BookTenTiger
He / Him
Most of the players can't make it to the game tonight, so I offered to run a one-shot for the one remaining player and the DM. Rather than plan out something in advance, or use a published adventure, I'm going to improvise the game tonight. BUT I'm going to create a structure in advance to help my improvised game!
I'm going to be using my Dragon's Hoard System that I detailed in this thread here.
I've got this structure written down in my notebook. Once I've established who the characters are, I will take a few minutes to jot down loose ideas. I'm planning out three scenes, knowing I might just get to two of them. Each scene might be a social, exploration, or combat scenario, depending on how the characters approach it. The goal tonight is to create a satisfying narrative with a definitive ending.
Right now I'm just planning the structure, but I will update this after the adventure to let you know how it went!
One-Shot Adventure
Dragon's Hoard: What is the goal of the adventure, or the win condition?
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Dragon: What is preventing the characters from achieving their goal?
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Cave: Where do the characters need to be in order to achieve their goal?
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Sword: What object or information do the characters need to access the Cave, defeat the Dragon, or find the Hoard?
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Old Man in the Tavern: Who or what is the source of information that launches the adventure?
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Once I've written down an idea for each of those, I will then translate it into a loose three-act structure, with a brief phrase idea for how it could play out as a Social, Exploration, or Combat scenario. For example, if the characters need to get a magic axe from an ogre, it could lead to Tricking the Ogre (social), Sneaking Past the Ogre (exploration), or Fighting the Ogre (combat). I don't need to plan much more than that, because I can just follow the lead of the players.
For each scene though, I want a brief plan of what will happen if they succeed, and what will happen if they fail. Since this is a one-shot, I want to focus on failing forward. So in the above scenario, success means they get the magic axe. Failure might mean they get the magic axe, but it's broken and will shatter after its first use!
Scene 1
Social:
Exploration:
Combat:
Success:
Failure:
Scene 2
Social:
Exploration:
Combat:
Success:
Failure:
Scene 3
Social:
Exploration:
Combat:
Success:
Failure:
I'm going to be using my Dragon's Hoard System that I detailed in this thread here.
I've got this structure written down in my notebook. Once I've established who the characters are, I will take a few minutes to jot down loose ideas. I'm planning out three scenes, knowing I might just get to two of them. Each scene might be a social, exploration, or combat scenario, depending on how the characters approach it. The goal tonight is to create a satisfying narrative with a definitive ending.
Right now I'm just planning the structure, but I will update this after the adventure to let you know how it went!
One-Shot Adventure
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
Once I've written down an idea for each of those, I will then translate it into a loose three-act structure, with a brief phrase idea for how it could play out as a Social, Exploration, or Combat scenario. For example, if the characters need to get a magic axe from an ogre, it could lead to Tricking the Ogre (social), Sneaking Past the Ogre (exploration), or Fighting the Ogre (combat). I don't need to plan much more than that, because I can just follow the lead of the players.
For each scene though, I want a brief plan of what will happen if they succeed, and what will happen if they fail. Since this is a one-shot, I want to focus on failing forward. So in the above scenario, success means they get the magic axe. Failure might mean they get the magic axe, but it's broken and will shatter after its first use!
Scene 1
Social:
Exploration:
Combat:
Success:
Failure:
Scene 2
Social:
Exploration:
Combat:
Success:
Failure:
Scene 3
Social:
Exploration:
Combat:
Success:
Failure: