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. Check out the previous posts here (adding sidekicks), here (hexcrawl plots), and here (deadlining fights).

Use a Montage Scene

A montage is a scene where you zoom out of the action for a bit while the PCs travel somewhere, and let the players narrate some scenery and action. They’ll take on some of the GMing duties, to describe what’s happening. It’s a good interstitial scene between more traditionally-played scenes, and allows your players to stretch their creative muscles while giving the one-shot a sense of scale and verisimilitude.

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