Planning a 3-Night RPG (and hiking) getaway (recommendations needed!)

[BookTenTiger]

Hey all! This February I'm renting a cabin near the redwoods in Northern California and a bunch of my old gaming buddies and I are reuniting for a three-night get together. The plan is to hike during the day and play TTRPGs at night.

It looks like, depending on the day, we will have between 6 and 9 folks at the cabin. I'm trying to brainstorm some games that would be good for this event. The players are familiar with D&D (3rd, 4th, and 5th Editions), FATE, and Dread.

But I was thinking of putting together a list of good one-shot games of different genres. I know there's Kids on Bikes and Monster of the Week. Which others would you recommend?

On the other hand, it might be fun to play out a story over two or three nights using D&D, Ironsworn, or another game!

Also we will definitely have enough people to run a few games at the same time, so that's something to consider.

Anyways, I've got plenty of time but it's something fun to think about! Any recommendations, thoughts, or similar experiences?

 

[aco175]

I'm not sure if hiking all day means you are out of the cabin for 8-12 hours and return to cook and sleep. This might mean that games should be limited to 4 hours each night. If hiking is secondary and means only 4-6 hours each day, then games could be an afternoon and evening session- similar to a convention set-up.

 

[BookTenTiger]

I'm not sure if hiking all day means you are out of the cabin for 8-12 hours and return to cook and sleep. This might mean that games should be limited to 4 hours each night. If hiking is secondary and means only 4-6 hours each day, then games could be an afternoon and evening session- similar to a convention set-up.

It'll be February, so shorter days. Weather on the California coast could be perfect or rainy. But I think 4 hour games are a perfect idea.

 

[GMMichael]

The players are familiar with D&D (3rd, 4th, and 5th Editions), FATE, and Dread.

But I was thinking of putting together a list of good one-shot games of different genres. I know there's Kids on Bikes and Monster of the Week. Which others would you recommend?

Have you tried Modos RPG yet? It rolls contests like D&D, uses aspects like Fate, and the Dread tower would be an awesome modification to its extended conflict rules.

Anyway, it would be especially useful on a limited-time weekend because you can layer on its modules based on how in-depth the players want to get, and character sheets are relatively simple.

 

[BookTenTiger]

Have you tried Modos RPG yet? It rolls contests like D&D, uses aspects like Fate, and the Dread tower would be an awesome modification to its extended conflict rules.

Anyway, it would be especially useful on a limited-time weekend because you can layer on its modules based on how in-depth the players want to get, and character sheets are relatively simple.

Thanks for the recommendation, I will definitely check it out!

 

[innerdude]

Tiny D6 is perfect for this sort of thing, if your players are willing to let you as GM do a lot of the heavy lifting of worldbuilding and "Rulings and not rules" style of play. I think I like Tiny Frontiers (sci-fi) a little bit better than Tiny Dungeons (fantasy), but anything in the series would work. For a one shot, you might go with Tiny Wastelands (post-apoc, Fallout, Mad Max, etc.) or Tiny Mecha (Mechwarrior, Macross Saga, etc.).

I know you're a fan of Ironsworn (I am too, of course ); I'd bet Starforged or Sundered Isles would be great in this circumstance.

The One Ring's beginner box setup would also be perfect for this, with a pre-set adventure and character sheets where everyone plays a hobbit and the action is limited to the area of the Shire.

 

[sevenbastard]

Grab an old B/X or 1e module. They are made for 8 or 9 PC and combat moves fast. You could probably knock out G1, G2 and G3, or Ravenloft, or B2. Plus they usually come with Pre Gens.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

Alone in a cabin, eh? Seems like a good recipe for something horror. What about that Jenga-building horror game??? It's called Dread and it's supposed to be pretty amazing.

Also, I don't know who you're trying to fool: you will game for 18 hours, sleep for 4 and hike for 2. It will be 1 hour of actual hiking. The other hour will be walking to get more snacks.

 

[hawkeyefan]

The Alien RPG might be a good option. You can run what they call a cinematic scenario in an evening or two. It’s also a pretty easy game to grasp quickly, and each of the adventure scenarios they sell comes with several pregens.

I’d also recommend Eat the Reich. It’s intended for a short game of a few sessions, so you can probably fit the whole thing in. You play vampire commandos dropped into occupied Paris during WWII with the mission to kill Hitler. It may max out at 5 players though, but you said multiple games may be needed. It’s basically a non-stop romp and should be fun.

Call of Cthulhu or Delta Green may work, as well, if you want something a bit more grim or creepy. You can find scenarios for each that can be run in 1-3 sessions.

Maybe Lady Blackbird or one of the other free games linked there? They’re all story games that are meant to be played as short campaigns. Again, pregenerated characters, short rules, and they’re all free.