Level Up Your Gaming: Tabletop RPG Podcast · Aaron and Josh

Let's Make A One Shot: Grave Peril

·44 min·4 clips

Josh reveals he brought back an ancient plague from a trip, then Aaron proposes a one-shot about being buried alive.

This episode of Level Up Your Gaming features hosts Aaron and Josh collaboratively designing a new tabletop roleplaying game one-shot adventure titled "Grave Peril." Aaron and Josh are experienced GMs who regularly create and share original adventure frameworks for other players to use. Their design session focuses on a horror-themed scenario centered on the terrifying concept of being buried alive. Josh proposes the initial hook: the player characters begin the adventure already sealed inside coffins underground. The characters must have no memory of how they arrived in this situation, creating immediate mystery. The hosts suggest the one-shot uses a "skill challenge" mechanic where players describe creative actions to escape their confines. Successfully escaping the coffins leads the characters into a sprawling, forgotten catacomb system. The true antagonist is revealed to be a necromancer or a cult that placed the characters there as part of a ritual. The catacombs are not empty but contain other victims in various states of undeath, from freshly buried to ancient corpses. Josh emphasizes the importance of a tangible goal, suggesting the characters must find a specific relic or the necromancer's ritual chamber to stop the ceremony. Aaron proposes environmental hazards like cave-ins, pockets of poisonous gas, or underground rivers to increase tension. The hosts debate whether the final confrontation should be with the ritual's mastermind or a monstrous entity they have unintentionally unleashed. A key insight is structuring the one-shot in three clear acts: the immediate escape, the exploration of the catacombs, and the final confrontation. The hosts find horror in the vulnerability of starting without gear, forcing players to scavenge tools from the environment or their coffins. They suggest the adventure could be easily adapted to different RPG systems like *Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition* or *Call of Cthulhu*. The most memorable moments might arise from players' creative, desperate actions during the initial burial escape sequence. The tone is a collaborative, energetic brainstorming session between two knowledgeable game masters. The style is informal and conversational, filled with immediate ideas and building on each other's suggestions. Listeners who enjoy DIY adventure design and GMs seeking a ready-made horror scenario will love this episode. Those who prefer actual play episodes or discussions of published game rules might want to skip this creative workshop.

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