Running a solo game

Over the past few months, I've been running a (mostly) solo campaign with my wife. This started back in November of 2008 and the campaign is still ongoing. Below you'll find links to pages that highlight lessons learned and some of the joys I've discovered in running a solo game. I think you'll find these posts useful if you're considering a solo game.

Starting Out
Although a couple of these posts ended up a bit long, they highlighted some of the techniques I used to get my wife involved in the game - simple rules, focusing on things she would find enjoyable, teaching her "the basics" of "old school" play.

• Introducing my wife to OD&D style play - a somewhat simple overview of some things I did in our first game
• Getting my wife to go back to the dungeon - a long post where I talk about getting her more involved with her character and teaching her a bit more about dungeon diving
• Getting assistance for a lone character - my wife learned about getting assistance in town and how hirelings/henchmen work - a useful thing for a lone PC!
• When hirelings become followers - how to make some NPCs into a 'party' for a solo PC (this other post is a prequel and sets up her gaining followers)
• The first barfight - because every campaign has to have one now and then...
• Wandering in the wilderness - introducing a solo gamer to going beyond the town and first dungeon.
  

Things that come up
Sometimes things happen, players get frustrated, or things get difficult. In a solo game, you (the DM) are the NPCs, the backup and the advice giver - there are no other players to help. I wrote about some of these situations.

• Dungeons have puzzles too - my wife discovered that there's more to dungeons than monsters - dealing with the frustrations of puzzles and traps
• When mapping becomes difficult - sometimes mapping makes the game harder than it is. Here's how I helped my wife deal with that issue.
• When the dice roll against your player - killing a solo PC can be... difficult. I've faced that once and here's what happened.

Expanding your campaign
Sometimes you might decide to expand things, or make the world bigger, or even open up the solo game to other people. In my case, my solo game has become somewhat of a family campaign.

• My kids adventure in my wife's world - and although they didn't interact directly with my wife's PC, they are in the same world, affecting things.
• My wife's character becomes important - as PCs get stronger, they will begin to influence the world around them. In a solo game, that's rather obvious and I've learned to make that's part of the game.

And finally

• My wife answers questions about her solo game - someone asked if she would do a guest stint - and she agreed! You can see how she views the game.
• Rules aren't necessarily important - A solo gamer might be completely new to RPGs. You don't have to load them down with rules.