So I was looking for an interesting one-shot idea for the next time my dungeon master is out on ANOTHER convention/reason to not be at home. It seems to be at least once a month lately. But anyways, I found some stupid ideas I'm trying to make a 3 hour long one-shot.
THE GREAT BATH
While the players are relaxing in a tavern, one of the kegs of beer suddenly starts leaking soapy, sudsy water. This turns into 2 soapy water elementals and attacks the bar staff. After dealing with that, the players notice it is still leaking soapy water. Its a portal to a place called The Great Bath, a plane that is mostly 3 and a half foot deep warm water that creatures go to for a vacation spa. They will encounter 3 kobolds running a tiki hut that will point them to the Marid of the Great Bath, who seems to have been kidnapped? tortured? maimed? by a Wastrilith. (Also they have to save against the spell Calm Emotions that has been cast on the entire demiplane, its more flavor than anything)
So there is two combats for a 3 hour one shot....
What encounters can I fill the rest of the time with?
Okay, so it's like a vacation plane. Like being stuck on one of those cruise ships. Okay.
So there could be wandering conga lines of dancers, and if a player fails a Wisdom save they join the conga line and the other players have to free them from it somehow.
Someone at the Tiki Bar might slip something in their drinks that makes them... "perceive" reality "differently". Or maybe they're just poisoned and now they're racing against the clock to find an antidote AND complete their mission.
Maybe while chasing a bad guy they have to run through the shuffle board deck. So, lots of Dex saves to dodge the disks!
Tayn of Darkwood. Lvl 10 human Life Cleric of Lathander. Retired.
Ikram Sahir ibn Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad, Second Son of the House of Ra'ad, Defender of the Burning Sands. Lvl 9 Brass Dragonborn Sorcerer + Greater Fire Elemental Devil.
Viktor Gavriil. Lvl 20 White Dragonborn Grave Cleric, of Kurgan the God of Death.
Hmmm...maybe add food to the mix. Depending on how your characters role play they will be offered different kinds of food that might give them temporary stat penalties or temporary hit points and resistance to some kind of condition.
Though it's a one-shot, a hot spa-like pocket plane like this is great for cameos and introductions of notable NPCs from the past and future.
You might also throw in a "guest" or two to this pocket plane that look like monsters (trolls?, hill giants?) covered in thick muck. If the party attacks them, they turn out to be good-aligned demi-gods just trying to cleanse themselves of spirit dirt. That could get interesting.
The kobolds might point to a wizard who might know where the Marid is, but they warn the players that the wizard might have had too much to drink from the bar.
When the players get to the wizard, he is totally wasted, and start demading something realy absurd like winning at limbo from an yuan-ti near by. The players can then try to pass on this test or use brute force and fight the drunk mage to get the answers.
I would base other encounters in spa theme, maybe a balgura with a butterfly tie that works in the spa but cant let the players pass on a VIP area?
Dude, please write this up and post this so we can use it too.
Also you may want to consider making a few tables to really make things random.
Make like an event table, like the conga line, shuffle board, monster massages, etc that the player may bump into
And another table of what they may encounter, a devil getting a massage, a demigod in a bath, a dragon getting a manicure. A bunch of random aligned creatures (good & evil people both need to relax).. you can even add certain affects, the evil devil may be evil but got a sick massage after aeons of torturing mortals so is a really good mood to give the party a (small) boon/benefit etc no strings attached or the normally good solar had his treatment interrupted after not catching the cult worshippers for 10k years so he's REALLY pissed & will smite these pathetic mortals for ruining his bath.. how often do good aligned PCs fight good aligned celestials?
I actually made a few random tables for a 1 shot I found in order to potentially lengthen it.
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So I was looking for an interesting one-shot idea for the next time my dungeon master is out on ANOTHER convention/reason to not be at home. It seems to be at least once a month lately. But anyways, I found some stupid ideas I'm trying to make a 3 hour long one-shot.
THE GREAT BATH
While the players are relaxing in a tavern, one of the kegs of beer suddenly starts leaking soapy, sudsy water. This turns into 2 soapy water elementals and attacks the bar staff. After dealing with that, the players notice it is still leaking soapy water. Its a portal to a place called The Great Bath, a plane that is mostly 3 and a half foot deep warm water that creatures go to for a vacation spa. They will encounter 3 kobolds running a tiki hut that will point them to the Marid of the Great Bath, who seems to have been kidnapped? tortured? maimed? by a Wastrilith. (Also they have to save against the spell Calm Emotions that has been cast on the entire demiplane, its more flavor than anything)
So there is two combats for a 3 hour one shot....
What encounters can I fill the rest of the time with?
You had me at, "Kobold Tiki Hut".
Okay, so it's like a vacation plane. Like being stuck on one of those cruise ships. Okay.
So there could be wandering conga lines of dancers, and if a player fails a Wisdom save they join the conga line and the other players have to free them from it somehow.
Someone at the Tiki Bar might slip something in their drinks that makes them... "perceive" reality "differently". Or maybe they're just poisoned and now they're racing against the clock to find an antidote AND complete their mission.
Maybe while chasing a bad guy they have to run through the shuffle board deck. So, lots of Dex saves to dodge the disks!
Tayn of Darkwood. Lvl 10 human Life Cleric of Lathander. Retired.
Ikram Sahir ibn Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad, Second Son of the House of Ra'ad, Defender of the Burning Sands. Lvl 9 Brass Dragonborn Sorcerer + Greater Fire Elemental Devil.
Viktor Gavriil. Lvl 20 White Dragonborn Grave Cleric, of Kurgan the God of Death.
Anzio Faro. Lvl 5 Prot. Aasimar Light Cleric.
That sounds awesome.
Hmmm...maybe add food to the mix. Depending on how your characters role play they will be offered different kinds of food that might give them temporary stat penalties or temporary hit points and resistance to some kind of condition.
Though it's a one-shot, a hot spa-like pocket plane like this is great for cameos and introductions of notable NPCs from the past and future.
You might also throw in a "guest" or two to this pocket plane that look like monsters (trolls?, hill giants?) covered in thick muck. If the party attacks them, they turn out to be good-aligned demi-gods just trying to cleanse themselves of spirit dirt. That could get interesting.
The kobolds might point to a wizard who might know where the Marid is, but they warn the players that the wizard might have had too much to drink from the bar.
When the players get to the wizard, he is totally wasted, and start demading something realy absurd like winning at limbo from an yuan-ti near by. The players can then try to pass on this test or use brute force and fight the drunk mage to get the answers.
I would base other encounters in spa theme, maybe a balgura with a butterfly tie that works in the spa but cant let the players pass on a VIP area?
Dude, please write this up and post this so we can use it too.
Also you may want to consider making a few tables to really make things random.
Make like an event table, like the conga line, shuffle board, monster massages, etc that the player may bump into
And another table of what they may encounter, a devil getting a massage, a demigod in a bath, a dragon getting a manicure. A bunch of random aligned creatures (good & evil people both need to relax).. you can even add certain affects, the evil devil may be evil but got a sick massage after aeons of torturing mortals so is a really good mood to give the party a (small) boon/benefit etc no strings attached or the normally good solar had his treatment interrupted after not catching the cult worshippers for 10k years so he's REALLY pissed & will smite these pathetic mortals for ruining his bath.. how often do good aligned PCs fight good aligned celestials?
I actually made a few random tables for a 1 shot I found in order to potentially lengthen it.