DMing Small Groups: A Dilemma (3.5)

[DaedalusMkV]

Well, I'm about to run a campaign that I've been working on for a little while. Unfortunately, I've designed most of the encounters and challenges with a group of 4 fairly experienced players in mind. However, it looks like I'll be running it for only two relative newbies, which leaves me with a bit of a problem. I'll be running the game later on for the aforementioned larger group, so I don't want to make massive changes or anything like that either. The way I see it, I've got four choices:

1: Change all of the encounters to be about half as difficult. I'd really like to avoid doing this, since it will be a lot of work for me to change everything I've done so far, and won't give me much experience for when I run it for the other group.

2: Make the small group more powerful. Namely, I'd keep the loot given out somewhat the same and start the players off one level higher, then keep them about that far ahead of where I intended the other group to be for the duration. This results in much more individually powerful characters, which should let them keep up in combat, but I'll still have to take into account their reduced range of abilities.

3: Let each player run two characters. I don't want to do this at all, because A: It will massively increase the load on each player and B: It will mess up their roleplaying. A really good group might be able to handle this, but these guys only have about 6 sessions each under their belts, and one doesn't have a terribly good grasp of the rules.

4: Make it Gestalt. This basically offers many of the advantages of 2 and 3 combined, with the full range of abilities of a 4-player group and something approximating the individual power of the higher level group. My issue here is that, again, this is fairly complicated for my players and they might get bogged down by all of the things they'll have to do, though otherwise this would be my preferred option.

So, I'm asking for advice. I don't have much experience as a DM at all, with most of my time with the game spent as a player. What do you guys think is the best solution to this problem? I really appreciate any ideas you have to offer.

[The Cat Goddess]

Honestly, the game should be tailored to the players in this case.

Either add an NPC (or two)... a Heal-bot & an Archer/lock-picker might be good options since neither should overshadow the PCs...

Or create some sidestory adventures to keep the game going until you can get another player or two.

[Jinn Master]

Go with two, but give them a patron.

For instance, if you have a cleric, make his home church willing to support them. That would give them access to things that they normally wouldn't be able to get as easily that will aid them greatly, such as wands, scrolls, and potions.

That way you don't have to worry about your encounters killing them as long as they are smart about it. If they screw up, there are still consequences, but they won't just be wall fodder.

An NPC isn't a bad option, but if you are an inexperienced DM, you could run into trouble with that.

[Saint GoH]

/agree with adding an NPC. It can help direct the players in times of confusion, and lessen some of the load on them.

Gestalting is a poor choice IMO. If someone only has 6 or so sessions under their belt the idea of combining two classes to have one would likely blow their mind, and confuse them outright.

Reducing encounter difficulty may help, although you have to also remember outside of combat, their skills will be lessened because there is 2 less then there should be. I.E. locked doors, traps around every corner and what not, they may not have the skill monkey to deal with it.

[HailDiscordia]

I would definitely stay away from gestalt and adding NPC's to tag along with them. Just tailor the encounters to a smaller group and set up situations that their characters are geared towards. No healer? Make sure they have ample time for rest between fights. Sneaky bunch? Let them bypass some stuff with good skullduggery. Power attacking melee types? Fight big animals with low ACs. Especially if they are new to the game this will give them a great opportunity to understand what their characters are capable of, just don't put them in over their heads.

I ran a short campaign (about 10 adventures) for two first time players. They were a ranger and a monk, things worked out just fine. They found a ring that cured once a day, had many opportunities to capitalize on their skills, and they learned all about what they were capable of. They didn't need any NPC's to bail them out. They will be fine.

[Flickerdart]

Just tailor your item drops to them. Two Healing Belts (MIC) should increase their survivability exponentially. Items that increase AC or miss chance also help. Ease them into the game: slap together a few encounters of slowly increasing difficulty before starting what you're planned so far.

[Gnaeus]

I would go with Gestalt and just help them on character builds and level ups. Steer them away from traps, that kind of thing. You say they are only relative newbies, not totally new to the system, so that should work.

[Reynard]

What classes are the players?

[Akal Saris]

Personally, I'd just bite the bullet and re-design the encounters in a second document for the 2-person group. Don't overwhelm the newbies with gestalt, and don't bog down combat with your own NPC allies.

[Swordgleam]

This probably isn't advice you want, but I'd just run something else. You're not wasting your work, since you're running the adventure later for the ideal group. And newbies aren't going to react to things in the same way experienced players will, so running it for them isn't going to help you much in that regard either.

[artaxerxes]

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/ad...ervePoints.htm

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/ad...thAndDying.htm

Or other variants within?

[DaedalusMkV]

Honestly, the game should be tailored to the players in this case.

Either add an NPC (or two)... a Heal-bot & an Archer/lock-picker might be good options since neither should overshadow the PCs...

Or create some sidestory adventures to keep the game going until you can get another player or two.

NPCs are always an option, I suppose, and one that gets used pretty regularly. That said, I've never run a permanent NPC in a party, and most DMs I've talked to say that it's really hard to pull off without making the character really bland or overshadowing the PCs and tends to bog down combat with extra DM-controlled actions. In all honesty, I think I'd rather redesign the whole thing than try to deal with the headache of trying to make the NPCs work. However, the players will spend most of the early part of the campaign in or near a city, which makes hiring NPCs for short-term work very easy.

Go with two, but give them a patron.

For instance, if you have a cleric, make his home church willing to support them. That would give them access to things that they normally wouldn't be able to get as easily that will aid them greatly, such as wands, scrolls, and potions.

That's a pretty decent idea, really. I'll definitely keep that in mind as I evaluate my options, since it should be very easy to work into the campaign and would give me a very simple method of giving the party information and goals. Thanks.

Just tailor your item drops to them. Two Healing Belts (MIC) should increase their survivability exponentially. Items that increase AC or miss chance also help. Ease them into the game: slap together a few encounters of slowly increasing difficulty before starting what you're planned so far.

This is something I was planning on doing to no small extent anyways. Nobody likes it when you give bard or ranger items to a party with neither, and everyone loves seeing cool gadgets that work well with their class. So what if more enemies than strictly necessary are using the weapon the Fighter specialized in or that wizard happened to have a couple of spells the party wizard has been looking for for ages?

I would go with Gestalt and just help them on character builds and level ups. Steer them away from traps, that kind of thing. You say they are only relative newbies, not totally new to the system, so that should work.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I think I'll have to do if I present Gestalt as an option at all. Neither player is an optimizer at all, and one of them in the game we played together last summer asked me for build advice every time he levelled (I want to make a character that does X. What should I do?).

What classes are the players?

They aren't, yet. I offered to run a campaign for them, explaining kind of what it would be like, and they agreed. We'll likely generate characters some time next week. That's why I'm asking this now. All base classes and most PrCs will be available to them, though. I'm not a fan of banlists for any but thematic reasons.

EDIT: Accidentally posted before I finished writing. I added the rest of the post in.