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Duet Dialogues I
Duet campaigns!
Sounds romantic doesn't it?
Actually, it is!
Duet roleplaying is basically a game with one GM and one player and most of my duet campaigns have been with my dearest wife Michelle. We have been together for 14 years and married for 10 years and are the definition of soul mates. Seriously, grab a dictionary and go to soul mates and our picture is there;OK maybe not, but it should be.
Now the one constant in our relationship has been duet roleplaying and this is one of the keys to our blissful marriage. So if you want to turn your relationship from loving couple to soul mates I strongly suggest duet roleplaying. And, yes, I am being completely serious.
Duet roleplaying is very intimate and for hours at a time you are talking and interacting with one another. Sure you are playing different personas, but the minds are the same. Most couples spend their free time doing something separate, like watching T.V. (just sitting on the couch together watching your favorite show is not interacting) or pursuing separate hobbies at the same time (for example, one on the computer and the other reading a book sharing just the occasional comment or grunt of amusement). Michelle and I spend on average probably about 8 hours a week (often more, but kids and work do sap the game time) roleplaying together, which means talking and interacting. There is really not enough happening in real life for couples to meaningfully interact together this much, and if there is you probably need a break from real life anyway.
With duet roleplaying the two of you share a new adventure every night. Related to this new adventure feeling is that you can also recapture that feeling of the beginning of a relationship. Introduce a romance into the duet campaign and you both get to relive the highs and lows of courtship through the roleplaying experience. It can be very much like falling in love again or at least reminding your soul mate that you are romantic, if only in a roleplaying context. Yes, I have been accosted by Michelle about why I am not as romantic as the NPCs I run. Of course, an easy retort for me is that the romantic NPCs don't clean the litter boxes.
Furthermore, when the world starts weighing down upon you and yours it is nice to have a place to retreat to, away from the troubles of the day. Escapism is really just a survival mechanism when you consider the headaches of today, many of which you really can't do much about. Now when a couple can retreat together to a magical place then you are half way to soul mates, because the ability to withdraw into each other's company is a hallmark of the term.
So the next time you and your beloved significant other are wondering what to do that evening, spend it drawing up a character and an adventure that you will run the next night. Someone should volunteer to GM and they should get kudos points for that as it can be hard work, but I have found it equally as rewarding. The worse that happens is you spend some time talking to each other; trust me even a boring duet roleplaying game is typically more interesting than what you normally do;OK maybe not, but it still is a fine way to spend an evening and if you both find enjoyment with it then it will only help your relationship.
Alright, hopefully you now interested in starting up a duet campaign! While I intend to regularly maintain this blog with tips and accounts from my experiences running duet campaigns I already have a lot of other resources already up. I maintain a blog at our nascent site and also maintain two threads on the Gleemax forums; one is the original, and I daresay classic, Guide to Solo Campaigns (see gaming links)and the other is the newer Guide to Duet Campaigns (see gaming links). Hopefully, these should answer you questions, but if not ask on one of the threads or email me and I may cover it in my next blog. Edit Text
Sounds romantic doesn't it?
Actually, it is!
Duet roleplaying is basically a game with one GM and one player and most of my duet campaigns have been with my dearest wife Michelle. We have been together for 14 years and married for 10 years and are the definition of soul mates. Seriously, grab a dictionary and go to soul mates and our picture is there;OK maybe not, but it should be.
Now the one constant in our relationship has been duet roleplaying and this is one of the keys to our blissful marriage. So if you want to turn your relationship from loving couple to soul mates I strongly suggest duet roleplaying. And, yes, I am being completely serious.
Duet roleplaying is very intimate and for hours at a time you are talking and interacting with one another. Sure you are playing different personas, but the minds are the same. Most couples spend their free time doing something separate, like watching T.V. (just sitting on the couch together watching your favorite show is not interacting) or pursuing separate hobbies at the same time (for example, one on the computer and the other reading a book sharing just the occasional comment or grunt of amusement). Michelle and I spend on average probably about 8 hours a week (often more, but kids and work do sap the game time) roleplaying together, which means talking and interacting. There is really not enough happening in real life for couples to meaningfully interact together this much, and if there is you probably need a break from real life anyway.
With duet roleplaying the two of you share a new adventure every night. Related to this new adventure feeling is that you can also recapture that feeling of the beginning of a relationship. Introduce a romance into the duet campaign and you both get to relive the highs and lows of courtship through the roleplaying experience. It can be very much like falling in love again or at least reminding your soul mate that you are romantic, if only in a roleplaying context. Yes, I have been accosted by Michelle about why I am not as romantic as the NPCs I run. Of course, an easy retort for me is that the romantic NPCs don't clean the litter boxes.
Furthermore, when the world starts weighing down upon you and yours it is nice to have a place to retreat to, away from the troubles of the day. Escapism is really just a survival mechanism when you consider the headaches of today, many of which you really can't do much about. Now when a couple can retreat together to a magical place then you are half way to soul mates, because the ability to withdraw into each other's company is a hallmark of the term.
So the next time you and your beloved significant other are wondering what to do that evening, spend it drawing up a character and an adventure that you will run the next night. Someone should volunteer to GM and they should get kudos points for that as it can be hard work, but I have found it equally as rewarding. The worse that happens is you spend some time talking to each other; trust me even a boring duet roleplaying game is typically more interesting than what you normally do;OK maybe not, but it still is a fine way to spend an evening and if you both find enjoyment with it then it will only help your relationship.
Alright, hopefully you now interested in starting up a duet campaign! While I intend to regularly maintain this blog with tips and accounts from my experiences running duet campaigns I already have a lot of other resources already up. I maintain a blog at our nascent site and also maintain two threads on the Gleemax forums; one is the original, and I daresay classic, Guide to Solo Campaigns (see gaming links)and the other is the newer Guide to Duet Campaigns (see gaming links). Hopefully, these should answer you questions, but if not ask on one of the threads or email me and I may cover it in my next blog. Edit Text
Duet Dialogues II
Thanks to SamLL for this perfect lead-in for a broader discussion of duet campaigns:
"Thanks for sharing your insights! You make me want to start playing Greg Stolze's Reign (http://www.gregstolze.com/reign/index.html) in a duet with my girlfriend. I'd be very interested to hear about any big-picture differences you see between duet campaigns and 3-5 PC campaigns, which are what I am used to. It seems intuitively like it would be easier to GM for a duet - you don't have to worry about which player's plot hooks you pick up on next, and you can easily tailor events to meet your single character. (Your player makes a PC with a lot of fighting talent? Give them a lot of combat. No fighting, but plenty of debating and academic skills? University politics. Etc.) What's easier, and what's harder, with just one PC instead of a fistful."
I hadn't heard of Greg Stolze's Reign, but after looking at the webpage my instinct is that this might be a real winner for duet campaigns. (By the way, a review of Reign would be a great addition to Gleemax, I for one would love to read one!) Politics and intrigue are staples of my duet campaigns and many of them have been at the level of play that Reign seems to support, that of heads of state. Usually, I have to jury-rig rules to support this level of play, which is all but ignored by the vast majority of RPGs. Just make sure your girlfriend is interested, but from my experience most roleplayers love to try such games, everyone wants to be the Queen from time to time. At some future Duet Dialogues I will probably wax poetical about political and intrigue campaigns as I do enjoy running them.
Now on to the real question: what are the big-picture differences between duet and group campaigns?
With an excessive generalization, I would say that group campaigns are about camaraderie and duet campaigns are about roleplaying. Certainly, there are groups that are really into roleplaying, but it is the spirit of camaraderie that makes group campaigns so fun. With duet campaigns the roleplaying is what it is all about.
Duet campaigns are very immersive as the single player does not have to share the stage with other players which mean less distractions and more time roleplaying. Both the GM and the player will have far more time roleplaying than they would in a group campaign and this makes the pace quicker, or, more accurately, permits greater depth. Additionally, issues like game balance are unimportant. Game balance is a mechanism to promote good will between players and with one player there is no need for game balance. In fact, tailoring to and favoring the PC is part of the fun of duet campaigns.
As for which is easier for the GM;that is a tricky question. I find that adventure design is easier with duet campaigns and execution is easier with group campaigns. The assumption that it is easier to come up with plot hooks and adventures for one player as opposed to a group is accurate, but there are more demands upon the GM on the execution side. In duet campaigns the GM is not a conductor on the sidelines but in the middle of the fray. The player has her PC and you have everyone else. There are no other PCs and the GM has to step up to fill the void. This is one of the reasons I love to GM duet campaigns, with group campaigns I can run things on autopilot, but I really have to be on my toes with duet campaigns.
Now another factor to this question is the quality of the player. With a group it is the aggregate quality of the players that matters, sure a good or bad player is very influential to the dynamic, but there is some give and take. Only one player means the complexity of the campaign is completely determined by the ability of the player. A very clever and driven player is truly a challenge to manage in a duet campaign, but these types of players practically design the campaign themselves. A less experienced player requires a lot more hand-holding by the GM until they are up to speed. Fortunately, from my experience the learning curve for duet campaigns is a lot quicker than with group campaigns as players will step up to the challenge if properly coaxed.
Hopefully, that answers the big-picture question. I personally enjoy both group and duet campaigns, but for different reasons. Group campaigns are really fun once you get all the players engaged and are a tremendous social activity. Duet campaigns are really fun once you embrace it and the immersion it offers. There are definitely different skills to doing both properly, but at core the skills are the same they just need to be adjusted for the type of campaign.
"Thanks for sharing your insights! You make me want to start playing Greg Stolze's Reign (http://www.gregstolze.com/reign/index.html) in a duet with my girlfriend. I'd be very interested to hear about any big-picture differences you see between duet campaigns and 3-5 PC campaigns, which are what I am used to. It seems intuitively like it would be easier to GM for a duet - you don't have to worry about which player's plot hooks you pick up on next, and you can easily tailor events to meet your single character. (Your player makes a PC with a lot of fighting talent? Give them a lot of combat. No fighting, but plenty of debating and academic skills? University politics. Etc.) What's easier, and what's harder, with just one PC instead of a fistful."
I hadn't heard of Greg Stolze's Reign, but after looking at the webpage my instinct is that this might be a real winner for duet campaigns. (By the way, a review of Reign would be a great addition to Gleemax, I for one would love to read one!) Politics and intrigue are staples of my duet campaigns and many of them have been at the level of play that Reign seems to support, that of heads of state. Usually, I have to jury-rig rules to support this level of play, which is all but ignored by the vast majority of RPGs. Just make sure your girlfriend is interested, but from my experience most roleplayers love to try such games, everyone wants to be the Queen from time to time. At some future Duet Dialogues I will probably wax poetical about political and intrigue campaigns as I do enjoy running them.
Now on to the real question: what are the big-picture differences between duet and group campaigns?
With an excessive generalization, I would say that group campaigns are about camaraderie and duet campaigns are about roleplaying. Certainly, there are groups that are really into roleplaying, but it is the spirit of camaraderie that makes group campaigns so fun. With duet campaigns the roleplaying is what it is all about.
Duet campaigns are very immersive as the single player does not have to share the stage with other players which mean less distractions and more time roleplaying. Both the GM and the player will have far more time roleplaying than they would in a group campaign and this makes the pace quicker, or, more accurately, permits greater depth. Additionally, issues like game balance are unimportant. Game balance is a mechanism to promote good will between players and with one player there is no need for game balance. In fact, tailoring to and favoring the PC is part of the fun of duet campaigns.
As for which is easier for the GM;that is a tricky question. I find that adventure design is easier with duet campaigns and execution is easier with group campaigns. The assumption that it is easier to come up with plot hooks and adventures for one player as opposed to a group is accurate, but there are more demands upon the GM on the execution side. In duet campaigns the GM is not a conductor on the sidelines but in the middle of the fray. The player has her PC and you have everyone else. There are no other PCs and the GM has to step up to fill the void. This is one of the reasons I love to GM duet campaigns, with group campaigns I can run things on autopilot, but I really have to be on my toes with duet campaigns.
Now another factor to this question is the quality of the player. With a group it is the aggregate quality of the players that matters, sure a good or bad player is very influential to the dynamic, but there is some give and take. Only one player means the complexity of the campaign is completely determined by the ability of the player. A very clever and driven player is truly a challenge to manage in a duet campaign, but these types of players practically design the campaign themselves. A less experienced player requires a lot more hand-holding by the GM until they are up to speed. Fortunately, from my experience the learning curve for duet campaigns is a lot quicker than with group campaigns as players will step up to the challenge if properly coaxed.
Hopefully, that answers the big-picture question. I personally enjoy both group and duet campaigns, but for different reasons. Group campaigns are really fun once you get all the players engaged and are a tremendous social activity. Duet campaigns are really fun once you embrace it and the immersion it offers. There are definitely different skills to doing both properly, but at core the skills are the same they just need to be adjusted for the type of campaign.
Duet Dialogues III
My first duet adventures were about 13 to 14 years ago during my sophomore year at UF. This was the height of my college gaming,
my roommate Geoff was an avid gamer and our little un-air conditioned dorm floor was filled with gamers. We had no less than
four GMs and a group of between 6-10 regular players. 2nd Edition D&D (mostly set in Forgotten Realms, Spelljammer, and
Dark Sun), Rifts, D6 Star Wars, Battletech, Marvel SAGA, and Axis & Allies were our diversions of choice.
Anyway, Vic one of our key GMs developed the idea of a pre-adventure which was a duet adventure that set up a PC for a group campaign. It was really a cool technique because it allowed you to begin the campaign alone to get all sorts of important information and to establish your character before the group campaign. Obviously , when I finally got the nerve to GM at college I decided I would definitely use pre-adventures.
Now I had GMed before in middle and high school, but not that many times and we had a lot of experienced gamers in our group so I was more than a little daunted and felt the need to really do something cool to pull off my first serious campaign. So I mulled and came up with a campaign spawning story arc set in the Forgotten Realms. I don't remember the specific details, but if memory serves it was a plot involving the Red Wizards taking over the world, like most novice GMs my idea was more ambitious than it needed to be. My brilliant plan was to run four pre-adventures to hook up the five players. I really prepared for those pre-adventures, but I had time it's not like any of us really studied.
To be honest, the pre-adventures were brilliant - too brilliant. I had one PC get killed in a pre-adventure, not part of the plan, but what do you do when the PC decides to ride straight through the Thayan army to reach the leader; when he is 3rd level! I had another PC get so hooked up in his local community that he passed on the grand quest and wanted to pursue local adventures in the Savage North, who can blame him he was 3rd level and this was the reasonable plan. I had another PC who gave up on the grand quest to wage a war against evil in the Old Empires, because of the strong ties I established between his character and local NPCs including a love interest I believe. The final group, which had two, started in the Shinning South and they actually accepted the grand quest and set off, but at this point the campaign was over. I did a few duet adventures with everyone, but it was completely depressing as there was no way to hook them all up without GM fiat, which I abhorred then and still do today. My grand quest and campaign fell apart in the pre-adventure stage. It was awhile before I attempted another serious campaign and then I didn't use pre-adventures.
Now one lesson I learned was to start off simple. Story arcs should arise from the campaign and should not be scripted by the GM at the beginning. Nowadays I just run fun adventures and if a story arc pops up then all the better, but I really feel that good GMs design good adventures and don't worry about story arcs until they naturally fall into place. This though is the voice of experience. It took me many years and many campaigns to grasp this concept.
Another lesson I learned was to pay more attention to my fellow GMs. Why did Vic not have the problems I faced with his pre-adventures? Well he had a scripted story arc and he scripted out the pre-adventures. There wasn't much freedom, but there was also little way for the pre-adventures to get off track. It was smart and showed that he had thought out the issue better than me. Yet, I disliked the scripted feel of his adventures, but now saw that at least in the pre-adventure stage it had a point. At this point I really started to observe other GMs during games and figure what they did that worked and what they did that didn't. It really helped having multiple GMs with different styles as it really gave me a wide range of tools to improve my GMing.
My final lesson was that duet adventures were fun and that players after the initial awkwardness loved to have the spotlight. Later when I struggled to get Michelle hooked on roleplaying as she really disliked my group's dynamic I tried duet adventures and it worked beyond my hopes. Today she is an avid roleplayer and even enjoys occasional group campaigns all because of the countless duet campaigns we have run.
One last thought, I pooled together some tips on how to link duet adventures (use to call them solo) with group campaigns at Redgar's. This little article reflects a lot of the lessons I have learned from the mistakes I have made over the years.
Anyway, Vic one of our key GMs developed the idea of a pre-adventure which was a duet adventure that set up a PC for a group campaign. It was really a cool technique because it allowed you to begin the campaign alone to get all sorts of important information and to establish your character before the group campaign. Obviously , when I finally got the nerve to GM at college I decided I would definitely use pre-adventures.
Now I had GMed before in middle and high school, but not that many times and we had a lot of experienced gamers in our group so I was more than a little daunted and felt the need to really do something cool to pull off my first serious campaign. So I mulled and came up with a campaign spawning story arc set in the Forgotten Realms. I don't remember the specific details, but if memory serves it was a plot involving the Red Wizards taking over the world, like most novice GMs my idea was more ambitious than it needed to be. My brilliant plan was to run four pre-adventures to hook up the five players. I really prepared for those pre-adventures, but I had time it's not like any of us really studied.
To be honest, the pre-adventures were brilliant - too brilliant. I had one PC get killed in a pre-adventure, not part of the plan, but what do you do when the PC decides to ride straight through the Thayan army to reach the leader; when he is 3rd level! I had another PC get so hooked up in his local community that he passed on the grand quest and wanted to pursue local adventures in the Savage North, who can blame him he was 3rd level and this was the reasonable plan. I had another PC who gave up on the grand quest to wage a war against evil in the Old Empires, because of the strong ties I established between his character and local NPCs including a love interest I believe. The final group, which had two, started in the Shinning South and they actually accepted the grand quest and set off, but at this point the campaign was over. I did a few duet adventures with everyone, but it was completely depressing as there was no way to hook them all up without GM fiat, which I abhorred then and still do today. My grand quest and campaign fell apart in the pre-adventure stage. It was awhile before I attempted another serious campaign and then I didn't use pre-adventures.
Now one lesson I learned was to start off simple. Story arcs should arise from the campaign and should not be scripted by the GM at the beginning. Nowadays I just run fun adventures and if a story arc pops up then all the better, but I really feel that good GMs design good adventures and don't worry about story arcs until they naturally fall into place. This though is the voice of experience. It took me many years and many campaigns to grasp this concept.
Another lesson I learned was to pay more attention to my fellow GMs. Why did Vic not have the problems I faced with his pre-adventures? Well he had a scripted story arc and he scripted out the pre-adventures. There wasn't much freedom, but there was also little way for the pre-adventures to get off track. It was smart and showed that he had thought out the issue better than me. Yet, I disliked the scripted feel of his adventures, but now saw that at least in the pre-adventure stage it had a point. At this point I really started to observe other GMs during games and figure what they did that worked and what they did that didn't. It really helped having multiple GMs with different styles as it really gave me a wide range of tools to improve my GMing.
My final lesson was that duet adventures were fun and that players after the initial awkwardness loved to have the spotlight. Later when I struggled to get Michelle hooked on roleplaying as she really disliked my group's dynamic I tried duet adventures and it worked beyond my hopes. Today she is an avid roleplayer and even enjoys occasional group campaigns all because of the countless duet campaigns we have run.
One last thought, I pooled together some tips on how to link duet adventures (use to call them solo) with group campaigns at Redgar's. This little article reflects a lot of the lessons I have learned from the mistakes I have made over the years.
Duet Dialogues IV: Basic Tips
Today I am tackling one of the major challenges of duet roleplaying: how to protect the PC while maintaining tension.
With a duet campaign you have only one PC so if the PC dies the campaign ends. Yes, you can use GM fiat to restore the PC to life, but this undermines the campaign as the actions of the PC, for better or worse, should determine the fate of the PC. Thus you need to make sure you don't set up the PC for a situation where a little bad luck dooms the character. In group campaigns this is part of the fun, but in duets this can be disastrous. So here are some tips for protecting the PC:
1) Avoid save vs. die situations. Having one roll determine the life or death of the PC is a bad idea in most cases and should be avoided. I can use probability in other systems like GURPS to create save vs. die situations where the odds are decidedly in the PCs favor but still feels like there is genuine risk (and there is, though very statistically unlikely), but this is truly GM gambling. D20 is not designed for this type of GM gambling, as d20 is very random with little probability in the results, so my advice is to not try it for D&D and even in other systems it is risky.
2) Improve the defense but weaken the offense of enemies. This gives you a longer fight, but greatly reduces the chance of the enemies taking out the PC quickly. In duets you have less combat so this is a good trick for making combat more meaningful as it is more protracted and thus exciting.
3) Buff the PC. Remember with duets balance is not an issue so make the PC more powerful that a typical character this will increase her odds of surviving. This could also be through better weapons and equipment, by providing an edge to the PC you eliminate a lot of risks.
4) Provide allies. A few NPC allies can soak up damage, draw off enemies, and provide some extra firepower as needed. It takes a little orchestration to keep the PC as the main hero, but if she is the most powerful and/or the leader then this is not that difficult, plus it makes the combat more exciting.
5) Provide warnings. Use a NPC to warn a PC that the Forest of the Ghastly Hallows is very, very dangerous and can be visited by only the most powerful of heroes. Whenever you can weave warnings into the campaign through NPCs they can check the PC from a dangerous course and promote roleplaying. If you feel you really need to, you can use the GM voice 'are you sure you want to do this?' but remember if the PC has been warned and still decides to plow on you have to do your job as the GM and deliver the reasonable consequences, hopefully the PC will survive and learn from her mistake.
6) Remember PCs don't run. It is often said that PCs should run more often from deadly encounters, but as an experienced GM and PC I can say there are a lot of reasons why this doesn't happen. First, there is always hope and it is the bird with feathers that pecks out the eyes of adventurers. Second , combat goes quickly it can all be fine till a few critical hits and then a PC or two is down and the situation is out of control. Third, players hate running away it is an honor thing. Just keep this in mind.
OK so we have protected the PC, but we want there to be a threat of danger and some genuine tension. Often this is not a problem, but sometimes players will assume that they are unbeatable as they are the only PC. So what can we do? Well here are some ideas and they really work very well in group campaigns as well.
SUCCESS OR FAILURE IS BETTER THAN LIFE OR DEATH.
Set up situations where success or failure is more important than life or death. Responsibility is often as important to a PC as their life in many duet campaigns and this sense of responsibility is where success and failure is determined. For example, a mission to blow up a bridge held by the enemy or protecting a village from bandits are classic adventure ideas where in a way the life of the PC is less important than the mission. You see if the enemy army crosses the bridge then the war may be lost and if the villagers are all killed than so what if the bandits were defeated. You can also use this to provide consequences to the PC for negative actions, a demotion, loss of an ally, or similar can really communicate a sense of loss to the PC.
SACRIFICE AND LOSS IS BETTER THAN DEATH.
Losing a favorite weapon or mount really hurts, but losing a beloved NPC is even worse. Use this sparingly, but sometimes if the PC has made decisions that set up a killing blow then have the killing blow hit something or someone important to the PC. I say to use this sparingly in that if you keep hitting the PC with NPCs she is close to, then she will either disengage from the campaign or withdraw from close relationships with NPCs. Still this is a valuable tool.
ALWAYS HAVE AN OUT.
Alright, you killed the PC and now you have a decision. Is this the end of the campaign or the beginning? Death can be a beginning. You can do an afterlife campaign or have the PC sent back to complete a mission. Or you could have the player draw up a new PC to continue the campaign, but with a new character. This can also apply to serious consequences, if you kill a really popular NPC and the campaign falters because of it, then maybe the PC finds a child, ghost, or clone of the NPC to fill in that void. Flexibility is key.
With a duet campaign you have only one PC so if the PC dies the campaign ends. Yes, you can use GM fiat to restore the PC to life, but this undermines the campaign as the actions of the PC, for better or worse, should determine the fate of the PC. Thus you need to make sure you don't set up the PC for a situation where a little bad luck dooms the character. In group campaigns this is part of the fun, but in duets this can be disastrous. So here are some tips for protecting the PC:
1) Avoid save vs. die situations. Having one roll determine the life or death of the PC is a bad idea in most cases and should be avoided. I can use probability in other systems like GURPS to create save vs. die situations where the odds are decidedly in the PCs favor but still feels like there is genuine risk (and there is, though very statistically unlikely), but this is truly GM gambling. D20 is not designed for this type of GM gambling, as d20 is very random with little probability in the results, so my advice is to not try it for D&D and even in other systems it is risky.
2) Improve the defense but weaken the offense of enemies. This gives you a longer fight, but greatly reduces the chance of the enemies taking out the PC quickly. In duets you have less combat so this is a good trick for making combat more meaningful as it is more protracted and thus exciting.
3) Buff the PC. Remember with duets balance is not an issue so make the PC more powerful that a typical character this will increase her odds of surviving. This could also be through better weapons and equipment, by providing an edge to the PC you eliminate a lot of risks.
4) Provide allies. A few NPC allies can soak up damage, draw off enemies, and provide some extra firepower as needed. It takes a little orchestration to keep the PC as the main hero, but if she is the most powerful and/or the leader then this is not that difficult, plus it makes the combat more exciting.
5) Provide warnings. Use a NPC to warn a PC that the Forest of the Ghastly Hallows is very, very dangerous and can be visited by only the most powerful of heroes. Whenever you can weave warnings into the campaign through NPCs they can check the PC from a dangerous course and promote roleplaying. If you feel you really need to, you can use the GM voice 'are you sure you want to do this?' but remember if the PC has been warned and still decides to plow on you have to do your job as the GM and deliver the reasonable consequences, hopefully the PC will survive and learn from her mistake.
6) Remember PCs don't run. It is often said that PCs should run more often from deadly encounters, but as an experienced GM and PC I can say there are a lot of reasons why this doesn't happen. First, there is always hope and it is the bird with feathers that pecks out the eyes of adventurers. Second , combat goes quickly it can all be fine till a few critical hits and then a PC or two is down and the situation is out of control. Third, players hate running away it is an honor thing. Just keep this in mind.
OK so we have protected the PC, but we want there to be a threat of danger and some genuine tension. Often this is not a problem, but sometimes players will assume that they are unbeatable as they are the only PC. So what can we do? Well here are some ideas and they really work very well in group campaigns as well.
SUCCESS OR FAILURE IS BETTER THAN LIFE OR DEATH.
Set up situations where success or failure is more important than life or death. Responsibility is often as important to a PC as their life in many duet campaigns and this sense of responsibility is where success and failure is determined. For example, a mission to blow up a bridge held by the enemy or protecting a village from bandits are classic adventure ideas where in a way the life of the PC is less important than the mission. You see if the enemy army crosses the bridge then the war may be lost and if the villagers are all killed than so what if the bandits were defeated. You can also use this to provide consequences to the PC for negative actions, a demotion, loss of an ally, or similar can really communicate a sense of loss to the PC.
SACRIFICE AND LOSS IS BETTER THAN DEATH.
Losing a favorite weapon or mount really hurts, but losing a beloved NPC is even worse. Use this sparingly, but sometimes if the PC has made decisions that set up a killing blow then have the killing blow hit something or someone important to the PC. I say to use this sparingly in that if you keep hitting the PC with NPCs she is close to, then she will either disengage from the campaign or withdraw from close relationships with NPCs. Still this is a valuable tool.
ALWAYS HAVE AN OUT.
Alright, you killed the PC and now you have a decision. Is this the end of the campaign or the beginning? Death can be a beginning. You can do an afterlife campaign or have the PC sent back to complete a mission. Or you could have the player draw up a new PC to continue the campaign, but with a new character. This can also apply to serious consequences, if you kill a really popular NPC and the campaign falters because of it, then maybe the PC finds a child, ghost, or clone of the NPC to fill in that void. Flexibility is key.
Caveats
Serious consequences are serious so keep this in mind and here are some caveats:
POSITIVE IS BETTER THAN NEGATIVE
Reward PCs for smart conduct and this is better than punishing for foolish conduct. If a PC comes up with a good plan then make the situation a lot easier, if a PC saves a NPC from harm have that NPC become more loyal to the PC, and when appropriate compliment your player on their roleplaying and decisions. This is not just about survival decisions but also applies to roleplaying and critical thinking; compliment the good and the good will increase.
USE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES SPARINGLY.
With my wife I really only have to provide serious consequences every few campaigns for her to be very conscious of her actions and to be cautious. That said, some campaigns demand serious consequences. For example, my war campaigns have lots of loses in NPCs, belongings, and the like, this is the nature of war. On the other hand, I have some campaigns which are more relaxed where serious consequences are rarely used.
BE MINDFUL OF THE PLAYER.
One last thoght is that the GM must be mindful of the attitudes of the player. Some players cannot handle serious consequences and some won’t learn from serious consequences. Also if everyone is having fun then there might not be a need for serious consequences, but sometimes when tension is removed boredom will set in. Boredom is the ultimate killer of any campaign and serious consequences are used to prevent this from happening.
As always comments are encouraged as are questions about duets, which also helps me come up with topics for this blog!
POSITIVE IS BETTER THAN NEGATIVE
Reward PCs for smart conduct and this is better than punishing for foolish conduct. If a PC comes up with a good plan then make the situation a lot easier, if a PC saves a NPC from harm have that NPC become more loyal to the PC, and when appropriate compliment your player on their roleplaying and decisions. This is not just about survival decisions but also applies to roleplaying and critical thinking; compliment the good and the good will increase.
USE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES SPARINGLY.
With my wife I really only have to provide serious consequences every few campaigns for her to be very conscious of her actions and to be cautious. That said, some campaigns demand serious consequences. For example, my war campaigns have lots of loses in NPCs, belongings, and the like, this is the nature of war. On the other hand, I have some campaigns which are more relaxed where serious consequences are rarely used.
BE MINDFUL OF THE PLAYER.
One last thoght is that the GM must be mindful of the attitudes of the player. Some players cannot handle serious consequences and some won’t learn from serious consequences. Also if everyone is having fun then there might not be a need for serious consequences, but sometimes when tension is removed boredom will set in. Boredom is the ultimate killer of any campaign and serious consequences are used to prevent this from happening.
As always comments are encouraged as are questions about duets, which also helps me come up with topics for this blog!