Christmas One-Shot Help!

[Alavar]

Alright forum-goers, I need your help, because I am a completely horrible DM. Unfortunately, I promised my friends I'd run them a Christmas campaign as a stress-reliever/general fun time for the holidays. The only problem with this is that, as I said before, I am BAD at the whole DMing stick. So, I need your help in making the dungeon for the one-shot.

The premise is this: Each year, the elves must wake Santa up from his nearly year long sleep in order for Christmas to come and all the kids that have been nice to wake up to presents under their trees. Unfortunately, the elf who usually has the job of entering the Dark Cavern of ForebodingTM has apparently been injured by wolves, and can't head out to wake dear old Santa up. Making the situation worse is that none of the other elves know the way through the cavern, and the few they've sent in haven't returned. This is where the adventurers come in. They get to go down and find the resting place of Santa.

What they don't know is this: Santa doesn't want to wake up, or at least the part of him that can still access his huge battery of magical magic doesn't want to. This is why the original elf wasn't killed by the wolves, and what I need your help with. If the BBEG can subtly alter reality in the cave, by adding extra loops that they'd have to go through, what sort of things could be done to delay, sidetrack, scare off, and capture (non-lethally of course, Santa isn't a mean old biddy after all) people that would attempt to wake him up?

[Sillycomic]

The big bad is an unconscious Santa clause? Really?

Why don't you have the big bad be someone else who doesn't want Santa to wake up? Jack Frost or the Tooth Fairy? The Sandman? (someone who puts Santa to sleep and doesn't want him awake anymore? Wow... that plot practically writes itself)

Then when you have a big bad you want, just do a nice theme of mazes and monsters that fit it. Jack Frost would have ice,snow, cold monsters to help him. (The Shining Labrynth and the characters are being chased by a demonic Jack Nicholson)

Sandman would have desert monsters. Plus he can mess with them in some sort of dream world reality. Then it's not so much a cave that they have to deal with, but their own subconscious! That's always messed up.

If it's a one off I wouldn't look too hard into side tracking the main guys. Unless you're having a 36 hour one off... introductions of characters, a few mini boss fights, couple of clever traps, some revelations about Santa, elves, and whatnot, plus the major big bad battle should cover it. That would give you 6 to 8 hours of fun, depending on how clever your role players are and how much they want to role play scenes out.

Plus, Edition you are using and level of characters will help you with a more specific answer (oh, and how optimized your group usually is)

[Alavar]

If it's a one off I wouldn't look too hard into side tracking the main guys. Unless you're having a 36 hour one off... introductions of characters, a few mini boss fights, couple of clever traps, some revelations about Santa, elves, and whatnot, plus the major big bad battle should cover it. That would give you 6 to 8 hours of fun, depending on how clever your role players are and how much they want to role play scenes out.

Plus, Edition you are using and level of characters will help you with a more specific answer (oh, and how optimized your group usually is)

I'm using a system that I got from a friend, which is really fast and easy to pick up. But it isn't what I really need. The Jack Frost idea is great though!

My real problem lies in creating the dungeon. I have no skill at designing much other than a linear room-to-room kick in the door style dungeon. My traps are usually just HP penalty types, which aren't much fun. I need some help with things to pull them down the wrong tunnel, or to come up with clever traps and designs.

I also came up with the idea in about 10 minutes because I found out I was supposed to be DMing, so cut me some slack about the unconscious santa bit :smallbiggrin: