D&D 5E Dynamic start for a 1-shot?

[rgoodbb]

Love all of these. My creative juices have started flowing again.

That just sounded plain wrong...

 

[John R Davis]

You are summoned to the tavern. You get there late. It is on fire. All the other heroes are dead.....

You have to face the peril alone....

 

[Dioltach]

Middle of combat. Have everyone roll for a save versus a Fireball, then call for initiative. Fill in the details as the fight progresses.

 

[GMMichael]

Coffee is always a dynamic start for me.

OP's pun is a pretty good invitation:

"You're being chaste, by three bards. One of them is reaching for your shoulders! You're in the crowded market square, close to the festival bonfire, but no one seems to notice your predicament."

"Why are the bards chasing us?"

"Um, it's more like pursuing, and you think the mulled wine in their cups might have something to do with it."

"They're chasing us with wine? I'm confused . . . "

 

[J.Quondam]

Exploding manhole covers can be exciting.

 

[Brotton Goodfellow]

Start mid prison break and the PC’s are chained together.

 

[Elvish Lore]

You’re both in a tavern!

…that’s on fire.

…from the Dragon.

Roll initiative.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I'm having a block on a dynamic start for a 1-shot for two PC's (Glamour and Monster Slayer (6th or 7th)). I have already done a buried alive start so am looking for something active and fun.

Maybe falling or chasing or being chased. (not chaste)

The environment includes forests marshes, rivers, mountains and coast.

Any helpful thoughts form the Idea ENgine would be much appreciated, Thanks.

Geese! They’re in a small market at the edge of the wilderness where people get supplies before heading in.

Suddenly, a small flock of geese (use whatever medium sized flying monsters of appropriate CR) led by a big black goose swoop in and start stealing stuff from market goers! It’s a chase-fight!

Have each goose explode when “killed”, and obscure a 5ft radius area for a round. On their turn after the “be a gas full of feathers” turn, they re-emerge as quicklings, laughing and zipping around the outskirts of the fight.

When I did this, the players didn’t mess with the quicklings and focused on getting the black swan, and were each rewarded with a gift (a healing potion in the form of an apple, and the daylight spell held in an acorn) and the group got a clue in the form of a cryptic poem that helped them navigate the labyrinthine tunnels under the city later.

This was the big set piece of the 1-hour adventure I ran at a library mini-comic-con a few years ago.

 

[rgoodbb]

Geese! They’re in a small market at the edge of the wilderness where people get supplies before heading in.

Suddenly, a small flock of geese (use whatever medium sized flying monsters of appropriate CR) led by a big black goose swoop in and start stealing stuff from market goers! It’s a chase-fight!

Have each goose explode when “killed”, and obscure a 5ft radius area for a round. On their turn after the “be a gas full of feathers” turn, they re-emerge as quicklings, laughing and zipping around the outskirts of the fight.

When I did this, the players didn’t mess with the quicklings and focused on getting the black swan, and were each rewarded with a gift (a healing potion in the form of an apple, and the daylight spell held in an acorn) and the group got a clue in the form of a cryptic poem that helped them navigate the labyrinthine tunnels under the city later.

This was the big set piece of the 1-hour adventure I ran at a library mini-comic-con a few years ago.

A Wild Goose Chase indeed. Sounds like a bucket of mad fun!

 

[Blue]

Recently I was a player in a one shot where we all awoke in a room with no memories of getting there or each other. As we worked our way out through puzzles, traps and encounters we found writing on walls - from us! We worked out that we were in a demiplane called Mobeus and every time we "lost" we went back to the beginning. But death was permanent and we started with 20 adventurers and had it slowly whittled down to the six PCs over many, many attempts - a good indication that we could not meet all challenges head on.