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View Full Version : New GM- One-shot Advice?



Weirdlet
2009-01-31, 12:45 PM
Hey, all- I've bitten the bullet and signed up at my local meetup to run a one-shot game, just to cut my teeth and see if I can pull it off. What I'm looking for is some reassurance or otherwise advice on what I've got planned- does it sound potentially fun, does it take into account potential problems, does it fit?

Basic premise- all the pre-gen characters are the daughters of a Conan-like king, who's conquered, stolen, rampaged, won a kingdom and hasn't got a son to his name. Everyone's fussed at him to do something about this, so he finally says if anyone wants a chance at the crown, they get a one-way trip out to his old stomping grounds with basic weapons and the clothes on their backs, and they can win it through great deeds or conquest like he did.

The girls (all third level with some nice stats, a ranger, rogue, couple of fighters, barbarian, one battle sorcerer and possibly one regular sorcerer, maybe a bard, and I tried to make sure that there was some mild overlap in skill to make sure there's people with Survival or other appropriate ranks no matter what pre-gens get picked) will end up in the middle of a plain, sort of steppe- or savanna-like. If they want horses, they'll have to find and buy, tame or steal them.

Depending on what priorities the players have, I can first throw the horse-taming challenge at them, attack them with lions, or have them stumble into the main challenge I'd planned, which would be a circular barrow under the surface of the plains, with staked riders and horses for zombies. ("You can see, in the little bit of sunlight filtering in from where you fell through the roof, the faint sheen of gold..." "You're nabbing it? Make a listen roll..." "You hear a faint crack- and it gets louder, someone's breaking old, dry wood-")

If everyone survives that with a little while left in the game (the meetup is usually about five hours, although not everyone arrives on time, so more like four), then I may have them stumble across tracks that lead to an orc-tribe's cache of fermenting drink, with successful knowledge checks realizing that it's the ceremonial holy drink Big Hammer, and that in a city it would be very, very saleable. Of course, it'll bring down the orc-band's wrath on anyone who steals it, but that's an adventure for another time (*grins*).

They may also find a caged sacrificial victim, left to soften up in the sun, who will express all kinds of gratitude and possibly point them towards the nearest city. It had been mentioned when I was discussing this with friends that one way to get a good villain would be "misogynist: always gets away with it." I'm not entirely sure how to interpret that, but I figure the guy, if they rescue him, will end up being a thorn in their sides should the Barbarian Princess game continue into another episode- he may be leading them to where slavers can nab them, may take credit for their deeds, and may try to steal their profit. Not because he has anything really against them- they're just convenient.

So, that's my basic plan. Is it overcomplicated/not detailed enough? Does it sound reasonably challenging without guaranteeing a total party kill?

Kaun
2009-01-31, 05:26 PM
I take it your running this in 3.5? so far sounds interesting enough. With the horse tameing thing i would thrust the horses under there noses because i dont think taming wild horses will come up as idea unless you instill it in there head...subtly ofcorse.

something like "the tundra disapears of into the distance infront of you, to the west in the distance you can make out a mountain range. Its not much more then some bumps on the horizen from this point. To the east a herd of wild ponies is grazing in the long grass of the plains."

This kind of back ground flavour text can be a good way of leading there thoughts along a track you have prepared, waiting for them to decide ... "hey lets find some horses to tame!!" or something like that can often be painfull for a dm due to players more then not not leaping to these choices with out some amount of soft guidance.

Apart from that it sounds good but if your just doing a 1 off style session i would set up one main combat driven encounter for the session. Something a little more defined then a random encounter, with definate goals and a nice chunk of danger just so at the end of the session your players will feel they have achieved something.

Weirdlet
2009-01-31, 11:54 PM
*nod* Thanks. I figure the horse-thing would come up after everyone's on the plains and I ask for survival roles.