Gauntlet, about one-shots…
My one-shots always seem to turn into short arcs or full campaigns. I usually think of this as a good thing, as an indication that the players like the game and want more. However, I have been reflecting on the nature of a one-shot and am curious about what this community thinks.
What have been your best and worst one-shot experiences?
Should a one-shot aspire to be a campaign “teaser” with a cliff-hanging ending or should it instead have a clean ending with some plot resolution?
How does the community feel about pre-generating characters?
Should a GM feel justified taking a higher level of narrative control during a one-shot?
How do you begin your one-shots to create a sense of urgency?
How many players is the right number for a one-shot?
Have you found any success getting players involved during session prep?
What expectations around rules knowledge and rulings should be carried into a one-shot, especially when the system might be new?
Obviously, as in all things, there is no single “correct” way to run a one-shot. These questions are asked in the effort to learn from our shared experiences and about our shared expectations.
Also, other one-shot threads for reference:
Games tailored for One-Shots
https://plus.google.com/u/0/106205844654546121166/posts/FSwEfsYCuxd
Dungeon World One-shot Guide
https://plus.google.com/u/0/104787679004447304330/posts/STdGmDFteS8
Top 3 Games for one-shots
https://plus.google.com/u/0/+EadwinTomlinson/posts/cK1xFeT2CLN
Psi*Run is a great one-shot machine. In-game character development with built-in metrics for reaching the conclusion.
Psi*Run is a great one-shot machine. In-game character development with built-in metrics for reaching the conclusion.
I like the idea of one-shots being a preview of a longer arc, but there’s something very satisfying with a self-contained story.
I typically prefer 3-4 players for a regular game, but for a one-shot, more is manageable, though it depends on the game itself, mind you, because some games have procedures that add more time for each player added.
Best one-shot experience: Houses of the Blooded (absolutely fell in love with it).
Worst: Shadowrun, we might have been too ambitious to play it as a one-shot. It would have been better off being a two-session mission.
I like the idea of one-shots being a preview of a longer arc, but there’s something very satisfying with a self-contained story.
I typically prefer 3-4 players for a regular game, but for a one-shot, more is manageable, though it depends on the game itself, mind you, because some games have procedures that add more time for each player added.
Best one-shot experience: Houses of the Blooded (absolutely fell in love with it).
Worst: Shadowrun, we might have been too ambitious to play it as a one-shot. It would have been better off being a two-session mission.
I tend to run a lot of one-shots for my weekly game group, since we end up playing something different almost every week, and decide/pitch what to play on the night. If I know I’m going to be doing a one-shot I’ll try to get the players to generate characters ahead of time, but if that’s not possible I might do pre-gen characters. Most of the PBtA games generate pretty quickly though.
I will create a sense of urgency at the outset by starting the scene in medias res, maybe in a combat, or with a combat just about to start. If you want to play really hard, do some damage to some of the PCs. Show them the dead monsters they’ve killed, the rest shouldn’t be too much of a challenge, but once they’ve lost that first bit of HP players tend to take things pretty seriously. Also, this avoids a lot of introductory narrative.
I have a tendency to save cool ideas for later in my campaigns, which is a terrible habit. It’s even worse in one-shots. You need to keep the energy high, action and story moving, and cool things that you can put in front of the characters will energize their interest. Be careful, though, since putting things in front of them that have nothing to do with the story will distract and slow things down. You need almost every element of your story to relate to the plot (if you have a plot) and push it forward. Avoid distractions at any cost since you’ll only have a few hours to play.
Use narrative techniques to push through things that are not informative or plot-important. Don’t hesitate to narrate your way through an encounter that’s not as important, and don’t let your PCs get distracted by shopping or drinking unless that’s something you want to push the story forward.
That’s my advice. Hope this helps!
I tend to run a lot of one-shots for my weekly game group, since we end up playing something different almost every week, and decide/pitch what to play on the night. If I know I’m going to be doing a one-shot I’ll try to get the players to generate characters ahead of time, but if that’s not possible I might do pre-gen characters. Most of the PBtA games generate pretty quickly though.
I will create a sense of urgency at the outset by starting the scene in medias res, maybe in a combat, or with a combat just about to start. If you want to play really hard, do some damage to some of the PCs. Show them the dead monsters they’ve killed, the rest shouldn’t be too much of a challenge, but once they’ve lost that first bit of HP players tend to take things pretty seriously. Also, this avoids a lot of introductory narrative.
I have a tendency to save cool ideas for later in my campaigns, which is a terrible habit. It’s even worse in one-shots. You need to keep the energy high, action and story moving, and cool things that you can put in front of the characters will energize their interest. Be careful, though, since putting things in front of them that have nothing to do with the story will distract and slow things down. You need almost every element of your story to relate to the plot (if you have a plot) and push it forward. Avoid distractions at any cost since you’ll only have a few hours to play.
Use narrative techniques to push through things that are not informative or plot-important. Don’t hesitate to narrate your way through an encounter that’s not as important, and don’t let your PCs get distracted by shopping or drinking unless that’s something you want to push the story forward.
That’s my advice. Hope this helps!
I run lots of one-shots for the Meetup. Much depends on the game: For some, lots of players means more time with individual spotlights that lengthen play, and for others, pacing is structured around the number of players so it doesn’t matter. I always aim for the episodic or cinematic feel, so some games produce the pilot episode of an untold season (i.e. Urban Shadows), and others feel like a fully encapsulated movie (i.e. The Final Girl).
As far as advice, I say expectation-setting is key. Let players know the timeframe, ask them what they want to hit on and how they can help get there, and tell them any story elements / game mechanics unlikely to hit during a single session. When players know they have only one session to make their character pop, they tend to work to make each moment count.
I run lots of one-shots for the Meetup. Much depends on the game: For some, lots of players means more time with individual spotlights that lengthen play, and for others, pacing is structured around the number of players so it doesn’t matter. I always aim for the episodic or cinematic feel, so some games produce the pilot episode of an untold season (i.e. Urban Shadows), and others feel like a fully encapsulated movie (i.e. The Final Girl).
As far as advice, I say expectation-setting is key. Let players know the timeframe, ask them what they want to hit on and how they can help get there, and tell them any story elements / game mechanics unlikely to hit during a single session. When players know they have only one session to make their character pop, they tend to work to make each moment count.
If it’s advertised as a one-shot, it should be run with that in mind. Somehow it feels like false advertising if you don’t intend to bring it to a satisfying conclusion. (Or, to at least do your half of it.)
One of the ways to blow out the scope of something is to keep introducing new elements instead of forcing closure.
Among my best one-shot experiences was a World of Dirty Dungeons game where the players contributed all the opposition elements. Controlling the pacing was.. impossible, but this was offset by the players having enormous buy-in as a result of everything being recognizable. (OMG, that’s what you did with the guinea pigs?!) So yes, that’s a big win for getting players involved in session prep.
My toughest one-shot was probably a con game of Torchbearer, mostly ’cause the author was sitting in the same room, listening, and I was nervous. 🙂
If it’s advertised as a one-shot, it should be run with that in mind. Somehow it feels like false advertising if you don’t intend to bring it to a satisfying conclusion. (Or, to at least do your half of it.)
One of the ways to blow out the scope of something is to keep introducing new elements instead of forcing closure.
Among my best one-shot experiences was a World of Dirty Dungeons game where the players contributed all the opposition elements. Controlling the pacing was.. impossible, but this was offset by the players having enormous buy-in as a result of everything being recognizable. (OMG, that’s what you did with the guinea pigs?!) So yes, that’s a big win for getting players involved in session prep.
My toughest one-shot was probably a con game of Torchbearer, mostly ’cause the author was sitting in the same room, listening, and I was nervous. 🙂
Oh, and know how long you have to run the session! I know this sounds like silly advice, but I really tend to lose focus on the time when I’m enjoying the game. Decide how much time you want to allocate to each party of the story, and if you get behind start narrating through otherwise time intensive stuff. Do your best to stay on schedule! The wrist thing is to have an epic climax and not get to it due to time restraints. The most important part of a satisfying one-shot is the satisfying conclusion!
Oh, and know how long you have to run the session! I know this sounds like silly advice, but I really tend to lose focus on the time when I’m enjoying the game. Decide how much time you want to allocate to each party of the story, and if you get behind start narrating through otherwise time intensive stuff. Do your best to stay on schedule! The wrist thing is to have an epic climax and not get to it due to time restraints. The most important part of a satisfying one-shot is the satisfying conclusion!