New Year's Evil updated
I updated New Year's Evil, my one-shot holiday adventure for the R'lyehwatch RPG. This adventure was special, as I wrote it all on one night (to celebrate New Year's Eve, natch), and because it's the first thing I've officially released for R'lyehwatch since the game's launch.
New Year's Evil is horribly silly, but I figure that's the kind of mood people want when they're playing a TTRPG on a holiday notorious for its drinking. Maybe I'm wrong, who knows. :D
My next (?) adventure will be more serious, or not, we shall see.
Anyway, let's check that changelog:
8 JANUARY 2025 - v1.5.5. Removed Scene #5 (filler) and replaced it with a celebration. All you need are three good scenes! This gives more room for art and should make for a breezier New Year's one-shot experience.
I have removed Scene #5. Originally this was a segment where you try to convince a crowd of people to step back from a falling New Year's Eve time ball. It's not terrible? Not it's not exactly memorable. This is just the kind of filler a referee should feel free to add to a game if need be, but not be forced to read and memorize.
One of the nice things about Zadmar's Six Scene Structure (which I follow/adapt for R'lyehwatch scenarios) is it's weirdly easy to spot your weakest scene. You have Scene #1, which I tend to write as a freeform, introductory roleplay scene, free of any real challenges. That leaves us with five scenes, one of which is typically a boss fight or showdown. That leaves us with four scenes.
Now, I'm a firm believer all you need for a one-shot is three good scenes, meaning there's one too many arguably a surplus. So typically, I'll write four, stare at them real hard for a week, decide one is weak enough to either combine with another or erase completely, then decide to make Scene #6 either a sort of "escape the collapsing castle" post-boss sort of a sequence or turn it into a celebratory scene.
Less is more, especially when you're just here to have a little bit of stress-free holiday fun.