Source
r/DnD•
Ell975

How to build an encounter for a single player?[4e]

In my next session I'm going to have one of my players fighting solo, but I'm not sure how I should build the fight. I don't want to give him NPC assistance, as the fight is meant to show his combat prowess, hence his fighting on his own.

I'm not sure how I should build the fight, as the encounter xp table doesn't apply to single PC fights. So if someone could help me with this it would be great.

The character is an optimised level 17 hybrid Barbarian/Warden so he should be able to handle himself in the fight, I'm not exactly sending in a squishy character to get pummelled.

Posted Sep 5, 2013, 7:22 PM UTC

44
AManHasSpokenNecromancer•

Make it an elite of the same level, or of one level higher. Should be an adequate challenge.

Also, what you could do (borrowing heavily from RollPlay here) is to make each combatant roll initiative at the end of every round, to make the order of battle less predictable. Give the monster a significant Initiative to boot.

3
RobertK1•

This is a showcase of his prowess and might. In this case, I would literally suggest tailoring the fight to his strengths.

Wardens excel at forced movement. Why not have squares near the combatants light up with magical energy, which the PC can pull NPCs onto in order to do massive damage?

Wardens also excel at having hindering terrain. How about low-hp, high damage (for a 1 PC encounter) enemies who the Warden can trap in his terrain bubble, and kill?

Basically, look at his power list, and decide exactly what the character can do, and set up a fight where they can do it. Have enemies come out a few at a time, and let him drag them into the explosive squares. Make him quickly burst down enemies with Barbarian powers. Give him a short breather, then make him fight something that does massive damage, so his surge values and huge tankiness can be shown off (along with explosive squares so he can easily kill the enemy).

Basically, I'd say make it a tour de force on why this guy's character is completely, utterly badass. Try and have a shout out for as many of his powers as possible (barbarians often have storm powers, maybe an enemy vulnerable to that). Without knowing the powers its hard to tell, but I think I can give you some ideas.

3
cahpahkah•

It helps in these situations to create some kind of environmental hazard or condition that affects both of them -- edge of a cliff, volcano core, battlefield being pummeled by artillery. Basically, when you've only got one PC, you can add more context to a combat without slowing down the pace too much.

Also, I'd avoid monsters that create status effects that the PC can't easily deal with. Spending a one-on-one fight dazed is boring for everybody; you want to find something that's challenging, but still allows your player to show off.

2
MisterValiant•

Were it me, I would draw the fight out. Since this is supposed to be a show of his battle capability, I would "zoom in" on everything that goes on during a battle. You know how D&D combat is abstract? Un-abstract it.

Describe everything, all five senses. Really pour on the detail. And instead of running a battle as normal, where each participant is throwing abilities at each other, I'd throw in a series of checks. Mess with the regular flow of combat, make it less routine.

That's what I'd do, anyway. Let us know what you do an how it turns out!

1