D&D 5E How do I one-shot?

[Fralex]

I've been trying unsuccessfully to convince my friends to play D&D with me all semester. The semester is almost over now, but there is hope! A new friend I made says she and her friends have been wanting to play a game but aren't experienced enough to DM. I offered to make an adventure for them, but I'm worried! I've never been that good at making games that don't take forever, especially RPGs! To my memory, only ONE adventure I DMed has ever been finished, and even that must've taken at least a month. My friend seemed to be implying this would be a one-day thing, so I want to run something we can actually finish in a day. She hasn't given me many details yet, but let's assume this means I have around four or five hours to work with, and that character creation will be done beforehand. I have some story ideas, but how do I make sure they can fit in the time allotted?

 

[cmad1977]

Think small and keep it simple would be my advice.
Don't make plans that include multi part story arcs.
Don't be super strict about rules etc.
Say 'yes and...' Or 'yes but...'when a player wants to do something fun/crazy.
Rule of cool.

Have fun.

 

[Dausuul]

First thing: Everything will take longer than you think it will. I have learned that plotting one-shots requires me to keep the adventure tight. No side quests, no subplots, no B-plots. Give the party a well-defined goal and lay out a straight, clear road from start to finish. Also, I strongly recommend establishing the mission before the game begins; tell everybody, "Okay, you're going to be playing adventurers on a quest to slay the evil necromancer who's been raising zombies to overrun the kingdom." Then you don't have to spend the first hour mucking around in a tavern trying to convince everybody to go on the quest. Plan a few combats and a few social encounters, and be ready to cut some on the fly if you're short on time.

Second thing: Players being what they are, no matter how straight and clear a road you lay out, they may decide to go haring off in the opposite direction. Whatever they do, roll with it. This may entail junking your carefully honed plot and spending the whole night roleplaying the consequences of somebody setting fire to the inn. That's cool! The freedom to go where you want and do what you want is the heart of what makes RPGs fun. Just keep the action coming fast and don't get hung up on the rules.

 

[1of3]

Don't do character creation on sight. Either have them mail you the characters in advance or you bring characters for them.

 

[AverageCitizen]

When I do one-shots with new people, I make pregens based on exciting fantasy portraits I find online. That way, they can just pick the picture they like best, and what you see is what you get. I also name them, and fill in their Ideals, Bonds and Flaws with things that will tie them into the adventure. That way you can skip character creation and deciding how the party gets together. You can get straight to the action.

Also, end with a hook for another adventure. I find that if you do the above, people come back for more.

 

[Fralex]

'K, sounds like good advice so far. I tend to be fairly laid-back when it comes to rule adjudication and deciding what players can do, so that shouldn't be an issue. I'm gonna message her for details about how we'll do character creation.

Whatever happens, I'll tell you guys how it goes! I want there to be more campaign stories on this site!

 

[Gilladian]

I recommend two things:
1) start "in media res". Skip the whole tavern thing. "You are standing in front of the gates to the Dungeon of Doom. It has taken you six weeks of travel to get here from the Last City on the Shore. You are seeking the Great Emerald Eye of Belevere, which has been lost for a thousand years. Oh, my, what's that crashing noise? Giant Lizards? They're almost here! What do you do now?"

2) the 5 room dungeon. Read about it here: http://www.roleplayingtips.com/readissue.php?number=156#1

 

[Quickleaf]

[MENTION=6785902]Fralex[/MENTION] New(ish) players and 4-5 hours of gaming? I go by the Rule of Three Encounters & Prepping to Improvise in situations like that.

Basically, have three encounters planned that provide a good mix of combat, exploration, and interaction. I like to go with Rising Action, A Plot Twist, and Climax. Between PC meet and greet, getting familiar with the rules, and table talk this can fill up most of our time when running for new players.

Have a DM cheat sheet / DM screen and a list of NPC names at a minimum to help with improvising anything that happens outside those three encounters.

Once you reduce things to the basics like this it's actually quite liberating, especially if you're more of the heavy planning / intricate plots kind of DM like me.

 

[Fralex]

OK, so I was just talking with her, and her group is actually more experienced than I realized. They're new to 5th edition, but they've played RPGs before and shouldn't need my help making characters. I sent her links to the UA articles I thought were cool.

She said 4-5 hours sounded reasonable, so I'll go with that.

My basic story idea is based on something I heard someone else say on the WotC forums. A necromancer has created an immortal toad, angering the God of Amphibians and Bookshelves. Now the necromancer's town is experiencing a plague of giant frogs. I'll prolly work in bullywugs somewhere.

 

[Rocksome]

You're only going to need the most basic plot. Maybe even the classic "You're all sitting in a tavern when the door bursts open and man stumbles through. He only manavesnto say the words "Orcs... Old Mill" before he collapses from the arrows in his back."

No secrets. No discoveries. Just a defense of the town from raiders. If they love it and want to play more, plant a mysterious letter on the head raider.