D&D One-Shots: Why It’s Time to Skip the ‘Meet in a Tavern’ Trope

Yes, you read it right—when it comes to D&D one-shots, we’re telling you to ditch the old classic ‘meet in a tavern’ trope.

For D&D one-shots, it’s rare that a group will want to spend hours role-playing introductions before starting the action.

Running a successful one-shot game requires quite a bit of skills; You need to set up encounters, wrangle all the characters, keep the storyline interesting, and most importantly, ensure that everyone at the table is having a great time.

Whether you’re running a game for seasoned players or D&D newbies, you’d really want to make your one-shot memorable.

Jump straight into the action in D&D

We strongly suggest that you get rid of the introductions in the beginning in favor of getting straight into the action. We’re talking about those times when an NPC approaches a party, asks names, and everyone is just confused as to who should take the lead and answer. It’s just boring (most of the time) and a waste of time if you want a fast paced one-shot.

It’s no exaggeration to say that you can make the most of your D&D playtime by diving straight into the action. It’s even truer when it comes to one-shot games. The whole point of one-shot is that there’s a beginning and an end within the same session, just like a movie. You have a situation, you take action, and bam! It’s over.

If you take too much time with introductions, you’re actually eating up precious time that could be spent exploring a dungeon, discovering arcane abilities, or encountering mysterious creatures.

For example, you can tell the players that their characters already know each other, or that they’ve been given a mission. In the game description, you can explain this background, so they already know the mission and how they met.

Not sure how to ditch the tavern introduction?

You can start the game like this: “You’ve been on the road for two days. It’s been raining for hours, but something feels wrong. The river ahead should be overflowing with all this rain, but it’s doing more than that—it’s about to flood your path. What do you do? Roll for initiative!”

See? Starting with action. It’s a quick situation where the players might need to use a flight ability, help each other climb trees, or run away from the danger. This gets them into character immediately and using their abilities right at the start. Follow it up with, ‘You’ve managed to climb the trees, but the flood has washed everything below. What do you do next?’

Now, the party might discuss what happened and decide to investigate upstream. Maybe they see dead creatures in the water. They can make a nature check to understand what’s going on. Now they’re already deep into the adventure, and you’ve skipped an hour of boring introductions. Boom, straight into the action!

In one-shot D&D, Action could be your First Chapter!

It’s up to you to decide what becomes Chapter 1. Maybe your party got attacked, or stumbled upon enemy hordes; There’s also exploration or travel and it could all lead up to the final act, where there’s a big final boss in a dungeon, a cave, or atop a snow-capped mountain.

Whatever adventure you plan, just skip the beginning and get them straight into the dungeon. You don’t even need to start at the door of the dungeon. You can say: “You’ve already met each other, and now you’re inside.”

In general, when we (Dungeon Masters) create content for modules or homebrew campaigns, we often over-prepare. If you spend too much time at the tavern, you’ll end up having to cut some of the more fun things you had planned. Need some inspiration, check out some of our games.

This tip is also valuable for a D&D campaign

This advice applies to campaigns as well. If you know the players will be in a city shopping, selling items, and resting before hitting the road the next day to face the secret you’ve been planning, you can jump the whole scene. You could say: “You spend the day in town, nothing major happens, and you’re ready to leave.”

Of course, don’t take control away from the players. If they want to role-play in the city, interact with merchants, or role-play between themselves in the tavern, let them. But if they’ve been waiting for a big secret to be revealed and you know a full session will be spent on resting, just skip ahead.

As Dungeon Master, you control the pace of the game

As the DM, you’re the storyteller. You have the power to skip entire sections. If they have three weeks of travel ahead and you know they won’t enjoy playing through it day by day, you can simply skip it.

Say: “Three weeks pass, and now you’ve arrived at the entrance of the ancient cathedral you’ve been searching for.”

So, don’t spend too much time on stuff your players or you don’t like. You’re in control, and it’s your job to guide players toward what’s fun for them. If role-playing is what they enjoy, move them into role-play faster. Don’t skip the story, but cut out the unnecessary parts to keep the game engaging.

Skip the Tavern Trope, Not the Role-Play

At Elite Adventures, we want to be clear: this isn’t about skipping role-play. In fact, our DM team loves role-playing and the depth it brings to any D&D session. What we’re suggesting is a more dynamic and engaging way to kick things off, especially in a one-shot or campaign. Starting right in the middle of an event—whether it’s a chase, a dungeon exploration, or facing a sudden ambush—sets the tone for action and immerses the players immediately. It’s not that introductions or social interactions are boring; it’s about weaving them into the gameplay in a way that feels natural and exciting.

For example, after an ambush, characters can introduce themselves as they regroup and recover. They might meet a quirky myconid deep in the dungeon who wants to chat, or find themselves negotiating with chatty pixies blocking their path. These moments of role-play feel earned and tied to the story, rather than a forced opening scene in a tavern.

By skipping the overused “meet in a tavern” trope, you make it easier for players—especially those who don’t know each other—to dive into the game. It’s less about preamble and more about action. Imagine starting a one-shot with a high-stakes chase through a bustling city or being thrust into a dungeon just as a trap is triggered. It’s immersive, unique, and immediately engaging for everyone at the table.

Our goal is to help you craft original, memorable games that excite your players while keeping things fresh and fun. So, take a step away from the tavern trope and give your group an opening they’ll never forget!

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Hope these tips will help you in your next one-shot adventure. For more articles, check out our blog. Check out our schedule of D&D games and upcoming campaigns on Roll20! Simply find a game that interests you and join us on Discord to get started.

Here at Elite Adventures we host a lot of beginner-friendly D&D games if you want to try. Have a look, and we hope to see you at our table!

Don’t forget to join our community on Discord using this link https://discord.gg/WBg4RE4pDR for more discussions with fellow players.