Specific Campaign Guide: the One-Shot

Or, how to plan a one-shot campaign

The first question to ask yourself is what the point of the one-shot is why you're doing it.
Is it to introduce new players to the game? Is it to introduce experienced players to your group to see if they fit in? Is it because a couple usual players couldn't come? Is it because you want to try out a crazy concept or setting?
Based on this question, there are several things you should decide. Character level is a really crucial one, as may be classes and races that you offer. If you're running it for people who've never played DnD before, you'll want a lower level. If you're running it for usual players of yours, some players might want to keep their character sheets but play different character concepts. For people you're trying to bring into your game, level them to or near the current party level.

For class and race, this is less by-the-book. I've heard DMs say that classes should have at least as much restriction as a long-term campaign, since you don't have time to balance out game mechanics. I'm of a different mindset: if it's just a one-shot, an imbalance doesn't matter that much, and you don't have to find a way to work it out with your player over time. In addition, offering classes or races you usually don't could be a part of your campaign concept, such as an evil or flight-races or psyionic one-shot.

Once you have an idea about that, give yourself an estimate of how. This will directly define how many encounters you can have in your game. I suggest making one-shots largely combat focused with little "color" or roleplaying specific encounters. This is because those tend to take longer to go through with a lot of variation in both time and how events play out. For combat, you can get about one encounter per hour in. For more epic encounters, such as fighting a dragon, you might think about making that the only encounter. Furthermore, think about how much background is needed for any given encounter. After all, since when does a dragon need a reason to land and start ransacking a village?

All that said, it doesn't mean you have to just have a "they went dungeon delving" plot. The last one-shot I ran was a mystery where the party, who happened to be the next-most-powerful folks in town, went to find out what had happened to the town guard. They fought off the wolves and cheetahs in her front garden, and then killed the red dragon that had hatched and murdered her, meanwhile finding out what had happened to her.

And that's about it! Once you've got everything, you have a plan for your one-shot campaign- one that actually can be finished in one session.


So, to sum up:
a) why are you running it?
b) what level will the characters be? Should depend on a).
c) what classes/races will you allow? Decide based on campaign, players, and your preference.
d) see how long the campaign will last. Remember: ~1 encounter/1 hour

Game Night Snack Idea #7

Without further ado, game night snack idea #7: bowl of fruit.

Specifically, berries, strawberries with the tops cut off, grapes, and apple slices make for great choices. They can be put in a bowl, passed around, and scooped up  easily like chips. Other types of fruit, like citrus or melons, are more difficult to eat and prepare, often sticky or unwieldy.

With that, we wrap up our game night snack idea series, at least for now. Hope you all enjoy these ideas at your gaming table!

Game Night Snack Idea #6

This one's a little random, but was an all-time favorite for my gaming group.

For Game Night Snack Idea #6: peanut butter, almond butter, and nutella.

With a planned idea, you might actually want crackers, with or without the stuff already put on it.  The day I brought some to my gaming group, I brought them in those little sandwich packets.  Can be found at most grocery stores.

Game Night Snack Idea #5

For those of you who play around the dinner hour, pizza might be the staple DnD meal of choice.  

For game night snack idea #5: taquitos.

Taquitos are easy to eat (even in comparison to pizza) and just as tasty.  Unfortunately, I'm fairly certain that they take a deep-frier to make, so this idea is basically buy-only.

The Problems with Sexualized Fantasy Pictures of Women

Sexualization is not, inherently, the problem.  The problem comes in several aspects.  The first is that women in are often placed in clearly ineffective armor in order to be sexualized.  This is a problem because armor is intended to protect and, by making the armor ineffective, insinuates women as unable to protect themselves.

A related problem is the exaggeration bodies in order to sexualize.  Women's bodies are often twisted into unrealistic or even impossible shapes in order to show, for the largest example, both boobs and butt.  An equally prevalent problem is oversizing boobs and undersizing waists.

Furthermore, men and women are neither sexualized in the same way nor in the same amount.  Women in are sexualized way more often than men, sometimes in the same pictures.  Evil women are also almost always sexualized.

When women are sexualized in fantasy artwork, they are typically reduced to eye candy for men, stripped of capability and personality. Even when they are portrayed as capable, the sexualization typically undermines this. 

#sexism #feminism #artwork #dnd #tabletopgaming #rpgs

Game Night Snack Idea #4

Candy is always great. If you can make it look really cool, that's even better. 

For game night snack idea #4: m&ms with brownies or cookies on top. 

It's a really simple way to have a really awesome looking tray of sweets. A few weeks ago, I had leftover brownies and a packet of m&ms, and it turned out so popular with my gaming group that I plan on making it again frequently. 

Game Night Snack Idea #3

Every so often, a gaming group might want an alternative to potato chips. For game night snack idea #3, I'll tell you my personal favorite, as well as an alternative. 

For the third game night snack idea: kale chips. 

Kale chips can be made in the pan with a little oil or in the oven for about ten minutes. Don't forget to put salt on top. 

That said, not everyone likes kale chips, because they have a slightly bitter flavor to them. Other times, you might not have the time or desire to cook. Here's the alternative: roasted and salted seaweed slices. You can buy them at a lot of places, including a Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. They're not bitter like kale chips, but be careful: there are both regular and wasabi (very spicy) varieties.