Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Illusion 10-29-04, 10:17 AM	Hello all, I'm looking for possible adventure hooks/premade adventures which would be good for a single bard. He's neutral evil, and used to be an actor. Anything would be appreciated, because I've never run a campaign for one PC before.
EatFlan 10-29-04, 10:45 AM	geeze...solo bard eh? Well i guess utility wise a bard or rogue is the way to go. But ouchie. Maybe if he has high Cha you can give him a cohort or something in the future...preferably a devoted defender. Here is something you can do. He is in a guild, an explorers guild. Now being a bard doesn't mean all ways singing and dancing and playing the ukilalie. So let him do something fun. That way he can also get assignments, think something similar to a journalist in todays world crossed w/indiana jones (with rhythm!). He can go catalogue some new species of plant in Lolandialand where there have been reports of carniverous plants. He can charter a ship to some island to seek out the lost history of civilization X. And along the way he saves some tribal and that person becomes his cohort. A devoted defender barbarian/Ftr. Ah this is getting good and now i want to play. What else what else.... There is a plauge over in Oliandialand and he's commissioned by the local lords to investigate and report back on the danger to his country. Maybe to seek out the source. Granted before all this big stuff happens he needs to build a rep. He can really start small, a few mysteries becoming a local sherlock, solving what happened to the mayors hair piece and what not. "you have a problem that needs help go seek mortimer the bard!" over time he will become like jacque cousteau and be known all around his country. Maybe later the globe. ****...i'm a genius.
Cantankerous 10-29-04, 10:52 AM	The spy game is a great old stand by. Chancelor M, in the name of the King, recruits him to find about what kind of man the new Prince of Wheresits like and whether or not he could become a danger to the throne. Since the guy is a former actor, and a man without scruples (Neutral Evil) he'd make an ideal spy. Add in that the Bard is a great jack of all trades class and you've eventually got the makings of a solo campaign ala James Bond D&D style. Isshia
Illusion 10-29-04, 07:34 PM	Thanks to both of you for your imput! EatFlan- He chose bard basicly because it balances best in a single PC campain. Anyone else? I'm not in any rush, so long term plots as well as short term ones would be welcomed.
CrippleMrOnion 10-29-04, 08:29 PM	I've run a 1-20 mostly solo adventure (had a player jump in around level 16). The key, I've found, is to ask the player what they want. This doesn't mean to plan the entire campaign around them, but, at the same time, it does... How cryptic of me. Allow me to explain. Before I made any huge decisions, I always asked the player what they wanted. I didn't try to corrupt his desires, but he didn't always take the route to glory that he expected. I would ask, for instance, if he wanted more structure to his life, like he'd get from joining some formal organization. He did, and I created an entire campaign-changing organization for him to work with. After that started to get stale, I asked him if we was ready to move on. He wanted to, so I had him falsely accused of a crime by a high-level recurring NPC who had been plaguing him for many adventures. This continued the story, but also added a new level to the game, since he now had more "enemies." Now, I never asked him mid-adventure "are you liking what's happening?" There were times that I know he wasn't, such as when he touched a book "the color of the infinite void" and was cursed with hands that were eternally flaming. While this may seem cool, he learned quickly that sleeping, carrying his spellbook, staying clothed, etc were going to be problematic. The way we'd organize a session was simple; we'd play, we'd review what happened that session, and I'd ask him, "where do you see your character going in the future?" That's how he'd get to directly add input, and I'd take his suggestions seriously. He didn't always get what he wanted, but I gave he needed to have fun. Since he's your only player, keeping him happy is VERY important. He loved having such a high level of input into the game, but he also liked the uncertainty of the future that my DMing allowed. He created, probably, about 50% of the world in which his character lived simply by asking questions, making suggestions, and taking actions I hadn't expected him to take. New organizations, cities, NPCs, treasures, etc sprang up repeatedly simply through his roleplaying efforts. Now, I was lucky. I had a player that knew the game, let me make mistakes without trying to rub it in, and who was very creative (he's a DM himself). If you're not so lucky, this advice may not work as well. But keep trying. The more your player sees that he can truly affect the world around him, the more real the game becomes and the more he'll try to help you. Good Luck.
CzarGarrett 10-29-04, 09:59 PM	Bards would probably do best in an entirely urban setting with a lot of 'thug' type opponents at low level.
krichaiushii 10-30-04, 12:13 AM	He might be a talentless hack that uses his abilities to pose as a "talent agent" to up-and-coming bards so he can steal their work and claim it as his own. Perhaps he uses blackmail, kidnapping, or murder to keep those he steals from quiet. He might foment political unrest (for fun or profit) through his satirical songs and one-man plays. Perhaps the end state sees the bard himself in charge, after deposing the current ruler(s) with a popular uprising caused by said songs and also rumor campaigns.
Bowlich 10-30-04, 04:48 AM	Another possiblity if your looking for something less political and more hack and slash is to send him off on a quest for some manuscript, book, set of sheet music what not that a bard might be interested in learning about. Give whatever it is that the bard is seeking some magical powers that he or she might want to seek it for. Since the player is evil that makes it easy: the bard hears a tale about some set of music written by a diety that can enchant anyone who hears the song, binding their will to the player giving him domination over that individual for eternity. You could draw this all the way out into high levels as the players travels the world trying to find other bards and individuals who have heard tale about the manuscript and of course exploring dungeons in search of it!
ThatDarnCat 10-30-04, 05:26 AM	Read the Thieves Wolrd books by Robert Asprin. They are just the setting for a solo bard in an urban setting... Or the player might like the traveling troubador role instead. That's what I did with my last bard.
CrippleMrOnion 10-30-04, 12:21 PM	Now that I've thought about it, I actually ran a solo bard for two adventures with a different player than mentioned above. He was an evangelist (not the prestige class, just the personality) who traveled around doing good (and making a buck or two). It went quite well. We had an entire adventure centered around a cursed helmet of delusion that made the wearer think they were invisible (yes, Erik the Viking. I know). Quite humorous.
quarkstomper 10-30-04, 06:35 PM	Another source of ideas for a bardic campaign is "Thirteenth Night" by Alan Gordon. It's conciet is that all of the fools and jesters in Shakespeare's plays are the same man and that he is an agent for The Jester's Guild, a spy network that places its operatives in courts all over europe. The "Jester-as-Spy" hook is an interesting one, and unless the player gets too goofy with the "jester" aspect, can provide all sorts of exciting intrigue plots. And what the hey; if you're in the mood for it, goofy can work too. After all, Danny Kaye played a jester/assassin in "The Court Jester", one of his funniest movies.
Illusion 10-31-04, 12:30 PM	Great ideas everyone! keep them coming!
Illusion 11-01-04, 05:56 PM	<bump> :bump:
Illusion 11-03-04, 07:40 PM	Does no one have any other ideas? :( The suggestions so far have been great, especially the books, one of which I have started to read!