The One-Shot Show

This is a preview of this month's bonus episode! You can find the full version on our Patreon.These bonus episodes are longer than our usual fare, at around 25-30 minutes each, and are where we dive deeper into topics too big to fit in a regular episode.Enjoy!If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's Pitch-A-System again! Each of us has brought a system to talk about and maybe convince you to try out!If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've waved in the direction of this problem in the past. Today we tackle it head-on. Here's how to solve 5e's rest rules.If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The second in our new format! Every month we now do a live Q&A in our discord server where our backers can ask questions about the last month's worth of episodes.If you're listening to a regular weekly episode and have a burning question, jump on our Patreon so that you can ask us in our next Errata session!If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It happens to all of us. What do you do when your campaign just falls apart? How do you move forward and make sure the next one doesn't suffer the same fate?This episode we talk about how to learn from failures and share a few of our own.If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's one of the more uncomfortable parts of being a GM, when there's a problem player it falls to you to handle them.This week we're sharing our advice on how to deal with the situation calmly and kindly.If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With so many years of build up, you better make sure you get that finale right!If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Exactly what it says on the tin. Matt reckons foreshadowing is a load of nonsense that doesn't even really exist. Do you agree?If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This a brand new format that we've been teasing for a while! Every month we now do a live Q&A in our discord server where our backers can ask questions about the last month's worth of episodes.If you're listening to a regular weekly episode and have a burning question, jump on our Patreon so that you can ask us in our next Errata session!If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode gets into the weeds of a useful framework for thinking about what creatures to use and when.If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most TTRPGs expect some kind of downtime during your campaigns, the beats between all the quests and adventures, but how do you actually run that downtime?If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a preview of this month's bonus episode! You can find the full version on our Patreon.These bonus episodes are longer than our usual fare, at around 25-30 minutes each, and are where we dive deeper into topics too big to fit in a regular episode.Enjoy!If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're talking about those moments when you look across the table, reach into your notes folder, and pull out a piece of paper. How do we use handouts? What tips and tricks have we learned over the years? Find out today!If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Let's be real, running for 4 players is very different to how you would run for 8 players. This week we're getting into the nuts and bolts of how the headcount at your table can drastically change the way you run your game.If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we're talking about a concept that involves embracing the changeable nature of tone and genre to create an entirely different kind of gameplay experience.If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition has been much maligned on this show. Paddy may be on the fence still but Matt's had enough. Today we ask the question, what would D&D need to do to win us back?If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back to our series on character archetypes and how best to provide for them at your tables!This time we're talking about the Healer and the Glass Cannon.If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a preview of this month's bonus episode! You can find the full version on our Patreon.These bonus episodes are longer than our usual fare, at around 25-30 minutes each, and are where we dive deeper into topics too big to fit in a regular episode.Enjoy!If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A few weeks ago now Matt Colville posted a great video where he talked about his GMing Style.Toward the end he put out the call to other creators to jump in with any additions on the topic of GM Style. We talk a lot about the things that make up GM Style on the show so we figured we'd have a go at codifying a few 'GM Archetypes'.If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To celebrate we're looking back across the year, talking about our favourite things about the show so far, and sharing a bit of what's to come!If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a difficult and contentious topic to cover. We've done our best to bring nuance to the discussion. Enjoy!If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're returning to our series on Villain Archetypes for a second installment. We're covering another two and they could not be more different!If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you've seen the latest announcements about D&D's upcoming content you may also have strong feelings about it...If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a preview of this month's bonus episode! You can find the full version on our Patreon.These bonus episodes are longer than our usual fare, at around 25-30 minutes each, and are where we dive deeper into topics too big to fit in a regular episode.Enjoy!If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode was commissioned by fan Craig! We're talking about the more out-there ways we've pushed the medium of TTRPGs. Everything from inventive ways to use dice, to unusual campaign structures, to radical boss designs!If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to use itIf you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maybe the most contentious topic we've ever covered! We get really in-depth on the topic of fudging dice rolls as a GM. Also, fair warning, Matt gets very loud for a stretch at the start. Headphone users beware. He's just very passionate about the topic!If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a companion piece to this month's bonus episode where we talk in-depth about puzzle design! You don't need to listen to that episode for this one to make sense but the two definitely build off one-another.Anyway, this week we're covering a pet topic of mine where I teach you how to treat a dungeon like a large interconnected puzzle, and how to design said puzzle.If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a preview of this month's bonus episode! You can find the full version on our Patreon.These bonus episodes are longer than our usual fare, at around 25-30 minutes each, and are where we dive deeper into topics too big to fit in a regular episode.Enjoy!If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What GM assistance tools do we use? What are some systems we dislike? How do we feel about solo-play RPGs? We answer all these and more!If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is another new series that goes in depth on some of the kinds of villains or antagonistic forces you might want to use in your games. Think of it as a sort of dark mirror to the 'Character Archetypes' series.For this first one we're talking about the Mastermind and the Muscle.If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk a lot about long-term campaigns and one-shots, but we seldom talk about the middle ground! We (try) to get into it this episode, but quickly get sidetracked in realising that we ought to deep-dive into specific campaign lengths.If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a new series we've been cooking up for a while where we talk about certain character archetypes and how best to provide for them at your tables. Each episode will cover 2 archetypes in depth. For this first one we're talking about the Face and the TankIf you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a preview of this month's bonus episode! You can find the full version on our Patreon.These bonus episodes are longer than our usual fare, at around 25-30 minutes each, and are where we dive deeper into topics too big to fit in a regular episode.Enjoy!If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Losing your character sucks, except when it doesn't. This week we're talking about some of the reasons a player might actually enjoying seeing their character meet their end.If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We went into the studio early especially to record this while Stranger Things 5 is still topical. We have gripes about it, of course. It's not just the writing, it's not just the inaccurate D&D, it's the terrible writing *within* the show's D&D. Paddy has an axe to grind this time and the Duffer Brothers' heads are on the block!If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This topic got us really excited when we hit upon it because it nails a concept that we've skirted around before but never quite had the language to address directly.If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're talking about the place comedy has in our home games. If you're anything like us, you like a laugh at the table, but how do you make sure it's not distracting or otherwise 'ruining' your game?If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're releasing December's bonus episode completely for free!This episode goes into the business side of TTRPGs. We're talking about the inevitable tension between player-oriented and GM-oriented products and how it presents a fundamentally unsolvable dilemma.If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've talked about non-violence and avoiding combat, but we've never gone into the nuts and bolts of running non-combat encounters like chases and negotiations. That changes now.If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're doing a special Christmas episode full of all the little tidbits of advice that didn't quite fit into our other episodes this year. We've stuff our stockings full of them and are opening them up today to share with you all!If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're talking about how to play games that avoid violence altogether. That doesn't mean they avoid conflict, mind you! So the question comes: how do we introduce conflict while avoiding violence?If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week each of us has brought a system to pitch to you the viewer (as well as each other!)If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This simple-seeming question is deceptively complex. This week we're breaking down why and might just change your perspective on what you consider to be 'Official' content.If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a preview of this month's bonus episode! You can find the full version on our Patreon.These bonus episodes are longer than our usual fare, at around 25-30 minutes each, and are where we dive deeper into topics too big to fit in a regular episode.Enjoy!If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's nothing worse than preparing something really cool, only for your players to go in a completely different direction. All that effort wasted! Or is it...If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You've probably come across the phrase 'How do you want to do this?' or possibly even use it already in your games. This week we're talking in depth about it as a tool and how to take it even further!If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here's the f***ing dungeon crawl rules by the way:We reference these in the episode and mention they will be linked in the show notes, so here's the link:https://apothecary.press/2021/01/18/where-the-f-are-the-dungeon-crawl-rules/If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a new episode format that we'll be doing intermittently going forward. Those of you who support us on Patreon can submit questions that we'll answer in these episodes!If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brought to you by Start Playing! Sign up with the link below for $10 off your first game:https://startplaying.games/referral/cmf5m9zlt00majr04kxq0eykzThis week we take on a more casual tone as paddy and I sit around the fire and reminisce on our long years of difficulties in finding groups and players.If you like tuning into The One-Shot Show, please support us on Patreon!www.patreon.com/oneshotshowAccess video versions, bonus episodes, community discord access, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.