You need a hook that's strong enough to give any kind of character a straightforward reason to go on your adventure. If you can appeal to multiple aspects of human nature (e.g. charity, love, greed, revenge, fame) simultaneously, all the better.
The adventure needs to have a clear goal and it needs to be hard for the group to get stuck, especially if you want to wrap things up in one session.
Ideally you'll have all three pillars of the game (combat, exploration, social interaction) present or some characters won't shine.
Ideally, there'll be a twist in the way you use familiar D&D elements so the story will be memorable and experienced players can still be surprised.
One tip I've seen others use and have used myself is have a common NPC that all the PCs know, and have that be the herald character, the call to adventure. Either they're the ones contacting the players to involve them in the quest, they're missing and the PCs are looking for them, or something of the sort.
Focusing on all three pillars is great, especially for a low-level oneshot or one for new players, but you could also focus on one over the others. In my opinion, it's better to do this in most oneshots.
Have some way for the PCs to get back on track if they've been diverted, just in case. Or else make the goal clear enough that they won't get diverted except on purpose. On a similar note, know what you can cut out of a game if it starts taking longer than planned - certain combats, for example, or fast-track the group finding the McGuffin so they can get to the final encounter sooner.
Have a clear antagonist, whatever "antagonist" means for that oneshot. The antagonist can be clear from the beginning - the leader of bandits bothering a local town - or one that will become very clear by the time they fight them - a necromancer controlling the hoards of undead attacking the city, found in the cave/cottage/whatever the PCs are being lead to during the game through whatever hints you drop.
Have a solid beginning, middle, and end - alternatively, the commonly-known 5 Room Dungeon if you're doing a more dungeon-crawl-style game. The beginning must always include a call-to-action of some sort to get the characters into the meat of the story. The middle is the bulk of the story itself. You should also always strive to have some semblance of falling-action - "you are all awarded noble titles by the town for your heroic deeds" or "you are paid handsomely by the prince" or whatever, but something that closes up the story nicely.
Take a break halfway through! Just because it's a oneshot doesn't mean people don't need to get up to use the bathroom, refill their drinks, or stretch.
I have learned that often times railroading is a good thing to do in a One-Shot because otherwise, your session might well end up to be Two-Shot, a problem you don't have in a regular campaign.
One of the most important things in my experience is knowing when to cut some parts from the plan, sometimes the players take too long in a section i thought would be faster.
So control of the time and progression of the story for the oneshot is super important.
One way i use to involve players in a one shot is to have the adventure assigned to them by leaders of their organizations (local church leader, guild leader etc).
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Hey all!
What are your DM Tips for running or participating in a #DnD, #RPG One-Shot?
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You need a hook that's strong enough to give any kind of character a straightforward reason to go on your adventure. If you can appeal to multiple aspects of human nature (e.g. charity, love, greed, revenge, fame) simultaneously, all the better.
The adventure needs to have a clear goal and it needs to be hard for the group to get stuck, especially if you want to wrap things up in one session.
Ideally you'll have all three pillars of the game (combat, exploration, social interaction) present or some characters won't shine.
Ideally, there'll be a twist in the way you use familiar D&D elements so the story will be memorable and experienced players can still be surprised.
The Forum Infestation (TM)
One tip I've seen others use and have used myself is have a common NPC that all the PCs know, and have that be the herald character, the call to adventure. Either they're the ones contacting the players to involve them in the quest, they're missing and the PCs are looking for them, or something of the sort.
Focusing on all three pillars is great, especially for a low-level oneshot or one for new players, but you could also focus on one over the others. In my opinion, it's better to do this in most oneshots.
Have some way for the PCs to get back on track if they've been diverted, just in case. Or else make the goal clear enough that they won't get diverted except on purpose. On a similar note, know what you can cut out of a game if it starts taking longer than planned - certain combats, for example, or fast-track the group finding the McGuffin so they can get to the final encounter sooner.
Have a clear antagonist, whatever "antagonist" means for that oneshot. The antagonist can be clear from the beginning - the leader of bandits bothering a local town - or one that will become very clear by the time they fight them - a necromancer controlling the hoards of undead attacking the city, found in the cave/cottage/whatever the PCs are being lead to during the game through whatever hints you drop.
Have a solid beginning, middle, and end - alternatively, the commonly-known 5 Room Dungeon if you're doing a more dungeon-crawl-style game. The beginning must always include a call-to-action of some sort to get the characters into the meat of the story. The middle is the bulk of the story itself. You should also always strive to have some semblance of falling-action - "you are all awarded noble titles by the town for your heroic deeds" or "you are paid handsomely by the prince" or whatever, but something that closes up the story nicely.
Take a break halfway through! Just because it's a oneshot doesn't mean people don't need to get up to use the bathroom, refill their drinks, or stretch.
I have learned that often times railroading is a good thing to do in a One-Shot because otherwise, your session might well end up to be Two-Shot, a problem you don't have in a regular campaign.
One of the most important things in my experience is knowing when to cut some parts from the plan, sometimes the players take too long in a section i thought would be faster.
So control of the time and progression of the story for the oneshot is super important.
One way i use to involve players in a one shot is to have the adventure assigned to them by leaders of their organizations (local church leader, guild leader etc).