So I am a first-time DM (but I have been a player before) running Dragon of Icespire Peak (from the Essentials Kit) for my first-time player wife.
Has anyone else run this module for a 1-on-1 game? Specifically, how did you handle magic item loot that your PC couldn't/wouldn't use?
Example: My wife's PC is a Dwarven Oath of Vengeance Paladin who took Great Weapon Fighting style ("the best defense is a good offense!"). Finding a +1 shield and Dragonslayer longsword would make her feel railroaded into abandoning her chosen style.
My plan for now is to just try to substitute 1-for-1 for something similar that she *would* find useful. I.e., Ring of Protection instead of the shield, and make the Dragonslayer a greatsword instead of a longsword. Does this seem reasonable? Or will this create balance issues later?
As someone who plays one on one with wife. I am always in the “experiment mode”. What I mean by this is that I adjust in the fly. A + 1 ring sounds like a great idea, remember you always create stuff similar to the written magic items.
You could make it so she meets temporary party members that are NPCs. You could control then as members of the world and they join her for short missions and such areas. And then all you have to do is balance the encounters around that current party size. One or two at a time so it’s not overwhelming but balancing fights is easier then 1v1 balance. And just make the NPCs decent at something and one apparent flaw your pc can play around and made to look like the hero of the story.
What is the published adventure you are trying to plan out?
You could make it so she meets temporary party members that are NPCs. You could control then as members of the world and they join her for short missions and such areas. And then all you have to do is balance the encounters around that current party size. One or two at a time so it’s not overwhelming but balancing fights is easier then 1v1 balance. And just make the NPCs decent at something and one apparent flaw your pc can play around and made to look like the hero of the story.
What is the published adventure you are trying to plan out?
My issue isn't with encounters, I am using the Sidekicks rules that were included in the Essentials Kit to at least make it a party of 2 and scaling down enemy numbers appropriately. It is just loot that my one PC can't use. With a group, there is a good chance that at least one PC can use whatever gets found, but with only one a lot of the standard items are not as useful as they should be.
I am running Dragon of Icespire Peak as stated in the OP.
Any loot not usable (apart from the dragon slayer, of course you'll want to adjust that to a usable weapon) can simply just be sold to Harbin for 50gp back in town.
In the last few quests you're getting piles of magic items. To make them all functional or usable by your single PC would be a bit much.
One on One games are very doable. I run one weekly in fact. Since you are thinking of running Sidekick rules you should be fine, but as you and your wife get more comfortable with the rules you can upgrade a Sidekick to a complete PC or two. My wife finds that she can competently run 2 to 3 characters depending on build in combat, less if they are spellcasters and more if they are Champion Fighters, Barbarians, or Rogues. She runs the combat side and I roleplay them out of combat just like any NPC. None of the "sidekicks" could be considered a DMPC.
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So I am a first-time DM (but I have been a player before) running Dragon of Icespire Peak (from the Essentials Kit) for my first-time player wife.
Has anyone else run this module for a 1-on-1 game? Specifically, how did you handle magic item loot that your PC couldn't/wouldn't use?
Example: My wife's PC is a Dwarven Oath of Vengeance Paladin who took Great Weapon Fighting style ("the best defense is a good offense!"). Finding a +1 shield and Dragonslayer longsword would make her feel railroaded into abandoning her chosen style.
My plan for now is to just try to substitute 1-for-1 for something similar that she *would* find useful. I.e., Ring of Protection instead of the shield, and make the Dragonslayer a greatsword instead of a longsword. Does this seem reasonable? Or will this create balance issues later?
As someone who plays one on one with wife. I am always in the “experiment mode”. What I mean by this is that I adjust in the fly. A + 1 ring sounds like a great idea, remember you always create stuff similar to the written magic items.
You could make it so she meets temporary party members that are NPCs. You could control then as members of the world and they join her for short missions and such areas. And then all you have to do is balance the encounters around that current party size. One or two at a time so it’s not overwhelming but balancing fights is easier then 1v1 balance. And just make the NPCs decent at something and one apparent flaw your pc can play around and made to look like the hero of the story.
What is the published adventure you are trying to plan out?
My issue isn't with encounters, I am using the Sidekicks rules that were included in the Essentials Kit to at least make it a party of 2 and scaling down enemy numbers appropriately. It is just loot that my one PC can't use. With a group, there is a good chance that at least one PC can use whatever gets found, but with only one a lot of the standard items are not as useful as they should be.
I am running Dragon of Icespire Peak as stated in the OP.
Any loot not usable (apart from the dragon slayer, of course you'll want to adjust that to a usable weapon) can simply just be sold to Harbin for 50gp back in town.
In the last few quests you're getting piles of magic items. To make them all functional or usable by your single PC would be a bit much.
One on One games are very doable. I run one weekly in fact. Since you are thinking of running Sidekick rules you should be fine, but as you and your wife get more comfortable with the rules you can upgrade a Sidekick to a complete PC or two. My wife finds that she can competently run 2 to 3 characters depending on build in combat, less if they are spellcasters and more if they are Champion Fighters, Barbarians, or Rogues. She runs the combat side and I roleplay them out of combat just like any NPC. None of the "sidekicks" could be considered a DMPC.