trying to help out a friend

[shadowlead]

I have a friend who is stuck at home due to some health problems and is going stir crazy. I want to run a single player campaign via text message. I've never really DMed before but want stick to 3.5 any suggestions? anything from simple ideas to entire pre-made modules would be helpful.

[black-jack]

I would recommend a good old fashioned dungeon crawl. 6th level is a good point to start him at, and depending on what he plays as, pick monsters to challenge him. Just remember that he's playing solo, so if he's not a rogue, don't go overkill on the traps. Same goes for hordes; he's only one guy, so multiple enemies are much more dangerous than solo ones (unless he's an AoE wizard). This gets a little stale if he prefers roleplaying to combat, but it's a great start.

[heavyfuel]

Via text huh? Probably a good to check the Play-by-Post forum just to get some ideas on how this might work.

I second the Dungeon Crawl. If he's familiar enough with the system, try to run a Gestalt game (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/gestaltCharacters.htm) to give him more versatility to solo. You can get good enough dungeons here (http://donjon.bin.sh/d20/dungeon/).

[Phelix-Mu]

Back in 2e, my friend and I used to just run multiple characters for each of us, ending up with 3-5 characters in the party. But it's much easier to cram multiple party roles into a single character these days, and I'd only advise multiple characters if the player wants it for role play reasons (because a group of characters may be more fun than just the one).

[Honest Tiefling]

Some suggestions:
1) Ask what they want. If they are a big roleplayer you might be able to throw combat out the window. For some, paying attention to combat might be difficult if they are distracted. In fact, ask if there are any modules they have been meaning to get to. Ask what their favorite setting is, so we can get some ideas.
2) If they're good/decent with rules, Gestalt them. In fact, just plain ignore the rules on no theurge-esque classes if they really want one.
3) This is probably a good case for a DMPC. Make a support/healer and perhaps a few levels lower. Roleplay them as a actual follower/apprentice.
4) Ask what media they have enjoyed recently for ideas.
5) Read this. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?376987-We-Ate-the-Real-PCs-Cairn-of-the-Winter-King-With-Monsters)I found it quite amusing and it shows that with one PC you can do some crazy things and have a blast.
6) If they want a team, don't bother with leadership. Make NPCs you can enjoy RPing in a supportive role (in and out of combat) and see what sticks.

[jaydubs]

Text message is a perfectly legitimate way to play. But if you haven't considered it before, I'd suggest looking into voice (or video) communication combined with a virtual tabletop system. There are several free versions of both available.

[Honest Tiefling]

That's a good idea. I think Skype + Roll20 will do the trick?

[jaydubs]

That's what I use, though I am sure there are other options.

[Seruvius]

Speaking as a DM who is a student and most of my party are students as well, roll20 is the only thing that keeps our campaigns from dying during exam periods. An hour or 2 every so often works great. Its inbuilt voie chat is a bit buggy so I recommend using skype, but yeah +1 reccomendation for roll20.