I am doing a 1 on 1 campaign with me and my little brother, and I am starting to panic on the second chapter. I am running Lost mine of phandelver and the second chapter is overwhelming me. There is a lot to remember in the second chapter and I need some help, what should I do?
Note cards are your friend. Write down the things you think you are most likely to forget and stick them behind the screen. You can do this in One Note if you use a computer behind the screen.
Break things down, section by section and write them down so you can refer to them in game
I outline everything and highlight things I know I will forget.
This is usually terrible advice for a new player, but...
...look, it's your game. This isn't a computer game! Did the bad guys freak out and run away? Sure! They would! Maybe they were going to win, but the next guy up is going to die, and he is not up for that.
Was the fight too easy? Who says there isn't another baddy out there? Chuck him in!
It's your game. You can play it however you want.
...
With one player doing a roughly 4-player game, how are you doing it? Are they playing 4 characters? Remember you're allowed to play some too, as the DM, as long as you do what they "would" do. Otherwise cut the fights down. You can always tweak it like I said (run away, add more. You can even have an ally show up).
It's a story-telling game. Challenge your peeps, sure, and risk killing them. But tell a cool story! That's job 1. :)
...
If you forget things, make it up! After the game, work out how you "messed" the story up and how you might make it better. Pre-m,ade adventures are meant as a backbone. You can make up any skeleton and meat and skin and guts you like - and hell, if you don't like the backbone you can start fresh. It is your game.
...
Finally, one player is always hard. There's something about it that, as an old OLD DM, I really like, and remember fondly from my early days. But it's a bit like school: old folk remember school being great, but we still get nightmares about it.
One on one is hard. Even one extra player will make it easier.
Here's a pro tip that I picked up from some pro somewhere...
Before the session ends, have a good understanding of where the Party is headed next. If they have three options, for example, make them choose. And remember, you don't actually have to be in a spot that makes sense narratively. You are free to have an out of character discussion with your players about where they want to go after their current quest is complete. Yeah, I get that maybe they won't have all the info they need, but most of the time this won't be an issue.
Good luck!
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I am doing a 1 on 1 campaign with me and my little brother, and I am starting to panic on the second chapter. I am running Lost mine of phandelver and the second chapter is overwhelming me. There is a lot to remember in the second chapter and I need some help, what should I do?
Note cards are your friend. Write down the things you think you are most likely to forget and stick them behind the screen. You can do this in One Note if you use a computer behind the screen.
Break things down, section by section and write them down so you can refer to them in game
I outline everything and highlight things I know I will forget.
Read the material before hand and take a few min between encounters if needed to read what is coming up next.
Make it up!
This is usually terrible advice for a new player, but...
...look, it's your game. This isn't a computer game! Did the bad guys freak out and run away? Sure! They would! Maybe they were going to win, but the next guy up is going to die, and he is not up for that.
Was the fight too easy? Who says there isn't another baddy out there? Chuck him in!
It's your game. You can play it however you want.
...
With one player doing a roughly 4-player game, how are you doing it? Are they playing 4 characters? Remember you're allowed to play some too, as the DM, as long as you do what they "would" do. Otherwise cut the fights down. You can always tweak it like I said (run away, add more. You can even have an ally show up).
It's a story-telling game. Challenge your peeps, sure, and risk killing them. But tell a cool story! That's job 1. :)
...
If you forget things, make it up! After the game, work out how you "messed" the story up and how you might make it better. Pre-m,ade adventures are meant as a backbone. You can make up any skeleton and meat and skin and guts you like - and hell, if you don't like the backbone you can start fresh. It is your game.
...
Finally, one player is always hard. There's something about it that, as an old OLD DM, I really like, and remember fondly from my early days. But it's a bit like school: old folk remember school being great, but we still get nightmares about it.
One on one is hard. Even one extra player will make it easier.
Here's a pro tip that I picked up from some pro somewhere...
Before the session ends, have a good understanding of where the Party is headed next. If they have three options, for example, make them choose. And remember, you don't actually have to be in a spot that makes sense narratively. You are free to have an out of character discussion with your players about where they want to go after their current quest is complete. Yeah, I get that maybe they won't have all the info they need, but most of the time this won't be an issue.
Good luck!