ideas/tips for very short campaigns?

[gweams]

I am a fairly new DM running a DnD (5e) group with a bunch of fellow college students. Last year I did the standard 1st campaign (lost mines of phandelver) and while we had a great time, the energy was lost easily because most could not make it every single week.

This year, I'd like to try campaigns that only take 1 night to complete (mini-campaigns) so that attendance isnt always mandatory; but as someone who's never designed their own campaigns before, I don't know where to start (or if this is viable). What are your tips for making short (but still engaging) campaigns? Also really helpful would be resources for/pre-made short campaigns! Thanks in advance (let me know if this ought to be moved to the worldbuilding subforum).

[Laserlight]

I am a fairly new DM running a DnD (5e) group with a bunch of fellow college students. Last year I did the standard 1st campaign (lost mines of phandelver) and while we had a great time, the energy was lost easily because most could not make it every single week.

This year, I'd like to try campaigns that only take 1 night to complete (mini-campaigns) so that attendance isnt always mandatory; but as someone who's never designed their own campaigns before, I don't know where to start (or if this is viable). What are your tips for making short (but still engaging) campaigns? Also really helpful would be resources for/pre-made short campaigns! Thanks in advance (let me know if this ought to be moved to the worldbuilding subforum).

I think for each "one night mini campaign", your probably looking for something like the Five Room Dungeon idea. Typically it's something like: 1) entrance/guardian 2) puzzle/roleplaying challenge 3) setback 4) climactic fight 5) reward / revelation. You'll find loads of discussion on it, but keep in mind that they don't have to be in that order; and they don't have to be "rooms" (the "first room" might be the femme fatale who comes to your office with a sob story about pirates; the "second room" might be the fight in the warehouse, "third" is the sea battle, etc).

As far as players who drop in and out...depends on your campaign. The player characters are actually pokemon and the have to return to their pokeballs every now and again. The Lost City has hundreds of portals phasing in and out, sometimes right under you. You're the officers of a mercenary special forces company, assigning contractors to each mission. You're champions of your respective gods, teleported in (and out) by them for reasons ineffable.

[JackPhoenix]

Look up Adventurer's League adventures. They are about hour long each, and you're supposed to go through 4 per session, IIRC.

[R.Shackleford]

I am a fairly new DM running a DnD (5e) group with a bunch of fellow college students. Last year I did the standard 1st campaign (lost mines of phandelver) and while we had a great time, the energy was lost easily because most could not make it every single week.

This year, I'd like to try campaigns that only take 1 night to complete (mini-campaigns) so that attendance isnt always mandatory; but as someone who's never designed their own campaigns before, I don't know where to start (or if this is viable). What are your tips for making short (but still engaging) campaigns? Also really helpful would be resources for/pre-made short campaigns! Thanks in advance (let me know if this ought to be moved to the worldbuilding subforum).

go huge, I mean HUGE or go home.

Put low level characters in situations you would expect a level 15 character (but scaled down to llow levels). Make them climb gargantuan creatures and fight off creatures living on that creature.

Have characters fight off a lich for their first battle.

Get them addicted to the game by giving them awesome encounters.

[Kurt Kurageous]

My unhelpful 1st thought was completely misunderstand the CR of things and TPK on a Pit Fiend. It will be short...

I have to agree with Rusty here, for the sake of the game, think epicness. Slay the princess, save the dragon! Or whatever...but don't go smallville.

Consider a chase, tracking down some fleeing bad guys who abducted a defenseless (something). Have them encounter helpful and unhelpful things. Peruse Monster Manual. Send awakened shrubs for silly conversation. Have wolves stalk them, then help them by cutting off their quarry. Heck, steal the whole plot from the Searchers.

Describe the world, large creatures soaring overhead, other creature fighting them, epic stuff that doesn't involve them possibly dying.

Close to the end of the session and need to wrap? Spring the showdown scene. Include a convenient fast travel mechanism for getting back home. You can't really lose.

[Tanarii]

Are you looking for mini-adventures, tied together as a single campaign (ie using the same characters)? Because if so JackPhoenix's idea is probably best. See if you can get your hands on DDEX (D&D Expeditions) adventures from the last few Adenturer's League seasons. That has the advantage that if you follow the AL character building and DMing rules, all the players characters will be AL legal. They'll be able to take them to any AL session.

Or you can easily adapt them to be your own home game, especially if you set them in Forgotten realms. The major advantages of that is you can change the rules, races, classes, or starting level for adventurers as you see fit.

[djreynolds]

Know your players and their classes.

My wizard was always on the lookout for spell scrolls for his spellbook. So off I went to go looking and trouble ensued. Lots of conversation, bribing, going her and there with the other players who could make it.

Then the DM had a rival wizard hire goblins to hold us up and steal my spell book, and there was that side bit.

What does it mean to be a totem warrior?

How does a druid find different animals for his wildshape?

Beastmaster's wolf died and he needs a replacement beast.

Just filler for the in between, doesn't have to be experience based. Simply finding valuable scrolls was good enough. Could be some inspiration points out there.

Little stuff. Exploration and interaction, non-resource eating combat.

[clash]

My idea that I will be running shortly is to think of d&d campaigns not as a 12 hours lord of the rings saga but instead as a tv series. Each session is an episode with it's own premise for the characters. Then you can use common tv tropes for inspiration. Have a heist episode, or a chase episode or an episode where they wake up and the day repeats itself. Think of smaller problems to solve that they can start and end in one session, and like any tv series every episode need not involve every character.

[gweams]

Thank you everyone! These are all really helpful suggestions. I'm particularly drawn to the episodic idea in which the PC's are characters that may or may not show up. I'll also look deeper into AL/DDEX for foundational stuff. This is great, many thanks.