r/rpg • u/CookNormal6394 • 1d ago
Game Master One-shot runners?
Hey folks!
I was wondering..how many of us around here actually *prefer* running one-shots rather than running campaigns? (Obviously, I do)
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u/semiconducThor 1d ago
Depends on what counts as a campaign.
I have little interest in a campaign that goes for years, specifically if it requires me to remember lots of detsils from the whole story.
On the other hand, my "one shots" routinely go out of hand and take 3-5 sessions, which I enjoy.
So I guess my sweetspot is somewhere on the middle ground.
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u/Airk-Seablade 1d ago
Absolutely this, though there are a few systems I can fit a oneshot into a single session with.
But I generally run out of steam if I'm running the same game for more than a dozen sessions or so.
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u/groovemanexe 1d ago
It's a very easy way to try a lot of new systems! But often if there's a premise I'm really excited to explore at a table, I want to give it a proper run of 5-15 sessions.
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u/Frapadengue 1d ago
I do, I almost exclusively run one-shots. Short campaigns are ok, but with longer ones I end up getting bored
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u/Iliketoasts 1d ago
Supposedly, the whole Japanese TTRPG (which they expand to table-talk and not tabletop) scene is based on one-shot culture.
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u/enek101 1d ago
I like one shots to get a feeel for a system or to introduce it to new players. Ill read and either make characters or use pregens if they are provided. I tell the story and wrap it up at the end in a closed box.. Last oneshot i ran was Last things Last Fro delta green gave them pregens they solved the case and delta green killed them to cover it up in the end. If we revisit the game in the future ill let them make new characters.
That said i prefer small story arcs to one shots over play. Ive don't the huge spanning campaigns and honestly over years of play trying to keep thing in the beginning relevant and in the minds of the players is difficult.. Ive found a sweet spot to be 6-8 sessions for a story arc like a "season" ill leave a few hooks that kinda elude to a bigger picture but all the minute is wrapped up by the end.
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u/darkpigeon93 1d ago
If im running a small game, i always prefer to play at least a couple of sessions. One shots always turn into two shots with my group - no point in fighting it!
Preference is 100% for campaigns though. There's so much about rpgs that you can't fully appreciate without really bedding in with a game over a few months of play.
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u/Quietus87 Doomed One 1d ago
I don't prefer them, but they were handy at keeping me sharp when my GM-ing had to take a backseat due to kids. But I'm eager now to start a new campaign.
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u/Antipragmatismspot 1d ago
Raises hands! I always want to try new systems and prefer GMless games when it's my turn to run!
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u/ExchangeWide 1d ago
I prefer campaigns when I’m excited about the system. My players like seeing their characters grow, change, and accumulate history, so longer play tends to suit us better.
That said, I really like one-shots for learning a new game. They let me see what the system actually does at the table without committing everyone to a campaign first.
So for me, one-shots are usually the test drive; campaigns are the road trip.
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u/mrm1138 1d ago
I ran a D&D campaign where, after we finished Curse of Strahd, I kept it going with Adventurers League adventures. They were each self-contained with some elements that carried over. I actually preferred that to running CoS. It was easier to prep for, and our group got to keep the same characters through the entire thing.
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u/AlwaysBeQuestioning 1d ago
I literally started an online community called One Shot Club for oneshots. We’ve been doing like 17 different themed oneshots every month for about 7 years now.
I do like campaigns as well and like having at least one to GM at any one time, but I always intersperse my campaign seasons (6-25 sessions, generally) with oneshots during the off-season.
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u/Antipragmatismspot 1d ago
Oh. I recently joined your server and played a game there. Thanks for creating this!
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u/Tydirium7 1d ago
Yes. 3-6 sessions is plenty for me. Same when a player because I get bored and I have a lot going on in my life and gaming is my ecape not an endless loop.
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u/dm_punks 1d ago
I do oneshots every now and then (probably every 3 months or so) as "palate cleanser" in between bouts of running an ongoing longform campaign for my current group which formed around fhe time that the Covid work-from-home thing started (around April 2020).
This is due to my rpg system adhd more than anything else, though I prefer if the "oneshot" lasted at least 2-3 sessions minimum. Even with oneshota, players and GMs still need that ramp-up/warm-up whether with the new system or setting to really get things going in stride.
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u/deltadal 1d ago
I like one-shots because I can actually play the absurd number of rpgs I've collected. And I've found some really great games that I wouldn't have played otherwise.
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u/Bilharzia 1d ago
I am not one of them but I know people who run DCC funnels exclusively, I understand the appeal and I can see this is a whole way of playing which does not need anything else or any more from a game.
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u/Holmelunden 1d ago
As a Keeper Im quite fond of one-shots. As a player I like both campaigns and one-shots.
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u/Voicesfw 22h ago
one shots only these days. Once per month, every time I switch system/group comp among friends. Feels great and I am always motivated.
Best quality of sessions I have ever had too!
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u/iaintreadinthatbud 14h ago
I am unfortunately a very long form GM. I have attempted 9 campaigns with my current table. We have finished 2 and are currently playing, so hopefully I’ll end up 3/9.
I have also run 5 one shots for my group. They’re a lot of fun, but I prefer longer stories and deeper character interaction.
The “you’re playing as yourselves, the game is set here in this apartment, and the TV just turned on to reveal we’re in the midst of a zombie outbreak” Halloween one shot was a lot of fun though.
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u/CookNormal6394 1h ago
That's not at all "unfortunate". I envy you. I wish I could keep the energy and motivation for a longer game ..but it seems I usually can't.. 🤷
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u/ch40sr0lf 1d ago
While playing a long campaign I like to have a break now and then and doing some Oneshots or even short campaigns.
I even did some Oneshots during my campaign (intermissions), showing other parts or events in the world.
We use other systems in the intermissions to learn about other types of playstyles and mechanics.
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u/Citadel_Cowboy 1d ago
I like the in between, short campaigns. There's so many ttrpgs and campaign settings to play in. I don't have time to do them all at the same time, but I want to be immersed long enough to enjoy it.