Tips needed: Hosting a Solo/Duo One-Shot

[Eradis]

I am expected to host a game in a few months that is gonna be either a solo or a duo game. For my first session, I always try to make it into a one-shot so the players can have a taste of adventure as well as something to look up to if they want to turn that session into a campaign. I never ran a game of Dungeons & Dragons with so little people in the party. I did it with World of Darkness, but it's pretty easy to balance just about anything with this system.

Now, I'm looking for tips regarding balancing combat encounters with realism mainly. You can't really much run into a dungeon infested with... "three goblins spread out over several rooms". Under certain circumstances, I admit it is entirely possible, but I don't want the players feel like they are picking off runaway one by one. I could go Musketeer style and put some siege weapon at their disposal if I pit them against horde, but still...

And also, since combat will not be the centerfold of this game, what kind of social encounter or mission would you recommend for a party this small?

[microstyles]

A few Ideas:

Standard play: It should be possible to create normal encounters with these restrictions, starting with CR 0 to 1/8 monsters instead of CR 1/8 to 1/4. This may make your players feel like their doing more pest control than heroics though.

Higher level start: If you want your players to start out against CR 4+ monsters, you could simply start them at a higher level appropriate to your expected starting encounters.

Social encounters: You could focus primarily on social encounters and storytelling, with minimal combat. This would be more work for you to fill out the play sessions and your players may prefer more combat.

Subterfuge: You could focus your encounters on avoidance and opportunistic attacks, like heists or assassinations. This would be very cool but carries a lot of risk for the players if they get caught. Probably not a good idea for newer players.

Multiple characters: Probably the simplest option, just have your players play multiple characters to simulate a more traditional party. Could get weird in roleplaying with players essentially talking to themselves.

If your players are newer I'd look toward standard play or social encounters. Higher levels and multiple characters give them probably too much to keep track of. Subterfuge requires good knowledge of game mechanics and strategy. All the options should work for more advanced players.

[utopus]

For such few party members, I recommend against gratuitous combat. In contrast, I think that 1/2 players is a perfect amount for a campaign opener that is
a) a heist. I haven't run these before so I can't give you any guidance on how to run one of these
b) a spy/espionage campaign, where getting caught = getting executed. 1-2 players is the perfect amount for a chase scene!
c) a crime scene investigation plot, where the players have more opportunity to investigate a crime and your world than a 4 player party would

[dmteeter]

Start the game off with the budding new adventurers travelling with a group of merchants in some form of caravan.
The caravan gets attacked by a group of kobolds being lead by a single orc.
Have the combat play out so that they can get a couple of good rounds in against the kobolds before eventually being subdued and captured.
This will give them some combat experience as well as show them that the world they are playing in is dangerous.

After being captured have them lead away to a large camp where they are locked and cages.( bonus points if you allow them to overhear the guards talking about selling them into slavery).
This will then create a situation where they will get to use some of their skills/Tools that dont tend to get alot of usage in most games. It will also force them to do some critical thinking and roleplay which is always fun.

After they get out of the cages they will have to make their escape. They obviously cannot fight there way out.
this will set them up for a stealthy escape scene where they have to sneak past all the drunk kobolds. great way for them to get familiar with stealth mechanics.

After sneaking through the camp and just before they make their escape they get spotted. which sets up a nice chase scene. Have them both steal horses and away they go.

Have them be chased through the woods and maybe across some farmers fields and eventually arrive in a small town where the local sheriff or guards depending on the size of the town can help them fight off the search party lead by the orc from the first combat.

This should give them a little mix of all your different fantasy scenes, the combat wont be super difficult but will give them the chance to use some of their skills and get a feel for combat, they will get plenty of chances to use their various skills. overall this would be a fun little one shot that sets them up for future adventures weeding out the kobolds and shutting down the slavery ring. Which could also set them up for going after the group that was paying the kobolds and orcs to kidnap the people in the first place.

[Eradis]

"a group of kobolds being lead by a single orc."

[...]

"they have to sneak past all the drunk kobolds"

Your kobolds are very similar to goblins. Not a problem, but I tend to play them more intelligent and as hints of draconic presence nearby.

I did not even think about overwhelming them and getting them captured... And I did that and variation of this with full parties. It might just be a great idea so they learn the ropes for the skills/tools and a bit of combat here and there. Especially with kobolds that are weaklings in D&D.

Just like you @utopus, I never really got around doing a heist. Maybe you could give us a tip or two on that matter @microstyles? It really sounds like fun, but it is not my strong suit.

[microstyles]

I'm fairly new to all this so take whatever I say with a grain of salt. That being said, here's what I'd be thinking about for a heist:


The goal (assassination target, macguffin, etc) is behind lock and key at a guarded location. This sets up two challenges for your players: bypass/dispatch the guards, bypass/break the lock.
Have an idea of multiple different solutions to each challenge and be prepared for your players to come up with new ones. The most straightforward options for guards are sneaking or murder, for the lock it's picking or going around it.
Try to give your players as much information about the location ahead of time so they can plan. I'd probably tell them something very general even as early as character creation. You could also consider a side activity that could result in more info or other assistance. If they come in very prepared and things go very smoothly you may want to throw a surprise at them. For example, say they have a tool to disable an alarm spell on the target. If they had trouble getting to the target the tool works fine, but if it went well then maybe the tool breaks and they have to improvise a solution without setting off the alarm.
Make sure your players know that it's going to be very dangerous. It's an old trope to send characters on a 'cakewalk' mission that gets out of hand, but I don't think that's appropriate for a first try at this. Whoever is giving them the job stress to them the danger, or the target could be at a well known and guarded location. Maybe they've heard about failed attempts in the past, hinting at what dangers await.
Traps are tempting in something like this, but if you go that route I would warn the characters in the planning stages. That would essentially be a third challenge and they add up quick for a new one shot.

Hope that helps.

[Magzimum]

Multiple characters: Probably the simplest option, just have your players play multiple characters to simulate a more traditional party. Could get weird in roleplaying with players essentially talking to themselves.

The simple solution I came up with: The characters have a familiar / pet / companion that levels up with them, and has roughly the equivalent power of the player. Then your one/two player(s) each control an additional character without the drawback of having to roleplay two characters that are able to engage in a conversation. Combat is more balanced, but roleplay is not awkward.

[dmteeter]

I went with kobolds over goblins just because they are weaker and the pc's would feel like they accomplished more fighting the kobolds in the beginning.

[Eradis]

I'm fairly new to all this so take whatever I say with a grain of salt. That being said, here's what I'd be thinking about for a heist:


The goal (assassination target, macguffin, etc) is behind lock and key at a guarded location. This sets up two challenges for your players: bypass/dispatch the guards, bypass/break the lock.
Have an idea of multiple different solutions to each challenge and be prepared for your players to come up with new ones. The most straightforward options for guards are sneaking or murder, for the lock it's picking or going around it.
Try to give your players as much information about the location ahead of time so they can plan. I'd probably tell them something very general even as early as character creation. You could also consider a side activity that could result in more info or other assistance. If they come in very prepared and things go very smoothly you may want to throw a surprise at them. For example, say they have a tool to disable an alarm spell on the target. If they had trouble getting to the target the tool works fine, but if it went well then maybe the tool breaks and they have to improvise a solution without setting off the alarm.
Make sure your players know that it's going to be very dangerous. It's an old trope to send characters on a 'cakewalk' mission that gets out of hand, but I don't think that's appropriate for a first try at this. Whoever is giving them the job stress to them the danger, or the target could be at a well known and guarded location. Maybe they've heard about failed attempts in the past, hinting at what dangers await.
Traps are tempting in something like this, but if you go that route I would warn the characters in the planning stages. That would essentially be a third challenge and they add up quick for a new one shot.

Hope that helps.

It does, thanks.


I went with kobolds over goblins just because they are weaker and the pc's would feel like they accomplished more fighting the kobolds in the beginning.

We can always "reskin" those kobolds into goblins to keep them more thematic. A weaker subspecies even maybe, with their nimble escape instead of the pack tactics.

[dmteeter]

It does, thanks.



We can always "reskin" those kobolds into goblins to keep them more thematic. A weaker subspecies even maybe, with their nimble escape instead of the pack tactics.

Yeah thats also an option

[Galadhrim]

I recently started running a one on one campaign with my wife. She is the sole player and I am the DM. There is some nice material that was prepared for Pathfinder but I found fairly easy to port over to 5e just by using 5 monsters and making minimal adjustments. If you google One on One adventurer's compendium, they have several one shot ideas written for different character levels. They are broken down into which class would be best suited to play that one shot. It was very helpful to get me started in a realm where I felt like a didn't have much experience.

We are currently playing through Gambler's Quest with some modification.

She chose to play an assassin rogue. In a party setting the assassin features tend to be very hit or miss, but in a solo campaign she can make them shine. Because of this, she can fight much stronger CR combats.
To vary the combat somewhat, and have her able to fight groups of monsters as well as single foes, I tried to add in some npc guards. Our most recent combat, she came upon a settlement that was being attacked by gnolls. She decided to help the town, so I counted the guards as her allies for the combat, allowing her to get her sneak attack off. The guards soaked up damage and action economy while she was able to hit and run from the outskirts. Halfway through the battle we decided to let her make attack rolls for anyone that was fighting on her side, and after that she had a blast.

[Eradis]

I recently started running a one on one campaign with my wife. She is the sole player and I am the DM. There is some nice material that was prepared for Pathfinder but I found fairly easy to port over to 5e just by using 5 monsters and making minimal adjustments. If you google One on One adventurer's compendium, they have several one shot ideas written for different character levels. They are broken down into which class would be best suited to play that one shot. It was very helpful to get me started in a realm where I felt like a didn't have much experience.

We are currently playing through Gambler's Quest with some modification.

She chose to play an assassin rogue. In a party setting the assassin features tend to be very hit or miss, but in a solo campaign she can make them shine. Because of this, she can fight much stronger CR combats.
To vary the combat somewhat, and have her able to fight groups of monsters as well as single foes, I tried to add in some npc guards. Our most recent combat, she came upon a settlement that was being attacked by gnolls. She decided to help the town, so I counted the guards as her allies for the combat, allowing her to get her sneak attack off. The guards soaked up damage and action economy while she was able to hit and run from the outskirts. Halfway through the battle we decided to let her make attack rolls for anyone that was fighting on her side, and after that she had a blast.

That looks promising. I will check that out as soon as I get the time. Thank you! And it's true that Rogue oriented class can easily shine in solo. I think utility oriented classes could too (ex.: Bard, Wizard, Druid...)

[Citan]

Hi OP hi all ;)

Start the game off with the budding new adventurers travelling with a group of merchants in some form of caravan.
The caravan gets attacked by a group of kobolds being lead by a single orc.
Have the combat play out so that they can get a couple of good rounds in against the kobolds before eventually being subdued and captured.
This will give them some combat experience as well as show them that the world they are playing in is dangerous.

That is basically (more or less) how I always introduce people that are new to a fantasy RPG.

I also plus everything else that everyone said, great pieces of advices.

My own summary:
- design situations in which players can easily grasp by themselves the "hostile", "non-hostile" and "complete avoidance" way to tackle it.
- put a healer NPC with them (potion seller for example, may be the one they guard).
- try to give clear indications about the risk they face by providing "in-game" information beforehand (like, again merchant, saying "I'm hiring you because I've been wary of goblins attack, they act in fairly large groups" -> give options to players to inform themselves about the region to maybe design an alternative road, or try to hire other people, or try to find ways to create distractions, or whatever else. If they do nothing and just run straight into adventure like "hey, don't worry we are -lvl 1- bosses" they really deserve what they'll get).
- try to design the first encounters with enemies easy to avoid/run away from, and don't ever try a 1-to-3+ ratio unless you want to corner your players; action economy is a b****.