The Fastest Way to Make a D&D One Shot
A Guide for Dungeon Masters who want to make a quick D&D One Shot that their players will love!
Why A One Shot, and Why Fast?
A one-shot in D&D is a self-contained story designed to be completed in a single session. This lets your players try out new character ideas that they aren't sure of, while letting you (the DM) try out new rules, new stories, new magic items, new NPC characters, and even new worlds.
That's what makes a D&D one shot fun! The party gets to enjoy an adventure in a single session that likely combines combat, story, and, of course, friends in the room. One-shots are ideal for events like conventions, game store events, or casual game nights with friends (when you can get them out of the group chat and in person).
One-shots often feature a limited number of encounters, usually around two major ones, to keep the session focused and manageable. After all, you do have the time constraint of a single session, which typically run about 3-4 hours (but we won't tell anyone if it's longer).
Because of the casual nature of a one shot, it can be hard for Dungeon Masters to feel adequately prepped for the session. They still have to go over rules, abilities, player characters, monster groups, combat encounters, social encounters, important scenes, and decide how much time they'll have to make it all work.
Sometimes, putting together a one shot can feel like grabbing some duct tape, quests, hope, ideas, and ideas, then mashing them all together and occasionally glossing over some details, all to make the game run like it's supposed to.
That's why this guide exists: to help DMs who want to be able to have fun playing D&D at any given moment, without the need for exhaustive prep. Knowing these tips can help free your time, making your experience with party quite a bit better. So, keep reading, and you'll see the best way of making a successful, exciting, and absolutely awesome one shot.
Step One: Think of Your Players' Created Characters
Players should have their characters ready prior to the start of the session to save time. Now, your players will likely be interested in doing something new, like trying out a class for the first time, or ignoring an aspect of a class that they usually have to account for in longer campaigns. For instance, it isn't worth worrying about the limited utility of fighters outside of combat when the one shot is a quest for a holy relic in a monster infested dungeon.
Of course, this means that your players might bring really different characters to the table, ones with abilities that you may not know the rules on. It will be up to your group to self monitor, to some extent, and learn the rules for their characters. You can talk to your table about this beforehand, or just work it out as you go. As you'll only be playing for one session, the fine details may not matter as much as having fun and enjoying the one shot, whether or not the right dice rolls were made.
A huge aspect of thinking of your players' characters revolves around level. Making sure that you know what level you want your players at is essential to fast DnD one shot prep, as that decides what kind of bad guys you want to throw their way. If you aren't sure, starting your party at level 5 is never a bad idea, as it gives the players enough abilities to have fun in combat or social encounters, but doesn't give them enough abilities to make the DM's life difficult.
Additionally, when preparing your one shot session, it is beneficial to provide players with specific information about the adventure to help them create characters that fit the story. For example, if your one shot takes place in an entirely underwater world, you'll want to introduce that concept to your players before hand, so they can focus on making a character that can swim or cast underwater breathing, rather than spend their time working on a heavily armored paladin.
Making the setting clear ahead of time will give your players something to expect as well, allowing them to imagine what might be happening in the adventure, and give them a sense of the story as well.
If you are spending too much time on creating a world, let WorldSmith's world generator do the heavy lifting, speeding up the process and giving you more time to come up with one shot ideas.
You can also reverse the process to some extent, having your table introduce you to their players, then figure out the details of a world and story that can combine those characters into a one shot.
This can be especially effective if your party wants to try out certain abilities or features in a one shot, as it makes sure your players get to play the game in a way they want, and giving you a creative challenge.
Step Two: Combat Encounters
Identifying how you want to run your combat encounters is extremely important to the success of the one shot. For example, knowing your party wants to have a classic adventure fighting goblins, trolls, and a dragon lets you know that you'll need to create some combat encounters.
With the time restraints, you can create combat encounters that combine elements of what your players want. For example, your table can have their characters fight to save a local noble from a goblin ambush. Assuming they can handle the goblin ambush, the local noble can tell them that they've hear rumors of a dragon hiding its horde in the middle of the mountains.
Perhaps this local noble, if they are feeling particularly generous, can even give out a magic item for the party's efforts in saving them. This should excite your players, and put them on the path to finding that dragon horde.
Typically, combat encounters can take an hour or so, but the goblin ambush scene shouldn't take quite that long, making it perfect for a one shot. It also serves as a plot hook for your players to jump right into the story. Clear plot hooks should be given within the first 15 minutes of play to engage players immediately. If you are going this route, to maximize time efficiency, players should start in medias res, directly engaging in action at the beginning of the game.
Following along with this example adventure, your party and their characters may face down trolls, a yeti, a harpy, a manticore, or even a giant along the path to face the dragon.
Having large enemies like these, with an additional few smaller beasts or monsters, can give your party an enjoyable encounter without taking too much time. They can take out the small monsters, then focus all of their attacks on the main one, making sure that the scene moves along and the game keeps happening.
To make sure that combat encounters don't take all the time of the session, you can introduce the enemy to disasters like avalanches, or make them afraid of your players and scatter, or using a bit of trickery, you can even use old magic or a long buried run to cause an explosion.
These tricks can be answers to long combat or annoying mechanics, keeping your the story moving, and your players from being stuck in the middle of your story, wondering if this fighting will take another hour or not.
Combat in one-shot adventures often takes longer than expected, necessitating careful pacing. The most important thing is to keep the story going, and maybe let a few dice roll lower than the numbers on the dice. Now, this isn't advisable for long campaigns with players who really care about the story and their characters, but it is great for a one shot.
Making monsters and combat encounters can be done very quickly with WorldSmiths generators. You can put in your ideas and the details from your adventure, then watch as the generators fill up stat blocks, write a scene, work in the adventure, and get you back to your party (or let you rest a moment).
Step Three: Give The Story A Twist
While one shots don't allow the time for complex plots and intricate motivations, they do have enough time for a twist. This makes the one shot more memorable for your players, and gives you the satisfaction of a reveal.
Following along with our previous example, the dragon horde could be found in a cave in the middle of the mountains, but with no dragon--only massive piles of gold and bones.
As the players investigate, they may find magic items or loot, but it is too easy. The party may have a sense of urgency and a need to hurry up, scrambling to get what they want and get out of there; the party might not, and wish to investigate further. Either way, after a few minutes of exploring go by, the local noble from earlier appears at the mouth of the cave.
With a clever one-liner and a cocky grin, the noble then transforms into the dragon, excited to see the players have walked right into it's lair.
Now the combat encounter becomes personal, the players are extremely motivated to take down the dragon, and you can watch in satisfaction as they scold you for tricking them. This quest has become a final battle scene, getting everyone in the room excited.
Ultimately, a one shot doesn't need a twist, but a simple one like this can complete a story, giving it a satisfying ending. And, after all, a satisfying ending must conclude before the session ends.
If you want to include a twist, you can start from there. A good way to start designing any one-shot is to begin with the end in mind and reverse-engineer the experience. This way, you can make sure your plot is consistent, without having to make extensive revisions to your story after coming up with a brilliant twist, freeing up much of your time.
Step Four: The Nitty Gritty
All of the previous steps have been focused on large scale issues, like story, combat, and characters. This step is more about making sure you have the tools you need to actually run the one shot.
Keep Your Notes Handy
Even the simplest of one shots will require some details, factoids, and basic information about the world that you might need to have on you. It is important to have a clear and concise location for all information in a one-shot, so whenever the need arises, you can consult your notes efficiently.
The last thing you want is for a one shot to become a two shot because you couldn't find where you wrote stuff down. If you use WorldSmith or a similar site to generate any of the monsters, magic items, encounters, or NPCs in the one shot, create a file and put them all together. This way, you can surprise your players when you have answers for all of their questions.
Don't Get Bogged Down
To cut unnecessary narrative elements, one-shot DMs should eliminate travel, shopping, and lengthy rest scenes. You don't need to let your players shop in a one shot. If they want something specific, like a magic item or a special weapon, let them start with it, or tell them no and move on. Travel scenes are also unnecessary, unless you plan on having a story beat take place there. Rest scenes can also be a bit long, as players may want to figure out strategy or down time for an hour. Don't let this happen in your one shot!
Let Your Players Have Fun
Players typically have thousands of zany ideas per minute. Usually, you reign these in and keep them from having too much of an impact on the story at large. That being said, one shots are the perfect place for craziness to run free, and for your story to be altered for the dumbest, funniest reasons.
Borrow A Story Structure
Stealing isn't always wrong, especially if you are stealing a story structure. While we won't go over many details of these structures, here are a few good ones you can use.
The 5-Room Dungeon is best for 4-hour sessions and involves an entrance guardian, a puzzle or roleplay challenge, a setback, a boss battle, and a reward or revelation. A simple formula for structuring a one-shot is 1 meaningful social interaction, 2 combat encounters, and 3 scenes.Free D&D one-shots can be found on platforms like DMs Guild and are often available as 'Pay-What-You-Want' options.
Use WorldSmith To Help Get the Details Right
WorldSmith can help DMs prep for one shots by letting them put in their ideas, then spitting out complete stat blocks, plot hooks, descriptions, lore, and quests. If you are pressed for time or want to focus your effort on writing your story or working with your players, WorldSmith can save you hours of going through the Dungeon Master's Guide or the Monster's Manual.
WorldSmith can even generate items or NPCs while you are at the table, letting you improvise your one shot and tailor the experience to your players needs. If the combat is flying by, or your players are wanting a social scene, create NPCs with names, histories, stats, and motivations to keep your players attention.
Conclusion: The Perfect Session is a Played Session
Dungeon Mastering can often feel like a heavy burden, filled with the pressure of maintaining continuity and balancing complex mechanics over months of play. However, the beauty of the one-shot lies in its freedom. By stripping away the need for massive world-building and long-term consequences, you strip away the stress.
As we’ve explored, the fastest way to get to the table involves simple but effective preparation: establishing clear character expectations, designing punchy combat encounters that start in medias res, and crafting a simple narrative twist to leave a lasting impression.
Remember, the goal here is efficiency without sacrificing quality. You don't need to write a novel; you just need a playable framework. Utilizing time-saving strategies like the "5-Room Dungeon" or borrowing established story structures allows you to focus on the energy at the table rather than getting lost in the prep work.
This is where leaning on digital tools becomes your superpower. Using a resource like WorldSmith isn't "cheating"; it is the modern DM’s way of prioritizing storytelling over spreadsheets. Let the generators handle the stat blocks, loot tables, and NPC names so you can focus on delivering your dragon’s dramatic monologue with full conviction.
Ultimately, the success of your one-shot isn't measured by how perfectly you followed the rules or how mathematically balanced the final encounter was. It is measured by the laughter, the gasps at your plot twist, and the stories your friends tell afterward.
Because the stakes are lower than in a long-term campaign, you have the license to take risks. Let the players try that ridiculous plan. Let the villain be over-the-top. If the party wipes, it’s a tragic ending; if they win, it’s a glorious victory. Either way, the story is complete when the session ends.
So, don't let the fear of preparation stop you from scheduling that game night. You now have the roadmap to go from a blank page to a full session in record time. Gather your friends, grab your dice, fire up your generators, and dive in. The world doesn't need to be perfect—it just needs to be played.
