Recommendations for a Halloween one-shot adventure?

[DrNilesCrane]

D&D 3rd, Call of Cthulu d20, or even Mutants and Masterminds.

A good suggestion would be a solid one-shot adventure I can buy in PDF format.
A better suggestion would be something that my old school players aren't familiar with (i.e. they know the original so I'm not inclined to use the new Ravenloft adventure as a first choice).
A fantastic suggestion would include maps in electronic format (for my digital projector).

Any suggestions?

 

[Shadowsmith]

If you're willing to put a bit of work into it, a Call of Cthulhu adventure can work wonders as a one shot. I try to run one every year around Halloween.

Here is what I do:
1. Come up with an adventure outline. This year the PCs are all members of the Miskatonic University Gaming Guild. They have each won a free ticket to a Halloween RPG convention and cruise in the Bahamas.

2. Pre-gen two characters (7th level this time) per player. I'm holding back two feats and ten skill points from each character. When the players arrive they get to pick their character and provide name and description.

3. Create a secret for each player. Each secret will use the two feats and ten skill points. Additionally secrets can include spells, loss of sanity, and many other things. Balance is not an issue for me here. The secrets are randomly assigned to the players after characters are chosen. The players are not to reveal their secret to anyone including me.

4. Set the stage. I use oil lamps for lighting and play some soft music.

5. Start the game. Let the PCs interact in a 'normal' environment until you become tired of it, then hit them with the initial twist. Something minor, almost normal. This time it will be survivors in a lifeboat being picked up. The PCs are going to see a man wheeled by on a gurney - he is unconscious and being worked on by the ship's medics. A young girl is on the second gurney - she is conscious but pale and wears an old fashion dress. The girl looks at one of the PCs as she is wheeled past them.

5. a. The PC with secret 'A' gets to read and react appropriately to the first note in his secret.

6. Let things continue for a few minutes. Let the PCs react to this as they wish. If they ask the crew about the survivors, brush them off.

7. Then IT happens. Normalcy is ripped away. From here play it by ear. Drop in planned encounters and events as desired. Let the players drive the game spurring them on if you get bored or they seem lost.

8. Maps are not needed. But I did find some deck plans for this year as well as some photos of the ship I am using.

These have been some of the best role-playing experiences I have had. The players know they are almost certainly going to die or be driven insane, but most find that liberating. This is a great chance to shoot from the hip and let it rip! Enjoy yourself and encourage your players to enjoy themselves.

 

[DrNilesCrane]

Interesting outline, Shadowsmith. I'm looking more for an actual adventure: my regular campaign already requires quite a bit of prep time, so I'm shooting for recommendations of something that I could ready without a ton of work. Thanks for the suggestion though!

 

[Shadowsmith]

I guess the big questions are how long of a session are you looking for and how many players will you have?

My group is limited to sessions of about four hours maximum. Because of that published adventures really don't work for one shots.

If you're willing to do the conversions or simply run the original game, these are worth looking at.

 

[Remathilis]

Try This

http://www.goodmangames.com/5033preview.php

Remember the good old days, when adventures were underground, NPCs were there to be killed, and the finale of every dungeon was the dragon on the 20th level? Those days are back. Dungeon Crawl Classics adventures don’t waste your time with long-winded speeches, weird campaign settings, or NPCs who aren’t meant to be killed. Each adventure is 100% good, solid dungeon crawl, with the monsters you know, the traps you remember, and the secret doors you know are there somewhere.

For decades, the ruined mansion south of town has been the source of furtive whispers and ill omens. While many have forgotten the night the sky burned red and the old halls fell to flame, all know that now its grounds are a dead place, where only fools and the suicidal dare tread. Yet those who do remember that fateful night nearly forty years ago can tell another tale: a tale of generosity, good intentions, and an unlikely romance, but also of jealousy, blasphemous curiosity, and demoniac insanity. The mansion to the south wasn’t just some fop’s manor house, they say, but a hospital - an asylum of the insane. Now the heroes must infiltrate the long-abandoned, fire-scarred, and cursed halls of Haverthold Asylum. Can they put to rest the spirits that still stalk the ruin’s halls?

If you enjoy this adventure, look for the rest of the Dungeon Crawl Classics series!

Features:
* Includes Gates of Delirium, a complete soundtrack on CD specially cued to the adventure! Each room instructs the DM to cue the appropriate track, providing a truly immersive role playing experience.
* Produced in cooperation with the award-winning musicians from Midnight Syndicate.
* A truly unique adventuring experience that mixes puzzle-solving, mysteries, NPC interaction, and combat like you’ve never seen it before.
* Written by Dragon editor Wes Schneider with cover art by TSR legend Erol Otus.

Writer: F. Wesley Schneider
Cover Artist: Erol Otus
Back Cover Artist: Michael Erickson
Interior Artists: Ian Armstrong, Jason Edwards, Doug Kovacs, Cliff Kurowski, William McAusland, Brad McDevitt, Jesse Mohn, Stefan Poag
Cartographer: Jeremy Simmons

GMG5033. 64 pages plus CD. $24.99.

 

[Stormborn]

There used to be a free CoC d20 Adventure available on the Wizards web site by Monte Cook but I don't see it at the moment. Another alternative, although you didn't list d20M as an option but also free and perfect for Halloween, is Blood Sugar Although with a tiny bit of effort you might be able to use it with CoCd20.
If you have either Liber Mortis, Lords of Madness, or Heroes of Horror there are some scenario outlines, that while not full adventures are pretty close, that would also be perfect for Halloween.

 

[Glyfair]

While this isn't exactly what you are looking for, my favorite one-shot Halloween RPG adventure was in The Dragon. It had the players as boy scouts exploring a haunted house. Very fun.

While not quite one-shot like, Tegel Manor is a nice haunted house adventure that could easily have a one-shot scenario built around it.

 

[Garnfellow]

I had fun running Tomb of Horrors on a Halloween about 10 years ago. The 3.5 version is pretty fun, too -- and free.

 

[DrNilesCrane]

There's some ideas there - thank you! Hopefully this thread is useful for other folks planning a special one-shot too. Not sure what I'm doing yet, but checking out all the links above!

 

[Voadam]

I did the ravenloft 2e zombie module (I forget the name, Night of the Walking Dead?) in one long night taking over DMing for my friend's fantasy greek based campaign for a halloween type game and it went great. If you are willing to convert the 2e pdfs are available for $4 at www.paizo.com

A murderer, insanity, a horrible prophecy, and zombies! Worked great for me, couldn't say if your players have done it already though.