tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62071614647466286712024-10-09T22:41:38.806+02:00A blog about creating and running DND4e adventures and campaigns for a single player.Solo DMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587479286366183485noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207161464746628671.post-17656769617653250702010-08-23T10:09:00.003+02:002010-08-23T14:02:13.680+02:00

You think you've got this nifty sword, having +400 vs AC, 1d100+1000 on hit? You think you've got some really cool treasure, 2 statuettes of 40,000GP each? You think you've got prestige because the local lord awarded you a medal? Think again. I've just returned from a short holiday to Vienna and Munich, and have taken the opportunity to visit some of the old royal treasuries. All pictures in

Solo DMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587479286366183485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207161464746628671.post-27282190724790041952010-07-26T13:02:00.001+02:002010-07-26T13:22:46.739+02:00

For a long time, I've been struggling with designing good skill challenges. No matter how many articles I read, no matter how many examples I read, they never came out right. Until our last adventure. This time, it turned out to be perfect.The challengeThe party had to "retrieve" (steal) a talisman from Carlos, an up-and-coming local crime lord, and his bodyguard Donnie. A simple storyline that

Solo DMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587479286366183485noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207161464746628671.post-50958492346072152112010-05-25T09:57:00.001+02:002010-05-25T09:57:25.211+02:00

It happens. You carefully construct your story, drop a ton of hints, and your players don't get it. Sometimes this can lead to a lot of fun; at other times, it's detrimental to your adventure. Even more so when you have only player. As a dungeon master, you sometimes need to spell it out. Missing hintsIf there's one thing players are very good at, it's missing hints or misinterpreting them. This

Solo DMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587479286366183485noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207161464746628671.post-47911882647719822712010-03-21T12:46:00.001+01:002010-03-21T12:46:39.668+01:00

My current campaign is placed in the Forgotten Realms. To be more precise, it is currently located in Marsember, Cormyr. This post is a summary of my online research into this city. I really like the Forgotten Realms campaign guide. At the macro-level, it contains a wealth of information that helps me bring the setting alive. At the micro-level however, it's sometimes leaves too much to my

Solo DMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587479286366183485noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207161464746628671.post-88118680302414144132010-03-17T17:36:00.003+01:002010-03-17T17:37:45.792+01:00

Writing good combat encounters is hard. Writing good combat encounters for a single player is very hard. Writing good combat encounters for a single wizard without a companion character is near impossible. When we first started playing, we used Keep on the Shadowfell. For those who don't know it, it's a published adventure containing many combat encounters. At first I tried to ease the

Solo DMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587479286366183485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207161464746628671.post-60655496994920397502010-03-16T10:09:00.001+01:002010-03-16T10:09:03.276+01:00

This weekend my player encountered Loxar the Spellscarred, and the experience was even better than I hoped for. The encounter went well, my player survived, and Loxar has accidentally been upgraded to a major NPC. Running the encounterI wrote the encounter as an exercise in skill challenges, the way they are described in the Dungeon Master's Guide 2. If you're struggling with skill challenges (as

Solo DMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587479286366183485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207161464746628671.post-16240016585529915322010-03-13T10:32:00.010+01:002010-03-15T10:19:47.375+01:00

Inspiration comes from many places. For me, deviantART is one of them. Recently I was planning an adventure in which I wanted my player to encounter the effects of the Spellplague. I was writing, rewriting and rewriting again, until I stumbled on this picture: At one, it all became clear. This was Loxar the Spellscarred. She used to be a promising swordmage from the Forgotten Realms, 

Solo DMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587479286366183485noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207161464746628671.post-64303735462214570152010-03-13T09:54:00.003+01:002010-03-13T12:28:22.804+01:00

Welcome. This blog is about playing Dungeons & Dragons, 4th edition, the way I like it: one player, one DM. I'm planning to describe my games, how they are created, and random musings on the game as a whole. My name is Solo DM, and I've been playing the various incarnations of Dungeons & Dragons since the early nineties. Recently I've picked up the fourth edition, DND4e, and I've

Solo DMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587479286366183485noreply@blogger.com0