Solo campaign with a level 1 Psion

[Harbinger]

I've wanted to play D&D for a while, so I figured I might try writing a campaign. But before I start the big campaign with 4-5 people, I decided to work out some kinks and test myself by running a short game for one person. He wanted to play a level 1 Elan Psion. Is his choice of class going to be an issue, due to their low HP and small amount of powers at low level?

[Rubik]

It would be difficult, but not impossible, to play a solo game with a psion. Going telepath and "recruiting" a party could work, as could going shaper and taking feats such as Wild Cohort. Or just buying 8 gp trained warmules as meat shields during the first few levels and using the warbeast template after that.

[JusticeZero]

Level one is tough for everyone. Give XP for role-play, and use very small encounters. The first enemies should only be hitting for 1d4, and be Small. Give lots of control over the day length. Egoists can work too. Vigor helps. Everyone is squishy at first level, even fighters.

[Emperor Tippy]

If he is smart and plays it smart then no, it shouldn't be a problem. Solo campaigns can be great fun and I have gone (both as a player and as a DM) from level 1 to level 20 in solo games as a Psion.

It was an Elan Psion (Telepath) and he was a hundred thousand years old.

[Rubik]

You ought to give him sources of a few extra feats. Suggest he take Synchronicity as a power known, as well as Linked Power and Metapower (Linked Power + Synchronicity). It'll grant him +2 extra power points' worth of augmentation every time he uses it, for free. It'll help him survive and increase his low-level action economy and stamina considerably if he uses it properly.

[TheOneHawk]

I don't know abuot 3.5, but in pathfinder Elan Psion's are actually pretty hard to kill due to Resilience. Ignoring 2 damage per power point can save him quite regularly.

[Lonely Tylenol]

Adjustments need to be made, but it can be done. Everything is a matter of scale: when I began my campaign at 1st level, the party was thrown straight into the aftermath of a great battle, and involved a few big skirmishes, but the party was also ten in number by the end of the first adventure. For a one-man level 1 party, this larger-scale battle would be impractical without tons of NPC help, and then it's hard to make the PC feel special or even meaningful. Getting the drop on a lone goblin scout and/or their hunting dog, by contrast, is something a level 1 character could conceivably do alone. Social encounters could be easily managed.

[Maginomicon]

The Solo Dungeons Guide in Dragon Compendium says that solo campaigns should use a CR two lower than normal. Then again, CR is a very very rough and unequal measure of challenge difficulty.