4e Solo DMing

[Chronicled]

I'm going to be DMing a campaign for my younger brother soon, and this will be the first time either of us has used 4e. He's looked through the PHB, and decided that an elf melee ranger is his cup of tea (no, he hasn't read any Salvatore, I'm positive :smallwink:).

I've noticed repeatedly in discussions that 4e emphasizes teamwork, so I'm wondering if he can reasonably survive as a party of one. If that's unlikely, I'll probably have an NPC party member or two that he can control in combat. If that's the best option, which class(es) should those NPCs be? My best guess for 1 NPC is a Paladin, and for having 2 are Paladin & Wizard or Fighter & Cleric. (I'd sooner go with one NPC than two.)

Any and all advice is welcome.

[AKA_Bait]

I've noticed repeatedly in discussions that 4e emphasizes teamwork, so I'm wondering if he can reasonably survive as a party of one. If that's unlikely, I'll probably have an NPC party member or two that he can control in combat. If that's the best option, which class(es) should those NPCs be? My best guess for 1 NPC is a Paladin, and for having 2 are Paladin & Wizard or Fighter & Cleric. (I'd sooner go with one NPC than two.)

Any and all advice is welcome.

I'd add the NPC's. 4e is quite difficult to balance properly without a party of at least 3. For classes, just go for diversity in the role they play, and be sure you have some healing in there.

So you got:

Striker: Ranger

You probably want to add:

Leader: Cleric or Warlord
Defender: Paladin or Fighter
Controller: Wizard

I'd say to just pick any 2 you like and suit your story/flavor of game best. In the end, it's more important that those NPC's be interesting than the party be slightly better balanced anyway.

[Chronicled]

Sounds good. Thanks!

[batsofchaos]

I think a solo campaign in 4e is doable, but the focus would really have to be on non-combat situations.

Combat can be done, but it will need to be handled with a very light touch, considering how squishy a lone striker could end up being. Without other players there to form strategies with, what can be done in combat is limited, but on the other hand his character will be very mobile which is a definite bonus. With careful picks for enemies and environments that he can exploit to his advantage he can still be a very effective combatant.

That aside, I'd still go for a game that's more roleplay heavy than hack heavy. Give him a political intrigue, espionage, or mystery game. Those sorts of themes can often benefit from having only one character, which is definitely something to exploit; play to the strengths of the limitations. You could even have the character start out their career as a gladiator. Solo campaigns can be very rewarding if handled properly.

[Chronicled]

I think a solo campaign in 4e is doable, but the focus would really have to be on non-combat situations.

Combat can be done, but it will need to be handled with a very light touch, considering how squishy a lone striker could end up being. Without other players there to form strategies with, what can be done in combat is limited, but on the other hand his character will be very mobile which is a definite bonus. With careful picks for enemies and environments that he can exploit to his advantage he can still be a very effective combatant.

That aside, I'd still go for a game that's more roleplay heavy than hack heavy. Give him a political intrigue, espionage, or mystery game. Those sorts of themes can often benefit from having only one character, which is definitely something to exploit; play to the strengths of the limitations. You could even have the character start out their career as a gladiator. Solo campaigns can be very rewarding if handled properly.

bats, as always, you have a lot of insight. I think my brother (and I know it's true for me) would like to see how the 4e mechanics feel in practice, and there's nowhere better to see that than in combat. With that in mind, I may give him a couple NPC allies to start with, have them depart after a combat-heavy session or two, and progress from there into a roleplay-heavy campaign.

[batsofchaos]

Glad to be of service.

Hope the game goes well!

[Jerthanis]

I find the best way to balance for smaller groups is to exempt the monster roles that serve to counter the player roles that aren't present. Against a single Elven Ranger, I'd just throw Brutes at him one or two at a time with the occasional Soldier/Lurker combination.

Include a Leader NPC if you include anyone, since they'll be able to get him back on his feet midcombat, but I feel that if you include anyone beyond that he won't feel like the "star" of the game anymore, and he might not have as much 'wow' factor. A Paladin would do pretty much just as well at that though, so I'd suggest either one Cleric/Warlord, or one Paladin.

[Totally Guy]

Why not allow him control of 2 characters and perhaps you as a third?

[FoE]

I've often wanted to run a Solo campaign centred around a thief or an assassin, since it makes sense for those characters to work alone. Maybe try one of those.

Alternately, give him a pet of some kind for his character, like a large wolf or a griffin or a construct or something. (Whatever will fill a missing slot.) That way he'll control two characters, but doesn't have to worry about roleplaying both of them.

Then, if you still want a party of three, add a DMPC.

[Tormsskull]

Are you having any kind of a storyline or RP, or pretty much just going to feature combat?

If you are going to do some RPing I would suggest that you introduce some NPC along the way, and if he likes any of them, he can choose to take them along with him.

When he is by himself or with 1 other person, I'd advise cutting monster hp in half. This will accentuate his role (as a Striker he'll be able to down things quickly without fear of too much retaliation).

[Chronicled]

I find the best way to balance for smaller groups is to exempt the monster roles that serve to counter the player roles that aren't present. Against a single Elven Ranger, I'd just throw Brutes at him one or two at a time with the occasional Soldier/Lurker combination.

Include a Leader NPC if you include anyone, since they'll be able to get him back on his feet midcombat, but I feel that if you include anyone beyond that he won't feel like the "star" of the game anymore, and he might not have as much 'wow' factor. A Paladin would do pretty much just as well at that though, so I'd suggest either one Cleric/Warlord, or one Paladin.

This seems pretty solid.


Why not allow him control of 2 characters and perhaps you as a third?

From what I've heard, I'll have my hands full just ensuring that enemies are using their full potential. Also, it'll ensure there's no bias when he's tactically outwitted :smallwink:.


I've often wanted to run a Solo campaign centred around a thief or an assassin, since it makes sense for those characters to work alone. Maybe try one of those.

Alternately, give him a pet of some kind for his character, like a large wolf or a griffin or a construct or something. (Whatever will fill a missing slot.) That way he'll control two characters, but doesn't have to worry about roleplaying both of them.

Then, if you still want a party of three, add a DMPC.

Hmmm... the construct mention really jumped out at me. Perhaps I'll have him stumble across a deactivated construct guardian (Warforged Paladin) who, depending on how he plays it out, thinks that the elf is his creator. (Same thing could be done with a "little" minotaur, I suppose.)


Are you having any kind of a storyline or RP, or pretty much just going to feature combat?

If you are going to do some RPing I would suggest that you introduce some NPC along the way, and if he likes any of them, he can choose to take them along with him.

When he is by himself or with 1 other person, I'd advise cutting monster hp in half. This will accentuate his role (as a Striker he'll be able to down things quickly without fear of too much retaliation).

I plan to have some storyline/RP, but it will ultimately depend on what my brother is most enjoying. If he ends up wanting a hack/slash, then that's what I'll run. Your idea reminds me of NWN1... a merc/bodyguard/companion guild like there is another possibility. I'll try your hp idea and see how it works.

[wodan46]

Warforged Paladin sounds perfect. No need to roleplay it, just a loyal ally that keeps you on your feet. You could add that it doesn't have any non-combat capabilities, to keep it from interfering with roleplaying.

[FoE]

A good set-up would be your brother's character exploring a dungeon and getting trapped in a chamber with this de-activated construct leaning against the wall. Having no other obvious way out, he tinkers with it and ends up turning it on, and together they fight their way out. If it's a heavy melee type, you have basically a tank and a sniper.

Then you just need a healbot DMPC, and you're in business.

[batsofchaos]

A word of warning about secondary (and tertiary) characters being controlled by a PC in a solo: while combat can be more effectively handled it can lead to roleplaying breakdown. One of the more fluid parts of the RP experience is the group dynamic; all of the player's talk to each other. If there's only one player who's controlling a team, these discussions would still be important, but will be completely glossed over. Even the most avid roleplayer is going to feel embarrassed and silly if they discuss things in character with another character that they also play. As such, these exchanges get shut down and glossed over, which in turn will lead to other roleplaying getting glossed over as a matter of course.

This can also happen with DMPCs, especially if the DMPC is the charismatic face of the party. Does a DM really want to negotiate with himself?

Just something to be aware of. I've seen it happen (read: had to haggle with myself once).

[Chronicled]

A good set-up would be your brother's character exploring a dungeon and getting trapped in a chamber with this de-activated construct leaning against the wall. Having no other obvious way out, he tinkers with it and ends up turning it on, and together they fight their way out. If it's a heavy melee type, you have basically a tank and a sniper.

Then you just need a healbot DMPC, and you're in business.

Sounds quite decent; I had sort of envisioned giving an homage to SilverClawShift's famous horror campaign:

Anyway, through this whole thing, the DM is doing a good job creeping us out. A cold and dark cottage that someone actually LIVED in not two days ago, suddenly barely recognizeable as a home. A lot of morbid detail. We had a pretty moody setup going here.

Then, we find 'it'. The arcanist had some kind of weird construct, something like the rest of us had never seen before (archivist included). It was battered and partially dissasembled, apparently by the kythons. It was also covered in strage markings, runes, glyphs, symbols, text fragments (on its forhead, etched in faint dwarven runes, "thus unbound unfettered and felled"). ect.
Nearby it, what looked for all the world to be some strange flute made of the same material and in the same fashion, though not covered in the markings or runes.
We kind of fixated on the golem naturally (in retrospect, our DM would have tricked us into focusing on it if we hadn't in the first place). We managed to strap the sucker back into one peice. We shrugged and asked ourselves what to do with it, until we noticed that the flute had a dettachable series of small black gemstones, which the archivist identified as being effectivelly "wands" with a single charge and a very simple activiation. A little further examination, and he reveals that each gemstone contain a single spell, "repair damage".

You know darn well what we did.

So the DM describes the scene, getting more and more quiet. The construct begins to twitch, and jerk. The wooden grain of its frame snaking back together, the cracked stone plating melting into solid peices once more. He gets real quiet, we're all leaning close together, and he tells us this.

"Suddenly, the construct springs up in one fast fluid motion, grabbing <dragon shaman> by the shoulders and shouting...."

And THAT is when the 6th player, the one with no current character, grabs the dragon shamans player by the shoulders and screams "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH THE CREATOR?!?"

I. Almost. Peed myself.

It took us five minutes to stop laughing/throwing things/settle back down and get to the game. The player decided to be a WARFORGED of all things. Him and the DM decided behind the scenes that a warforged experiment the arcanist cooked up would be a great new addition to the party. "It" primarily served the arcanist as an assistant during magical concerns, but also as a cook, housecleaner, and entertainment.



A word of warning about secondary (and tertiary) characters being controlled by a PC in a solo: while combat can be more effectively handled it can lead to roleplaying breakdown. One of the more fluid parts of the RP experience is the group dynamic; all of the player's talk to each other. If there's only one player who's controlling a team, these discussions would still be important, but will be completely glossed over. Even the most avid roleplayer is going to feel embarrassed and silly if they discuss things in character with another character that they also play. As such, these exchanges get shut down and glossed over, which in turn will lead to other roleplaying getting glossed over as a matter of course.

This can also happen with DMPCs, especially if the DMPC is the charismatic face of the party. Does a DM really want to negotiate with himself?

Just something to be aware of. I've seen it happen (read: had to haggle with myself once).

I should have clarified. I'll RP any NPCs, but he can give them orders in combat that will be explicitly followed; this is why I really like the Warforged idea--who better to unquestioningly obey?

[batsofchaos]

I wasn't commenting on anything in particular that was mentioned here. I was just highlighting a pit trap that's not necessarily readily apparent. The warforged being an NPC that is directed by the PC is a fairly workable solution to allow for some of a group dynamic, just be aware of the possibility of locking yourself in a situation where the warforged has to explain itself to the city guard that you are also roleplaying.

[fendrin]

I wasn't commenting on anything in particular that was mentioned here. I was just highlighting a pit trap that's not necessarily readily apparent. The warforged being an NPC that is directed by the PC is a fairly workable solution to allow for some of a group dynamic, just be aware of the possibility of locking yourself in a situation where the warforged has to explain itself to the city guard that you are also roleplaying.

Not all that hard to avoid; make the warforged mute. If it is in bad shape perhaps it has a crack across it's neck making it look like someone tried to slit it's throat.

Of course, if you wanted to hearken back to old school rangers, you could give him a trained animal/magical beast... just not a panther. Anything but that.

[Chronicled]

just be aware of the possibility of locking yourself in a situation where the warforged has to explain itself to the city guard that you are also roleplaying.

Ah! That IS something I'll need to look out for. Hmmm... while I could just say "he explains X to the guard" and skip the details, I think it could be more fun to have the warforged only speak to the individual it thinks is its "creator" (perhaps even having it be amused at the results). Or I could just give it a very, very bland personality.


Of course, if you wanted to hearken back to old school rangers, you could give him a trained animal/magical beast... just not a panther. Anything but that.

Full agreement on this.

[FoE]

How about a bunny? (http://www.lfgcomic.com/page/latest) :smalltongue:


just be aware of the possibility of locking yourself in a situation where the warforged has to explain itself to the city guard that you are also roleplaying.

Ranger: I'm sorry, guardsman, you won't get much out of him. My companion is mute.

[Chronicled]

And only now do I realize that my brother just finished watching Fullmetal Alchemist. :smallsigh: I'll have to think about the warforged aspect a bit more... not sure if he'd really like the idea or think it was a cheesy ripoff.

[Knaight]

Said warforged could also just not have a mouth built in. No problems then.

[FoE]

And only now do I realize that my brother just finished watching Fullmetal Alchemist. :smallsigh: I'll have to think about the warforged aspect a bit more... not sure if he'd really like the idea or think it was a cheesy ripoff.

I would think that would make him more eager to use a magic robot ...

[Chronicled]

I would think that would make him more eager to use a magic robot ...

I hope so, because as a DM I really like the idea. Otherwise, the bunny it is :smalltongue:.

[batsofchaos]

While making him silent or boring would be a solution to avoid the DM arguing with DM thing, it would also severely limit roleplaying between player and the warforged. If you're going the route of a character that is non-communicative, I'd suggest going with an animal over a person that can't talk. With an animal, they get the extra combat support, but can be dealt with as a single character.

[JaxGaret]

Here are a couple of suggestions for running a solo campaign:

Give the player an Animal Companion or Mount that gets its own set of actions, that the player controls.

Add a template (or even two) to the PC, making it more survivable and giving it more options.

Tailor your encounters to the class of the PC. For instance, if the PC is a Wizard, use Minions. Lots and lots of Minions. In your case, the TWF Elf Ranger is a good choice for a solo pc, since it has excellent mobility, good single-target damage, and decent multiple target damage if they take some ranged powers to utilize their high Dex. So you won't have to tailor the encounters much, except for staying away from too many flying enemies.

[Yakk]

A companion would be great.

How about a bear?



Bear Companion

Str: 16+L/2
Con: 15+L/2
Int: 4+L/4
Dex: 13+L/2
Wis: 13+L/2
Cha: 8+L/5

Initiative: Level*.8+2
Senses: Perception: Level *.8+6, Insight: Level*3/4+2, Low-light vision.
Move: 6 at Heroic, 7 at Paragon, 8 at Epic tier.

Trained Skills: Nature(Wis), Perception(Wis), Athletics(Str), Endurance(Con)

Defenses:
AC: 16+Level
Fortitude: 14+Level
Reflex: 12+Level
Will: 12+Level
HP: 25+9*Level

Powers and Features:
You Cannot Ignore A Bear: The Bear Companion Marks any opponent it attempts to attack until the end of the Bear'ss next turn. In addition to the standard Mark rules (Ie: one mark per creature, Marked creatures get a -2 on any attack that does not include the Bear), as an Immediate Interrupt, the Bear can attack any Marked opponent who shifts or makes an attack that does not include the Bear while adjacent to the Bear.

Overbearing Blow: If the Bear hits on an opportunity attack triggered by movement, the bear may make a free Level+5 attack vs Fortitude. On a hit with this secondary attack, the target is knocked prone.

Bear Toughness: Bears have 5+Con modifier healing surges per day.

Attacks:
Basic Attack: Claw, Standard action, at-will. Level+7 vs AC. 1d8+Str damage, increased to 1d10 at level 6, 1d12 at level 11, 3d4 at level 16, 2d8 at level 21, and 3d6 at level 26.

Gained at level 2:
Melee Attack: Massive Smash, Standard action, Daily. Level+5 vs Fortitude. 2d6+Strength damage, and target is pushed (Con modifier) squares and knocked prone. Damage increases by 1d6 at level 7, 12, 17, 22 and 27. Half damage on a miss, and push 1 square.

Gained at level 3:
Melee Attack: Bear Hug, Minor action, Recharge 56. May only be used immediately after hitting a target. Make a Grab (Level+5 vs Reflex) as a Minor Action.

Gained at level 4:
Close Blast 2 Attack: Roar, Standard action, Level+3 vs Will, Daily. Enemies are Dazed until end of the Bear's next turn. Increases to Close Blast 3 at level 14, and Close Blast 4 at level 24.

Gained at level 5:
Powerful Swipe, Standard Action, At-will. Same to-hit and damage as Claw, but pushes target back 1 square. Push-back increases to 2 at level 15, and 3 at level 25.

6/7: Previous powers are upgraded.

Gained at level 8:
Second Wind. As the PC power.

Gained at level 9:
Bear Rage: Gain a +1 bonus to hit, and +2 bonus to damage, when Bloodied.

Gained at level 10:
Unstoppable: Daily, Free Reaction, when damaged to below bloodied threshold. Gain regeneration (con bonus) while bloodied until the end of the encounter.

11/12: upgrades of previous powers.

Gained at level 13:
Flurry of Fur: At-will, Standard action. Same to-hit and damage as Claw. If you miss, make a basic melee attack against a different adjacent target. The Bear may not Mark the target of the secondary attack (the "miss" attack).
Bear Power: All Bear attacks are now considered "high crit".

14/15/16/17: Auto-upgrades of previous powers.

Gained at level 18:
Unstoppable is now an encounter power. Upgrades to 10+Con bonus regeneration at level 28.

Gained at level 19:
May use at-will powers in opportunity or "You Cannot Ignore A Bear" attacks.

Gained at level 20:
You Can't Keep A Good Bear Down: The first time in a day the Bear is reduced to 0 HP or less or killed, the Bear is healed to full HP (and brought back to life), all negative status effects are stripped, the Bear gains Regeneration (Con stat) until the end of the encounter, and finally the Bear gains an action point.

21/22: auto-upgrade

Gained at Level 23:
Vicious Blows: The Bear now crits on a 19 or 20.
Squeeze: Minor action, at most once per round. Level+5 vs Fortitude against a target that is grabbed. Deal 2d8+Str damage.

24/25/26/27/28: auto-upgrades of previous powers (really!)

Gained at level 29:
Roar as an encounter power that deals 3d6+Con modifier damage. Bear Hug as an at-will power.

Gained at level 30:
Great Ghost Bear: Daily utility power, Standard Action, Stance. Bear gains 1 size category, +10 power bonus to all damage rolls, a +5 bonus to all saves, a +10 power bonus to the Intimidate skill, and 150 temporary HP. In the Great Ghost Bear stance, the Bear deals crits on a 17-20, and all crits stun the target until the end of their Bear's next turn. This lasts 5 minutes, until the end of the encounter, or until the temporary HP are removed.

I don't think that will overshadow a well built PC, especially one built as a striker. It is a serious tank of a Defender, however.

[Chronicled]

A companion would be great.

How about a bear?

I was going to ask (since a melee Paladin doesn't fit the guardian duty as well as I'd thought) whether making the Warforged a Fighter (multiclass Warlord) or a pure Warlord was a better idea.

But then I saw this. Yakk, this is unbearably awesome.

[batsofchaos]

But then I saw this. Yakk, this is unbearably awesome.

Boooooooooo......

[JaxGaret]

Bear-y cool.

[fendrin]

Bear-y cool.

Bear-y bad pun.

EDIT: That pun's so bad, it's unbearable! I can bear-ly stand to think about it.

[JaxGaret]

Bear-y bad pun.

I don't see the pun... maybe I'm just too grizzled.

[FoE]

Stop! Stop! I can't bear to hear any more puns! :smalltongue:

[batsofchaos]

I know, this is getting ursine-nine.

[hamishspence]

Bear with them, they may get better :smallbiggrin:

[only1doug]

don't be so grizzly, bear up under the pressure

[Yakk]

Tweaked him a bit.

Given his lack of self-healing at low levels, I boosted his base HP a tad (and got rid of some fractions).

At the worst bookkeeping point, one has to keep track of:
Marked creatures, 3 Daily powers, one encounter power, one Recharge 56 power, and interrupt use.

By level 29, the Bear is down to 2 Daily powers, 2 encounter powers, an interrupt and marked creatures.

On a basic attack that doesn't use a daily/encounter power, there is the decision to do a Swipe (knockback, which prevents a Bear Hug) or a Claw/Flurry (and maybe do a Bear Hug).

Slightly more complex than the average monster, but simpler than the average PC.

Reposted the Bear here:
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4710586#post4710586

[OneFamiliarFace]

A lot of people have suggested the second NPC thing. When I have a party that is missing members, I normally role up a few extra characters and then,

Let them choose which ones they want in their party. Usually, each one is linked to a certain group or certain sidequests, so it feels like their choice matters.

And you don't need to make them mute (except in the bear's case, which is awesome), you just need to make them A) inconspicuous or B) unobtrusive. They shouldn't be royalty or the town sheriff, they shouldn't be so bizarre as to pull attention away from your brother, and they shouldn't be party to well-known illegal acts (unless your brother is also in said party!). And, regardless, I would find away to give anyone with him (except for the bear) stealth, so you can run good skirmisher, scout, and spy missions.

Oh, another way to do it is to kind of make him Elite:

Find a way to give him as an individual more hps and, more importantly, a way to get more actions in a round. Just plopping on a second standard action to his turn and allowing him more second winds per encounter can make him able to take on quite a few more bad guys than normal. A solid mount can also be a simple way to give him more actions (if it is his level or one higher).

[Colmarr]

I'd look at this whole campaign another way.

The main benefit of a solo campaign is that it is a solo campaign. It lets you be Conan, or Sam Fisher, or any one of a myriad of other loner characters.

But how to do that in a game purportedly built around teamwork?

My approach would be to ensure that everything other than important NPCs (king, assassin, captain of the guards etc) are minions. That gives you the ability to set up 4 vs 1 fights without too great a danger on your PC.

Further, if you start the PC above 1st level (I'd suggest 3rd to 5th), you can increase the number of minions or throw in some lower level non-minions.

The things you need to really watch out for are:

1. Be wary of attacks that deny actions (dazed and stunned especially). A solo PC can't rely on his friends to save him when he's hampered by these conditions.

2. You may need to alter the rules for healing surges. A solo character other than a leader can't effectively heal themself in 4e without drastically reducing their damage output. To address that, I would consider making Second Wind a minor action for the PC (and a free action if the PC is a dwarf), and possibly also allowing the PC to use it twice per encounter.

[Eldmor]

A Warforged ally thrown in makes life easier on him, lets him experience another role, and can make sense in the fluff.
I'm running a solo game and I sent the solo Warlord on a mission from his army to reclaim a weapon stolen from some goblins. He could keep it, just as long as it was out of their pesky, green hands. Said weapon was an Infernalock Warforged that aided in the escape. Newly activated with a servant attitude, but fully combat operational. How it's an Infernalock... I've yet to figure in how. I'm thinking a creation forge for casters that was built on the ground of a demon-waste.

[Chronicled]

I showed my brother the bear, and he thought it was awesome. Yakk, thanks again. I'll try and get some playtest reports up on your linked thread once we get a few sessions played.

[Yakk]

A few cautions: it is probably weaker than a standard 4e PC at most levels. And the balance past level 10 is probably... well, ad-hoc. :-)

I have no idea if "Great Ghost Bear" is way to strong or way to weak -- but I do like the visual. :-)