Which are great one-shots that you have either played or DM’d and you would recommend?
There are a ton on dmsguild, and I have purchased and played some but there are way too many to read them all. I'm in a couple of long-term campaigns but being able to play a one-shot from time to time is refreshing and lets players try original character ideas. I thought we could all share here our experiences we've had with one-shots adventures, and share where to find them. I'll start sharing my personal experience.
>> SPOILERS AHEAD <<
1 - A Wild Sheep Chase (free)
It's a funny light-hearted adventure where you start talking to a sheep that has been turned into that shape by an evil transmutation wizard. There's a great fight in the end where an evil wizard uses a malfunctioning wand of true polymorph to turn his bed into a dragon made of bed-sheets and pillows.
Player experience: Semi-experienced players had fun, they had some complication in the forest on the way to the wizard's lair and got quite some combat going. A very simple story but the choice given to the players at the end puts them in control: do you (try to) save the sheep, ignore it and take the wand, let the transmuter keep doing his experiments?
A simple escorting quest starting at an inn turns into finding a bunch of goblins looting the spoils of an attacked inn, the players can figure out ghouls made it and finally the "main" NPC leads the players into an excavation site, where the excavation leader became obsessed with an evil necromantic staff and spends his days creating Ghouls.
Player experience: Totally new players interacted with the world. It is railroady, but the puzzle before the final encounter makes the players work together and figure out a riddle about life, death and rebirth.
A festival is about to start, and everyone is getting read! Except, when you visit the inn you discover locals are pissed because cider hasn’t been delivered on time. When you go check out the orchard, you find out a group of bandits assaulted the cider brewer, who has a nice final puzzle for you. That is if you survive to the defective batch of apples with teeth! Fetch the ingredients and make cider using the machinery and hints you gathered!
Player experience: There’s a risk this runs in two sessions. It’s easy to get entertained when there’s an open-ended city. Well rounded with 3-4 combat encounters, puzzle solving and a story that feels like solving a mystery.
I can’t make justice to this great adventure. Gothic horror at its best. Players that like dark stories, horror or mentally unsettling settings will enjoy it. Young children ask you for help in their home, which turns out to be haunted and spooky and to just have locked you in. After exploring, you figure out the children are ghosts and there’s a dark cult in the basement that wants one of the players to be sacrificed, or a way-too-strong monster will chase you and the house will become full of deadly traps.
Player experience: This needs to be run in at least 2 sessions, or 3 if your players are slow.You need a group of serious players that can get immersed in the setting and roleplay and who like very hard challenges. If you want to tune the difficulty down from “deadly" to “hard”, check this guide.
“Lord Blackmoor's son has been kidnapped, and is being held in the crypts beneath an ancient fortress. Can our heroes rescue the boy before he is sacrificed in a diabolical ceremony? Beneath the Ruins of Firestone Keep is a good old-fashioned dungeon crawl, with plenty of fights, plenty of treasure and more than a few tricks and twists!”
I just finished running this for a group of new players and it is a well constructed adventure for 1st or 2nd level characters. It can easily be used as a side quest or slotted into a larger adventure. Players had lots of fun with it.
Hi adventurers!
Which are great one-shots that you have either played or DM’d and you would recommend?
There are a ton on dmsguild, and I have purchased and played some but there are way too many to read them all. I'm in a couple of long-term campaigns but being able to play a one-shot from time to time is refreshing and lets players try original character ideas. I thought we could all share here our experiences we've had with one-shots adventures, and share where to find them. I'll start sharing my personal experience.
>> SPOILERS AHEAD <<
1 - A Wild Sheep Chase (free)
It's a funny light-hearted adventure where you start talking to a sheep that has been turned into that shape by an evil transmutation wizard. There's a great fight in the end where an evil wizard uses a malfunctioning wand of true polymorph to turn his bed into a dragon made of bed-sheets and pillows.
Player experience: Semi-experienced players had fun, they had some complication in the forest on the way to the wizard's lair and got quite some combat going. A very simple story but the choice given to the players at the end puts them in control: do you (try to) save the sheep, ignore it and take the wand, let the transmuter keep doing his experiments?
Link: https://winghornpress.com/adventures/a-wild-sheep-chase/
2 - Horror at Havel's Cross (free)
A simple escorting quest starting at an inn turns into finding a bunch of goblins looting the spoils of an attacked inn, the players can figure out ghouls made it and finally the "main" NPC leads the players into an excavation site, where the excavation leader became obsessed with an evil necromantic staff and spends his days creating Ghouls.
Player experience: Totally new players interacted with the world. It is railroady, but the puzzle before the final encounter makes the players work together and figure out a riddle about life, death and rebirth.
Link: http://www.dmsguild.com/product/191126/Horror-at-Havels-Cross--A-Basic-Rules-Adventure
3 - Bad Apples ($1.59)
A festival is about to start, and everyone is getting read! Except, when you visit the inn you discover locals are pissed because cider hasn’t been delivered on time. When you go check out the orchard, you find out a group of bandits assaulted the cider brewer, who has a nice final puzzle for you. That is if you survive to the defective batch of apples with teeth! Fetch the ingredients and make cider using the machinery and hints you gathered!
Player experience: There’s a risk this runs in two sessions. It’s easy to get entertained when there’s an open-ended city. Well rounded with 3-4 combat encounters, puzzle solving and a story that feels like solving a mystery.
Link: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/198662/Bad-Apples-Level-3-PCs
4 - Death house (free)
I can’t make justice to this great adventure. Gothic horror at its best. Players that like dark stories, horror or mentally unsettling settings will enjoy it. Young children ask you for help in their home, which turns out to be haunted and spooky and to just have locked you in. After exploring, you figure out the children are ghosts and there’s a dark cult in the basement that wants one of the players to be sacrificed, or a way-too-strong monster will chase you and the house will become full of deadly traps.
Player experience: This needs to be run in at least 2 sessions, or 3 if your players are slow. You need a group of serious players that can get immersed in the setting and roleplay and who like very hard challenges. If you want to tune the difficulty down from “deadly" to “hard”, check this guide.
Link: https://media.wizards.com/2016/downloads/DND/Curse%20of%20Strahd%20Introductory%20Adventure.pdf
Beneath the Ruins of Firestone Keep.
“Lord Blackmoor's son has been kidnapped, and is being held in the crypts beneath an ancient fortress. Can our heroes rescue the boy before he is sacrificed in a diabolical ceremony? Beneath the Ruins of Firestone Keep is a good old-fashioned dungeon crawl, with plenty of fights, plenty of treasure and more than a few tricks and twists!”
I just finished running this for a group of new players and it is a well constructed adventure for 1st or 2nd level characters. It can easily be used as a side quest or slotted into a larger adventure. Players had lots of fun with it.
Are these 5e or 3.5?
I would assume that they are 5e adventures, because that is the current edition.
Please check the date stamp of previous posts before contributing. This thread has long since been complete.
Thank you.
[ Site Rules & Guidelines ] --- [ Homebrew Rules & Guidelines ]
Send me a message with any questions or concerns