Best game for 1 player 1 DM?

[archmage45]

I really really want to play D&D4e, but I currently don't have a group, or really even the time to join one. However I have a wonderful partner who is willing to game with me, but I need to decide what system/game to run.

Most recently I've played D&D3.x, and have a fair amount of material available for it. I've also done some Star Wars d20 (both original and revised).

In addition I've played and have available the following:
Star Wars d6
Nobilis
Alternity
D&D Rules Cyclopedia
Star Trek LUG
Star Trek Decipher

I also have but have not played:
PDQ
Champions
Rifts

Thoughts? Suggestions?

[RMS Oceanic]

How about you pick a video game like Half-Life, and make a campaign out of the story, replacing SCIENCE! and dimensions with MAGIC! and other planes?

A +5 Vorpal Crowbar aught to be fun.

[shadzar]

AD&D had a few solo adventures. I think they were fighter challenges. Sadly due to the loss of PDF sales, you will have to dig for these on eBay or something.

You could always just have the player run an entire party by themselves.

[daggaz]

Just let them run two characters while you run an NPC third... tone down encounters to match. That will work with any group gaming system.

[paddyfool]

D&D 3.x would work as long as he plays Factotum ;-)

[Croverus]

I DMed 3.x for a solo person. He played a ranger. I let him start at level for so he could have a bit of strength, and I stylized it so that he belonged to an agency that worked fro a certain nation. Instead of going out on adventures, he went out on missions, which mostly required skills and roleplaying than straight combat. I did another with a fighter, worked it that he was a mercenary and performed various jobs, ranging from contract killing to caravan duty. I always managed to make things interesting.

[Kol Korran]

um, first of all it certainly won't be the same experience without a group- a bunch of people just add a lot to the game. different perspectives, jokes, fun and so on.

i think you can play any system you want, but just heavily adjust the campaign or adventure, even if you "only" run 1 character. (what i'd suggest to do anyway). your DM/GM should just tailor things for your character- you liek to talk, manipulate and so on? focus on social interactions. sneaky type? covert options, breaking in and so on. hacker and slasher? make a strong enough character that can face lower level challanges, and so on.

playing just one person usually gives the advantage of a very, very specific tailoring to the player desires and story, so i suggest oyu realy focus on that.

also, come to think of it, 4E is probably not well suited for one character, as it is specifically designed for group roles and synergy.

if you're playing 3.5 or some other similar D20 i suggest you take gestalt. i personally don't like to use it much, but it realy fits a single player.

hope this helped,
Kol

[Tsotha-lanti]

Any system, really not built around "balance" predicated on party roles (like 3.5 and 4E). Much/most of my gaming at ages 10-12 or whatever was playing with one friend, with one of us GMing. Basic D&D, RuneQuest, etc.

[Devils_Advocate]

The generic term is "GM".

Dead Inside strikes me as quite appropriate for a one-player campaign. Maybe moreso than for a multiplayer campaign. The story of one individual's spiritual malaise and journey to redemption.

Although I haven't actually read whole the book, so take this with a grain of salt. Still, I read the preview.

[Cicciograna]

This!
But only if you liked Doom...

[Tempest Fennac]

One piece of advice for solo games is to avoid playing as a specialist archer; I'm DMing a game for a friend who's using a level 4 archery combat style Lupin Ranger with a level Wolf Fighter for a companion, and he's really struggling due to ending up in melee constantly. (The character has been captured 3 times and KOed more then once so far).

EDIT: To be fair, the player would get on better if he had better luck (I can be too good at rolling sometimes).