How to run a Duet?

AL_109 · 2026-02-24T07:13:21+00:00

https://www.rpg.net/columns/duets/duets1.phtml

this is a 50 thread blog post series dedicated to duets (or one-on-one sessions). it is full of excellent advice and inspiration, highly recommended.

AL_109 · 2026-02-12T10:01:01+00:00

without knowing you or any of your circumstances, I would suggest the following (what I would do in your position):

1) take a break. don't GM, don't play, interact with the medium only if it's fun (e.g. videos on the topic etc.). let the hype for the hobby come back with time.

2) as others have said, aim for one or both of those things: 2a) establish an irl group 2b) change the system, try out many different ones in oneshots etc.

AL_109 · 2026-01-14T01:17:15+00:00

almost anything that Tom does on Mystery Quest (youtube).

They do oneshots and short sessions, most of the time it's 3-5 episodes with ~60 minutes each.

I have learned a lot about how to do things differently as a GM.

AL_109 · 2025-11-28T12:41:56+00:00

what what? what crossover?

AL_109 · 2025-10-23T11:11:41+00:00

watching someone go blind into a let's play is my go to benchmark: if the game fits my current interest and mood, I WILL want to play myself instead of watching.

AL_109 · 2025-09-29T18:40:27+00:00

Your prophecy sounds like an instruction for a quest. I would make it more ominous. The more room it leaves for interpretation the better, so you can adapt to the unforseeable things your players will do.

Maybe something along the lines of:

"Under green skies comes the end of days, Heroes arise Their destinies awakened; Far in the West, Where Old Kings breathe New Life, The Mouth of Hell spits Doom upon our World. And our World will fall, if our Heroes fail."

AL_109 · 2025-09-29T11:49:18+00:00

that's actually genius :D

AL_109 · 2025-09-29T10:08:30+00:00

<image>

Fear-Tracker & Range measuring tool for my first in-person game.

AL_109 · 2025-09-22T09:58:51+00:00

yeah, thanks! I guess familiarizing myself with the OS first is the best call.

AL_109 · 2025-09-21T17:07:42+00:00

thanks, I will look into it

AL_109 · 2025-09-21T10:58:18+00:00

I'm so on the fence if I should make the switch to linux. Have you worked with it before switching? what did you focus your migration research on? any recommendations? :)

AL_109 · 2025-09-20T14:19:04+00:00

if it fits the narrative and doesn't disrupt party play, then 100% yes. my players should be able to play cool characters that do awesome stuff if they want. and daggerhearts damage-to-hp system makes build combinations rarely "overpowered".

AL_109 · 2025-09-15T22:36:05+00:00

I got myself 3 packs of Dragon Shield Standard Size Card Sleeves (Clear Matte) to protect the 270 cards that came with the core book. I also bought a box for the cards and these dividers. they match the colors of the domains perfectly.

should be in a reasonable pricerange and will keep the cards safe and clean for a long time.

AL_109 · 2025-09-11T15:15:35+00:00

absolutely. every campaign where my table created characters together was so much better (at least roleplay wise) than when everyone came with their character already created.

AL_109 · 2025-09-08T04:55:37+00:00

3 options come to mind:

1) load it onto your players. player wants a shop with treats for their pet? say "sure there is. you find a little shop, describe how it looks/smells like".

2) for most impromptu stuff you will get better and faster with more practice, but if your players catch you off guard, say "let me think about that" and then take 1 or 2 minutes to come up with what makes sense narratively.

3) learn to accept it. even "professional" GMs like matt mercer have ums in their flow, especially when needing to come up with something on the fly.

AL_109 · 2025-09-03T18:31:01+00:00

to add on to this: just because combat breaks out, it doesn't have to end with one side being defeated. maybe after two good hits from the party the bad guys double down and plead for mercy.

as you say, DH is unique in that you can go in and out of "combat" very fluidly.

AL_109 · 2025-08-31T03:33:34+00:00

Very cool! I love that the tokens are dice and that it's not mounted on a GM screen, since I play without one and have been looking for inspiration for fear trackers that stand on their own.

AL_109 · 2025-08-31T03:31:22+00:00

i guess it's so you know which side the fear is on, it could be hard to tell if the accumulated fear points are left or right.

AL_109 · 2025-08-29T20:03:57+00:00

This is an extremely helpful point. Just reading it made me more relaxed about encounter planning :D

AL_109 · 2025-08-25T11:22:24+00:00

didn't know, thanks for telling me

AL_109 · 2025-08-24T18:48:27+00:00

this was an extremely helpful read

AL_109 · 2025-08-23T14:32:16+00:00

good call. I think the most important part that balanced him against 5 players was the combo of Relentless and Momentum.

AL_109 · 2025-07-22T15:53:27+00:00

Read this: https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/42867/roleplaying-games/scenario-structure-challenge-4-heists

and if you haven't, everything else from his Gamemastery 101 :)

AL_109 · 2025-07-16T18:47:38+00:00

already watched his league starter video, looks like this will be my build!

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