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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Imaculata" data-source="post: 7577019" data-attributes="member: 6801286">For one-shots, I like to keep it all very simple. Time is precious, so get the basic premise out of the way quick, and get the group together even quicker. The plot is usually not very complex, and I focus instead on interesting obstacles and situations. I try to include a little bit of everything from what one expects in D&D: social interactions with npc's, dungeoneering, combat, skillchecks. I'm not as good at bringing a one-shot to a satisfying conclusion, so I tend to leave some of that open to improv. I then discard locations that are less important, in order to finish the session where I want it to end. For example, I wrote a 4 hour one-shot for first level newb players, where the PC's are trying to escape a prison-ship. They can gather allies among other npc prisoners, but this is strictly optional. The ship is attacked by ghost pirates in the middle of their escape, causing it to sink, which leads to a thrilling escape where sharks swim into the ship. I decided to scratch a few rooms in the ship to make the session end on an exciting cliffhanger. This cliffhanger could then theoretically be used for a follow up session (if they wanted one), but I made sure it was also a good ending.</blockquote>