My partner and I have been procrastinating about getting into D&D for a long time. Neither of us has played before and I thought that it would be a nice "date-ish" plan for Valentine's day and a good moment to start playing. I'm wondering if it's there such a thing as a two-player campaign. My "idea" for what I've seen on the internet is for me to be the DM and she would be the player. Is this possible? Would it be easier just getting a starter pack (The Stranger Things one seems "easy") and "making this up" along the way? It's kind of a surprise so I want it to be super easy for her to play. I was thinking of starter packs because after the introductory "adventure" she can make her own character if we actually start playing D&D regularly. Thank you in advance.
None of the published adventures are designed for 1 player. That said the essentials kit introduces side kick character which are simple npc stat blocks designed to help fill a party. It also comes with an adventure, a rule book, DM screen, dice set, character sheets, etc, and 2 codes for DDB. 1 code is 50% off digital PHB, the other unlocks the digital adventure as well as 3 sequel adventures.
The essentials kit is definitely my recommendation for new players. You should be able to get it for about 15$ (Plus another 15$ for digital PHB) and it will get you started for both physical and digital play.
You can just give her 1 of each sidekick and let her be the party leader. Role playing might be weird with so many characters per person.
Thank you so much for the quick reply! Just to clarify, the Essential kit and a Starter pack are the same things, right? I'm Spanish and I don't want to get it mixed in translation.
What if I make a short campaign? I could make it tailored for one player right? Could I make a campaign with the essential kit and the DM book? Or I should just go for an essential kit, improvise during the game and have fun?
Hi, I just wanted to answer your question on whether the Essential Kit and Starter pack are the same things. The Essentials Kit includes:
1x Dragon of Icespire Peak introductory adventure
6x blank character sheets
11x dice
81x cards for magic items, sidekicks and more
1x double-sided poster map for use with the adventure (53.3cm x 38.1cm)
1x Dungeon Master's screen (83.8cm x 21.6cm)
Rulebook
And the Strater Set includes:
A 64-Page adventure book with everything the Dungeon Master needs to get started
A 32-Page rulebook for playing characters level 1 – 5
5 Pre-generated characters, each with a character sheet and supporting reference material
6 Polyhedral dice
The Starter set is ideal for 3-5 players but you could make it work.
When you say 'The Stranger Things one' you are talking about The Hunt For The Thesselhydra I have played through that one before and it seems fine for beginners all the character sheets are pre-made so you don't have to worry about setting up the character. However, it would be hard for just one player but if you just adjust a couple of things you could make it work.
Improvising during the game is alright I have done it before and it seemed to work out but I would recommend just using one of the pre-made campaigns just to ease off the stress and pressure.
A short campaign is fine and you wouldn't have to use a pre-made campaign because (depending on how short the campaign is) you would have enough time to make it. The Dungeon Master's Guide really helps when making campaigns and you can get it on dndbeyond for roughly $30.00.
The essentials kit is not the same as the starter set. The starter set does not come with any codes for digital content, comes with a different (but still good) adventure, and no sidekicks.
You could make your own campaign or try to find one on DMs guild for 1 player. Like I said, the essential kit introduced sidekicks so adventures do have to be tailored to less players, but it is a lot of NPCs to track doing that. It is up to you. The adventure in the essentials kit is dragon of icespire peak, which goes from level 1 to 7 (the code unlocks this one and 3 more for levels 7-13). Sources I recommend for shorter, one level adventures are tales from the yawning portal and ghosts of saltmarsh which both contain a collection of such adventures (GoS also has its own nautical setting, special encounters, and ship combat rules).
Thanks sooo much to you both! It's very helpful. I think that I'm going to buy the Stranger things and do a very improvised first game with that and then order the DMs and essential kit because they won't get in time for Valentine's and prepare between the two of us a proper game with more background knowledge. Cheers!
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Hello everyone, so here is the deal...
My partner and I have been procrastinating about getting into D&D for a long time. Neither of us has played before and I thought that it would be a nice "date-ish" plan for Valentine's day and a good moment to start playing. I'm wondering if it's there such a thing as a two-player campaign. My "idea" for what I've seen on the internet is for me to be the DM and she would be the player. Is this possible? Would it be easier just getting a starter pack (The Stranger Things one seems "easy") and "making this up" along the way? It's kind of a surprise so I want it to be super easy for her to play. I was thinking of starter packs because after the introductory "adventure" she can make her own character if we actually start playing D&D regularly. Thank you in advance.
None of the published adventures are designed for 1 player. That said the essentials kit introduces side kick character which are simple npc stat blocks designed to help fill a party. It also comes with an adventure, a rule book, DM screen, dice set, character sheets, etc, and 2 codes for DDB. 1 code is 50% off digital PHB, the other unlocks the digital adventure as well as 3 sequel adventures.
The essentials kit is definitely my recommendation for new players. You should be able to get it for about 15$ (Plus another 15$ for digital PHB) and it will get you started for both physical and digital play.
You can just give her 1 of each sidekick and let her be the party leader. Role playing might be weird with so many characters per person.
Thank you so much for the quick reply! Just to clarify, the Essential kit and a Starter pack are the same things, right? I'm Spanish and I don't want to get it mixed in translation.
What if I make a short campaign? I could make it tailored for one player right? Could I make a campaign with the essential kit and the DM book? Or I should just go for an essential kit, improvise during the game and have fun?
Hi, I just wanted to answer your question on whether the Essential Kit and Starter pack are the same things. The Essentials Kit includes:
And the Strater Set includes:
"A Jack Of All Trades is a master of none"
'That's why I hate Bards'
The essentials kit is not the same as the starter set. The starter set does not come with any codes for digital content, comes with a different (but still good) adventure, and no sidekicks.
You could make your own campaign or try to find one on DMs guild for 1 player. Like I said, the essential kit introduced sidekicks so adventures do have to be tailored to less players, but it is a lot of NPCs to track doing that. It is up to you. The adventure in the essentials kit is dragon of icespire peak, which goes from level 1 to 7 (the code unlocks this one and 3 more for levels 7-13). Sources I recommend for shorter, one level adventures are tales from the yawning portal and ghosts of saltmarsh which both contain a collection of such adventures (GoS also has its own nautical setting, special encounters, and ship combat rules).
Thanks sooo much to you both! It's very helpful. I think that I'm going to buy the Stranger things and do a very improvised first game with that and then order the DMs and essential kit because they won't get in time for Valentine's and prepare between the two of us a proper game with more background knowledge. Cheers!