D&D 5E Advice for one-shots

[LordEntrails]

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These are RPG newbies, and I'd really like to get them involved in at least one substantial RP scene to give them a taste for that and playing in character, and at least one scene that leverages the system and mechanics but showcases something different than combat.

I like the idea of two combats - one to get their feet wet and develop a feel for the mechanics and rhythm of it and then a harder one later(/ending) to give them the thrill of overcoming a real challenge.

I just worry about how to fit all that in on a short time budget.
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It's going to be tough timewise. I see the following events/encounters for you.

1) A RP encounter like you want. This could be revealing the plot or mission type of thing. i.e. a meeting with a lord or such where you have to convince them (or vice-versa) to give you the mission. Or, the party has to interrogate a neutral powerful figure to learn the info of where to go (i.e. convince the person to tell them where the goblin hideout is). You will have to be careful on the time allowed for this and be prepared to give them so info they may not think to ask for etc.

2) A quick combat, aim for 2-3 rounds in length. It should give everyone a quick entry to combat. (2 and 3 could easily be switched.)

3) A complex trap (you could think of as a skill puzzle or challenge). They come to a room that has swinging blade, or pressure plate or something that they can detect. So they know they have to then use their skills to figure out how to get through it.

4) The boss fight.

 

[Imaculata]

My advise would be to think about which sections of the adventure are optional, or can be shortened or stretched for time. As Iserith said, 30 mins should be enough to get all of the character introductions out of the way (and make sure everyone has their character sheets ready, so you don't lose more time there). If you have a good idea regarding how long the one-shot needs to be, then you can start looking at how everything else fits into that tight time frame.

You'll probably want one or two battles in there, but battles tend to take up a lot of time (especially if some of the players are new to D&D). So plan ahead, and think about which fights could be shrunk, or dropped entirely for time. Same with exploration. If the players have to explore a dungeon/building, don't make it too large, and think about which rooms could be dropped entirely to save time. Some monster-encounters could be optional, or you could throw in extra monsters, in rooms that did not originally have them. Allow yourself to be this flexible in changing the campaign to fit the time you have.

Especially encounters with npc's give you a lot of control regarding time and pacing. A conversation with an npc could easily be dragged out a bit to fill some time, or be cut short by a sudden plot development. You could leave out non-essential npc's on the fly, and push the adventure towards its finale a bit faster, if so desired.

I did a 4 hour one-shot a while ago, which followed this basic plot structure:

Introduction (roleplaying):

-The players are imprisoned on a ship, along with other prisoners.
-The players introduce their characters, and talk to npc's.
-The players meet their cruel captors.
-The players attempt to escape their prison. Success is optional.

The escape (exploration and combat)

-The prison ship is attacked by an unknown foe and starts sinking.
-Escaping the prison is now easy, but escaping the sinking ship is the real challenge.
-Swimming checks and holding their breath.
-The players must deal with any remaining guards, and with sharks that swim into the ship.
-Any prisoners the players have befriended, help them in the challenges here.
-The players may or may not have to overcome a skill challenge to deal with rumble.

Finale and epilogue

-The players escape the sinking ship and are rescued by the attackers, ghost pirates.
-They meet the friendly ghost captain, who asks the players for their help.
-The one-shot ends with an open ending, with the option to continue it in a second one-shot.

 

[iserith]

These are RPG newbies, and I'd really like to get them involved in at least one substantial RP scene to give them a taste for that and playing in character, and at least one scene that leverages the system and mechanics but showcases something different than combat.

I like the idea of two combats - one to get their feet wet and develop a feel for the mechanics and rhythm of it and then a harder one later(/ending) to give them the thrill of overcoming a real challenge.

I just worry about how to fit all that in on a short time budget.

The exploration challenge is basically handled as long as you involve scenes where the PCs can stealth around, search for secret stuff (doors, compartments), and interact with a trap. Maybe throw an overland travel scenario in there at the front end if you want to make getting to the adventure location in a timely fashion (or without expending resources) a thing.

I would suggest the social interaction challenge be a gatekeeper somewhere in the adventure location. Like there's a ghost or a devil or the like guarding the way into the final leg of the dungeon. Negotiating one's way through is the path forward and the challenge is figuring out the NPC/monster's trait, ideal, bond, and flaw, then using those to manipulate them into getting what they want. Since it's a chokepoint in the adventure, failure will have to be success at a cost or something like that.