One-on-One D&D, Running The Game
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 8 фев 2025
- Can you play D&D with a GM and just one player? Yes you can!
Grace Cheung joins MCDM! Check out her art!
www.behance.ne...
Q&A stream live right here Friday at 12 PM Pacific!
Click Subscribe and Ring the Bell to get notified.
Our Store! Dope shirts and Strongholds & Followers!
shop.mcdmprodu...
Support the channel on Patreon
/ mcdm
Follow me on Twitter
/ mattcolville
Join the conversation on our Discord
mcdm.gg/discord
#RunningTheGame #MattColville
Someone on the subreddit made a template for Retainers based on Jason's art!
www.reddit.com/r/mattcolville/comments/ga6eou/i_made_this_sf_retainer_card_template_based_on/
The lighting/contrast/exposure on this video is amazing!
Edit: I also really like the vignetting. My compliments to your video editor.
Literally came into the comments to ask where I can get this. Thanks!
Matthew Colville Hey Matt,I have a question. Have you ever played GURPS by chance? :) Also I love 1 on 1 adventures. :D I use it for campaign and adventure testing. But I also have made a few dedicated ones. Most of them end up being horror/mystery.
You can really play up the horror angle when you can devote 100% to one individual. xD
Love it! Holy crap this is cool!
Hello curious what mic/sound setup do you have your channels audio sounds great.
“Sometimes in life the only trick is working hard at something for hours and hours.”
Words to live by.
It bears emphasizing. One-on-one sessions can be _exhausting._ You'll discover just how much downtime regular 4-person party dynamics create for everyone at the table, GM included, and how little of that remains once it's just you and one other person going back-and-forth.
@@ikaemos The plus side to that is if you only have a short time to play, you can get in more complete and full sessions with only one player.
@@cookechris28 haha yes sadly
I love doing one-on-one sessions. I've mostly used them as one-shots to add more moving pieces and characters into my world. I've had each of the players in my big game do one-on-one sessions as new characters as a way to tell contained stories, and then they are always excited when those characters show up as NPCs in the campaign. It is a fun way to keep things fresh and add get players invested in certain stakes that aren't directly tied to their main PC.
I love ur vids man!
I also LOVE playing with just one other player. Especially as an off-session to a campaign with a larger group; it's really the best way to develop the relationship between your two characters.
That's not to say I don't love one-on-ones either. In fact, they've been one of my favorite parts of one of the campaigns I play in. My character started out as a Warlock, before switching classes to a Dragonbound (great homebrew from the Book of Dragons by Connor McCall on DMsGuild). These off sessions have really helped to develop these key NPCs - from the bond between my character and his conceited (but lovable) white dragon companion, to the discovery that the person I was meeting wasn't the emissary of my deity (well, deities, it's a group of elementals) at all, but one of the main villains that had infiltrated the temple!!
It seems every time I have one of these one-on-ones (that for my character typically take place during dreams in which I visit the temple) we have new developments for me to bring back to the group, some of the most focused description & imaginative settings, and all-around just a great time.
I've been running a very big party for about a year now (9 players), and during downtime I normally do one-on-one sessions with the players to help break up the big-group dynamic, and it works to great effect! Love your videos, by the way!
I'm just casually popping down in the comments to ask a question and lo-and-behold, one of my favorite RUclipsrs is here. I'm just about to watch your purple video too.
Will you be doing a video on trpgs with The Lady You Live With, and would you need any assistance with it?
Love your videos!
I would echo Matt’s video of the solo adventures. Once I ran with my friend Steve’s Knight an adventure to save the town from
A horrible fiend. It was a doppelgänger, it was tense, dramatic and heroic. Wuz always claimed it was the best adventure ever. Right on Matt!
Now you'll have to tell us that story!
Rui Saltão maybe!!!!
Jim Murphy ninja time
Wow, Jim Murphy. I saw your interview. I don't know why it didn't dawn on me that you have a youtube channel also. I feel like RUclips has wronged me with its algorithm. Auto- *subscribe*
(Wow, lots of youtube celebrities are showing Matt their respect here.)
inappropriateperson69 glad you found me
Just started a onevone game with my wife. She's really loving it and so am I. She wanted to let you know Matt that she can never remember what your name is so calls you 'Dude with the good hair'. So it's been the running joke in our house.
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED RIGHT NOW
my player just asked to do some solo stuff for plot development and i came to say this exact thing
Am literally developing a 1-1 session right now, and this video drops. Matt Coville, you are a Wizard.
You and probably hundreds (if not thousands) of us .. :) Stay safe!
phill thomp make the one shot 1v1 be the basis for an npc who hasn’t appeared in the main game yet.
Exactly the same thing for me! I'm trying to create a solo-adventure for my wife, to introduce her into RPGs... and this comes up!
Just thought I'd write this here as a therapeutic exercise. Hi, Matt. When everything got weird, my friend invited me to play D&D for the first time over Discord with him and his brothers. We've played three times a week since March. I ran across your videos - I love your content, I love your attitude, I love your inclusiveness and your willingness to teach and have fun. I'm 33 years old and I've just discovered "table top" D&D for the first time. On Sunday, I'm DMing my first campaign for more friends using your videos as tutelage. Thank you so much for being a positive thing in a weird time and to helping me find this hobby, for allowing for escapism, for introducing me to something normalizing. Keep on doing your thing - I'm rooting for you, and it looks like many, many people are, too. Thank you.
I was literally about to work on a one on one that I am doing in an hour, and wanted to know if Matt Colville had anything to say about it. Then, number 1 on my feed, posted 4 hours ago is this video. Praise Bahumat
Opportunity wasted: "Praise BahaMatt".
I'll see myself out.
Edit: Can't spell.
Matt, 3 years ago: I don't put ads on my videos.
Me: That's cool with me
Matt now: Imma monitize my content.
Me: That's cool with me
*laughs in addblocker*
@@antiquereality3168 aww, I think matt deserves the support.
@@cleanseroftheworld He's got a patreon
The only reason I looked at the comments on this video was the make sure he was actually getting paid for the ads that are now popping up in front of the videos. Totally cool with this.
I turn adblock off on RUclips, but google is weird, so sometimes I still don't get all the ads.
Hi Mr. Colville. Love your videos. I'm a subscriber. I share your work with my friends.
I have been running D&D solo, online (through text--no cams/mic) since I was 13 years old. My circumstances growing up and playing D&D were unique in that owing to a conservative household and social milieu, I had no one to play with--but I had the books and I loved roleplaying. I'm always the DM and I always, always run for a single solo player, and the experience is so satisfying for both of us. It feels less like traditional D&D and more like a shared narrative experience.
After nearly two decades of playing this way, I like to think I've developed a lot of confidence in my style. A lifetime of playing D&D solo actually helped me land my job, which involves writing for video games.
Thank you so much for making this video. It's so rare to see someone recognize this style of playing D&D, because it's the style I grew up with and the style I practice. Thank you also for continuing to be a welcoming, open-hearted role model for D&D enthusiasts and soon-to-be enthusiasts. I respect and admire your role in helping us curate this game that we love.
"Now, yes, we chewed through an entire dungeon in a few hours. It would have taken the party a lot longer to kill their way through that and that meant my prepped content didn't last as long.
That's bad.
But Wallace later said it was the most fun he'd ever had playing D&D.
That's good.
"
The frogurt is also cursed.
That's bad.
It's all I could think about at that point. Great video!
The froghurt contains potassium benzoate.
Just gonna throw this out here in case anyone is interested:
Seth Skorkowsky has an excellent video on running mysteries.
Thanks, I'll try to find it. If not could you link it?
ruclips.net/video/2VRy5nNK_So/видео.html
I'll Second that advice. Seth and Matt are kind of my RPG gurus; they have VERY different approaches to the same problem, and both work very well. It's easy to amalgamate their disparate advice into something unique, and make the game your own that much faster.
Also, Seth's module reviews are excellent. Very high production standards.
Seth is awesome. I'd be curious what a discussion between Seth and Matt would be like
@@jamesloucka1952 GREAT IDEA!!!!
Just gonna add that I’ve been running a 1:1 campaign for my gf on and off for about about four years, and she runs a party of four and it’s great. We did add the new characters so we could have bigger combats, but each character is now a fully fleshed out pc and we are invested in all of them. We started with a solo character and added the others over time, so the increase in complexity was gradual. I recommend this.
i want to do 1:1 with my girlfriend, we're both seventeen and i thought i could maybe get tips. thanks bro
My thought process here:
"Yay! Monday morning MCDM!"
"Wait .... is today Wednesday?"
"What even is time anymore?"
Time is a flat circle
Time is a concept invented by the Jedi.
Everything happens at once everything happens at once everything happens at once...!
Jeremy Beramy
One of my first games was with my brother as the DM and I still remember it almost perfectly. Partially because it was just me, and partially because of all the crazy crap I pulled that made it so memorable. For example, at the very beginning, I was fighting a grizzly bear near a river. I realized I was losing, grabbed the bear around the neck and drowned it in the river. Shortly afterwards, I fought off a group of blights that were attacking a town for a solid in-game minute, winning mostly through weird gimmicks such as lighting one on fire, then throwing it into the rest, killing dozens. Another time, I found a young green dragon in its lair and convinced it to join me. My younger sister joined shortly afterwards as the dragon (And she still asks if she can play a dragon in my games) and when we fought a hydra, we came up with the idea of turning her poison breath into fire breath by holding a torch next to her mouth and lighting the poison on fire. We stopped playing not too long afterwards because I lost my character sheet, but I'm not sure I've ever had that much fun since.
Multiple asynchronous solo games that are encouraged to intertwine? That's a god-damned brilliant idea. I'm taking that shit _now._
I’m already trying to do something similar for all my siblings.
When I think about about running a one-on-one session: "Eh."
After I see Mathhew talk about running it: "AHHHH I WANNA RUN ONE ON ONE DND SO MUCH RIGHT NOW"
Running through each PC's backstory is a cool idea
Yeah, he has that effect. Can't watch any "lesson" without getting extremely impatient for the next session.^^
josephrainer get on the train, you are the conductor now!
@@WhatsUpGazpacho This. My group has religiously used what is commonly known as "Session 0", a one-on-one single session between the GM and one of the players. Doing this for each player can give the GM so much vital information about the player, the PC and incorporating them into the story. It's great for the players too! Showing up to session 1 with a PC that hasn't interacted with anything yet, it can take some time for players to find their voice for their character. The one-on-one session is a great format to comfortably realize what you want to do with your PC and get immediate feedback from a single source.
Gazpacho Tabletop
My first DM actually did this for our group's session 0’s. We all got a small, solo adventure that built off of our backstories (I assume) and would lead us to the starting point of the campaign. Even ignoring that I was god awful at understanding the game at the time (and realising that in hindsight, it was a *super* weird story), it was actually super fun to do that. It made the world feel more lively, it developed my character further than I even planned for at that point, and it helped me give an in-universe reason to explore my character's background (I played an amnesiac because I couldn’t for the life of me figure out a backstory).
Unfortunately that campaign has been abandoned for about a year now, but that session 0 will be the thing I remember the most about it because it was done so well for me.
Cap: “Tony Stark? I’m Captain America.”
Tony: “Hang on, what is this? I met you thinking you were an NPC.”
Ah yes, exactly how I remember it.
I'm pretty sure Stark saw everyone as an NPC in his story.
In all fairness to Cap, his introduction screams "Sure, I can fit your old character into the new campaign."
@@FlyingDominion As long as he quits and comes back and quits and comes back, changing his name all the time.
Tony stark the first time he met natasha "I want one" so yea he saw an npc that he thought he could hire into his service
"We have a Hulk."
Literally just wrapped up a solo session for a player wanting to dona heist during his down time to get in good with the local thieves guild. He got so nervous about being caught that he had to excuse himself to step outside and smoke a cigarette at one point. Matt is sooo right here. He said it was the best session has ever played in and asked if he could do something like this again the next time hus character had some downtime. The player is now secretly an initiate from the other players.
I have zero experience in D&D, let along DM’ing. I’m trying to get my son into it as I think he would enjoy it. Your video series has helped me immensely. Keep up the awesome content!
How did it go?
i liked Matt Mercers one-on-one shot with Stephen Colbert. a great example of it working well and exciting someone who hasn't played since childhood.
College*
When u catch a Matt Colville's video still hot from the oven!
:3
Mmm still fresh
It's got that freshly baked smell
4:39 This discussion about your use of a Terry Pratchett novel as the basis for your adventure brings up an important idea that can never be mentioned too many times. Take the things you like, make it your own, and stick it in your game. Take the things you know backwards and forwards, and stick it in your game. Take the things your players don't know, and stick it in your game.
A few months ago, I ran a one-on-one adventure with one of my friends exploring an abandoned tower dungeon as part of a holy pilgrimage. It involved a lot of skill checks, a handful of combat encounters designed for one player, and the meeting of a Githzerai follower for this session. The point is, I lifted a ton of the stuff (the architecture, the scenery, etc.) from a location of a video game that I played a long time ago. I did this because I thought it would be fun to have a cool tower like that in my campaign and it would be easy to recreate since I played the crap out of that game; I knew it inside and out, and I gambled that he didn't. Later he told me that it was the most engaging and exciting adventure that I had ever run, and he hoped that everyone else in the party would be able to have an experience like that.
I was planning to do 1-on-1 with each of my players as a session 0, or 0.1, or whatever.
Then I suddenly had four more players than I was planning on, and had to scrap it in favor of actually getting to play the game.
That's me. I was going to do one-on-one sessions for the entire party, since we all know precisely when and where the characters shall meet, but... apparently we're just going to have everyone there at the same time, which I feel is more of a disservice to the person who suggested it than anything, but... ah well. (They're the last character to be able to act as they literally wake up out of stasis)
You could always do 'flashbacks' or 'dream sequences' that are 1-on-1, and then the next campaign can be limited in characters so you can get the 1-on-1 pre-campaign sessions.
That's what I'm doing right now! I'm having tow solo sessions for each of my four players. The first one is a little bit into the past, near the end of their personal backstory and beginning their adventuring career. As it's technically part of their backstory, they have some added control to fill in the blanks. The second session is in the current time, right before everyone meets up. Based on what each character is trying to pursue, I'll have their paths converge in a way that'll make them stick together more naturally than just meeting a bunch of strangers.
Dude, the idea of multiple solo-campaigns crossing over to lead up to a full party campaign sounds amazing. Amazing way to get people super comfortable with their character and really invested in their backstory. Additionally, I’m getting ready to introduce my brothers to D&D, and I think one-on-one campaigning leading to a two PC party might be a good way to go!
That would take a lot of work
7:55 "So, I guess this makes this an ad." Oh, jeez. The pain on Matt’s face when he succumbed to that fact. That was very funny.
One of my best friends ran me through a solo adventure storyline that was set in my character's backstory. You would think that it being set in your own character's past would somehow lower the stakes, but I was terrified and engaged the whole time. Definitely one of my all-time favorite mini campaigns!
I'm launching my One-on-One game tonight. Well session zero. This was interesting to listen to and I agree, the risks are great! One thought for not reducing combat to just a single monster is to use 4th edition minions. Still dramatic, but more monsters :)
How to be a Great Game Master cooperative storytelling at its best
And a action economy against the player maybe :)
Can confirm, minion rules are awesome for 1-on-1s. Nothing makes solo players feel like beasts in combat than attack-chaining down like 3-4 creeps in a turn.
My father used to DM for just me when I younger we had so much fun together and it was an amazing experience
Already seen the video, getting recommended it so much suddenly. Algorithm is loving the fact this title has "One D&D" in it I guess.
I have been playing for nearly 25 years, and DMing for 18 of that. And I still learn something great from all these videos. Thank you!
When I ran a one on one campaign with my friend, I gave him 2 sidekicks (2 PCs who's players never showed up). Out of combat, I RP'ed them with their intentions and ideas, but in combat the player was running them.
I did this for one good reason: If my PC had a great idea and got the kill, I'd be stealing the spotlight from the player, but if I had them doing stupid stuff to not get the kill, the player would catch up to that instantly (that happened actually, and after that I thought about making him run combat). That made it so the player could think tactically in a way that we can't usually do in D&D (of course, that involves meta gaming, but it was fun so who cares?) and I never stole a kill again! 100% recommend, and would do it again
really great idea!
I ran my fiancée through Curse of Strahd like this-one-on-one, with a Grave Cleric ally, starting at 3rd Level. It was her introduction to D&D, and we both look back fondly on that game. Great advice, great video, and I’m greatly looking forward to the Friday Night Stream!
I'll be starting this same set up once my wife needs a break from DMing her story. Cept she's playing a Samurai Fighter (Based on Jin from Samurai Champlou). CoS almost seems perfect since there's so many active PCs who can become involved and part of the party. (IE instead of a single Chosen Ally I'm planning on letting her recruit as many as she can justify and succeed at through RP and circumstances)
PixelSquid that’s a good call! I think Esmerelda was her Chosen Ally, which was fun.
Ive never played d&d in my life but Im planning to do that with my girlfriend for fun. Would you recommend curse of strahd for us?
Tuxedo Mask I absolutely would! The sandbox has enough going on that, no matter what direction she sets off in, she’ll find fun. Additionally, unless you plan to run multiple sidekicks, you can nerf random and programmed encounters to suit the drama of the game you intend to run. Plus, if she enjoys gothic horror, she’ll have fun exploring the various hidey-holes throughout the sandbox.
I love Colville! He was part of the inspiration that led Mat and I start our own Channel. It was very interesting to see him take a crack at a topic we've covered in the past. Quite different! A lot on sidekick NPCs and retelling of story while we focused on how one-on-one can elevate your game if you use it in conjunction with a regular party. we tend to restrict ourselves to the topic at hand, but watching this video I learn that, even a tip video can mostly be about retelling events from past game. I guess that is what makes him endearing. Thanks Colville! You are great!
-Chris
I think you are right, that's what makes him relatable. He's video are inspiring for new dms. I'll check out your video to get more on the subject! We need to support the community!
@@lampeahuile1 thanks! We welcome any feedback! The one on one was a while back and we got better since then (mostly on presentation), but I believe the discussion and advice have a lot of value. I played one on one for years and also do it occasionally as part of a campaign with a party. Thank you and enjoy!
I've done this with my wife. She loved opportunities to blast her AoE Thunderclap on multiple weak enemies. I am an incredibly bad roller, so she walked through bunches of enemies and picked up nice magic items. I had to prod her at times, but overall we had a ton of fun.
I would let her sneak up on groups of sleeping goblins and just blast them.
Dave Gentleman so anyway, I started clapping...
If you weren't blasting AC/DC while doing it, I feel like something was missing.
I've been waiting all lockdown for some sweet sweet Colville vids, I love it!
Is sweet sweet colville a type of iced tea?
Drak Th’n Bolak here, deployed with Red Cross to disaster in NorCal during pandemic times. Maximal stress. This video really brightened my day and reminded me that I get to run D&D again after deployment! Thanks, Matt, you are a River!
Dude, just spent about 30 seconds double-clicking the rewind in my phone and got Matt to do a sick beat.
This has been my primary TTRPG method for about 26 years give or take. I adore it as a DM/GM, but be warned if you live with the player in question they start to view you as their captive DM. Caveat Emptor!
I've never played D&D, but my girlfriend used to play a lot in her teens. Right now I'm learning as much as I can to start as a DM and making a solo campaign for her to play, so this advice is super useful, thanks!
In a solo campaign, consider giving her a Legendary Action when she reaches level 10.
I really enjoy running Solo adventures. I generally do it over text since my RP background is much more built up from roleplaying on MMO's, and I feel I'm much stronger at that compared to how anxious I am when it comes to doing voices and RPing NPC's the traditional way.
On the subject of tinkering with combat balance for single adventures, a rule I've offered for people who are interested is providing them something inspired by the Lone wolf trait in Divinity Original Sin. Generally when I play a solo game, I'll express that there will be multiple recruitable NPC's who are willing to join you in your adventures and its up to them if they want these companions to join them or remain solo. I do run any NPC's similar to how Matt explains the retainers, generally a simplified version of a player class with only a handful of skills/spells as options to streamline things (Though I'm 100% stealing that HP idea. Thats really smart.) If the player decides they want to run solo though, I offer them this buff which only works if they're the only character in the party.
1: You gain 50% bonus Hp, based off your HP total. (Keep track of the original total though as when you level up, you'll need to reuse it to find the new HP total.)
2: You gain +3 AC.
3: You gain 3 2d4 Inspiration style dice to be used on Ability checks or Saving throws each long rest.
4: In combat, each turn you can take a second action.
My thinking for this is... 1 and 2 are simply there to help beef up the player. They're the only person being attacked, and if you're putting multiple enemies in play, they'll need to be a bit bulkier. For 3, as Matt pointed out, a few unlucky rolls can really be problematic with a single player. Having a safety net to fall back on, and allowing the player to make the decision when they want to use it or accept a bad outcome generally makes them enjoy a bit of extra agency over what they're used too. I don't like to provide it for attack rolls just because I've found when that's an option players will almost always want to spend them on damage output over saving them for when they really need them.
4 is... by far the most controversial one, but overall I think it's just a really fun take on solo play. No ones ever played a spellcaster and been mad at having the option to throw out two spells as a combo in one turn, or being a fighter and chaining 3 attack actions in one turn to really unload on someone. But ontop of this, it allows you more room to impact the battlefield. Not every action needs to be an attack. Playing a solo ranger and being able to deal some damage, but also dash, or interact with an item, or use a scroll to control the battlefield without sacrificing all your damage... It just feels good to play like that when you're solo. Is it OP? In a normal group setting, yeah. Absolutely. But when you're playing on your own, the game should be balanced around you, so being OP isn't really an idea that makes any sense. If the player is showing they have the ability to breeze through what you're putting them up against, just add an extra enemy going forward, or step up the difficult. Balancing around one player isn't difficult, you just need to be a bit more flexible with your perception of the rules.
I remember around the launch of 4e I used to read a really awesome single player campaign on the D&D forums. The character was Joe the Commoner, and he was literally a level 1 commoner from 3.5e, which sounds boring, but was really fascinating to read as seemingly mundane events gradually gave way to more interesting things and his character gradually grew.
I've missed you so much. I want more Matt lol.
he streams lol
@@jacobjolliffe9169 he streams things in places I don't get to watch. I catch everything I can though.
Recently found you and just wanted to say thanks for getting me over (most) of my DM stage fright. I used to run when I was a teenager, but I got in my own head. Thank you so much! 😀
My girlfriend and I just played our first dnd game with I as DM and her as PC. It's definitely an easier learning expirance so far, with us both slowly learning the rules as we go but also with the ability to bend them as no one else is going to get big mad. Played for 4 hours and i still cant figure out how proficiencies work XD
This is great! I love sessions with only one or two PCs. I especially like your ideas with sidekicks. Here are a few things that I've has some success with involving sidekicks in my games:
- consider letting the player roll for the sidekick… sometimes. Not for general rolls or for battle, since that can get tedious and feel like a chore, but more so when the sidekick is doing something especially important. The sidekick is captured and has a chance to lie their way out? The sidekick is the rogue/criminal of the duo and needs to pick an important lock? These are things that might feel too planned or fudged to a player if the DM rolls and succeeds for the sidekick, BUT if the PC is the roller, then it can feel more realistic/earned. Going off of a point Matt made, a failure on this roll shouldn’t mean the quest is now blocked/ended, but they face some sort of setpack. Now, some players like the idea of this while others don’t. Easy solution to that - ask them beforehand if they want you (the DM) to handle all the rolls of the sidekick, or if they’d like to have a chance to roll on important things.
- consider giving the sidekick a fear. Not a fear that makes them useless or a block to the player, but rather something where, if the player supports the NPC and rallies behind them, that the NPC is more effective and can help even more. For instance, maybe the player is a large goliath and their sidekick is a small goblin who fears spiders. Now, say you have a magic item that can help them on their quest (but is NOT necessary) hidden in a small, spiderweb-filled crawlspace. Can the PC persuade their goblin friend to overcome their fear and crawl down that tunnel? Getting the sidekick to overcome their fears as a result of a PC’s action is a great bonding moment for them! You’ll find that some PCs don’t even care about or need a reward - they just want to see their buddy prevail!
- consider making the sidekick a bard, especially for a martial-focused PC. Now, I don’t mean the kinds of bards that steal the show. Bards are great bases for a support NPC with all of their bardic inspiration, buff/debuff abilities, and pretty solid healing capabilities. Basically make them your PC’s hype man… not the main act. That is, unless the PC is trying to get their more Charisma-based sidekick to do some typical bard stuff, then let them! Your NPCs aren't stealing the show from the PCs if the PCs actively want their sidekick to do something, especially if they had to go out of their way to convince their fearful or stubborn sidekick to do so. Then the sidekick’s win is the PC’s win too!
- When in doubt - ASK! Ask the player what kind of sidekick they want. Dnd is all about cooperative storytelling. They don’t need to plan out the sidekick completely (even though that’s okay too!), but they can give you a general sense of if they want a healer, battlefield manipulator, tank, etc. Alternatively, let your PC choose from an assortment of sidekicks in-game. Maybe the PC posted a job ad and a few NPCs showed up. They only have enough money to pay for one, so who do they want? The bloodthirsty barbarian dwarf that spends a little too long at the bar? The shady elven wizard who they’re not sure isn’t a necromancer? The kleptomaniac tabaxi monk that feels a sense of motherly duty toward the PC? It’s up to them to decide! That way, it is more of an active decision than you just handing them an NPC and they are stuck with them. 9 times out of 10, a chosen NPC is better than one forced on the player.
“So I guess that makes this an ad” Hey that was funny. I really missed these videos. Thanks for all you do.
I was just wondering where you were. I have been watching your “running the game videos” in preparation for Soulbound, the AoS RPG. Keep up the great work.
Me and my CoGM use stronghold and followers a lot. When it first dropped we started using the retainers. The players loved them, they were a great addition to the roleplay and their utility was welcomed during some of the encounters.
This video inspired me to write a solo session for one of my seven players. Not the first, and not the last, but you supplied the spark.
Thanks, Matt. Sincerely.
My greatest peak of being a DM, which occurred after a near party wipe in the Dungeon of the Dead Three in the 'Descent Into Avernus' campaign module:
The halfling rogue Ephraim Tumblepotts had barely escaped with his life when servitors of Bane and Bhaal caught his adventuring party. The half-elven sorcerer Davvalor had, in a fit of overconfident zeal, ignited a room full of natural gas with a fire bolt cantrip. Now he, the human paladin Hector Hardwick, and the eladrin ranger Alariel were captives of a death cult. And only a bag of caltrops and quick feet had kept the halfling from suffering the same fate.
Now, though, he had a problem. In order to complete his investigation, find a kidnapped (or, more likely, dead) tiefling woman he believed was being kept here, and live to tell about it, he would have to rescue his meat shields - er, invaluable comrades-in-arms. His options were: 1) attempt to stealthily move through the dungeon and free his friends, or 2) go back to his employer, an unscrupulous guard-captain in the Flaming Fist, for help. He didn’t like either option, but decided to go with what’s behind door number 2.
And then there was me. See, I knew that at the conclusion of this “adventure”, there was a final encounter: a group of cultists in the service of Tiamat, who were looking for treasure stolen from Tiamat’s personal horde and given to the Dead Three cultists (talk about cajones). And I decided… well, they have been scoping this place out, and here comes a halfling who very much does NOT belong to this death cult, but may be able to lead us through the dungeon to “our Queen’s” treasure… or they might just kill him.
So, the dragon cultist leader approached the wary halfling. Ephraim, being a chaotic-neutral rogue with no real depth to his scruples, decided that in this case, the enemy of his enemy was his friend. And he struck a bargain: the cultists helped him recover his friends, and they could help themselves to whatever treasures the dungeon held that belonged to Tiamat. He was really smooth in his roleplaying, and made some great Charisma checks to go with it, so the cultist found this agreeable.
Except… halflings can’t really see all that well in the dark, which the dungeon was. The dragon cultist commented on this, and made an offer to Ephraim - until the conclusion of this “little excursion”, he could grant Ephraim “the sight of a dragon”. Ephraim, not seeing anything sinister behind this offer, agreed. He gained darkvision with a 60-foot range, and blindsight to a range of 10 feet (from the statistics of a common wyrmling). This decision, in effect, changed the entire course of my campaign.
What Ephraim didn’t know, what he wouldn’t realize until the rest of his party saw him after he had carefully snuck through the dungeon and to where they were being interrogated by a priestess of Bhaal, was that he didn’t just have the sight of a dragon… he had the eyes of a dragon. I described to the other players (and, by extension, to Ephraim’s player) that his eyes were luminous pools of azure and cerulean swirls, with slender black slits where his irises and pupils should be. I don’t think anybody was as surprised as Jeremy, Ephraim’s player, but the other players just asked in disbelief: “What the hell happened while we were unconscious?!”
Now comes the climactic moment of drama. After the adventure was over, and Ephraim had saved the party and the NPC tiefling Vendetta Kress, and the party had put a stop to the murderous plots of the cult of the Dead Three, the dragon cultist tells Ephraim that their deal is concluded. He waves his hand in a dismissive motion, and suddenly Ephraim cannot see. His eyes are gone, and only empty sockets are left. The party is furious, but they are significantly weakened after dealing with the threats of the dungeon, while the cultists are fresh and have stronger numbers.
The cultist tells Ephraim that he will have to speak with the cultist's lord if he wishes to recover his eyes. Ephraim, seeing not much else in immediately available options, acquiesces. The cultist performs a profane ritual, and Ephraim can see, in his mind’s eye, a tower of obsidian and bone standing against a backdrop of a crimson sky. Ash and flaming meteorites fall from the heavens and smash into a scorched-earth landscape all around. And standing beside the tower is an imposing red dragonborn in black plate armor. His right hand is immediately eye-catching - it is unnatural, the flesh appears to be rotting on it, and it is obviously not his own. There is a clear delineation where the red scales of his forearm end and the putrefied flesh of the Hand begins. The dragonborn introduces himself to the bewildered halfling as the disciple of the “True God”, the dragon queen Tiamat. In his left hand, this one normal, are a pair of eyes - Ephraim’s eyes.
Ephraim is tasked with performing a profane duty for Tiamat, who has foreseen that the halfling will soon be traveling in Avernus. Ephraim does not know what this sworn duty is, but he must agree to it if he wants his vision restored. He makes the pact with the mysterious figure, and awakens with his eyes, thankfully, back where they belong.
Weeks, if not months, later, the party is traveling in Avernus of the Nine Hells. They come across a traveling bazaar, run by a rakshasa. He greets the party amicably - the customer is king, after all, and asks them about themselves. When Ephraim introduces himself, the rakshasa looks surprised at hearing the name. He bows low, saying, “Ah, the Herald himself! Please, do give my warmest regards to your queen when next you see her.” Ephraim’s player Jeremy is taken aback. He asks the rakshasa: “What do you mean, Herald?” The rakshasa answers, “Surely you jest. The Herald of Tiamat! He who will pave the way for her return to the Material Plane and usher in an eternity of darkness and torment! We are very much excited you have finally arrived.”
The party is stunned, and Ephraim Tumblepotts starts to get the first glimpse of what lies ahead for him. This presents a multitude of roleplaying opportunities for Jeremy (and don’t worry, all the other characters got a chance to shine, but Jeremy is the only player to have been in a situation which sort of required a solo adventure), up to and including a face-to-face (to face to face to… you get it, Tiamat has a lot of heads) with the dragon queen herself! Jeremy told me it was the coolest thing he had done as a player or a DM as far back as he could remember, and as a relatively new DM that was the best response I could have received.
TL;DR - one-on-one adventuring can be incredibly awesome for both the player and the DM and have super tangible impacts on your entire campaign. Don't be afraid of it!
Thank you for this! My boyfriend (a very experienced DM) asked me (a very new DM) to run a one on one game for him. This is exactly what I needed.
Wow someone said "Holy Crap you can play DnD with just one character?" Yup and you can play Solo too, I know super-mind blowing. It's called Choose Your Own Adventure Style and yes you can play Lone Wolf, a book series with its own semi-rpg aspects, or another similar book series but they also made real Solo Adventures for Dungeons and Dragons. I blew your mind again. Your welcome. Come seriously, someone actually was shocked you could have a single GM and single character? We do that in many types of games, like Vampire. You start off with a single player and GM who roleplays you as a Human before you become a Vampire, then how you became one and whatever you first do after that. I later would play with the GM and myself for things my character did, who was a Vampire, away from the other characters and when I needed to involve one, if I did at all, we then got that other player involved in some way, maybe via email if that is all it took or a phone call.
Yet, Dungeons and Dragons works great, especially for a higher level player character, but lower level could work too with a single player and GM.
His expression when he says "That makes this an ad!" is amazing. The despair.
_Feet of Clay_ is a personal favorite of mine. The idea of Carrot as the NPC sidekick is somehow perfect.
From the OSR perspective, the increase in chance-dependent results of battle could give you options to make players think about the conduct of their opponent. Perhaps take more caution around opponents who will give no mercy. Also consider giving your players controllable pets and familiars if you want to buff them. If we're talking 5th edition, a level 1 hero, a warhorse steed, and a mastiff hound companion is probably on par with the power levels of some level 1 parties
Just found this video and I can't thank you enough Matthew! My 12yr old son has joined a D&D club at school (why weren't there any D&D clubs in school when I was a lad?!?!) and asked if he and I could play, so he can get to know the game better. Me, having grown up loving fantasy and have since been waiting for the day for my offspring to show interest, am esctatic! The day has finally come! But alas, I've never DM'd before. This video was EXTREMEMLEY helpful, so again, I thank you.
One way to give your players an advantage in action economy is to give them Legendary Actions. It'll make them feel much more immersed in the combat and gove them a power trip at the same time because of how they're facing multiple threats at the same time.
Perfect! I was re-watching old Running the games as background while working to keep up my high from an amazing session, and I'm planning on doing a one-on-one for a new player, so this will be really useful!
Hey Matt! Just wanted to let you know that I started watching this series about a month and a half ago whenever I started a campaign with a few players. This series has been awesome, and I purchased strongholds and followers and I’ve been reading and annotating whatever parts fit my players play style best! Thanks for all the amazing advice- really glad to hear how great this channel’s doing!
PERFECT FREAKING TIMING! I AM ABOUT TO DO THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME.
Matt, this is great. Your initial stream where you did a solo game was the direct inspiration for the way I run the start of all of my campaigns. I run a solo session with every new character to either get them to where the pre existing party already is, or to get all of the members of the party to the same place if it’s the start of the campaign. Thanks for still making these!
I just want to thank you for posting these videos. I ran my first game on Friday and everyone had a great time! I modified some of the encounters on the fly and I honestly never would of thought to do that without your channel!
0:29 Matt Colville PogChamp
I'm glad you're still putting out content. You and Mercer taught me most of what I know about running the game.
Me: *about to go to bed at midnight so I can get a decent sleep*
Matt: *uploads*
Me:
Me: eh what'd sleep ever do for me?
Just wanted to say thanks. Played a duet with my 17yo son today. His first time, and mine since the 80s, and then it was AD&D. Your videos gave me the confidence to try. Used your Tomb of the Delian Knights with a couple NPCs. Had an absolute blast! But, man the rules have changed from 2nd to 5th! Thanks again!
I love that all of the advice for one on one D&D is just solid and good DM hygiene when running for a party.
Matt, you have no idea how helpful this is. In my current campaign, which has been running for a year and a half, the main PCs have all gone their separate ways for a while to pursue their own ventures. I’m using it as an opportunity to set them on the path to completing their final character arcs, while the PCs also pursue the main storyline with secondary characters they wanted to play.
So now, I’m prepping myself to run 5 separate games of 1-on-1 D&D. You could not have been more timely with this video! Thanks!
Every time I have DM's burnout I watch one of your videos/streams and every time all struggles just evaporate. Your enthusiasm and way of thinking is so affecting that I'm forced to create new content for my players (and I liove it).
I'm this dude who shouts "This is crazy, I want it in my game!"
Thanks for your effort and all this amazing content.
Totally gonna do this.
This had me going down memory lane to when me and my friends at Univeristy HS (not far from you) would do 1 on 1 D&D in 1980. Of course we were kids then and we each got reps for doing "types" of games (my friend Matt Norton went so far as to say "Jeff's games require entire parties made of Clerics for all the undead"). Definitely will pick up Strongholds and Followers once I get my feet wet with FG interface, I'm still rusty on computers in general.
Thanks for this! As of writing I'm literally about to run my first one-on-one game in 2 hours. I had a little bit of an inkling of where to take things from your NPC video but this one really helps me too! Time to change my Monk sidekick into a Cleric!
Thank you so much Matt this is one of your best Vids and truly one of the most anticipated ones too. Magnificent work and if i maybe so bold; pass along a thanks to All the rest if MCDM crew. Much love and lots of safety in these trying times
I started running my own DND campaign this month and started with One on One texted based adventures because of quarantine. Thank you Matt for the timeliness of these One on One videos recently. They've really helped me start with the right foundation.
I really recommend two games designed to be played 1-on-1 :
- Scarlet heroes. A old school d&d like games.
- Chuthulu confidential. A noir detective game.
Many tips and advices how run 1-on-1 RPG session that can be apply to D&D. Chuthulu confidential is also full of advices how run a mystery adventure (main purpose of the game).
Thanks for the tip, mate
This is great. I've run lots of 1-on-1 RPGs before, ran some great long adventures and my players have always (to my surprise) highlighted their solo games as their favourite. Now, after a long break, I'm starting a game with my partner, who has never played an RPG before but has heard me rattle on about them enough to give it a try. So, watching this has fired up some old memories and given me some new ideas. Thank you!
His face when he realizes that the vid is just an ad.
We still love you and your ideas!!
It's great to find out that implementing your ideas is much easier than before.
This video is exactly what I needed Matt. I put my game on hiatus until June to let some other players run theirs, and have a bit of time to cool off since we just hit a narrative peak, killing a lich who was about to summon the four riders of apocalypse.
I said to my players that since the story ended at the start of winter (or shelter as it is called in my world), we'll do downtime. With bits of stories here and there. I ran an epilogue session where I dropped a couple bombs on them and showered them in rewards (floating fortress, magic carpet, the works).
My intention was to run 1 on 1 mini-sessions with them through text in the downtime, but now I realise I should just write up an adventure for each one (based on what they said they want to accomplish in the downtime) and run one with each one of them.
In this dark time this video was the push that I needed, thanks as usual!
I saw this in my sub box, and screamed internally. I missed seeing this man’s face and hearing his humour
Really happy to see you are doing well and are healthy thru all this. Love your videos and insight!
My favorite campaign I run started as a one on one with my brother. He had a ton of fun, but e eventually did die due to the fateful bad die rolls. We started the adventure back up with the same world and a new character for him, and slowly other players joined in on it. It was an amazing experience, and the party is even now at level 8 and facing world threatening powers. It is so exciting. I am glad you made a video about this, because it is an area I have had fun exploring.
Matt, thank you for this video.
I am a newcomer to your channel, but because of this video alone I went ahead and bought your "Strongholds & Followers" book with the PDF.
My partner and I met through Roleplaying in Star Wars the Old Republic as I was one of the main storytellers in our guild, but once she moved in with me, work and college forced me away from the private Roleplay that brought us together. We still love the weekly sessions with our pals, but our personnel Roleplays took a hit as I just got bogged down and stressed out and unable to commit the creative energies I once was able to craft to what brought me and her together.
Recently TTRPGs have made rekindled my desire for Roleplaying, and my Partner and I try to be in the same campaign, but they are not frequent enough for me and she struggles with other personalities at times. Three days ago from this post, we stumbled onto watching this video ... and I asked her if we want to try this "One on One" D&D setup. Needless to say, she was excited and said we did that anyways with our personnel RPs back in SWTOR.
And so, your book has been bought, and your advice heeded. Soon I'll be Dming for her alone through the Dragon of Icespire peak, with the added benefits of the Strongholds & Followers book you made.
For me, dropping 70 bucks to a guy is unheard of, so kudos to you on your presentation. Do not become a snake oil salesman, you would be scary good at that >.>
So again, thanks Matt, your a cool guy "Evil Matt"
Camilla: You, sir, should state your HP.
Stranger: Indeed?
Cassilda: Indeed it’s time. We all have done so but you.
Stranger: I have no hp.
Camilla: (Terrified, aside to Cassilda.) No hp? No hp!
GREAT video, been looking forward to this one for a while!
As a newer DM I'm playing with a buddy of mine in a 1 on 1 solo campaign. It's based around the Witcher world (that I've heavily alterted, using it as a foundation) and despite having only 1 session in (that went over our 3 our time expectations into 5 hours), it's been a real delight to world-build and an even better wonder to let him explore in a way that you can't really do in a party-session. This also, to echo the video, lets me take a lot of inspiration from the witcher stories and games to make his decisions have a big impact, and also make him pay attention going into a unfamiliar place alone. It's fantastic.
I'm a simple man. I see a new Matt Colville video, I stop what I'm doing and watch.
i'm so glad you put up this video Matthew! I prefer a one on one session above a group session. My dungeonmaster ran a campaign for my antipaladin and i've had the most amazing 2 years of roleplaying. In return i Dm'ed his Jungle fighter and learned alot of DM'ing tricks. Anyway my point is that this game can be really good to flash out singular characters. Thanks to the improvising nature of the game you can do almost anything. But sometimes the attention of a DM is scattered across the group.
If you are the only one the DM has to think about it becomes easier for the DM to build his adventure accordingly. Over time he'll also better understand the character and predict its actions. This makes it way more challenging for the player and drives him to keep innovating himself. Of course DnD is a game intended for a group to solve the problems the DM lays in front of them. But doing one on one sessions gives you a sense of really living the character and having the final say in your adventure. i highly recomend playing this way, it's amazing.
I love one-on-one sessions. You can fully dive into the individual quest of the character and experiment and experience in such unique ways. I always outnumber my player but I give so many environmental interactions in the hands of the player, it feels like an action game and the player gets somewhat of an adrenaline rush if done right. And I can be much more descriptive as a DM, because it is far easier to catch the attention of a single player than of 4 or more.
I DMed a small campaign for my brother where he played as a barbarian and participated in a colosseum as a gladiator. That was so epic even though he lost at the end and died. We still had so much fun during this story. I think the most important thing for one-on-one sessions is to have a constellation where DM and player trust blindly each other to create an engaging story together.
I've been waiting for this video for over a year. Amazing video. Truly a river to his people.
A work of art. This video is such a cathartic culmination of the last few RTG videos. Also just so inspiring in terms of giving my game narrative and dramatic direction. Thanks Matt!
Thank you so much, you always have the most thought provoking d&d videos! And this really does tie together allot of your most recent stuff.
me and a friend have a solo game where we both gm for eachother and its realy good we go for hours sometimes. longest we have gone for was 6 hours
"Words in the heart cannot be taken." Sorry, I know it isn't relevant but I don't know when else I can quote Feet of Clay.
Great video as always! My own anecdotal experience matches up: the first game I ran was a single player short adventure that lasted a couple of sessions, and it was received very positively. Listening to this makes me want to do it again sometime.
yeah 1 on 1 was how I learned to DM and is one of my favorite ways to play. awesome stuff Matt
I have played solo games for a few years now. My 2 favorite characters were solo campaigns. Giving a sidekick is one of the most important things you can do in a solo campaign.
I've had a semi-intelligent young cyclops and an old paladin as partners. Their growth and arcs were some of the best stories I've played.
I'm running a solo campaign for my friend currently. It's some of our best work yet.
Thanks for the vid, Matt
On the subject of NPCs, I always tell my players 'NPCs are not the voice of the GM, they will have wrong opinions, they will have biases or goals, and they are perfectly capable of lying to you'.
I love that you point out players debating/ making plans is a big part of the game.
Regarding single player mystery, I recommend Die Hard as inspiration.
For single player with a helper NPC, Die Hard With A Vengeance. Yes, Samuel L Jackson is an NPC, his character is pretty much just there.
Excellent Video. My favorite time as a PC was when I was in a 1 on 1. The DM needed someone who had a bit more D&D experience in the group but the party was already made and up to lvl 4, they had their own goals and motives. So he sends me in lvl 1 and I am following in their wake. I see their wanted photos, I team up with people they like/hate. Then finally I meet them. I think I spent 10 hours in my 1-1 catching up. But it was amazing.
Your grand repository of experience is always a great help! Thank you for sharing with us