Last weekend I ran the F&D rulebook adventure with 2 of my coworkers (both total RPG newbies playing pregens I had made) and it worked pretty well. This coming weekend I plan on running the AoR adventure from the rulebook, The Perlemian Haul. Reading it, there's a lot of potential for combat with not much in the way of downtime in between. It seems to be written for 3-5 players, which is basically Hard Mode for just 2.

What changes should I make to alter the balance here? I was thinking just cutting minion soak/wounds in half. Maybe be super liberal with boost die? It seems kind of ridiculous to have them kick in the door to the barracks on a secret Imperial freighter to fight, like, 3 stormtroopers.

There's a formula used in the beginner game for varying sizes, but I can't remember it exactly. I want to say its a number of minion groups/rivals equal to the PCs, plus 1, but I'm not entirely certain.

Or give them a NPC droid

25 minutes ago, TheShard said:

Or give them a NPC droid

They're brand new to RPGs so I don't really want to add any additional overhead (they just upgraded to full character sheets from the abridged pregens ones I had given them). I also don't want to run a GMNPC because that can detract from their spotlight time.

I was planning on one of the compartment things on the ship being a prisoner container holding some rebels (either as a primary mission objective or coincidence) and letting them direct the prisoners to create distractions and otherwise handle larger fights "off camera" while they make for the bridge.

That's an even better version of my intention.

Well, I ran a 2 man campaign for a long time, and depending on how combat built they are, the answer varies. Starting out, you should only have like 2 minion groups per encounter, with maybe 3 minions per group, possibly only 2 per group at first, to feel them out. As they put xp into their skills, and become more effective at dishing out damage, you can up the ante a bit.

If they aren't very combat focused, you should be sure to included lots of secondary things they can do if they must be in a fight. If they aim to try and avoid combat, or try and find ways to simply escape combat situations, then I suggest having several challenges that let them escape instead. A set of athletics/coordination checks so they can parkour away from that somewhat clunky squad of storm troopers. A computer terminal nearby so they can hack a public transit speeder to show up and wisk them away, etc. Make sure they are aware of environmental factors that can be manipulated to their advantage, as a way to avoid/neutralize the danger, instead of forcing them to face it head on. Remember, running away is a time honored tradition in the Star Wars movies, no reason to break protocol now.

If they are combat focused, always have a minion group as "reinforcements", and flip a Destiny Point to say they show up, if your players are just plowing through your forces. Perhaps have a Rival that isn't combat focused, but instead manipulates the environment to hinder the players, illustrating the value of lateral thinking in roleplaying.

Basically, take it slow, and ratchet up the numbers against them. Though one thing to consider with minion groups....a single group with a lot of members is way more dangerous than 2 groups with the same number, but spread out. Given the way the minion mechanics works, a 5 man minion group will likely destroy your players, but a 2 man and 3 man pairing will be way more manageable for them, as it keeps the attack dice pool down significantly.

Also, be sparing with Rivals. In my experience, they can stomp a group that small. I sent my guys against 2 rival Battle Droids as a test, and they pretty much wiped the party, to my shock and dismay. So if you insist on bringing in a Rival, try to make them a leadership type character. Giving the enemy boosts, and hindering the players, instead of directly kicking butt. They are, in theory, as powerful as a single PC, couple that with a lot of minion backup and they can be too much for a 2 man team to handle.