How To Design One-Shots That Actually Last One Session! w/ Grant (Game Master Monday)

Do your One-Shots go over one session? Do you want to know how to plan one-shots in a way that keeps them fun and within the time limit?
Well today on The RPG Goblin we are taking about exactly that! I bring on Grant Nordine, host of Game Master Monday to share all of his wise wisdom on one-shots, answer your questions from Threads, and provide plenty of fly analogies! 

I also talk about my own experiences with running one-shots with my home groups! what's worked, what i learned and some of my failings!

We also discuss running one-shots at conventions, how to keep them in time without rail roading, and the 8 tenets of designing one-shots! 

Transcript

0:00

Welcome everyone to the RPG Goblin, a t t RPG exploration podcast where we make learning these games fun and easy because that's what you deserve, because you deserve to play fun games that are cool and not just stuck with D and D. Doesn't mean D and D is bad. I'm just saying. I am your host. Oh, yeah. It gets more unhinged every time I do the intro. I am your host, Willow, the resident goblin who asks all the questions and Just obsessed with TTRPGs in general. I just like talking about them, and that's why I bring on other people to talk about them because I need someone to, feed my desires of this. And so in today's episode, we are going to be talking about designing 1 shots, specifically designing 1 shots that actually last 1 session because I'm sure many of you have experienced a 1 shot that was planned for only 1 game. Like, okay. Let's do this. And then it ended up becoming a 4 shot or an 8 shot, which I hope it didn't become an 8 shot because that's actually a lot. That's a campaign. That's a campaign. Yeah. That's a campaign. On today's episode, we have Grant to talk with us all about designing 1 shots, which is absolutely perfect because he runs the show game master Monday, which basically specializes in playing 1 shots in all kinds of different and cool systems. And so, to actually, you know, know everything about Grant, I will let him take the floor and actually introduce himself properly and not my just weird all over rambly introduction. So there, go ahead. No. I liked it. It it was perfect. Fuck the script. Yeah. I This this shit is unscripted. I do not I I can't script, and so we'll we we do it by the seat of our pants. That's exactly how you run a one shot, Wilhelm's time. Woo. So hi. I'm I'm Grant. I am the Titular game master over at game master Monday, where we play a different one shot in a different system with a different cast every episode. You may recall me from an earlier episode where I did where I came on and talked about arc doom because I was the guide for a show called Bella's Comet, and I'm and I and I'm free. I am free from that obligation now. If you haven't heard that, there is a big twist. I I I'm not the guy anymore, but spoilers kind of, sort of, not really anymore. But, hey, You'll listen to that too. But I'm here to talk about 1 shots and game master Monday specifically, so you get me for both my shows. Exactly. Which if you haven't listened to the arc doom episode in general, stop this. Go back. Listen to that because Grant like, our conversation was a little ridonculous. There was probably a little too much laughing involved in not enough TTRPG chatting, but it's fine. Hard disagree. Alright. This is I think it was great. Although, you're a delight. Don't sell yourself short. Well, thank you. I appreciate it. No. I it was it was absolutely fantastic. Definitely, we like, I feel like every time I finish an episode, I'm like, man, that one was really good. But, like, that one, especially, that was just really fun to end, and then it's like, man, That's a really great episode. So then I was like, Grant, we need to do a 1 shot episode because, like, it's required at this point. And I went on to game master Monday as well to play paranormal inc, which was fucking awesome. We What a great time. What a great fucking time. I know. I thought Absolutely wild. I mean, like, playing a skeptic in a game where ghosts are very much real and 1 person is literally a ghost on your team and has talked to you and all of that, Insanity. Go check it out. Honestly, you know, Willow's great Willow's great there too. If if you're sick about it hearing her talk about TTRPGs all the time, go listen to her. Play 1. She's fantastic. Thank you. Come on down to my show now. Which the link of of which will be in the description of this episode because it will be commonly referenced throughout the whole thing. Uh-huh. So it's it's just how it's gonna be. But Like I said, we are going to be talking about 1 shots in this episode, which is really exciting, and I guess I I'm trying to think of the best starting off points, for talking about 1 shots. You know, I I I feel like most people have played a one shot if they're in the TTRPG space. Sure. You know, they they they come up they come up commonly, especially if like, hey. The GM needs a break or or the campaign like, you know, a little bit of a buffer between the campaign. Holidays always have 1 shot stuff like that. They're great. But it seems like a lot of people have the problem of 1 shots going way over the time frame that you set out. I actually have a very I have a personal experience of this that happened last year. My my DM of a, D and D campaign that I'm in, decided, hey. We're gonna run a Halloween one shot. It's like, cool. Awesome. Well, let's do that. We play the 1st session, and we don't get to any endpoint at all because we end up role playing the whole time. It's like, oh, shit. Well, I guess we'll make this another game. And then it kept going until we had Four sessions in total. A whole arc. Yeah. A whole arc, which I'll say it was a very fun game. I had a great time. Thank you, Jamie, for if you're listening to this. But, JV, you're the reference for the problem. So sorry. No. It's not the problem. It is. It was a great, yeah, it was a great time, but, you know, we all came in with the idea. Alright. Let's play a 1 shot, and so we ended up having to hold off starting up the game again because we were trying to finish this other game. I'm curious, Grant, if you've had any experiences with 1 shots going over. Me, personally, no. I'm, batting a1000, No. So, I mean yeah. Of course. I think this happens with everyone who wants You know, I'm going to assume that a lot of you at home aren't making a podcast, and you're just playing games for fun in your home life with your friends. So I've my my experience is going to be a little varied from yours, but I still have some some frame of reference for it. You know, of of course, games can go long or extend into new sessions. And some would say and I, you know, I do believe this to an extent that that is what's Called the opposite of a problem. Oh, darn. The thing that I wanted to do just one time ended up being so much fun That we had to stop and sleep and pick it up some other time. Like, congr like, Jamie, if you're out There. Good job. You wrote a fun story or you ran a fun story, and your friends liked it. Blast. Yeah. It was great. So listen. Don't feel bad Bad if this happens. This isn't meant to scold you or me. Oh, yeah. For sure. Lay down the hard rules and say words are words, But there there is that intent behind the name one shot. Right? Like, this is something that you're doing because Maybe the main campaign just ended a big arc, and your DM is like, I need time to write what happens next. Or Yeah. It's Halloween or the holidays Yeah. Or, I don't know, Arbor Day. And and or maybe there's somebody at your table who's like, I wanna try running a session sometime. Can we Do a 1 shot. Like, it's gonna come up, and they just we want a little taste of something different. Yeah. So I'm here to give you advice On how to write, run, and keep expectations in check for the 1 shots you wanna do. And, you know, the the best advice if if if your main concern is how do I prevent it from becoming a 2 or a 3 or a 4, oops, I'm the DM forever now Shot is The terrible pipeline. Right. And and the you know, I I hate making the first rule a don't, But, you know, this this is my my don't rule. If you're writing a 1 shot and you're not running a module per se, my my most important rule is always less is more Oh my god. Slash be open to killing your darlings. And what I mean by that is you are probably going to write down a lot of Stuff that you think is really cool Yep. And you want your players to find all of it, and you're re and, yeah, you're just itching to get it in there. You have to be okay with things being missed Or flat out skipped for time. If your friend group is like, we're gonna do a 1 shot from 6 to 10, and you've got 4 hours to get it in, And it's, like, the 11th hour, and you're not even close to the the big fight that you need to end it. Guess what, pal? It's Fight time. It doesn't matter. Like, put the clue that they need to find in the thing they're holding, dog. It's time to go. You know? It doesn't matter if they don't find the cool thing. Mhmm. And and and you gotta be okay with that. Something I like to do as a 1 shot runner, if there's stuff that I was excited to share them that I didn't see, Is all this, like, I'll I'll I'll stash it in there. I'll get the ending going. We'll finish the session. You're probably all gonna wanna talk about how fun it was after. And then I just fucking tell them. Yeah. Like, hey. Do you wanna know what was in that closet? Of course, you do. I'm genius. So There was such a cool thing of the dead body and then, like, all of this stuff is gonna connect, and it would have been great. Yeah. No. I I I love that, though, because I I very much agree with that point of, like, keep it simple, and that's something that's taken me a little bit even with, like, just campaigns and and stories in general to approach. Like, Less is more because that opens that opens up opportunities in long games. But in 1 shots, you literally have so much time. Look at a session of your normal game. How much do you really complete in a session? Like, at, like, at a table shopping usually. I was like, is there a hat store? Can there be a hat store? Can I start a hat store? And now we're playing a, now we're playing a small business simulator, where you're not sponsored. Every game I do. I just wanna be a badger selling hats. Honestly, I want that now. But, yeah, you know, it's, Like, actually, look at your sessions. Like, how much do you complete? I think that's a good framework to look at if you're not used to running 1 shots or or even designing them. Like, how much do you complete in a session? How many, like, points are you able to hit? And in a one shot, you have the extra challenge of having to actually introduce the story, introduce the characters, things like that. So it's not just, oh, you know, we're we we're already playing this game so we can get into it already. You have to actually start to the game. And I'm curious if you have advice for that specifically of actually starting 1 shots in a way, especially if Any, like, urgent ways? Like, do you think urgency is a good way to start a 1 shot? Stuff like that. Yeah. I I think so. I wouldn't use the word Urgency per se, because that gives, like, a hectic nature to it. And the last thing you want your 1 shot to feel like is rushed. Right? Oh, for sure. There there is your your one shot is going to have a faster through pace than a typical campaign game, because there's gonna be a beginning, middle, end right here and now. I honestly, honestly, starting a 1 shot is not too estranged from starting your campaign proper. Mhmm. It's gonna be a little bit faster, for sure, so you have to be a little cognizant of how long you're spending doing character development. I'm a big fan of our 1 shots revealing a lot about a character out of the gate in, like Mhmm. Cool and funny ways, and you can do this in a whole litany of ways. We just, by the time this goes up, we just posted a game, under the name of soft goblins. And, you haven't heard it yet, but it'll be up by now. Yeah. But the the premise of that game is the party is all a bunch of little goblins who live deep underground, who pop up on the earth to Steel socks. So when when you're talking to your your group about, like, here's the game I wanna run. Here's the premise. Mhmm. You can talk to your team about, like, how should we start this? Do you all wanna meet each other? Do you all wanna be familiar with each other already and then go from there? The biggest secret for any DM ing anything, but especially one shots, like, your players do the work. I like I like putting them right in a room. Here's the here's the situation. Talk. And they're gonna be so excited to reveal all the things they have hiding about their characters that it'll just come up. Yep. So, like, the intro to sock goblins, one of my favorites of all time because the cast bought so hard into the concept. Mhmm. And we just plopped them in a room together. Like, you are you are 4 here. You are friends. You are goblins who live in a big hole together, And you know what you're called here to do, discuss, and then they discuss, and it's very fun and funny. I am so excited about this. It's it's it's a hoot. I also like just pushing characters together. You know? Mhmm. I ran a D and D one shot for my sister and Kay from Dude, Where's My Drift, where they were 2 warlocks from 2 different sides of the planet, and then they had the same patron. Mhmm. So the patron calls them both into his office One day. So now we have all the context we need. Oh, we have the same guy. Okay. That's why we're here. Mhmm. And then they get fired. But that's so good. They get fired for being well, I mean, the the reason I gave them was because there there was a, It's a long story. It's not a long story. It's a short story. It's a 1 shot, but the I was, the economy was the reason. The warlock economy was bad, And their otherworldly patron fired them to save money and to hire his nephew. So it was economy and nepotism. And then the goal was Go get a job. Go get a new patron. Escape the far realms, basically. Yeah. So, like, you know, bring your characters together either, you know, very quickly and give them their goal out of the gate or have them already know each other and give them their goal and get them out of the gate. Yeah. I don't like I I've always had a hard time. There's been a there was 1 shot recently where we played fishblade, a music game. So good. Fish fish wielding blades. That's all that's all you need. And I I ended up struggling a little bit because it was it was a little bit it was a little while since I DM'd at that point, especially 1 shot. And so I was, like, kinda getting back into it. I'm like, I don't like, you know, I I I feel pretty confident, and then I started, and I realized, Oh, no. I started at the wrong point of, like, trying to introduce like, I was trying to do a slower introduction that I would normally do in maybe a campaign where we're just, like, you know, meeting these characters for the 1st time, and we have sessions that we can actually meet them and all of that and do action. But I I started to panic, like, about 30 minutes in. I'm like, oh, no. No. No. No. No. No. I know something's going wrong. Oh, no. We're still on page 1, and it's been a long time. Yeah. And I'm like, okay. We gotta rush forward. And What ended up happening is as soon as we actually kinda got forward, we pushed past that point. We got to actually, like, the meat of the game, which was them basically getting hired to go Kill an undead clam. Fantastic. It was so fun. Naturally. Yeah. Yeah. It was just wanted to have conversations and stuff in the way It's a great time. But, like, yeah, that was that was the one struggle with that. And and if I didn't realize that was a problem at At that point, if I didn't have that prior experience of running 1 shots where it was a little bit faster, I probably we probably would have gotten, like, midway through when, like, the actual time for the game ended. And it's like, okay. Yeah. Being able to shift those gears quickly is also really important with running a 1 shot, knowing when things do need to get put pushed forward, killing your darlings, stuff like that. Just get it over with so that we can continue on the story because we want to have a fun, climactic, and, you know, action usually action oriented ending, like, you want to do something cool. The the trick is a clear goal in the very beginning because The reason you'd spend longer on character intros when you do a campaign is because your players have probably built someone with, a somewhat deeper backstory, and they have a lot they wanna reveal over the course of several Weeks, months, years of your lives that you're gonna be playing, and a lot of things are gonna change about that character. Yeah. One shot characters are designed to be born and expire. So, like, I kind of, like and if you're so, like, if you're a GM or a player for a 1 shot, imagine everything you're building As a fly. Flies live a day. They are born. They fly. They eat shit. They die. So you have to, like, look at your 1 shot Characters the same way. A fly isn't being born, being like, gee, I sure have a really complicated relationship with my mother who's a dragon. I better not fun run into her in, like, 5 to 6 months. That flies. Like, I have to eat shit right now, or I will die, or rather and I will die. Yeah. So, like, figure out what your character's I have to eat shit right is and run that into the ground, and let whatever happens happen to them. So the same thing goes for players. Don't be precious. Kill your darlings. Don't write a whole ton of backstory. Mhmm. What shit does my character need to eat and now? Like or or why is my character being forced to eat the shit that has been given to them? Like, answer a question about your character And and fly with that character. I love that analogy. I've clearly never heard it before because, good lord, That was so awful. To me in the moment. Well, though I've never used it. I love it. So okay. With that, like, that is something, at least from a player's perspective, it is so easy when all you've played is campaigns to come in with, like, okay, you know, I actually have to, like, figure out my characters' motives and what drives them and and blah blah blah blah blah and all these detailed things when it does really need to be, I want to kill a clam. Yeah. Or or, like, good. Have a reason for wanting to kill that clam. Don't Yeah. You know, we we don't have to sit and be like, you know, your 1 shot character can't have wants and desires. Just give them 1, maybe 2. Yeah. You know? Give them a reason to do why they're doing the thing. Yep. And, you know, that can be their driving force. And then if because you're gonna not be carrying the burden of all the secret information, you know, about your character, You can listen. You can still have secrets in a one shot, and they can come to play, like, an hour in. It's fun to do that Mhmm. And, you know, coordinate with your GM. Like, nothing here is gospel. But, like, it it's important that you keep that sheet as simple and small and flexible as possible so that you can be open to the cool things that can happen. And so that when you get to the end of your session, like I never got to talk about my nightmare demon blade thing. Shoot. It never came up. Beans. So, like, honestly, like, it it comes it comes back to the point, like, we we talked about, like, you know, designing a one shot. Simple is better. Even characters for a 1 shot. Simple is better. Keep with something that's easy, simple, not too complicated because It's also then easy to get it's easier to get attached to that character and want to, like, drag things out a little bit too because it's like, oh, I do want to explore this demon blade nightmare thing that I have and, you know, have all of these different things. So I I've heard of people stashing characters from 1 shots for for use later. You know, if if you're playing a d and d campaign and you're stay and you do a one shot real quick, I've even heard of DMs being like, hey, Remember this funny guy from that one shot? Now he's back as an NPC, so that's fun. I I have a I have a I had a friend Who's like, I do a campaign every year, but we do a 2nd smaller mini campaign that we only play on holidays. And we have these, these like holiday specific characters that come out and, and they are just like awake. 4 to 5 times out of the year. And that gives us a breather to play those guys for a little bit. So there there's a lot of, you know, room and flexibility you have to do those things. So if you're worried about your 1 shots going over, Don't overwrite. Keep things simple. Roll with the punches. You are a fly. You are designed to die. You are born to die now. I am so excited to clip that later. You are a fly. You are designed for a fly. You must die. It is what you are born to do. I love it. And so this is actually interesting. You know, we're talking about, like, the character creation stuff. Specifically, I, so I actually I'll I'll, I guess, plug this in a little bit. I asked a question on threads of, like, basically, hey. We're recording this episode about designing 1 shot, and asking if other people had questions that they'd like to hear covered. And one of those I actually found yeah. One that I found very was asking how to handle, like, character creation and potentially even session zeros. And I think this is this is a really interesting one for At least me, my experience, I have played most of my 1 shots, within the same group. I did, like, a bunch over the summer, And what I ended up doing for a lot of those was actually hosting quite a few session zeros before the one shot. Now I wouldn't recommend this for everyone because that takes time that takes basically almost another session and a day to do. But the reason that I did a lot of these was because I was introducing a bunch of new players to these games for the 1st time, to TTRPGs for the 1st time, to specific games for the 1st time, and I wanted to make sure that they were comfortable. I wanted to make sure that they could actually, like, approach the game and, like, that they weren't nervous about it and to, like, just, like, be like, hey. Any questions that you have, let me know, and we can go over everything and to create characters since, Again, a lot it was a lot of their first times. Great job. So yeah. It it was it was great. I love I love those those session zeros. They were awesome. But I know for a lot of people, those aren't approachable because Sure. Again, it takes a whole another day, And you have the adult play. A one shot, and, you know, 0 is a number. I I get it. Is a number. According to the Arabians. Yeah. So, I mean, I'm I'm curious of what because at least with, you know, when I was on your show, there's a little bit of talk of, like, know, what we were doing for characters, but, like, no like, we didn't have an actual, like, session 0 or a character creation session or anything like that. So how do you handle most of your 1 shots in regards to that. Yeah. So, you know, our show has a fast turnaround time. We're recording, and a month later, that that baby's out. So session zeros aren't always Feasible for us. Yep. That being said, if you're doing a home game and your players want to be like, hey. Can we Talk about this before we do this because I have a lot of questions. Say yes. Yes. Absolutely. Foremost. Always do that. Always listen to players. I love using, group chats, Discord messages Mhmm. Instagram chats, whatever you've got, and making yourself readily available for those sorts of things. That's what I do for game master Monday. We put our cast together. We figure out which Messaging service everyone has the easiest access to. Usually, Discord, but for my more in person friends Who aren't pro gamers. We use Instagram. Who aren't gamers. Who aren't gamer girls. Listen. I know a lot of, millennial theater kids, and they're all on Instagram, Willow. So when I do an in person game and I get my friends who Yeah. Perform on the strip in an underground theater, we're reaching out via Instagram. Yeah. In which case, I have to remind my co producer, hey. You have to use Instagram, and she goes, ugh. But The point of that long winded story was, you know, I like doing my prep work, my session 0 work in those Threads Mhmm. Because I can be very clear with what I'm expecting out of certain things. I can put out my safety tools right then and there. You can be very like, Hey, if you need anything, ask it here or ask me directly. You have my information. That way, when everyone comes in, They they're feeling pretty prepared, you know? And, you know, always treat your players the way they wanna be treated. If they're like, Hey, I'm actually having a hard time grasping it via text. Can we Talk about it. Yeah, of course. Yeah. Heck, even, like, carve out time if you're gonna be doing a 1 shot, being like, hey, I we're gonna do a 1 shot for 4 hours, but I'm leaving the first Our open for us to do character creations and learn the game, and then then we'll do, like, a really basic one shot of it for 3 hours. Works really, really well. I did a blade, world of blades game, which is like a simplified blades in the dark Yeah. System. And I did that exact thing where, we didn't have time that week. Like, we didn't have time to have a session zero type thing. So it's like, hey. You know, right before the session, we're gonna create characters and go over all the rules and stuff, and I'm going to actually piece together your characters in this prewritten, not a prewritten, but a thing that I wrote. And, honestly, I'm still, like, so proud of that freaking game because I'm like I I had zero time to We add in the characters, and I thought it came off really well. But I love that idea, though, a lot. You know? Have that hour carved out or however long you are able to have it. Sometimes if you're using a system or a game that you're familiar with already, you don't always have to do that. Sometimes it could be just 30 minutes or people could come prepared, and then you could just play the 1 shot too. Yep. It's it's I mean, the the real answer to the less Long answer is it's whatever your players need. Exactly. I like group chats. Easier still carve you know, carve out time for it because, like, asking your friends to meet twice is always gonna be hard. Yep. You know? Leave that possibility open if your one shot goes long as opposed to, like, having a whole other meeting to talk about the thing. Yeah. You know? So, like, you know, to just be open to whatever your players need. Mhmm. Group chat, hour long preamble, whatever you need. Yeah. It it just what whatever works for you and your group, which is, like, at the end of the day, the advice for any TTRPG thing, like, whatever works for you, whatever's the most fun for you. Like Yeah. I mean, like, at at the core of anything we do, with everything we talk about on this show or any TTRPG you play, the goal is to have fun. Fun. You're playing make believe with your friends. So, like, ultimately, nothing matters. We're all gonna die one day. But If you wanna make the experience as painless as possible, here's some cool things you can try. Exactly. No. I like What are we, if not all flies, who are just being born every day? I love this Fly and now I'm gonna ride this analogy into the ground while I'm gonna talk to them. Absolutely. And I keep bringing it up. Yeah. No. This this this episode, Like, the way that this is gonna get teased is just like fly GIFs and whatever. I'm gonna get sent flies in the mail. Kiss my wife off. Yeah. Please don't send grant flies in the mail. Don't find my address, actually. Yeah. I'll do that. Don't do that. Don't dox me. What were we talking about? No. I love that. No. This is this is great. Good lord. Yeah. Hopefully, that answers your question. Yeah. Yeah. Session zeros are important. Let me just make that very clear. You Always have some kind of a session 0. Don't throw your players in completely blind unless they've asked you to. Yeah. Even if it's just saying like, hey. Here's the game. Here's what to expect from it. Like, what are you guys thinking? And, like, back and forth. Like Yeah. It can just be that. Like, just Communicate. I mean, this this The most important thing to do is figure out everyone's lines and veils out of the gate. So whenever I bring anyone new on the show, I don't Assume anyone's an asshole, but I also don't presume that people are going to assume I'm not an asshole. Right? So, like, I always kick off any group chat I do with any new group of People like, hey. Out of the gate, here's what I'm not including in this game. If there's anything additional that you you know, just to be safe that that makes you uncomfortable that you're worried about, you know, let me know. And I I very rarely put, like, unsavory, like, real world Shit in my games anyway, which I know in the divisive topic, I won't go too far into it. For me, I'm just like, I'm a silly goofy guy. This is me a silly game. But if there is gonna be something where I'm like, we might be drifting into uncomfy town, then I'm like, I'm gonna just out the gate, be like, here's what I'm thinking is going to be Yep. Included in this. We had a very recent example. We did a game called the Agophagus. Mhmm. This is kinda both examples, actually. We played a game called Agophagus By the wonderful, brilliant, beautiful people at 6 Lakes Games Mhmm. Homies of ours. And, you know, Jenny, who's my coproducer, was running that game, and she was like, what are people's, like, lines and veils? And we had one that came up that was gonna be in the game. So so Jenny just like, okay. Cool. What I'm gonna do is I'm going to make the slight adjustment to this part of the story So that it'll it'll be better for you personally. Like, always, always, always do that. Yeah. Like like, bare minimum common decency stuff. Don't make your friends uncomfortable if they're already agreeing to do your weird shit with you. Yeah. You know? And then, like RPGs is some weird shit. So, I mean, like Endigothagus is a thick ass fucking game. There's a lot you can do in that, and you can get to all of it in 1 session Mhmm. If you want or if your players are really nosy and wanna look at everything, which I do because I wanna know what's going on. And Jenny had to make a lot of judgment calls there. Like, okay. There's a lot more of this dungeon left. We're getting close to 2 and a half hours, which is Over what our show prefers to do Mhmm. I'm gonna just start making the dungeon smaller. Yep. And and then We have the benefit of being like, if you want to hear the rest, go buy the game. It's really good. You know? Like, we can whenever we don't finish a session or don't get to everything, we can play a Oh, boy. Like, go buy it yourself, dingleberry, but, like, for your home game That's why we're not doing it all. For your home game, just tell them. Yeah. It'd just be. And that's the thing too. Like, the this is a social game. Like, there are social elements in every single part of it. Like, just communicate. Just be open with your group. Just be honest. Like, hey. This is running a little long. I'm gonna cut a little things short, and I have to compress it a little bit. Mhmm. I hope, like, you know, that's just what we have to do if we wanna complete it in this time or and, again, If you have a 1 shot and it ends up going long and people want to continue to play and all of you are okay with playing, then continue playing. Yeah. Like, I can do it. Make it Make it a screenshot on social media, I bet you know. You can call it whatever you want behind closed doors. If you go on the Internet and you post part 1 of our one shot, I will come to your house And be like, no. It is part 1 of your mini series. Shut the fuck up. Say it correctly. I love the terms like Two shots and 3 shots and 4 shots. I That's fine. Call them that. Yeah. I think that's just a fun way to do it anyway too. Like, instead of, like, saying, like, miniseries or whatever. Like, that's awesome. Critical role a 50 shot just to piss people off. Or or what? Like, a 100 and Whatever the hell? How many of these episodes do they have now? I know d twenty. Dimension 20 is 12 shots now. Yeah. 12 shots. Now if you wanna if you wanna listen to a sick 12 shot game, I have the perfect thing for you. The message play it all in 1 session, but it was too fun. Yeah. Turns out that whole Candyland thing was sick as hell. Imagine if that was actually the origin. Like You know? That would be so fun. That would be really funny. And that's and that's it too. Like, There can be amazing long term games that can come from a really good one shot. Like, 1 shots are fantastic pilot episodes of, like, like getting, like, a random group of characters together. And then, like, if their energy works and you're enjoying it and you're enjoying the setting and the world and, like, what is being provided, then, like, absolutely make that into a longer game. There are too many of my 1 shots that it's like, man, I really wish that I could, like, Continue this on. Imagine doing 1 every 2 weeks and then walking out of it and being like, there is a lot more there. I just know and Easing my guts. Anything. I've oh, boy. Listen to all of you who've played a game or made a game they got on our show, Just know there there's a handful of you where my players have reached back out and been like, that could be a show. And I'm like, do not talk to me. Get out of my face. I don't need more temptation. Oh, I'll I'll I'll name drop a few of those. Hey. The, Renee, who made hopes and dreams, and and and Roe, Bro, who made play ball. I'm talking to you. I'm talking to you too. Yeah. No, I love it. That's so cool, and that's the cool thing about 1 shots too, is I feel like it's a great way to introduce yourself to a bunch of new games to then, when you have an opening to play something longer term, then you can be like, well, know what? We love this glitter hearts game. We had a great time with it. That was really fun. Love it. Return back to that. Glitter hearts is so good. So good. So good. I played it once, and it's a crime because I wanna play it more, and I'm really upset. Play more. Grant? Play more. I wish I had time. What's up? I wish I had time. Alright? Problem. I I cast and live your life, Willow. What's so hard? I'm running a full time game right now. I'm playing in another one. I am running a podcast. I can only do I'm playing on other people's shows. Like, I only have so much time. I just love egging people on. It's fun. No. It's great. No. It's it's But, actually, another, question, though, that I got on the threats thing was specifically asking about, like, convention play. Talking about introducing people to, like, new games since, you know, there is so much time. Let's say, I I've actually never been to a convention, TTRPG convention specifically. So I don't know usually how long the time blocks are. But let's say, hey. You have 2, 3 hours. That may be generous, but I'm I'm not quite sure. I'll tell you. It is. Oh, okay. It's generous. So we're we're talking, like, designing a 1 shot to show off a game you're featuring at a convention. Right? Mhmm. Yeah. Like, like, let's say have experience in this. Oh, alright. Yeah. Actually, tell tell me so what is I guess, what are the expectations with going into a 1 shot in a convention? Because, again, I have no idea. Yeah. I've I've got I've got 2 different schools of thought for you. Mhmm. And it's from the the 2 different the 2 very different, conventions I've done for running a one shot. The the first one I did completely virtually, and it was for a convention. Shout out, Brian, for this one, but, for the, brains and Broncon. Mhmm. Brian, who makes the wonderful, really simple RPG brains and brawn, who He's under the name Fighter Guy Studios on, I think, every social media. Right? Just if you search it and he pops up, it's the guy with the big beard. Super nice guy. He did a whole convention just for people to come try out all of his different modules for brains and brawns. So Cool. It ruled. It it was some of the most fun I've ever had in a in a convention setting. It was all virtual. Now to be fair, that was a convention designed to feature One system. So every so there wasn't panels. There wasn't, like, signings. You know? And the normal convention fair wasn't happening here. It was just there to be, like, I want as many people as possible playing my game, which if you're a game designer out there, it's kind of a low key brilliant move. Okay. Just be like, I just want all of you to come in here. It's free. Come play my game. And then if you love it, buy it. You know? Yeah. And I mean, you should be a bird at home convention, please. J dragon, call out. Yeah. G dragon. Was pulled like a j dragon, but if you do a wander home convention there. That would be so fun. Seriously, that would be really fun. Home. So for brains and brauncon, I was given a I was given a 4 hour slot to just write and run a 1 shot for people who filed into my room And and just and just run with it. So if you're doing something like that, where you're gonna be running a game for people who you don't know are coming Mhmm. And and you wanna give them the full scope of the game. It's all about time management and all about killing your darlings. Mhmm. So a lot a lot of the stuff we talked about out the gate. Now I don't normally get 4 hours. So to me, I'm a kid in a candy shop. I got through everything because I'm normally running 90 minute 2 hour one shots. Yeah. It's like, oh, man. I have so much I can do. I give him 30 minutes to make characters. Just making characters is really easy in brains Braun. Mhmm. And then we ran the game, and it was super fun. And and I was given the the the witching hour time for Mhmm. My game. So we're playing until, like, 1 in the morning, Pacific, and I'm starting at 10 PM. So I'm sitting here, like, running on nothing but, like, Fumes in a dream running this game for 7 people, trying to kill a demon, and it was super fun. Yeah. And and and, you know, for that, it's All about, you know, manage your time wisely. Mhmm. Give them what they need to have fun. Give them the basics of the game. Don't overload them with, like, you know, oh, a cool new twist Or Mhmm. I'm gonna reinterpret the mechanic this way because we're out having fun. Like, you're you're if you're, you know, in my case, being hired to Feature the game, do the game justice, and put the game ahead of your story. Mhmm. And you'll end up having a good time because peep if you if you're if good at what you do, you'll have a good time. Mhmm. Now there's the other end of the coin where you are running a booth at a convention, and you're Fighting for other people's attention, and people know they can come to your booth to test out your game. Mhmm. Brother, I'm giving you 30 to 45 minutes. You you you better have premade character sheets ready to go. You better have a cheat sheet next to that character sheets. They know what to roll, when and why, turn orders, whatever you need to make your game operate smoothly. And you are giving them a level one ass mini adventure Sure. To give them a taste for it. And don't make it like a basic ass adventure. They all tongue in cheek. Like, there'd be a a cat in yonder tree. Like like, give them, like, give them some bones to chew on for sure, but don't make it so simple that it's like, okay. Well, they were just, like, you know, trying to give us a taste of the game. Yeah. Like like, give them something exciting. Like, what makes your game the the thing that people are gonna wanna buy right then and there? Because if you've got 30 minutes to sell them. You might not even get the full 30 minutes. They can walk away. People will and have done that. I've seen them in my own two eyes. If you don't hook them, they're walking. So figure out what it is. They have other things they can do. There's so many other games they gotta play, and everyone has 30 minutes. I'm I'm being generous at 30 if I'm being real. I you know? I I insane. The most effective thing I've ever seen, it was a Gen Con thing. Kind of friend of the show, friend to me. He probably forgets I exist. But, Tim Platt, who is a, an actor and a role player for root tales of magic, made a fake game called Yuletide Combat Family that we now play every single year. It's a it's a holiday themed fighting game where the rules barely matter. And he was running that at Gen Con. Yeah. And pretty much, you saddled up. He gave you 1 of 6 sheets that he wrote himself. The sheets looked fun and silly and have little, like, moves on them, and and you knew what you were getting into out the bat. He had to duke it out for, like, 10, 15 minutes, and it was super fucking fun because you're just being hot and goofy fighting as, like, Martha Cratchit from A Christmas Carol against the leg lamp From a Christmas story. It it was so fucking fun. So, like, find the most fun mechanic You have your game, build your 1 shot around it, assuming you gotta get this person that's into within 10, 15, 30 minutes. Mhmm. And run with it. Don't waste time explaining. Let your let your game do the talking. I actually love that, especially in the perspective of, like, You know, if let's say you only have 30 minutes, you can't really introduce all the rules to a game and stuff like that sent through to you. The Character. You can't let them you can't tell them what they're about. You were like, here is your character. You are a I'm just gonna make up a system here on the fly here. You are a fly, and you are about to eat shit and die. Found a way. I'm gonna keep doing it. It's a good it's a good bit. It is a good bit. If you are making your fly game, hand the person their fly. Like, here is your fly. Here is what they can do. Here is your setting. You know? Yeah. Who's gonna be making the the the fly eating shit RPG? At at this point, me, I guess. Oh my god. Another thing that time I wrote an RPG based on a bin. And it won't be the last. It won't be the last. If you follow game master Monday on Instagram and scroll down far enough, you will find a little game called NICE. It is a system agnostic system for you. The whole premise is you play with a d100. If you roll a 1 through 50, you succeed. If you roll a 51 through 100, you don't. Mhmm. And if you roll a 69, you super succeed, and you can say nice. Of course. Yeah. Nice. Nice. Nice. That's it. I love it. No. That's so good. But no. But, like, just just to on on the point, like, yeah, you can't really introduce, yeah, you can't really introduce just 1 game, like, just like a game's mechanics at The table. You have 30 minutes. You have a limited amount of time. You know? Some people have the privilege of having a longer time block if you're playing a home game or something like that. But if you're introducing new people to a new system, you need to either have it be a really simple system that's really easy for people to just, like, look at the sheet or reference sheet or whatever and understand or simplify the rules for this 1 game. Because then if if you try and do a D and D one shot and explain how every mechanic in D and D works and get into grappling, then something went wrong, I feel like. Mhmm. I I I have this stick I've always wanted to do for a convention. Maybe one day I'll do it. But I've always liked the idea of step up to my table and roll the d twenty, and then you can role play out of 1 of 20 different scenarios. Oh, I like it. Yeah. So sometimes that helps, you know? So that way, you get a good variety of things. You can introduce a whole lot of different mechanics you're excited about, And people can be like, wow. That was a really cool, interesting thing they did. Yeah. Or, hell, roll the roll this d 20. Here is your character. Roll this d 20. Here is your situation. There's a TikTok account you can follow called, 62nd dungeon. Mhmm. It's it's very silly. Do not get me wrong. It's a very silly TikTok account. But it is a guy essentially guiding a person with no, like, character stats or anything Through random dungeons for 60 seconds. Take inspiration from that. People are always gonna remember your shtick before there anything else about you. They're not gonna be like, oh, man. I woulda that game from Willow, but she spent, like, 20 minutes trying to teach us how to play the game, and then we started playing it, and we had to, like, do a whole bunch of stuff. Like, no. They're gonna be like, we went to Willow's table, and she fucking, like she's handed us a sheet. I rolled a dice. It was flabbergasted. She told me I was in a haunted curio shop, and I was being chased by chattering teeth. And I'm like, oh, okay. I'm in it. Here we go. Like like like Let's go. Shock them. Like, give them your gimmick. Yeah. And then show them your favorite mechanics. You know? Mhmm. If if I was running A a d and d table, the only thing I would be worried about that person doing is roll this dice and see if it works. That's the only thing I would worry about. If I was running, I call it Cthulhu table. I I all I would be worried about, I roll these 2 dice and see if you fucking die. You know, like iron. That's a brutal ass game. If if if I was running a wander home table, I would be only concerning myself with the mechanics that are fun. Like, what is Cozy is part of wander home. Like Yeah. Hello. Come to my booth. Here's the soup mechanics. Yeah. And you'll be like, oh, fuck. It's a soup game. That's so cool. Like, actually go into a co like, go to a cozy place too. Like, start there. Don't start like no. You've been on a journey for years and or or months or whatever, and Up to this point, you just got no. Start at a really cozy town and start a hat shop and eat soup. With your flies. With with your fly. Okay. Okay. Content. All the bits. Everyone plays wander home, but everyone plays as a different kinda fly. Oh. But instead of kinds of flies? I guess there are. Yeah. Yeah. There's fruit flies and horse flies. Who's good? Dragonflies. I don't know. Counts. J dragonfly. That's that's a free one, anyway. Yeah. It's a little late. It's it it it is a little late. It's been a day, but, you know, this is the vibe for the episode. So you guys We we bring a certain kind of je ne sais quoi to our chats here, folks. You are welcome. We're professionals here. Professionals. We know exactly what the of us, there's 3 whole podcasts under our belt. Exactly. Which means that we're qualified. Right? Mhmm. Mhmm. Right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. How many podcasts has Matt Mercer got? I actually do not know. He might have more than 1. Yeah. He probably might. I'm un unclear. What else have threads Yeah. Oh, yeah. Silly here in the RPG goblin home. It is a little silly in the RPG goblin right now. But, yeah, I mean, it was I think today's just a silly day. Both episodes, I think, are coming out really silly. So, this is gonna be a good good good month. So another one that actually I thought was really interesting is is specifically asking, you know, how do you keep a 1 shot from becoming a 2a half shot? But what I specifically want to cover is 2a half. That's funny. Yeah. I know. It's like really been in session 3, my guy. Did who hurt you? Yeah. I mean, I guess you could have finished it midway, and then you all decided, like need as much time as you thought? Yeah. And it's like, okay. I guess we can just I'm glad you learned restraint at the the third one. You know? Like, oh, okay. Instead of pushing it, you know you know, over like, having it over It could've been a 3 shot, but, no, we we really need We're good. It's only two and a half. It's it's good. We got it. Sorry. I'm just being ejected. No. You're I love it. It it makes me very happy. Like, I I I love just goofing off. It's it's way too much fun. Insane. You've heard my show. I know. Not a serious phone in our body. Interesting, Again, why this has been interesting mix, in in the best way possible. But, specifically, what I thought was interesting was they were asking, like, how to basically prevent going over a 1 shot without railroading, which is always a Fun topic. What I'm seeing here is advocate for railroading earlier, but I do have an answer. Oh, yes. Absolutely. What's your answer. So with without railroading so for those who are are new to the hobby, railroading is when the DM just Exerts their god power and takes full control of the story and forces things to happen. Mhmm. Like, not unlike a train on a rail. It's still a negative connotation because it's like, oh, well, the DMs is forcing their story upon us now. And, Yeah. Don't do that. Don't, like, you know, grab the wheel and stop them from having fun Yep. For sure, if that's your concern. But you you there there are ways you can railroad without it seeming like you're railroading, my guy. Yeah. It's it's a very valuable trick. The the real secret is listen to your players. Mhmm. And I and by listen, I don't mean, like, if they ask you to do something, say yes. I but when listen, I mean, like, Hear them and how they're playing the game, follow the vibe Yep. And be open to what you had planned being changed a little bit in using your improv skills. Yep. So, like, you know, you you can clearly tell that the ending isn't coming anytime soon. Right? And you want the ending to come anytime soon. So maybe instead of, you know, scrapping everything you have, grabbing ending, and Slamming it here, you know, you know, forcing the the the the train on the tracks and and putting more steam on it. Mhmm. Maybe listen to what the players are currently doing and see if you can pull an ending out of that. Yeah. That way, it's the players who've railroaded you, sir. And and and they're gonna have more fun doing that because they're like, wow. We really like, you were really rolling with the Punches, we didn't think we were doing the right thing. And then when it's over, you've been like, you weren't, but I like your solution, so we're gonna roll with it. You know? And and I think part of that real trick. Yeah. Part of that, again, just comes down to, like, don't plan too much for, like, a 1 shot too. Yeah. Like, Plan bullet points and things that, like, here you know, here's the scenario. Because if you are, like, planning out every little detail, that's what's gonna cause railroading, at least in in in my experience. If if if it's like, hey. This thing needs to happen in this order or else everything goes downhill, then you need to not plan so much, at least in my experience. I I I feel like I'm saying don't a lot. Mhmm. But the that's that's the thing with 1 shots is by design, they are more for restraint. Yeah. For sure. It it it is The restraint that will set you free, my my children. How how do I phrase this? What's a good analogy I can use here that doesn't involve flies? Is it shit? Feel and shit. I feel like a lot of DMs and, you know, everyone does this. A lot of DMs have a lot of the same cultural touchstones for things like puzzles, mysteries, and stuff. So you're probably thinking about some of your Campaigns like they're a Zelda map or, you know, like they're one of your favorite video games or any favorite movies or books, etcetera. And, you know, those have a plot and a structure and an order to them, and that's writing 101. I get it. I'm a writer. I feel you, homie. Sometimes with 1 shot, you have to be open to the game being less Zelda and more fucking around in Zelda. Yeah. Like, Maybe it's not. Maybe your players aren't gonna figure out, I gotta shoot the arrow into the glowy eye. Maybe they're a bunch of chicken chasing pot smashers, And you have to sometimes let the solution be chicken chasing and pot smashing instead of what you had planned. Yeah. And, and again, part of it is being able to make that switch. Like, okay. You know, that's where the players are going, so we are gonna go in that same direction, but also, like, matching the game and scenario with the players. Yeah. If if you are playing with strangers that you don't know in a in in a convention and stuff like that, that's a lot harder. But, like, I at least in my home, like, one shots that I like to run, I like picking games that I know will jive with My players play style, or I will be again, very upfront, like, hey, it's this type of game. So if they wanna be goofy when we're playing definitely wizards, That's what the game's all about. Great game. Great game. It's so good. Good name drop. It's so good. My favorite. Like, I wanna play it again so bad. I just wanna make, like, a1000000 freaking That's a good simple hey, folks out there. A good simple system for 1 shot's definitely wizards. That's what it's made for. Like I should have ventured to that. The real secret to making a one shot that's not going to go over is pick a simple ass fucking system. Exactly. Pick a 1 shot system. Honey Heist, Fantastic. The witch's dead, fantastic. Definitely wizards, fantastic. World of blades was really, really good as well. Fantastic. Like, There are some name drop the author of 2 of those because 2 of them are the same author. It's Grant Howitz. Mhmm. Gran Howitz, my my my shining god. A lot of people have the game that got them in to really being good at a certain style of play. Mhmm. Grant Howitz, wherever you are, because the witch's dead is mine. The the Really? Yeah. Grant Howitz is the reason, One of the reasons I have game master Monday because Grant Howitz writes brilliant 1 page RPGs that are easy to grasp, has maximum flexibility, maximum goofiness, and I was like, oh, a man after my own heart who simply wants A whole bunch of funny times and a and and and a and a really easy to grab thing. I tried to get the hang of D and D. I'm still trying to hang a d and d. I run a podcast. I'm still Okay. You don't run a d and d podcast, though. So, like, this Fair. But I've done a d and d miniseries on my podcast, cast. And I've been told by many people who play and run and love D and D, wow. You sure did that different. And I'm like, mhmm. Oh my god. What a freaking compliment, though, like, in in bias. Yeah. Like, Thank you. Like, thank you. That's that that's what I want. Miniseries where if I ever needed to preach for the the the guiding philosophy of the TTRPGgoblin, stop making D and D work for you. Find a system that works for you. Yeah. Exactly. So if you if you wanna hear D and D run-in the least D and D way possible, go check out our mini series called defeating the dungeon in Game Master Monday. Otherwise, Find a system that fits the vibe you're looking for. For me, it was Grant Howitz, and then the door blew open for me. And then I found a whole bunch of other cool Creators and 1 shotters and all and and and game designers and yeah. F find your howitz. Find your howitz. Love it. No. That's perfect, and now I just want, like, a a a grant and grant, like, call, like, double grant. I'm begging. I'm I'm on the I'm on my knees. If I if I'm if I listen. I have some people you know, a lot of pod Casters out there have their white whale guests. Mhmm. And they're always the names you'd expect. Mine are just increasingly weird. It's it's it's Grant Howitz. It's it's the it's it's Branson Reese who runs Root Tales of Magic. It's Lin Codega, who is the genius behind, you know, the IO 9. Expose as it was just the coast. You know, I, you know, I, I don't want the people who are on the same 2 shows, give me the, the, the weirdos who have the weird senses of humor. Give me give me the people that no one thinks about, please. Yeah. And and, like, listen. They they all have a much bigger audience than I do. They're also not Matt Mercer and Brennan Lee Mulligan and Abri Iyengar. And so I'm just like, I I I don't ask for a lot, folks. I don't ask for I'm here to talk about 1 shot. It's not Lin Coding. Yeah. But I could talk about Lin Coding. Basically, what I'm hearing is petition for Grant, Howitt to talk with Grant from Game Master Monday. Put him on my show. I have all the ideas. Anyway Yeah. Put him on the show. That would be so good. We need to figure this we need to we need to arrange this now. I I will start I I will start a Twitter petition petition. Like, hey. Well, if it works, I'll say, I I'll owe you all the favors. Whatever you want forever. You want me to cohost this show? I'm there, baby. Oh, man. How how insane would that be to be? Nothing done. We would get nothing accomplished. Nothing done. We're barely getting anything accomplished here. So far, I've given, I think, 4 total pieces of advice and a lot of jokes. Hey. Hey. Hey. That's that's the whole thing. We're making a lot of solid analogy. Maybe 2. This other one wasn't half bad. Yeah. This other one was good. But, like, that's also what I I really like about, like, improv games, really. I like the idea of going into a game with, like, not a lot planned because then you can just absolutely just vibe with the table. You can fit whatever's going on. And, like, the more and more I'm GM ing, the more and more I am becoming, like, almost a fully improv GM because It It's much more fun. It's better. It's fun. More fun. Like and it fits my style. Like, I I really like doing game prep, But when it got to the point in my D and D campaign where I had to do game prep every single week or else, like, I it would've Like like, it was required. Like, that stressed me out so much. I play monster of the week. I'll tell you what. I haven't prepped for, At least maybe 10 sessions. Good for you. We have, like, we've played Teen, I believe. So, like, all that I do is just write the mysteries out at the beginning of every arc, and that is it. I I I have my notes here, and I will look at it and maybe do a little revisions if needed, which is usually just switching around some things, or I just Have a thought, and I just implement it in the game anyway without even writing it on the sheet because I thought about it in the moment, and that's just better. Like, It's It's the way to do it, honestly. It really is. It's not for everyone, I will admit. Oh, for sure. Im improv GMing, I have noticed, is much more better suited to people who have well, I shouldn't say better suited. The people who are more inclined to go that route have a performance background. Mhmm. And and they like that style, and that's what drew them to t t r p d's. Other people have or maybe drawn to it because they enjoy writing or they enjoy puzzles where they enjoy war games. So always, always, always, you know, find your your tribe for how you wanna run a game. Because nothing is worse than being an improv GM playing for players who are not role play Forward. It comes down to everything. Communication is key with with 1 shots. Finding your style and your voice and being open about Expectations and boundaries is everything. And the the secret sauce to any type of GMing with a one shot, You know, beyond what we talked about, it's a lot about less is more, flexibility, all that stuff. Yep. The the the the the secrets the really secret ingredient But your GMs won't tell you is is is lying. Lying. Lying is the secret sauce, And and lying will get you everywhere. Lying will prevent you from railroading. Lying will prevent you from going over. Lying will prevent you from, you know, being sad about killing your darlings because you're gonna make your players really happy. Mhmm. And what I mean by lying is if it's going along or the energy is dipping, If if you if you need something to happen and it simply isn't gonna happen because your players are a bunch of fucking goofballs, lie. And when I say lie, I mean improv, obviously. But I but to make it to make it more palatable, I mean lie to them. Mhmm. If they are looking for a solution and they're not Finding it. Lie. Have them roll a dice. Have them do something to make the solution appear or a little bit more obvious. Mhmm. If you don't have a solution plan and your players are certain there is 1, tell them they're right. Yeah. You figured it out. Exactly. And it makes them feel guilty. You how many unlocked doors there have been in my games, And they knew beyond a shot of a doubt that door was locked, and they spent minutes, Precious boomers of our lives looking for keys. Homie, give them a key. And now if if you've played in any of Grant's games and you're listening to this. Now you have to decide if you are one of those games where the doorbells are. And I'll tell you, there have been games where there were intended keys, so you'll never know, folks. But there have been some where, nope, you didn't need a key. Yeah. Which, like, I think that's I think that's even the biggest thing when people even think about, you know, timing even within, TTRPG sessions in general is moments where everyone gets stuck on a door that is already unlocked. You know? Like, there's there's always that conundrum that will come up in any game, whatever situation it may be. Maybe it's not a door, but maybe it's something similar. Like, how do you prevent your players from assessing over one thing and instead of obsessing moving on because, hey. We're playing a game, and we want to actually finish it, and I want you to be badass and cool and kill something. Like Yeah. And and and, honestly, don't be coy about it because nothing frustrates a player more than not knowing the solution and not making progress. Mhmm. I've I've had DMs That have had me doing fucking math to solve a puzzle for, like, 20 minutes. Oh. And I'm like, my guy, please Give me an I like, dude, give me some grace here for crying out loud. Like, none of us have fun doing this. I know you got the riddle out of the book for 3rd graders. I'm a theater major. Leave me alone. I don't have a bachelor arts degree, my guy. I did not go. I did not do the foreign language and this and the sciences. Yeah. I don't I don't know how to read. Like, I don't know why you even invited me. Miracle I'm speaking to you. I'm a fool, sir. But, Like, that's exactly it. And also that there's nothing more frustrating to a GM, at least in my experience, than being like, being intentionally coy because you planned out a solution. So then you want them to, like, figure that out specifically because then you're frustrated. They're frustrated. No one's having a good time, and we're playing these games to have fun. So if something is dragging and not fun, move past it. I quite frankly don't like being smarter than my players, And there's a lot listen. I get it. If you're a GM and you're a forever GM like myself, you probably have a little bit of main character syndrome and a healthy dose of narcissism, I'm with you. I am talking on a podcast a lot. I get it. But, like, you you you can't carry that that energy and that knowledge and that belief into your GM ing Mhmm. Because You're the biggest team player here. You're the one that has to keep the group together and cohesive and moving forward. The goal should always be moving forward Yep. In some capacity. Sometimes you move backwards and move forward. Yeah. But you do you should move is is the point. If they're stuck for a long time, Lie. Lie. The answer to the 2 door riddle where 1 always lies and one that tells the truth all of a sudden is now maybe there's a 3rd door they're not telling us about. Or maybe they're just both lying. You know? Like, who knows what's happening? May maybe the question really was which one of us is hot, and you just have to find the way that makes that question worked it to the right door. So, like Now which follows which door are you more sexually attracted to? And now they have to answer. Answer the question. Be cool. You know? I I'm a big rule of cool advocate. Mhmm. So, like, you know, Keep your game simple. Keep your story simple. Keep it loose and flexible. Follow the direction your players wanna go. Lie if you have to. Spoiler, you're gonna have to. And be just, you know, be very clear with your expectation for that game. If you tell them, We're only gonna do this 1 session, and we're gonna do it for this many hours. Honor that. Yeah. Unless they ask you to keep playing. Yep. Then you're good to go fucking nuts. Like, you, like, revel in your own genius, bathe in your own bath water, whatever you gotta do. You know? Then congratulations. You did it. You win GMing. That's how you win D and D. That's how you win Pathfinder. That's how you win is where players have fun, and they wanna keep doing more. Yeah. But if but if you're not trying to do that, then simplicity, my friend. Simplicity and lying. Simplicity in line, the core of running 1 shot. Gotten down to the core of what game master Monday is. We always knew. And I I think another thing that I'll say is, like, also, you know, you you mentioned this more, but I I'd like to, like, kind of put a bit more emphasis on Sure. Is just Work with what your players are already doing too, like even when it comes to my normal games, I do that as well. If my if my players are coming up with theories and ideas of where they think the plot is going, I implement that into the freaking plot because they feel so cool that they figured it out. Yeah. And and I don't think that my idea for my monster of the week game is more genius then theirs is. So, like, I am open to changing it up if it fits. Yeah. If that's what works. And I I've done the same Thing for 1 shot games too. I go in the direction of whatever they think is cool. So it's like, hey. You know, we really like fighting these, pixelated zombies that came out of a video game, and we don't really want to figure out, like, this big bad guy that's going on, then that's what we're doing. Like, we will focus on that, and then we'll do the big bad guy at the end to finish up the game. Like, Focus on the things that are fun for them, and as long as you are having fun too, of course, because you are a player in the game, you need to have fun because You your fun matters just as much as anyone else's. It matters the most. I'm saying. Yeah. The, A a a cool trick you can do if you're also worried about that kind of stuff about, you know, because we're we're seeing a lot of things like be open, be flexible, get rid of the stuff you wrote, And, like, that can be intimidating. So if if you're worried about that kind of thing and you don't wanna cut stuff, a trick I like to use in my one shots is Write a problem without a solution Mhmm. So that whatever the solution is can be determined by a really good dice roll or a really good bit of role play or something. Yeah. I can't, I I there's, an episode we just ran with the the brilliant folks over at Rainbow Dice Club. Mhmm. We play a game called beach episode. The whole point of the game is to do a fun beach episode. Yeah. That game is nothing but problems without solutions. It is it is just things they can do and whatever happens, happens. Mhmm. That way you're not worried about like, oh, what if they don't do what I had plan that way. You're just like, they're gonna do exactly what they wanna do, and they will either work or not work. So are you saying we don't need a plot? We just need to, like, bring up, Like, we just need to provide problems. Yeah. I so sometimes, I mean, you write a plot if you're not for sure. Like, you know, you can still have a story in there. Sometimes your story is this is a really weird thing you're in. Here's a weird setting. Get out. And and that and that is the the ultimate thing they have to solve, and how they get there is less It's important than, you know, the, what they do to get there. You know? Yeah. No. I agree. No. I agree. Different strokes for different folks. I'm very heavily, Clearly into, like, improv and role play as a GM myself. And if you're not into that, I'm sorry. I cannot help you. I'm the rules guy. Yeah. Same. I I, like, asked me to run a game of Pathfinder as a one shot, and I don't I I I I Literally, I'm asking someone else to do it for me. Yeah. I I will play Pathfinder. I I will play it, and I will probably enjoy it because rules are fun. But When you're the player Yeah. And you can ask someone else, can I do this? When you're the person being asked and you don't know the answer, it's Scary and intimidating. Yeah. When you have someone who literally has memorized probably not memorized, but pretty much memorized entire book is the answer. And then the something, you're probably obviously, like, know what you're talking about to an extent. Right? So then when someone asks you, like, can I do that? You're just like, oh. You know? And then then then no one's having a good time because then you're pulling the book out and looking for an answer. So, like Which is not fun. Yeah. So I I like problems without solutions for that reason too, because then you can use the mechanics you already know As the solution, like, well, if you roll high enough, then yes. Yes. You can do that. Yeah. No. I like that. And and what I was saying with, like, not necessarily making plot is because I think it's really easy to come into a 1 shot or a TTRPG game in general and be like, Here's a plot that I want to play out Yeah. When it could just be a problem, that is then the plot. Like, it doesn't have to be, okay, this whole overarching story that brings everything together. It can be as simple as, hey. Of course, my brain blanks as soon as I wanna give you an Temple. You are a you are a fly. You've been born. I've been born, and I'm slowly dying right now. It's been a long day. It's a it's a long story. No. But but For example, my glitter hearts game. One of the big things was the fact that a bunch of these, video game machines from an undead arcade, exploded out, and we're let out into this, basically, like, eighties themed shopping mall. And so, like but I made kind of the mistake of tying that into something a little bit bigger that then, like, ended up like it it was fine. Like, I think everyone was still interested in it, but, like, that wasn't the main thing that got everyone excited. The main thing that got everyone excited was the fact that there were a bunch of video game creatures that were just let loose in a shopping mall, and they got to save people and explode zombies into pixels. They had the most fun with that, and now it's just a problem. Like, hey. All of these undead all undead pixelated creatures are outside. Save save the people in the mall. Rescue the mall. That's great. That's a problem without a solution. You know, you've introduced the problem. You don't know how they're gonna solve that problem, and now the The the main thing they're doing is that thing. Yep. That that that's the the core of what I'm getting at. You you you clop them in there in the beginning. Like, this is the reason why you're all together. Mhmm. Maybe we'll do a little bit of a scene and give you the the flavor of the vibe that I'm presenting here for you, and we're On our way, you should know what the problem is within the first 15, 30 minutes of your one shot. Right? And then I personally like writing a big sandbox you can goof around in. Like, here's all the options and flavors of ice cream you can stick your fingers in. Here's all the toys you can play with. How you play with them is up to you, and some of those are problems and solutions, and then and then you go from there. Maybe you wanna run a 1 shot where there's a very clear goal you wanna get Do you know, maybe you have some detours on the way there. Make those, you know, very clearly introduced out the get go. Don't hide a lot of stuff, And and boom. Like, that that's the main thing you you need to do. I'm all about, like, writing a setting with a lot of doors Mhmm. Or a setting with a lot of different, places you can go to and people you can meet because then it's like a Choose your own adventure, one shot. Yeah. And at a certain point, you'll hit the end, and you'll have the solution figured out because you already know what goal you're trying to get too. Mhmm. And all these other things are just the pieces of the puzzle your players are connecting to make the the end happen. So Yes. You know, maybe don't write a plot, but don't write a middle. Yeah. Don't write a middle. No. That's a fantastic story. Right the middle. Give them their urgency out the gates. Smack them on the ass, send them on their way. Be like, there is the problem on the top of that hill you gotta get to. Mhmm. And here's all the things between where you are now And that middle, where do you wanna go? How do you wanna do this? Yeah. I love that. And now this is making me even more I've been dying to, like, run-in a a big, sandbox game, like, campaign, and this is just making me wanna do it even more. Like, Land of Team, I am looking at you Right now, I I swear to god that game is probably gonna be, like, the only thing I play for a long time because I I have issues. Muppets crossed over with lord of the rings. What could be better? Seen this. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So good. And the fact that, like, there's literally a whole book that's just filled with locations, random quests and encounters and NPCs and stuff like that makes my friends so happy. If if you're into that, can I turn you on to another system? Absolutely. There's a game called Monster Care Squad. Mhmm. It's by it's by Sandy Pug Games, friends of the show. I'm winking that too, guys. Love you. Sandipug Games made monster care squad, which is kinda what it sounds like. You play a group of essentially monster veterinarians, And you travel across this mythical land, finding and helping solve their problems. And there's a there's an underlying Plot there. It's a genuinely, like, deep and touching and sometimes kinda disturbing game. It's super good. Lots of cool places So you can visit lots of cool monsters in that game. Mhmm. If you if you like a big sandbox with a world already built for you, I highly recommend monster Terror squad? Yeah. No. That's That's a that's a great game for a 1 shot or a campaign IMHO. No. That is now that is now starred in my notebook here. Like, I I will be looking into that because I Gorgeous game. Gorgeous game. Guess what? Guess what? Sometimes I don't wanna make a world. Sometimes I just want to experiment with the fun things that they provide in a world. Like, Again, the this this game has a whole this game has a whole supplement PDF that is just random encounters. Yeah. It makes me happy. Listen. For all of you folks out there, including Willow, who love that kind of stuff and not having all the work done For you and running modules and that kind of thing, my hats off to you. It drives me nuts. Oh, I can't. I have never run a module in my life. Actually, wrong. I have run a module, only a definitely wizard's module, which is just, Basically, it set the rooms up. Like and that's it. But that, I especially for the show, I like putting my own personal touch and stuff. Oh, I I still did. You know, you have to. And, like Yeah. Sometimes when I say I want my own personal touch, I mean more like, Give me your bones. I'm building the scale. I'm building the muscle and the flesh and the hair and everything. Like like, do not tell me that this game takes place in a world. I'm going to make it mine. No. I love that. With very few exceptions, I I say that. Monster care squad being one of them because you know what? I'm not gonna fuck around a bad system because it's it's powered by the apocalypse game. It already it's already a story built on Some Mhmm. So, like, I I ain't gonna fuck with that. But if if yeah. I'm I'm more inclined to run a system than I am a a someone else's story. Because, a, I wanna fuck your story up, and, b Mhmm. I don't like writing. It's fun. It is fun. I'll again, I love doing prep for games and stuff for my monster of the week game. Actually, that's a big reason why I love monster of the week so much is the fact that it's it's a trope, not an actual setting. It doesn't tell you what it's going to be because it could be doctor who. It could be Buffy. It could be supernatural. It could be Scooby Doo. Like, it could be so many different things, and it's just whatever you want. I love a system. Tell me the rules, and I will make them work in the story I wanna tell. You know? Clay, it's it's so good. And, you know, that's why, again, I just love different games, though. It's just because you get different games to play fun with. Really? I I mean, I was hoping that the the show would actually show this, but, you know, I agree. Show? Yeah. Where are we right now? I mean, it's pretty much just hanging out, which is the best part of the show. I mean, hope hopefully, I was helpful. I'm I'm hoping that I think so. Yeah. The the this gives you all the confidence to run that 1 shot and have it really be a 1 shot. You know? You know, I I I love them. I love 1 shots a whole lot. Obviously, I built a whole podcast around them. I think it's really cool to give people, like, You know, a a shot of adrenaline for a story and show them a tight system that I enjoy a lot, in in in ways where I don't have to know everything out the gate because I'm just showing them the bare bones of something that, you know, it Puts more people's work in more people's hands. Mhmm. Like, if you run a 1 shot, you're probably introducing 4, 5 people to a creator you really enjoy and that can help that creator a whole lot. Hintity hint. You know, like, I love a good one shot. Some people are afraid of them. Some people don't wanna do them. Some people are concerned they're gonna blow it. You're you're listen. Listen. From from from me, Personally, as as the guy who's done over 30 of them with with, like, 15 fucking more in the pipe, you are. You're gonna fuck it up. Mhmm. Good. Revel in the fuck ups. They're the best parts of any RPG you play. Everyone remembers those the most with fondness, you know, especially in one shot. This makes me think of my Honey Heist game, which was one of the fur I think, actually, the first one shot that I ran. Great game. A a great game. Great game. Grant and Howitt, absolutely awesome. Strange game. I was already exhausted that day. I didn't really plan for much other than that they were going to be stealing this, like, honey ham from a convenience store. And it ended up with a polar bear named, Jesus Running Naturally. What else would it be? Running Running over a animal control, animal control guy with a School Bus, because they were doing doughnuts in the parking lot to distract them. Of course. It ended up with a polar bear named Jesus committing vehicular manslaughter. All according to plan. Probably in your notes. All yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was definite, right now, Like, change the way they're gonna have a situation. No question. Yeah. It's the only way it was gonna happen. And I was like, I I didn't know how to feel by the end, because I'm like, I'm not sure what just happened. I've done a blasphemy in the eyes of the Lord. So Yeah. And it was just it it was It was still, like, one of the 1st games that I played outside of D and D. My first one shot, I didn't really know what I was doing, and I thought I I I think I did expect a bit more of a plan. And so when it did end up turning into, you know, vehicular manslaughter, and then I think 1 of the bears turned into an Instagram influencer or something. I don't know. It was it was a fun time. Great. Yeah. I I was kinda like, wait. Isn't this supposed to be a bit more controlled? But the more I've played 1 shots and the more that I've experienced other games, I'm like, All fucks are are out the window. Like, we are just having fun, and if it ends up with polar bear Jesus Community managers Truly. And slaughter, that's how it's meant to be. Listen. Players, especially if you're giving your forever GM a chance to Finally play. They're gonna wanna do the most unhinged shit you've ever heard of your fucking life. So true. They've been dreaming of this moment for 3 years, and they are gonna seize every single second of it. And you, my friend, just have to roll with the punches Mhmm. And let them. Yep. You know, don't and, of course, when we say let them, we, of course, mean, you know you know, Be unhinged responsibly. Don't fucking be a jackass. Don't be a jerk. Don't don't ruin anyone else's good time. We're assuming that all your friends are cool when we talk about these advice Tips. Oh, yeah. For sure. You know, let let let let them let them be on hints. Let them drive the car. Let them break the pots and chase the chickens. Yeah. You know? Like, Let them do those, and let those be your solutions. Don't be precious about it. Mhmm. You know? The now now to now now No. We've talked a lot about comedy in in in one shot, and it's gonna happen. Mhmm. If you these rules also apply to drama. Mhmm. To be clear Yeah. If you come out of the gate being like, I wanna run a super serious one shot just to say that we can because we've been dicking around in our game Forever. I'm assuming this is you. This is your scenario, and you're a big high fantasy fan, and you've been doing Monty Python for a while in your D and D campaign. Like, guys, can we do one one shot where there's, like, medieval intrigue, and they all go, you know what? Yeah. Let's do it. Mhmm. Rules still apply. Yeah. Comedy and drama aren't enemies of each other. They are two sides of the same coin that follow the same rules. The only difference is how you react to what happens. Yeah. A man falling down and breaking his back can be tragic or funny depending on what the audience reacts to what sound effect you play under So It's all about the sound effects. Just just just keep that in mind. If you've been sitting here listening to us goof around, and you're like, well, this isn't gonna For my my my super serious, hyper realistic, brutal ass Pathfinder first edition campaign we've been doing since 1985, Yes. It does. It super does. Lie to your players. Let them figure out the solutions, and don't even prepare the solutions. Let your dice tell your stories for you. Give them the big evil wizard on the hill that has the really serious monologue you wanna deliver still. Mhmm. Just let them figure it out in the confines of your story. The rules are unilateral. Yeah. Absolutely. No. I agree with that. Because I I use these same rules within my monster of the week game, which is pretty much completely improv, and that's a serious game. We are playing a we are playing through a story. We are all you know, sometimes, yeah, there's jokes and stuff like that, but it is drama. There's mystery there and all of that, and it's the same things. Except I do have to keep notes for the mysteries just because I can't just say bullshit, and then, Like, if if that if that's gonna be the hints that I'm putting up I've done that. I've written really elaborate mysteries that required certain solutions into certain puzzles that I couldn't improv my way out of, and I was like, I made a mistake here this day. Everything that I have told you that I've that that's a good piece of advice, the thing I learned the hard way. Mhmm. Yeah. No. That's that's all it too. Like, you know, we're we're we're giving this advice. We're we're talking all of this game, But, like, it all comes down to, like, we learn this from our mistakes. All the time. I still don't know how to play most of the games I'm playing. I'm just gonna have a good time, Holmes. Yeah. I'm just We just we just wrapped up, like, the first 6 parts of a show called Bella's Comet Mhmm. Which is a super, like you know, I wouldn't say super serious, but Definitely serious darker thing than I normally do. And, listen. There are certain episodes where your boy didn't come in with A lot of notes. I'm gonna I'm gonna tell you right now. If you go listen to Bella's comment, here here here's the thing. Episodes 2, 3 and 6 Mhmm. And parts of 5. Well, well, parts parts of all of them, but especially episodes 2, 3, and 6 are 90% improvised. And it's a drama show. Mhmm. So it's doable. Yeah. It's doable. That's that's what it comes down to. Everything's possible with enough bullshit. Mhmm. Like, honestly a fly. You were born. And that can also be a drama. I wanna do a really serious one shot where we grapple with humanity and life and death within a 24 hour time frame from the perspective of a fly. Can we do that? The 1 shot. Yeah. Can we do this? I'm gonna write this fucking game. Hang on. I'm gonna play I'm gonna do this for you. Right now. Right now. Right now. Let's just do this. No. That would be system for this. There has to be. Like, I I really wanna play that now because that is just this is now, like, my favorite bit that's come from an episode. It's kind of the guiding philosophy of the mini series we're doing right now because it's Essentially, 4 1 shots tied together through 1 story. So, you know, it's and it's a lot of grappling with humanity and death and doing things Quickly in a sense of urgency. So, listen, it's not they're not playing flies, but if you wanna hear astronauts do it, come on down to game master The Monday. Yeah. Basically, I mean, moral of the story, go down to game master Monday and here are all listen to my show. Yeah. Well, listen. Exactly. This this could have been a 5 minute episode, but look at us. And if you wanna get good at running one shots, go listen to Grant's podcast. And I'm like, good night, everybody. We'll be done. Yeah. We're we're Shortest episode of the RPG Goblin today. Instead, we we spend about an hour on the Michigan j Frog, and we're done. You know? Like, we're we're See you. Yeah. It's just like, hey. Bye. Tritos. No. I I I toot my own horn a lot, but, you know, I I I'm passionate about it. I've Mhmm. You know, we we have over 30? 30 now, I think? 30? Episodes over a game master Monday. So I I've done this a couple of times. You know, I I love them a lot. I love writing. I have a very fun process that I'm really into, And it it's fun to be able to share my thoughts and philosophies on it. And, listen, they might not be for everyone. You might be sitting down to write your one Right now, writing all those problems without solutions, thinking about what mayhem your players may get into, and you may go, this this I this isn't clicking for me. Mhmm. That's okay. The the the real rule here is do what's best for you and your players. But you asked me, so shut up. We yeah. We specifically brought on Grant to talk about this, so, like, we're gonna get the perspective of Grant and his mayhem. So He's not specifically right, but he's not wrong either. It's it's again, it's all just tools. Like, that's how I like viewing any kind of advice or any kind of even rules of TTRPGs. All of them are tools to tell the story and have the experience that you want to have. And if it doesn't fit, then you don't use those tools because they don't fit what you want. Like, it's as simple as that. Like, you just like, saying, you know, improv is a great way of GM ing isn't saying, like, the word to God. Like, that is That is the only way that you can GM and the only way it's gonna be good because it's gonna be different for everyone. It's just a tool. Some people work better with it. And, you know, in in my experience, you know, the these things usually don't fail me. I've I've had a an honestly shocking amount of success With these philosophies running 1 shots, keeping the core of them relatively the same all the time. The one thing I never change is Listen to your players in light of them. Like and and, you know, I'm I'm saying that, like, completely Yeah. No. Like, in any in any capacity, if you're running things, if you I do those 2 things. I never get complaints. Mhmm. And I get people who wanna come back on my show Or we want me to run things for them again. Willow is still my friend despite it all. Yeah. It's still, like, you know, like, let's you know? Take that for what it's worth. Technically, I haven't I haven't been on game where you keep running. That's true. Jenny ran your game, but, maybe this spring. See, lets that linger in the air. Yeah. I mean, we use Could that? I mean, I have to even announce that to my own personal. Those were bad groups. Yeah. You know you know you know You know, guys, if you're listening to this, don't Maybe maybe, stay around for, May. Who knows? Something's gonna happen, and Maybe it's on the one shot. Yeah. I don't I don't know. Well, we'll we'll see what when we get there, obviously. I mean, just Keep an eye on social medias. That's all I'm saying. And and listen to game master Monday. So, those are those are the 2 requirements. That that that yeah. That's More than anything else, do that. Yeah. Exactly. If you got through this entire episode and you're wondering what to do, listen to Game Master Monday. But, yeah, honestly, though, I think we're probably at the end here because another burning question that I haven't covered here. I mean, you know, I Listen, if if you fast forward it to the end of the episode, here's what we talked about. Here's the big breakdown. Number 1, less is more. Number 2, kill your darlings. Don't be pressed to their ideas. Be open to those things changing. Yep. Number 3, if you're working at convention, you've gotta go back and find that point in the episode. I am not summarizing it here. That's of distress. 4. Four, a a a good trick is to write problems that don't have solutions and let your players figure it out for themselves and feel cool and smart. Number 5, if you want a sense of urgency, give them their goal out the gate, make it a clear, obtainable, easy goal. If if you're making characters, don't overload them with Shit. Keep them simple too, homie. It'll make you and your GM happy. And, you know, listen to your friends and lie to your friends. Yep. Those are the 8 tenets. 8 tenets. Make a whole post about it. Here you go, Adam. There you go. Here's what you need to know about 1 shots. No. Seriously, I mean, again, this is obviously just our our experiences and perspectives and opinions on designing 1 shots and all of that good stuff. You may have different ones, and I'd love to hear that. So if you want to, like, let me know on, like, threads or Twitter or anything like that or even on wherever you listen to your podcast, because I know, like, Spotify has a whole thing where you can comment. Let me know. I wanna hear other people's opinions all the time. I I like learning new things. I like learning new ideas on how to run games because it's always super eye opening. Like, this this again, this episode was actually really mind open, but eye opening for me too. I'm glad. Is great. Yeah. Yeah. If you have different opinions for me, don't tell me. I'm an old man who's set in my ways. I will not change for anyone. Not change for anyone. See, I'm changing for myself because I just like hearing ideas and being like, oh, shit. You've got a good point. Yeah. I'm I'm always I'm always stealing shit. Honestly, like, I'm always open to new philosophies. I'm constantly reading, watching, listening to absorbing. Yeah. You know, when you're a constantly absorbing. Yeah. You know, when you're a content creator and you have to, you know, tell 26 stories a year, you know, you you tend to just pull your ideas and your insight from anywhere you can get them, and if something new strikes you, you run with it. So Absolutely. You know? Be yeah. Be to be be an open book, kids. Yeah. Be be an open book. Let's let's the life lesson at the end of this episode, be an open book. And and be a be a fly if you do let your one shot die like it's supposed to. And I think that's a great way to end this episode, so thank you everyone. Thank you everyone for for coming and listening to this episode. This was fantastic. Thank you, Grant, for coming on and talking about it because this is fantastic. Again, really weird and unhinged energy tonight, so I hope that you enjoyed it because this is just how it is. Again, Grant, if you would like to tell everyone where they can find you and your show so that they can listen to game master Monday because it is a requirement. Yeah. Please go ahead. Now. It's your homework. Yeah. Yeah. Like, we're we're game master Monday. We are on every podcast service you can think of. If you like the energy of this episode, I run a whole bunch of 1 shots with My, little sister Jenny, like we said, different system, different cast, every episode. So we've got we've got a lot of your favorite podcasters is on there. Yes. Yours. I can see your your your library. I they're on there. We can be found on Twitter at Game master Munn. You can find us at game master Monday on Instagram threads, blue sky, YouTube, Twitch where we will be doing some live streaming next year a little bit. And if you really, really like our unhinged energy and wanna Tell me that my dumb face, you can join our discord, which is linked in the bio of all of our social medias. It's a pretty cool and happening place. It's a fantastic place, and again, all of the links and all of these things will be in the description of this episode for your convenience because, again, I want you to check out Game Master Monday. I want you to check about all these things. So let's make it easy for you. But, yeah, again, I mean, I think a big thing, you know, this show is all about, like, Lauren and introducing you to new and different TTRPGs. If you wanna actually hear them get played out, not necessarily all the ones that's been on the shows, been on this show, but if you wanna keep few of them, though, for sure. Few of them. Yeah. Definitely. But if you want to experience some other games actually get played out and, you know, experience the stories and the absolute shenanigans that happen over at game master Monday. Like, it It's a great podcast to just get introduced to new games if you don't like to hear me ramble, which I don't know why you would get this far into the episode if if that was the case. So And, hey, if you're afraid of continuity or for shows going on for too long, folks, we have none. Yeah. It it's a 1 shot every week, and and and and and twice a year, we do a 4 part mini series. We're very bingeable, and you can pick up the show anywhere you like. Just go through our episode list, whatever title strikes you. Mhmm. Come on down. We'd love to have you. The best pitch. I love it. And I think with that, we're gonna end. So thank you again, Grant, so much for coming on. Thank you, Willow. You everyone for listening. Yay.