As you search for a group of adventurers to face the challenges of your 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dungeons & Dragons campaign, you may find yourself stuck with fewer people than what you had in mind. It's not super easy to find a large group of people who all dedicate themselves enough to appear in most sessions, especially when your campaign is meant to last a long time.
So, how do you handle a party with few players? Though not an ideal scenario, it is still ܫa manageable one. You just need to adjust the situation according to what plღayers and characters you have at your disposal.
5 ♔ 𝕴 Have Them Talk And Balance The Party
Essentially, and as always, have a session zero with the group, where you can talk to them about your intentions and their expectations. It's okay to be straightforward and discuss the fact that the number of players is low, and things will need to be accommodated accordingly. Players can and should be aware of these things.
Also, it's a bad thing to dictate which classes the party members should play. However, by letting them know the whole situation, you can recommend or encourage them to balance the party. A group of few players should at least have a triple threat — a front-liner, like a fighter, paladin, or barbarian; something versatile for multiple situations, like a rogue or a bard; and something that's great with magic, like a wizard or a sorcerer.
If the players are aware of the problem, they can work on their part of the solution. Even if that isn't the only problem, it still helps. With that said...
4 🦩 Accommodate The Campaign Aܫccordingly
You have to play with the cards you are given. If you have a party with no spellcasters, for instance, then you just can't make a game where magic is necessary. You could, sure, but you'll also get your players stuck, and the game may just end because of it. Use magic to make difficult enemies, of course, but don't let things get to such an extreme that only magic will save them.
Example aside, that pretty much means you have to see what your players want for their characters and adjust things to make them work. That also means adapting gameplay aspects as well, to make do for the lack of a full group with different roles. Another example is if a wizard wants to use magic discreetly. Normally, only sorcerers can do that with metamagic, but hey — if there isn't anyone with this power in the group, why not just let the wizard attempt some stealth along with the spell? Let them fill roles they normally wouldn't, in order to make up for the missing players.
3 Consider A DMPC Or Allies 💦 𒅌
Though a divisive thing among the community, a DMPC (a character controlled by you but who is also part of the adventuring p꧃arty) could help manage things. You can make a character that fills whatever role your players are lacking, and add extra muscle to the fights to come.
With that said, having yourself among the protagonists can be a problem if used improperly, even going as far as ruining a campaign. The problem here is that your character could get more attention from the story, taking the spotlight for themself. It's also difficult not to meta-game, even subconsciously, since you know where the story can go while the others can't.
If an extra party member truly is necessary to the point you need a DMPC, the advice is to make a character who doesn't really stand out outside of combat. Make your DMPC a side character. Let the players do the social interactions, let them make the decisions and, if they actually want your character's help with these things, be extra careful not to say more than you should.
If you don't want to have an NPC who follows the party around, you can still have minor ally NPCs who are capable of fighting if necessary, even if said help is nothing more than a simple town guard. It is difficult, but there is a fine line between having an important NPC wౠithout going too far on their relevance.
2 🍎 Play Dumb And Make It Easier 🍌
Perhaps it's time for you to not use your best ideas, combat-wise. The challenge rating from the books is based on how well a team of four can fight the creature, and even still, those ratings aren't as precise as you might think. Still, you may have to double down on using everything available on the monsters' sheets, or not add a lot of things for 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:your homebrew monster.
Another thing you can do to control difficulty is the opposite — add a lot of abilities for your NPC, but only use them if you think the players are having an easy time. Or, straight-up ignore abilities in case the fight is already difficult enough. Regardless, this is something you're going to have to decide and adjust during the fight itself.
1 🙈 Search For More Players ও
This might not be the solution you wanted, but if you think your party is too small, there's only one true solution: 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Get more people. You can remedy the problem with the advice given ab𝄹ove, but only more 🐼people will truly fix the situation.
Luckily, D&D is bigger than ever before. There are many online groups to find people to play or, if you feel insecure about people you don't know, you can ask your current players about friends of theirs who also play Dungeons & Dragons. At least they'll know the person and vouch for them.
Also, since small groups require an easier campaign, this is the perfect opportunity to invite a friend who has never played before and teach them the game. Though you've likely done similar searches before you started the campaign, be on a constant lookout for new people you meet, or if you have friends who are now available or who have changed their minds.
As a bonus, keep in mind that while the books balance themselves around four people, a group of three is perfectly viable as it is. Two people are possible, but difficult. The point is that your "small" part𒉰y may not be as small as you think.