Running DCC with One player and One GM

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Arcanuum
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Running DCC with One player and One GM

Post by Arcanuum »

Is it possible? How do you go about it? Have any of you done so? If so how did it go?
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Re: Running DCC with One player and One GM

Post by Vort »

Welcome to DCC! Yes, it is definitely possible, and enjoyable! Though I haven't run DCC with only one, I have run MCC with one player and it ran quite well. I did Museum Out of Time as a zero-level funnel and gave her 4 PCs to start with. Whenever one died, I had her roll up another so she always had four. About 1/2 way through the adventure (2nd session) I levelled her PCs up to first level so she could get a taste for what full class PCs were like (mutations and such). As someone who is no longer interested in traditional D&D themed gaming, she enjoyed MCC and is after me to run another one.

It would work just as well for DCC. Run however many characters your player can handle (I read of one somewhere who ran 16 zeroes at once and still gave each a unique personality). Adjust encounters on the fly if you have few PCs -- or don't and increase the turnover rate. As a judge your work will probably be harder because you have fewer players to play off of (if that's something you need); otherwise, mechanically, there would be no limitations. It's a great way to learn the system and practice your skills.

For DCC there's The House of the Red Doors, a third-party module from James A. Pozenel that's specifically a one-on-one adventure. I haven't read or played it but have heard nothing but good things about it. I think there are several sessions of it being run at DCC Days coming up next week.
https://goodman-games.com/store/product ... print-pdf/

EDIT: Yep, 1 session at DCC Days still has open seats:
https://tabletop.events/conventions/dcc ... ed%20doors

I'm guessing there are also solo adventures in The Gongfarmer's Almanac, freely available as PDFs on DTRPG, though I've only started reading them so can't offer specific articles.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub ... m=gongfarm
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Shaky, Gambler, N, AC 10, hp 1, S12 A9 S5-2 P9 I9 L9, r+0, f-2, w+0, club +0 (1d4)
Shifty, Smuggler, C, AC 11, hp 1, S9 A15+1 S5-2 P13+1 I8-1 L8-1, r+1, f-2, w+1, init+1, attack rolls -1, sling +0 (1d4)
The Illuminating Anhk, Elven Artisan, L, AC 10, hp 3, S11 A9 S9 P13+1 I10 L15+1, r+0, f+0, w+1, fumbles +1, staff +0 (1d4)
KIA Bailey Bramford, Beadle, L, AC 11, hp 1, S13+1 A13+1 S12 P5-2 I13+1 L11, r+1, f+0, w-2, init +1, staff +1 (1d4+1)
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Re: Running DCC with One player and One GM

Post by GnomeBoy »

There's also this Solo Adventure, which might be adaptable to a 1-&-1 game...

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Re: Running DCC with One player and One GM

Post by Arcanuum »

Do you think using the rules in Scarlet Heroes for one one one games would work? Because I imagine you could have a zero level funnel and then when a character hits first level the duet rules start up.
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Re: Running DCC with One player and One GM

Post by Raven_Crowking »

Arcanuum wrote: Fri Jun 05, 2020 10:40 pm Is it possible? How do you go about it? Have any of you done so? If so how did it go?
Here is a blog post on just that topic: http://ravencrowking.blogspot.com/2020/ ... eroes.html
SoBH pbp:

Cathbad the Meek (herbalist Wizard 1): AC 9; 4 hp; S 7, A 7, St 10, P 17, I 13, L 8; Neutral; Club, herbs, 50' rope, 50 cp; -1 to melee attack rolls. Hideous scar.
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Re: Running DCC with One player and One GM

Post by Arcanuum »

Awesome. Thank you Raven.
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Re: Running DCC with One player and One GM

Post by Raven_Crowking »

Arcanuum wrote: Sat Jun 06, 2020 11:31 am Awesome. Thank you Raven.
You're welcome!
SoBH pbp:

Cathbad the Meek (herbalist Wizard 1): AC 9; 4 hp; S 7, A 7, St 10, P 17, I 13, L 8; Neutral; Club, herbs, 50' rope, 50 cp; -1 to melee attack rolls. Hideous scar.
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Re: Running DCC with One player and One GM

Post by herecomethejudge »

Arcanuum wrote: Fri Jun 05, 2020 10:40 pm Is it possible? How do you go about it? Have any of you done so? If so how did it go?
I've done it, and it works fine. If you think of video game RPGs, you often have one player controlling 3-8 characters, so it's not really different from that.
The big difference to me is that combat seems a bit more tedious when the player rolls for every character, but other than that, it works fine.
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Re: Running DCC with One player and One GM

Post by Bobjester »

I ran five 5e PCs in a game that we had to do online via Google Hangouts last month and I'm still waiting to get another hack at that game. I am sure that playing a funnel style DCC game always having 4 PCs is totally possible!

Of course, I used an online semi-random character generator to make those PCs, which would've taken me a whole day to create instead of minutes, and I think that was the major factor in getting to actually play within a certain time frame. But DCC characters are super easy to create, and I love the roll & go philosophy, creating background & personality as I go, as that suits the characters at the time, rather than setting them up for failure when they die before they're finished reading their own scripts.
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Re: Running DCC with One player and One GM

Post by Judge_Yossarian »

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/29 ... -Red-Doors

This is the only Duet adventure I know of for DCC, but you could certainly write your own, or just give the player a whole party to control.
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