I’m planning on running a gameshow/tournament style one shot, which would mostly be PVE but would end in a PVP style battle royal. I was thinking there could be different opportunities for individual players to earn gold/points to spend at an item shop before the final match, to balance out the classes and add some fun to the mix.
Planning: Come up with a clear structure of games or challenges first. It would help to draw from existing gameshow formats — just replace trivia answers with riddles or locked doors, athletic challenges with combat scenarios, or cooking competitions with alchemical concoctions.
Player Involvement: Make sure to keep everyone involved during the PVE part. Try to include challenges that cater to the strength of each class. For instance, wisdom-based challenges for clerics and druids, strength-based challenges for fighters and barbarians, and so on.
Currency System: A points or gold system would be an interesting mechanic. The more challenges the players complete, the more points they get, and these can then be exchanged in your item shop for equipment or buff that will prove useful in the final battle.
The Item Shop: Before the battle, do give players opportunities to equip themselves ideally. Include consumables, equipment, magic items or even traps that characters can use during the battle royal.
Non-combat Challenges: Not everything should be about combat. Set up contests of wit, agility, or creativity. Mystery solving, obstacle courses, crafting challenges, or role-playing scenarios might be an interesting change.
Bombshells: You should add a surprising twist in the middle to keep the situation exciting and keep participants on their toes. For instance, switch up challenges, enforce a surprise task, or an unexpected NPC.
Balance: Take care to balance your challenges. They should start easier and get progressively more difficult, but not impossible. Remember, the aim is for the players to have fun.
Time Constraints: This will put pressure on the players and minimize lengthy discussions and planning, intensifying the game’s drama.
PVP Fairness: If you’re ending with a battle royal, make sure to address players’ concerns about PvP. Reiterate that it’s all part of the game, ensure you’ve got rules in place to deal with PvP scenarios, and remind everyone to respect each other’s character choices.
Encourage Roleplay: Player interaction is at the heart of a gameshow oneshot. Reward clever roleplay or thoughtful in-character decision-making.
Reward: Offer a worthwhile prize at the end, such as a magic item, reputation, or even a wish. This will motivate the players to play competitively.
Tie-Ins: If this oneshot is part of a larger campaign, consider ways to tie outcomes back into the main campaign story. Remember, the main goal is to entertain the players, ensure everyone has a chance to shine, and create a memorable gaming session.#
Thank you for this, it’s very helpful! I’m thinking it may be hard to incentivise the players with a reward in the context of a one shot, but maybe I’ll bring up the idea of a sequel to get them more motivated.
2 Minute Tabletop has a great module you can run. I just ran this with my family on vacation when we were looking for something to do in the evenings. I extended it a lot with some fetch quests before the tournament, and everyone had a good time learning their characters/practicing their mechanics.
Relevant links: https://2minutetabletop.com/greybanner-arena-rules-activities/
https://2minutetabletop.com/greybanner-arena-tournament-rules-roster/
Thanks for this, I’ll gave a look through. Sounds fun!
You could totally do something TaskMaster style.
