Oops! A Wizard TTRPG

Magic is broken. Sometimes, spells work as intended. Other times, a random effect occurs instead. As a member of the Wizard’s Guild, it is your responsibility to journey from the safety of your Wizard Tower and to the Realm of the Gods to figure out why the magic is broken and whether your scrappy team can fix it before it’s too late.

This is a quick and easy one-shot I've run twice. Perfect for a day where one person didn't show up so you can't continue with your long campaign but you still want to scratch that TTRPG itch. The Chief Wizard (Game Master) has a lot of freedom to interpret requests and design encounters, and my players had fun inventing fun new ways to use magic.

The hook is that players must use magic to succeed but magic is malfunctioning. About 40% of the time, an unexpected, random result will happen instead and players will need to pivot to salvage the quest. 

For optimal results, set aside about two hours and select people who aren't scared of a bit of silly improvising and reacting to unexpected events. Before beginning, the Chief Wizard should pick a genre or theme. Right now, the Chief Wizard Guide has a standard (fairy tale) option and a spooky option, but you could easily play this in a sand and sandals setting, industrializing city underbelly, idyllic shire, etc. etc. The setting can inspire encounters and add an aesthetic paint to names, species, and locations.

Fun fact! I randomly named an NPC the second time I ran this and one of my players liked the name so much, they have now legally changed their name to match. (No promises that this one-shot will help your players change names). 

On the off-chance someone does play this, please don't pay me, just leave a comment about something funny that happened in your session. 

Icon credit: Noun Project.