One-Shots are a great way of introducing new players to Dungeons & Dragons or playing a quick game without requiring too much preparation. They can have great stories and fun combat elements in a short gaming session, which also makes them a great choice for groups who can't commit to a regular campaign.

There are many great one-shot adventures published by Wizards Of The Coast or other content creators on DMsGuild. But if you want to prepare a quick one-shot yourself, there are many themes and ideas that can be great for a D&D game.

Updated January 29, 2022 by Luke Ackroyd: D&D one-shots are a fantastic way to break up a long-term campaign or to introduce newcomers into the hobby, perhaps. It is always essential to have a short, concise story to tell, as you only have one session, and then the adventure is over. It can sometimes be tricky to come up with fun D&D one-shot ideas that you feel your friends will enjoy, so this article has been updated with four additional one-shot ideas for you to consider when crafting your latest one-off adventure. Perhaps an entertaining one-shot will inspire one of your following D&D campaign ideas too.

12 Playing Minions When The BBEG Is On Holiday

D&D - Curse of Strahd - Castle Ravenloft - Cyrus Belview

The big, bad, evil villain has decided to head off on a much-needed holiday to rest and recover after a humiliating defeat from an adventuring party. In their absence, who is left in charge of the evil lair? The minions, of course. In this wacky one-shot, your friends get to play as minions that must keep an elaborate lair clean and tidy until the villain returns. But what happens when there is an unexpected guest or a birthday party gets out of hand? The group must work together to handle a series of chaotic shenanigans before they face the wrath of their boss.

There are many possibilities for D&D one-shot ideas within this initial concept. The setting works perfectly with players that want to try out an evil character. But, it is even better if they embrace the bumbling minion trope to add to the chaos. You could even play as low-level monsters too. This one-shot works best as a mixture of horror and humor.

11 A Time Sensitive Curse

D&D - Darkling Elder Sipping Tea - Archfey Zybilna The Palace of Heart's desire

Your party has annoyed the wrong person and has awoken to find themselves cursed the following day. This curse might manifest itself as difficult status conditions that worsen as time passes. Alternatively, it could be even stranger, such as causing constant wild magic surges or the party being transformed into random creatures. No matter what you decide the curse should be, make sure it escalates with each passing hour. Your players now have a limited time to find the cure before they are overwhelmed by the curse.

This one-shot adds a sense of urgency, especially if you escalate the curse in real-time. They must find the person that cursed them and get it lifted, all in the space of one session. You can incorporate all sorts of surprises for your players and see how they act under pressure.

10 Visiting The Domains Of Dread

D&D - Van Richten's Guide To Ravenloft - Odaire and the puppet Darklord Malingno - A werewolf attack

The Domains Of Dread offer the perfect setting for a terrifying one-shot. You can either use one of the various examples in Van Richten's Guide To Ravenloft or craft your own sinister domain. A one-shot idea focused on the Domains Of Dread typically begins with your players being engulfed by mists and finding themselves in an isolated little world. There is no escape, not without defeating the domain's Darklord. This Darklord could be an evil puppet, a leader of a pack of werewolves, or anything else you can think of.

A Domain Of Dread could be as big or as small as you like. It could even be a single room, but there is always a straightforward goal: Escape and return to Faerûn. This keeps the story simple for a one-shot and keeps players from getting too off track, especially if you make the domain too dangerous to want to stick around in. You can keep players on their toes in Ravenloft by changing rules and adding all sorts of homebrew encounters for them to face.

9 The Arena

The Elder Scrolls IV_ Oblivion - The Arena

This next idea is inspired by the Arena faction from The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. Your players are gladiators in a local fighting arena and are keen to prove themselves as champions. The prize might be a large amount of gold, or perhaps they are fighting for their freedom. No matter the reason, they need to fight to survive. They might also earn new equipment between each round to help them specialize in various fighting styles.

This one-shot is designed to be combat-heavy, as your players get to use all of their skills to defeat their opponents. If you want to, this could even be a player-vs-player event to see a few high-level players go head-to-head. For those that want more than just combat, you can always turn the entire arena into a puzzle, with moving platforms and various areas to confuse and mess with the party.

8 Haunted House

Dungeons & Dragons Haunted House one-shot, a large mansion in a gloomy and dark atmosphere

Strange noises have been heard from one of the noble's mansions, and no one has seen them out in town for over a month. The townsfolk are afraid to go inside and investigate. On the one hand, they are afraid of getting caught breaking in if the family is still there, on the other hand, they are even more afraid of the voices that they hear around the mansion at night. So they asked a group of adventurers for their help.

Haunted Houses are a perfect setting for a D&D one-shot. They can be filled with puzzles and traps, and there are so many D&D monsters such as ghosts, willow wisps, wights, or other undead monsters that can inhabit these houses. Based on the difficulty of the puzzles and the challenge rating of the monsters you use, this one-shot can be suitable for any level.

7 Night At The Museum

Artwork of A Mage's Image Reflected In Multiple Mirrors

The Museum of magical creatures and mysteries was targeted by a group of thieves. The museum's defenses were activated, but they got away. The wizard who is the museum's curator put up a bounty for anyone who can enter the museum, get past its defenses, and find any clues leading to the culprits.

Museums are full of potential for creating interesting and challenging dungeon crawls, and yet they are so underused in the D&D setting. In a world full of magic and mystical creatures, museums can be one of the most fascinating places to visit. For this one-shot to reach its full potential, a higher-level party would be more appropriate.

6 Murder Mystery

Dungeons & Dragons Yawning Portal art of the innkeeper telling stories
Yawning Portal Art by Wizards of the Coast

It's a usual night of rabble-rousing, drinking, and singing in the tavern. Until suddenly, a strong wind blows out every light in the tavern, and impenetrable darkness fills the room. The barman starts lighting up the lanterns and torches again, and when the room is lit again, the lifeless and bleeding body of one of the patrons is left on the ground. One of the guards who were spending the night in the tavern locks the door up until they can find out who the murderer is.

Murder Mystery parties are classic role-playing games, and with a few adjustments, they can be turned into fun D&D one-shots filled with social interactions, crime-solving, and even challenging combat when the murderer is revealed. Since the dungeon master can roleplay NPCs, it's not necessary for one of the players to be the murderer, and they can work together to solve the mystery. The killer can be anything from a regular person who had a fight with the victim to dangerous creatures disguised as humanoids with ulterior motives. Since most of the game revolves around roleplaying, this setting would be perfect for low-level characters, even as low as level one.

5 Pirating Life

Dungeons & Dragons Art of a tiefling holding a wooden sword, standing on a barrel, on the docks

"Sail, ho! There's a galley on the horizon, ripe for looting. I'd say, bring a spring upon 'er, feed those landlubbers to the fish, and show'em who's in charge of these waters! What d'ya say Cap'n?"

"Heave-ho, you scallywags! Let's fill me pockets with some doubloons and me belly with some rum. We're going plunderin'!"

Pirating over the seas can be a lot of fun in a D&D game, but most parties are in typical campaigns are good characters, or even if they are evil, dedicating a whole campaign to pirating can get repetitive. But for a one-shot, this setting can be the perfect opportunity for some misdeeds, fun combats, and a lot of pirate talk. There are great homebrew sources online for handling ship battles, and when it comes to boarding a ship, epic and memorable fights can take place. These one-shots would be most suitable for mid-level characters unless you want to throw some more dangerous monsters such as Krakens at your players.

4 Heist

Dungeons & Dragons, an adventuring party looting a treasure hoard

The temple's treasury is famous for holding wealth beyond imagination. Be it coins, gems, or powerful magical artifacts, a group of adventurers hears about this opportunity, and they devise a plan to find their way into the treasury and run away with everything they can find in there.

Planning heists can be very fun for a D&D one-shot, and you can even print out a few maps and hand them out to your players, and watch as they come up with chaotic ways to get inside the target location. This type of one-shot would be best for a mid-level party, as pulling off a successful heist does require some powerful abilities.

3 Dragon's Lair

fizbans-treasury-of-dragons-cover-art-red-and-crystal-dragon-1

A stranger comes up to the party and notifies them of a red dragon's lair in the nearby mountain range. He promises to help them defeat the dragon, but he doesn't want a share of the treasures. He just wants to clear out the lair. While he is mysterious, he seems honest enough, and the dragon's treasure hoard is tempting enough for the adventurers to agree. After the red dragon is defeated, the stranger reveals his true form as a green dragon. He tricked the party into taking back his lair from a rival dragon, and now that the party is bruised and spent, he tries to finish them off. The ensuing battle would be challenging and memorable.

One of the most common complaints that D&D players have is that they don't face that many dragons in the game. Well, with this one-shot for a party of mid to high-level characters, your players won't be asking for more dragons for a while.

2 Prison Break

Dungeons & Dragons a tiefling, and elf, and an orc trying to open a locked door

A few adventurers have been thrown into jail because of their past crimes, but know they decide to use their collective talents and break free. They have to face guards and defenses that have been set up in the prison empty-handed to reach their goal.

This setting's benefit is that without their weapons and armor or material components for their spells, players have to rely on their creativity to get out of the prison. This one-shot would be perfect for low-level characters, but you can crank the difficulty up by having them imprisoned in more dangerous planes such as the hells, or the abyss.

1 Fighting The Classic Villains

Dungeons & Dragons Adventurers Fighting A Giant Monster

Many players have heard stories of fighting classic D&D villains and demigods such as Tiamat, Vecna, Orchus, or Terrasques, but they haven't experienced these high-level fights themselves. So preparing a one-shot for fighting these powerful villains is always a fun and popular option.

Players can create level 20 characters, which they rarely get to experience in most campaigns. But even as powerful as most classes are at max level, facing these villains is sure to be one of the most challenging D&D fights they will experience.

NEXT: Underrated D&D Monsters To Include In Your Next Campaign