Thursday, September 11, 2025

Wizard Dad's Workshop: Protecting your favorite campaigns from runaway one shots

I love RPGs. Some more than others, but I have yet to find a game, a knowledgeable gamer, or a well written blog post that hasn't had some good idea, or hasn't sparked an idea of my own. I know there is a ton of repetitive schlock out there, but even in most of those books there is some twist on an old idea that can help it be new again. 

My complete love of games is a constant danger to the games I am already playing and loving. This brings to mind a question. How to you sample from the endless menu of RPGs without losing your favorite campaigns in the process. I have outlined articles with different styles of play, like the Cross Hatch Campaign style (a solo riff on West Marches) and the Hub Character Campaign style, where one character, usually not a heroic type, becomes either quest giver and uses other characters to fulfill the adventure aspects.  

What if, though, you just want to sample a new game or character, but don't want or can't tie it to a current campaign? In that circumstance One Shot adventures sound perfect, don't they. Theoretically they are, but there in lies the trap. Because good gamers get invested in there characters, and lord help you if you are also a setting design nut. You soon find that one shot has branched out like a creeping vine and you are thoroughly entangled in it.

What that suggest is that we need some guidelines to building the kind of one shots that are in their own nature self limiting. Which isn't to say you can't play the character again. It only insures that there is a well defined (rather than open ended) ending where you can put the character down, and pick back you with your central campaign. (Naturally if you don't do central campaigns this isn't going to too useful an article... I probably should have that at the beginning).

Ok, first lets define what I mean by campaign and what I mean by one shot.

A campaign is a series of related adventures brought together by either a central cast of characters (down to a number as low as 1) or a setting with a contiguous timeline (meaning when any character in the setting changes something it stays changed).  This is sort of the old fashioned view of campaigns from early on in the hobby, but I believe it works well for the purpose of this essay.

A one shot on the other hand is a game with a fixed boundary such as in the form of a task to be performed or a location to be experienced, that has no relation to or impact on a campaign.

The first thing you need to do is ask yourself what is it you want from the one shot. For me this can run in four directions. I want to try out a new character concept. I want to try out a new game system or mechanic. I want to get a taste of a setting, to look into investing more in it later. Lastly, I may just want to play a new style of game for a while (like a horror game for spooky month). If you can define what your player objective is, you are already heading in the direction of having a game with closure.

Secondly, don't jump in immediately. Take a little time to reach a good break point for your primary campaign. This could mean something different for everyone. For me, it means being set up to go do something in the primary campaign, so when I shift my attention back to it, I am not plodding around for ideas. I have something solid to come back to. (In my on going D&D/GURPS hybrid the PC has all the preperations ready to start solving the mystery of his missing fiancée, and is ready to jump into the action of the hunt.)

With your beloved primary campaign wrapped in is strong plot bubble wrap,  it is time to get that one shot going. In this you will want to start at the end. You need to decide from the beginning the story closure conditions of your one shot. It could be when you have had a satisfying exploration of a new character type (used all those psychic abilities in a satisfactory way). It could be when you have feel you have accomplished the stylistic goal (you have thoroughly delved a dungeon or solved a mystery and the Big Bad is in a box or behind bars). It could be when you have finally played that module you just couldn't fit into your primary campaign. I could go on and on, but just to say it in plain language, you need a satisfaction as a player that you have done what you set out to do with the game (rather than within the game).

The next thing you need is a closed loop scenario. This means once the game is established all the elements you need to play it are already in the game (even if they haven't been introduced yet or you don't even know what they are). If you are generating content as you play it, as most solo players do, ever significant NPC, location, and encounter needs to be in service of the scenario, thus inside the loop. You can have any number of insignificant encounters. If your GME tosses some goblins at you for no reason, feel free to play whack-a-mole with them. You don't have to worry they are carrying some aspect of the plot. But if you come upon the ruins of a burned out wagon train it must have some clue that points towards the conclusion. Otherwise you are looking at a side quest that is going to branch you off the main path, and that my friends is how the creeping vine spreads. On that note, no red hearings, or unnecessary obstructions. If there is a needful clue find it and move on.

Next, you need to consider length. If you are too long away from your primary campaign, even if you do just play a series of long shots, it will be that much easier to let it drift away (if you do you can throw it a life preserver and drag it back, check out this article on that topic). So, setting a session limit is key to getting to that ending. If you are playing a location based adventure limit the number of locations. If it is a mystery, limit the number of suspects, if its a world exploration, decide ahead of time what one or two facet of the setting you want to explore on this one shot. Accomplishment length determination is a lot more satisfactory than limiting the game to 3 or 5 sessions (though if you get over 7, you may as well admit that you are now no longer game monogamous)

If you are playing a pre-published module or adventure even if it is a rather large one (I am looking at you City of Brass), seriously consider cutting out side quests and focusing on the primary plot. If it is a multi part campaign (well you are already cheating on your primary a bit, but I won't tell), it will usually have chapter breaks. Use them as halting points and head back "home" a while. 

While designing the character(s) you want to play in this one shot, don't let yourself be held back by feeling you need to start the character at "first level". Make exactly the character you want to play. That way you aren't starting off just grinding the character until it is ready to face the challenges you want it to experience.

A useful tool found in many games is a progress tracker. It is just a line with a lot of boxes on top, and some numbers underneath. I suggest listing your game goals (not necessarily a game outline), and each time one is achieved mark off a box.  When you are down to just one or two boxes, steer the game towards an ending. Yes, this is artificial. Yes this is heavy handed, but you do still want to get back to your primary campaign. This allows you to play the game in a fashion that is only semi linear, but can still see an end in sight.

I think that is about all I have to offer. It is a way to think about one shots as one shots, more than it is a system, but it has worked for me for over a year. I hope it is useful for you as well. 

(If you enjoyed this article, check out the Blog Index for more content that may entertain or inspire)

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Wizard Dad's Workshop: Mythic Worksheet and Flowchart locations.

(Listed below are every worksheet and flow chart from every Mythic Magazine to date.  This it is pretty much in raw data form, and I probably won't be cleaning it up. The point was to track all of them down, so I can add them to the big master index. But as that will take forever and a day, I am going to tack this up here, and toss up a link to the master index page so that if you are interested in whether the article you want has one of these features it will be easy to locate. I will leave this up and keep expanding it until I have the master index all polished up.)

(If you enjoyed this article, check out the Blog Index for more content that may entertain or inspire)

MM1-6

  • MM1 [No WS or FC]
  • MM2
    • Randomized Location Crafting 
      • Known Elements Region Sheet
  • MM3 
    • Using Mythic With Published Adventures
      • Published Adventure List Sheet
  • MM4
    • Mythic & Crafter Flowcharts
      • USING THE FATE CHART fc
      • RESOLVING RANDOM EVENTS fc
      • RESOLVING SCENES fc
      • ADVENTURE CRAFTER ADVENTURES fc
      • FATE CHECK fc
      • DETAIL CHECK fc
      • BEHAVIOR CHECK fc
    • Popular worksheets collected (not an article, just back matter)
      • MYTHIC ADVENTURE SHEET
      • CUSTOM THEME FOCUS TABLE
      • ADVENTURE SHEET
      • Plotlines List
      • Characters List
      • Character Sheet [MRPG1]
      • NPC Worksheets
      • Scaling Box
      • Wounds
      • Questions
  • MM5  [No WS or FC]
  • MM6 
    • Creating Mystery Adventures
      • Mystery Matrix
MM7-12 
  • MM7
    • Customizing A Solo Adventure Before You Begin
      • Meaningful Events List
  • MM8 [No WS or FC]
  • MM9 
    • Generating NPC Behavior With Fate Questions
      • RESOLVING NPC BEHAVIOR fc
  • MM10
    • Control Your Adventure With Keyed Scenes
      • Keyed Scenes Record Sheet
  • MM11 [No WS or FC]
  • MM12 
    • Getting The Most Out Of Sourcebooks
      • Nested Characters List Sheet
      • Location Crafter Pre-Filled Region Sheet

MM13-18
  • MM13 [No WS or FC]
  • MM14 
    • Emotional Quest Adventures
      • THE EMOTIONAL QUEST fc
      • EMOTIONAL QUEST RECORD SHEET
    • More Flowcharts!
      • LOCATION CRAFTING fc
      • RANDOMIZED LOCATION CRAFTING fc
      • STATISTIC CHECK fc
      • CREATURE CRAFTING fc
  • MM15 [No WS or FC]
  • MM16 [No WS or FC]
  • MM17
    • Creative List Tips and Tricks
      • Hybrid List
      • 2E ADVENTURE LISTS
      • ADVENTURE LISTS
      • Nested Characters List Sheet
      • ADVENTURE CRAFTER LISTS
      • ADVENTURE CRAFTER DECK LISTS
      • Keyed Scenes Record Sheet
  • MM18
    • Adapting The Event Focus Table To Your RPG
      • ADAPTABLE EVENT FOCUS TABLE

MM19-24
  • MM19
    • Crafting Solo Horror Adventures
      • THE HORROR PROGRESS TRACK
      • The Horror Flow Chart
  • MM20
    • Conclusive Adventure Conclusions
      • Keyed Scenes Record Sheet
      • THREAD PROGRESS TRACK
    • Turn Any Show, Movie, Or Book Into A Solo Adventure
      • Location Crafter Pre-Filled Region Sheet
      • CONVERTING A NARRATIVE TO A SOLO ADVENTURE fc
  • MM21 [No WS or FC]
  • MM22 [No WS or FC]
  • MM23 
    • Creating Complicated Campaigns
      • Adventure Lists
  • MM24
    • The Event Crafter
      • Event Crafter List Sheet
MM25-30
  • MM25 [No WS or FC]
  • MM26 
    • Running Solo Procedural Dramas
      • Procedural Drama Worksheet
  • MM27 [No WS or FC] 
  • MM28 [No WS or FC]
  • MM29 [No WS or FC]
  • MM30 
    • Mythic As A Solo Journaling Game
      • SOLO JOURNALING WORKSHEET
MM31-36
  • MM31 [No WS or FC]
  • MM32
    • “Gather A Crew” Mythic Adventures
      •  GATHER A CREW WORKSHEET
      • GATHER A CREW fc
    • Dealing With Time Pressure
      • RANDOM EVENTS & MEANING WORKSHEET
  • MM33
    • Mythic Mass Combat System
      • MASS COMBAT FACTIONS ws
  • MM34 [No WS or FC]
  • MM35 
    • News Feeds
      • NEWS FEED SHEET
  • MM36
    • Location Based Adventures
      • HOME LOCATION WORKSHEET
MM37-42
  • MM37 [No WS or FC]
  • MM38
    • Solo Setting & World Creation System
      • WORLD CREATION SHEET
      • STEPS TO BUILD A WORLD fc
    • Make Your Own Elements Meaning Tables
      • CUSTOM MEANING TABLE CHECKLIST fc
  • MM39
    • NPC Evolving Motivation Rules
      • EVOLVING MOTIVATIONS SHEET
    • Detailed Flowcharts For MGME2e
      • FATE QUESTIONS fc
      • RANDOM EVENTS fc
      • SCENES fc
      • COMBINED FLOWCHARTS fc
  • MM40 [No WS or FC]
  • MM41
    • Mythic As a Player Emulator
      • A MODEL FOR EMULATED PLAYERCHARACTER BEHAVIOR fc
  • MM42
    • 3-Act Structure For Mythic Adventures
      • MYTHIC 3-ACT STORY STRUCTURE
MM43-48
  • MM43
    • Creating Game Loops In Solo Play
      • Fantastic Quests fc
      • Monster Hunt fc
      • Relic Hunt fc
      • Crime Mystery fc
      • Horror fc
      • Heroes Journey fc
      • General Loop Framework fc
    • Writing Fiction With Mythic
      • CHAPTERS AS PROMPTS fc
  • MM44
    • Running Solo Slice Of Life Adventures
      • CHARACTER KEYWORDS
  • MM45
    • One-Page Character Crafter
      • ONE-PAGE CHARACTER SHEET
    • Magical Tradition Generator
      • MAGICAL TRADITION SHEET
  • MM46
    • Star System Creator
      • STAR SYSTEM CHART
  • MM47
    • One Page Mystery Crafter
      • MYSTERY MATRIX
      • ONE-PAGE MYSTERY CRAFTER VISUAL GUIDE fc
  • MM 48
    • COZY SOLO
      • COZY ADVENTURE GENERATION VISUAL GUIDE fc
MM49-54
  • MM49
    • The Society Crafter
      • SOCIETY SHEET
    • A Guide For New Solo Roleplayers
      • ADVENTURE FRUSTRATION REDUCING CHECKLIST
  • MM50
    • Deconstructing Prepared Adventures for Solo Play
      • DECONSTRUCTED ADVENTURE SHEET
  • MM51
    • The Mechanics Crafter
      • MECHANICS CRAFTER SHEET
      • MECHANICS CRAFTER RULES
    • The Event Crafter Collection
      • EVENT CRAFTER LIST SHEET- Evidence of a Conspiracy
      • EVENT CRAFTER LIST SHEET- Creature Feature
      • EVENT CRAFTER LIST SHEET- Expansive Catastrophe
  • MM52
    • Non-Linear Solo Adventures
      • NARRATIVE ORDER VERSUS CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER fc
  • MM53
    • Discovery Prompts
      • WHEN TO TRIGGER A DISCOVERY PROMPT fc
    • Mythic As A Board Game Opponent
      • MYTHIC BOARD GAME SHEET
  • MM54
    • Down Time Adventures
      • DOWN TIME ADVENTURE CREATION fc

MM55-57
  • MM55
    • Galaxy Creator
      • GALAXY MAP
  • MM56 [No WS or FC]
  • MM57
    • Evolve Adventure Settings With The Adventure Crafter
      • EXPANDING EVENT SHEET

Wednesday, September 3, 2025

Wizard Dad's Workshop : Hub Character, a New(ish) Playstyle for Solo Gamers

Here is a little idea that I thought was unique, until two friends pointed two different games that do it. Still it isn't popular mode of play and I have my own spin on it, so here we go.

The concept of the Hub Character is a character that in their normal mode of play spins off adventures for other characters. Unlike my Crosshatch campaign concept, instead of a shared origin city and rumor list, these characters, perhaps one shots, get there marching orders, from the Hub character. Though the Hub Character isn't plot immune, they should have some degree of plot protection. Wealth, a prestigious position, being hidden away, etc. etc. 

The Hub Character finds secrets, or needs a level of help that is either not possible due to some constraint or another. I will drop two examples of Hub Characters below, that I believe will exemplify the style without making it technical. 

Example 1. Lady Edwina Camellia, Chief Librarian of the Citadel of Summersea. 

Lady Camellia is both nosy and crowd shy, but is fascinated by mysteries and secrets. Though, a powerful mage, her magic is all about preservation and research, though she is quite good at animating origami creatures to do her bidding. Lady Camellia has a very important job, because the library vaults of the Citadel extend all the way back to the Kurchal Empire, and amid the collection are magical text (a few) and documents such as treaties,  pivotal legal decisions, and untranslated books of ancient lore, but magical and mundane. (If there is a library with a bootleg copy of the Book of Ebon Night or the Octavio this is it). When I am the drivers seat playing Lady Camelia  the games are very slice of life, but she has well spaced out Keyed Scenes (MM10, pg. 12) that trigger if no mystery or paper related quest has popped up in three game sessions. When a problem is beyond her resources, which considering that she is a bent backed old lady who uses a cane is towered over by nearly everyone, and that she has nearly every day for the remainder of her life booked with appointments, happens quite often, she will seek out the right person and hire them to pursue the problem. She she is a quest giver. 

Additionally, because part her work is to translate ancient manuscripts, some of them turn out to be histories, usually in the form of first person journals from celebrated people of the Imperial era. These translations spin off into Found Journal games, that in return will frequently leave mysteries or problems behind that need to be handled, and then she is off to the adventurers taverns again (or more likely one of her agents is) to secure the right person or people to seek out the answer to the question. In addition to the fun of playing a powerful mages odd day to day life, she also has has a staff which include a body guard and a chief assistant, and a lot of pages, who really wish they were somewhere else, these can also be "activated" as characters to explore different aspects of the setting.

Example 2. Archmage Adnin Merpati, Master of Masks

Archmage Adnin is a 356 year old man who lives in the Realm of Dreams and turns the spiritual energy of the Gods and Heroes of Legend into masks of paper, leather, and bronze (or some other metal should it be more applicable).  Those Masks imbue the users with a sliver of the greatness of the hero they represent. As a 356 year old he has a few bad habits, a lot of enemies, and an army of masked manikins that would threaten a small country, if he had such inclinations. 

Very recently, while at a Convention of Mask Wizards, three of his greatest masks were stolen. Along the way home while ponding how to deal with this he encounter a homeless, but seemingly healthy young man being pursued by brigands. A few spells later, and on an impulse that himself doesn't even understand he hired the unfortunate fellow has his valet. Being a escaped serf, he knows little of being a valet, and he also has a secret terror of magic. 

So, as a Hub Character, Adnin goes about his business of making lesser masks for rich merchants and nobles, but he also is in the process of seeking heroes to recover his lost property. (He feels a bit exposed leaving his tower, as he has committed the occasional atrocity over the years, and would rather not deal with the torch and pitchfork crowd). Thus, he spins off classic trope fetch quests. He also send proxies out to research legends and gather the materials he needs. He is sort of an industry unto himself. So, not only do I get to play a Wizard of legendary capability, I also get to play all of his "minions". The serf, named Jakarta, is an especially fun character because his life has been turned up side down. He is from a class that is powerless, but now is associated with a power that frightens half the city, and very much frightens him as well. Alternating between the two characters, you get to see the city (I borrowed the name Kadath from someone not using it), from its top and its bottom.

Lastly, as Adnin harnesses the powers of Story, through the spells of vison casting (sort of like documentaries, but with more dragons), we get the needful stories that imbue the masks he creates, I can add quirks as well as powers to the magic. Here is my chance to play any archetype character I want, at any power level facing any challenge, so the context of the mask creation is grounded in a story that I, the player, am involved with. 

A Hub Character should be fun in their own right, but should leave plot hooks laying around like a spilt tacklebox. If you have a main PC that would be logical to retire, maybe they have loose ends to tie up, or maybe you would like to make someone new, who would be far too powerful to conventionally challenge, but has a lot that needs done. The possibilities are nearly endless.

(If you enjoyed this article, check out the Blog Index for more content that may entertain or inspire.)