I offered to run something for the local RPG meetup group. I've never run any one shots or con games, so if you have any tips, I'd be grateful.

I mentioned I'd run one of the following:

Labyrinth Lord
Call of Cthulhu
Savage Worlds
The Esoterrorists

What do you think I should run, and why?

Do you know what kind of players you're going to get at this game?
Age range, EXP with RPGs in general or newbies... ? Any detail might provide clues as to the game the most appropriate for the task.

No matter the game, what you want is a self-contained adventure that runs for a few hours, but not more than that. This should be pretty straightforward but involving choices nonetheless (i.e. no railroading, linear plot).

Personally, I would opt either for a game that has a strong ambiance, or some action involved. Cthulhu or Labyrinth Lord. How loud is the store? What kind of crowd visits? If it's relatively quiet and populated by grown-ups, I'd be inclined to run a Call of Cthulhu game.

A Labyrinth Lord game would include some short quest/dungeon setting. A cool puzzle the players would try to solve, maybe with the help of passing customers? The sort of thing that engages the viewer. Cool action-packed fights with impressive opponents. Impressive locale, descriptions that attract the attention. Think "Moria in Lord of the Rings". Something grand, something that makes the players go "wow... that is COOL".

A Call of Cthulhu game would be more subtle. Something straightforward, for instance, would be for the game to start in an asylum. Each PC is locked up for a different reason. Or maybe they don't remember? Whatever the case, the goal is clear: get the fuck out of the place. Maybe the people managing the asylum use patients in some cult to contact beings from beyond? That's a dream pool of sacrificial victims for a nuttjob who happens to get a degree in Psychology, you know... *evil grin*

I have written up some advice on my blog about running convention games that might be useful?

I've ran plenty of one shots in the past, myself.  Here would be my advice:

First, use pregens.  Trying to cram character generation into a one shot is just asking for trouble for all but the simplest games.  

When you create the pregens, use as much imagination or more than you do with the adventure.  Come up with a back story for each one and make them all different and interesting in their own way; make sure they are all characters you would find interesting to play.  And be sure to have enough so everyone has a choice - my rule of thumb is to create 2 more characters than there are players.  

Finally, be sure to use the backstories to tie the characters together from the beginning.  With a one shot, you don't want to spend time on the "everyone meeting up" stuff.

That goes for the adventure as well.  If you want a smooth running one shot, start all of the characters out together somewhere already doing something.

The biggest thing to remember with the adventure itself is the KISS principle (keep it simple).  If you only have 3-4 hours for the game, that's not a ton of time.  Don't overdesign.  Have just enough there so the PCs have stuff to do but still can reach the climax - it usually translates to about 2-3 major scenes / dungeon levels / big combats.

Don't be afraid to plan the adventure to a fair degree.  You don't want it a completely linear railroad, but it can't be freeform either.  Give them two or three set situations and let them play around inside those parameters.

As an example, one of the most successful one-shots I ran worked like this:  the game was an "evil PC" game where they had to kidnap a local princess, make their way through the ruins of an old temple, and sacrifice her to their dark god.  So, part one was presenting them with the challenge of kidnapping the princess (which they could have done any number of ways) and part two was making their way through the single level "dungeon" of the old temple (which was now being used as a home by a gnome clan).

Quote from: jgants;297604The biggest thing to remember with the adventure itself is the KISS principle (keep it simple).  If you only have 3-4 hours for the game, that's not a ton of time.  Don't overdesign.  Have just enough there so the PCs have stuff to do but still can reach the climax - it usually translates to about 2-3 major scenes / dungeon levels / big combats.

Mine always seem to run long, longer than I'd planned, so definitely.

Seanchai

CoC is extremely easy to run as a one-shot; its fun; and there are many many short adventures published for that game.

Its usually the default for a one-shot game for me.

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPundit;297709CoC is extremely easy to run as a one-shot; its fun; and there are many many short adventures published for that game.

Its usually the default for a one-shot game for me.

RPGPundit

 I absolutely agree. Combined with the added conveniences of an easy system, and having everything provided in the core, Cthulhu is perfect for one shots.

CoC sprang to mind as a one-shot, too, and in fact a scenario immediately presented itself.

PCs are passengers or crew or a tramp freighter in the 1930s, somewhere off North Africa (or wherever) and The Threat is in the cargo hold. Could be an artifact or creature, or something that a Cult would want and is trying to take from the ship pirate-style. They have to fight off the attackers or the horror that is unleashed (or both).

Or, if you want tastelessness, I would suggest Kill Puppies For Satan. Pure fun, there.

Quote from: Werekoala;298662PCs are passengers or crew or a tramp freighter in the 1930s, somewhere off North Africa (or wherever) and The Threat is in the cargo hold. Could be an artifact or creature, or something that a Cult would want and is trying to take from the ship pirate-style. They have to fight off the attackers or the horror that is unleashed (or both).

This sounds good. I might actually use this.

Quote from: jswa;298728This sounds good. I might actually use this.

Though I fully agree with the Pundit's suggestion (CoC is my one-shot to go game, too), you can download here for free an Esoterrorists short adventure by the name Operation Antler. I've ran it two times and it really delivers, being also less than 4 hours long, chargen included.

Yeah, the whole "there's something in the train/boat/blimp/middle of nowhere/whatever with us" scenario is a perfect one-shot.

RPGPundit