Most tabletop roleplaying games run continuously; however, let’s look at how to run a one-shot. One-shots are great to use when some of your party isn’t able to show up, for unplanned sessions, or really any reason you can think of. Since a one-shot is very limited on time, they are prepared differently.
One shot mindset
There isn’t time for character development or intricate plots during a one-shot. Instead of leaving it up to the players to determine what to do, give them an opening scene that clarifies what to do. Make it direct, to the point, and straightforward.
The simplest way of doing this is by letting your players know beforehand that it is a one-shot where you will be doing “X.” It could be a short dungeon delve, rescue, or recon. Getting them into the adventure is even easier as long as the players know upfront.
Preparing the adventure
Creating a straightforward adventure will help your players get involved from the start. To do that, tackle the 5 W’s: who, what, when, where, why. You can create a roll table for this or make it up independently. Let’s make an example roll table here. Mind you, this is super basic; you can go into more detail with each.
Who is the bad guy?
- Mage
- Warrior
- Priest
- Monster
What is he doing?
- Slaughter
- Steal
- Manipulate
- Deceive
Where is he doing it?
- Village
- Town
- City
- Graveyard
Why is he doing it?
- Power
- Wealth
- A good fight
- Paid to
When is he doing it?
- Morning
- Night
- Mid-day
- After the players say/do something
The above ideas are purely examples and can be modified as you see fit (In fact, you should because they are terrible ideas). It’s simply what a roll table looks like.
After you get the 5 W’s, you will have a better idea of the motivations of your primary opponent. You also know where he/she will be, what’s happening, and the like.
Scene selection
This step can be used for all your adventures but is crucial in one shot. Break your game session into 3-5 scenes you would like the player characters to go through. It’s best if the scenes can be done in any order.
A simple example: players find the crime scene, players meet the bad guy, and players find assistance.
It becomes far easier to create your scenes of how the game will unfold when you know who, what, where, when, and why your bad guy is.
Another way to look at scene selection is that of encounters. What kind of encounters are the players going to have? How many encounters do you want? Is it going to be a combat-focused one-shot? Will it be social and roleplay-heavy?
A note on complications
Creating tabletop roleplaying game adventures often includes complications. During a one-shot, adding too many will only confuse, distract, or entirely derail your game. Be cautious about how many complications you add.
Complications to limit are those that give players a different direction to go down. If you have told the players that “this” is the plot we are following and then added an NPC that offers a different quest to follow. You are only distracting or confusing them.
The most appropriate complications occur in the middle of something progressing the scene forward. For example, if it’s a boss fight, the complication may be an extra group of enemies. Or, during a puzzle scene, they have to deal with a time crunch like the ceiling lowering on them, etc.
Running the game
Any game system can be used; you may have to be more fast-paced in some. How you run your game is more important than what game you pick.
One rule I like is rolling multiple dice to create a narrative. For example, when attacking, if you usually roll 1d20, instead have them roll 3-5 dice. You can have a defensive roll by their opponent and compare or go off the player’s roll. Look at the numbers and decide if their attack is terrible, good, or exceptional. Make a narrative out of it, essentially, how fast the player does what they are attempting.
“Player 1 wants to attack the orc in melee. Ok roll 5d20. His results are 3, 8, 19, 11, 14. In Rifts, a 5 is required to hit, so this would be a good roll. The player starts missing a bit, then gets the measure of his opponent, and eventually lands a near-lethal strike, which causes the orc to start bleeding profusely. A few exchanges later, you end him.”
This kind of rule helps you avoid getting really bogged down by going through tons and tons of hit points, armor, shields, etc, that enemies may have. You can use it for individual attacks or an entire round. The main idea here is to speed up combat, skills, interactions, and other things dice rolls can be used for.
NPC creation
Before the game, write out the main NPCs the players will interact with. This can be the main bad guy, his lackeys, and a few town NPCs. I also suggest 1-3 helpful NPCs. One or more of them may be the ones that give clues, are there to help assist them, or whatnot.
Another thing I like to do is have a small list of basic NPC stats. Here is an example:
Basic grunt: +1 strike, 20 hit points, +2 dodge/parry.
Basic wizard: 2 spells, 12 hit points. +2 vs magic.
This kind of a list is beneficial when players do things unexpectedly. You can include money, weapons, equipment, clues, etc. Of course, this list can also include townsfolk too. It’s just a bonus list for the game master that isn’t intended to be used during the game but can be referenced if need be.
Character creation
Since time is short, it’s silly to have players make characters specifically for a one-shot. Instead, I like to allow players to use an existing character. It doesn’t have to be a big deal; it doesn’t need to interrupt other games, and you don’t have to think it will cause problems.
The one thing you should make sure is clear to your players is that they must be willing to work together. It isn’t important if my players have evil characters so long as they determine why they are willing to work with the other players without working against or backstabbing them. Plenty of reasons can be made for this.
Character selection
If you allow players to select an existing character, make it clear what power level the one-shot is. If you are using a level-based game, go that route; if power is less clear, like in Rifts, use an appropriate example for your game system. For my group, we typically use adventurer, heroic, and epic.
Gear and ability selection
Existing characters can have a lot of gear, spells, and abilities. Players don’t need to get rid of any of their gear. Instead, decide how much gear they can have. Something like 1 vehicle, 2 weapons, no spells over level 4, etc.
This is a great way to allow players to use existing characters while not requiring the game master to consider more challenges players have at their disposal.
Summary
One-shot adventures are played during a single session with no carryover. For this reason, it’s crucial to get your player’s attention immediately and give them a straightforward path to accomplish the scenario. Strive for fast gameplay so you don’t get stuck.