I may actually be able to get my first game in this weekend, but I’ve only got two people to agree to play (only two willing to suffer through Roll20). Is that enough, or is the system reliant on helping dice and the like and it’ll be a blood bath that leaves us all unsatisfied?
(I’m expecting to play with pre-gens, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to fill all roles either)
Three to four is ideal, but I think it plays pretty well with two. The scale of things two characters can tackle is a bit smaller. However, two characters can actually be pretty resilient in conflicts because disposition doesn’t get spread out quite as much.
Are there any particular pre-gens that would be better for Beneath the Three Squires to pair up?
I may actually have a third player now, but just in case her computer isn’t up to the task of roll20…
Give out the Afraid condition judiciously. Not being able to get help sucks. That said, don’t remove it from the game either. It is an important condition. Just be careful when and how often you give it out.
Also you can consider having NPCs available that could help the PCs for specific tasks. If the rescue a bunch of captives, maybe one or two could help them with a Laborer test to haul out the loot, for a small cut of course.
All the pregens are good. Having the Healer skill is nice, but then again sinus Dungeoneer. Maybe suggest two characters that cover the broadest range: Elf and Dwarf possibly. Really the party composition just changes how they may react to a given situation, fight or flight.
I ran Skogenby for two players one time. The result was a TPK. They were actually doing pretty well until they decided to go back to town to heal up a bit, rolled snake eyes on the town events chart, and ended up catching the plague. Your milage may vary.
Welp, I got to run it with 3 and we had a blast.
We have Karolina and Ulrik barricaded in the room where all the prisoners were kept after our heroes struggled and killed the kobold elite guards in a desperate fight (they had 1 disposition for 3/4ths of the battle). Karolina is Afraid, Exhausted and Injured, Ulrik is Angry, Afraid and Injured. Varg, on the other hand, just escaped from being the kobold leader’s boy toy after having Charmed her with his magics and has dashed back to the Inn’s basement to rest and think of a plan to rescue the rest of the party. He’s Hungry, Angry and Exhausted himself. So far, they’ve only found a pile of copper worth 1D and some helmets for loot.
I’m also pretty sure they’re out of torches so will be relying on candle light for the remainder of the crawl, which will be fun.
I think we did okay!