The One Room Adventure

Crawling without a dungeon

So many "site based" adventures are a dungeon where the PCs explore a portion of the mythic underground, but there are few adventures that take place within a single room (or, generally speaking, almost one room). In the DCC sphere, I can think of just a few that count and am going to discuss the different ways that these adventures execute on that concept in different ways.

The Brimstone Cradle

The adventure largely takes place in a single room cabin, but there is a small basement and the PCs may try to explore outside though a blizzard makes that difficult. I wrote this adventure so I know all about its inspirations and development. The core idea was wanting to create a Christmas adventure because I wrote it during December. And in Weird Frontiers you can properly have a "Christmas" adventure instead of a vague fantasy winter solstice adventure. And I love the Evil Dead films so I channeled that for the single room adventure vibe. The main thing that I did was try to pace the discovery, investigation, and resolution of the mystery while providing upfront stakes.

The PCs enter the scene, a baby is born, demons attack and clearly want that baby. The PCs get some time to ask questions to NPCs, solve a couple mundane problems relating to keeping the cabin warm and tending to the baby, then monsters attack. The adventure has these programmed in "action scenes" and "investigation scenes" that alternate until a final fight at the end (which does have some alternate solutions than fighting too). Combats stay interesting because there are different monsters or configurations of monster groups which enter the cabin in different ways. The exploration of the mystery stays interesting because the PCs are pressed to make quick decisions and through interesting handouts. Just like combat, information needs to be paced and presented properly or the adventure will fall flat.

Temple Siege

This adventure largely takes place in a single room inside a Temple, but there are a couple small side rooms. Similar to the other adventures, an outside force (bandits this time) keep the PCs stuck inside a building. There's an infamous half-demon bandit who has some special resistances and the PCs probably don't have good tools to fight him at the beginning of the adventure. But if they investigate then they can find some magic items that are effective. Inside the temple, there are some riddles and traps to be found. But bandits attack in waves, making it so the PCs can only do so much at a time.

Similar to The Brimstone Cradle, this adventure has the pacing of alternating combat and investigation scenes. This adventure has some great treasure and mixes up the investigate section with those traps and puzzles/riddles. The enemies all start as "bandits" but soon demons are added to the mix. Enemy variety is important in keeping players on their toes.

Acting Up in Lankhmar

This adventure takes place in a theater, the small basement, and the surrounding streets. It’s far from a single room but the PCs are aware of the entire area just as they would be in a “one room adventure”. The PCs are tasked with defending the theater and making sure that the final performance is a success. They know that a rich noble will send people to ruin the play, but not how. So they have time to prepare defenses and take position in and around the theater. The adventure does a good job at describing how the enemies will be held back or delayed. For example, the group that tries to break in through the basement will be held back if that door is locked and/or fortified. But its impossible to prepare for everything and there are twists along the way.

This adventure keeps the "one room" adventure interesting by using a really large room with lots of possible entrances/exits, having some stellar NPCs, and tying in a really fun narrative to the adventure. Just like in the previously mentioned adventures, it paces out different kinds of events so that things stay interesting for the players. It has a great twist half-way through the adventure that is an entirely different kind of "scene" than all the others. And there's a mechanic focused on how much the audience enjoys the play. The PCs are more likely to come out of the adventure with social connections as rewards than traditional treasure.

Conclusion

It's all about pacing, but you need to keep players on their toes! Each "scene" should feel unique. Consider mixing up investigation scenes with a mix of interesting puzzles, riddles, or NPCs. Try adding a twist half-way through the adventure that's not just "a weird combat". Combats should have variety, both in what enemies are encountered but also how they try to enter to attack. Try adding a "B plot" to some combats so that the enemies have a goal other than just "kill the PCs". The PCs aren't exploring vast dungeons, but there can still be physical exploration through secrets under loose floorboards, locked vaults, and secret basements. And add in a handout or two so that the players have a fun reward that way too! And last but not least, there's no one answer to how to execute the "one room adventure". Each one will be different and that's what makes them fun.

What’s the most memorable “one room adventure” you’ve ever done?

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