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1 GM and 1 Player games and game systems?

I am looking for a system or style of play (or even contained game/game module) which would be fun for just one player---myself as a DM and one player. I often find myself in situations which are "player-starved" so to speak, where I might want to run a quick module with say my brother or my girlfriend.

In addition, I'd hope that it wouldn't be too difficult to pickup for newcomers.

Any ideas?

Looking for more expansion on/updated version of this post (I just located): 1 GM and 1 Player games and game systems?

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theonewolf
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    Welcome to the site! Bring attention to that post, please, instead of starting a new one. It isn't conducive for a Q+A website to have duplicate questions. – LitheOhm Jan 07 '13 at 21:44
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    Yes, on RPG.SE there is no such thing as an old question - go chine in there (and answerers, answer there) so we get one canonical place with the info. – mxyzplk Jan 08 '13 at 04:37
  • @LitheOhm thanks for the suggestion, I wasn't quite sure how to draw attention once I asked. What is accepted practice once you realized you created a duplicate? delete your duplicate?

    Also, for anyone in the future, the Mythic system seems perfect for small or even GM-less groups: Mythic

     – theonewolf Jan 08 '13 at 23:22
  • yep - revive the original question and delete the duplicate. Like @mxyzplk said, there's no such thing as an old question. It's all open to new answers, votes and suggestions. – LitheOhm Jan 09 '13 at 02:35

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I've run a number of successful D&D 3.5 / Pathfinder games for my wife using the Gestalt rules from Unearthed Arcana. Since she gets to pick two classes at full progression, she has access to a lot more resources than if she had one (unless she min/maxes one role - i.e. picking two classes for ultimate damage, which in this situation would be a pretty poor choice). http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/gestaltCharacters.htm

These games were both using published adventures (Rise of the Runelords) and adventures written by myself. I provide her with an NPC ally that's designed to fill a role her character is missing, and she directs what the NPC does. In our Rise of the Runelords game, I actually found I didn't need to modify the encounters much.

Long ago, I also ran a successful 4E game for her using the companion character rules I think from DMG2, and lots of minions. Worked well also.

I think the biggest problem to overcome is the lack of resources that one character has. If the character (and any NPCs) don't have the capability of disarming advanced traps or picking locks (for example), those challenges become much more difficult or potentially insurmountable depending on how the adventure is designed.

Steve G
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  • I see what you're saying. Basically foresight into what you're going into to prepare a little bit better. Thanks for the anecdote (hitting exactly what I was wondering about). My only worry is that Gestalt might be a little complex? – theonewolf Jan 07 '13 at 21:34
  • It's really not that different from a multiclass character. If the player is new to the game or RPGs in general, they'll have to learn two different classes at the same time, which, unless they end up with a combination that has some conflicts or weirdness on how things might stack (which would happen with multiclass too), is about the same as learning two separate characters. Otherwise it's literally pick the best of each class and get all the special features from each. – Steve G Jan 07 '13 at 23:00
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I recommend trying an RPG-style board game or card game which can be played with as little as one or two players. When we're down to three players, we play D&D: Wrath of Ashardalon. All players play PCs and each monster performs scripted actions. You can get into really tense situations.

Hand-E-Food
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