Rethinking the One-Shot Game
(From a journal entry in January 2021)
Earlier this year I was preparing to play in a friend’s one-shot game, the popular “Honey Heist” by Grant Howitt and highly recommended for a fun day of play. I had a lot of fun pulling my character together, tailored for the event - my Aussie drop-bear named Doyle, in rehab for “rage-a-holics anonymous” - but more on him another time. The preparation got me seriously reconsidering how I’ve been running one-shots. I am planning to run one-shots as introductions to the game of Dungeons and Dragons for newcomers, plus possibly to use them as fun, diversionary “side-quests” for veteran players down the line. Then as the day approached it hit me like a bolt of lighting - I realised how I’ve been preparing one-shots the same way as I have been for a long term campaign, and therefore I have been way off track!
Why have a One-Shot game?
First, what are the needs and goals of a “one-shot” game? You’ll be running one for any number of reasons - whether a last-minute adaptation to losing / gaining a few players, a targeted break from a larger campaign for your gaming group, or preparing something simple for into a convention session. Every one-shot game has some common elements that if you know, can help hugely with your planning and game delivery.
One-shots need:
To be “Ready to play”, that is, to pick up and play easily, especially if they are to be replayable
To be “Fast to play”, and have simple, short scenarios - rather than deeply drawn stories - that can be completed within 2-5 hours (and include breaks for 3+ hours)
To be “Rules-light”, easy to play, simple storylines and DM notes to run them. If you are running a game with a clear rules system (e.g., Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, or Fate Core), be sure you are clear about what basic vs optional / house rules are in play.
To be “Tools-light”, requiring few props/tools (e.g., dice, minitures, pencils, erasers) and be easy to print / pack, within minutes
To be “Character-light”, with simplified character creation or pre-generated sheets ready to choose from and to play
To have “Style”, a clear sense of the type of game being played (a fun caper, or gritty battle, or moody ghost story)
To “Start engagingly”, perhaps with a fun quick icebreaker/activity to introduce player bonding quickly,
To have High Stakes, a story with a challenge to the world the player’s characters live in, so that they are keen to get involved and meet / overcome the challenge
To “Finish satisfyingly”, to be able to have a scene that bookends the beginning and provides a couple of options for endings that feel suitable to this style of story
Expanding on the scenario, the style of the game and the needs of the story for a short and sharp one-shot. The overall Story needs:
Few scenes, so it can develop and wrap easily within 2 to 5 hours. I’ve learned toaim for scenes that play out over ~30-45 minutes each, plus introduction and wrap scenes of ~5-10 minutes each. Factor +50% extra time will be needed for groups of 6+
Powerful Scenes, strong enough to stand out and get a sense of the style
Player Investment in Characters
Something that then came up for me was about characters, and helping manage the expectations of the players who are coming into the game. Before I could refine it, I had some questions to consider.
First, do you provide Pre-generated characters? If you don’t get your players creating their own characters for the one-shot, do they really get invested in the game? I love players who are invested in their characters for any game, as it means several things:
Players step out of themselves for a while by stepping into the character’s shoes, and can see the world from a different perspective;
Players take ownership of a character by creating aspects of the character’s story, investing in the character through their own creative stamp;
Players invested in their characters have created a bond with the style and story of the game itself, so that their character becomes part of that greater story adn the stories of their fellow player’s characters;
Players can lend themselves to trying things they may never do “as themselves”, outside the game, and therefore be freer to create;
Investment raises the stakes for the Players with regards to their character’s survival, as well as their fellow player’s characters. Life or death situations are often a mainstay of RPG’s, and thus the drama they invest into their character’s lives and link to the world of the story naturally grows.
Investment in Characters make for more memorable stories and memorable experiences for everyone involved.
But for a one-shot, you are up against something: Time. Investment in anything so as to develop a bond takes time, and we just don’t have that in a one-shot! So character development is naturally curbed for a one-shot. How can a Games Master get Players to be invested in characters for such a short game?
I’ve had a few thoughts around this, both from trying different methods of character creation and reflection on the successes and failures that have come from this, backed up by the needs and goals above.
However, the key point to remember is that deep investment in character is not the point of the one-shot session: it’s the event of a one-shot itself, a single quick story that you and your group get to share together for a fun experience of play, that wraps up within one session.
Familiartiy with the style of the one-shot is the drawcard for character investment, not the deep investment in the character. For example, a one-shot heist is likely to be peopled with a rogue’s gallery of thieves of one kind or another to choose as characters. Players who have joined the game are likely intrigued by any noe or more of these archetypes to play, as they are familiar with the style of the story, and teh types of characters likely to be involved. Likewise, a superhero one-shot will have superheroes of varying powerful abilities to stop epic villains from devsastating a city; in comparison, a ghost story’s characters will be much less powerful compared to the supernatural challenges they will be facing and it will take their wits, teamwork and fortitude to see them through.
This is what has eluded me with previous one-shots I’ve run, and it was a refreshing insight into the value of a one-shot when the realisation hit. I love running deep drawn character arcs over the campaigns I’ve run in the past, but the one-shot is simply incompatible for this.
High Stakes
Raising the stakes for the characters in a story also raises the interest of the players engaged in the story. Here are a few story ideas to consider when developing your one-shot game. Note: I’ll use the story style of a Heist as an example (our Player’s characters are planning to steal the most priceless jewel in the land from a powerful tyrant’s lair.) With a little flexibility these ideas can be appied to all kinds of storylines that you are considering for a one-shot:
Something valuable to the characters/their world will be lost if the challenge/antagonist of your story succeeds. This sense of fragility to the world that only the Player’s characters can solve raises the stakes can help Player’s invest in the storyline. For a Heist: if the players don’t succeed in stealing the jewel, the tyrant will use it to power a dangerous magical artifact that will devatsate the lands they know. No-one else can stop him - it’s up to you!
Time is short. The sense of urgency that wil be created if the Players know they have limited time to complete their activities and face the game’s main challenge does two things: it further raises the stakes for their characters to succeed, and it helps you as the games master keep to time! For a Heist: Sources say the tyrant is close to unlocking the secrets of the gem, perhaps only 24 hours before he uses it in the artifact - time is short, and you must act fast before it’s too late!
Characters’ stories are linked to the Main Story. With pre-generated characters, you can save time sharing information about the world by implanting 1-2 short facts about the character that directly links to the main story. It also gives the characters a reason to want to be involved in the main story, and help with the player’s role-playing of their character. For a Heist: The tyrant killed one or more of the Player’s character’s families or friends, and the character’s will stop at nothing to see his end; or, one of the character’s is an overthrown relative of the tyrant or a rightful heir to the kingdom, and wants to see the tyrant’s removed / a return to the throne.
Character Sheet
To keep things simple, moving fast, and give pointers to the larger game, the character sheets also need to be brief and clear. Beyond simplifyig the rules and satistics for the system you are playing in, the simplest character sheets can be focussed on the story and flavour of the character rather than statistics. Something that can help set the tone of your one-shot simply and efficiently is a brief description of the character at the top of each sheet. The “three Descriptors” guideline can help, that indicate:
Who the character is (as simple as a name or title, but could also include appearance, ancestry and such)
What they can do (abilities, items, connections), and
Why they’re on this adventure (their goal)
These three character “Descriptors” can be as short as three words, three little sentences or even short paragraphs (but sainvg these for the main NPC’s). Two things to consider:
A picture of the character can help reinforce the Descriptors while also providing short-cuts to the style and flavour of the character / story, (“a picture tells a thousand words”)
For D&D 5th Edition, suggested bonds, personality, ideals, flaws are great hooks for role-play in a long-term campaign, but may be too much for most one-shot character - instead incorporate briefer versions of these within the three Descriptors above
It’s such a relief to realise what the differences are to preparing one-shots from the standard considerations of a long term campains. To give an analogy: When it comes to a one-shot, I’ve thought preparing a gourmet five-course feast for my players was the aim, when in reality a one-shot is really a simple invitation for drinks after work where we can all relax and unwind!
How do you approach your one-shot games? I’d love to hear your stories, feel free to share them below!
Stay connected and creative, Ian.
