D&D 5E Help me run a 90 min D&D 1-shot for 8 Girl Guides!

[Olaf the Stout]

Help me EN World, you're my only hope!

Ok, so I may not need help fighting the Empire, but I am in a spot of bother. I agreed to run a D&D one-shot for my daughters' Girl Guide group. Unfortunately the conditions are:

• I've got 90 mins to run the game
• There will be 8 players
• Girls are 14-16yo
• None of them have played D&D before.
• Combat is fine, but I'll likely need to sanitise the detail a little

Any suggestions for how I do this?

Obviously pre-gens are a definite. I was thinking around 1st-3rd level characters?

I'm also thinking cheat-sheets for combat may help so the girls have an idea of what they can do, especially as time will be limited.

Any idea for what I can run in 90 minutes?

With 8 players, it needs to be very quick, simple, and to the point and it's probably only 1, possibly 2 combats.

 

[overgeeked]

Help me EN World, you're my only hope!

Ok, so I may not need help fighting the Empire, but I am in a spot of bother. I agreed to run a D&D one-shot for my daughters' Girl Guide group. Unfortunately the conditions are:

• I've got 90 mins to run the game
• There will be 8 players
• Girls are 14-16yo
• None of them have played D&D before.
• Combat is fine, but I'll likely need to sanitise the detail a little

Any suggestions for how I do this?

Obviously pre-gens are a definite. I was thinking around 1st-3rd level characters?

I'm also thinking cheat-sheets for combat may help so the girls have an idea of what they can do, especially as time will be limited.

Any idea for what I can run in 90 minutes?

With 8 players, it needs to be very quick, simple, and to the point and it's probably only 1, possibly 2 combats.

With 8 players who have zero D&D experience? You're going to get maybe one combat if that's the only thing you do.

Ignore the cruch and just play with the idea of RPGs. Don't give them lots of spells or abilities. And 1st-level PCs only. There are just too many moving parts to expect 8 brand new players to get in 90 minutes and still be able to do anything remotely akin to actually playing the game.

I'd pick their brains for the kinds of stuff they'd be interested in. Design a quick 3-4 scene story around that. Roleplaying, skill use, and maybe something with an attack roll or two.

Definitely something in medias res to skip over all the awkward beginning stuff. Dive right in or your 90 minutes will disappear before you know it.

That's several really tight restrictions. Good luck.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

You might try something like Salted Legacy from Journeys through the Radiant Citadel.

Otherwise, here is a scenario: they are ghostbusters exploring a smallish haunted house. Don't worry about setting, it could be the real world. They encounter a spirit and cannot harm it. They flee (one of the pregens is a cleric, remind them they can turn undead, have them automatically succeed in driving off the spirit), go to the library, do some research, retrieve a magic weapon from the trapped crypt under the house and defeat the spirit. Da end.

Definitely make it 1st level, so they have fewer abilities to learn. At the end, tell them they "level up".

Another suggestion: Tide of Retribution from Explorers Guide to Wildemount. Doesn't matter if they don't finish this, there is plenty of action from the start.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

With 8 players who have zero D&D experience? You're going to get maybe one combat if that's the only thing you do.

Ignore the cruch and just play with the idea of RPGs. Don't give them lots of spells or abilities. And 1st-level PCs only. There are just too many moving parts to expect 8 brand new players to get in 90 minutes and still be able to do anything remotely akin to actually playing the game.

I'd pick their brains for the kinds of stuff they'd be interested in. Design a quick 3-4 scene story around that. Roleplaying, skill use, and maybe something with an attack roll or two.

Definitely something in medias res to skip over all the awkward beginning stuff. Dive right in or your 90 minutes will disappear before you know it.

That's several really tight restrictions. Good luck.

Yeah, I know that's a lot of tight restrictions!

Fortunately it's not my first rodeo. I've played for 20+ years and DM'd for a decade, so that will help, but it will still be tough.

With 8 teens that have never played before I'm going to need to play loose and fast and just go with it. No time to teach rules, or even spend time double checking them! En media res seems like an ideal way to start, maybe with a 30 second explanation to explain the set up beforehand.

Unfortunately I won't be able to pick their brains in advance. At best I can ask my daughters for ideas of what the girls might like. But with 8 girls, it's highly likely their interests will be all over the shop anyway.

If I go with 1st level PCs I may give them access to a couple of potions, just in case a couple of girls get knocked out early in combat. That wouldn't be much fun for that person otherwise.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

You might try something like Salted Legacy from Journeys through the Radiant Citadel.

Otherwise, here is a scenario: they are ghostbusters exploring a smallish haunted house. Don't worry about setting, it could be the real world. They encounter a spirit and cannot harm it. They flee (one of the pregens is a cleric, remind them they can turn undead, have them automatically succeed in driving off the spirit), go to the library, do some research, retrieve a magic weapon from the trapped crypt under the house and defeat the spirit. Da end.

Definitely make it 1st level, so they have fewer abilities to learn. At the end, tell them they "level up".

Another suggestion: Tide of Retribution from Explorers Guide to Wildemount. Doesn't matter if they don't finish this, there is plenty of action from the start.

I'll check out both of those adventures.

I do wonder if there is any D&D Adventurer's League adventures set up for something like this. They seem like the type of thing you'd want to get players into the action ASAP.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I'll check out both of those adventures.

I do wonder if there is any D&D Adventurer's League adventures set up for something like this. They seem like the type of thing you'd want to get players into the action ASAP.

All the AL adventures I’ve read are pretty bad, and geared towards experienced players.

 

[John Lloyd1]

For AL, try Volos Wake. It might still be free.

 

[dvstig]

90 min is a short time, especially for 8 players.
Personally, i go with a custom scenario, and honestly basically ignore the D&D ruleset. Give every character 1 unike special ability at will and maybe 2 strong special ability that are one use only. Resolve everything else as skillcheck and saves.

 

[Quickleaf]

Whatever order they sit in will determine “initiative.”

“You are a group of adventurers…” Give a clear start that implies what sort of characters they might be and how they know each other. Go around table and ask for brief description of their characters (no complex sheets - if you insist on using sheets there are simplified colorful kids sheets that I recommended, don’t have link atm on phone).

Take note of each - think about each PC’s core competency (+5), what they might be ok at (+2), everything else +0 (if possible at all). Warrior types get 12 hp, magic-user types 6 hp, everyone else 9 hp. Spells are ad hoc based on the “meeting” of the girls’ creativity & your game knowledge.

Use Monsters on an Index Card.

Frame the conflict, and improvise. Set clock for 60 minute mark when something big changes and you start hastening toward a satisfying conclusion.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

90 min is a short time, especially for 8 players.
Personally, i go with a custom scenario, and honestly basically ignore the D&D ruleset. Give every character 1 unike special ability at will and maybe 2 strong special ability that are one use only. Resolve everything else as skillcheck and saves.

Yeah, super aware of that. And I think you’re right about needing to ignore most of the rules. The rule of fast decisions will be my guide as DM, especially as it will be a challenge to keep all the girls engaged in the game when there is very little individual screen time with 8 players.