One Judge, One Player

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Keith the Thief
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One Judge, One Player

Post by Keith the Thief »

Since I’m new here, let me give a tiny intro before I ask my simple question:
I started DMing D&D over Christmas Break in 1977-78 with a weird mashup of Metamorphosis Alpha, Holmes Basic, Greyhawk Supplement I, and some early issues of The Dragon/SR. I loved, and still love, dungeon crawls and very gonzo games. I DMed from then until I graduated from college in 1986. I then took a long break and resumed DMing in 2005. Since then, I’ve either been running games or collecting vintage D&D material.

When DCC first came out, I knew it would be the game for me. However, at the time my kids wanted to play Pathfinder, so that’s what we did. It was actually pretty fun, but wasn’t really the game for me. Too crunchy.

Fast forward to now, and my son will be home from college in a few weeks. He’s gotten interested in OSR-style play and would love to try DCC.

The trouble is that if I do this, it’ll just be him and me.

I want us to get as much of the DCC experience as possible, so I really want to run a funnel module.

But I’m wondering: Is this even possible with a single player?
If it is, is there a particular module that is conducive to this?

Thanks!
Keith
Never let it be said I didn’t do the least I could do.
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GnomeBoy
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Re: One Judge, One Player

Post by GnomeBoy »

I would consider saving the regular funnel modules for when you can at least scare up a couple more people. Part of the dynamic of a funnel is that any individual character is pretty limited, but in sheer numbers they can accomplish things...

There is a third-party solo adventure that you might consider adapting to one-on-one play:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/13 ... thrag-Keep

Or if you have any old Flying Buffalo Tunnels & Trolls solo adventures around, they might work, too!

The other option is to save the funnel altogether, and have him play a couple of leveled characters in a level 1 adventure (adjusted as needed).
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Keith the Thief
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Re: One Judge, One Player

Post by Keith the Thief »

GnomeBoy wrote: Sat Apr 02, 2022 12:45 pm I would consider saving the regular funnel modules for when you can at least scare up a couple more people. Part of the dynamic of a funnel is that any individual character is pretty limited, but in sheer numbers they can accomplish things...

There is a third-party solo adventure that you might consider adapting to one-on-one play:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/13 ... thrag-Keep

Or if you have any old Flying Buffalo Tunnels & Trolls solo adventures around, they might work, too!

The other option is to save the funnel altogether, and have him play a couple of leveled characters in a level 1 adventure (adjusted as needed).
I’ll check out the solo adventure, and I do indeed have some T&T modules. I’ll dig those out as well. Thanks!
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Raven_Crowking
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Re: One Judge, One Player

Post by Raven_Crowking »

There is a hack in one of the GFAs. You basically give him X "red shirts" which do nothing but take the hit for one of the main characters.

Once the funnel is wrapped up, this might help: https://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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Keith the Thief
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Re: One Judge, One Player

Post by Keith the Thief »

Raven_Crowking wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 4:08 pm There is a hack in one of the GFAs. You basically give him X "red shirts" which do nothing but take the hit for one of the main characters.

Once the funnel is wrapped up, this might help: https://ravencrowking.blogspot.com/2020 ... eroes.html
Good article. Thank you!

And having "red shirts" was exactly what I was wondering about.
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Keith the Thief
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Re: One Judge, One Player

Post by Keith the Thief »

Oh, another question: Did y'all use the funky dice when you first got started?
It would be simple for me to buy a set of Zocchi dice, but I’m lazy and don’t want to one-click on Amazon.

Are the dice actually necessary, or can you do the whole dice chain with a standard D&D dice set?
Never let it be said I didn’t do the least I could do.
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herecomethejudge
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Re: One Judge, One Player

Post by herecomethejudge »

Keith the Thief wrote: Thu Apr 07, 2022 2:03 pm Oh, another question: Did y'all use the funky dice when you first got started?
It would be simple for me to buy a set of Zocchi dice, but I’m lazy and don’t want to one-click on Amazon.

Are the dice actually necessary, or can you do the whole dice chain with a standard D&D dice set?
The funky dice are fun, and there's a cheap set from a company called "Who Knew," but you can definitely play with regular RPG dice.

For d3, either roll a d6 and cut the results in half, so to speak, or roll a d4 and re-roll if it comes up 4.
For d5, either roll a d10 and cut the results in half, or roll a d6 and re-roll if it comes up 6.
For d7, roll a d8 & re-roll on an 8, etc.
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herecomethejudge
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Re: One Judge, One Player

Post by herecomethejudge »

Keith the Thief wrote: Sat Apr 02, 2022 12:13 pm I want us to get as much of the DCC experience as possible, so I really want to run a funnel module.

But I’m wondering: Is this even possible with a single player?
If it is, is there a particular module that is conducive to this?

Thanks!
Keith
I've run one-on-one sessions, including two funnels, Portal under the Stars and Sailors on the Starless Sea. It definitely can be done, but the player will have to run 8-12 characters at a time; then, replace PCs as they die up to a certain limit (to keep some challenge). The 0-level four-sheets at Purple Sorceror make this feasible with just 2 or 3 sheets of paper: https://www.purplesorcerer.com/create_party.php

Then, after the funnel, have it so that the player will be running closer to the 4-8 characters that most modules are written for (kill off any extras fairly early in the level-1 module).
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Keith the Thief
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Re: One Judge, One Player

Post by Keith the Thief »


The funky dice are fun, and there's a cheap set from a company called "Who Knew," but you can definitely play with regular RPG dice.

For d3, either roll a d6 and cut the results in half, so to speak, or roll a d4 and re-roll if it comes up 4.
For d5, either roll a d10 and cut the results in half, or roll a d6 and re-roll if it comes up 6.
For d7, roll a d8 & re-roll on an 8, etc.
That makes sense. Thanks for the tip!
Never let it be said I didn’t do the least I could do.
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Keith the Thief
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Re: One Judge, One Player

Post by Keith the Thief »


I've run one-on-one sessions, including two funnels, Portal under the Stars and Sailors on the Starless Sea. It definitely can be done, but the player will have to run 8-12 characters at a time; then, replace PCs as they die up to a certain limit (to keep some challenge). The 0-level four-sheets at Purple Sorceror make this feasible with just 2 or 3 sheets of paper: https://www.purplesorcerer.com/create_party.php

Then, after the funnel, have it so that the player will be running closer to the 4-8 characters that most modules are written for (kill off any extras fairly early in the level-1 module).
This might be the approach we take. My son is especially fascinated by the idea of the funnel, so we might end up doing more than one.
Never let it be said I didn’t do the least I could do.
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Raven_Crowking
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Re: One Judge, One Player

Post by Raven_Crowking »

Keith the Thief wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 10:48 am
Raven_Crowking wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 4:08 pm There is a hack in one of the GFAs. You basically give him X "red shirts" which do nothing but take the hit for one of the main characters.

Once the funnel is wrapped up, this might help: https://ravencrowking.blogspot.com/2020 ... eroes.html
Good article. Thank you!
You are very welcome, and thank you for the kind words!

I got the funky dice as soon as I could, and then I started shopping around for cool dice. For instance, the black "casino style" d7 is my favorite die, followed by the "apple core" style d3.

I had gotten to an "only what I need" dice set with D&D (3e when I quit), but DCC reignited my love of cool dice, and I once again have enough that anyone at the table who needs them can borrow a set.
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.
Jakob
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Re: One Judge, One Player

Post by Jakob »

Similar question here: My current online group is only one GM, two players. I'm thinking about throwing DCC into the ring when it's my turn to GM again. I'd like to start with a funnel (probably Starless Sea, because I already know it from the other side of the gaming table and like it), but I'm not sure how many characters to give to each of them. I would hesitate to give them more than five each, lest they become a little too anonymous. However, I think the typical funnel is written for about 20 Level 0 characters, right? So would I have to more or less cut the monsters and the number of deadly traps by half?
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herecomethejudge
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Re: One Judge, One Player

Post by herecomethejudge »

Jakob wrote: Fri Jun 03, 2022 4:19 am Similar question here: My current online group is only one GM, two players. I'm thinking about throwing DCC into the ring when it's my turn to GM again. I'd like to start with a funnel (probably Starless Sea, because I already know it from the other side of the gaming table and like it), but I'm not sure how many characters to give to each of them. I would hesitate to give them more than five each, lest they become a little too anonymous. However, I think the typical funnel is written for about 20 Level 0 characters, right? So would I have to more or less cut the monsters and the number of deadly traps by half?
Just give them two sheets of four each (8 per player, 16 total). Zeroes are meant to be anonymous, and that number will be cut in half (at least) by the end of the funnel. (Purple Sorcerer Games has a nice character generator that does four zero-levels on one sheet.)
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Re: One Judge, One Player

Post by GnomeBoy »

20 is what I consider a maximum for any funnel I've ever run. That many zeroes and they start to get brash and can sometimes just overpower obstacles in a way that is distinctly un-Funnel-like.

I'd give them five each, and if you're doing Sailors, let them top up to no more than 4 each at the 'restock point'. That, and a little adjudication of the threats should make it work just fine.
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Playing RPGs since '77 • Quasi-occasional member of the Legion of 8th-Level Fighters.

Link: Here Be 100+ DCC Monsters

bygrinstow.com - The Home of Inner Ham
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