Pacing a Horror One-Shot

27 Jul 2024

One-Shots are are a great way to enjoy horror RPGs, whether you’re at a convention or you’re having a fun evening with your friends. And there are lots of scenarios and anthologies available, such as Chaosium’s Doors to Darkness, which promise that “each [scenario] can usually be completed within four to five hours”. But what if “usually” is not good enough: you cannot schedule a second session to finish the scenario, or you do not have the full four to five hours available, or you really want to deliver the full experience in one single session?

On the internet, you can find lots of advice for writing and running one-shots that is analogous to writing novels. Generally, I don’t think narrative structure and player agency in RPGs go well together, especially in the NSR with its focus on emergent narrative and the choices players make. However, when we’re talking about horror RPGs, and one-shots in particular, we need to make some concessions, because in order to convey horror, we need to build tension. If you’ve read Ash Law’s The Trajectory of Fear, you know how that is done.

In the classic three-act structure used in narrative fiction, turning points (or plot-points) are defining moments in the protagonist’s character development that mark the transition from one act to the next. Character arcs are not what NSR RPGs are about (although they may very well emerge during play), but the idea of turning points can help us write and run horror one-shots that are a) thrilling and satisfying and b) can be completed reliably in one session.

First turning point: Realization

At the beginning of a one-shot you introduce the characters and establish a sense of Normality, before you gradually introduce Unease and Dread. Sooner rather than later, the characters (and the players) should realize that either they personally or their loved ones are at risk and that there is a very bad supernatural threat with an agenda in motion. A reward of 250 $ per investigator to find the missing Arkham Witch Trial Papers ain’t gonna cut it (Crimson Letters). Make it personal! Tie the characters into the scenario. There must be no turning back for the characters, as you ramp up the tension evermore. This constitutes the first “turning point”, but it does not have to materialize as a concrete moment in your scenario. Rather, this realization is gradually derived from the information the characters uncover.

As an example from None More Black (Doors to Darkness): the investigators find out early on that their friend Walter Resnick died from substance abuse in his appartment. The drug is being manufactured by an evil wizard and his goons. The problems with this scenario are threefold: a) Their friend is already dead, so there is little reason for the investigators to press forward. b) The wizard and his goons only become aware of the investigators a few hours into the scenario, so there is no reason for them to act against the investigators. As a GM, you have no device to build up more tension. c) If the investigators don’t do anything, nothing super bad is going to happen in the near future. The wizard will just gradually expand their operation.

Second turning point: Resolve

At some point, about 60-90 minutes before the end of your session, the characters should find themselves in a situation where they are forced into action. Either the antagonist’s agenda is about to be completed, or it becomes clear that the characters cannot hold out much longer and must make a final stand, or maybe the characters realize the full extent of their predicament and run for their lives. The crux of the matter is to have an event you can spring on your players at any point in the scenario to transition into the finale! Whether the characters are ready or not. It is totally okay to talk to the players out of character and say ‘this is the situation, how do you want to deal with it? You have 10 minutes to come up with a plan’. Then, you might ‘hard frame’ (summarize) low intensity preparation or research, before cutting right to the action.

In Chaosium’s The Lightless Beacon, the characters are trapped on a small island during a storm and at some point a horde of sea-creatures is going to assault the lighthouse. This is great! In Genius Loci (Doors to Darkness), a friend of the investigators is being held prisoner in a sanatorium and will be sacrificed in a couple of days in the night of the new moon. It does set a hard time limit, but it is very much possible that you spend too much time roleplaying or researching the history of the sanatorium and its inhabitants, leaving you with too little time to bring the scenario to a conclusion.

Conclusion

In order to reliably run one-shots in one session, your scenario needs a strong tie-in for your characters, and a bang to transition into the finale.

I encourage you to examine a few scenarios and figure out how you would modify them to include the tie-in and the bang.