How to Build Your First One-Shot Adventure (Without Melting Your Brain)
By Eleni Hart
Feeling Ready to GM? Here’s Your Next Step
Right, you’ve decided to take the plunge, you’re feeling a bit more confident and now you want to know how to run a one-shot RPG(or at least less terrified), and you’re ready to actually run a game. Brilliant. But now comes the question that makes many a hopeful GM’s brain do a little fizzle:
“Where do I even start with a story?”
Relax, mate. We’re not building the next Lord of the Rings saga here. We’re aiming for something much more achievable, much more friendly to your budding GM brain: the humble, yet mighty, one-shot.
This isn’t just a warm-up. It’s the perfect training ground for honing your GMing chops without getting bogged down in years of intricate lore or dozens of sprawling subplots. Think of it as a delicious, self-contained starter before the main course. Seriously, it’s easier than you think, and way less daunting.
The Power of the One-Shot: Your Best Friend for First-Time GMing
Why a one-shot? Let me count the ways. Honestly, they’re absolute gold for new GMs.
- Low Commitment
One session. One table. Three to four hours. If it goes sideways, no worries. You learn, you laugh, you try again. - Focused Learning
You get to practise the core GM skills – narration, NPC voices, rules calls, and sweet sweet improvisation – without needing to juggle a 30-session campaign bible. - Player-Friendly
It invites new players in, lets your veteran players try something different, and lowers the stakes just enough that everyone feels safe to experiment. - Genre Playground
Want to run a surreal goblin noir? A space romance? A heist inside a cursed library? One-shots are where those ideas live. - Builds Confidence
That feeling of finishing a game and seeing your players grin? That’s your GM XP right there.
Personal Reflection: My First One-Shot Was a Mess — And That Was Perfect
I remember the first one-shot I ever ran. It was supposed to be a straightforward goblin ambush on a lonely road. Simple, right? What actually happened was a three-hour debate about whether a cursed chicken the party found was a god in disguise. We never made it to the combat. And you know what? Everyone had a brilliant time. They still talk about that chicken. That session taught me something invaluable: players don’t need polish. They need a playground. Give them space, and they’ll build chaos and magic out of nothing.
Use the “Rule of Three” Plot Structure
You don’t need a five-act Shakespearean structure. You need clarity. You need pace. You need the Rule of Three.
1. The Hook: The Call to Adventure
This is what gets them moving. Don’t overthink it..
- A mysterious scroll arrives
- A magical duel backfires
- The mayor’s cat disappears (and, returns with glowing eyes and cryptic whispers.),
2. The Middle Bit: Complications
This is the core of the fun. Drop two or three interesting challenges:
- Combat: Fight or flee?
- Social: Convince the ghost not to scream “treason” in the town square
- Exploration: Navigate the shifting corridors of a dream-market
- Puzzles: Lift the curse without touching the amulet (easy, right?)
3. The Climax: Resolution or Chaos
End on a bang, not a whimper.
- A boss fight
- A chase through collapsing ruins
- A choice between saving one village or damning another
This gives structure to the chaos. And you want that structure. Trust me.
The Temptation of Over-Planning (And Why I Ditched It)
Early on, I made the classic mistake of writing three pages of backstory for an NPC shopkeeper. I gave him a tragic lost love, a connection to the villain, and a secret passion for underwater basket weaving. My players robbed him blind and set his shop on fire within ten minutes. I laughed. Then I quietly deleted two pages of notes and never looked back. These days, I plan light and leave lots of blanks. The players will fill them in faster and weirder than you ever could.
You Are Allowed to Steal
Every GM you admire steals. Lovingly. Like a well-read magpie.
- Use Pre-Written Adventures: Even if you only take the skeleton
- Borrow Settings: That dream sequence from Sandman? That cursed vault in Dishonored? Reskin it
- Frankenstein It: Smash together ideas. A vampire in a Wild West ghost town. A wedding at sea during a kraken migration
Inspiration is not theft. It’s curation.
One-Shot Planning Advice & Reading
| Resource | Content | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Sly Flourish’s One-Shot Checklist | Streamlined prep | slyflourish.com |
| Roleplaying Tips: How to Plan a One-Shot | Planning guide | roleplayingtips.com |
| The Alexandrian: Game Structure 101 | Improvisation theory | thealexandrian.net |
Prep Smart: Keep It Light, Loose, and Player-Proof
Don’t get tangled up in world-building you never use. You’re not writing lore for an encyclopedia. You’re prepping for a story..
What You Actually Need:
- A few bullet points of encounters
- Three named NPCs max
- A simple map or mind palace
- An idea of how things might end, but room for surprises
Let your players do the heavy lifting. That’s the fun part.
Cheap Visuals, Big Impact
You do not need animated battlemaps. You need vibes.
- Sketch a quick dungeon outline on scrap paper
- Use coins or dice for positioning
- Describe things dramatically. A single good metaphor can carry an entire room
“Yes, And” Is Your Lifeline
This is not just improv advice. It’s the soul of collaborative storytelling.
- “Yes, and….” gives players agency
- “Yes, but…” gives tension
- “No, and here’s why” should be used sparingly
The more you say yes, the more your world grows. And that’s where the magic lives.
Final Words: Start Small, Think Big, Laugh Often
One-shots are how you learn to fly without leaving the ground.
You’re not just running a game. You’re crafting a shared memory. You’re setting the table for chaos, drama, and dumb goblin plans that somehow work.
So start small. Keep it messy. Leave gaps for beauty. And remember that storytelling is already in your bones.
You are absolutely ready for this.
What kind of one-shot are you planning? Drop your ideas below. Haunted train? Fey rave? Cursed bakery duel? WQe love dtails, drop your ideas and suggestions in our socials
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