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Guest 6801328
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You have an interesting definition of one-off.
Ok, one session. With ski/sleep breaks....
You have an interesting definition of one-off.
The Angry GM is not to everyone’s liking, but you may find his article about writing Christmas (And other holiday) themed adventures useful. Or you may hate it and ignore it completely, which is also valid. But either way, I think it’s worth linking to here:
A Very Special Adventure
One of my least favorite holiday traditions is the one wherein I get bombarded with requests to explain how to write a good a holiday adventure. Or at least outline one. And I can’t fight it …theangrygm.com
Personally, I think the save Santa premise will be great, especially for a group with a lot of new players, but I do think that the experience will be made much stronger if themes of community, goodwill, and faith (not necessarily religious faith, belief in the goodness of others is just as good if not better) are front and center. Saving Christmas by killing the bad guy can be fun, but saving Christmas by keeping hope and cheer alive is heartwarming and much more in line with the vibe of the Holliday.
Last year I had a carnivorous foul mouthed reindeer called Glory Wolf turn up and needed to sent home.I'm planning to run a one-off game, over several sessions, with some family over the holidays. Only some of the participants are familiar with D&D. Parameters are:
And...that's all I got so far.
- I'm going to hand them all pregens, each with a brief backstory.
- The game will start with the trope of being prisoners who must escape, both to let us jump straight into the story and to pre-answer the "why are we going on this adventure?" question.
- It's going to take place in the far north, in a world of ice and snow, probably mostly in a "dungeon".
- It will have some kind of a Christmas (possibly in the generic sense) theme. Maybe they have to rescue Santa Claus, or "Nicklaus", or whatever. Yes, I know that's a groan-eliciting cliché for most of us, and has been since about 1981, but it will be new for this audience.
- They won't be first level, but also not very high level. Somewhere 3-6 range.
- One or two of the players will be on the young side, so it can't be too dark/violent.
What are your ideas? Help me brainstorm this.
There was an added encounter with "snowbolds" (small snow elementals) on the way through the woods. Their main attack is to peck with their carrot noses. When killed, they turn into blobs of snow for one round, but they will re-form on the next round unless their hats are removed, either before killing them or while they are in the blob phase.
Maybe the PCs are in prison because they were picked up on suspicion of murder. To clear their names they must find the real Serial Killer who has been murdering Santa's elves...Maybe they have to rescue Santa Claus, or "Nicklaus", or whatever. Yes, I know that's a groan-eliciting cliché for most of us, and has been since about 1981, but it will be new for this audience.