So, I have never been on this board before. I'm new to the idea of role-playing and table top games...

Some games are more or less focussed around a single character, and certain character types even more so.

If all you can do is swing a sword, and that's your only character, then your single person game is going to be fairly one-track.

However if you're playing Shadowrun for instance, and you've invested in shooting, driving, talking, infiltrating, investigating and some limited hacking, as it is relatively easy to do, then it's quite easy for you to run a game for them with actual variety.

>She manages multiple characters.
No, I meant that she gets one character to focus on, and you control the rest of the party, ensuring that she's still always the main character and centre of attention.

First, a few points.

Role playing (in general) and role playing games are two fairly different things. Even just general role playing and a freeform roleplaying game can be fairly different. I wouldn't be immediately assuming that, just because your significant other is doing some online chat roleplaying, that it means they want to jump into a D&D campaign with you.

Second, you don't need to share every hobby with your significant other. Sometimes it's good to have things to yourselves that the other isn't involved in. This doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a try, just don't be disappointed if it doesn't work out and don't try to overly press the issue if they aren't interested.

Yes, there are RPGs were are geared towards two players rather than a group. (There are also a lot of tabletop board/card games as well, although that's somewhat independent.) Basically anything that doesn't involve a "party" or group of individual players will likely play with two players with little problem. It can (and a bit will) play something like a one-on-one chat session. I've not played any games like that so I don't have firsthand experience, so it might be hard recommending some games.

Even something like D&D or Shadowrun generally can be played with two people, although you need to change some DM assumptions to do so.

As for the text concern, I have a few suggestions. One, give an online game or text chat room a try. You can generally play a game that way (especially with an online dice roller) and it isn't too different. You might also ask your fiance to introduce you to how THEY roleplay, to see if that method is more to both your liking than playing a RPG. And, as before, don't feel bad if that idea doesn't necessarily pan out; you can still try face-to-face or other options as well. Or, heck, just play a board game or watch a movie for some together time.

Noted, thanks for the reply.

Oh, okay. Yeah I think she likes managing multiple characters so I'd probably let her do it first, at the very least.

I've been doing some digging elsewhere and games like Call of Cthulu, Breaking the Ice, and Mars Colony caught my eye. I looked into Shadowrun, and is this what the SNES Shadowrun is based off of? If so, I'm interested.

Yes, the Shadowrun RPG is what the SNES game (and Genesis game, and recent Steam games) are all based off. It's a fantasy cyberpunk where you can play a fantasy race, learn spells, and/or augment your body with cybernetics. And the president is a dragon, last time I checked.

>Role playing (in general) and role playing games are two fairly different things. Even just general role playing and a freeform roleplaying game can be fairly different. I wouldn't be immediately assuming that, just because your significant other is doing some online chat roleplaying, that it means they want to jump into a D&D campaign with you.

I appreciate this angle. That said, I asked what she thought about playing something like D&D and she said she used to play it as a 14 year old with family so she'd be up for something like that.

>Second, you don't need to share every hobby with your significant other. Sometimes it's good to have things to yourselves that the other isn't involved in. This doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a try, just don't be disappointed if it doesn't work out and don't try to overly press the issue if they aren't interested.

I'm an avid fighting game player and am extremely good at the genre. I also like games like Dragon Quest. She's not really into video games that aren't Pokemon, Persona, or Harvest Moon so believe me, I know what you're getting at. I have other hobbies that she isn't interested in either, like fitness and baseball.

>the rest

Excellent. I'll keep digging then .Thank you.

And believe me, I've seen how she reoleplays and as I've already said it is just awkward to do in person. We've tried it with a Pokemon scenario, we've tried it with original scenarios, and it just doesn't work.

Thanks again.

>And the president is a dragon, last time I checked.
Dunkelzahn was only President for a very short time.
Before he was "assassinated" with a Car-Bomb while in his human form.

With him died the hope for Shadowrun's metaplot (in the 2nd edition, now we're in the 5th).
Well, bar Renraku Shutdown. That was amazing.

The only games I know that currently focus on "one on one" RPG's are kind of horror based - Call of Cthulhu has the "monophobia" adventures, which are all "single player" games. I understand that the Gumshoe system is being used to work on one-on-one investigation games. There are probably more, and obviously how into horror you are should dictate how much you take that.

It's very group-based activity in general. That's not a bad thing; feeling like part of a group in a positive, happy context is an extremely helpful sensation for someone struggling with mental and emotional issues, so don't shy away too much from games that involve more than one player. You definitely don't want to foster too much dependency, and having a group will help with confidence.

Actually, there is something called "foile a deux" (the madness of two) which is literally the idea that delusions and mental illnesses can be "shared" between people who are in close relationships such as family bonds.

There's a game called PTU which is a Pokemon rpg that really tries to emulate the game. The only problem is the immense book keeping required.

I know its predominantly group-based. We just don't have many friends that'd be into it, is all.

I'm sure that could change with time, but as it stands I was kinda hoping to just break into it with something for the just the two of us.

>I also like games like Dragon Quest.

I like you.

Whoa, its definitely off-putting, but I think she'd be into something like this. Thanks.

If I could get past how crazy it looks maybe it'd be just what we need.

>My fiance has a mental illness and one of the ways she copes is role-playing.

That Girl thread?

I like you too user. We DQ fans gotta stick together.

I don't really know any tabletop RPGs for 2 people specifically. said it already but it sounds like she's doing some sort of freeform roleplaying, which is perfectly cool but significantly different from most tabletop games. I'd try a system that's lighter on the rules compared to something like GURPS or even D&D or Shadowrun, since the bookkeeping and character-building might put her off. My group refuses to play anything other than D&D so I can't give a ton of personal recommendations.

As for her text roleplaying, you might want to try roleplaying with her via text for a starter? I've found that I'm more eloquent roleplaying in text, since I have more time to think/revise my sentences, and I'm a pretty competent writer but a fairly poor actor.

Barbarians of Lemuria is a really good rules-light, swords & sorcery game in tradition of Conan. It's at the minimalist end of games with enough material to them to be actual, complete games.

>Barbarians of Lemuria,Mythic Edition (current edition) -- mediafire.com/folder/7llc83r2xf8bg/Barbarians_of_Lemuria_-_Mythic_Edition

>Barbarians of Lemuria, Legendary Edition (earlier edition, fewer details & more minimalist presentation makes it even easier to learn, but the rules aren't as refined) -- mediafire.com/download/p5w885sa9a869ma/Barbarians Of Lemuria - Legendary Edition.pdf

>Barbarians of Lemuria, House Rules / Patches for Legendary Edition (if you want the bare bones minimalism of Legendary, but with the rules tightened up a bit) -- mega.co.nz/#F!CtQR2bST!y_awB-GHCiL3CdK4iLCV7A

>dat image
I imagine being around a depressed person would be pretty depressing though.

Of course, there are plenty of ultra-light games out there that are half-a-dozen pages or less (shit like Risus, for example), but it can be a bit tricky to run a serious, extended game with them.

Many games, particular rules-light ones, don't really talk you through the process of running a game. That is to say: they tell you the rules of that particular game, but don't really deal with the philosophy of Game Mastering. Fortunately, that shit is pretty much universal, and you can watch play-throughs, or read sections on it from other RPGs. Really though, I think you're mostly better off not bothering. You probably have at least some concept of how shit works, and that should be good enough. You're really just playing pretend, with some rules to provide structure. But the rules are just tools, and the more important part is telling a cooperative story with whoever you're playing with. So you can always just make some shit up.

As far as running a game with a single player goes, most RPGs can do that fine. You just have to tailor your adventures for your player's character. If they have a thief-type character, run adventures that present challenges suitable for a thief. Don't make it about standing alone in the battlefield, facing down impossible odds. That isn't really a thief's forte. And remember that you can always give player character some allies to help them out.

Monster of the Week works well with two people.

Could be in how you're thinking too much about it or how you view the interaction. I mean, there are a bunch of different ways of looking at RPGs and none of them are really wrong as long as everyone's having fun. Certainly my opinion. Anyway..

Maybe a cooperative board game might work? Otherwise, sure you can play/run an RPG with just two people.

It is.
Dealing with the mentally ill is draining.

Mental Illness IS slightly contagious. Being around depressed people, for a long enough length of time, makes you slightly more depressed. Being in a society with open homosexuality increases the rate of homosexuality.
It requires chronic exposure, and even then the disease doesn't transfer at all to 80% of the exposed. But it is communicable.

>so should we isolate

No, just immunise. The transfer rate is so ridiculously low that just by teaching people proper mental hygiene, you drop it to negligible leves.

>My fiance has a mental illness

EJECT EJECT EJECT

If she likes roleplaying via text, why not just run a text game online with her?