Gimme more One-Shot!

Planning Killer One-Shot Sessions for RPGs

Mad Jay

May 10, 2024

∙ Paid

Previously, we covered the BIG overview for brewing up your very own one-shot scenario for con tables.

Part I, ICYMI:

Hit me with your One-Shot!

Mad Jay

April 19, 2024

The gaming convention season is upon us, and that means it's time for one-shots galore! Whether you're attending conventions, game days, shadow cons, or back-alley dice downs, having a con-ready one-shot for 2-3 different games is essential for me. Ideally, I'll run a scenario for several sessions across different venues, so building in variance to keep each session fresh is key. In this series, I'll show you how I put together a one-shot and why I do what I do. This first part is the BIG idea and overview, with more detailed parts to follow. Use the comments (or email me) —this is a conversation. If a game is giving you the fits, ask away; if I don't know, I bet another reader does!

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What Game to run?

The question often vexes me; it gets filtered real quick for one-shot con tables. What games am I excited about that I can run comfortably multiple times and still be excited about? What games can I also teach? Bonus: Can I do something different with the game? How far can I push it?

My two IRL examples are “Heavy is the Crown,” a Twilight: 2000 one-shot I’ve made and am running IRL. ‘12 Parsecs’ is an Edge of the Empire one-shot that asks, ‘Can you beat Han’s record?’

‘Heavy is the Crown’ is a contained one-shot sandbox. I’ve pushed it this far. For ‘12 Parsecs’ I’m working a leaderboard concept. I’ll keep track of each session's in-game achievements, and the Kessel Run score (time?) I’ll share these across tables. My goal is never the same one-shot session twice.

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