Best One Shots?

M

marksable

*eyeroll*
My formerly 5E/now Into the Odd group is going to be down a player this week, so we're going to take a break from our campaign.

In the interim, I'm looking for a good one-shot adventure. One that was positively reviewed by Bryce would be great, but not necessary. I would like it to be more of an adventure than an adventure framework, though.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
DangerousPuhson

DangerousPuhson

Should be playing D&D instead
Not sure you could call a 67-room dungeon a "one shot"... but if we are going by that route, basically anything on the Bryce TheBest list can fill the niche.

I'm partial to Deep Carbon Observatory myself.
 
squeen

squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
The Pod-Caverns of the Sinister Shroom is nice for 1st level adventurers and easy enough to get through in one session.

Byrce's favorite of all time (I think) is The Darkness Beneath Level 1: The Upper Caves from Fight On! #2. He doesn't gush about it (at all) in the review, but keeps coming back to it all the time. It's also appropriate for a low-level, one-shot.

I agree with DP that Deep Carbon Observatory also seems a fun choice for an Into the Odd group.
 
Melan

Melan

*eyeroll*
A dungeon does not need to be "cleaned out" in a one-shot, or even during the course of a campaign. It is usually even better when the game is a journey into the unknown, and there are unexplored areas left at the end. It makes for a satisfying sense of wonder, a mixture of discovery and things still shrouded in darkness and mystery. Hyqueous Vaults is one dungeon that doesn't have to be completed to make for an enjoyable one-session experience. The players would most likely still accomplish much, perhaps even solve some of the main challenges in the dungeon.

That said, Pod-Caverns is a reliable new classic, and it can be completed in one sitting.
 
Palindromedary

Palindromedary

*eyeroll*
I've run Pod Caverns as a one-shot. It was a long day (some 6-8 hours), but we did it, and everyone had fun. About the only issue was the way the dungeon is designed so that you can come in at either the first or third levels. Because of these, each level has teaser information about threats lying beyond. The DM knows this is redundancy in both cases referring to the Shroom in level 2 (because you can reach him from either starting point, so both starting points need to point to him). But, to a group advancing linearly from 1 to 3, you can get through 2, kill the Shroom, reach 3 and read all these clues to a greater threat and think that there's more to the dungeon than there is. I imagine the same thing could happen if you went from 3 to 1.

Not a huge issue, but something to perhaps be aware of.
 
I

Ice

*eyeroll*
I really like Tower of the Stargazer. I've ran it as a one-shot twice (in DCC and 5e respectively), and its been a hit with my players each time. The main antagonist/trap character is extremely memorable and fun to role-play. The look on my players faces when I started screaming at them at the top of the my lungs and threatening to murder their families was priceless.
 
The1True

The1True

My my my, we just loooove to hear ourselves don't we?
UK5 Eye of the Serpent or B5 Horror on the Hill. Really any of the old UK modules...
DCO is a timeless classic, but a headache-inducing nightmare that requires translation (for the purple prose), research (for better maps) and prep (for the hand-wavey rules) IMHO. This beast is the Matterhorn for experienced GM's (up there with King for a Day).
 
squeen

squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
@marksable: I'm sure the timing of your question has passed (and I'd love to hear what you ended up running and how it worked out), but one adventure I am enfatuated with, but haven't actually run is Operation Unfathomable (2017). It just hits the D&D sweet spot for me and I've placed it my home campaign, but the party just hasn't poked around in that particular corner of the world. Also, I think it would be a perfect one-shot.

Another setting that I haven't played, but I find intriguing is The Dark of Hot Springs Island (2018). That one seems very innovative and polished, but it doesn't quite call to me like OU (partly because its a bit more mature-content).

Also, there's Anhony Huso's A Fabled City of Brass. It's unabashedly 1e, for high-level characters, and beautifully crafted. It's got a high price tag, and I haven't heard any reports about how it plays---but I'd love to see how my players respond to its "frozen in time" atmospherics.

Oh yeah, Pollute the Elfen Memory Water looks like gritty fun too. A "Time Bandits"-like heist.

EDIT: Adding a few more on my own personal "Try these someday" list

 
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PrinceofNothing

PrinceofNothing

High Executarch
Staff member
Ice said:
I really like Tower of the Stargazer. I've ran it as a one-shot twice (in DCC and 5e respectively), and its been a hit with my players each time. The main antagonist/trap character is extremely memorable and fun to role-play. The look on my players faces when I started screaming at them at the top of the my lungs and threatening to murder their families was priceless.
Click to expand...
Though I've since walked back on my very high regard for this module because it teaches the wrong reflexes, its still fun and that wizard bit is awesome. I've run it 5 times. Just give PCs multiple character replacements if they are new and it doesn't matter anyway.

I'd like to add Tales of the Scarecrow by James Raggi and Stephen Oswalt's Mines, Claws, Princesses, the last of which is PWYW.

@squeen

Let me know how you like RPR. I am very curious how often groups get to tackle the Bull of Heaven and how the Naming mechanic works in practice.
 
The Heretic

The Heretic

Should be playing D&D instead
Doh! Way too late on this one, but for a nice one shot adventure I'd recommend At the Spottle Parlor from Dungeon #12.
 
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