Comment by 🌝 Mel
Re: "What to do when only one player is available? 1 on 1…"
Something that exists as a specific mode of play in Invisible Sun that I’ve carried over into other systems is the idea of “side-scenes.” Invisible Sun is a character-driven narrative by design, where characters level up by completing player-chosen player arcs rather than a GM-written story, so the idea of one on one play as a means to complete some of the more fiddly bits of those narratives is incredibly helpful. While most RPGs have a sort of handwave downtime, but this side scene system gives space for your artificiers to make, thieves to steal, wizards to research, etc. without slowing down the narrative.
Short story long, even if the group can’t meet you can still move the story along!
2024-07-14 · 2 years ago
3 Later Comments ↓
👽 TKurtBond [OP/mod] · 2024-09-08 at 01:27:
That sounds useful. I’ll have to think about how to adapt that to my situation.
🦂 zzo38 · 2024-10-20 at 03:32:
When I play TTRPG, it is usually 1 on 1, because there are no other players who are available other than myself and the GM. (In the past there was other players, but now there isn't.)
Currently, the system I play is GURPS. (No other players have ever played in this GURPS campaign, although some have made up character sheets.)
(Sometimes (although not usually), I will play by computer (I had done this during COVID-19 pandemic). I don't need any special software other than "ts" (from "moreutils" package); I just use something like "ts | tee | nc | ts | tee" (with appropriate arguments) and then merge and sort the log files to get a combined log.)
🌲 Half_Elf_Monk · 2025-03-12 at 03:22:
If only one player is available, do some quick retroactive character sheet manipulation, and play out some scenes from a backstory. "When {charname} was younger, {decisive events} were occurring, and it was a struggle. How did it play out?" If you know the character well enough, you can set up scenes. It adds a LOT to the #currentyear of game. If they play well, you can give like... hidden time bomb bonuses of special abilities they remember, or "I know a guy from way back when" who just so happens to be in the next village. Or lore drops that are strangely relevant to the next session.
Original Post
What to do when only one player is available? 1 on 1 adventure! — This time only one player was able to make it to my Saturday game session, but we hand enough notice that I got one of the 1 on 1 Adventures from Expeditious Press and did a quick read through and a very simple conversion from D&D 3E to Labyrinth Lord, mostly by substituting hit dice, armor class, and attacks from Labyrinth Lord and writing down the To Hit Armor Class Zero number. The player had a Labyrinth Lord monk from an...