Halloween One-Shot Adventure Ideas & Principles for D&D

[@zedgathegreat9122]

I agree with Flutes on his opinions on the False Hydra and the Bagman. The False Hydra could be absolutely amazing, however, holy hell, the prep on that is a nightmare. To get it right, to do it justice is pretty far beyond what a lot of people can really do, and is not a one shot idea. You need sessions in advance to seed it, you need to find ways that not just the characters get invested but the players themselves. You almost need months to set up things... little clues here and there. Little tidbits and breadcrumbs. You have to set the proper tension and mystery and find ways to lead the PC's into it. They have to be 100% invested in the NPCs, the town, characters, etc. before you can even begin to run it. It is a slow burn. Yeah, the pay off can be so worth it, but you have to work so hard for those gut punches. You really can't sell the whole idea in just a few hours, it is something that needs a lot of time and commitment for the pay off. The Bagman though... Yeah, you can play it as a slow burn and it'd be fantastic. Or do it is a one shot, a la Alien, and it'd be just as good. There is so much potential any way you run it. Maybe several sessions back you find a Bag of Holding and weird stuff happens since. Maybe you hear a rumor 4 or 5 sessions down the road about it (that may or may not have anything to do with the BoH, but makes everyone suspicious), or even before they pick one up they hear tales. Maybe your quest points you to a certain place and you find one.. but there is some weird stuff going on, and until they can escape they are being hunted by an unseen killer. It really can be a multi-session arc or even just a creepy one shot. There is tons of versatility behind it.

[@FlutesLoot]

THAT'S what I'm talking about! I chose not to go on a tangent in the video about these monsters, so thank you for perfectly explaining what I was alluding.

[@Okayest__DM]

Thanks for having me, Jordan! My mini-series to find out what happened to Sven airs 10/16

[@FlutesLoot]

I need to unravel Sven's mystery!

[@cadenceclearwater4340]

Rolemaster has a spellcaster called The Dreamlord. This individual catches the party asleep at an inn. They "wake up" in a forest, and are being stalked/hunted by a giant spider lich and all her minions. Was that Hugo pitching in 😺

[@FlutesLoot]

That sounds cool! Anything that throws off player expectations or uses illusions to switch things up is great.

[@BearBardTales]

Appreciate you having me on! Always fun coming up with one shots!

[@FlutesLoot]

For sure x2!

[@mattnerdy7236]

He croaked! That's when I knew, he was from the temple, Temple of the Frog!

[@FlutesLoot]

I'm all for froggy adventures

[@mattnerdy7236]

@@FlutesLoot I'm sure you already know this, Temple of the Frog 🐸, is D&D's first published adventure or module if your old school. Kevin knows more about it, then I do, great old adventure, would fit perfectly for Halloween.

[@FlutesLoot]

@@mattnerdy7236 I admittedly did not know that!

[@Nathan-fj2un]

Ran a false hydra it's a ton of set up. And a lot of work as a DM but not much from the players.

[@FlutesLoot]

I'd bet many DMs don't know how much work it is to do it justice and not frustrate the players so much that it's not fun.