Role playing games for two people

Greetings,
I've recently discovered the Adventure Zone podcast and while checking out the Monster of the Week material that is being used in the arc I'm listening to, I noticed it says it's for 2-6 people.

I've never really gotten into playing D&D-esque games like this because my only group of friends that would be interested already have a set roster. However, if it's actually viable for two people, it would be fun to play with my wife!
How good are games like this for just two people? Are there any that are designed for this number or work better than others?

Thanks!

i mean...pretty much every RPG can be played with two people I'd imagine, particularly the ones that rely more on storytelling and cooperative narratives than system-heavy stuff. D&D would probably take a bit of work to try to set something up that was balanced for a particular character but it's not impossible. You could always have support NPC's around to fill a healer role or whatever.

Story-focused games are probably your best bet though. I'm sure others can guide you more than I can as i don't have a whole lot of experience with what ones work better than others.

Another link of interest: Bundle of Holding are doing a special 2 player RPG bundle for Valentines Day...

Bundle for Two 2

For just US$5.95 you get all three titles in our Starter Collection (retail value $29) as DRM-free .PDF ebooks:

Reflections: A Game of Duelling Samurai
by Jim McClure (Third Act Publishing, retail price $12):
A longtime rivalry between feuding samurai culminates in a final, fatal confrontation.

The Quiet Year
by Avery Alder (Buried Without Ceremony, retail $8):
A highly original map-drawing game from the designer of Monsterhearts about the struggles of a post-apocalyptic community. [Previously in our November 2013 Indie Cornucopia.]

Dirty Secrets
by Seth Ben-Ezra (Dark Omen Games, retail $9): An amazing story engine that effortlessly creates dark and twisting noir plots. [Previously in our June 2015 Deadly Games offer.]

And if you pay more than the threshold price of $15.48, you'll level up and also get our entire Bonus Collection with three more titles worth an additional $58:

Cthulhu Confidential
by Robin D. Laws, Chris Spivey, and Ruth Tillman (Pelgrane Press, retail $25):
Mythos horror meets hard-boiled noir in this GUMSHOE One-2-One game for a Game Moderator and a lone detective.

One on One Adventures Compendium
(Expeditious Retreat, retail $18):
Eleven Pathfinder fantasy adventures for a GM and one player.

The Hour Between Dog and Wolf
by Matt Gwinn (Errant Knight Games, retail $15):
A flawed hero and a serial killer both confront their darkest impulses.

Looks like it's available until the 26th Feb.

I enjoyed Mars Colony with my friend, though it may be a bit more story focused than you're looking for.

Also Quiet Year is a really good game and scales up to more players quite well. Never played it with only two people myself, however.

These aren't D&D fantasy but are designed for one-to-one play:

Cthulhu Confidential - Cosmic horror noir
http://site.pelgranepress.com/index....

Night's Black Agents - superspies vs vampires
http://site.pelgranepress.com/index....

Cthulhu Confidential is in that bundle listed above.

pyxistyx wrote:

Cthulhu Confidential is in that bundle listed above.

Also to be clear Night's Black Agents is only coming out in full release in the next few months though a starter pdf comes with the pre-order.

I have listened to some 2 person podcast sessions on The Gauntlet's network, and Dungeon World seems to work out well. Just add a henchmen/follower character to fill in some ability gaps and provide conversations with the main PC and you should be good.

It helps that you can get the entire rules book for free and there is a ton of free resources to get you started.

AdamGM wrote:

I've recently discovered the Adventure Zone podcast and while checking out the Monster of the Week material that is being used in the arc I'm listening to, I noticed it says it's for 2-6 people.

How good are games like this for just two people? Are there any that are designed for this number or work better than others?

On the topic on Monster of the Week, I haven't personally played it with just two, but I know a number of people have. You won't really need to change any rules (just some things may not apply).

I’m surprised no one has mentioned Gloomhaven yet. It seems to work really well with two players and a lot of GWJer couples play it.

don't know if i'd go as far to call that an RPG though, more the tactical combat side of D&D paired with a simple "choose/randomise your own adventure" type mechanic. But then I've only played the first scenario in the game so maybe it gets more complex later.

That does remind me though, Fantasy Flight made a game called Legacy of Dragonholt which is basically a Diceless, DM'less fancy choose your own adventure RPG story across several "modules" in one box, with a central sandbox village to explore. Feels much more like an RPG than a lot of CYOA stuff and it's a lot of fun to play through. Pretty expensive for what's in the box though, given that it's FF.

Gloomhaven is very much X-COM as opposed to Baldur's Gate.