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Running One-Shot RPG Sessions


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The cardinal sin that a game master can commit when trying to run a one-shot session is wasting time. If you only have two hours or three hours to play and you know there is going to be no continuing campaign afterward, you must give your players the excitement and the climax right out of the gate.

Here’s some advice to help you run a one-shot RPG session. (Keep scrolling for one-shot adventures and resources.)

Cut to the action

Cut to the action and skip anything that is unnecessary or boring or bogs down the game.

Start your players in combat. This helps break the ice and get the players going quickly as well as usually helps them gel together as a team.

If you decide to start with something other than combat then just narrate it. Set the scene and then move on to a place where the players can take some serious action and can make some serious decisions that will affect the story.

Start as close to the climax as you can

Also in a one-shot session, it is important to start as close to the climax as possible. This allows your players to have the most fun during the session. 

Simply imagine if you’re going to run a one-shot and you start all the way at the beginning when a character is learning first how to shoot a gun or use a lightsaber or fly a Starship. If there’s not some type of climax then you will spend a lot of time doing semi-interesting things but never reach the point players would experience during a longer campaign.

If you need to kill Dracula, put them as close to killing Dracula as possible. If your players are going to explore a dungeon, start them in the dungeon. Do not spend time on why they were hired and the journey to the dungeon, if the dungeon is the climax. Why they were hired and why they accepted the job can be narrated.

Cut the player discussion short

Sometimes players can get a little chatty at the table. If you’re running a long campaign or you have 5 or 6 hours to play this may not be an issue and can actually be kind of fun just catching up with people or discussing the game out of character.

However, if you only have an hour or two or three to play your session then do not be afraid to cut the player discussion short. If somebody is getting a little long-winded and the story is not moving forward or no one is role-playing, take responsibility as the Gamemaster to nudge them along to get things moving.

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Avoid in-game shopping and planning

 Some quick rules of thumb for one-shot sessions would be to avoid shopping and long planning sessions.

If your players need equipment. Find some other way to get them the equipment without them having to shop and negotiate with shopkeepers. Have the equipment already supplied. Have it in a chest waiting for them. Anything but shopping.

Also, long planning sessions can be a drag on campaigns let alone a one-shot. If the players need their characters to assault a fortress don’t allow them to sit and talk about a plan of attack for an hour. Then only realize that you have an hour to play through an entire attack on the Fortress.

Let the players have some agency and come up with their strategies and tactics during the game. But don’t let it devolve into a long discussion involving back and forth between various factions as they’re trying to figure everything out. If you notice planning is taking longer than 10 minutes cut it short.

Warning: making characters will take all of your time

no prep gming

This one is a cautionary warning. If you’re coming together for a one-shot RPG session and there are no characters prepared you are asking for trouble.

Of course, if you’re playing a system where you can create a character within say 20 minutes then you’re fine. However, there are many systems that take an hour or two (or more) to create a character. And character creation can be stretched out even longer if you have to explain the rules to five people.

For one-shots in systems where character creation is more involved, never underestimate the power of pre-generated characters. If you are able to hand your players pre-generated characters you can bring them right into the story and start the session quickly.

Running One-Shot Takeaways

  • Don’t waste time
  • Cut to the action
  • Begin close to the climax
  • Cut planning and discussion short
  • Use pre-generated characters

Resources for Running RPG One-Shots

D&D 5e One-Shot Adventures