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.
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