In this series, I’m going to be showcasing some techniques you can drop into almost any one-shot TTRPG session to improve it – even if the adventure you’re running is already published, these will make it better. Each one is minimum-prep, and guaranteed to be well worth it at the table.

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So here goes, with part 1 – 

Give the Party Sidekicks

Have the PCs accompanied for the majority of the adventure by some NPCs. These NPCs should be just useful enough that they make sense to be there, but certainly far less useful than any of the players. They can fit the genre of the game however you want – for a traditional fantasy dungeon-crawl, they can be hirelings, wannabe adventurers picked up back in town to help carry out the loot. For science fiction games, other members of your starship crew – or even red-shirted Security officers – make a good replacement. In a superhero game, they’re your sidekicks and support network.

Why This Works

There’s a few reasons why accompanying your adventurers with some NPCs will supercharge your game.

• They are an accelerant for in-party roleplaying. By asking PCs questions in-character as your NPC, you can drive some in-party chat, encouraging the players to discuss their game as their characters – creating a strong sense of verisimilitude
• They encourage heroism. By offering perspective on the PCs’ awesomeness, they show them what heroes they are – which can be difficult for players to see when they compare themselves to the awesome monsters you’ve provided.
• They double as emergency plot-hook-fishes (?) – if your party is stumbling, or barking up the wrong thread, they can gently lead the party back. Often, if your players deserve it, in the worst possible way. “Hey, look – this chest isn’t even locked! It looks like it has teeth in it – ”
• When they’ve become beloved companions, you can twist the knife by making them the big bad kill them first. If you can make this accidental, all the better “What – the dragon’s acid breath killed Rollo?! Right!”

Making the Best Sidekicks

There’s a balancing act here. Your hirelings need to be significantly less competent than the PCs, but still not entirely incompetent. What does this mean? Well, if you’ve got a low-level game of D&D or one of its related games (OSR or otherwise), making them standard 0-level is probably a good shout. Let them do 1d4 damage or something piddly, just enough to give them an impact but not to steal any glory. 

If you want, you can make them experts in some obscure aspect of the adventure – Rollo the halfling tailor is an expert in the scrolls you’ve come to steal; he’s always wanted to visit a real dungeon. But equally, they can be animals if you’d prefer – all my WFRP one-shots include a ratcatcher pregen just so my players have to deal with the classic “small but vicious dog.”

It helps to give them a simple roleplaying tic that will distinguish them to your players. Iron GM Gaz from the Smart Party gives all his Pendragon squires different accents – watch out for the Scouse one! Do this according to your own talents (just a slight inflection of the voice can be enough, and obviously make your accent use inoffensive)

Oh, and one note. If your players start overusing them for help (“I’ll get advantage, because Rollo the Halfling Tailor is assisting me!”) – absolutely hose them for this with that sidekick. At my table, if Rollo’s being ordered about too much, you can be sure he’ll start running off into other rooms, kicking in the poisonous mushrooms, and generally causing a nuisance.

So, part one of supercharging your one-shots is to give your party sidekicks. Subscribe to not miss any more in this 2d4-part series!