070 - Of Grave Concern

Wordcraftian · Post by **Wordcraftian** » Tue Aug 28, 2012 7:57 pm

Thanks guys! I'll definitely give that a shot.

TravelerJim · Post by **TravelerJim** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 5:47 pm

Dr. Gerard wrote:And Jim, you seemed to be able to move the plot along pretty fluidly despite some blocks. But I could also detect your slight exasperation when Dan would miss key Idea or Spot Hidden rolls. (Is it just me, or did Dan roll some absolute crap dice during that game?) Did you feel you had to work harder because it was one-on-one? What are your suggestions on how to keep things moving?

I've actually found both of the Monophobia Scenarios we've run thus far pretty easy to keep moving. And I attribute that largely to the Scenario design. Not every Scenario would work as a single-player adventure, but these are definitely written in such a way as to focus the attention of the single player. In Robinson Gruesome, (this is not a spoiler) the Investigator is stranded on an island so there's nowhere to go and the Investigator is just focused on surviving. When I felt the need to move the story forward, I just had the bad guys show up again. In Of Grave Concern, you have that "leap" you can bring in at any point to move the story forward and put the Investigator exactly where they can find another piece of the puzzle.

On a more personal (?) level, I did feel a bit bad for Dan at some point, not having anyone else to talk to to glean ideas from. Which actually adds to my (as Keeper) enjoyment in running these - I find them to be far more authentically Lovecraftian because it is just one person hopelessly lost, rather than a whole gang of adventurers.

Dr. Gerard · Post by **Dr. Gerard** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 6:26 pm

I find them to be far more authentically Lovecraftian because it is just one person hopelessly lost, rather than a whole gang of adventurers.

That's an interesting point. It seems like the key to making that helplessness fun is having some way to mess with the character and move the story along no matter what they do.

I'm interested to see how Macabre Tales works out as a system for one-on-one. User EddyPo is offering to run one on a PbP thread. I wonder if the mechanics support the same kind of Lovecraftian fun you're describing....

Howard · Post by **Howard** » Thu Jan 31, 2013 3:00 am

Had to seek out this thread. Great Job on this one both Dan and Jim. It has been awhile since I listened to this episode so I can't point out my favorite details but I do remember thinking how well Dan did as a player after it was over. Not sure you would have this success every time, solo games should give more room for error than a normal scenario. If a player does this, then this happens but if he he does that instead, something else should happen. It should never end up with nothing happening, if the player stalls on the direct route, there should be an obvious plan B or .......an uncomfortable silence. Saavy? I think Murph would rock at a solo shot. His plan B might be pretty entertaining.