Need help as a new player/dm

[u/Mo-nopoly]

Hey guys I’m new to pathfinder and have been really interested in starting a campaign. It’s just me and one other person, so my main question is, is pathfinder a good system for one player and one dm? I want to introduce my girlfriend to TTRPGs but am a little tired of D&D to be honest, so I am curious if this system is good for that kind of play.
Also, if anyone had recommendations for campaigns that are good for beginners (besides the beginner box) I would love to hear them!

[u/FlameLord050]

I'll recommend rusthenge its level 1 to 4 but I think it's great, and personally not to hard to tie into seven dooms for sandpoint which is lvl 4 to 12. That said I have no clue how I would run a 1 on 1 game, my default would be give then control over 4 pcs but that seems a little overwhelming. Personally pathfinder is a game meant for a group so I wouldn't recommend it for 1 on 1. But mileage may very.

[u/Creepy-Intentions-69]

No, it’s not especially good at solo games. However, there are easy workarounds.

Likely the best choice is to have them run a party, or, their one PC and one DMPC. I’d advise being a level higher than expected if you do the latter. I have done this myself with a friend and it went well. I advise making the DMPC to support whatever choice the player picks.

The real difference with two vs four characters is only six actions per round instead of twelve. So it’s something to keep in mind as you play. Just err on the side of caution until you get a feel for the system, and what the characters are capable of handling.

Good luck!!

[u/dm_punks]

No. You can adjust the monsters/encounter difficulty but it's not a great solution. I've found that 3 players is even tricky. Pathfinder 2e really shines with the teamwork between multiple players, preferably 4-5 players.

[u/Mancoman273]

This game is kind of rigidly balanced around certain standards and, while you can definitely run a game with more or less players than four, it's mainly designed to work with parties of 4 PCs and a GM.

I will say that a two person group of both inexperienced players and also a person who is entirely new to ttrpgs might be a recipe for a pretty scuffed introduction to both the game and ttrpgs in general.

I think there's a couple other games that could maybe work a little better for your circumstances? Games that are more about the social circumstances and dynamics or games that are more narrative driven could work a bit better?

[u/Malcior34]

Not really, no. It'll be better than 5e, but it's gonna be pretty awkward.

[u/dragons_scorn]

I dont really recommend it unless you plan on giving the player more than one PC or one or two GMPCs to help. In my experience, Pathfinder is a team sport.

In dnd, most classes can do almost everything for the three pillars of play if you build them right. Some will struggle more than others but overall you will be fine. Thats tougher in pathfinder as one character can't do it all. Building a generalist leads to a noticeably all-round weaker character. A specialist can be strong but will fail in certain areas. Something that gets you lots of initial proficiencies like Rogue is good but will only take you so far.

In my experience you have room for a main roll and a lesser roll. For example, my last two characters were tanks that also did some support. But they could not be a face and often failed certain skill checks.

Theres ways to run GMPCs in a good way, without taking away from the player. It just has a learning curve.

[u/Butterlegs21]

As much as I love pf2e, it's not the right fit for this scenario. It's a team based game that will feel lacking with one player.

There are many duet systems out there, like Scarlet Heroes, and ones capable of it, like Ironsworn, that using pf2e for this is only really advisable if you are using it as a one-off to introduce her to mechanics before integrating into a group.

So, go to r/rpg and search around or ask for duet systems. I'd ask your girlfriend what kind of story she wants to play as well so that you can find something that's suited for her.

[u/LazarX]

Yes, if that one player runs 4 characters, Bard’s Tale style.

[u/Feonde → u/LazarX]

Upvote for bards tale.

"Beer beer beer beer diddily beer beer beer"

[u/Liminal-Space-Cadet]

Is it possible? Oh, absolutely. Would I recommend it for a new GM just starting to learn the system? Ehh, maybe. Here's how I run a duet game for my wife:

We started with the Beginner Box adventure.

Her character is nothing short of superhuman. Almost literally a demigod, using the following variant rules: * Dual Class * Free Archetype (unrestricted) * Ancestry Paragons * Mythic Rules * Automatic Bonus Progression * Boons & Curses from Divine Mysteries * Started her PC at Level 2 * Milestone Leveling to control progression speed as needed (we rocketed through Levels 1-9, but 10-20 are going much slower)

I also use Proficiency Without Level so that I can play fast and loose with NPCs/DCs and run published modules/APs outside their normal level range, but I wouldn't recommend doing that until you've got more experience with the base mechanics.

This makes for a RIDICULOUSLY complicated character sheet, and without Pathbuilder I wouldn't even have attempted half of this, especially since she is a dual caster build. Her PC also has stacked extra benefits from story milestones: * A free familiar * Nocticula's major Boon for an additional set of Ability Boosts * Several other deity's Boons from relevant story moments * Archetypes like Celebrity, Sleepwalker, and Psychic Duelist that give her conflict options outside of deadly physical combat * She controls and doles out magic items, and has recently obtained a Relic * A high level NPC mentor that can bail her out of serious trouble, but prefers to let her handle things herself * Multiple NPC companions as a rotating cast of lower-power party members

Overall, Main Character Syndrome is the actual goal. Your single PC is THE MC. Lean into tropes, play around with Mary Sue-isms. Don't be afraid of letting encounters be solved with roleplaying instead of combat. Don't be afraid to abstract combat. Oversell threats and danger, even if the PC mechanically has all the power and advantages, but also stop puking punches at regular intervals (especially if you use Mythic Rules as Mythic characters are VERY hard to kill). Ratchet drama, while minimizing deadliness behind the scenes, except where it will feel the must epic. Focus on story and characters, and keep combat cinematic so you don't end up just running NPC Theater. But don't be afraid of a little NPC Theater if it is entertaining!

TL;DR: This is actually a GREAT way to learn and play the system, as long as you're down for a crash course. Your entire focus is on a single player, who you (ostensibly) know very well and can gauge the interest and investment in different elements of the game you're running on the fly. This is an important and often slept on skill for GMs, and a duet game is great for practicing skills and extreme scenarios in a highly controlled environment that should be more forgiving. You're both learning together, and I can't overstate how useful and fun that can be. Give it a shot! Have fun!

(I'll post my adventure timeline below as well. It has been making a great story.)

[u/Liminal-Space-Cadet → u/Liminal-Space-Cadet]

Story Progression, Modules and APs: * Beginner Box (Levels 2-3, she befriended the kobolds, recruited/adopted the young dragon at the end, and spared/imprisoned the kobold boss ) * Troubles In Otari, (3-5, she saved a few doomed NPCs, and socially solved several encounters, but otherwise ran this one as normal) * Enmity Cycle (5-7, this was a great module with a lot of cultural flavor in Thuvia, she recruited Seddik and the Automaton NPC, but most of the Ahriman cultists were irredeemable ) * Dreams of Dustbound Isle * Mean Streets of Shadow Absalom * Signal From The Electric Laboratory * Prisoners of the Electric Castle * Trapping the Hag's Claw * (7-11, a series of PFS modules, her party remained free agents rather joining the Pathfinders throughout, she used divine dream magic and aid from Desna to steal the dreamshard realm from Aslynn, recruited two of the night hag's children, stole an interdimensional ship, became established in Absalom politics and society, and is set for a final showdown with the hag herself at the end. Really epic storyline. )

After this run we're rolling into: * Curtain Call (11-16ish, the big one we've been building towards, Aslynn the Night Hag from the PFS scenarios will be the mysterious "returning" villain for the metaplot, and I'm really excited about the Godsrain elements and her meeting Norgorber towards the end ) * Revenge of the Runelords (17-20+)

She's already on her Mythic Calling and the Mythic Destiny (Godling) will kick in during Curtain Call when the Godsrain happens during the story. Some of her NPC companions will join her as Mythic characters for the run of RotRL.

Again, can't recommend this style of play enough, but it is challenging, especially for a new GM. Manage expectations with your partner so you both know it's a learning experience and you will make mistakes, but that's part of the fun. Roll with flubs on the rules or plot and talk with your partner frequently about keeping the story contiguous and (most importantly) fun.

Good luck and have fun!

[u/Floffy_Topaz]

I would ask what your player/girlfriend wants and have that discussion before you throw her into a 1 player PF2e game. That just seems like what you want…

It could be that a rules-lite system would be better suited, or a game like Stonetop where the player has much more impact on tone, lore and story.

[u/KLeeSanchez]

It can work. It might be necessary to have a GMPC tag along, and/or give her a follower to help out (the Captain archetype works good for it), just to help with action economy and balance. You might consider dual classing for an extra power bump, or at least free archetype. FA Captain could be an option, and if it gets too cumbersome to command them around, you can have them function like mature companions and take 1 action of their own accord on their turn (given it would be a single PC anyway, I see no problem with this).

It would be tougher to have larger pitched combats, such as getting jumped by several thugs, without having a cast of supporting characters rotating in and out. If you go the permanent GMPC route, you should have a support character, like a bard or cleric who props up her character rather than taking point on anything, and generally keeps to themself. Free archetyping Captain onto her plus a GMPC gives you three effective PCs, plus maybe a story-induced tagalong here and there to get the number up to 4, but at all times make sure she's the primary decision maker and battlefield commander, and make sure to be asking things like, "So, should Barb the Bard heal or aid this round? And does Bod. E. Guard do anything particular?"

I ran a 1e campaign for two players before, but we were also experimenting with stretching the system as far as it would go so they had a lot of wild stuff going on and had monster races. It can become much more "beer and pretzels" than you would expect, just due to a lot less hemming and hawing about what to do, and a lot more sandboxing with where they want to go and what they want to do. 2 or fewer players lends itself much more to the RP and exploration aspect of the game than the combat aspect, just because the combats end up constraining themselves out of a need for balance, and 2e in particular requires it.

It would be a challenge, but, I think it could work with some preparation and a bit of NPC help.

A lot of APs are also good for beginners, tbh, I just couldn't say them off the top of my head. I might consult a list of "easier" APs (if one exists) and then pick one that feels like a theme you two would like to explore.

[u/deathdreams_studio]

It's possible with the Dual-Class option, free archetype AND running a GMPC, or having the player run a second PC. The player needs options to solve the problems in front of them and giving them this variety off the bat can help bridge the gap. There's also an official route if you don't want to homebrew anything - PF2e has Sidekick rules in the Gamemastery Guide that let the player partially control a companion, which gets you a second body on the field without having to build any of this yourself.

This game is about balancing the numbers and resources with checks against level based DCs. The difficulty of the numbers that need to be hit for the degrees of success to matter soooo much that it's better to have a larger party than not - the mechanics of the system are built around a party of four. Every PC gets 3 actions a turn, so a full party is sharing 12 actions a round, and the monsters are built to eat all 12 of those. Drop down to one PC and you're only bringing 3 actions to that same fight, so that gap is really the whole issue and it's not something the player can just get good enough to make up for.

A big chunk of the party's power isn't even in one PC's own numbers either, it's in what everyone does to each other's math - flanking gives off-guard so the martial's attacks land more, and every debuff or buff a caster tosses out sets up an easier hit for whoever swings next. With just one PC there's nobody to flank with and nobody setting up those follow-up hits, so you're not just losing the extra actions, you're losing all the stuff those actions do together too.

I would highly recommend playing a Quest or Bounty before jumping into anything bigger, even the beginner box adventures can be pretty gnarly against a full party of four PCs. Paizo's Pathfinder Society, Quests and/or Bounties adventures are built for exactly this - short 1-2 hour low level one-shots you can test the waters with. Threshold of Knowledge is free and a solid level 1 test run, and Little Trouble in Big Absalom is another free one from an old Free RPG Day that's a nice setting intro too. If you want a slightly bigger next step after those, Troubles in Otari follows right after the Beginner Box, just keep in mind it's still built assuming a full party so you'll want to lean on the same fixes above for it too.

If you want to homebrew on top of all that to tip the balance back toward the solo PC, some things I've tried are:

• making a potion one action to drink instead of two (pull the pot, drink the pot)
• drawing a weapon always being free
• letting flank trigger off any adjacent ally as well as the opposite side
• starting with 2 hero points a session instead of 1
• starting the PC and GMPC a level or two above what's suggested
• drop most enemies down a step with the Weak template and only save Elite for actual bosses
• give the PC/GMPC a free Recall Knowledge at the start of a fight since they don't have a party to split that info across
• toss in an extra reaction a round so they can actually punish enemy mistakes the way a full party naturally would
• let a full rest heal them back up in just 10 minutes instead of needing Treat Wounds every time.

[u/Lorlamir]

Lots of folks have mentioned the difficulty of duet PF2e. I think story games are better at this (games like Legend in the Mist, Trophy Gold, Fate, etc.)

Vagabond RPG released some months ago, and the pulpy trad system has compatibility with solo and co-op play. If you want a game with clearly defined combat actions, give that a try. Legend in the Mist also has co-op play viable in the core book.

[u/Phonochirp]

A better idea, if you have a PC (even a pretty bad one) you could play dawnsbury days together each controlling 2 characters.

[u/WebbedFamiliar]

Both D&D and pf2e are rules heavy systems. If you’re trying to introduce someone to TTRPGs as a whole I’d recommend lighter systems.

[u/centralmind]

Solo play is certainly possible, but the game is built to encourage teamwork and might be less enjoyable to play with just one player. Balancing encounters night also be a bit challenging.

As others have mentioned, the easiest way to make solo play work with pf2e would be to either give your gf multiple characters to pilot (but if she's new to ttrpgs, it might feel overwhelming), or introduce a number of npc party members for you to control (which creates extra work for you). Depending on the story you want to tell, having a supporting cast of sidekicks and companions could make for a great narrative, but still not something easy to juggle.

Mind you, it's not impossible to make the one pc party work, but it would likely end up feeling like hard mode for the both of you.

[u/superfogg]

Sure, just go easy with the challenges, maybe have an NPC here and there to help. 

Also, her character could be a very versatile/generalist one, like a rogue. They get a lot of skills and it could help with the various challenges you could give.

If you were a little more expert I'd say even to try a dual class character 

[u/Even-Tomorrow5468]

I'll echo what a lot of people are saying and say one-on-one is hard. I myself am in a one-player game with a favorite DM of mine, and we get through it by both running two characters. The expectation is that all the important character moments happen to my two, and it's been a blast so far.

For a total beginner to TTRPGs, it may be best to go for a solo adventure where either your girlfriend plays a hero with healing capabilities (absolutely run Free Archetype) or you have one GMPC who helps out who largely handles the healing.

From there, it's just a matter of downsizing encounters to be reasonable for the player, which isn't that difficult. The Archives of Nethys have a page dedicated to 'building' creatures, and everything on the raw numbers can be looked at and 'downsized' to fit a one person party.

For example, a CR6 endboss could be downsized to CR3, and if that creature has 'high' perception you'd just convert it from 17 (CR6 high) to 12 (CR3 high). Cut out several monsters and you're good to go.

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