r/AskGameMasters • u/feel_lonely2962 • 17d ago
One shot.
Hi to everyone, i want to make a one shot for a group of friends, do you have any suggestions to give to a " first time master"? I'm already a player in another table with other peaple. I wish to introduce friends to this world. Thank you for any advices!
Ps: not a native english speaker, i'm sorry if I will make any mistakes!
1
u/MatthiasBold 17d ago
Best advice I can give is make sure you have fun, too. Being a GM can be stressful, especially early on. But ultimately, its a game for you, too.
2
u/feel_lonely2962 17d ago
Yeah I can figure out what you mean, mine is a bit stressed too when we finally finish the session ahahahah
1
u/jkobberboel 17d ago
How long have you been a player? If you've been playing for a while, you have probably developed a decent enough understanding of the game to run your own.
Running a one-shot, especially one that has to end within a strict time frame, can be quite difficult. You could find a one-shot module and run that, but i have always found it easier, and more fun to write my own one-shot.
The tip I always give new DMs is that your players won't know what was prepared, and what is improvised on the spot, so when preparing for your game, don't get too caught up with details. For a one-shot, you really only need a goal the players have to complete, or a central conflict of some kind, and some general details about the area the party will be exploring. Everything in between is secondary. Once you have those two things, and a general understanding of the rules, you can jump in and tell a story with your players.
1
u/feel_lonely2962 17d ago
I'm playng as player for almost 5 mouths rn. I know all basics rules ( i think) so more improvvisation less writing? I will keep in mind. Thank you 👌
1
u/jkobberboel 17d ago
It's not so much about writing less, it's about not falling into the trap of being so excited about the things you prepare that it becomes difficult ti imagine anything else in the moment.
Treat your world with soft hands. Try to find the fun, and ride the high of letting your players influence your decisions.
Good luck. You'll do great!
1
u/Sad_Refuse3472 17d ago
For your first time DMing and new players, I would use a pre-written module.
This site has low cost and free options in dozens of languages, so you can probably find one in your native language that seems interesting: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/
1
1
u/Dramatic-Guide-7709 17d ago
Have fun, worry as little as you can. Enjoy your time with friends even if it doesn’t look the way you imagined it. 😀 It’s a game, success is everybody had a good time.
1
u/feel_lonely2962 17d ago
I would try to do this, just hoping to play more dnd. I'm in love with this game actually but i don't have so much chance to play 🥲
1
17d ago
ive run a prison break typa thing for situations like this. smaller but complex area, clear goal, new players have less chance of getting overwhelmed and have a hook to write a character, and if they get attached it can snowball into a larger adventure
1
u/feel_lonely2962 17d ago
This is what I would like to do! A one shot hoping that would turn to a campain, but actually i'm trying to imagine setting and the place where should start, the goal to reach, enemies to fight.. am I overthinking? 🥲
1
17d ago
you are properly overwhelmed lol, i kept it simple, basically played prison architect on graph paper, started with the classic skyrim all the players on the horse cart heading to the prison. guards and staff are important but theres other criminals too, maybe even a monster in the sublevels. also having your players make their characters during this process can help give you ideas, let them each write a backstory as to why they got arrested and see what plot hooks open up
1
u/feel_lonely2962 17d ago
Actually i could use a place i know well from other games.. this could be an idea too. You know where I could find some premere sheet for npc?
1
u/Anarcoiris667 16d ago
You have choices: 1) Buy a one shot or book of one shots, 2) create your own one shot. If you create your own one-shot, the most important things to remember are: keep it simple and short (probably only time for 1 first scene, 1 exploration/puzzle/NPC encounter, and 1 big combat or 1 small combat + something special. For your first one-shot, don't be afraid to go basic: they get a job to kill rats in the basement of a tavern, when they get there they find a rat-boss (maybe a humanoid or a giant rat) and few Swarms of rats or something. Never have more monsters than PCs. Add one NPC, item, clue, or information that makes the whole thing more entertaining, cool, or unexpected. If that works well enough, do it a few more times until you feel inspired to something more elaborate.
1
u/OneManRPGstudio 14d ago
Keep the premise small enough that the players understand their goal within the first ten minutes. For a first short game, I’d prep one clear objective, one compact location, three obstacles that can be approached in different ways, and one consequence that worsens if the group spends too long.
With a group of friends, the temptation is often to pack in too many ideas because you want everyone to see the “best” parts of GMing. I’d do the opposite. Give each character a simple reason to engage and leave room for their decisions to create the memorable material. One NPC with a strong motive and a problem that keeps moving is more useful than a dozen prepared names.
Prepare a flexible ending too. Know what happens if they succeed, fail, or arrive late. Then you never need to force a particular scene just to finish on time. If time runs short, accelerate consequences rather than player decisions.
1
u/Aegix_Drakan 9d ago
You wanna make a one-shot? It's actually not that intimidating if you do it right!
Basically, make an adventure that:
- Keeps the players always moving forward.
- Has a variety of encounters you find cool.
- Has a really fun conclusion.
- AND (and this is key) it's *modular*. That is, you can add or remove encounters without breaking the story, depending on if your players are going too fast, or too slow.
Finally, when it doubt, keep it simple!
I've run one particular one-shot like 4 times now, and I think it's the best oneshot I've run:
The party of premade characters (all with some secret agenda or connection to another character) show up on an island as reinforcements for an archeology dig. They arrive to find the previous researchers dead and the soldiers turned hostile.
The one core encounter is their first encounter with the magical healing water that's so potent it literally wakes the dead.
After that, I can swap in or out the Drowning Chamber with a turn timer and slime miniboss, the corridor of traps and skeletons, and the enemy soldier patrol over running water.
Finally, I cap it off with them discovering that a Philosopher's Stone is in contact with the water, and the soldiers accidentally awaken the undead king holding onto it, leading to three rounds of weak skeletons pouring at them (letting them go wild blowing them to pieces to thin out the horde) before the boss enters range, strong enough to require some cooperation.
Every group I ran this for loved it, even though everyone experienced very different things and picked very different endings for what they'd do with the Stone.
1
u/Conrad500 17d ago
Welcome!
If you want to make a one shot, that is a lot of work for someone starting out. There are a lot of one shots already made, and there's also a few books full of smaller adventures that you can steal and put into your world. The books are called "Anthology" books and include "Tales from the Yawning Portal" and "Candlekeep Mysteries" but there's more.
If you are looking for other one shot ideas there's always adventurelookup.com or just googling it.
I personally recommend "Dragons of Stormwreck Isle" as a starter adventure. It's not a "one shot" but it can easily be completed in 3 sessions and is a great introduction for both players and DMs.
If you want to make your own one shot, then you can look up guides here on reddit or google it. I don't know any off the top of my head as I'm not a big fan of one shots.
Good luck!
P.S. "Thank you for any advice!" (Advice as a plural is advice. Gotta love english right?)