My therapist: "Chaotic evil monochrome Seth doesn't exist and can't hurt you" Seths new upload:

@richmcgee434

3 жыл бұрын

Serpent Woman Seth, OTOH is all too real. :)

Solo games are a good way to learn the game as a new player too

@echorome6260

3 жыл бұрын

I often do this for new players with a modified version of the Matt Mercer Stephen Colbert game. It has a bit of combat, a bit of exploration, some roleplaying, a DMPC to keep them on track and a nice neat ending. Highly recommend!

@thelastmotel

3 жыл бұрын

This is one-to-one. Solo is something else.

"I love how Duet Games sound but my games usually aren't that romantic" USUALLY

@Meatball996

3 жыл бұрын

AWOOGA * eyes pop out of head , jaw drops to the floor, tongue rolls out of mouth and my heart starts pulsating out of my chest *

My only experience with RPing is one-on-one and it ended up being an incredibly detailed ongoing campaign that was more like two co-writers creating a world and a story. Good times! :)

@michaelramon2411

3 жыл бұрын

That is a valid point about a unique feature of the solo game - it lends itself to the player creating as much of the experience as the GM does.

@vapormissile

3 жыл бұрын

Some of the best are small groups. (roll d20 for getting a good table at the inn.)

@ratter88

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah. I had an experience like that in a play-by-text game that sprung out of one of those king-of-the-hill forum games. Looking back at it, it isn't great writing or super immersive, but I still draw inspiration from those two characters to this day, and the character I played has become my go-to for impromptu villains in games I DM.

I have done this so many times for friends or kids who couldn't make a larger game. I found it's the best way to introduce kids to the game. They can find their voice in a setting where the competition for attention isn't a problem.

@girlbuu9403

3 жыл бұрын

Not just kids, new players in general. It is how I introduced my mother to the game.

@--enyo--

2 жыл бұрын

Some people are really shy and it’s a good way to get them into the game.

My players once stumbled across an inoperative android in the early stages of a puzzle dungeon. They reactivated her and asked if she could provide clues as to how to get through the puzzles. The response: "I'm not programmed to provide assistance, only make sarcastic observations" The players "Even better!"

@gnarthdarkanen7464

3 жыл бұрын

I once plopped an authentically enchanted 8-Ball (even glowed for detect magic with the illusion school...btw) in the early territory of a dungeon. I'd gone so far as to have a chart behind the GM-screen, with the various things it could say, and numbers assigned for dice-rolling... The thing WAS entirely random... What ensued, was such an entertaining series of mental gymnastics among the Players for the Party to continue carrying AND USING the stupid thing that I (at least) will never forget it. Now... admittedly... the first couple of rolls I made were dubiously parallel or close to "dead on" predictions as they'd asked and shook the ball... BUT it was still just an 8-ball with an illusion spell to respond to questions with the random answers... That's it... I'm confident at least a couple of my Players were truly amused at their own endeavors to defend the thing as "mysterious" or "vague" instead of "wrong" or stupid... BUT the adventures created out of it were HILARIOUS... ;o)

@remixtheidiot5771

3 жыл бұрын

So... She is basically that robot from Portal? Amazing.

@gaozhi2007

3 жыл бұрын

@@remixtheidiot5771 Quiet, Meatbag!

@raphaa16

2 жыл бұрын

@@remixtheidiot5771 everybody loves GLaDOS

I can't wait for Seth to teach us how to play with ourselves.

@jakesgenuineanarchy5955

3 жыл бұрын

Hehehehe

@falloutdude2308

3 жыл бұрын

Hehehehehehe

@fran3ro

3 жыл бұрын

He's an expert, having a four way session in many videos, all by himself.

@ethanlocke3604

3 жыл бұрын

The expression when he said at least today was amazing

@Dazyhead

3 жыл бұрын

Pin it, seth

Its kinda creepy how I was wondering “I’ve never ran a solo game, wonder if Seth is gonna do a video?” And then i log onto youtube

@cameronwilson5323

3 жыл бұрын

His spies are watching...

@benoitlabrecque4513

3 жыл бұрын

I was about to run my first solo game... ;p

@fajile5109

3 жыл бұрын

Its very Cthulhu of him

@thelastmotel

3 жыл бұрын

One-to-one. Solo is something else.

@bonbondurjdr6553

3 жыл бұрын

You thought it, your phone learned it and sold the info. to Seth!

I want to point out that it's "Fewer people to silence", but that might get me added to the list...

@robpegler6545

3 жыл бұрын

Stannis Baratheon kept pointing that out, and look what happened to him.

The npc/talking the problem out loud is totally a thing in development that some call Rubber Ducking. It comes from a tale of a lone coder who realized explaining the problem out loud engaged a different area of the brain but didn't have a colleague to talk with. So he kept a rubber duck in his drawer and would pull it out to explain the problem to it. Most of the time it went like in the video, partway through the explanation the solution presented itself.

@coreymayo8321

3 жыл бұрын

Learned something new!

@gleggett3817

3 жыл бұрын

Also known sometimes as cardboard programming ( you explain the problem to any colleague but they might as well be a cardboard cutout for the purpose)

I ran a solo campaign for my son way back in the 4E days. I had him play as a ranger so that he could run with a companion, and on some missions where I wanted to have bigger groups of baddies, he was paired with an NPC who would usually be more badass power-wise, but would defer to my son's character for story decisions. It was working pretty well for the most part. It helped my son learn how to play the game, and gave us that one on one time. We eventually got to a point where other people we knew wanted to play, so we started a whole new campaign, but I really enjoyed where the solo adventure was going. It was going to be pretty epic in the end (chosen of Bahamut with a gold dragon companion, fighting against the forces of Tiamat in an epic final battle). Maybe some day I'll be able to get back to running something like that again.

Seth: I like duet but that sounds more romantic than how mine go Me: *sips coffee* Seth: So let's talk about these small intimate games... Me: *sips coffee with undertones of irony*

New term: limelight games.

When I first got started gaming, many moons ago, I'd say 40 to 70% of my gaming was trading the GM seat with another guy, running a solo game for each other. We were young and stupid, and the games were invariably a train wreck. But it is still to this day THE experience I try to recreate and recapture every time I sit down to play.

"One on one, I wanna play that game tonight". -Darryl Hall

ah, yes. The "Have your girlfriend try the game" game

@thefallencat2080

3 жыл бұрын

Gonna have my gf try out paper chase in not too long so this is accurate

@UOUPv2

2 жыл бұрын

I'm in this comment and I don't like it.

@tortture3519

2 жыл бұрын

@@UOUPv2 Same

@brush5004

2 жыл бұрын

@@thefallencat2080 wow. i looked up this video because i'm going to run paper chase for my girlfriend pretty soon. guess i'm not alone haha.

@thefallencat2080

2 жыл бұрын

@@brush5004 Well, I don't wanna shit on your attempt... But she left me lmao

This was the way I learned RPG's with my brother and honestly remains my preferred method of play. I feel like big groups end up turning things into a comedy session or a slog while one-on-one remains focused. Downside is as a DM you do burn through content faster than in a larger group when they take much more time to make decisions and the solo player doesn't quite have that need to deliberate before acting. Everything you say here is spot on Seth. I hope this introduces people to a style they may not have considered before.

@ForeverYoungKickboxer

3 жыл бұрын

👍👍👍👍

Love that you're talking about this. My hubby and I are both GMs and one of us always has a game running for the other (even if we have group games running at the same time) - we switch turns hehe. I use a lot of NPCs - the player is never alone and can rely on their friends and contacts - I let him choose who he wants in his team. The player will usually be in a group with 2 or 3 sidekicks, depending on the setting and adventure - it can be more. And I agree with you - it's way better to learn to GM with only one player!

"They're not rolling anything above a seven." 8:54 Seems to be a permanent curse my collection of d6 suffer from.

@richmcgee434

3 жыл бұрын

If your individual six-siders are rolling any sevens at all you may want to examine them a little more closely. :)

@larsdahl5528

3 жыл бұрын

When the GM use them they can roll that high, but then the GM have a GM-screen preventing me from examining them a little more closely.

@richmcgee434

3 жыл бұрын

@@larsdahl5528 "You're picking whatever numbers you like and just pretending to roll the dice back there, aren't you?" "Mmmmmaybe?" :)

@Nukestarmaster

3 жыл бұрын

Really, my d6s consistently roll above 11.

@oz_jones

2 жыл бұрын

If you are platina CoC, rolling 7+ on d6 is normal

that "less people to silence" was far too sinister to be a joke

@jeffbrownstain

3 жыл бұрын

Don't research Seth's past... his younger friend went missing in his childhood. Some say Seth was involved but the cops could never prove it. They say he's a mastermind who bested even the FBI and L.

@jeffbrownstain

3 жыл бұрын

@@sturat5166 shhhhhhhh. Do you want us to to disappear too???

@Anacronian

3 жыл бұрын

Joke?.. You thought it was a joke?

@larsdahl5528

3 жыл бұрын

No one survived to remember the famous last word: Bombshell!!!

@SHAWN94ITA

3 жыл бұрын

"Based on a true story"

With regards to tailoring the character: I've always liked the idea of the character sheet representing the player's challenge wishlist. If the player puts a bunch of points into stealth, the GM should take that as a sign that the player wants to encounter lots of stealth opportunities. If the player puts very little into investigation, then that's perhaps an opportunity for some contained drama. Definitely sprinkle in other encounters that the player's not good at to either keep them humble or make them feel extra awesome for overcoming the odds to get a bonus, but try to base the main challenge on what the player is asking for.

@richmcgee434

3 жыл бұрын

Agreed. You can't (and shouldn't) cater to all your players all the time (even with just one player) but keeping what they shine at in mind when setting up challenges is always a good idea. At the same time, you shouldn't let them get into the habit of always expecting to use the same bag of tricks or becoming so overspecialized that they can't take alternate approaches to problem solving. It's a balancing act.

@larsdahl5528

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, and you (as GM) should know the characters well enough to be able to tailor your descriptions to the individual characters. The stealthy character may notice how squeaky the floorboards are. The master investigator may see the little piece of glass on the floor, whereas the novice investigator may first discover it by the crunching sound that emerges when stepping on that piece of glass.

@The_Custos

3 жыл бұрын

Great idea. Took bow and martial arts in cyberpunk. Gm gave me plenty of archery opportunities and... basic tech. *Sad bow monk noises* 😔

I write so many “solo adventures” for my players, so that their 2-weeks-off income has a story. When they want to. It’s fun to write a TOTALLY rogue centric encounter for the halfling, or an intrigue riddled court scenario for the charismatic ranger.

Usually I run one of these if there's a system or setting I really want to try but can only scrounge up one friend to try it. I also call them solo games. Running and playing yourself is called "writing a novel."

I've always referred to it as a "solo adventure", at it's an adventure with a single PC, rather than a "solo game", which implies that the game itself is "solo", and thus, played when alone.

@thelastmotel

3 жыл бұрын

No. It's one-to-one. solo is another thing.

@Ash__Adler

3 жыл бұрын

GM+1 (or just "+1") is my go-to, but I know that sounds too intimate for some people.

@richmcgee434

3 жыл бұрын

I rather like duet myself, even if it's a pretty newly-minted term.

@oz_jones

2 жыл бұрын

@@thelastmotel reading comprehenision isnt your thing?

Me and my partner have been running one on ones four years now and find them very enjoyable. And yes sidekicks are super important. I recommend 2 partners to the player. They help add skills and balance combat. They also provide somone for the player to RP with consistently.

I did actually do a 1 on 1 game during a CoC campaign. I had setup hooks for the Mr. Corbitt scenario (thanks to Seth's review of it) since the beginning. During a few weeks where it was me and the single player around, we played it and it was pretty fun. All on his own, he developed a fear of loose body parts, fed his pet snake hallucinogens, and almost got himself arrested by the police during a nervous breakdown. Then the creepy basement monster got out and started a grotesque rampage outside of town till federal officers took it down. Good times. I also did another 1 on 1 with the same player to practice Pulp Cthulhu rules.

14:00 I was scared you were going to say a companion should offer advice. I think Matthew Colville goes into detail on the logic of why not but obviously that's a bad idea. The roleplaying actually added something Matthew couldn't present as well because it showed how a companion can fill the pauses without trying to give answers. Really liked that, clarified a lot.

@Ash__Adler

3 жыл бұрын

I'm fine with the companion reminding the player of items or abilities they have that they might be overlooking, but I hold back on doing that until the player first mentions an idea that they're just struggling to come up with a method of implementing.

@daveshif2514

3 жыл бұрын

Agreed, its best to ask the player if they want help first, some people really hate “smart” npc helpers, even if it means they fail, they failed on their own. Mostly, only new players usually need or want the help imo. Im glad seth mentioned skills because in dnd and pf, skills are one of the biggest balancing issues due to the four pc party format, so npcs can really help flesh out the skills. Theres also rules for hiring npcs which can be nice, i use rules for contacts, and also a cost per day for skilling services. Crafting is one skill that usually ends up needing some hired help

@The_Custos

3 жыл бұрын

Oh no, have the companion offer advice, but it is all over the place, very much from their point of view, and a bit selfish. 😏 Then if they stick with it, it's more to learn more about the npc as a character, then a hint. 😉

@The_Custos

3 жыл бұрын

E. G. "How do we get past these ogre guards?" Npc quietly explains a backstory connection and feud with ogre raiders, he thinks he remembers how to say to them, "Get off my land", in their tongue. Cautions about rushing in and dying, getting eaten, as much as he would *love* to kill them. Then asks the pc/pcs if they have any means of getting around the ogres. Back on track, more rp, get them to find a solution.

@mnm1273

3 жыл бұрын

@@The_Custos But that leaves the plan being the go round the ogre. Sure it's all in character. But all that mean sis that the character you create says the advice. Remember an idea doesn't need to be good for players to follow it. It just has to feel good. And if it comes from eh mouth if the DM (even through an NPC) it feels like it must be good.

Your videos are always informative, interesting, amusing, and oddly calming. They have saved a small portion of my sanity over the past year, so thanks!

Solo games are also a great way to give a player who may have missed a regular game session a chance to earn some experience. For games like D&D that keeps the group from having huge level gaps between players.

@thelastmotel

3 жыл бұрын

Not solo. One-to-one. Two different animals.

This is literally one of my favorite ways to roleplay, now being discussed by one of my favorite RPG youtubers. Hell yeah.

A friend and I did this for a couple of years, cuz as you adult schedules change. We had tons of fun switching off between the DM/player roles. Then we tried to get back into group play and we hated it. Lol

@The_Custos

3 жыл бұрын

Groups can suck.

I’ve recently discovered, subbed and am in the process of watching every single of this guy. And I’m a better man for it.

@richmcgee434

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, Seth's a treasure.

You just accidentally inspired this lonely madman to dungeonmaster for himself. I'm like; "Wait... YOU CAN DO THAT?" *glances at stack of dusty books nearby*

2 minutes in and I've already laughed a ton. The jokes are on fire in this one.

@stonerocks0

3 жыл бұрын

Same here. Love his humour.

That I can't give you a million thumbs up for a Big Trouble in Little China reference is basically a crime against humanity.

I've been running 1 on 1 sessions called sideventures with my players after my campaign went on haitus at the end of it's 'Act 2'. Not only have these sessions been much less stressful for me but after asking for feedback from each player, they said they thoroughly enjoyed their own sideventures! They've allowed me to have a deep dive in their backstories without them feeling any pressure of 'wasting other player's time', allowed me to introduce new NPC connections to them and really help just flesh out their characters in a way that might not be really possible in the 'main plot' of the normal campaign. I will be running these sideventures in all future campaigns I run from now on, I highly recommend other DMs try them out.

Back in the day (80's for me) playing D&D with your brother was the only way you could game. My little bro still plays in my group to this day. Never told him how much I appreciated all those one on one games. This game night I will.

@oz_jones

8 ай бұрын

I hope you did. I assume that he knows it, but it's nice to hear out loud too.

I love how a 1 person channel has such a cast of characters. Seth isn't Matt Mercer but he has enough range for a great game master

@shanelorrison5224

3 жыл бұрын

I like Matt but I’d rather have Seth run a game.

WOW! I never thought about the fact that Kurt Russell was the sidekick in BTiLC. !@%mind blown%@! Great Video!

One on one plus sidekick npc with a good friend has always been my favourite way to play any ttrpg.

Nice video! I really like the sidekicks sound-boarding. I feel like I need a real life sidekick because it took me too long to solve the beam puzzle.

Another thing on sidekicks, in my opinion. One great part of rpgs are the growing relationships between characters as they learn more about each other and develop more friendship (hopefully). A sidekick gives the player someone engaging to talk to while traveling, And allows for character relationship development as they learn about the NPC. Also, simply having another friendly character around would likely increase the amount the player speaks as their character, helping them get into the role better.

Early 1990s. Backroads around Avon, Clancy, Wolf Creek Canyon, MT. Toyota Supra. I used two dice, a D20, D6 in the ashtray (clean) Buddy is a driving prodigy. I would DM from the passenger seat & read the paperwork with the vanity-light on the visor. He would drive & talk, and I would roll. We ran Vault, Homlett, & some homegrown. Best friends. Effing halcyon days.

@ForeverYoungKickboxer

3 жыл бұрын

This brought back good memories brother

I love that Pulp Cthulhu has an actual Sidekick archetype to use. My player's driver (heavily, um, "inspired" by Kato) has saved more than one solo game from ending in tragedy.

@richmcgee434

3 жыл бұрын

Having Bruce Lee on call in case of emergencies does seem like it would be beneficial, yeah. :)

Just bought a new system and was planning on doing one with my brother. And then I saw this. Stop spying on me Seth, it was funny before. Now its just terrifying

@SSkorkowsky

3 жыл бұрын

It's pure coincidence. I promise. By the way, you're getting low on milk and should pick some more up soon. Also, get some more of those chips that I like.

I've only run a very few one-on-one games like this. The first was a woman who was the only one to show for the game that day. I pulled out a little scenario I'd had just for such and occasion, but she left after only an hour. The other two were pick-up games for people who had not been able to make several games, but were now planning on coming back to the regular game, so I used the one-on-ones as both a reintroduction to what was going on and to give them a little information that could be useful to the rest of the group. Those were both a great deal of fun. By the way, I didn't see the link to the other video in your description.

My favorite rpg for a "duet" or a "trio" game was the old Victory Games James Bond 007 Game. It is one of the best genres and rulesets for "duet" play. The player creates a 00 agent level character or plays Bond himself. The 00 agents have the skills to make in through a scenario on its own.

This is highly relevant content, Seth, as I've only recently (two weeks ago) started playing in my first proper one-on-one campaign, where I'm the player and my Curse of Strahd GM is yet again GM-ing for me. It's going very well and we're both having quite a bit of fun. It's a lighthearted isekai/harem setting, where I primarily use monster corpses and rocks as weapons (Tavern Brawler) and wrestle everything else by way of an off-color grapple build (Fighter + Phoenix Sorcerer + homebrew Grappler class from dnd5ewikidot). Similarly, I had a Session -1 for Curse of Strahd where I played a mini one-on-one campaign that established my character's backstory and it was, hands-down, the best time I've ever had playing DnD (granted, I've only actively played DnD for ~3-4 months now, but still).

There is a big side effect of this playstyle, it might inspire you to write an epic bestselling fantasy series like the Malazan book of the fallen, use at your own risk.

You are never going to believe this, but a few days ago I was trying to plan a one-on-one game for a friend, and thought you had made a video on it (I mistook one shot for one-on-one). This could not come at a better time for me, thank you so much.

I literally just started a one on one game the other day and was looking for tips. I swear your account is just simply my favorite account.

One on one games are great for scouting in my experience. When one player is going to scout out a location ahead of the group I have that player come in an hour or two early. People don't have to sit and watch as they scout and later during the game they get to explain where to go and what to watch out for. The party doesn't just know from meta knowledge.

I once ran two one-on-one games in the same session, where the "non-active-player" acted as Backup GM, including some "N"PC sidekicks. The Cleric had this visionquest and the Wolfman searched for a master to teach him more wolf powers(houserules for TDE). We combined the sessions as the story wasn't really extensive enough for a whole session each and they were ok with playing second fiddel to eachother. It was quite weired but it worked out great.

I like to run one on one prologue sessions for my players, sometimes two on one, before they all meet up for the first campaign session. This was especially useful for my current group, which consists of all first time players.

I find intelligent familiar-like companions to be really helpful in solo campaigns. It allows the DM to have a voice or be a sounding board when needed, but doesn't involve having a full-blown character to account for in combat.

The solo adventure in the starter kit is how I learned the basics of CoC 7e

I’ve had to do one-on-one for most of my gaming life. Other than 3 years in college, I’ve never a had group of players.

When the player couldn't figure out the puzzle solution, I half expected the DM to just tell him he took so long the beam eventually aligned naturally.

I was the dice they rolled in that first table top RPG with only the DM and one other player and I have been on the run ever since...

I just started with my son he’s 8. I am going to have my hands full because I’m designing a party to help him along so we can have those melees. Making characters is my favorite part anyway

That last blurb about the PC being a sidekick and the NPC being the big damned hero was ingenious! The rest of the video was great too, but that was mind blowing.

What? A new Skorkowsky video? Lets watch it three times in a row =) .. Thanks Seth for sharing all this good stuff! Cheers!

One of the best games I ever played was a one on one game where the GM handed me a pregenerated noble character in a Travellers game and told me I needed to assemble a team and go solve a crisis at an archeological dig site on a different world. Time pressure, limited resources available in specialists I could recruit, etc. That turned out to be one of my favorite characters and games. It spawned a number of follow up games, and a few different campaigns.

One-on-one games have had some of the best roleplay out of one of my best players. A situation with a body-snatching alien that I thought would just be a spooky set piece for drama with the character turned into a long drawn out discussion with this alien as it spoke in a way the character could finally understand and went from being sure that the character was the enemy to convincing it that what it was doing was wrong and making it a major ally for the rest of the story.

There's a one-on-one Star Wars actual play podcast called Silhouette Zero. The GM, Chris, said one method he likes to use is to let the player make their character and then make a droid PC as a sidekick. It fits thematically, and the droid can make up for whatever areas the PC might be missing. I just ran through the Star Wars Edge of the Empire beginner game and follow-up adventure with my husband as the GM, and I played two of the pregenerated PCs. It was a lot of fun, and I didn't find the bookkeeping to be overwhelming, even though it was the first time I'd ever played an RPG. For our upcoming campaign, I've decided to make an intellect-focused pilot who is weak in combat skills, and her sidekick is going to be an assassin droid.

Just did two separate solo games for my campaign. One was for the Master Thief who had two “sidekicks” - a 5th level Barbarian and a 4th level ranger. The fighter types provided some much needed combat prowess but also were invaluable as a means to drop hints to the PC without it being railroady or patronizing. The other was the Magic User thanks to a teleport gone bad due to an evil book ala Necronomicon. He was less fortunate but picked up a magic bag that he pulled his only companion for the adventure from, Clucko, an ordinary chicken. The bird proved to be a life saver as it alerted the MU to approaching ghouls while trekking thru a cursed area of a desert. The direct one on one play was a hit for the players and myself. Also BTiLC is a personal favorite

A note on Side Kicks, and NPCs. To expand on Seth's advice Side Kicks can be more than just a third hand and a sounding board. They can also relay the danger of a situation, or story, by suffering the dangers of an adventure. Last game I ran was a solo with my friend. His side kick was the character's brother. He died horribly to the undead sorcerer in the climax of the first part of the campaign. Now my player's character had a personal stake in hunting that sorcerer down for the rest of the campaign. I also had NPCs that became allies that he could take with him, and consult if needed. By the end of the campaign he gathered a full party to attack the sorcerers temple. These were a variety of NPCs that had their own stakes in going after the sorcerer. It was a brutal fight that left some dead, permanently crippled, and my player's character achieving that bitter sweat vengeance that almost kills you yourself. Also knowing his god approved of his dedication to village and family. He controls the side kicks actions, while I speak for them. In addition any friendly NPCs can be controlled by the player. If the player's character is not a good researcher then let him roll fro the librarian NPC while he talks explains what he needs.

Solo games were great when friends in the game group was busy, out of town, TDY ect. But those few left who still was in the mood to have a game, this was the way to go. I like the example of one player mini adventures. Lets be honest almost every party with a rouge... wants to go out and do rouge things. Now is the perfect chance to do so, while the party's paladin isn't looking ;)

Good advice overall. A couple of comments: 1. When it comes to puzzles and the like, I highly recommend focusing on puzzles without one fixed solution. Set up a situation (e.g. "there is an octopus in your stomach, and it's biting you"), but then be open to working with what the player comes up with to get through it. 2. NPCs companions/sidekicks are great, but they aren't necessary to have a sounding board. The GM can just fill that role by prompting the player to express their thoughts or concerns, similar to how single protagonists in other media would share their inner monologues.

"Best sidekick ever." Indeed!

Another well written, informative and funny video. You are by the far the best maker of videos on gaming on the internet. Keep up the great work and I look forward to the next video!

1:51 This earned my thumb up.

@buckv9494

3 жыл бұрын

me too lolz

One-on-one games are also handy for nervous GMs learning to run games. Find a friend you're comfortable hanging out with and run one-on-ones to get used to narrating, managing plot threads, and running combat in your system.

I have a lot of experience with one-on-one as a player. I tend to be the only one who makes characters that have larger ambitions and goals (e.g. my steampunk noble is very heavy on intrigue, business, and influence). And we try to leave these things largely between sessions. Sometimes GM decides that a full one-on-one session is needed. It can of course increase the GM's workload (so I really appreciate it). And it's a pity that other players aren't there if something exciting happens to happen. But on the other hand, these side events will give material to GM: news, rumors, NPCs, plot hooks, ways to share information needed for the main game through me, ideas, locations, even whole quest lines. And my GM seems to enjoy when something that I did comes back later to bite the party's ass: Other players try to figure out what went wrong while I try to act innocent while being in shock...

I have another idea along the sidekick line. Have a recurring villain that *only* shows up in 1 on 1 games, preferably if they take place in the past. You have to do it for each player, but never have this villain in your main games, just some far flung in the past baddie they faced once. Then in a main game after the baddie has been set up, reveal that he's been stalking every player individually and trying to bring them together to destroy them, exclaiming every move they made in their quest was part of his grand plot or some nonsense. Then make him easy to kill and loaded with treasure as a way to pay back the past from the present. Then, back to main quest, just a bump on the road.

This was very helpful! I recently started coming up with a mechanic to include down the road for a Call of Cthulhu modern day paranormal investigator campaign (inspired in the first place by your "Haunting" review) where they have their own network of contacts and maybe even spin-off shows that I could use solo adventures for.

The timing of this is perfect! About to start running a series of 1:1 games getting players ready for my CoC campaign that will begin in the summer.

I haven't played much tabletop, but I would consider my first game a solo/duo game. We were playing Star Wars Saga Edition, and our GM was handling one story solo with our bounty hunter player before I got there, and then picked up myself and my friend as a duo Jedi story where we were starting as Padawan on our knighthood test. We were eventually supposed to meet all three characters up for shenanigans, but we didn't have much more than a few sessions. Seemed tough basically running two games at once but he (the gm) handled it really well.

I think learning to DM 1 on 1 is a must especially of you have small parties. I mean it might just be me but my players have such a low show up rate that I can have 6-7 players in the campaign and still end up doing 1-2 sessions. Must say not having any plans for 1-1 sessions has been kind of foolish on my part (especially with the sessions with smaller pools I've been doing recently). Am I hte only one in this situation?

@brandonfaddis7443

3 жыл бұрын

I used to have similar situations. One thing that can help, if you're having issues with player attendance, is to sit down with them and explain the amount of work you have to put in for each session, and to explain that if you're going to commit a considerable amount of your free time to planning the sessions, you'd like them to at least commit the time and effort to show up regularly. However, sometimes life happens and players can't show for no fault of their own, at which point it is nice to have some one, two, and three player session ideas on the back burner if you can work them naturally into your campaign.

@Christopheromoan

3 жыл бұрын

Every game I’ve ever been apart of has been this way. Game 1- everybody and their girlfriend is there with a character. Straight up 6 or 7 Beer. Pizza. Laughs. Tears. Fun. By Game 5 - X isn’t here because he broke up with his girlfriend. Y isn’t there because he’s currently with Xs girlfriend. Z is stalwart and will always show. I am Z in this example lol

@daveshif2514

3 жыл бұрын

I dont allow last minute cancellations, except for work or health. Theres hefty penalties , because, as i tell the players, youre not upsetting ME the gm, but you are wasting the time of everyone who did show up. People spend a lot of their time and energy to play dnd so for someone to not show up is super rude. It is a commitment, unless you have a more open door policy. Id say, youre nicer than most if you allow these cancellations. But if you find that you cant get more new players, and you dont want to punish the ones you have too much, maybe you should frame your game as an open door table, so the story doesnt require anyone to be there. Yeah the pcs take a more backseat role, but anyone can go or come as they please. The game would have to be more setting driven rather than goal driven, and each game would likely be more vignetted and less episodic, and mayb you could have a rp chat room for in between games. I use discord for this, and a lot of rp actually happens between games, which can help the longevity of the game as players will be more involved

I've GM'd one-on-one games for decades, great fun, and most players like it a lot once they've tried it. Solo games--see Fighting Fantasy or the Lone Wolf gamebook series by Joe Dever. Actually, the solo in the 7th edition CoC starter set is one of the better solo games I've played designed for a fully fledged RPG. Dig it, baby!

I appreciate how you organized the main video topics. Great work, thanks!

Love your videos, and your books as well. Keep it up Seth.

This was great, Seth! Thanks so much.

Great Advice as always. I've been used to doing some solo games before, and having a buddy can be really helpful. It's definitely a fun way to go through the game, and definitely goes by quickly when the battles are a little smaller scale and there's that back and forth.

I have played in two 1 on 1 Cypher system games. One was a fantasy adventure on a Dark Sun style world with a fellow NPC, separated from out tribe and the other was a modern collage student mystery game that ended with my character and 2 NPC, "sliding" to a new alternate timeline! I so enjoyed both of them!

The scene without and with a sidekick made this video a good piece IMO.

I deeply appreciate this video. Thanks Seth!

Great video! Thank you!

"One-on-one, I want to play that game tonight" --Hall & Oates That's what popped in my head when you said "'Duet games' sounds more romantic" than your 1-on-1 games usually are. The old James Bond 007 game by Victory Games, Inc. was a pretty good 1-on-1 game. The scenarios were specifically written with 1-on-1 options and they were lots of fun for both GM and player. A 1-on-1 session or two are also good for getting a new player up to speed with the game system and puts a little experience under their belt for joining an existing campaign. That way the new player and his or her character don't have that freshman look on their face and maybe have a story or two to tell when they join the main party.

I am running a solo game where I gave the PC some sidekicks so he could take on larger groups. He actually controls the sidekicks during combat and action scenes. I control the sidekicks during downtime when the PC protagonist wants to bounce ideas off of them. Sometimes the sidekicks rotate. When the PC protagonist wants to do something specific, he'll call on the past NPCs he knew that have the special skills he need. We've made a lot of Ocean's Eleven jokes. I frequently go Captain Kirk style where one sidekick gives a logical perspective and the other gives an emotional perspective but the Captain makes the decision and/or comes up with a solution to incorporate both views.

It's always a good day when there's a new Seth Skorkowsky video about general TTRPG topics.

Done this a few times to break new players into a full campaign. Like the topic! Keep the vids coming!

Great video as always. The scene with the sidekick immensely reminded me of Ciaphas Cain and his aide Ferik Jurgen. The aide also usually just gives affirmations and occasionally asks whether a snack is in required. Granted, he also lugs around the big gun, but that's another story.

Excellent timing! I was thinking of doing a 1 on 1 campaign.

I'd never heard them referred to as "Duets" and now I'm personally thrilled to pitch one to my wife with that 10/10 branding :)

I actually use 1 on 1 games a lot in crisis counselling. It's amazing how much it helps people settle their nerves when you can just drop them into a simple, one hour quest to slay some monsters for a bit.

Your videos are always top tier

Not gonna lie I've never considered a one on one game, but you've got me curious

@eugeniocolon3172

3 жыл бұрын

Same here! Got my eyes on creating a one-on-one side mission

@stefansneden1957

3 жыл бұрын

Internet era makes this so much easier. Lot's of sessions produce incidents that Me and a single player get back to during the week in between sessions, one on one

@Katosepe

3 жыл бұрын

They can be a ton of fun if you've got a partner, sibling, or child that wants to play but getting a full group together is tough. My wife and I have played several duet games, even a full campaign, and really enjoyed the dynamic.

Thanks for the video Seth, I've been missing these more general guides to running ttrpgs, they're always really insightful for a wannabe GM.

Thank you very much for the tips! Your channel has helped me a lot in understanding RPGs, and this video was especially relevant- I'm going to have my first DM experience soon, and my plan is to run solo games with each of my players. Hopefully, they'll each get used to the new system and develop their characters. And I'll have 4 or so games worth of experience by the first full session!