D&D 5E DM Contest Advice

[vaguy010]

I am planning on attending a DM challenge (Basically a DM off! lol) at a local game store, and I need some advice.


The DM challenge rules are as follows:


The DM will run a one shot lasting 3.5 hours.


There will be a maximum of five players, and a minimum of four.


Players will be a mix of experienced, and first time players.


The theme of the adventure will be announced 7 days prior to the event.


The DM provides pregenerated characters of his choosing.


Any additional materials such as miniatures, maps, handouts, ect... are acceptable, but must be set up during the 3.5 hour time frame.


The DM will be unaware of the scoring, and what the DM will be scored on.


My main concern is how to write the adventure, so it could easily be completed in 3 hours, I am not counting the half hour because I plan to use that time to introduce myself, hand out character sheets, set up the map etc..


Any advice would be very appreciated! I will not know the theme of the adventure until Sunday October the 22nd at 9:00 PM CDT.
I do not believe I am cheating as I am just trying to layout the frame the adventure, and trying to figure out how to write a 3 hour adventure.

 

[aco175]

One of my favorite convention games involved a giant diagram of a Colosseum made from foam and it had 5ft squares all over it. Groups that survived the first module came here and fought each other and there was 3 DMs to share the drama. I remember a tower in the middle with some sort of flag that needed to get.

Making your own module should plan for 3-4 encounters with a small lead-in and closing. I would try for a simple fight to get the players used to their characters and each other. A puzzle or trap tied in with another fight lets everyone get involved. A cool closing fight with the BBEG and some good terrain to allow everyone to maneuver. Another good encounter has multiple levels with archers on high or goblins swinging down from balconies to attack and retreat back up the other side.

 

[Sebastrd]

I'd recommend reading over "Don't Prep Plots" by Justin Alexander.

Come up with a situation that can be resolved within 3 hrs of gameplay, and keep combat encounters small/on the easy side. Personally, I always like to start with the antagonist and his motivations. Then I just keep asking myself questions until I know enough to run the scenario.

I'd also recommend choosing the scenario type you are most familiar with. For example, if you mostly run dungeon crawls, start the party at the entrance to a dungeon and let them go nuts. If you're more experienced with murder mysteries, generously scatter some clues around town and keep the villain close by.

 

[LordEntrails]

Two standard fights max. You could do more if they are very quick but I would not count on it.

Probably a small/medium fight that gets the characters into their players (typically an Easy encounter per the DMG) and make the larger of two (i.e. the BBEG/conclusion) one in which you can send out the enemies in waves. This allows you to adjust for both time and player ability. And this fight should be interesting, using terrain, elevation and or traps and hazards mixed in.

Note that such traps and hazards should be easy to detect or predict for the players and add to the complexity of the fight. Maybe something like putting some +4attack for 1d6 piercing damage spear traps activated by trip wires that can be seen (DC14 perception) across the quickest path to the BBEG/goal.

Also have one or two roleplaying opportunities, perhaps where you have to get information from patron in a tavern or bribe/convince the dumb guard to open the gate for you, or maybe cross a chasm where the rope bridge is obviously going to break.

When at all possible, each challenge should have more than one way to accomplish the goal. Whether that is by bribing, bluffing, or bypassing an obstacle. And fights should not just be an open room and you have to kill everyone in it. When possible, give players a choice (even if it's only left or right?)

Finally, have no more than 10 pregenerated characters. And don't come up with bizarre stuff, stick to the common arch-types and combinations. And pick a level in the 3-7 range for the PC's.

 

[aco175]

I always liked to have characters with a paragraph or two on background and how to play him. I would also aim for the level range of 3-7 with a lean towards 4-5.

 

[vaguy010]

I got the the theme/topic of the adventure, it is Escape.

So the adventure I was thinking about is not going to work lol!

Thank you for all the good advice I have got so far!

 

[Sebastrd]

I got the the theme/topic of the adventure, it is Escape.

That's actually an excellent theme for this type of exercise, because it does some of the heavy lifting for you. You don't really have to work too hard at emotionally engaging the players, since they'll be the ones in danger and they'll be engaged by default in self-preservation.

You basically just have to decide where they're being held and build that out a bit. Drop the PCs in and let the players do what players do best! How they got there is irrelevant if the PCs start imprisoned (which is the only foolproof way to ensure they run an escape scenario), and the why and the who are only important insofar as they can inform what type of facility and resources the PCs have to contend with as they try to get out.

 

[Quickleaf]

I got the the theme/topic of the adventure, it is Escape.

So the adventure I was thinking about is not going to work lol!

Thank you for all the good advice I have got so far!

Remember all those adventures where you'd find a sword of dragon-slaying in the dragon's hoard? And you'd be "well, that's great, but..."

How about flip the usual adventure structure on its head? You start at the climax room of the dungeon, with the villain defeated, and his ancient magical whatzit in your possession... Except his lieutenant, or an escaped evil spirit, or a rival adventuring party / mercenaries have activated/reactivated the dungeon's traps and positioned guards along your route out. To complicate matters, the villain had a contingency plan to bring the roof of the dungeon down in the event of his demise...so they only have the 3-hour game session in which to make their escape or they are buried under a collapsing dungeon. And to further complicate matters, the magical whatzit is an evil sentient magical item which offers power at a price to a suitably temptable PC.

 

[Thurmas]

For timing purposes, plan into your adventure "side quests" that can be added or subtracted as needed. This is as simple as adding a hidden door in a tunnel on the way to the final encounter. Short on time? No more hidden door. Need to add in an extra 15 minutes of play time? The hidden door reveals a trapped chest with some minor loot. Need to add 30 minutes? That trapped chest with a small amount of loot is guarded by a mummy.

To help adhere to the time frame, make time an element to the adventure. The party can't take a long rest since the cave they entered is flooding behind them. The party has to disrupt a ritual before an ancient demon gets summon. The entire party was poisoned and they have to kill a creature and drink a bit of its blood as a cure before they all succumb.

Lastly, I would make sure to make interesting pre-generated characters, with personality quirks and backstories that the players can play into. Make characters YOU would want to play. That doesn't mean you need to make them really weird, just to have enough of a background to be interesting and fun to play. Yet still keep to the basic archetypes that are competitive.

 

[aco175]

I like the idea of escaping from the enemy stronghold. I also like the movies where the hero is poisoned and they need to beat the clock to get the cure. Maybe a thief's den where there is traps and monsters guarding the escape.