01-15-08, 06:44 PM	Hitman
iserith 01-15-08, 07:02 PM	Make him 6th-level to start. Give him the Leadership feat and some followers or let him employ hirelings. Be generous in creating his cohort and followers - make sure they are detailed and have their own goals and personalities. Start the campaign with him as the leader of a small band of thugs trying to take over another thug's territory in a big city. When he accomplishes this (level 10?) now he has to hold onto that power by fighting rivals and the local government. Once he's secured his position and has a nice big guild under his command, threaten the city from an outside force like an army or extraplanar invaders. Rent Gangs of New York for inspiration and have fun.
Denveso 01-16-08, 11:25 AM	Thanks the second reply was helpful im not to sure what the first one ment thou.
BalogTheFierce 01-16-08, 11:37 AM	He probably means one of two things. 1st: Have your warrior be hired on to do hitman type missions for the local thieves guild or evil lord who needs others in the neighborhood taken care of or.. 2nd: Run the game like the 'Hitman' game found on PC and console platforms (I've never actually played it) My guess is #2
spongeknight 01-16-08, 12:34 PM	I've been playing 1 on 1 with my friend for years now, and I can tell you how it worked for me. First, forget about traditional power levels. If you want to have fun and actually kill things stronger than a bugbear you're going to have to give him nice stuff. Make some magic items that do things his class can't (especially since he's not a wizard). Since he's not a cleric, he'll need a reliable source of healing as well, either a cohort or an improved belt of healing or something similar. Obviously, the CR of encounters need to be reduced drastically in order for him to survive, but you still have to give him appropriate experience in order for him to level up. Try giving out a few mock combats before you start playing so you can get a feel for how much he can handle. Alternatively, run a DMPC that provides support (Cleric works great). Just don't put it in anything more than a support role or you'll start playing with yourself (DMPC vs. monsters). Be sure to always buff up the player before battle and heal him afterwards, you'd be amazed how much that helps his survivability. Since there's only two of you there, you may want to simply let him be a beast. There's no reason to worry about party balance since he IS the party. The only thing you have to balance against him is the monsters, which is fine anyway since he is the entire focus of the campaign. Let him have Spellfire. Allow him to take a template and forget the level adjustment. Give him haste as an innate ability 1/day. In short, the rules are much less important in a game where balance is no longer an issue. Also: tailor the game to his playing style. I assume this will be a hack'n'slash because he chose a warrior (Seriously? An NPC class?) to play, so make sure there's lots of stuff for him to kill. However, roleplaying NPC's can be a very rewarding experience, since it'll basically be the PC and NPC is conversation with each other. Try to never have more than 1 NPC in a conversation, you don't want to talk to yourself. But people are very willing to roleplay when they don't have 5 other people waiting for a turn to speak, so use this opportunity for him to get deeply involved with his character and really give it a personality. And since he's evil, it should be really fun. That's pretty much my two cents. I find that I actually enjoy 1 on 1 games more than games with too large of a group since you get to have such a large role in everything. DMing can be difficult since the player may move in surprising directions at times, so make sure you have plenty of material ready for each game. Other than that, experiment a little bit and have fun!
Denveso 01-16-08, 06:02 PM	Thanks those were helpful. No i didnt mean the NPC class warrior i ment the fighter. We always just call him a warrior because just easier for us.
VulcanStormwrath 01-16-08, 06:37 PM	He probably means one of two things. 1st: Have your warrior be hired on to do hitman type missions for the local thieves guild or evil lord who needs others in the neighborhood taken care of or.. 2nd: Run the game like the 'Hitman' game found on PC and console platforms (I've never actually played it) My guess is #2 Actually meant both.
Heros_Backpack 01-16-08, 07:33 PM	You might also want to take a look at the Guide to Solo Campaigns (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=553739) for tips and techniques.
tuby2008theMTGwizard 01-16-08, 07:55 PM	He could be in a "GODFATHER" like family. use your imagination:)
Denveso 01-17-08, 02:00 AM	Thanks guys these gave me some great ideas.
Axiomatic_vampire 01-18-08, 04:00 AM	I did something similar to this once, on the DM side. Put the player in a sort of generic "crime guild" (they had their hand in everything, murder, theft, extortion), statted out quite a few guildmates, and let him decide how much help he wanted on jobs. The guildmates were ran DMPC (which is bad) but only if he wanted them there (which salved my conscience). It added a nice tactical angle, as he'd have to size up the next job, take appropriate help along, but not so much that his reward would be split too many ways. In my case, it ended after a few sessions (DMs, lament with me the 12 wasted NPCs. You know the feeling.) I don't think the game itself was flawed though, short-lived as it was.