Running 5e with only one player, suggestions?

[Delta]

So, I recently got myself the 5e core books since I really liked what I saw when trying it out on a convention. Unfortunately, my schedule is already rather packed so I won't be able to get any kind of group running in the forseeable future, but both my gf and me would like to give the system a try.

The problem with D&D is that it's really "party-based", character classes are designed to complement each other, so can anyone recommend me how to best run it? I know that back in 4e, there was the concept of "companion characters", basically NPC monster stat blocks given some basic PC class powers that could augment a small group but a lot less complex than a fully fleshed out additional PC, would something like that also work in 5e? And if I give her two PCs to run, what would be the two best classes for that, I guess some combination of Fighter and something heal-y like Cleric would do the trick pretty well?

In short, does anyone have experience with 5e in this kind of setup and may have some tips for me?

[Man_Over_Game]

So, I recently got myself the 5e core books since I really liked what I saw when trying it out on a convention. Unfortunately, my schedule is already rather packed so I won't be able to get any kind of group running in the forseeable future, but both my gf and me would like to give the system a try.

The problem with D&D is that it's really "party-based", character classes are designed to complement each other, so can anyone recommend me how to best run it? I know that back in 4e, there was the concept of "companion characters", basically NPC monster stat blocks given some basic PC class powers that could augment a small group but a lot less complex than a fully fleshed out additional PC, would something like that also work in 5e? And if I give her two PCs to run, what would be the two best classes for that, I guess some combination of Fighter and something heal-y like Cleric would do the trick pretty well?

In short, does anyone have experience with 5e in this kind of setup and may have some tips for me?

There's gonna be a few things you need to watch out for. Giving your friend too many characters to run will make things not feel very personalized. Additionally, having one person means the plot can either be very swingy or very railroaded. Lastly, they aren't going to be able to address a lot of needs that parties will naturally be able to do.

My recommendation is either one of two things:

1. Set the plot to be something that they SPECIFICALLY can excel in. With a Life Cleric, maybe it's a plague that's infecting the city, where infected rats are turning the dead into undead. Focus around keeping people alive and rooting out the cause, or something like that.

2. Put the player in a situation where resources are already available, but where she is still extremely valuable. A good example might be a preexisting adventurer's guild. Maybe she's a fighter, and they happen to be low on fighters (many left after being drafted, or something). Alternatively, a situation where party members are available at random intervals, such as a magical Labyrinth where heroes are pitted against each other (but still forced to work together).

It's fine if you have NPCs do cool stuff that the player can't, as long as the player looks and feels more important overall. In any scenario, cater the situation to the sole player. If she's not a face, don't show the temporary Bard NPC giving a grand speech to convince the local lord; just show that they're having a deep conversation that doesn't seem to interesting to her so that the problem is accounted for without overshadowing the character.

[strangebloke]

TBH, its not easy. I've done this before, and most of the fun of dnd is the shared experience. Rolling a nat 20 is more fun when eight people are watching than when you're in your room by yourself. There's still the appeal of the challenge, but the game is not designed for one character parties. Even if that character is very versatile (ie, someone who can effectively handle 2/3 of the game's pillars like an arcana cleric, ranger, druid, or barbarogue) the encounters won't be tactically interesting. In my experience, a 'fun' game is one where combat is very deadly if you don't plan ahead, but with a one-person party there's basically no way to properly plan for an encounter.


So my advice is this:

Make the player have multiple PCs, or if that's too much work give them some hirelings that they control in combat (but you control socially). If NPCs, pick ones that aren't going to die instantly. I'm looking at the thug, knight, scout, and cult fanatic in particular. More books have more good options.
Make sure that the player knows his PCs very well.
Make encounters that are very hard to beat unless the Player uses one of a couple approaches. An example of this that I threw at players recently was a 'tormented soul' that was really just a low-level NPC with spirit guardians and sanctuary cast on her. Another was an encounter of stained glass golems that were very agile and resisted most energy damage, but took lots of damage if you knocked them over.
try to get a second player. You will thank yourself.
Cut down on the social pillar. Depending on the game some people will spend more or less time roleplaying with each other, which makes the social portions of the game fun and involved, and can even inform how encounters go down. With only one player, there's only interesting interactions are PC to NPC.


EDIT: Man_over_game makes a good point. Do make the challenge tailored to the player's main PC. Ranger hunting werewolves. Cleric dealing with a cult in a city. Paladin defending a city from undead. Rogue on a heist. Wizard dueling his devil-summoning rival. Druid defending a sacred grove from a grasping, evil wizard who wants to use the magic trees for his wand factory.

Also, I never reccomend that a new DM start with a massive, year-spanning campaign. Just plan out like 5-6 sessions of stuff.

[stack]

Having the PC be a fairly versatile class/subclass helps. Combat oriented clerics can work, bards are good. Solo encounters are swingy, since hitting 0 is hard to get back from without backup. For solo encounters, i would consider avoiding tough fights against things that will just eat the PC if they win instead of leading to prison/escape/other scenarios.

Depending on the story you are telling, you could do something like a Fire Emblem game; the PC is the main character whom the story is based around and picks up npcs. The DM RPs the NPCs, who may come and go, but the player controls them in combat. Simplified NPCs could work for this (a healer that casts as a cleric but only preps heal/status removal and has no class features beyond light armor, melee that likewise has few if any features beyond HP and proficiency, basically 3.X's NPC classes).

[Honest Tiefling]

I haven't done this, but some tips from other games.

1) Make the PC more powerful. I'd suggest some extra point-buy points or a very generous array. She should have enough to have a generous CON and CHA score, possibly even INT/WIS. Maybe toss a feat on there. I don't suggest skills or tools at first, because there are downtime rules for that, so I'd use those very generously.

2) Ask the player if they want multiple PCs, or her to command a group. I think having NPCs that are meant to be 'helpers' would be pretty good. If she has a choice whether or not they come, I don't see an issue with this. I don't think that a Ranger focused on archery if she's a melee character who happens to know this one particular area but not others is a bad temporary minion. Have some of them even defer to her character.

3) Personalize the story! You have one player. Ask her what she wants and go from there. Things to ask would be what setting she wants to try, what tone in terms of humor or darkness she wants and how much combat or RP she wants. Come up with a story for a session 0 so the game really does revolve around her character.

[Catullus64]

My call in this situation would be a sidekick NPC: a character built from the ground up like a PC, who is a fully fleshed out character, but whose personality and build complement and play a supporting role to your girlfriend's character. Not only will this place fewer restrictions on the kind of adventure you run (the difference between one and two characters is immense in terms of versatility) but it will also provide one of the essential elements of a D&D game, which is intra-party banter. As I said, build a supporting character (Bards are especially good for this), possibly with slightly weaker stats to highlight your girlfriend's leading role, but otherwise play them like a player character.

EDIT: Two such NPCs might also be a good idea. Literature is rife with duos and with threesomes, but I would say the latter is better for a story-heavy campaign. For every important decision your PC considers, one NPC would be supportive and deferential, the other skeptical or resistant.

[EggKookoo]

I ran into this recently with my wife as a player. We also tried having our 7-year-old daughter play, and she gets the game but really doesn't contribute to decisions (she likes the dice rolling stuff). We're learning that it's an awful burden to have one player come up with the decisions all the time. Just having another adult in the game means you can take turns thinking critically about things, or bounce ideas off each other. Or if you don't know how to tackle something, at least you have the moral support of the other player also not really knowing what to do, so you just roll with it.

She's having fun but not nearly as much as she'd have in a larger (adult) social arrangement. Luckily, we may be getting more players soon...

[Waterdeep Merch]

Be VERY careful with enemies that can either cripple with lucky hits (especially early) or have abilities that can remove the player's ability to act (stuns, dominates, etc). Pack in plenty of enemies more interested in knocking the player out than killing them, and don't have them risk their lives fighting to the death. CR is going to be weird regardless, but be especially wary of hordes. NPC allies are a great idea in general. Give the player plenty of room to hire people.

Consider going more roleplay/mystery heavy early on, until the player's got enough meat on their bones to survive larger encounters.

EDIT- For reference, I played a few solo sessions with a player last year, updating Jacob's Well from Dungeon magazine #43. It worked really, really well. Read that one for some ideas on balancing a game around a single player.

[MaxWilson]

So, I recently got myself the 5e core books since I really liked what I saw when trying it out on a convention. Unfortunately, my schedule is already rather packed so I won't be able to get any kind of group running in the forseeable future, but both my gf and me would like to give the system a try.

The problem with D&D is that it's really "party-based", character classes are designed to complement each other, so can anyone recommend me how to best run it? I know that back in 4e, there was the concept of "companion characters", basically NPC monster stat blocks given some basic PC class powers that could augment a small group but a lot less complex than a fully fleshed out additional PC, would something like that also work in 5e? And if I give her two PCs to run, what would be the two best classes for that, I guess some combination of Fighter and something heal-y like Cleric would do the trick pretty well?

In short, does anyone have experience with 5e in this kind of setup and may have some tips for me?

Your big problem is going to be social, not mechanical: the social dynamics of "player + DM" are completely different from "players + DM." If the DM functions as a resolution engine, as IMO he should, this means it's functionally a game of solitaire with no group dynamics at all. I don't find that fun.

Therefore, I'd recommend stealing liberally from games that do not have DMs. For example, run a campaign based on Ben Robbin's Microscope: create a history, then declare one side the Dark Prophecy who tries to corrupt that history by making it worse and one side the Light Prophecy who tries to make things better. Play out specific scenes using the 5E ruleset: if the Period "Second Empire" ends on the event "Prince Rudolph commits matricide", maybe the Light Prophecy declares an Intervention in which a guardsman overhears the plot and attempts to derail it, changing the future. Then you break to a 5E scene in which a lone guardsman tries to fight off assassins or something, using meta-rules for what level the guardsman can be and what level of opposition the DM is going to throw at you. The outcome changes history slightly, and then it's the Dark Prophecy's turn to declare an intervention.

It's important that the overall game flow is still cooperative despite the adversarial trappings: you're both trying to create a fun story together, you're just advocating for different "sides."

Anyway, that's the only way I can think of to make a two-person game something I'd want to play in: steal from DM-less games so that you never have only one player + one DM.

[Dark Schneider]

Allow that player to handle multiple characters, and handle you one or two NPC companions (full characters made by you), not taking decisions but helping in tasks, combats, and if the player get stuck, they could give some advices to advance.

But I notice your role-playing games were made as team games, playing alone could be some boring, cannot compare to play with a team.

[Wildarm]

Single player will run into some action economy issues but it's fairly easy to handle if you add in a sidekick character or an NPC. Even just a lackey who might pour a potion of healing down his throat every now and then or can provide a potential hint if they get stuck on a task or problem.

Try not to throw more than 2-3 enemies at them at a time unless they are very very low CR. Watch out for any enemy with nasty stun abilites. I'd recommend using the fixed damage instead of rolling it for monster. RNG will eventually KO a single character. At some point the enemies will land a crit and couple big hits and you will go do down even in a CR appropriate fight. Sometimes you'll just fail your save vs whatever X times in a row and die.

Other potential options to help keep RNG TPK (SPK?) from happening too much:

- X Temp HP per long rest
- Pool of X Inspiration dice to be used per long rest
- Ability to shake off a spell or effect by taking an action (Same as Paladin Ability)
- 32 Point Buy
- Bonus Starting Feat (Lucky would be my choice)
- Extra skill or two
- Extra Save Proficiency
- Legendary Resistance 1/Tier level
- X Portent Dice (Same as Diviner Ability)
- Look into letting them have a Gestalt character for more flexibility

All of these you could give a fated spin or godling blood or whatever. The real advantage of a full party of characters is the versatility means there will usually be at least 1-2 characters who are good at a certain task/skill/save. With a single player that is MUCH harder. There's no need for "fairness" or "balance" as you only have a single player. Give them a broader scope of skills/abilities if you want them to succeed(which as a DM you do!).

[Honest Tiefling]

Since everyone is suggesting that encounter balance is going to be an issue, how does she feel about starting at level 1 and getting lots of levels as time goes? A 1-20 campaign about the meteoric rise of a great champion type of thing. You'll start small to help yourself get used to what changes you need to make.

I would start suggesting handy-dandy NPC henchpeople, but...I think we need a bit more information on setting and what she's going to play. A lawful good paladin with celestial heritage is probably going to have separate needs from a criminal mastermind slowly creating a larger and larger web of influence.

I do however, disagree that there should be a singular NPC henchperson. I think that as the game progresses, the needs of the party and the desires of the character will change. I would think of a short list of suitable support builds for her character, and offer an appropriate number of henchpeople to choose from. Sometimes the story might demand that this number is 1, but that's still a number. That way, if one henchperson doesn't gel with her play style or is just not working roleplay wise, you're prepared to swap them out for someone else.

For instance, if say, she's a champion of a city. Various guilds and organizations might offer her assistance for different reasons and she can pick and choose who comes with, with each having different motives and skills. There's still a limited pool as to not strain you too much, but it could shake things up if needed.

[Skylivedk]

Maybe try roll20 to get more players on board?

If not, I'd design a very nice NPC to have as a sidekick... Maybe someone with slightly clairvoyant powers (or a divine connection/sign reading abilities) to allow you to give hints in game. Make sure the NPC is more of a support or tank than party face and main damage dealer. An Illusionist, a Diviner, Knowledge Cleric, Shepherd Druid or a sword and board cavalier can all do the trick.

It's a lot of work for the DM though. You're the physics engine as well as one of the actors.

If she wants to run more than one character, having it as a theme could be fun and not immersion breaking: ie ghostwise halflings or others with a mental bond. It saves her from talking to herself and gives you a little weirdness to play up against which can be something you build on.

I'm not sure, I'd cut down on the social pillar. At all. I see having one player as being a good option to do more heists and intrigues than normal since you don't have to fear that players who are weak in those pillars to feel left out.

[Eriol]

Lots of good advice here, but my 2cp is this: FUDGE YOUR DICE ROLLS. I'm serious. A couple of (un)lucky crits can KILL one person way too easily. Make sure that you TAILOR the challenge every step of the way. Sure, roll lots, but be prepared to say the damage is lower than it really is, or you see that 3 monsters are doing way more damage than they should, so the next hit KILLS the one your only player is targeting. BOOM, down.

Let the dice have some sway, and let your player determine where they want to go, but do NOT kill them. The game is just over. With groups, it's both less likely to happen, and there's alternatives if it does, but in the end: FUDGE YOUR DICE ROLLS IF NECESSARY.

Edit: this is both from playing 1on1, and from DMing 1on1.

[ImproperJustice]

There is an excellent tool by Kevin Crawford available for free on drive-thru rpg / rpg now called “Solo Hero Rules”.

It’s designed with OSR (1st and 2nd edition rules) in mind, but that converts super easy to 5th edition.

I have used it with my Nephew (10 years old) and a few others and it works pretty well.
It has answers for the problems posed by solo play, brought up by the previous posters including action economy, damage balancing, and status effects.

Having a DM controlled henchman isn’t a bad idea either.

[dreast]

Baldur's Gate (and Baldur's Gate 2) is my model for how to do D&D well with one person. Give the player NPCs to control tactically, but maintain separate personalities for them and take control if the player isn't interested. If you can give them exciting personalities, the player should have a lot of fun.

[Tawmis]

I'd suggest...



My recommendation is either one of two things:

1. Set the plot to be something that they SPECIFICALLY can excel in. With a Life Cleric, maybe it's a plague that's infecting the city, where infected rats are turning the dead into undead. Focus around keeping people alive and rooting out the cause, or something like that.

2. Put the player in a situation where resources are already available, but where she is still extremely valuable. A good example might be a preexisting adventurer's guild. Maybe she's a fighter, and they happen to be low on fighters (many left after being drafted, or something). Alternatively, a situation where party members are available at random intervals, such as a magical Labyrinth where heroes are pitted against each other (but still forced to work together).


Well, Man_Over_Game beat me to it. But I'd emphasize their first point, especially.

[Delta]

Thanks for the input!

She seems pretty set on playing a "gritty" half-orc fighter (she's read Johnathan French's "Grey Bastards" recently, which if you haven't you should also do right now because it's one of the best fantasy books to come out in recent years), so I'm thinking about giving her a heal-y supporter character sidekick, maybe a bard or something seems a bit more fitting for the style rather than a cleric, someone she can protect in combat and also use to keep fighting.

[Waterdeep Merch]

Thanks for the input!

She seems pretty set on playing a "gritty" half-orc fighter (she's read Johnathan French's "Grey Bastards" recently, which if you haven't you should also do right now because it's one of the best fantasy books to come out in recent years), so I'm thinking about giving her a heal-y supporter character sidekick, maybe a bard or something seems a bit more fitting for the style rather than a cleric, someone she can protect in combat and also use to keep fighting.
Go for a bard. Read some Gotrek and Felix. Or, for an epic tl;dr- a bard who's writing down the player's epic exploits.

Normally I'd say lore bard, but for a two-squad like this I think valor might be more appropriate. More resilient, able to back up the fighter in melee but incapable of surpassing them. Sword bard works too, but I think valor is a better support, and sword n' shield is going to be more helpful in their situation.

[guachi]

I'd give the PC a sidekick that won't overshadow her. And maybe a pet companion and then you'd have a party of three. I've given the party a pet (a dog) and gave it PC levels (wolf barbarian) and it gained 1/2 XP.

[djreynolds]

Characters split up often depending on skill sets.

Your rogue may have to stealth off alone to scout. And gets captured.

You can pretend your character is on different mission, while the party is off doing whatever.

The party perhaps goes off to scout, leaving your cleric in the rear with gear. And here is where you story takes place, you hear screams of distress and go to help... 1 person adventure.

[Throne12]

1. Make the story about her PC.
2. Have a sidekick npc or have multiple npc come and go through out the story.
3. Have one on one combats but if you want groups. Use Matt Coleville suggestion. Minions have one hp each and this part is my home rule groups of minions only get one attack roll as a group.
4. Think of it more as a Novel than a typical d&d game.
5. Ask questions and talk about the session after each game. It to find out what she feeling and how to make it better next session.

[Kane0]

Echoing what has already been said:

- Smaller scale adventures
- Personal focus, potentially more story driven
- Quests either generic with ways to achieve goals regardless of character ability OR tailored to their abilities
- A sidekick
- Downplaying combat or a couple buffs to mitigate power disparity

[Honest Tiefling]

I think Lore Bard is weaker choice from a story line perspective. Bardkick needs to have SOME skills that complement the PC, but the three extra seem a bit much. Cutting words seems like the bardkick is doing far too many witty one-liners, and that job is usually taken by the PC. Additional magical secrets is again, great for a PC, not so great for a support character. Through if you could work it into the bardkick's backstory to tie it to the PC, it might be amusing. Say, the bardkick got the extra spells from a spellbook that they recover together? Peerless skill only works for the bardkick, but I wonder if the PC would mind a custom variant for the bardkick to allow them to use it on the PC.

How does the player feel about taking the bardkick under her wing and training them in combat? I feel like valor makes a bit more sense in that regard and is a touch less squish.

[CTurbo]

I'd let them have a pet Mastiff, or full Ranger companion for free, or improved Familiar for free. Really even a regular familiar would help a lot.

I'd probably gift them the Ritual Caster feat too. There are several rituals that would GREATLY improve a solo character's chances of surviving alone.

[Honest Tiefling]

I'd let them have a pet Mastiff, or full Ranger companion for free, or improved Familiar for free. Really even a regular familiar would help a lot.

I think the mastiff might fit the theme better, but I like this idea. It gives some wiggle room on encounter building without taking the spotlight away from the player.

[Tvtyrant]

Personally I would run something you normally wouldn't/couldn't. Captain of a ship, mayor of a town, courtier of a... Court.

Run lots of politics, personal relationships, spying and elaborate sneaking stuff. Watching someone else do three hours of rooftop sneaking or courting a noble to steal a necklace is dull, doing it yourself can be fun.

[BloodSnake'sCha]

I am sorry, I didn't read all the answers you got but my advice is to give your friend 2- 3 class at the same time, I remember it being a good solution in the far past.

It will be easier if your friend will get 2 turns or 2 2 class character but some people don't like to play more then one class.

Of course, you should give your friend more stats to support 2 class character(pay attention, I am not talking on multiclassing.).

If you want to give her two normal PC I will go with a Lore Bard(Buff+utilitie) and a Moon Druid(Tank+Damage+Utilitie).

If you will give her two two classes PC I will go with a Tome Warlock//Divine Soul Sorsserer and Rogue//Paladin or Hexblade Blade Warlock//Paladin (Or Rogue) so your friend will be able to fight in Darkness.

[DerficusRex]

Some good suggestions so far, several of which I applied running Sunless Citadel solo for my other half.

She played a vhuman paladin with slightly beefier stats than point buy (might have been 4d6 drop lowest?). A variant knight / soldier background provided a good reason to pair her with a subordinate ranger NPC one level below her PC. There were the occasional additional NPCs who joined and left throughout the adventure. For those who are familiar with the module Meepo is always fun :) and one of the kobold elite guards can make a good temporary companion on the lower level if the kobolds' favour is gained.

Both characters were able to take a reasonable amount of punishment without dropping, and both had the ability to bring an unconscious party member back up. Framing the NPC associate as a military subordinate gave a good reason for her to issue combat instructions, with a quiet disposition so her PC would take the lead in social interactions. It didn't have the same dynamic you get playing with a group, but it was still fun.

[Cwyll]

in second edition there was solo adventures published for each main class.
Fighters challenge, clerics, mage and thief.
They set up scenarios and also provided a number of NPC's to help cover the gaps in the specific characters weaknesses.Levels 1-5 IIRC< and I seem to remember that they were OK as adventure and a good way to practice back then.
You'd need to update the creatures for sure, but as a frame then they might be worth looking at
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17306/HHQ1-Fighters-Challenge-2e?it=1

[stoutstien]

Try to avoid spells and effects that remove or prevent the player from using any part of the action economy. No charms, mind control, sleep, fears, and so on. The game is tilted in the parties favor due to having more actions most of the time now it's reversed.