Welcome, intrepid Dungeon Masters, to the frostbitten reaches of Ten Towns, where a chilling mystery beckons your band of brave adventurers. A series of puzzling disappearances, marked only by enigmatic footprints in the snow, has stirred the locals into a frenzy of fear and whispers of a lurking beast. In response, the towns have pooled their resources to offer a bounty that no adventurer could ignore.

“The Beast of Ten Towns” is not just an adventure; it’s a foray into the unknown, a test of wit and bravery, and a perfect setting for an evening of dice-rolling excitement. This one-shot is crafted to take your players from the light-hearted banter of the local tavern to the edge-of-the-seat tension that only a face-off with a formidable foe can provide. And, of course, a few laughs along the way to ease the nerves.

In this article, we’ll guide you through creating a one-shot adventure that begins with a simple quest for gold and glory but soon unravels into a tale of ancient machinery and forgotten lore. Whether your players are seasoned veterans or newcomers to the table, “The Beast of Ten Towns” offers a complete narrative arc that can be played in a single session, promising both thrills and delight.

As always, the intent with this article is not to hand you a perfectly crafted one-shot that you can take, skim through once and then run. Instead, this article was designed to help you grow your skills and abilities in the art of ‘session-craft’. We have provided the bones of the adventure, but it’s up to you to flesh it out. This will help your voice come through during the session and allow you to create in a relatively safe space.

So gather your notes, ready your maps, and prepare to delve into adventure.

 

Step 1: Conceptualizing Your One-Shot

A great one-shot starts with a great concept.

“The Beast of Ten Towns” takes a simple premise—a beast on the loose—and turns it into a thrilling hunt that will test your players’ mettle. The key is to keep your theme focused and your scope manageable. One-shots are about delivering a satisfying story in a single session, so every element should serve the narrative you want to tell. We aren’t concerned with serving a larger narrative here. This is for a simple one-and-done, ‘a few friends are coming over and it might be fun to play D&D’ kind of night.

When deciding on your theme, think about what excites your players. Do they thrive on combat, enjoy solving mysteries, or relish character interaction? For our adventure, we’ve chosen a mix that caters to various playstyles. Our central idea involves the characters hunting a beast, which eventually leads them to uncover an ancient secret. It’s a story ripe with opportunities for roleplay, exploration, and combat.

 

Step 2: Building the Framework

Structure is your best friend in a one-shot. Break down your adventure into three acts: the setup, the confrontation, and the climax. This traditional storytelling structure provides a familiar path for players to follow, which is particularly helpful in a shorter session.

For the setup, introduce the bounty and allow the players to prepare their hunt in Ten Towns. They should be allowed to explore, get a drink, gather trapping equipment, etc. This act serves as the introduction to the world and the immediate stakes. The confrontation happens as they track the beast through the snowy landscapes, overcoming environmental challenges and piecing together clues that lead them to an ancient series of Dwarven tunnels. Finally, the climax occurs in the ancient room, where the true nature of the beast is revealed; an ancient Dwarven Automaton whose last directive was to protect the dwarves from any external threat.

 

Step 3: Developing Memorable NPCs

No adventure is complete without NPCs. They are the lifeblood of your world and can offer much-needed assistance or comic relief. In “The Beast of Ten Towns,” consider an NPC who’s a regular at the town’s tavern, spinning tall tales of the beast that may or may not contain grains of truth. This character can provide both information and levity.

When creating NPCs for a one-shot, keep their motivations clear and their personalities distinct. Since your players will only interact with them for a short time, you want these characters to be memorable and engaging.

This cannot be overstated. Having a memorable NPC, specifically one that is endearing, funny or outright inept, can add a throughline to your story and create lasting memories for years to come. Be careful though, as these kinds of NPC’s tend to get caught up in the snare of your players. More often than not, the party will drag them along and you’ll need to maintain that funny accent you came up with on the spot for what you thought was a throwaway character.

 

Step 4: Setting the Stage

The setting is where your adventure comes to life. Ten Towns is a locale filled with potential, from its snow-covered cottages to the icy wilderness that surrounds it. When describing the setting, engage all the senses. Talk about the crunch of snow underfoot, the howling wind, the biting cold. Make the players feel like they’re really there.

The background of Ten Towns also provides an opportunity to sprinkle in lore that can enrich the player’s experience. Perhaps the town they’re in has a history with the dwarven ruins they’ll later explore. Since we are playing in a location that is established and fairly notable in D&D lore (looking at you, Companions of the Hall), it can be intimidating to add bits of lore that are specific to your game. These details, however, can add depth to the world and foreshadow events to come. I’d recommend giving it a go and not worrying about the larger implications for the Forgotten Realms.

It would be prudent to make note of any changes you make in the event that your one-shot turns into a larger campaign. You can use these lore changes to help influence and inspire you down the road!

 

Step 5: Preparing for Variables

The beauty of tabletop RPGs lies in their unpredictability. Players might surprise you with creative solutions or unexpected decisions. In a one-shot, where time is of the essence, you need to be prepared to improvise.

For “The Beast of Ten Towns,” plan for different approaches your players might take in hunting the beast. What if they decide to set a trap? Or if they attempt to communicate with the beast? Have a few contingency plans ready, and don’t be afraid to nudge them back on track with subtle hints or timely NPC interventions if they stray too far from the path.

That being said, there is a fine line between nudging and what’s referred to by the community as ‘rail-roading’. As the name implies, ‘rail-roading’ is when you leave no room for deviation from your predetermined path, or the ‘rails’. Players would be the ‘train’ on the ‘rails’, and while the train will reach the destination, the train has little say about how and when it gets there.

Our philosophy is to limit the ‘no’ and embrace the chaos. It should be noted that this doesn’t mean your players can walk all over you when it comes to rulings/decisions, but if a player asks to do something within reason, consider letting them. Even though it may turn into an hour long side-quest to retrieve something of no significance to your original designs, roll that into the story.

Is your ancient dwarf automaton really weak to fire? No.

Did you players decide to spend 45 minutes designing a trap where it falls into a pit with a bonfire they carefully stoked to life? Yes.

Rewarding actions like this, even if the players aren’t aware of the reward, is what can make or break the overall player experience.

This doesn’t mean that the automaton falls into the trap and dies instantly, but you can play into the situation and make the players feel like they discovered something secret. Maybe the automaton has a built-in desire to put out large fires because it used to work in a dangerous forge, giving your players a free attack of opportunity while it stamps out the flames. Or perhaps the automaton has an innate fear of flame and claws its way out of the pit panicked, retreating to its cave and leading the players to treasure unwittingly.

Use your best judgement, but allowing situations like this to occur can help the players feel like their threads are being woven into the story. It will draw them in closer and also give you ideas to fill the world with!

 

Step 6: Rewards and Consequences

Rewards in a one-shot should be immediate and impactful. Since the players might not be using these characters again, give them rewards that feel significant within the context of the story. The treasures they find in the dwarven rooms can include minor magical items that provide fun and utility during the climax. This means to plan ahead and ensure that your players find the treasure room(s) before the final confrontation. This would allow them to use these new and exciting items to help bring down the boss!

Consequences are equally important. Make sure the players feel the weight of their choices. If they take too long preparing for the hunt, perhaps another group that is chasing the bounty gets the jump on them. If they’re reckless in the dwarven ruins, they might spring traps or alert the automaton prematurely instigating a fight or forcing them to hide as it wonders the cave.

Crafting a one-shot like “The Beast of Ten Towns” is an exercise in concise storytelling. By focusing on a clear theme, maintaining a structured narrative, and creating memorable characters and settings, you can deliver a thrilling experience in just one session.

 

Session Summary

In the frostbitten expanse of Ten Towns, a chilling mystery unfolds as residents vanish without a trace, leaving behind only enigmatic footprints in the snow. Rumors of a fearsome beast lurking in the shadows have stirred the townsfolk into a frenzy, prompting a substantial bounty for its capture or demise. A band of fledgling adventurers, enticed by the promise of gold and glory, takes on the perilous quest to hunt down this elusive creature.

Their journey leads them through the snowy landscapes of Icewind Dale, gathering crucial gear and deciphering cryptic clues. The pursuit reveals an ancient, long-forgotten dwarven tunnel, riddled with treasures, traps, and opportunistic goblins that guard the secrets within. As they delve deeper, they stumble upon a large, cavernous room housing an unexpected truth: the beast is no living creature, but an ancient Dwarven Automaton, relentlessly following its last directive to defend Dwarven territory and attack anything non-Dwarven.

In the climactic encounter, the adventurers must confront this mechanical marvel, a relic of a bygone era now guarding a trove of Dwarven riches. They face not only the challenge of a formidable foe but also the moral quandary of its existence. “The Beast of Ten Towns” is an adventure that blends combat, exploration, and mystery, inviting players to unravel the legend behind the disappearances and make decisions that will shape the future of Ten Towns.

 

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