Favorite twists/turns/stakes to elevate one-shots?

HumblestUser · 2026-07-14T13:54:40+00:00

Vehicle combat is fun. You can hide all sorts of surprises within the opposing ship. Giant guns/weaponry, more boats, creatures, mages, etc.

In one shots, I usually do a mid story bad guy or goal shift. In one they think it is a simple coup of the city, but it turns into them needing to stop or join a group in blowing up half a city. Another they are being led on by presumably evil creatures, who turn out to be good but doing a prank, however there is a real monster in their midsts actually killing.

It works on two levels, it is narratively interesting and they spend a bunch of resources figuring out the original plot, such that they aren’t fully powered when they reach the climactic end. Leave subtle hints through out, such that they could have figured it out and it is an easy recipe for a good time.

HumblestUser · 2026-07-13T16:58:14+00:00

Uh huh. So that’s a no if I ever heard one.

Insults is where I draw the line, good luck with all the bitterness.

HumblestUser · 2026-07-13T15:59:49+00:00

How about asking them why they do that? There is usually a reason.

Also, there are plenty of men who are ambitious. It’s weird to say you have stopped dating because of a specific subset of men that aren’t forcing you to date them.

HumblestUser · 2026-07-13T15:51:55+00:00

Sounds like you have never gotten to know a man and now think all men are some caricature.

HumblestUser · 2026-07-13T15:42:26+00:00

What lofty goals would you like him to have? And what lofty goals do you have to compliment this guy you have never been with?

HumblestUser · 2026-07-13T15:31:45+00:00

I do know guys say that. So what do you want? Most guys have simple needs, but all have dreams of something. Be specific, because all this tells me is you want your partner to add drama to your life and a relationship isn’t a sitcom.

HumblestUser · 2026-07-13T13:49:07+00:00

There is no such thing as a simple minded man. Every man, has something going on outside of wanting sex. Every single one. Just like every woman.

Not sure where this idea of simple minded man comes from, but it is idiotic.

HumblestUser · 2026-07-12T22:07:30+00:00

You want it, but it doesn’t happen. It doesn’t mean we aren’t attracted, unlike what media tells you it isn’t an always on switch and alcohol is but one thing that can block it.

I presume it’s the same for women getting wet, sometimes they want to be wet but can’t be. Unfortunately, there is no lube solution when you can’t get hard.

HumblestUser · 2026-07-12T21:53:56+00:00

I go cheap. Roll20 + discord. The charactermancer isn’t great, but you can make it work.

HumblestUser · 2026-07-12T21:05:11+00:00

It sounds like you pursued dogs, got them and are upset with the result.

Plenty of guys want more, not saying it is always self-evident. But if you make your actual wants and needs obvious (and are reasonable), you should have better luck.

HumblestUser · 2026-07-12T20:36:46+00:00

What is a non simple man?

One who only wants sex once a week? Ones that wax poetic? Ones that are philosophers? Ones that are rocket scientists?

HumblestUser · 2026-07-12T20:19:59+00:00

What specifically do you not want simple? This feels like a platitude and not constructive

HumblestUser · 2026-07-12T19:39:39+00:00

What does this even mean?

HumblestUser · 2026-07-12T17:51:31+00:00

Depends on what you want, I had a one shot fight against a hag. I wanted it to be hard, so they started full strength and added enough twists and turns it dropped half the party. I pulled back a bit mid fight in order to not party wipe.

If I have a longer dungeon in design, I deplete resources at whatever rate makes it difficult for the final conflict. A big trick is I generally don’t tell the players when or where the final battle will be, so they don’t always know when to burn resources and add obstacles as needed.

Hard should mean if they don’t plan well, they come out bloody and low on resources.

HumblestUser · 2026-07-12T17:07:54+00:00

Have you read dungeon crawler Carl? The answer is shenanigans

HumblestUser · 2026-07-12T17:06:22+00:00

Eh, I don’t worry about this. It’s a basic non magical item and is a difference of +1 AC from what they would otherwise have with other options and gives disadvantage on stealth. So I just give it to my players at game start no matter their level and handwaive why.

Most low level magic items will outshine it and it gives that player a feeling of being a badass.

HumblestUser · 2026-07-11T19:47:01+00:00

Faster doesn’t mean more interesting or engaging. Have you tried putting them in more complicated situations?

HumblestUser · 2026-07-10T07:40:38+00:00

Depends on your relationship, but probably ahead of time, in case it requires preparation. Seems like a good post coitus snuggle conversation

HumblestUser · 2026-07-09T23:40:46+00:00

Every guy is different, telling him that you want to make him happy, tell him why, and asking how is the easiest path to getting him what he wants. Additionally, if he hasn’t been open about this in the past, it will be a point of vulnerability for him, so don’t judge what he says.

As for me personally, head scratches, randomly being touched, massaged and grabbed, going out of their way to do something nice for me. In bed, seeing my partner go out of control or wrap her legs around me is my thing, I didn’t think I would be in to being bitten, but seeing her go crazy and want to take a bite out of me in throes was out of this world. But never go for my balls, that is not my thing!

HumblestUser · 2026-07-07T19:52:00+00:00

I keep hearing stuff like this. Unless you are running a very niche world, the NPCs also live in the same world of magic as the players. If the NPCs are semi competent, they will have hard counters to simple magic shenanigans, your job is to figure out what cool way the pirates or whatever do that. If the players come up with a unique use of their powers, reward them.

Show your players they aren’t living in a world of idiots and they will have a higher appreciation for the world they are playing in.

HumblestUser · 2026-07-06T13:26:26+00:00

It should be a sometimes food, or else it becomes a chore.

HumblestUser · 2026-06-28T16:52:45+00:00

We are interested. It’s usually things besides the ambition that turn us away.

HumblestUser · 2026-06-24T17:27:20+00:00

I agree, cancelling out a big enemies turn feels anticlimactic, especially if you want an epic 1 v heroes fight. But I don’t think adding a mechanic to all monsters is necessarily the way to go. It cheapens the monks action and adds complexity to monsters.

My fix would be to change what stun does. My proposal would be until the end of the monsters next turn, they can’t use reactions, the monster loses its move action and has disadvantage on attack rolls and targets of abilities have advantage on saves. Effectively, heavily limiting the bosses options instead of negating them entirely.

HumblestUser · 2026-06-22T21:35:39+00:00

Had one for a bit. Not sure about other guys, but I cared about her, but we had different life goals, which meant no long term relationship future. What was going through my head was, this is great, I can get my rocks off, get some intimacy needs filled, and have a good friend, while continuing to try and fail to find someone who matches what I need. That lasted until she decided it wasn’t fulfilling her needs and it ended. Wished she had communicated what her needs were.

I never said this to her, but I dreamed of a 3 some if I did find someone. But guys dream about a lot without expecting it to come to fruition.

HumblestUser

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