TEXT: EN World EN5IDER| Party of One
  A typical roleplaying game involves 
  a group of people, usually comprised 
  of a Game Master and a handful 
  of players. Most tabletop RPGs 
  assume a five-person gaming group 
  because it allows for plenty of social 
  interaction, creative teamwork, and 
  fun out-of-character moments. But an 
  underutilized and underappreciated 
  option in roleplaying games is the one-
  on-one campaign, or the pairing of a 
  Game Master and one player. Though 
  this method requires more work and 
  dedication from both the Game Master 
  and the player, a one-on-one campaign 
  can be a fun and rewarding experience 
  for both of them.
  In a one-on-one campaign, the player character is 
  the hero, the true protagonist of the story being 
  told. The focus of their narrative is tighter, 
  compared to a five-person game. The 
  plot of the campaign is driven solely by personal 
  motivation, not by party consensus. The hero of a 
  single-player game must take initiative and make 
  crucial decisions on their own, thinking critically 
  about their character and what they would do in a 
  given situation, instead of deferring to someone else 
  in the party. Additionally, a one-on-one campaign 
  can be a great exercise for a Game Master looking to 
  improve their improvisational skills, narrative 
  techniques, and attention to detail, providing a 
  somewhat pressure-free sandbox to test their mettle.
  The unique dynamic of a one-on-one game should 
  be explored by every GM, whether it’s for a regular 
  campaign or just a single session.
  Party of One
  Rewards of the One-on-One Campaign
  By Matt Click
  
  EN World EN5IDER | Party of One
  Creative Partnership
  In many ways, a one-on-one game can be 
  approached just like a traditional, multiplayer game. 
  With a one-on-one campaign, though, the Game 
  Master and the player can collaboratively create a 
  world and a story just for the two of them. They can 
  purposefully create aspects they both find enjoyable 
  and intriguing. 
  While including input from the players is crucial 
  in any campaign, it’s downright imperative in a 
  one-on-one game. If your player wants to play a 
  cleric, work together to generate ideas for the role 
  of their character’s clergy. If your player wants to 
  play a human, maybe they can help you develop the 
  role of humans in your game world. Whether the 
  player is providing a few notes or developing entire 
  locations, characters, and cultures, sitting down and 
  preparing the campaign can be a game in and of 
  itself. The creative partnership is essential to create a 
  campaign world both the player and the GM can get 
  invested in. 
  At the very least, prior to planning your campaign, 
  ask your player to write down a handful of things 
  they think should play key roles. For instance, your 
  player writes that they want to see Vikings, dragons, 
  dwarves, and a legendary weapon. Now you begin 
  work on a campaign featuring a clan of dwarven 
  dragonslayers who send their best and brightest (the 
  player character) to retrieve a legendary weapon of 
  their people from Viking raiders. 
  Without the disparate preferences of a group to 
  take into account, it’s easier to fine-tune the game to 
  suit both the Game Master and the player. Maybe 
  you want a swashbuckling campaign, a niche genre 
  that a group might not all be interested in. Or 
  maybe you’re itching for lots of in-depth character 
  moments, and want an immersive, roleplay-focused 
  campaign without worrying about the attention 
  span of a group. Run the kinds of adventures 
  you’re unable to with your normal group, and 
  don’t hesitate to actively involve the player in the 
  early stages—the campaign will be richer and more 
  immersive as a result.
  People and Plot
  Memorable non-player characters 
  enrich all good campaigns, but they 
  are invaluable to a one-on-one game. 
  In the absence of other players and 
  their characters, NPCs serve to keep 
  the game world from feeling too small 
  or empty. Without a full party of PCs, 
  non-player characters can become 
  valuable allies, stalwart friends, and 
  even full-fledged party members.
  Remember that people drive plot. 
  The story is progressed by the goals, 
  motivations, and actions of characters. 
  Populate your world with non-
  player characters who have strong 
  motivations, interesting goals, and 
  memorable characteristics. Fill the 
  campaign with allies your player will 
  love and villains they can’t help but 
  hate. To make it easier on yourself, 
  task your player with developing their 
  background and briefly describing 
  important people and events in their 
  backstory.
  Now use those ideas to bring your 
  NPCs to life. Are there people or 
  factions connected to the player 
  character that can play a key role 
  in your campaign? Including those 
  aspects of the player character’s 
  background will make the campaign 
  that much more rewarding.
  Perhaps a savage army is marching 
  steadily towards the city where 
  the player’s estranged daughter is 
  living. Or maybe the cleric’s lifelong 
  mentor and friend has gone missing, 
  leaving nothing behind but a cryptic 
  note. Make it personal—the best 
  stories always are, and a one-on-one 
  campaign provides the opportunity 
  for more focused and personal quests.
  Even seemingly insignificant non-
  player characters can become loyal 
  allies. Hirelings and henchmen have 
  been a staple of roleplaying games 
  
  EN World EN5IDER| Party of One
  since the beginning, and can be 
  used to shore up a player character’s 
  weaknesses. Hiring a thief to deal 
  with locks and traps, a priest to heal 
  and support, or a fighter to aid in 
  combat can provide more tactical 
  options for combat-focused sessions. 
  Consider giving control of the hireling 
  exclusively to the player so they can 
  plan and strategize to their heart’s 
  content.
  Playing to the 
  Hero’s Strengths
  A one-on-one campaign presents the 
  GM with a rare challenge, but also a 
  rare opportunity. With a single party 
  member, encounters can be difficult 
  to prepare and play out, but can 
  also cater much more to the player 
  character’s strengths and background. 
  Throw some undead at the player’s 
  vengeful cleric. Have the fighter with 
  a sailing background encounter a pack 
  of merfolk while aboard a coastal 
  vessel. If the wizard just acquired 
  a new area-of-effect spell, swarm 
  them with some low-level kobolds to 
  see that devastating spell in action. 
  Challenge your rogue with a gauntlet 
  of traps and enemies to stealthily 
  avoid or assassinate.
  Likewise, force your player to confront 
  the weaknesses of their character. 
  How would the cleric avoid or disable 
  deadly traps in a dungeon? How 
  would the half-orc barbarian fare at a 
  nobleman’s fancy dinner party? Don’t 
  restrict your player in what they can 
  do; let the fighter sneak, let the wizard 
  fight, let the barbarian talk their way 
  out of an encounter. There’s no need to 
  promote party balance or distribution 
  of skills and tasks with one player. 
  They should feel comfortable taking 
  risks they wouldn’t take with a party, 
  because they only have themselves to 
  depend on.
  For every encounter you plan in a one-on-one 
  campaign, include three elements: terrain, features, 
  and events. Terrain is the location of the encounter, 
  and may help or hinder the party with movement 
  and combat, like loose flagstones, ankle-deep fetid 
  water, or a floor covered in glowing runes. Features 
  are objects that the combatants can interact with and 
  utilize during the encounter, like explosive barrels, a 
  rack of spears, and a spiked pit in the middle of the 
  room. Finally, events are moments that can turn the 
  tide of the combat, providing a fun and challenging 
  twist for your player, like when the room begins 
  flooding with water, or fallen enemies rise from the 
  dead
  The player will have to think creatively and 
  utilize the environment to accomplish the tasks 
  you confront them with. This makes for more 
  challenging and, ultimately, more rewarding 
  encounters. This applies to dungeons, traps, and 
  social obstacles as well. A hero in a one-on-one 
  campaign truly gets to shine, both by doing what 
  they do best, and by overcoming their weaknesses.
  Using One-on-One 
  Games Effectively
  The Game Master doesn’t necessarily need to 
  craft an entire campaign around the one-on-one 
  experience. A one-on-one session can be used 
  effectively in conjunction with a group campaign 
  for side-missions, origin stories, and personal 
  quests. Doing so can enrich the campaign as a whole 
  by providing individual players with the unique 
  opportunity to truly immerse themselves in their 
  characters without the need to share the spotlight.
  Side-missions, for instance, can illustrate what 
  individual player characters do during downtime 
  or dreaded party splits. Perhaps the bard wishes 
  to earn some coin by entertaining at a nobleman’s 
  party. Or maybe the druid seeks solace in the 
  wilds in order to reconnect themselves with the 
  primal energies of nature. Side-missions provide an 
  opportunity to do just that.
  Likewise, origin stories can help players further 
  develop their characters by narrating an important 
  event in their backstory. These background tales 
  also give Game Masters valuable insight into their 
  player characters’ backstories, and provide plenty 
  
  EN World EN5IDER | Party of One
  of fodder for more personally rewarding plot hooks 
  and quest lines. For instance, by exploring the 
  military background of the party’s cleric, the Game 
  Master stumbles upon the notion of including that 
  character’s superior officer as a non-player character 
  in the campaign. 
  Personal quests provide players with the 
  opportunity for their characters to pursue personal 
  goals outside of the party: the fighter undergoing 
  sword training, the rogue contacting a black market 
  guild, the cleric convening with their deity. These 
  intimate, character-focused moments can be lost 
  or overlooked in a group game. But they are the 
  central, driving force in a one-on-one session, and 
  can be used as a great tool to bring players closer to 
  their characters.
  In addition, one-on-one sessions are an invaluable 
  tool in introducing new players and young gamers 
  to the hobby, affording them a chance to explore 
  the rules and boundaries of the game without the 
  pressure of an entire party depending on them. 
  In a one-on-one session, someone new to the 
  hobby can acclimate themselves to the concept of 
  roleplaying—of thinking, speaking, and acting 
  like their character—rather than approaching it 
  like a video game. A fresh player with a few one-
  on-one sessions under their belt will better know 
  what to expect, and will be more familiar with their 
  character’s capabilities and the expectations of their 
  fellow party members.
  A player contemplating a new character can 
  stretch their roleplaying muscles and feel out the 
  possibilities with a one-on-one session. Maybe 
  they’ve never played an arcane caster before, but 
  doesn’t want to commit to anything permanent. 
  Likewise, a Game Master brainstorming new 
  homebrew rules or narrative techniques can attempt 
  them free of pressure in a one-on-one session, using 
  the game as a “training ground” of sorts.
  Giving One-on-Ones 
  a Chance
  Nothing really beats a group of friends sitting 
  around the table, rolling dice, cracking jokes, 
  and creating worlds together. But the one-on-one 
  campaign should not be discounted, and can easily 
  be used alongside a group campaign. 
  One-on-one sessions can be incredibly 
  fun and rewarding—a challenge that 
  improves the skills and techniques of 
  both Game Master and player. 
  Many Game Masters shy away from 
  the idea of running one-on-ones. 
  Oftentimes, a party will entertain 
  itself, joking and roleplaying during 
  lulls or downtime. Groups of people 
  are far more likely to stumble upon 
  trouble or make their own fun than 
  a single person on their own. With a 
  one-on-one, there’s just Game Master 
  and player, and if the Game Master 
  is consulting their notes, preparing 
  an encounter, drawing a map, etc., 
  the player might find themselves 
  twiddling their thumbs.
  This is why a one-on-one campaign 
  requires a bit more effort, energy, and 
  patience from all involved. Those lulls, 
  those moments of silence, the slight 
  discomfort of roleplaying with just one 
  other person, are part of the challenge, 
  and ultimately, part of the reward. 
  Overcoming those initial, awkward 
  hurdles can lead to plenty of fun 
  and adventure, and will enrich each 
  campaign to come. 
  Grab a member of your game group 
  and see if they want to up their game 
  or try something new. One-on-ones 
  are great for couples and families as 
  well, providing a low-stress, intimate 
  space to play the game and immerse 
  oneself.
  Author - Matt Click
  Editor - James Haeck
  Artists - Ellis Goodson
  Layout - Justin Buell
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/EN World EN5ider/EN5ider 015 - Party of One.pdf