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mikeburwell
Acolyte
USA
5 Posts |
 Posted - 17 Jul 2004 : 18:12:58
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Hello all,
I have been trying to put togethere a campagin now for over a month. One of my main problems is I only have 2 players and I am used to running 4 to 8 player groups. I have tried to get more players, but failed.
So I am asking for sugestions, ideas, advice, or anything people can send my way about creating and running a campagin for 2 players. I am sure some of you must have some experience in this realm.
Thanks!
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Arivia
Great Reader
Canada
2965 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2004 : 18:52:06
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| What edition would this be? |
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mikeburwell
Acolyte
USA
5 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2004 : 19:08:07
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| 3.0 or 3.5. I have never played any of the previous editions. However, any ideas would be great. I should probably also say a good aligned campagin. Although any ideas for an evil aligned game might be intresting. |
Edited by - mikeburwell on 17 Jul 2004 19:09:16 |
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Arivia
Great Reader
Canada
2965 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2004 : 22:09:08
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quote:
Originally posted by mikeburwell
3.0 or 3.5. I have never played any of the previous editions. However, any ideas would be great. I should probably also say a good aligned campagin. Although any ideas for an evil aligned game might be intresting.
Alright, then.
-When creating adventures for parties of two characters, you need to take into account the smaller party size. The best way to do this is by doing the following:
-When determining the average party level(to determine what EL encounters you should be using and such), subtract 1 from the average to get the proper number.(Example: Two 2nd-level characters in a party would have an average party level of 1)
-Designing encounters: Smaller parties(especially if they lack mages) have a much harder time dealing with many weaker creatures then they do a few stronger creatures.
-XP: If you follow the system I outlined above for determining the average party level, and adjust ELs based off that, do not penalize the PCs(through XP) for taking on threats lower than their true average party level-this will keep them roughly in line with the "15.55 encounters to level advancement" average.
-You also need to keep in mind that the PCs do not have access to all the resources of a typical party. If there is no rogue in the party, for example, do not use trap-laden dungeons, as they will be endless headaches.
-Try to play up the relationship between the two characters. As it is a smaller group, the experience tends to be much more intimate and connected. The best way is to focus equally upon each character in depth-as such, each character needs to be quite detailed. Smaller groups also lend themselves more to story arcs then disconnected adventures.
That's all I can think of for now. |
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tauster
Senior Scribe
Germany
399 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jul 2004 : 09:49:15
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from my experience with parties consisting of two members, you should focus the campaign on only one theme. i found that the following two types of adventures work very well:
thieves campaign:
- burglariy: two thieves, preferably members of a guild (so that they have easier access to certain services) are specializing on burglaries. these can be starting points for all sorts of further missions (for example spy-missions, see below) as their booty poses questions like "whatīs the meaning of that symbol that decorates this ritual-dagger?" "does it belong to a cult, lost god, demon...?". you can also have them find conspirancies against whomever pleases you (the king, the cities mayor, a certain powerful mage, a temple in the city,...), old treasure-maps and whatnot.
- spy missions: can arise from cues found during burglaries or assigned by the thieves guild (or independent clients). they are appropriate adventures for characters who like to talk, swindle, socialise...
itīs very useful when ont of the two is a mage (multi-or single-classed), for even at low levels there are lots of spells that are helpful for thieves (invisibility, fly, spiderclimb, featherfall, infravision, ghost sound,...)!
religious/clerical adventures:
- let the pcīs (cleric & paladin is a good combination from my experience) encounter at a low level a powerful enemy. vampires at level 3 or 4 work fine (again, speaking from experience). the monster kills someone the pcīs love or are associated with and thus, provokes lasting enmity. (in my case, the vampire killed a friend of one of the sc (priest of kelemvor) in tilverton (pre-shade, 1370 dr) and fled in the anauroch. to spice up the storyline, i threw in the cult of the dragon, the zhentarim, and a friendly bronce dragon who showed up two times to "accidentally" save the day...) both characters pursuit the monster but never quite catch up. on their hunt, they have a variety of encounters (gaining experience). should their motivation to hunt the monster slow down, let them encounter scenes that show the cruelty of their enemy: a farm where the vampire slaughtered not only every living being but also tortured the farmers, and perhaps even mocks his hunters as he leaves behind taunting messages for them (like "where was your god when i killed those innocents?!?") . when they finally catch up, they are (hopefully) strong enough to face the monster. which, on itīs way, may very well have found allies too...
general tips:
- in a campaign with only two members you can be less heavy-handed when it comes to powerful class- or race- combiantions. for example, in 2nd edition psionic characters were from my experience quite powerful, as non-psionic folk (which are the vast majority of all people) have almost no defences against those powers; itīs easy for a telepath to read their minds or influence them. allow (or even encourage, if you feel able to cope with your players ideas and actions) exotic classes like telepaths or shapeshifters, etc... game balance will work for you in a two-member-group.
- what also helps is to give them companions like a wizards familiar, a paladins special horse, intelligent swords (or in general, intelligent items) that balance out the weaknesses of your pc.
- have your pcīs interact frequently with npcīs, thatīs more important than in a larger party. for one, they will need more help that a larger party (where most often, all important talents are represented) and second, more communication interaction will make the surrounding world more realistic. |
Edited by - tauster on 18 Jul 2004 09:54:16 |
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mikeburwell
Acolyte
USA
5 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jul 2004 : 10:34:54
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Both sound like very good ideas. I see that one of the things I am going to need to do during charcter creation is focus the players a little more. Generly I give some fairly good flexiability. But if I go with the thieves campagin or the religious campagin I need to limit starting classes. Which is no problem.
I realy like the idea of the priest and cleric vs vampire suggestion. Then again I tend to use undead in my campagins, after all they are so much fun.
quote:
Originally posted by tauster
from my experience with parties consisting of two members, you should focus the campaign on only one theme. i found that the following two types of adventures work very well:
thieves campaign:
- burglariy: two thieves, preferably members of a guild (so that they have easier access to certain services) are specializing on burglaries. these can be starting points for all sorts of further missions (for example spy-missions, see below) as their booty poses questions like "whatīs the meaning of that symbol that decorates this ritual-dagger?" "does it belong to a cult, lost god, demon...?". you can also have them find conspirancies against whomever pleases you (the king, the cities mayor, a certain powerful mage, a temple in the city,...), old treasure-maps and whatnot.
- spy missions: can arise from cues found during burglaries or assigned by the thieves guild (or independent clients). they are appropriate adventures for characters who like to talk, swindle, socialise...
itīs very useful when ont of the two is a mage (multi-or single-classed), for even at low levels there are lots of spells that are helpful for thieves (invisibility, fly, spiderclimb, featherfall, infravision, ghost sound,...)!
religious/clerical adventures:
- let the pcīs (cleric & paladin is a good combination from my experience) encounter at a low level a powerful enemy. vampires at level 3 or 4 work fine (again, speaking from experience). the monster kills someone the pcīs love or are associated with and thus, provokes lasting enmity. (in my case, the vampire killed a friend of one of the sc (priest of kelemvor) in tilverton (pre-shade, 1370 dr) and fled in the anauroch. to spice up the storyline, i threw in the cult of the dragon, the zhentarim, and a friendly bronce dragon who showed up two times to "accidentally" save the day...) both characters pursuit the monster but never quite catch up. on their hunt, they have a variety of encounters (gaining experience). should their motivation to hunt the monster slow down, let them encounter scenes that show the cruelty of their enemy: a farm where the vampire slaughtered not only every living being but also tortured the farmers, and perhaps even mocks his hunters as he leaves behind taunting messages for them (like "where was your god when i killed those innocents?!?") . when they finally catch up, they are (hopefully) strong enough to face the monster. which, on itīs way, may very well have found allies too...
general tips:
- in a campaign with only two members you can be less heavy-handed when it comes to powerful class- or race- combiantions. for example, in 2nd edition psionic characters were from my experience quite powerful, as non-psionic folk (which are the vast majority of all people) have almost no defences against those powers; itīs easy for a telepath to read their minds or influence them. allow (or even encourage, if you feel able to cope with your players ideas and actions) exotic classes like telepaths or shapeshifters, etc... game balance will work for you in a two-member-group.
- what also helps is to give them companions like a wizards familiar, a paladins special horse, intelligent swords (or in general, intelligent items) that balance out the weaknesses of your pc.
- have your pcīs interact frequently with npcīs, thatīs more important than in a larger party. for one, they will need more help that a larger party (where most often, all important talents are represented) and second, more communication interaction will make the surrounding world more realistic.
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tauster
Senior Scribe
Germany
399 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jul 2004 : 12:10:11
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quote:
Originally posted by mikeburwell
Both sound like very good ideas. I see that one of the things I am going to need to do during charcter creation is focus the players a little more. Generly I give some fairly good flexiability. But if I go with the thieves campagin or the religious campagin I need to limit starting classes. Which is no problem.
if you want to use vampires, i recommend (as usual *g*) reading the "vampire chronicles" by anne rice. her novels will give you a "feeling" for those creatures, so you really can depict them with depth.
nothing better than having "the sucker" have some talk with itīs hunter, preferably when the hunter(s) are defenceless and at the mercy of the monster!  ...at least until someone comes (an ally or random encounter) rescuing them.
these conversations can be the most intense roleplaying events. let the vampire tell the paralysed (or better: charmed) pcīs of itīs "live", give him a real, distinct personality! it may be as cruel as the vampire really is (so the players prejudice will be affirmed and they will love to hunt it down and kill it later), or the vampire can have a surprisingly benign streak- so you can throw a moral dilemma your players way.
quote:
I realy like the idea of the priest and cleric vs vampire suggestion. Then again I tend to use undead in my campagins, after all they are so much fun.
...one could guess that by your avatar...  |
Edited by - tauster on 18 Jul 2004 12:14:03 |
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Lashan
Learned Scribe
USA
235 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jul 2004 : 13:02:07
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Don't forget NPC's. In fact, you don't have to have the same 1 or 2 to use. You can have a rotating caste of spare NPCs around to help the party. There is that paladin who hates undead that is always willing to help out when there is obvious darkness and evil around. There is the rogue who is always out to make a buck, but doesn't want his backyard to turn into a demon's playground and willing to help on occasion. There is the merc fighter who has his own mysterious agenda, etc, etc.
The party can decide who they want to try to rope into helping them for adventures. In fact, there can be mini-adventures designed just to recruite other NPCs! It can help make your local area be a real and living world and help flesh out local temples and other organizations. |
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chosenofvelsharoon
Acolyte
USA
27 Posts |
Posted - 25 Jul 2004 : 23:27:40
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In addition to npcs such as hirelings, cohorts, fellow guild members, fellow clerics, ect, (which is one of the best ideas),
have you thought about allowing eacher players to play 2 characters?
this can be challenging as players are tempted to use characters in conjunction when different players would have a harder time, but it's different, and allows for the 4 players you're more used to.
~-"wizards are not always to be trusted."-Ursula LeGuin |
~chosen of Velsharoon
"and naught shall be left, saved shattered throwns with none to rule them but the dead." |
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brjr2001
Learned Scribe
106 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jul 2004 : 00:35:58
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| you should start them with having higher level charactors fighting lower level monsters just add alot of them |
on second thought lets not go to candlekeep it is a silly place |
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Lashan
Learned Scribe
USA
235 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jul 2004 : 14:20:32
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| I disagree with giving them higher levels. I've found that with 3E, it is harder for players to really get the feel of their characters. I mean, when you are first level and you see how your character works (for good and bad), you can then add in feats that really help your character. I've found when people start off at a higher level, they don't design their character as well as if they were built up from lvl 1. Sometimes it's little things like the fighter getting Iron Will b/c he realizes he always misses his Will Saves or something. Another exapmle is spell casters learning what spells to use when. I've seen "new" lvl 5 wizards end up killing the whole party b/c of bad use of spells. I mean, it's an idea, but I wouldn't go with it. I've had bad experience with it. |
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FR GM Needs a little help
