Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Shadow080 11-28-04, 11:40 PM	I'm going to be introducing some friends to a DND adventure, and just have a couple of quick questions... 1) Since there will only be 2 players for an adventure which recommends 4, should I double their starting level? 2) Since they are new, should I, as the DM, have a character which will tag along with their's just to give them help when required? I would appreciate some feedback or suggestions.
Xarian 11-28-04, 11:57 PM	1) No, don't do that. It'll make certain things too easy and other things not easy enough... I'm tired so please just trust me on this. 2) Yeah, that's a good idea. Create a NPC of a class needed to 'fill the gap' (probably a Cleric) and play them rather mindlessly so as not to become the dreaded 'DMPC'. Yep.
paradoxmage 11-29-04, 12:17 AM	1) Since there will only be 2 players for an adventure which recommends 4, should I double their starting level? I wouldn’t double the levels. I would look at what your players are going to play. See if anything in the adventure will be really difficult to overcome without certain classes (like a lot of undead and no one playing a cleric, or a lot of traps and no rogues etc...). If nothing falls into this then they should be fine. If you are still leery about it then 1 or 2 levels higher might be acceptable. 2) Since they are new, should I, as the DM, have a character which will tag along with theirs just to give them help when required? Depends on there age and how outgoing they are. Will these players sit there not knowing what to do? Are they quiet types? What classes are they playing? I feel that DM characters can be useful but tend to be more of a go to guy. By this I mean if the players don’t want to come up with an idea or want someone to do something dangerous they will go to the DM character ("I think so and so should check out that door since he is played by the DM and wont die" etc...).
krichaiushii 11-29-04, 05:30 AM	Instead of doubling the PC levels, consider lowering the adventure's challenge level. Reduce the quantity of monsters in each encounter, reduce lethality of traps, etc. Perhaps compromise on the second issue, and provide an heirloom magic item to them that can answer questions (not always accurately), give advice (even if unwanted), and perhaps cast minor healing magics. With high ranks in multiple knowledges, it can answer many questions - but with a die roll.
eshadowe 11-29-04, 09:54 AM	ya I agree, don't make everything to hard so someone dies, that'd be a sure sign that they won't like anything. I started my game at 2nd level with full hp's for those levels (they roll normal after that). It makes a difference and it's not to much fudging the rules. And ya I'd have a dm-pc but have him the nerdy non social/ buffing spellcaster. (Priest, druid or bard; lower level if possible than the pc's) so that way the players feel he's important, takes no glory and can make up for the small group size.
Joe Khol 11-29-04, 10:56 AM	1) Since there will only be 2 players for an adventure which recommends 4, should I double their starting level? How about writing a short 'introductory' adventure, to both take them up to second level and give a basic introduction to the basics before hitting the adventure proper? 2) Since they are new, should I, as the DM, have a character which will tag along with their's just to give them help when required? I'd advise against it. There is a danger of them relying too much on the NPC character (and you letting them). There is nothing wrong with you giving the players pointers and advice as the DM though. Obviously you don't give anything away but reminding them of an ability they could use or suggesting a spell for a situation, especially if they are undecided, if perfectly reasonable. Let them make the IC decisions. Your role should be to help them with the OOC mechanics for those decisions.
quarkstomper 12-01-04, 10:10 AM	DMPC's get a bad reputation because they are so easy to abuse. I tend to use them a lot, simply because most of the gaming I do these days are one-on-one games with my Sweet Thing where NPC buddies are inevitable. From a practical point of view, having an additional character to help out is a neccessity; but in addition, our games tend to be heavy on character interaction and Role-Playing. Without an NPC for her character to bounce off of, the games would get pretty dull. The important thing to remember with running a DMPC is that you are producing an action TV series. Your players are the stars. Your NPCs are the sidekicks. As long as you keep the players the most important element in your story and use the NPCs to help and to move the plot along, you should be able to keep things in balance.