Running adventures for a single player

[Will]

A friend is interested in playing The One Ring, with myself acting as loremaster; we both very much like the idea of adventures for a single character.

Does anyone have any advice as to which of the pre-made adventures (for example that from the core rulebook or those in Tales from Wilderland or The Darkening of Mirkwood) would be most adaptable for a single player? Preferably, I'd like to stick as close to the original adventures as possible as my friend has not played The One Ring before, and they are so well-written.

Also, does anyone have any advice about running an adventure for a single player in terms of gameplay mechanics? I considered having an NPC alongside their character, but haven't yet decided on this.

Thanks

[Yusei]

I think most adventures would fit. Just adjust the number of ennemies when you can, allow the character to take all the roles during a journey, and maybe give him more hope (as he can't replenish it as easily as a group could). IIRC, in Tales from Wilderland, "winning" usually doesn't require winning a big fight, so a single character should be fine if he is careful.

I don't recommend playing The Marsh Bell, though. The troll would be too strong, the marsh-dwellers too numerous, and I doubt Gloin would send a single adventurer on such a mission.

[Elmoth]

Make himself his own community focus. As long as he is not Wounded, Poisoned or Miserable he should be getting 2 points of Hope back.

I would make him make 1 roll of each kind per journey at most (4 rolls total) to see how he performs during the journey. Adjust the challenges he encounters depending o failed rolls. You can avoid doing some of the role-rolls as well. Travel roll would be needed in most journeys (unless travelling through a well marked or visible terrain, in which case it could be ignored), but a Hunt roll could be avoided, for example without affecting the narrative. So, choose the kind of rolls depending on terrain and expected challenges in the specific journey.

You could consider giving him Valor and Wisdom both at 2 to start with, so he gets a small boost (one extra Advantage) as a starting character.

Apart from that, I would say that Athletics and Stealth might be more important than combat skills, and that I would strongly suggest to him that close combat abilities are more adequate for him/her than shooting skills. Awe would also work great as a solo skill, better than in a group IMO. multi-use skills (Awe, song/persuasion) and social skills (specially Courtesy) would be useful, as well as some wilderness ones (athletics and stealth, mostly). A way to boost these would be a hound of mirkwood and similar advantages: chose the boosts in the areas where you are NOT profficient already, so the hound actually gives you a chance to pass the roll with the reroll; if you already have the ability at 3 you do not need the hound (or similar skills, like the dwarf helm) since you are OK with the ability. The social boosts for other social groups and races (beorning armor & lakemen merchant sense) are also very good for a solo character: basically they can help you to increase the "social blunder threshold" for your inexperienced character.

Cheers,
Xavi

[Marko]

You could give him 2–3 NPC companions. He would control them in combat and make some of their rolls, maybe.

[Yusei]

I'm not a big fan of NPCs that follow you around to help you, but he could also be a Woodman and have a Hound. That would, among other things, allow him to use rearward stance during combat (against one or two ennemies).

[Elmoth]

maybe even 2 hounds. Woudn't be a stretch to grant him that.

[Angelalex242]

Just start him off at higher 'level.'

Give him 50 XP and 80 AP to spend as he sees fit, and go from there.

Since he's his own company, ensure he's got at least 2 dice, preferably 3, in all 'company role' tasks.

[Dankers]

A friend is interested in playing The One Ring, with myself acting as loremaster; we both very much like the idea of adventures for a single character.

Does anyone have any advice as to which of the pre-made adventures (for example that from the core rulebook or those in Tales from Wilderland or The Darkening of Mirkwood) would be most adaptable for a single player? Preferably, I'd like to stick as close to the original adventures as possible as my friend has not played The One Ring before, and they are so well-written.

Also, does anyone have any advice about running an adventure for a single player in terms of gameplay mechanics? I considered having an NPC alongside their character, but haven't yet decided on this.

Thanks

Hi Will,

I've been running a single-player campaign for friend for the about 2 years now. There have certainly been a few growing pains along the way, but it has also been some of our most enjoyable gaming of late.

We've played through all of the pre-made adventures (some more heavily modified than others) but thinking on it now, the modifications I did make were based on how our story was unfolding and not because we only had one player. The Marsh Bell and Of Leaves and Stewed Hobbit are a good way to start. The poem and goblin-songs really highlight the flavour of Middle-Earth. Several here (including myself) have found it useful to build a larger adventure out of the dwarves' mission from the Marsh Bell: ie delivering the invitation to the Eagles. Rich has a good one.

As for mechanics two things are immediately apparent: journey rules and hope refresh are built around group play and must be altered. Hope refresh is simple enough. There will be natural moments in your story where the character will witness something that they find hopeful (kindness, beauty, mercy, wonder, etc). When these moments occur, let the player make a wisdom check for a chance to regain hope. It is not unwise to simply give a point or two of hope if the situation merits it. Journey rules are also simple to alter: just ignore the various roles and carry on.

You will also need to make a few minor modifications specific to your circumstance. Each culture & background has its gaps. For example, my player made a Barding with the Dragon-Eyed background which has a 3 Wits/Parry and no starting ranks in Athletics or Awareness. The low parry means that I have to be careful not to throw opponents with favoured weapon skills at the hero (goblin archers are particularly nasty against a starting character with a low parry). So sometimes I remove the "favoured" from an enemy's weapon skill. Basically, I try not to present obstacles that would exploit the character's gaps (unless, of course, the plot demands it).

I did have an NPC (at times two) accompany the player-character in a few of those early adventures. But these were handled simply, like true NPCs, and not as extra muscle. A good choice might be to have Balin join to the player-character after being saved in the Marsh Bell in order to complete that mission to the Eagles. Here is a good opportunity to highlight some of the game's themes. Perhaps Balin was made miserable by his failure in the Marsh Bell? The journey to the Eagles could also be about helping Balin regain some hope and realize that he is not too old for adventuring.

Happy gaming!
Daniel

[Elmoth]

Perhaps Balin was made miserable by his failure in the Marsh Bell? The journey to the Eagles could also be about helping Balin regain some hope and realize that he is not too old for adventuring.

Given what Balin did later on, it seems your player did get quite a few sixes to raise his Hope! Great idea on the Hope recovery and themes using NPCs, BTW. Will steal some of it

Cheers,
Xavi