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Writer's pictureJuni Ruiz

Season of Sensational One-Shots: Host a game night while your family is home for the holidays!


Seasons greetings!


It's December, so that means:

  1. People with PTO are using up their unspent vacation time

  2. No one can ignore the Christmas music that’s been steadily getting louder since November

  3. Getting together with family for the holidays

We all know Santa just considers Thanksgiving "Pre-Christmas"

For those who don't know, I am now a full-time Freelance & Stay-At-Home Dad. It's been great. I'm spending a lot of quality time with my daughter, I'm learning a lot about the world of freelancing (Translation: I'm on LinkedIn a lot), and I'm planning a lot of one-shots and campaigns for the new year!


This guy is loving life right now.

If you're looking for fun one-shots to play with friends, family members, or potential romantic interests over the holidays, I have you covered!


Do you know someone that always comments about your nerdy tabletop sessions? Maybe someone that desperately wants to know more about D&D but never gets around to trying it out? Maybe there's an uncle that makes fun of you for "dungeoning all those dragons" all the time instead of playing real games like Call of Duty? Now’s the opportunity to give them a taste of what it’s like to dive headfirst into the world of ttrpgs!


"Uncle Mitch, you're about to find out what it means to fail a Perception Check!"

December will be filled with one-shots What games can you expect? Fun holiday flavors of some of my favorites!


First off, my go-to, Candlekeep Mysteries!

Maybe it’s because I spent 18 years working in a library, but I LOVE running these games.


The Candlekeep Mysteries are 17 short adventures that allow your adventuring party to play detective and solve unsolved crimes, right past wrongs, and prevent fiendish plots!


Unlike my usual Candlekeep games, all of December's one-shots will have holiday twists!


Groups won't know which adventure they're going on until the day of the session. If a group is looking for a specific adventure, no worries, I can make that happen!


You can grab a seat at one of the listed sessions or request a time that works for you here.


Who's this game for?

  • These games are great for beginners

  • People that like ridiculous names

  • Anyone looking for library/holiday-themed good times.



Up next is a “fun” holiday twist on one of my favorite Domains of Dread from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft, Lamordia.


Where Strahd is the Vampire dark lord of Barovia/Ravnloft, Dr. Viktra Mordenheim is the dark lord of Lamordia.


In my interpretation of Lamordia, you are offered the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to assist the renowned Dr. Viktra Mordenheim in her groundbreaking scientific endeavors!


"Explore foreign domains, participate in groundbreaking medical procedures, and test the limits of your mind, body, and soul, all in the name of science!" your Harry Potter-esque letter informs you.


However, it also warns you that the doctor isn't responsible for any " damages that may arise throughout service, including bodily harm, death, temporary body transference anomalies, post-mortem death, re-post-mortem un-death, and loss of smell."


For the holidays, you will find yourself as the doctor’s newest lab assistants, and you’ll be tasked with retrieving a certain artifact from a “red wizard’s” secret workshop.


Rumor has it he has an army of gnomes, gravity-defying reindeer, and a bag of holding that is unlike any other. This bag is your goal.



"We're coming for that bag, Old Man!"

Do you have what it takes to handle the doctor’s request?


“If not, I’m sure I’ll find some other use for you…” the doctor tells you…as she stares at her lab equipment.


Who's this game for?

  • Anyone that wants a little grit with their holidays. (That’s a thing, right?)

  • Levels of horror are tailored to the group, so if you’re more of a Nightmare Before Christmas type of group instead of a Krampus type, this is the game for you!



Something that’s not D&D?!


That’s right!


I’m really into the Power Rangers RPG right now. I have introductory one-shots, a pre-written adventure, and an original adventure of my own ready for the upcoming year. If you're interested in checking out the descriptions for each one, you can read more about it here.


If you’re looking to get into some teenage/90s/karate hijinks this year, why not pick up a Morpher for the holidays?



The Power Rangers RPG uses the Essence20 Roleplaying System. With this system, you create your ranger by combining personal traits, childhood influences, and your chosen Ranger color to make a hero worthy of the Power!


Who's this game for?

  • Power Rangers fans of all ages

  • Everyone that leaves a movie theater after a martial arts movie and “fights” their friends in the parking lot

  • Anyone that wants to try a game that uses all the same dice as D&D but is a little different (but not so different your brain hurts).

 

Want something different?!

I’m always taking custom game requests, so if you’re looking for the best game night your group has had in a while, feel free to email me (Juni@verynerdydad.com).

I could hyperlink that email, but I love typing it out.

 

If you’ve made it this far, thank you. Here are my three favorite canva search results for "cutest thing ever."

Adorable
 

If you don’t already, follow me on social media.


If you’re interested in showing your support, you can do so on my ko-fi page, or by checking out my affiliate links.



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