One-on-One Games - Running RPGs

One-on-one games can be a lot of fun. They're fast, personalized, and the player doesn't have to share the spotlight. Here's a few tips and reasons to play with only a single Player and Game Master
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Guest starring Todd.
'Using NPC Companions' video: • Using NPC Companions -...
00:00 Hello Internet
02:15 Benefits of 1-on1s
05:01 Tailor the Game
06:27 Tailor the Character
08:00 Lower Combat Challenges
10:38 Lower Other Challenges
11:52 Sidekicks!
13:05 Sounding Boards
16:52 Stay Awesome

[@Bush-Warrior]

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

[@jakesgenuineanarchy5955]

Hehehehe

[@falloutdude2308]

Hehehehehehe

[@fran3ro]

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

[@ethanlocke3604]

The expression when he said at least today was amazing

[@Dazyhead]

Pin it, seth

[@GateSide0]

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

[@richmcgee434]

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

[@RIVERSRPGChannel]

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

[@echorome6260]

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]

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

[@kyanchambers260]

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

[@Meatball996]

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 *

[@mikegould6590]

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]

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

[@--enyo--]

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

[@edpistemic]

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]

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]

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

[@ratter88]

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.

[@alexbarrett3832]

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]

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]

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

[@gaozhi2007]

@@remixtheidiot5771 Quiet, Meatbag!

[@iagonatan901]

@@remixtheidiot5771 everybody loves GLaDOS

[@vandermore]

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]

Learned something new!

[@gleggett3817]

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)

[@PeterFendrich]

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*

[@rjdabbs7123]

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]

His spies are watching...

[@benoitlabrecque4513]

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

[@fajile5109]

Its very Cthulhu of him

[@thelastmotel]

One-to-one. Solo is something else.

[@bonbondurjdr6553]

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

[@larsdahl5528]

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

[@richmcgee434]

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

[@larsdahl5528]

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]

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

[@Nukestarmaster]

Really, my d6s consistently roll above 11.

[@oz_jones]

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

[@thebolas000]

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

[@robpegler6545]

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

[@bigteej5821]

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.

[@Malachi57]

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.

[@goblinfart3394]

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

[@jeffbrownstain]

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]

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

[@Anacronian]

Joke?.. You thought it was a joke?

[@larsdahl5528]

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

[@SHAWN94ITA]

"Based on a true story"

[@raptorjesues1445]

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

[@thefallencat2080]

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

[@UOUPv2]

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

[@tortture3519]

@@UOUPv2 Same

[@brush5004]

@@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]

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

[@puddel9079]

New term: limelight games.

[@TheArk485]

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]

👍👍👍👍

[@dusty3913]

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

[@WhoIsRyanFox]

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]

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]

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]

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

[@Kina_Fay]

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!

[@WildfireTech]

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.

[@Enn-]

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]

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

[@Ash__Adler]

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

[@richmcgee434]

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

[@oz_jones]

@@thelastmotel reading comprehenision isnt your thing?

[@mnm1273]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

@@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.

[@dbensdrawinvids8390]

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."

[@bossman4799]

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.

[@frazonedracaoo6981]

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.

[@FuriousJorge]

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]

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

[@xionkuriyama5697]

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

[@wobbyism]

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.

[@ForeverYoungKickboxer]

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]

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

[@Christopheromoan]

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]

Yeah, Seth's a treasure.

[@xychoticbreak5198]

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

[@You-kd4qq]

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.

[@jeffbrownstain]

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

[@stonerocks0]

Same here. Love his humour.

[@dminard1]

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]

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

[@KyninhaH]

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!

[@BobtheOdd]

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]

Groups can suck.

[@heroesdelve]

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

[@hellocentral5551]

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.

[@scottknudsen6611]

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]

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

[@DeathComesQuick666]

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*

[@vapormissile]

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]

This brought back good memories brother

[@MaxWriter]

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.

[@davidishappy]

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.

[@Velzhaed]

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.

[@zeusdavenport393]

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.

[@DarkVeghetta]

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).

[@Ash__Adler]

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.

[@carlpult5235]

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.

[@D34TH_D4WN]

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.

[@HoodedKobold]

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.

[@johnnygreenface4195]

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]

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.

[@jamesmedeiros2471]

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.

[@RIlianP]

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.

[@rogerb181]

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.

[@ronenlesser6431]

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.

[@edwardromero3580]

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.

[@dirus3142]

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.

[@danielrowan4716]

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

[@DualKeys]

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.

[@OgamiItto70]

"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.

[@mikemckinney7031]

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 ;)

[@matthewbennett1972]

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

[@keith0363]

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.

[@youtubeviewer4472]

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.

[@AzureIV]

13:50 I want more Sidekick Herb Adventures!

[@jeffbrownstain]

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.

[@daveshif2514]

I love 1 on 1 games. I run and play in a lot of 1 on 1 over text on discord. Its super convenient. I also think it makes balancing the game easier, since the gm has less to prep, all you do to scale up is add more of the monsters (all at once, or in waves if you fear AoE spells like fireball). Amazing video! My take away is 1) Dont give challenges the one pc cant overcome by themselves 2) if you want to do the above, give the player options to prepare, like plenty of shops to buy resources at, make some exceptions that you might not always give, to help get the player to those solutions 3) even in games of up to 4 players, try to aim for most puzzles or challenges to be solvable in 1-2 actions, very fast paced puzzles. Dont bog down the player with heady logic puzzles unless that player really LOVES those kinds of puzzles. 4) npcs can help with skills, maybe the gm should use pf’s rules for contacts, or rules for hiring npcs per day for skill use. Some players, however, dont like getting help and prefer to fail on their own, so its best to ASK first if the pc wants help or not before the game starts. 5) when the player doesnt know what to do, and they ask an npc, if you dont want to give them the answer and the pc just needs someone to bounce ideas off of, you can use phrases like “What was that thing you were talking about earlier? You mentioned you can sneak? Well, maybe we can explore that idea more...” etc, aka try to round the conversation back around to what the pc was saying, aka dont ADD too much info, but offer to examine what the pc has said. If the pc says a correct answer but doesnt realize it, which happens very very often, the npc can, IF ASKED, mentions how they thought it was a good idea. I wouldent offer these tips if the player didnt ask first, and always try to make the pc feel like they did all the work. The npc can just be there to test “hot or cold” basically. 6) seth is the best youtube gm/dm out there easily 10x better than anyone else imo. His information comes from years of playing multiple systems, which is imo the most important thing for a gm to have. He is also almost always spot on with his advice, he is clearly a very pro game master, and clearly has tons of improv chops. Well roundedness will always be better imo than a gm who excels at something like descriptive writing, but cant improv, etc. Seth’s got it all and more, I wish more people followed this channel and not some other youtube gms (i really cant stand like 99% of the other youtube dms/gms), and i tell people about this channel all the time. But thats just my 2 gold pieces worth 🌝

[@jeffbrownstain]

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.

[@MHAL]

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.

[@patrickfitzpatrick2945]

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

[@krispalermo8133]

Back in my early 20's before AD&D2e moved into 3rd e. I was at game shop, there was a single newbie and a small click of elitist snobs that act like the new guy was not good enough to teach the game to. So I started off a dungeon game and have the N.G. play with 12 characters with three characters for each class so he can work on Role play acting and to understand small group tactics. Snob, " Hey one player equals one character ! " Shop owner, " His game, his rules." Later that night the more .. mature .. DMs show up to run a game, they set down at the game and ran multiple characters. End result three of the snobs left the other and started to act like normal decent people. Thank you for your videos.

[@johnhall3633]

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

[@Juhno]

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...

[@hawkthetraveler6344]

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

[@sketchingjohn1678]

This was great, Seth! Thanks so much.

[@shallendor]

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!

[@tilasole3252]

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...

[@elliegray8184]

I like one-on-one games a lot because they can have tigher themes than group games can at times. If you're playing a setting for more mature stories, like a cyberpunk or noir setting, the player's character can go through a more personal storyline that can go more indepth with the character's beliefs, background, and world view.

[@Raddlesby]

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!

[@MrDmitriRavenoff]

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

[@Dr.Molotov]

I deeply appreciate this video. Thanks Seth!

[@Katosepe]

My wife loves the combat mechanics of D&D so I've DMed duet campaigns for her where she creates and manages 2 or 3 characters in combat and I RP all but her main character. This can help with the combat balancing IF you have a player who can juggle that many characters. It can help with the hinting issue too, if you have 2 sidekicks, because you as the DM can make them each want to go a different route, making it clear to the player that there is no DM bias in the suggestion.

[@jeffp2x443]

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!

[@LucasSilva-oq9er]

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

[@willburr5929]

As a DM, I never ran an extended one on one campaign per se, but lengthy breakout sessions during my multiplayer games were a necessity, usually in order to keep the actions of one player secret from the rest of the group.

[@duncanmartin3104]

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.

[@wolftwinbladed7921]

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.

[@stefanreindel9888]

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

[@ArcNeoMasato]

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.

[@armorguy1108]

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.

[@altooo4760]

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.

[@johanneskaiser8188]

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.

[@Alresu]

The sounding board is a nice point. I recently had a story problem and wanted to ask the other GMs on Matt Colvilles Discord for help. I got the rather simple solution halfway through writing the question.

[@AlphaOmegaCreations]

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.

[@talkativeturtles221]

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 :)

[@alundrajehuthy1801]

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

[@MindOfGenius]

Another idea for these 1-on-1 or 1-on-2 games: Session Zero-Point-Five [Session 0.5; Session 1/2 ]. I used Session 0 to get everyone together to help them build characters who could work in the campaign we were going to play. We toss around ideas, character archetypes, and build they wanted to play. I told them they don't have to tell everything publicly if they didn't want to, as long as they gave the party the general idea for what to expect; ranged attacks, up-close-and-personal magic, ultimate wrestling superstar, etc. Then I asked them to pair off with each other and some up with a simple idea for how their characters might've interacted together in the past. Once that is done and they've selected their pairs I'll take each pair privately aside to flesh out their idea and give a rough guess to how their meeting played out; was there a fight, was one trying to help the other in some way, someone indebted to the other, and other things of that nature. I make sure BOTH players are to the general story layout they put out. (If I have an odd number of players, I'll take that solo player and match them up with someone from one of the other groups [generally someone who has a strong backstory/fleshed out concept or is good at roleplaying]; I'll ask the solo player how they think they knew/met up with/investigated the other player, and the other player will help explain their character and motivations so that the solo player can have their own "story mission" that enhances the already-paired player's story). Our Session 0.5 is each group [and the solo player, if there was an odd number] getting a mini session of their character('s) experiences; the players involved have a spotlight on their characters so they have a chance to show off just what their characters are like- the players not involved are getting a sneak peak into what the other characters are like (and possibly a secret or two they will get a hint about, but not their characters. Each pairing takes about an hour to do, and even though we have a rough idea of what story beats will happen, the dice and I [the DM] have the final say in how *well* it plays out (The player might've won in a fighting pit and get sponsored; the dice could say that they lost, and the other player helps me try the story back together). It's really fun to do, and my groups enjoy it a LOT since they're personally invested from the get-go.

[@brianyoung3324]

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!