The One Hour D&D Game

jshaft37 · Apr 16, 2012

Is there any definition of "adventure" that they are shooting to be able to play in 1 hour?

I can agree that I would like to see a 1 hour adventure ala Dungeon magazine (4e example: Hook, 1 SC, 2-3 Encounters, resolution, minimal roleplaying), but how could you play through Keep on the Borderlands or Dragons of Despair in 1 hour?

Mattachine · Apr 16, 2012

I think some short AD&D modules would be examples of adventures that could be played in a couple hours:

1. Hidden Shrine of Tomoachan
2. Ghost Tower of Inverness
3. Slave Pits of the Undercity
4. Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh (each part taking 2 hours, perhaps)

An old adventure like Pharoah is, in a way, three of these short adventures, of 1-2 hours each: wilderness, the temple, and the pyramid.

AbdulAlhazred · Apr 17, 2012

Mattachine said:
I think some short AD&D modules would be examples of adventures that could be played in a couple hours:

1. Hidden Shrine of Tomoachan
2. Ghost Tower of Inverness
3. Slave Pits of the Undercity
4. Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh (each part taking 2 hours, perhaps)

An old adventure like Pharoah is, in a way, three of these short adventures, of 1-2 hours each: wilderness, the temple, and the pyramid.

Hmmmm, I remember A1-A4 Slave Pits taking weeks to play all the way through.

ren1999 · Apr 17, 2012

I'd also like to see more of these ideas for limited hour games.

How about a d&d game that lasts as long as a movie?

How long are your play sessions? Mine last an evening. 5 hours.

How about a game limited to 5 hours?

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Mattachine · Apr 17, 2012

AbdulAlhazred said:
Hmmmm, I remember A1-A4 Slave Pits taking weeks to play all the way through.

Slave Pits is only A1, and the abbreviated, tournament version (noted on the cover/map) only takes a couple hours, if that.

AbdulAlhazred · Apr 17, 2012

Mattachine said:
Slave Pits is only A1, and the abbreviated, tournament version (noted on the cover/map) only takes a couple hours, if that.

I don't recall an abbreviated option, but then I haven't cracked the module in 20 years. I do remember it took us a good 6-8 hours, at least, to play through it. Maybe we were slow... Then again, I am not of the school that holds AD&D to have been exceptionally faster in play than later editions. That was never my experience, lol.

TarionzCousin · Apr 17, 2012

AbdulAlhazred said:
I don't recall an abbreviated option, but then I haven't cracked the module in 20 years. I do remember it took us a good 6-8 hours, at least, to play through it. Maybe we were slow... Then again, I am not of the school that holds AD&D to have been exceptionally faster in play than later editions. That was never my experience, lol.

Play sped up a lot when at least half of the party (including all of the henchmen, torchbearers, lackeys, etc.) died in the first room.

Hey! I hope that's not what they're planning for 5E!

Mattachine · Apr 17, 2012

My group, if I recall, played it in an afternoon, which would have been about 4 hours back in the day. We played the full version--the short, tournament version was noted by shading on the map.

In any case, a lot of the AD&D modules were either short and designed for single sessions, or broken into distinct sections, each as long as a short adventure. I liked that design aspect a lot. Sure, there is also room for sandbox, long-form stories, and such, but consciously going for short adventures yields a tangible benefit without necessarily ruining other types of adventures.

Blackwarder · Apr 17, 2012

One thing that I would really appreciate in each advanture is a page or two of "how to run this advanture" kind of intro for inexperience DMs or for DMs who never ran that kind of advanture, for example, I never ran an outdoors sandbox advanture and would love some pointers in an advanture that is aimed for that kind of play.

Warder