How to plan campaign for 2-3 PCs? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

How to plan campaign for 2-3 PCs?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
xhazerdusx
Jun 28, 2009 22:58:40 The subject line says it all.

After hearing all of my D&D stories, my girlfriend rolled up her first D&D character tonight. (Hooray!!) I want to plan a campaign for her and my roommate. The roommate will play 2 characters, a defender and a leader. (He and I DM 2 diff campaigns, so he has an adequate mastery of rules to do so.) The girlfriend will play a striker.

How do I balance encounters for 3 PCs? I don't want it to be trivially easy but I don't want them to die every other encounter. Any suggestions?
#2
quijonsith
Jun 29, 2009 22:53:03 The DMG has some excellent guidlines on this, but here's a quicky:

The group looks to be lacking a controller. Controllers do the most area damage. What this'll mean to the group is that large groups of monsters, especially minions, will last longer. So be careful about throwing lots of monsters at once. Other than that, things are pretty standard as far as encounter building. Checkout the section in the DMG starting on page 56 about how much XP an encounter should be worth and "spending your xp budget" to make the encounter. Once you get used to it, it becomes pretty easy to adjust an enounter off the top of one's head to fit the group.
#3
stupidmop
Jul 01, 2009 19:36:36 My campaign is normally three people, so I have an abundance of experience with smaller gaming groups. The biggest challenge is making sure your encounters are tailored to the party. Also note that since the party has fewer characters than normal, what they lack as far as role or abilities will be even more pronounced. Do they lack a healer? Then watch for the party dropping more easily than they normally would. No controller? They will have a hard time will encounters that have a lot minions or enemies.

The biggest lesson: just make sure your encounters are not too difficult. That is, don't throw too many enemies at them, because they will be easily overwhelmed. I've had several TPKs, due to the fact that I accidentally sent too much at the party. Take a look at the DM's toolbox in the DMG and make sure your encounters are appropriate and your monsters are not too strong.

Although you did not ask, I really enjoy playing in a group this size. Each player gets turns more quickly, so they tend to be much more involved. Also, because gameplay tends to be a little more intimate, my players in small campaigns tend to roleplay much better than they do in large campaigns.

Anyway, hope that helped a little.
#4
Hebitsuikaza
Jul 03, 2009 5:57:33 What you could do is introduce a characer who would take on the 4th role who is either an NPC controlled by the DM (and thus can be used for plotlines hooks and even killed without offending any of the players) or collectively controlled by the players (or whichever player is considered the 'leader' of the party).

Mercenary/Hireling NPCs used to be a bedrock of the game and since 4th edition hammered out the dynamics of the group better than previous editions you can clearly see what the group's weakness is clearer than ever before.
#5
azhura
Jul 05, 2009 23:42:04 Back in 2nd edition, i DM'ed to a group of 3 players. That may be the best campaign i've ever played in my gaming life. Here are some suggestions:

- When you make an encounter for them, be sure it's specifically tailored to your group. In this particular case they lack a Controller, but what do they have? I know there's a striker, a leader and a defender, but a Rogue plays differently to a Warlock (both strikers), so you need to be more specific. If the leader is a Warlord, they won't take undead encounters so easily as if the leader was a Cleric, that's why i'm talking. Give everyone's chance to shine. Being DM of a small group let's you control the spotlight exactly as you wish. But be impartial (specially with your gf playing a chara).

- As stupidmop pointed, the smaller the group the closer they get. Try putting them in a situation where they need to rely and trust each other to survive and succeed. Many times DMing to a small group i've done this successfuly, and my players eventually became as close as their characters. So, take advantage of this and make them cooperate. Putting an NPC or another character is not the way to do it, you already have a lot of work, don't overdo it. Let them play as they wish, you'll be able to focus more on the story.

- No matter how smooth and good you are DMing, they'll get tired of seeing the same 2 faces from time to time. You can fix this in various ways, here are some recommendations:
a) Take a break once you finish an arc or series or chapter or whatever you call them. Don't let them hanging too much, one session should do the trick.
b) Roleplay with one or two of them a part of the past of their charas, enough to give them background but not too much to make them more interested in the previous story than on the current one. This works wonders if one of your players can't play for that session (although you will just have a single PC, this will still work).
c) Invite someone else you trust to play with a new NPC (a played-NPC, i know it sounds lame, but is the idea, a played supporting character). Make sure the guest (much better term) understands what's the story, what's the role of the NPC and what do you expect from him/her as a guest star. A close friend of any of your players who knows how to play (at least the basics) is a nice choice (they already know him). And make sure you won't need more than a couple of sessions with the guest (after all, it's just a guest). Sometimes the NPC is so well played it will become a regular NPC for the campaign. (Man a played NPC lol)

- Be creative and innovative. Use new creatures every time you can, make sure they don't see anything twice. Imagine new locales, exotic backgrounds, vivid and colorful constructions, vile and repulsive villains, make everything look more alive. This is your time to experiment and let your creativity run wild, just make sure your PC's will survive the experience, and let them explore the product of your imagination. I know this is an obvious point if you are already a DM, but it's even more important when your group is smaller than usual, because fewer players in the table = more attention. Your players rarely will become distracted by external sources, thus you won't need to retain their attention, you'll need to make sure you have their interest. Cliffhanger endings serve here very well, as anything else you haven't used in the campaign.

Hope my advice helps you, and have fun! You already did the hard work (convince your gf to play).

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 xhazerdusx Jun 28, 2009 22:58:40	The subject line says it all. After hearing all of my D&D stories, my girlfriend rolled up her first D&D character tonight. (Hooray!!) I want to plan a campaign for her and my roommate. The roommate will play 2 characters, a defender and a leader. (He and I DM 2 diff campaigns, so he has an adequate mastery of rules to do so.) The girlfriend will play a striker. How do I balance encounters for 3 PCs? I don't want it to be trivially easy but I don't want them to die every other encounter. Any suggestions?
#2 quijonsith Jun 29, 2009 22:53:03	The DMG has some excellent guidlines on this, but here's a quicky: The group looks to be lacking a controller. Controllers do the most area damage. What this'll mean to the group is that large groups of monsters, especially minions, will last longer. So be careful about throwing lots of monsters at once. Other than that, things are pretty standard as far as encounter building. Checkout the section in the DMG starting on page 56 about how much XP an encounter should be worth and "spending your xp budget" to make the encounter. Once you get used to it, it becomes pretty easy to adjust an enounter off the top of one's head to fit the group.
#3 stupidmop Jul 01, 2009 19:36:36	My campaign is normally three people, so I have an abundance of experience with smaller gaming groups. The biggest challenge is making sure your encounters are tailored to the party. Also note that since the party has fewer characters than normal, what they lack as far as role or abilities will be even more pronounced. Do they lack a healer? Then watch for the party dropping more easily than they normally would. No controller? They will have a hard time will encounters that have a lot minions or enemies. The biggest lesson: just make sure your encounters are not too difficult. That is, don't throw too many enemies at them, because they will be easily overwhelmed. I've had several TPKs, due to the fact that I accidentally sent too much at the party. Take a look at the DM's toolbox in the DMG and make sure your encounters are appropriate and your monsters are not too strong. Although you did not ask, I really enjoy playing in a group this size. Each player gets turns more quickly, so they tend to be much more involved. Also, because gameplay tends to be a little more intimate, my players in small campaigns tend to roleplay much better than they do in large campaigns. Anyway, hope that helped a little.
#4 Hebitsuikaza Jul 03, 2009 5:57:33	What you could do is introduce a characer who would take on the 4th role who is either an NPC controlled by the DM (and thus can be used for plotlines hooks and even killed without offending any of the players) or collectively controlled by the players (or whichever player is considered the 'leader' of the party). Mercenary/Hireling NPCs used to be a bedrock of the game and since 4th edition hammered out the dynamics of the group better than previous editions you can clearly see what the group's weakness is clearer than ever before.
#5 azhura Jul 05, 2009 23:42:04	Back in 2nd edition, i DM'ed to a group of 3 players. That may be the best campaign i've ever played in my gaming life. Here are some suggestions: - When you make an encounter for them, be sure it's specifically tailored to your group. In this particular case they lack a Controller, but what do they have? I know there's a striker, a leader and a defender, but a Rogue plays differently to a Warlock (both strikers), so you need to be more specific. If the leader is a Warlord, they won't take undead encounters so easily as if the leader was a Cleric, that's why i'm talking. Give everyone's chance to shine. Being DM of a small group let's you control the spotlight exactly as you wish. But be impartial (specially with your gf playing a chara). - As stupidmop pointed, the smaller the group the closer they get. Try putting them in a situation where they need to rely and trust each other to survive and succeed. Many times DMing to a small group i've done this successfuly, and my players eventually became as close as their characters. So, take advantage of this and make them cooperate. Putting an NPC or another character is not the way to do it, you already have a lot of work, don't overdo it. Let them play as they wish, you'll be able to focus more on the story. - No matter how smooth and good you are DMing, they'll get tired of seeing the same 2 faces from time to time. You can fix this in various ways, here are some recommendations: a) Take a break once you finish an arc or series or chapter or whatever you call them. Don't let them hanging too much, one session should do the trick. b) Roleplay with one or two of them a part of the past of their charas, enough to give them background but not too much to make them more interested in the previous story than on the current one. This works wonders if one of your players can't play for that session (although you will just have a single PC, this will still work). c) Invite someone else you trust to play with a new NPC (a played-NPC, i know it sounds lame, but is the idea, a played supporting character). Make sure the guest (much better term) understands what's the story, what's the role of the NPC and what do you expect from him/her as a guest star. A close friend of any of your players who knows how to play (at least the basics) is a nice choice (they already know him). And make sure you won't need more than a couple of sessions with the guest (after all, it's just a guest). Sometimes the NPC is so well played it will become a regular NPC for the campaign. (Man a played NPC lol) - Be creative and innovative. Use new creatures every time you can, make sure they don't see anything twice. Imagine new locales, exotic backgrounds, vivid and colorful constructions, vile and repulsive villains, make everything look more alive. This is your time to experiment and let your creativity run wild, just make sure your PC's will survive the experience, and let them explore the product of your imagination. I know this is an obvious point if you are already a DM, but it's even more important when your group is smaller than usual, because fewer players in the table = more attention. Your players rarely will become distracted by external sources, thus you won't need to retain their attention, you'll need to make sure you have their interest. Cliffhanger endings serve here very well, as anything else you haven't used in the campaign. Hope my advice helps you, and have fun! You already did the hard work (convince your gf to play).