After posting about the FITD one-shot structure, I thought i’d give an example of it in practice – with this one-shot for the Slugblaster RPG. Slugblaster is a lot of fun – and firmly in my bag of convention one-shot games. So let me know if you want more ready-to-play prep notes – I’ve got another (from our Unconventional GMs recording) ready to post!

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Golden Jungle Run

Scene 1 – Vastiche, escape

You’ve done it – you’ve climbed to the top of the Overpass, and tagged the old sign with your name – they’ll see DOPE whenever they get there, and not that stupid Ørange sign. All you have to do is board down the highway, hop through the portal back to Hillview, and collect the hits this tag is sure to get! But wait, is that a caustic storm? And a plastic dune sweeping in? And another crew – is that Null Range?

You’re in Vastiche, which is a chemical war badlands – easy to get to, so popular, but grim and largely uninhabited. It’s dangerous, but easy to get back to Null from – so lots of crews visit. You’ve just almost finished your mission – you’ve just got to get home now.

You’re on top of The Overpass, which is a huge swinging bridge of bumper-to-bumper wrecked cars. The air’s stinking of sulphur here, and the air stings your faces and any exposed skin. You can hear the wind whip in.

You climbed up the structure of the bridge to get here – and you know that the thin-zone at the bottom is where you need to get to. But a chemical storm is blowing in, and what were clear routes down are now covered in thin plastic dust. There’s a few pipes and routes left exposed, but they’re being covered by the sand. You could try and skate over the cars, but some of them are sliding this way and that in the wind. There’s another route down the other side, too – but you can see the douchy blazer of Curtis, one of Null Range, hanging out there – and you guys have beef.

You’ve got to get down somehow – this is a test for each PC to try and navigate down.

Possible problems include chemical burns, the appearance of Rescue, a collapsing car roof, or even a countdown starting.

Once this is done, roll everyone’s Disaster to see if they make it out without trouble.

Scene 2 – Hillview, downtime

You’re back home – in Hillview, Null. It’s over to you – you can each have one scene by spending the resources on your sheet (usually either Trouble or Style) and triggering its effects. You get 3 Group Style for the finished mission!

Once this has happened, you bump into Jax at the diner of your choice. He’s found a trove of stuff out in the Golden Jungle – an isolated Praetorian, a massive ruined Gundam, with loads of cool gear inside – including some dope hoverboards. Jax is willing to take you there, because he left his own board in there last time.

Jax

Motivation: Be popular (oh, and get his board back) – don’t let these losers show him up.

Sensory details: Sunglasses, speaks in a terrible way-out 90s surfer/skater pastiche

Jax is super happy they’ll help him, because when he asked Null Range they pulled out (after he’d told them the location of the Praetorian. He does admit that the Praetorian is a bit isolated – there’s no thin-zone nearby, so they’ll have to skate over the wilderness to get there. But that’s part of the fun, right? They’ll take some cool snaps! Jax, of course, has a spare board, which is better than any of the PCs (“Oh this old piece of junk? Yeah, its pretty shameful – but it’ll do.”)

Scene 3 – The Golden Jungle, crocodile lake

You portal in through the thin-zone and land, skidding, in the technicolour maelstrom of Golden Jungle. Jax starts to lead the way, skating over the choppy lake you’ve landed above  – there’s movement below, too, and – are those crocodiles? Oh yeah, they are – as one sends Jax barreling into the water.

The crew lands about twenty feet above crocodile-infested waters, plunging towards the lake. The air smells thick and moist, and there’s a cacophony of birdsong and strange animal noises, as well as the creak of the canopy. On the far side, which Jax is moving towards, there’s shadows in the thick trees. 

The crew have two objectives here – rescue Jax (there are, of course, crocodiles in the water) and get across the lake. Go into individual checks for the first – and set up a clock where needed to escape (try C R O C)

Problems include bigger crocs, the shore at the far side being quicksand, being bitten by crocodiles, Jax loses his board (you can double up on another board, but it’s awkward – and Jax will dive down after it).

Once you’ve recovered, you can board through the jungle. Jaz says the Praetorian was due north of here, consulting his reality-watch, beyond the clearing.

Scene 4 – The Golden Jungle, the clearing

The canopy suddenly thins, and you can see rough cliff edges rise either side. Birds, and strang reptilian creatures, circle overheard – the clearing is picked clean, and there’s a dude in a douchy blazer lying down at the edge, waving his ray gun at the birds, with a nasty-looking wound in his leg.

Hey – hey, did the guys send you? Help – I’m stuck out here! He waves his board limply at you.

A bird swoops down and rips at his sleeve – it’s like they’re toying with him, but they’ll run out of patience soon! This is Curtis, and the rest of the Null Range crew have gone to get help.

Curtis

Motivation: To stick it to the man, ie, to be achingly controversial and diffierent

Sensory tips: Roll eyes and tut even when being rescued. Everything is so unfair.

At the table: Talks like Kathy Burke in Harry Enfield’s Teenagers sketches, or Kevin and Perry go large.

The crew will have to decide what to do with Curtis. He doesn’t want to tell them why they’re there – but Null Range are looking for a Praetorian too, and Jax won’t tell them either. A check could find out though! Any attempt to cross the clearing will result in BIRD ATTACKS. They need to figure out what to do with Curtis, and also get across the clearing

Scene 5 – The Golden Jungle, the Praetorian

The Praetorian is a huge gundam, half-buried in the ground, overgrown with weeds, maybe three hundred feet high. The sounds of animals, insects and vegetation are quiet here – almost too quiet. The entry point into the Praetorian is through the face-plate – and you’re not the first people here. Scowling at you with their badged blazers, the rest of Null Range are here too – each one a mirror image of the crew.

Hey – this is our giant robot! Jax sold us the deets fair and square. 

Jax squirms

Whoever tries to talk to them, they’ll begin to race up to get the stuff!

Null Range names: Rizz, Turbo, Lil’ Tiger, The Magician, Curtis Two

There’s a Mathpanther (of course) stalking around the Praetorian – and its three dimensional orthogonality means it  can treat any surface as the ground if it wants to and climb with ease.

Chase Checkpoints:

1. The half-buried legs – easy for boarding on, but leaves you exposed
2. The Praetorian’s open hand – it twitches as if it could reactivate at any point
3. The shoulders – where flying drones trigger and open fire on the crew
4. The face-plate; it’s jammed shut and will need to be hacked

You’re competing against just one track here – 

Ø R A N G E for them making it to the gear

Scene 6 – The Gear

This scene is pretty open ended – they might confront Null Range here for the stuff, or Jax, or Curtis, or any combination thereof. Roll 1d6 each for how many Lenses, Discs, and Coils you find – and 1d3 for how many Gems. As you take them, though, it’s clear reality isn’t happy with this much action, and the sirens of RESCUE call out from the base of the Praetorian – can you escape?