Single Player D&D: High-Level Play that Slaps

Mike Shay of Sly Flourish found his way in front of me a few days ago. In this case it was Tips for One-on-One Games, and I found myself intrigued. I have experience running one-on-one games, having done it for just over a decade now, and Mike's two tips and a framework were delightful to see.

The tips: sidekicks and "Sherlock Holmes and Watson" style of play

The framework: a three-phase play mode.

I won't go into further detail about these. Mike's own work is linked above and is worth watching to have the context directly from him. I want to suggest another style of play for one-on-one games that I've found is fun for those who want a little bit of gonzo shenanigans in their RPGs.

The Very OP Player

If you understand the word "isekai," congratulations, skip to the next paragraph. You already know where this is going. If not, the type of play I'm describing is styled under the assumption that whoever the player character comes up against isn't powerful enough to defeat them. I'd even go a step further and say that almost nothing the PC comes up against creates the threat that the player will lose their character. In other words, PC death isn't on the table. This isn't about balance. This is power fantasy in its purest form.

Why I Like It

It lets the player be the complete center of the action without worrying about encounter balance. In 5e, this isn't just about a 20th level character verses a bunch of little guys, though that does play a part of it, no, this is about the player having an ability that is so overwhelming it becomes impossible for the enemy to overcome it. There are a few ways I've done this, but here are my top three:

1. The way over-leveled PC - This is exactly the 20th level character verses the CR 1/8 mooks.

2. The power that can't be overcome - A regular leveled PC has something that is outside of the game's conventional mode of play. Think regeneration 100, the PC turns into a demon lord when the chips are down, or, if you want to make it mysterious, every time the PC gets knocked out, they awake to find themselves in a mile wide crater.

3. One or another artifact or being-of-incredible-power is protecting the PC - Something always pulls the PC out of the way of being hit. The pendant the PC carries sure does like eating all of that fancy magic people keep casting. The god Ao is in love with the PC and has given them literal plot armor.

I will say that for sustained, long-term play, the OP Player has, in my experience, lacked the longevity of more traditional models. It is also something I think falls apart outside of a one-on-one game.

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