Greetings gamers from all systems, places and timelines.
In previous podcasts and articles, we’ve spoken about the value of periodically having a game that cleanses the palate of the campaign. Because, while it’s great that you developed this epic story about a dark lord and his all-powerful ring, maybe your players once in a while just want to do something else, instead of that several-week long march to Mount Doom?
The lowest-hanging fruit example of a palate-cleansing game are holiday games. Here, the players can do something fun like save Santa and/or Christmas and get a present at the end. ( I had the pleasure of being in three such games this year, and all of them were awesome!)
However, chances to run such games only present themselves rarely and at specific times. I mean, unless your group is up for a Christmas in July game?
This gives you, as the DM, an opportunity to introduce something known as an “All-Star Game” which, if done properly, can be extremely fun and memorable for all involved.
What Is an All-Star Game?
And now, like with Monty Python, it’s time for something completely different. ( But preferably high level!)
This is where you tell your players that you are putting all of your plots on hold for a session and that they can bring ANY character they ever played to the next game.
Now, to be fair, this does work best with seasoned players who have a few characters they can choose from. Once in a great while, I have even gone so far as to let a player bring a character back from the dead for this. Because should something like death really get in the way of a good story?
Whether or not you allow a character to return to life permanently is entirely up to you. But maybe that’s their plot hook? (Use that extremely sparingly, but I digress.)
Some of you are probably (and rightly) thinking that this idea sounds a little bit absolutely insane. Some players will want to play their current tier-two characters, while others will want to play a character that was completely broken from back in the day. But with magic and imagination, anything is possible.
So, before you start breathing in a brown paper bag while you’re trying to figure out how to fit all of this together, break it down into the following steps.
Determine the Cast
Even for the players, trying to figure out who to bring to such a game can be tricky. Help guide them in this process by establishing early what level of difficulty and setting you have in mind. While my all-star games have been relatively high level, they don’t necessarily have to be. (But it’s preferred, so they are out of the ordinary.)
Then ask your players, if they had to pick just one of their characters who brings it to the table and gets things done, who would that be? If they don’t have a high-level character, then bump up their current one “an appropriate amount of levels” and say something to the effect of “this is your character from a future timeline.”
I know, I also said avoid time travel at all costs, but since this cannot alter the past, the consequences are much more limited. With that said, the character’s equipment should be scaled accordingly as well, because no one wants to be the weakest link.
Balance the Team
Now, on the other side of the equation, you will have a player who has a character that was retired and so broken that, when the actual gods needed something, they asked this person for favors. Fitting this kind of character in can be a true balancing act because, while you want to allow your players the freedom of playing whoever they like, you may not want to deal with powers like unlimited spell casting energy.
Years ago, one of my characters literally ascended to godhood at the end of his story arc. Later, he made an appearance as an all-star cast member in one of these games. My DM at the time handled it by saying that I was getting an avatar of my original character and scaled my powers down so I could run in the game with another player’s high-level druid.
So, what did that look like? He was a warrior, so he was assigned a high level, just not his actual one. He had some exceptional ability scores and a powerful version, but not the exact version, of his magical weapon. The druid was granted a surge in his spell casting (because of a “plot reason”) and shape-changing abilities so he could be on a “relatively” even playing field.
Create the Epic Adventure
Now, this is the easy part. If the players want to run current characters, then all of their plot threads are fresh and at your fingertips. Maybe, as part of this new elite group, they could take on a quest that was previously outside of their challenge rating. If a player wants to blow the dust off an established character sheet, then they probably have all sorts of loose ends they need to tie up. Or maybe one of the threats they believed was dealt with has somehow returned?
You can even get all Kingdom Hearts on your party and have some/all of their villains team up and try to wreck the players. However, as much as I enjoyed that franchise, don’t make the plot so complicated that they need to sit in a 3-hour lecture and take notes to sort of understand it.
Conclusion
Like with any of the holiday games, make this adventure short, memorable and to the point. For a one-shot game, you shouldn’t feel pressured or honestly even consider introducing new involved plot threads. (The only exception to this rule is if you plan on running a part 2 of this adventure down the road.)
This should be an especially fun activity for both you and the players. Because, if I am running the game, this is where I have been known to slide in NPCs who I really enjoy giving airtime to.
Finally, don’t be afraid to give the players some type of special reward for completing this quest, which took such a unique and unlikely group to complete. ( A reward that goes with them, because who doesn’t like rewards?) That reward can take many forms, from XP to items to saving a lost NPC or even that piece of information that the players have been relentlessly hunting after.
Have fun with this. If you are going to run, have run or have played in one of these styles of games, we would love to hear about it!