adapting to a 1 on 1 game?

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WanderingDwarf
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adapting to a 1 on 1 game?

Post by WanderingDwarf »

Hello All,

First a brief introduction: Outside of a short lived attempt at a Pathfinder game a few years ago, the last time I played on a regular basis dates back to Holmes Basic D&D (Moldvay had recently come out but our little Hobby Store only had some new old stock Holmes sets). I never really got into more recent iterations of D&D or Pathfinder largely because I found the voluminous and extensive rules to be rather off-putting (...can't I just do this like I used too?). Needless to say, I recently discovered the OSR movement games and was delighted to see the old guard still exists.

Looking to get my kiddo playing and BFRPG looks to be the ticket and the freely available materials means a huge investment isn't necessary. However, since it will just be he and I, I am curious about ideas for scaling the existing adventures down to be less deadly for one player or if this is even necessary.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance for your input!
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Metroknight
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Re: adapting to a 1 on 1 game?

Post by Metroknight »

Most of the adventures posted are scaled for 4 to 6 characters be that they are PCs only or a couple PCs with npcs traveling with them. I would recommend reading over the rules to familiarize yourself with it then just start downgrading the number of monsters in various encounters or encourage your son to get some npcs to travel with his character either through being hired (hirelings) or true adventurers that will share the treasures equally.

If you go the adjusting route, it is mostly going to be an eyeballing job as sometimes an encounter that looks easy turns lethal fast or a hard encounter becomes a wet paper sack that the PC rips through.

If you go the NPC extra route, it will give you more work but it also allows you to have a voice in the flow of the game as an npc.
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quozl
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Re: adapting to a 1 on 1 game?

Post by quozl »

I suggest looking at Solo Heroes, which makes some rule changes so 1 character can tackle adventures that assume there will be around 6 characters playing.

It's free and has worked great for 1 on 1 roleplaying with me and my daughter.

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/114 ... olo-Heroes
Caelestis
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Re: adapting to a 1 on 1 game?

Post by Caelestis »

I was just having a think about this and there are a couple of options that might work. I've not tried them so I can't attest to how well they would or wouldn't work.

One option would be to roll 4 players up and have them all run by 1 person.

Another option wold be to start them as a higher level so they have more HP etc. and are a bit more resilient.

My final option would be to bounce it off a few of their friends parents. You may strike gold and find someone who would be interested in joining in.

Those are the only other things I can think of at the moment.
WanderingDwarf
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Re: adapting to a 1 on 1 game?

Post by WanderingDwarf »

quozl wrote:I suggest looking at Solo Heroes, which makes some rule changes so 1 character can tackle adventures that assume there will be around 6 characters playing.

It's free and has worked great for 1 on 1 roleplaying with me and my daughter.

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/114 ... olo-Heroes
That's pretty cool, definitely something to consider! Thanks!
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Longman
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Re: adapting to a 1 on 1 game?

Post by Longman »

One on one is tricky. I do it with my son all the time, and have worked out a few tactics.

- Never have too many monsters in an initial fight set-up. You can always add more in later.
- Have an NPC that you run, who can make helpful suggestions if totally neccesary.
- Focus on role-playing with NPCs more than you might in a game with more players.
- Make monsters that have a very low hit chance, or low damage, or both. You may need to develop stat blocks for these. My son often fights "dire ducks," which have 2 hit points and do one point of damage on a sucessful attack. 6 or so of these made for some fun fights at low level.
- Larger monsters that move slowly can also work.
- I often ignore initiative and simply say the characters always act first.
- Avoid lethal posion, paralysation and potentially lethal traps. These things can work OK if there's somethere to rescue the victim, but if there's only 1 or 2 characters they can really mess you up.
- Develop puzzles and features for investigation. In the game I play with my son he is actually a private investigator with a bodyguard NPC.

Have fun!
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Hywaywolf
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Re: adapting to a 1 on 1 game?

Post by Hywaywolf »

Not one-on-one games but these came up while I was searching. They are solo games for the basic expert rules. Not really relevant here but I have the info so here I'll let them rest.

m1 - Blizzard Pass
M2 - Maze of the Riddling Minotaur
BSOLO - Ghost of Lion Castle
XSOLO - Lathan's Gold
XS2 - Thunderdelve Mountain
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