The Weekend Oneshot Challenge is an RPG writing event where I complete the writing, art, cartography, and editing for a oneshot RPG adventure within a 48 hour period.
I'm not required to work the whole 48 hours, but once I begin, everything must be finished before the 48 hour time limit passes. This causes me to prioritize certain elements over others, but ultimately, it removes the analysis paralysis that causes me to gunk up my decision making.
There's no time to debate elements; just get them done!
Adding a fun little twist to the mix is the incorporation of Magic: the Gathering cards. Why? To keep me from doing any pre-production idea sketches or event sequencing. The 48 hour challenge would then be... kind of a lie! Utilizing Magic: the Gathering cards, I generate game elements that must be included.
Let's look at what I drew for my first attempt. I opened a booster pack, shuffled the cards, then drew them one at a time and placed them under which element I thought best "fit" them until all six slots were filled:
Essentially, I set the adventure in a small mountain on a forested area, and beneath the mountain is a forge that harvests magic energy from an Archfey. Two minotaurs steal the forge from its previous owner (a dragon) and enslave the minions. One minion, a storm giant, is the source of a river beneath the mountain and oversees the imprisoned Archfey. Tensions arise when the minotaurs have a falling out--one being banished and desiring to retake the forge (that's where the party comes in).
So today at 2/9/2020 at 10:20 AM, with an hour and ten minutes to spare, I finished The Iron Dreamer for my Weekend Oneshot challenge.
I'm hoping to record my next attempt for a video documentary on the process. Here's to anyone else who wants to take the challenge (or at least use the Magic card idea!)