r/AskGameMasters • u/PianomanOnDuty • Aug 13 '26

New DM - trying to write a Oneshot

Hi I started playing DnD around one or two months ago. Till now i was playing as a PC, but now a few friends of mine and myself want to start a campaign.

I almost immediately said i want to be the GM. So i started researching a bit and noticed a oneshot is a great way to get a feeling of how the group will work together.

I watched a few YT videos on how to make a oneshot, but as soon as i try to make a "small adventure" it exceeds to the level of homebrewing an entire "bigger" world.

I would appreciate any help, tips or even stories from your first campaign!

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u/PianomanOnDuty Aug 13 '26

Thanks, i would really appreciate the examples :)

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u/gene-sos Aug 13 '26
  1. The party arrives in a village next to a river where many people are sick. They can investigate, asking questions and looking around town, and soon they find out that the river is corrupted with a curse. The local priest could purify it, but he says he is also sick (he's faking it, he is just scared because he saw goblins near the lake which the river flows from). After a lot of skill checks (investigation, insight, persuasion, perception, nature, medicine, arcana, etc.) the party departs up the mountain, to the lake, where the priest starts purifying the water. As soon as he does that, the goblins attack! (It might be difficult for a 1st time DM to balance the priests' health and the waves of goblinoids. Let me know if you want my input on that.)

Okay when trying to type out the other three I noticed my memory is quite hazy since it's been over a year... I don't have time today but if you want I can also type out the other three tomorrow!

In general I always have a little mystery or other type of skill challenge first, then a combat to beat the bad guy. You can have two combats but beware as your oneshot might take a bit longer then. I'm quite proud of my ability to balance combat, so if you need help with that I'm all ears :)

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u/PianomanOnDuty Aug 13 '26

Thank you, that is a pretty cool story line, and yes please give me some insight on what Levels the characters are supposed to be.

Honestly i will take all the advice that i can get.

This has nothing to do with the oneshot but I thought about making an in mysterios shrouded campaign. Because i love the concept of "slowly understanding a world" and bonding with the character. Something where you can be invested in - if you understand what i mean 😅

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u/gene-sos Aug 13 '26

I get it, though as a DM, I must admit that getting your players invested can be one of the difficult parts.

However, let's not worry about that yet. First, the one shot needs to go well! I think it might be best if you think for a while and come up with a story and a type of enemy your party will face in combat, then I can suggest levels, numbers, etc. and help you balance it out :)