ADVICE! Solo 4E D&D -THIEF!

[Mason]

A friend of mine wants me to run a solo 4.0 D&D game for him.

  yikes.

 
 I know he wants to play a rogue and we've worked out a vague series of adventures where he rises through the ranks of a thieves guild. He wants a lot of encounters (non-combat/combat) that make use of his skills etc. Any advice? Any threads anywhere that give advice on this sort of game? I suppose I can use a couple friendly NPCs to help balance the 'party' etc. so combat is not as challenging. Anyways, any advice/resources would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Steerpike]

I ran a game like this once back in my teens.  I was pretty inexperienced, though.  I remember doing plenty of burglaries but also framings, assassinations, and various run-ins with the law and other (rival) criminal factions.

My only substantive advice is to play the excellent Thief series (or watch some Let's Play of the series), which is choc full of excellent adventure ideas, from tomb raiding to robbing a mage's guild to infiltrating a temple disguised as a novice...

[LordVreeg]

I ran a came like this once back in my teens.  I was pretty inexperienced, though.  I remember doing plenty of burglaries but also framings, assassinations, and various run-ins with the law and other (rival) criminal factions.

My only substantive advice is to play the excellent Thief series (or watch some Let's Play of the series), which is choc full of excellent adventure ideas, from tomb raiding to robbing a mage's guild to infiltrating a temple disguised as a novice...

Yeah, these are the things that make this kind of game fun.  This kind of thing is also fun because it really allows a GM to create the underworld in place, the city, and the makeup.  I enjoy few things more than this.

Any chance of going with a system more suited to it?

[Mason]

Any chance of going with a system more suited to it?

  Nope.

[LordVreeg]

Any chance of going with a system more suited to it?

  Nope.

It is what it is.  We use the toolset we are given.

How big an area are you thinking of covering?  How big an urban area at first?

[Steerpike]

I would actually suggest not adding NPCs on missions themselves, for the most part.  For one, two people make stealth a lot harder (double the chances of being seen/heard).  For another, being alone can generate more suspense than being in a group.  I suppose, though, that one could run a kind of Ocean's Eleven style game where a group of thieves plan heists, but I'm not sure a solo campaign gels with that concept.  Perhaps a large cast of NPCs on the sidelines - fences, equipment dealers, retired thieves, map-makers, the guards and officials at thieves' guild hangouts, and perhaps a few specialists for hire for specific jobs (i.e. the master safe-cracker, the magic trap disarmer, or the consummate con artist) - would work well, though?

I wonder whether combat itself should really be the focus.  I'm not too familiar with 4E so I can't vouch for how well the rogue can hold his own, but when I think of a thieving campaign I think of a lot of skulking, lockpicking, underworld intrigue, deceit, running away, and perhaps the occasional sniping attack, not brawling with guards or taking on the city watch.  Basically, a lot of tension and suspense, an emphasis on not getting caught, on finesse, rather than brawling through a merchant's home in search of his jewels, or whatever.  Adding NPCs that fill the other roles (fighter, cleric, summoner, etc) might potentially make everything resemble a dungeon crawl a bit too much.

Just random thoughts!

[Mason]

I would actually suggest not adding NPCs on missions themselves, for the most part.  For one, two people make stealth a lot harder (double the chances of being seen/heard).  For another, being alone can generate more suspense than being in a group.  

Perhaps a large cast of NPCs on the sidelines - fences, equipment dealers, retired thieves, map-makers, the guards and officials at thieves' guild hangouts, and perhaps a few specialists for hire for specific jobs (i.e. the master safe-cracker, the magic trap disarmer, or the consummate con artist) - would work well, though?
[/quote]
 but when I think of a thieving campaign I think of a lot of skulking, lockpicking, underworld intrigue, deceit, running away, and perhaps the occasional sniping attack, not brawling with guards or taking on the city watch. Basically, a lot of tension and suspense, an emphasis on not getting caught, on finesse, rather than brawling through a merchant's home in search of his jewels, or whatever.
[/quote]
I ran a game like this once back in my teens.  I was pretty inexperienced, though.  I remember doing plenty of burglaries but also framings, assassinations, and various run-ins with the law and other (rival) criminal factions.

My only substantive advice is to play the excellent Thief series (or watch some Let's Play of the series), which is choc full of excellent adventure ideas, from tomb raiding to robbing a mage's guild to infiltrating a temple disguised as a novice...
[/quote]

 Its pretty much like Thief combined with Oblivions Thieves guild quest line. (only because me and the PC are big fans).

Just random thoughts!

 Much appreciated.

Edit:Quote FAIL.

[Stargate525]

Some quick suggestions off of the top of my head: Watch any of the Ocean's set of movies, Leverage, Lie to Me, Mission Impossible, those kind of movies for inspiration. If you've got a Netflix account, I know that there's a ton of good ones available for streaming that you could view.

[Mason]

Thanks for the tip Stargate.


I was reading an interesting thread somewhere about trying to use the Rashomon style storytelling in table top RPGs. Any thoughts on that?

[LD]

I'm not sure how you are intending to set that up; are you planning on having the thief player consecutively play several different characters in the same scene?

[Mason]

First Session
Introduction to the city of Ikvar
   Describing the city of Ikvar, a trade hub and point of light for civil races. Oligarchy, magical item economy. Competing thieves guilds. Little to no religious presence. Population:? The city is ancient, possibly as old as Nerath and Arkhosia.

   My PC's first foray into the campaign will involve him searching for contacts within one of the two 'families' of professional thieving guilds. A vicious rivalry exists between the two groups, fueled by scheming politicians in there cozy mansions in higher society. The oligarchy is all-powerful, but possibly manipulated/coerced by the thieving families-making them as equally powerful in their own way. A test of sorts will be designed for the guilds to determine if the 'new-blood' rogue is worth accepting into the guild.
  God I hope I don't kill him first session.


>>>Lightdragon..per the Rashomon comment..
   I don't know what I had in mind..jsut trying to strike up a conversation on the subject. Akira Kurosawa films are great inspiration no?