D&D 5E Creating My Very Own One Shot

[Jward4]

So here it goes. I've only played D&D 4 times and DMed once, all 5e. (For maybe a total of 20 hours). We were playing a quest from the book we bought from a local game store but my buddy that owned the book moved so we haven't played in over year.

So... I've totally been winging it and creating a "one shot" for my buddies. So I'm hoping to get some feed back and maybe some ideas...? Sorry, I'm a newbie and i apologize if I murder the lingo...

I've created a map using Dungeon Painter Studio. IDK if I should convert to PDF and print it out? or send it to my buddies (2 players) via e-mail and let them see it? Or if that will give too much away?

I've created all the NPCs for the map using random NPC generators and given them each special little touches with personalities and quests to give the players. NPCS: Mayor, (main villain), his bodyguard, 3 town guards (2 evil in line with the mayor and they try to set up the good guard to get killed) , Inn Keeper that pay to 'get rid' of a drunk, Drunk (evil, in line with the mayor), that is in possession of a stolen item of the black smith, Blacksmith that hires the party to search for a stolen item, Ferrier, fisherman, Procurer (illegal weapon/drug dealer) and local church leader with his following.

Story, the Mayor calls in 2 heroes to deal with a local cult that he is accusing of making people disappear. He points the finger at the local church (that worships an evil god to make the heroes kind of hate them) and says 'take care of them' the local church DOES worship an evil God but they arnt actually the cause of the people disappearing, the Governor is. I'm giving them the option to utterly murder this church and its followers or talk with em, find out its the Gov and go take care of them.

I feel likes its kind of all over the place but I dont want it to be too simple I guess...?

Any pointers?

 

[Dan Chernozub]

Okay, that sounds better than most of the first-timer modules I've heard of but I guess to get better feedback you will have to provide more info.

The first question is - how long do you want this to take? What is the starting level? What level do you think this adventure will end at? if you know your players well what is the kind they enjoy? What are their expectations?

I would really like to answer your questions directly but there are just to many "ifs", especially with just two players.

Would try to stay in the thread and answer any questions you have. I suggest that getting in tune with your players' expectations would probably do your module more good than anything else.

 

[Jward4]

The first question is - how long do you want this to take? What is the starting level? What level do you think this adventure will end at? if you know your players well what is the kind they enjoy? What are their expectations?

My friend is checking his storage locker to see if we still have out old character sheets, if so they will be lvl 4s. If we do not find them they will roll new chars and bump to level 4.

I was looking at CR and random encounter generators for the battles to get a good idea of how much XP and random loot drops for items/GP to drop. I'm hoping it will take 'at least 4hrs' and maybe 2-3 levels gained? I'm actually unsure of how many battles/XP I should divy out to players.

I've been listening to a funny D&D Pod Cast Adventure Zone, There be Gerblins and googling anything I can for more info.

IDK how to attach my map (It's from Dungeon Painter Studio Beta)

 

[Imaculata]

I would advise to keep the map sort of a surprise until you start playing. If you would like to share it with us and post it in this thread, you can use the basic uploader for that. Just click the little "Insert Image" icon (it's among the row of icons above the comment box when you make a new post), and you'll be presented with a pop up where you can choose to upload a picture. It will then be inserted automatically in your post. Just make sure the image is in a common format that is supported by this site, such as a jpg.

For a one-shot this is definitely better than what we usually see on these boards. You can let the players approach this as a detective, where they talk to various people and gather clues. Just be sure that there is enough incentive for your players to engage with the plot. Also make sure there are multiple outcomes. Maybe some characters are gray, and help, or work against the players, depending on how they act. Maybe there are multiple clues for the players to find, and not all of them are required, but all advance the plot towards the big conclusion. Never expect the players to find everything.

 

[Dan Chernozub]

If you are speaking of the map of the settlement I would say it is better to share it. As this is going to be a short game, giving players a clear idea what are the place of interest will really speed up the process.

Getting from lvl 4 to lvl 5 is quite a lot of XP, so for a short (relatively) game, I would aim at just having 1 lvl up.

You can also use milestone experience and just give them a level-up at the end.

If you have complex relations between NPCs I would suggest making a map of relations to be able to pick up on the fly how X will react on information regarding Y.

A couple of guards doesn't look like much trouble for a level 4 party of 2. Be careful with creating big groups of monsters, as those can overwhelm a small group due to action economy.

For stats of NPCs, the appendix in the MM is a good point to start - it has a lot of different templates that can be quickly altered for satisfying results.