More 1 on 1 gameplay and supplements in the description! ▶️ My one-on-one Icespire Peak campaign: ua-cam.com/play/PL1lMCvJ_l52Vo1CCdJSHw5KdTJEHtKhvF.html
Ooh! Good point. I didn't really think of it that way, but practicing those voices and learning the rules as a DM is definitely easier with one person too!
Great info! I've always liked 1 on 1 sessions. I was DMing an online game with 4 players who did not want to play if one person was missing. That kinda sucked since the game fell apart as too many sessions got canceled. I also DM for my 6-year-old, so 1 on 1 allows me to make the game age-appropriate and add in story elements that she would like. I also get to slow down the game to make sure she's learning math at the same time. :)
That's awesome to hear about your game with your daughter-- 6 is impressive for the math involved! And yeah, all players being present is a bit too high of a standard haha
I’m actually running a one on one with my friend. I was actually quite surprised at how quickly he adapted and handled himself in game. Last time he tricked an entire party of elves into revealing classified information by getting them drunk. It truly was an engaging and fun experience. Can’t wait for next Saterday.
Bob World Builder he actually gradually build up to it. Succeeding in multiple persuasion rolls to convince them to drink more and more until they where so intoxicated that he had a very easy persuasion check against them. Best part was when he threw them out the tavern after he was done with them, just to add insult to injury. (Definitely making them pop up again on his journey.)
This has been my biggest insight when playing D&D one-on-one. It seems weird and awkward and then the player and DM fall right into it. It's really worth trying.
While I wouldn't go out into a "proper dungeon" with one party member, breaking the party up to pursue individual goals and have individual spotlights shined on players (especially between group sessions) are common to the point of being a staple, as far as I've found. Sometimes the rogue is sent off to spy alone, and what, are you going to leave the whole table sitting around eating chips waiting for the rogue to come back? Nah, just handle the solo stuff between sessions.
Yes, sidekicks can be important to have along with that PC in dangerous environments, and it's great that one-on-one sessions are common in your groups!
my first ever DM experience was a one on one shot! my friend said she enjoyed it so much that she even drew art for it. im glad my little homebrew island sparked this much fun for her :,)
Great video Bob! I actually started D&D in the 80s with a one on one scenario and loved it. I controlled two characters and learned the game mechanics quickly as a spell caster and fighter. It can also be good to recharge your creative juices this way! Excelsior Gonzo
That is awesome! Do you happen to remember the name of the module? It really seems duet play was more common in previous editions. I'm glad it's making a comeback!
I'm about to run Waterdeep: Dragon Heist and I'm planning on interluding it with small one-one on D&D sessions, this video is really helpful! Keep up the fantastic work
@@BobWorldBuilder my thoughts exactly, both your video and Matt Colville's on one-on-one dnd have given me some great inspiration and I'm super exited to start running the campaign!
@@eateymcfeety3417 I have thought of something similar. 3 player party, running through DoIP. Chances are when this campaign is done, all 3 of the PCs will part ways. I wanted to do 1on1 sessions with each PC covering their journey to waterdeep, and ultimately, reuniting with each other.
My first full DM experience (not a one-shot) was playing Icespire with a friend (and first time player) was one-on-one. We started last September and had a lot of fun running through the adventure. He actually kept the same sidekick through the whole thing
My boyfriend is a forever DM and he's great at it. I'm going to run a 1 on 1 campaign with him for several reasons. 1 is he gets to finally play, 2 is I get to learn to DM. 3, To help him avoid DND burn-out (He DMs 3 Campaigns and 1 short adventure right now) and 4 is that it's a cool experience to share together!
Yeah, I’ve used those expert illustrations in my Icespire Peak campaign... I love that your descriptions of how to run are very useful while not being too long.
Great vid. I've been playing 1:1 games since the mid 90s. My first DM mainly did 1:1 games so it's kind of the way I learned. I like the team strategy aspect of a larger group but nearly all my greatest and most vivid DnD memories have been 1 on 1 games.
I've never played D&D one-on-one, but I have run Call of Cthulhu that way. CoC is a much more RP focused system - where combat is usually best avoided - so it ends up working quite well. Plus it helps with those spooky feelings of isolation and being on your own against the threat.
Yesss! So far I've only played solo CoC, but I agree that fewer players is great for heightening drama. I was played a 5e session with one other player where the DM ran us through a creepy mansion and it was intense!
@Darcy W I too have been running a 1on1 game with my wife. Home brew campaign. I'm still fairly new to being GM, but she is very patient. Such an awesome way to play. May your journeys be long, and your efforts fruitful. Game On!
I first tried one-on-one D&D with my friend Enrique (newbieDM) so we could play through Dragon of Icespire Peak. Since then I've been playing a D&D one-on-one game with my wife. She's running a warforged artificer in the frontier town of Salvation on the edge of the Mournland. Her sidekick is a bard. The two of them are very much a Sherlock Holmes and Watson style. Queso, the bard, goes and gets a few potential jobs in order. He brings them to A-Cog, the artificer. A-cog decides which one to talk to. They meet, hear about the job, and then decide whether to do it (usually yes). Then it becomes a more traditional D&D adventure completing a quest at some fantastic location in the Mournland. Because it's one-on-one we can break up this whole process into mini-sessions of about 30 to 90 minutes. Some of them, like selecting a job, can be done while we're out for our walk! That sort of flexibility is really hard to find in a full-group game. It's a wonderful way to play.
That's amazing! I really love the PC/sidekick dynamic you described for A-cog and Queso haha Also, walk and talk d&d is great fun. I did it once on a hike with some friends and it's certainly something I would do again!
Two tips I have for one-on-one DnD from a homebrew adventure I ran: 1) Consider letting the PC have higher than average stats. Since they’re the only character that can sneak, climb, investigation, or remember, having slightly higher base stats will let them be more generalised. 2) Give then the option to immediately come to at 1HP if they’ve been reduced to zero HP but at the cost of them rolling on an injury table. That means it’s much harder to kill them, and the injuries can be fantastic excuses for interesting role play or side quests to cure.
4:32 Reminds me of how old Wargames were really similar to RPGs. Old Warhammer had way more character stats than strength, morale and constitution/toughness, and even had intelligence checks (or stupidity checks as they called them,) character inventories, and more.
Great advice, as always. I have used one-on-one sessions with members of my group between regular sessions to take care of short side-quests. Nothing more elaborate than running an errand and maybe picking up a new quest hook or some info along the way. The mistake I made was not scheduling time for it. So we just used chat and participated when we could, which made the game-play very asynchronous: a lot of back and forth waiting for responses. Sometimes hours or days would go by waiting for a response (in both directions). Needless to say, there was no tension, no excitement, no thrilling or harrowing moments. It got the job done, but I wouldn't want to run any asynchronous session involving combat, a nuanced social encounter or anything other than a short interaction with an NPC, just as you'd never play Tetris by mail. If (when) I do a one-on-one session again, I'll schedule time with my player like any other session.
As a DM, I like being able to custom tailor the D&D game around my one player's actions and motivations. I'm getting a feel for his preferred style of play and trying to build the game experience around that.
Another great video! I think the idea of a "flashback" side quest for characters to flesh out their backstory is a good idea. I was talking to my players about something along this line too. It helps with downtime since we play every 2 weeks. I will take a look at the sidekick options you discussed in the video too as well as that Solo adventure. Thanks for the great content!
Thank you, Ruben! Yeah, while making this video, I realized I had a lot of past videos related to the topic. Might have to dive more deeply into the subject!
During my 25+ years of running games, a large majority of the games I've ran have been one on one games. Sometimes they started as one on one and other times they became one on one when the other players left the campaign and the remaining player wanted to keep playing. I've gotten very adept at running up to a half dozen or more characters at once to act as support, backup, and/or teammates for my player's character. In fact, most of my players who have done both group and one on one campaigns with me tend to enjoy the one on one campaigns better and they've usually lasted longer than any of my group campaigns.
My favorite dnd memories have been in one-on-one games - both as dm or as player. One time I had all my players get caputered and had them all make individual jail breaks with consequences for the other players. I let them all Think they were the first one I had played with and it was amazing walking them through a fortress and seeing them piece together that someone had been here before. One-on-one play is just an amazing idea that can highten roleplay. My dwarf ranger once went to seek a dwarven fortress. Here he was by accident enrolled in a summoning of the dwarf-god. And then my dm had me speak to the god. I spoke well enough and Now my dwarf is appointed Saint, crusader and avenger for his god. That session was a Week after covid and I’m still hyped after the night. Also Great video and even greater hair man!!
Bob World Builder well he kinda excommunicated half of the last dwarven fortress for not believing in his sainthood without any proof. So yeah, I’d say he is krepning up rather well
I have introduced my fiancee to D&D by running solo sessions. She has been having a good time. We tried to start a group with a few of her friends online, but they kept cancelling on us and we eventually decided to just do solo. Hopefully after the pandemic I can get her into an in-person game locally.
@@BobWorldBuilder Thankfully she was already into fantasy. Her first character was based on a heroine from one of the novel series she likes. I told her to think of a character she liked and follow that template. We played a couple of sessions with that character but then she made a new character for our planned group session that was more original. She enjoys the new character more because it is hers, but the first character helped her learn the game. I also usually have at least one sidekick to help. I made the mistake of having too many sidekicks at first, so now I stick to one or two. Also I use theater of the mind, so I stick with simpler maps.
Duet gameplay is how my best friend from high school are currently playing the Dragon of Icespire Peak. I have a more flexible work schedule then he does. So I hope to join a group at my LGS and meet new players that might join us for adventure. Thank you for the great videos Bob.
I love this I'm becoming a DM because the first campaign I was ever in I was treated extremely poorly and I wasn't even really included I decided I could do better but I only have one other person to play with and this helps a lot because this other person has never played before 1 1/2 campaigns I didn't finish the second one because it was with the same people and they just know I just stopped being friends with them but this helps so much and I'm going to use this cuz we're actually playing Icespire peak thank you so much you're amazing
Woo! I'm hoping to read Frostmaiden, film, and edit the review the day it comes out so I can upload on Wednesday morning as usual that week! We'll see how it goes. Thank you for your support :)
This was fun, appreciate your upbeat attitude 😄 made it seem less scary haha My partner and I are starting a game together and trying to decide what its going to look like.
Now I know I am late to your channel. But I am a long time DM (Heck I have been running dnd games for 26 years. I started running games at 14.) I found your channel yesterday while working and really enjoy your content. Thank you for your hard work.
Sure it is limiting to miss that other player/s. But it also is very practical and the player really gets attention, time and focus. have a sidekick run by the player (like a hired help) shoudl be enough to survive... Combat flies by with one player and a sidekick.
I was just over at We Talk D&D watching a video about introducing new players to the game. The discussion in the comments turned to using one-on-one games for that purpose. That's when he mentioned your very-timely video. If you haven't yet, check out his video. He has some great tips for introducing new players to the game. Oh, he asked me to tell you he sent me :)
What I've done is create a character to play along side my wife. I play Ronak, a dumb, strong, loyal dwarf fighter mercenary, who, after their first adventure, decides not to charge her for his services and decides to join her on her future endeavors as a new found friend. I play the dwarf as if I were just another character, walking that thin line of knowing too much, and not knowing enough. It gives her someone for her character to bounce ideas off of, a second set of arms to carry things, and a tank to aid her in battle. We've found the best way to use Ronak is I control him, she commands him, and it's been a blast!
Flashback or even a dream sequence I have seen for 1 on 1. I think it would be cool to do something like that with my sister's campaign. This really inspired me to get back at DOIP with my husband. And also makes me really excited to start the other 1 on 1 campaign another player and I have been developing over the passed few days. Looking forward to Saturday! And as always your next video!!!
@@BobWorldBuilder yeah, trying to see how many campaigns I can run at once. Seeing if 3 player and 1 DM is too much. Maybe I will find more campaigns on the Discord or go on side adventures in my sister's campaign. I need to touch base with the table toppers in my area too to see if I could join a game or if they are still looking for a DM.
@@HHSDaily Yeah, I know I'm nearly at my limit with games! I promised Grace I will be running Frostmaiden for her and a few friends/coworkers, and then I think I'll hit it xD
@@HHSDaily Haha, I'm confident I can also run that as a home game. The real stretch would have been also running Frostmaiden on Patreon like I had planned, but I don't think it's realistic right now.
I've run short campaign with 2 players and we just added a retainer (I rolled up a simple cleric to join them since they were both fighters). This was pre-Tasha's.. I bet it's even easier now.
It’s all a matter of preference! The sidekicks have fewer features, making them easy to run, but experience players would have not trouble with a lower level regular class as a retainer
I'm going to be DMing a one on one session in a few weeks. I feel exited but worried. First session is going to be a one shot dungeon (we thought it made the most sense) and I have no idea how much to prep, I guess I'm going to make the dungeon stretchy so I can add rooms if it's going too fast.
I seriously want to run some one on one. I'm a somewhat new DM and it's extremely frustrating not getting any practice in because the players keep canceling sessions. Or pretending they didn't know about our meetings. When starting out I made it my goal to improve with every single session I do but now all I can do is write my own stuff but my character acting and on the fly decision making have suffered greatly.
Bro ive played 1 on 1 dnd and well, thats right now and its my first try playing dnd and it is the most fun game ive ever played, sure ive had to do more death saving rolls than i can count, and being on 1 hp is the usual but its just so cool! But uh i like my character too much so i dont wanna die
I'm a Gen Xer , I would say I don't get triggered very easy, but when you called the Wampa a "the big Yeti thing on Hoth" at 3:26 I felt the uncontrollable urge to post a comment correcting you.
Question: I use a single D20 for my DnD duet one-shots. There's no character sheets no d6 d10 d12 d100 or anything, just that one d20. Think this would work?
I ran one on one for years... Hell one campaign lasted two years alone with weekly weekend games 12 hours long. It's fun, I do prefer group games though
Bob World Builder .... Each day. 24 hours a weekend. It was easy because we lived together and only really had eachother as a constant. That was back when I was a young whipper snapper
Honestly I'm looking for advice on how to run it because I'm going to start playing with my sister and it's probably just going to be the two of us most of the time
Sorry if that’s the case, but D&D is a great way to meet new people at games stores (when COVID is over) and online in of the MANY looking-for-group hubs 👍🏻
More 1 on 1 gameplay and supplements in the description!
▶️ My one-on-one Icespire Peak campaign: ua-cam.com/play/PL1lMCvJ_l52Vo1CCdJSHw5KdTJEHtKhvF.html
1 on 1 DnD is the best date I could ever have tbh
Agreed 😆
People who d&d don’t usually get dates
A man after my own heart
@@oliverhopkins8074yeah in the 1990s now a days people who don't like anime or ttrpgs are pretty rare
My bf and I after 4 years of relationship still doing 1 on 1 DnD. It's so fun. You can play anywhere anytime.
Playing 1on1 is a great way for a new DM/GM to practice as well. Those 1on1 sessions definitely helped me shake off the newby jitters.
Ooh! Good point. I didn't really think of it that way, but practicing those voices and learning the rules as a DM is definitely easier with one person too!
@@BobWorldBuilder Exactly! I think a lot of people have first time jitters. What an awesome way to get hooked on that sweet sweet lady D&D😜
Great info! I've always liked 1 on 1 sessions. I was DMing an online game with 4 players who did not want to play if one person was missing. That kinda sucked since the game fell apart as too many sessions got canceled.
I also DM for my 6-year-old, so 1 on 1 allows me to make the game age-appropriate and add in story elements that she would like. I also get to slow down the game to make sure she's learning math at the same time. :)
That's awesome to hear about your game with your daughter-- 6 is impressive for the math involved! And yeah, all players being present is a bit too high of a standard haha
Thank you! My wife and I have been running Dragon of Icespire Peak and have really appreciated your video guides. :)
Woo! Yes, Icespire Peak really changed the game by supporting duet games. Happy to hear you've been enjoying my series :)
I’m actually running a one on one with my friend. I was actually quite surprised at how quickly he adapted and handled himself in game. Last time he tricked an entire party of elves into revealing classified information by getting them drunk. It truly was an engaging and fun experience. Can’t wait for next Saterday.
Hahah, that's great! Simple persuasion checks or did he spike all their drinks??
Bob World Builder he actually gradually build up to it. Succeeding in multiple persuasion rolls to convince them to drink more and more until they where so intoxicated that he had a very easy persuasion check against them. Best part was when he threw them out the tavern after he was done with them, just to add insult to injury. (Definitely making them pop up again on his journey.)
@@zandreeksteen5900 Lol nicely done, but yeah, I hope they turn up again!
This has been my biggest insight when playing D&D one-on-one. It seems weird and awkward and then the player and DM fall right into it. It's really worth trying.
While I wouldn't go out into a "proper dungeon" with one party member, breaking the party up to pursue individual goals and have individual spotlights shined on players (especially between group sessions) are common to the point of being a staple, as far as I've found. Sometimes the rogue is sent off to spy alone, and what, are you going to leave the whole table sitting around eating chips waiting for the rogue to come back? Nah, just handle the solo stuff between sessions.
Yes, sidekicks can be important to have along with that PC in dangerous environments, and it's great that one-on-one sessions are common in your groups!
my first ever DM experience was a one on one shot! my friend said she enjoyed it so much that she even drew art for it. im glad my little homebrew island sparked this much fun for her :,)
That's awesome! Save that art forever!
Great video Bob! I actually started D&D in the 80s with a one on one scenario and loved it. I controlled two characters and learned the game mechanics quickly as a spell caster and fighter. It can also be good to recharge your creative juices this way! Excelsior
Gonzo
That is awesome! Do you happen to remember the name of the module? It really seems duet play was more common in previous editions. I'm glad it's making a comeback!
I'm about to run Waterdeep: Dragon Heist and I'm planning on interluding it with small one-one on D&D sessions, this video is really helpful! Keep up the fantastic work
Awesome! Yes, duet sessions are a great break from the normal game, and I feel like there's a lot one player can do in an urban campaign like that!
@@BobWorldBuilder my thoughts exactly, both your video and Matt Colville's on one-on-one dnd have given me some great inspiration and I'm super exited to start running the campaign!
@@eateymcfeety3417 Really happy to be mentioned alongside Matt haha, thank you! :)
@@BobWorldBuilder no problem, you're both fantastic!
@@eateymcfeety3417 I have thought of something similar. 3 player party, running through DoIP. Chances are when this campaign is done, all 3 of the PCs will part ways. I wanted to do 1on1 sessions with each PC covering their journey to waterdeep, and ultimately, reuniting with each other.
My first full DM experience (not a one-shot) was playing Icespire with a friend (and first time player) was one-on-one. We started last September and had a lot of fun running through the adventure. He actually kept the same sidekick through the whole thing
Woo! Glad you enjoyed Icespire Peak! And it’s nice that the sidekick made it the whole way haha
My boyfriend is a forever DM and he's great at it. I'm going to run a 1 on 1 campaign with him for several reasons. 1 is he gets to finally play, 2 is I get to learn to DM. 3, To help him avoid DND burn-out (He DMs 3 Campaigns and 1 short adventure right now) and 4 is that it's a cool experience to share together!
Yeah, I’ve used those expert illustrations in my Icespire Peak campaign... I love that your descriptions of how to run are very useful while not being too long.
Thank you! I'll be doing the same thing for Icewind Dale when that book comes out!
Great vid. I've been playing 1:1 games since the mid 90s. My first DM mainly did 1:1 games so it's kind of the way I learned. I like the team strategy aspect of a larger group but nearly all my greatest and most vivid DnD memories have been 1 on 1 games.
Totally! I think that one-on-one engagement really sticks with you. My best D&D memories are from duet or games or sessions with 2-3 players
I'm starting a campaign for my brother who's new to dnd and this video really helped build the motivation thank you
I’m doing the same thing for my brother. How did yours go?
I've never played D&D one-on-one, but I have run Call of Cthulhu that way. CoC is a much more RP focused system - where combat is usually best avoided - so it ends up working quite well. Plus it helps with those spooky feelings of isolation and being on your own against the threat.
Yesss! So far I've only played solo CoC, but I agree that fewer players is great for heightening drama. I was played a 5e session with one other player where the DM ran us through a creepy mansion and it was intense!
I usually do 1on1 to develop character backstories as you mentioned. It's a great tool!
Nice! Honestly, I need to do it more often!
I have been running a one on one with my wife for two years. We both love it. Good vid bob.
Right on! :D With a long term game like that, do you switch DMing every so often?
@Darcy W I too have been running a 1on1 game with my wife. Home brew campaign. I'm still fairly new to being GM, but she is very patient. Such an awesome way to play. May your journeys be long, and your efforts fruitful. Game On!
@@BobWorldBuilder Actually yes just recently she has mustered the courage to try running a game. So much fun!
@@darcyw156 That's wonderful! Certainly going to help keep your game alive for the long haul!
I first tried one-on-one D&D with my friend Enrique (newbieDM) so we could play through Dragon of Icespire Peak. Since then I've been playing a D&D one-on-one game with my wife. She's running a warforged artificer in the frontier town of Salvation on the edge of the Mournland. Her sidekick is a bard. The two of them are very much a Sherlock Holmes and Watson style. Queso, the bard, goes and gets a few potential jobs in order. He brings them to A-Cog, the artificer. A-cog decides which one to talk to. They meet, hear about the job, and then decide whether to do it (usually yes). Then it becomes a more traditional D&D adventure completing a quest at some fantastic location in the Mournland. Because it's one-on-one we can break up this whole process into mini-sessions of about 30 to 90 minutes. Some of them, like selecting a job, can be done while we're out for our walk! That sort of flexibility is really hard to find in a full-group game. It's a wonderful way to play.
That's amazing! I really love the PC/sidekick dynamic you described for A-cog and Queso haha
Also, walk and talk d&d is great fun. I did it once on a hike with some friends and it's certainly something I would do again!
Two tips I have for one-on-one DnD from a homebrew adventure I ran:
1) Consider letting the PC have higher than average stats. Since they’re the only character that can sneak, climb, investigation, or remember, having slightly higher base stats will let them be more generalised.
2) Give then the option to immediately come to at 1HP if they’ve been reduced to zero HP but at the cost of them rolling on an injury table. That means it’s much harder to kill them, and the injuries can be fantastic excuses for interesting role play or side quests to cure.
4:32 Reminds me of how old Wargames were really similar to RPGs. Old Warhammer had way more character stats than strength, morale and constitution/toughness, and even had intelligence checks (or stupidity checks as they called them,) character inventories, and more.
About to run my first 1 on 1 session tonight. Thanks for the help!
Great advice, as always.
I have used one-on-one sessions with members of my group between regular sessions to take care of short side-quests. Nothing more elaborate than running an errand and maybe picking up a new quest hook or some info along the way. The mistake I made was not scheduling time for it. So we just used chat and participated when we could, which made the game-play very asynchronous: a lot of back and forth waiting for responses. Sometimes hours or days would go by waiting for a response (in both directions). Needless to say, there was no tension, no excitement, no thrilling or harrowing moments. It got the job done, but I wouldn't want to run any asynchronous session involving combat, a nuanced social encounter or anything other than a short interaction with an NPC, just as you'd never play Tetris by mail. If (when) I do a one-on-one session again, I'll schedule time with my player like any other session.
And fortunately scheduling is pretty easy with one person, and you don’t need a lot of time to get through a few scenes!
As a DM, I like being able to custom tailor the D&D game around my one player's actions and motivations. I'm getting a feel for his preferred style of play and trying to build the game experience around that.
Nice! It's a great way to practice doing it for multiple players too!
Another great video! I think the idea of a "flashback" side quest for characters to flesh out their backstory is a good idea. I was talking to my players about something along this line too. It helps with downtime since we play every 2 weeks. I will take a look at the sidekick options you discussed in the video too as well as that Solo adventure. Thanks for the great content!
Thank you, Ruben! Yeah, while making this video, I realized I had a lot of past videos related to the topic. Might have to dive more deeply into the subject!
During my 25+ years of running games, a large majority of the games I've ran have been one on one games. Sometimes they started as one on one and other times they became one on one when the other players left the campaign and the remaining player wanted to keep playing. I've gotten very adept at running up to a half dozen or more characters at once to act as support, backup, and/or teammates for my player's character. In fact, most of my players who have done both group and one on one campaigns with me tend to enjoy the one on one campaigns better and they've usually lasted longer than any of my group campaigns.
My favorite dnd memories have been in one-on-one games - both as dm or as player. One time I had all my players get caputered and had them all make individual jail breaks with consequences for the other players. I let them all Think they were the first one I had played with and it was amazing walking them through a fortress and seeing them piece together that someone had been here before.
One-on-one play is just an amazing idea that can highten roleplay. My dwarf ranger once went to seek a dwarven fortress. Here he was by accident enrolled in a summoning of the dwarf-god. And then my dm had me speak to the god. I spoke well enough and Now my dwarf is appointed Saint, crusader and avenger for his god. That session was a Week after covid and I’m still hyped after the night.
Also Great video and even greater hair man!!
One on one definitely leads to more memorable experiences! Hope your dwarf is keeping up their saintly duties :)
Bob World Builder well he kinda excommunicated half of the last dwarven fortress for not believing in his sainthood without any proof.
So yeah, I’d say he is krepning up rather well
I have introduced my fiancee to D&D by running solo sessions. She has been having a good time. We tried to start a group with a few of her friends online, but they kept cancelling on us and we eventually decided to just do solo. Hopefully after the pandemic I can get her into an in-person game locally.
That’s awesome! Any other tips from your experience introducing them to D&D? I want to make a video about this topic soon
@@BobWorldBuilder Thankfully she was already into fantasy. Her first character was based on a heroine from one of the novel series she likes. I told her to think of a character she liked and follow that template. We played a couple of sessions with that character but then she made a new character for our planned group session that was more original. She enjoys the new character more because it is hers, but the first character helped her learn the game. I also usually have at least one sidekick to help. I made the mistake of having too many sidekicks at first, so now I stick to one or two. Also I use theater of the mind, so I stick with simpler maps.
Duet gameplay is how my best friend from high school are currently playing the Dragon of Icespire Peak. I have a more flexible work schedule then he does. So I hope to join a group at my LGS and meet new players that might join us for adventure. Thank you for the great videos Bob.
Nice! Yeah, hopefully stores are able to safely open up game nights again sometime soon!
i was just asked about running a solo game recently, great timing for this vid.
Do it! Glad the timing worked out well for you :)
I love this I'm becoming a DM because the first campaign I was ever in I was treated extremely poorly and I wasn't even really included I decided I could do better but I only have one other person to play with and this helps a lot because this other person has never played before 1 1/2 campaigns I didn't finish the second one because it was with the same people and they just know I just stopped being friends with them but this helps so much and I'm going to use this cuz we're actually playing Icespire peak thank you so much you're amazing
I agree, one on one D&D can be a lot of fun. I haven’t done this since 1AD&D. It can be a lot of fun though.
Yeah, based on commentary I've seen before on this topic, it seems to have been more popular in the old school days. I'm glad it's coming back!
cant wait for icewindale review and guide from ye! good luck bob, you are doing an awesome job man
Woo! I'm hoping to read Frostmaiden, film, and edit the review the day it comes out so I can upload on Wednesday morning as usual that week! We'll see how it goes. Thank you for your support :)
Im running icespire peak for my husband - my first DM experience and it's been pretty great!
Woo! That’s awesome! I wish you both luck with the campaign :D
This was fun, appreciate your upbeat attitude 😄 made it seem less scary haha
My partner and I are starting a game together and trying to decide what its going to look like.
Now I know I am late to your channel. But I am a long time DM (Heck I have been running dnd games for 26 years. I started running games at 14.) I found your channel yesterday while working and really enjoy your content. Thank you for your hard work.
Glad to have a veteran in the community!! And you’re still early, my friend. We have a long way to go!
Sure it is limiting to miss that other player/s. But it also is very practical and the player really gets attention, time and focus. have a sidekick run by the player (like a hired help) shoudl be enough to survive... Combat flies by with one player and a sidekick.
I was just over at We Talk D&D watching a video about introducing new players to the game. The discussion in the comments turned to using one-on-one games for that purpose. That's when he mentioned your very-timely video. If you haven't yet, check out his video. He has some great tips for introducing new players to the game.
Oh, he asked me to tell you he sent me :)
Awesome, thanks for tuning in!
What I've done is create a character to play along side my wife. I play Ronak, a dumb, strong, loyal dwarf fighter mercenary, who, after their first adventure, decides not to charge her for his services and decides to join her on her future endeavors as a new found friend.
I play the dwarf as if I were just another character, walking that thin line of knowing too much, and not knowing enough. It gives her someone for her character to bounce ideas off of, a second set of arms to carry things, and a tank to aid her in battle.
We've found the best way to use Ronak is I control him, she commands him, and it's been a blast!
I'm going to be running a campaign of 2 players in PF 1e, this makes me feel better.
You're going to have a blast!
I only clicked this video because of the speaker’s glorious hair.
Flashback or even a dream sequence I have seen for 1 on 1.
I think it would be cool to do something like that with my sister's campaign.
This really inspired me to get back at DOIP with my husband. And also makes me really excited to start the other 1 on 1 campaign another player and I have been developing over the passed few days.
Looking forward to Saturday! And as always your next video!!!
Oooh new 1 on 1 campaign sounds fun! :D
@@BobWorldBuilder yeah, trying to see how many campaigns I can run at once. Seeing if 3 player and 1 DM is too much. Maybe I will find more campaigns on the Discord or go on side adventures in my sister's campaign. I need to touch base with the table toppers in my area too to see if I could join a game or if they are still looking for a DM.
@@HHSDaily Yeah, I know I'm nearly at my limit with games! I promised Grace I will be running Frostmaiden for her and a few friends/coworkers, and then I think I'll hit it xD
@@BobWorldBuilder dont overdo it man!
@@HHSDaily Haha, I'm confident I can also run that as a home game. The real stretch would have been also running Frostmaiden on Patreon like I had planned, but I don't think it's realistic right now.
I've run short campaign with 2 players and we just added a retainer (I rolled up a simple cleric to join them since they were both fighters). This was pre-Tasha's.. I bet it's even easier now.
It’s all a matter of preference! The sidekicks have fewer features, making them easy to run, but experience players would have not trouble with a lower level regular class as a retainer
I'm going to be DMing a one on one session in a few weeks. I feel exited but worried. First session is going to be a one shot dungeon (we thought it made the most sense) and I have no idea how much to prep, I guess I'm going to make the dungeon stretchy so I can add rooms if it's going too fast.
I kind of want the Animal Sidekicks book, sight unseen.
I would outright love to do a one on one. The problem is finding that other person
Dude, yes! This is perfect!
Thank you, Jacob! This video topic was overdue and it came very naturally while making it 👍🏻
Came for the content, subbed for the hair!
Now time to watch the video
Haha, I’ll take it! :)
Going to try this soon! Thanks for a great vid!
I seriously want to run some one on one.
I'm a somewhat new DM and it's extremely frustrating not getting any practice in because the players keep canceling sessions. Or pretending they didn't know about our meetings.
When starting out I made it my goal to improve with every single session I do but now all I can do is write my own stuff but my character acting and on the fly decision making have suffered greatly.
Iv played mostly one one one DnD and iv had the best times playing one on one
Bro ive played 1 on 1 dnd and well, thats right now and its my first try playing dnd and it is the most fun game ive ever played, sure ive had to do more death saving rolls than i can count, and being on 1 hp is the usual but its just so cool! But uh i like my character too much so i dont wanna die
It feels like the true lone wolf adventure though
I'm a Gen Xer , I would say I don't get triggered very easy, but when you called the Wampa a "the big Yeti thing on Hoth" at 3:26 I felt the uncontrollable urge to post a comment correcting you.
Question: I use a single D20 for my DnD duet one-shots. There's no character sheets no d6 d10 d12 d100 or anything, just that one d20. Think this would work?
I ran one on one for years... Hell one campaign lasted two years alone with weekly weekend games 12 hours long. It's fun, I do prefer group games though
12 hours??? I'm baffled. Well done!
Bob World Builder .... Each day. 24 hours a weekend. It was easy because we lived together and only really had eachother as a constant.
That was back when I was a young whipper snapper
@@broke_af_games9661 That's seriously wild haha, don't know if I could play for 12 hours xD
I've almost never been able to scrape together more than one player... Though they tend to end up running a whole party's worth of PCs
Honestly I'm looking for advice on how to run it because I'm going to start playing with my sister and it's probably just going to be the two of us most of the time
Would it be to much for one person playing more than one PC?
Great video man, I really want to play one on one D&D now!! Never appealed to me before now!
I'm sure you'll develop an awesome homebrew style for 1 on 1 games once you start using them! xD
Bob World Builder the fact that you think that... just made my day!! 💜❤️💜
i was with you up to the point you said 5e ... I've tried it and I am sorry I think it sucks. call me old school but that's just me
My first didn't go well
lol, I have no friends
Sorry if that’s the case, but D&D is a great way to meet new people at games stores (when COVID is over) and online in of the MANY looking-for-group hubs 👍🏻
Im lucky to have my gf
Perfect!
Forever alone 😭
Finding one player might be easier than you think!!
Still cant find a group
@@prtwriter4660 maybe someone on the discord would play with you?
Thats what im hoping.
@@prtwriter4660 I would think maybe one person from your AL group could play online?