D&D 5E What's Everyone Playing for their "Halloween Game?"

[AtomicPope]

I'm gonna TRY to run Ravenloft I6 for the first time. Doing it in 5e. Kinda nervous about that map. Not looking forward to making a bunch of pre-gens.

I too am playing in a 5e conversion of the original Ravenloft I6. A buddy of mine owns a gamestore so we'll be playing in his store 'til the wee hours. Making the pregens is actually pretty easy. For the first time as a DM you'll be able to populate the table with the characters that NEED to be played, a balanced group of characters with a thoughtful backstory. Some simple things to keep in mind:
1) Balance the group based on the encounters they'll face. There's no sense creating a character whose abilities won't be used or will be overshadowed by other characters in the group.
2) Level the characters up according to their themes, roles, and adventure before hand. This allows the game to move forward quickly while the characters are not picking spells or abilities that will not be used in the game. Just like in the Basic Rules.
3) Don't be afraid to hand out a magic item to starting characters. Again, this accentuates their uniqueness, enhances their ability to play within their role, and also eases the player's misgivings about pregens. You'll be surprised on how fast a player changes his mind when he discovers his cleric has a useful magic item.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

I always forget about approaching holidays, even the ones I like such as Halloween, so I never think to actually plan a themed game...

However, this year things have managed to simply work out without me realizing it: so long as our regularly scheduled session can go ahead on the 30th, the events of that night's session will be the crew ending up in possession of a powerful evil idol in a Maltese Falcon meets Cthulhu Mythos scenario in which they will have to figure out how to deal with the other parties that want the idol, and how to destroy it before it drives them insane... and it is also a Shadowrun game, so it's even more of a genre-mash-up, and dark enough in tone that maybe the players will consider it Halloween appropriate.

If attendance doesn't work out, Plan B is to break out a board game... most of which I own are horror themed (Mansions of Madness, Elder Sign, and Betrayal at House on the Hill being the favorites).

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I ran I6 for Halloween, hrm, two years ago. I'll agree, those isometric maps were really tricky for me to keep sorted. But it's definitely filled with all sorts of spooky goodness.

I also ran it in one session, albeit a long one. In retrospect, I should’ve taken more time with it.

I'm gonna TRY to run Ravenloft I6 for the first time. Doing it in 5e. Kinda nervous about that map. Not looking forward to making a bunch of pre-gens.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

Normally I like playing Castle Ravenloft or another Ravenloft one-shot.

This year I'm likely playing a game of FATE, with my players being the local franchise of the Ghostbusters.

The franchise rights alone will make us rich beyond our wildest dreams!

 

[Jenks3]

I'm actually putting D&D down for a night and running a Trail of Cthulhu one shot. Gonna be fun.

 

[shoak1]

See attached pics. The PCs are infiltrating a Drow blood cult deep within a Drow city.

 

[pukunui]

I'm going to run the Neverlight Grove chapter from Out of the Abyss as a standalone adventure.

 

[Agamon]

I'm playing a game I like to call, "Move to a New City"

The horror!

 

[Bawylie]

I've already got my Christmas game out but people are complaining...

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Nice call, that’s a very creepy section. Perhaps even moreso when taken out of context.

I'm going to run the Neverlight Grove chapter from Out of the Abyss as a standalone adventure.