All Things Solo

What ruleset does a kid use for combat when colliding two action figures? I don't know the answer but let me try to shed light on my strategy of Playing Chess against Myself.

Meta-Game

I briefly explained what meta game is in How to Play Published Adventures. This is the biggest immersion breaker in Solo Combat, maybe even more than RPing alone because being both GM and Player feels like cheating to some.

As a solution, I see myself as the Dominus of an Arena while in combat. Whatever battle map I'm in, as the GM, I see these tokens as combatants who have to survive in my arena. When I play my PC, of course I'm -the Player- biased towards them. But as the Arena Master, I have an obligation to gain profit to maintain my arena. So I -the GM- also have a reason to bias towards the monsters, because without them there is no battle. And from their battle comes profit: fun! When you let the dice tell the outcome, it's not cheating at all. What would this monster do? is the question.

Lack of Group Dynamics

Danger level is higher: Mitigate it through the system & go easy on yourself with Oracle.

Give your PC an edge; higher starting level, 3 reroll chances, plot armor.
OR Play 2+ PCs; Pick your sidekick from support classes.
OR One Man Army; Start as multiclass. 1 Damage Dealer + 1 Support class.
Think like a Soloist; Use what you have when you have it. Where there is no solution, create one.
Think like a Solo Adventurer; Search your options pre-session. Play cautiously. Only work enough to get gold for a hireling. Then use the hireling to get more gold for better assets. Work your way through the ranks by exercising strategy and tactics, not just for combat but also for character development. Know your class before the session and learn about the enemies in the session.

Action Economy

It's basically a measurement for how much a creature can accomplish within a single turn.
In 5th edition what we have in a turn is:

• movement
• an action
• a bonus action
• and a reaction

For Soloing purposes, we tend to choose classes that maximize their action economy to make impactful use of each of our actions in productive ways that not just enable us to survive but also clear maps.

5th Edition system jams the vast majority of options into the 'action' slot. In order to overcome the action budgeting obstacle while playing with only 1 PC, we can use "2nd action or Special Action" variant rule that applies only to the PC. Pick one or the other.

2nd Action: You can weapon attack if you didn't attack in your current turn, after you used your action for a non-attack action. OR you can use a non-attack basic action if you attacked in your current turn. Use one or the other.

Special Action: Aside from action / bonus / reaction, you add yourself a special action, such as a panic button in MMO's (i.e self heal) and use it once per long rest.

NOTE: Dungeon Oracle by Paul Bimler has 1-2 PC Conversion Table that takes action economy into account and gives you a level chart for Solo Mode if you want to play adventures that is balanced for 4 x Level ? PCs.

Context of the Enemy

I was already using context in terms of combat as well as story but I recently found a better description of it.

Context is the meaning and significance that surrounds the encounter, and we can break this down into objectives, considerations and story.

OBJECTIVES: Not all combat encounters feature two sides fighting to the death, where the only goal is to win/survive. Giving your monsters (or the adventurers!) a reason to fight AND a goal to achieve beyond mindless violence will bring your encounters to life and create suspense that doesn’t depend solely on which side can deal damage the fastest.

CONSIDERATIONS: These are essentially problems for the party and/or the monsters. They might be a ticking clock hanging over the encounter – an erupting volcano, rising water levels, collapsing lair – for example, or they might be restrictions dictated by the heroes’ moral code.

STORY: When I say ‘story’ I want you to think of the narrative importance of the combat encounter you’re creating.

by Duncan
Source: https://www.hipstersanddragons.com/d...unters-advice/

Of course in Solo Mode we will create these on the spot from random rolls, or make them up as we please. I will add examples to this part in module version.

Strategy & Tactics

My space isn't enough to describe the theory but I can break it down to 2 practical questions to be answered in combat:

Strategy: What do your PCs want to do?
Tactics: How exactly do they achieve it?

I took most of the rest from Matt Colville's youtube channel.

Basic Strategy

* Movement & Range

• Don't deploy your villains too close to the heroes (unless they ambush)
• 30 feet = most races' movement range
• Split Movement & Fire: Move - Fire (ranged) - Go back to cover
• Use large creatures/enemies as cover (especially good for artillery)

* Infantry deployment: As far as possible to avoid AOE & as close as possible so enemies can't run pass them: 15 feet is the magic number.

I will have to expand on this in second part, later.

Enemy Categories

1. Patrols

Small group of minions.
Composed of the same type.
Highly mobile, easy to hit, do medium damage.
Hook: Patrol Puzzle.
Challenge: Observe the patrol pattern and strategize around it.
Failure: The patrol sounds the alarm.
Mid ground: They investigate.

Resource: Patrol Duty: https://forge.fantasygrounds.com/shop/items/1811/view
But I can't think of a way to make it Solo Friendly, yet. Except RP and suspension of disbelief.


2. Scouts

Mixed monsters (2 goblins = damage & direwolf = utility)
Stealthy, Hard to see or catch
Job: Alert the patrols to catch the heroes.
Hook: Chase. Can we stop the scouts before they inform their boss

3. Guards

Job: They stand on place and guard somewhere.
Hook: Either use trickery, combat or social skill to lure them out before they are suspicious.
Failure: They alert the room behind them. Only then, the word goes to the boss gradually.

Enemy Types

1. Infantry

Mid mobility. Gets into melee range. High AC but don't do a lot of damage.
Mid HP.
Goal: Engage the heroes and protect the squishier monsters in the back.

2. Brute

Low mobility & High dmg, mostly melee
Low AC, High HP
Goal: Same as glass cannon. To be kited
Both brute and glass cannon at the same encounter is probably redundant.

3. Artillery / Glass Cannon

Archer, Bombers, Sorcerer
Low/Mid mobility. Low HP / AC
Mid-high dmg, but they can do that dmg to anyone they want.
Goal: REMOVE the problem hero. Take out the unconscious / Push heroes out of the range of supporting effects
Many mobs that do little dmg OR 1 mob that does high dmg (sorc, wiz, shaman, necro)
Range of more than 30 feet

4. Skirmisher

Can use mounts
Average in everything except mobility
Goal: Uses mobility tactically to select targets to harass. Tries to do most damage before getting reached. Disengages when threatened

5. Ambusher

Mostly Solo creatures.
Goal: Prefer to surprise or ambush.
Can come out of underground, behind trees, etc.
They remove themselves from getting hit after battle starts and look for opportunities.

6. Controller

Goal: Forces enemies into disadvantage.
M.O: Move enemies around, Control the battlefield itself.
i.e: hold person, charm, thunderwave, stun, entangle, etc.

7. BOSS

Many different abilities. More than 1 of above types combined.
High AC, High HP, Resistance, Needs to survive whole party
Acts on the players turns (legendary reactions) - makes encounters special

Attacks: Various. Solves multiple problems
Ranged + Melee,
Melee + Spell,
Ranged + Spell,

Boss type challenges combat roles (brute, glass cannon, etc

Combat Tables

If your immersion breaks because of playing both your PC and the monsters, simple combat tables can help you distance yourself from the monsters by thinking them as separate AI entities. These tables are barebones but they're still a good starter.

Want to Randomize?

YES: Feels more natural but unpredictable and sometimes erratic
NO: Pick from the tables & Use manual strategy depending on creature type / nature

d8 Targeting	d8 Combat Roles	d6 Variations	d6 Combat Actions
1. Frontline 2. Rear 3. Closest 4. Farthest 5. Strongest 6. Weakest 7. Melee 8. Ranged	1. Infantry 2. Brute 3. Artillery 4. Skirmisher 5. Ambusher 6. Controller 7. Ally 8. Mini / BOSS	1. Standard 2. Minion 3. Elite 4. Horde / AOE 5. Solo 6. Mindless	1. Attack Main Weapon 2. Attack Secondary W 3. Move + Attack 4. Move Attack + Move 5. Ability / Defensive 6. Disengage / Flee Alt 3. Move + Use Item

Consequences

Don't just think about your combatants' actions but also consider those actions' CONSEQUENCES. Especially in the context of their surroundings not just in present time but also in future. You can learn new things as you think it through after you made an action and saw its effect.

Who Wins the Battle?

You -the Player. If you had fun that's a win. If you've learned anything new that's even better!