At my work there are a couple of us who play D&D (not with each other, though). We're planning a staff retreat later this year and when asked for "fun bonding or social ideas" I jokingly floated a D&D game. Thing is – that might actually be a pretty fun thing, and I imagine there'd be at least the small group of us who'd be down to play AND probably a couple folks who'd play for a short fun thing. More than a few have kids and have played with them, so there may be some receptivity if only to add more options to family game night.
I've never done a one-shot, and my homebrews tend to be big into worldbuilding, so if I were to DM a game for coworkers I'd want to keep it to something that could be knocked out easily over 2-3 sessions of an hour or 90 minutes or so. A Beginner's Campaign might be well suited for that, though maybe something more linear would be even better since it'd be at best 2 people with experience and however many with little to none. Gotta factor in, too, a little bit of character making. But I might try to one-on-one with folks to do that before we go on retreat.
Has anyone done something like this before successfully? I have months to think about it – and it may not work out – but I thought it'd be a neat activity.
If you've got limited time and you've got a few players who are brand new or inexperienced, I think a simple linear one-shot would be a smart move. Put the characters in a clearly defined space, give them a clear objective to achieve, and let them figure out how to achieve it.
For example... the characters are about to be forced into a gladiatorial arena to fight before a cheering crowd of thousands. (I assume you've seen the movie "Gladiator".) Each character may be a prisoner or war, or a convicted criminal, or just a general malcontent. Well, they have only their class abilities and whatever simple weapons are handed to them as they are led out onto the sands of the arena. ((Give the players several minutes to talk amongst themselves to perhaps develop a plan, while the previous match is still concluding).
So they're in a specific location, they have limited equipment, and they all share a common goal - win the fight and escape the city.
For those who are new to the game, don't try to explain every game mechanic to them, just tell them what they need to roll and be sure to have a "Dice Buddy" sitting next to them who can coach them along. The most important thing is to keep the action moving swiftly so the players feel overwhelmed by all the things happening around them. Let that chaos be the enemy of boredom.
So I figure a one-shot like that would be divided into three chapters:
Chapter 1: The characters fight a few gladiators and a few lions and tigers inside the arena. Those who survive that fight make a rush for the exits where they have to defeat a squad of guards to escape the arena.
Chapter 2: The characters have to navigate through the streets of a large city (that they may or may not be familiar with), while being chased by guards. They also need to decide whether they will be escaping by land or by sea (which is hopefully something they discussed in the preparation time you gave them before the fight).
Chapter 3: The remaining surviving characters reach the docks and have to storm a ship and commandeer it for escape. Maybe the ship has defenders, or maybe the characters can persuade the pirates of the ship to help some fellow rabble-rousers. And of course the entire city guard is now hot on their heels, so maybe a character or two have to sacrifice themselves to hold off the guards while the rest escape on the ship.
It's simple, it's concise, and it's guaranteed to kill at least half of the party. But it's also a team exercise where each individual cannot possibly succeed unless they help the party succeed.
A heist is always a good choice for a one-shot--they are limited in their scope to a single geographic area, you can have something for everyone's playstyle (talking past guards, sneaking, smashing things living in the sewers as you go in through a secret entrance, etc.). You will probably want to show up with premade characters so you don't spend much time on that, and, between Rogues, Rangers, Trickster Clerics, the Archfey Warlock, etc. you can find a good set of tricky classes to use.
You could also look at Candlekeep Mysteries and Radiant Citadel, both of which are full of mini campaigns that could fit the bill.
Well, there are also a lot of adventures over on DMs Guild. If you're after a fairly light-hearted and funny one, with dangerous and interesting fights, then I have one called The Steepfield Cheese Chase which could suit?
At my work there are a couple of us who play D&D (not with each other, though). We're planning a staff retreat later this year and when asked for "fun bonding or social ideas" I jokingly floated a D&D game. Thing is – that might actually be a pretty fun thing, and I imagine there'd be at least the small group of us who'd be down to play AND probably a couple folks who'd play for a short fun thing. More than a few have kids and have played with them, so there may be some receptivity if only to add more options to family game night.
I've never done a one-shot, and my homebrews tend to be big into worldbuilding, so if I were to DM a game for coworkers I'd want to keep it to something that could be knocked out easily over 2-3 sessions of an hour or 90 minutes or so. A Beginner's Campaign might be well suited for that, though maybe something more linear would be even better since it'd be at best 2 people with experience and however many with little to none. Gotta factor in, too, a little bit of character making. But I might try to one-on-one with folks to do that before we go on retreat.
Has anyone done something like this before successfully? I have months to think about it – and it may not work out – but I thought it'd be a neat activity.
If you've got limited time and you've got a few players who are brand new or inexperienced, I think a simple linear one-shot would be a smart move. Put the characters in a clearly defined space, give them a clear objective to achieve, and let them figure out how to achieve it.
For example... the characters are about to be forced into a gladiatorial arena to fight before a cheering crowd of thousands. (I assume you've seen the movie "Gladiator".) Each character may be a prisoner or war, or a convicted criminal, or just a general malcontent. Well, they have only their class abilities and whatever simple weapons are handed to them as they are led out onto the sands of the arena. ((Give the players several minutes to talk amongst themselves to perhaps develop a plan, while the previous match is still concluding).
So they're in a specific location, they have limited equipment, and they all share a common goal - win the fight and escape the city.
For those who are new to the game, don't try to explain every game mechanic to them, just tell them what they need to roll and be sure to have a "Dice Buddy" sitting next to them who can coach them along. The most important thing is to keep the action moving swiftly so the players feel overwhelmed by all the things happening around them. Let that chaos be the enemy of boredom.
So I figure a one-shot like that would be divided into three chapters:
Chapter 1: The characters fight a few gladiators and a few lions and tigers inside the arena. Those who survive that fight make a rush for the exits where they have to defeat a squad of guards to escape the arena.
Chapter 2: The characters have to navigate through the streets of a large city (that they may or may not be familiar with), while being chased by guards. They also need to decide whether they will be escaping by land or by sea (which is hopefully something they discussed in the preparation time you gave them before the fight).
Chapter 3: The remaining surviving characters reach the docks and have to storm a ship and commandeer it for escape. Maybe the ship has defenders, or maybe the characters can persuade the pirates of the ship to help some fellow rabble-rousers. And of course the entire city guard is now hot on their heels, so maybe a character or two have to sacrifice themselves to hold off the guards while the rest escape on the ship.
It's simple, it's concise, and it's guaranteed to kill at least half of the party. But it's also a team exercise where each individual cannot possibly succeed unless they help the party succeed.
Just a thought.
Anzio Faro. Protector Aasimar light cleric. Lvl 18.
Viktor Gavriil. White dragonborn grave cleric. Lvl 20.
Ikram Sahir ibn-Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad. Brass dragonborn draconic sorcerer Lvl 9. Fire elemental devil.
Wrangler of cats.
A heist is always a good choice for a one-shot--they are limited in their scope to a single geographic area, you can have something for everyone's playstyle (talking past guards, sneaking, smashing things living in the sewers as you go in through a secret entrance, etc.). You will probably want to show up with premade characters so you don't spend much time on that, and, between Rogues, Rangers, Trickster Clerics, the Archfey Warlock, etc. you can find a good set of tricky classes to use.
You could also look at Candlekeep Mysteries and Radiant Citadel, both of which are full of mini campaigns that could fit the bill.
These are some fantastic ideas!
Well, there are also a lot of adventures over on DMs Guild. If you're after a fairly light-hearted and funny one, with dangerous and interesting fights, then I have one called The Steepfield Cheese Chase which could suit?
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