Hollowdale: A Dread One-Shot

Hollowdale is centered around an old mining town in which almost everyone mysteriously vanished. The only survivors are six teenagers who would become the grandparents of the players. After the last survivor dies, the grandchildren (the players) come together and finally explore the old town their grandparents talked about so much.

This One-Shot has a lot wrapped up in it, so keep in mind that not all of it needs to be used in a single game! The players will enter Hollowdale at 8 p.m. and each location they visit the clock will advance by one hour. By 6 a.m. if none of the possible endings have been achieved, then the All Else ending will activate. You can time each location if you want to make sure you stay within a certain time frame (like a 4 hour game), or you could always start at an hour later than 8 p.m.

Players will explore the different locations, and based on the current time in game, different events could occur. They will collect clues that will allow them to figure out just what happened all those years ago, as well as letting them figure out how to stop everything that is happening. There are four different monsters (with two smaller monster types), as well as a witch. Besides the All Else ending, there are six other possible endings the players can work towards. There are seven main locations, not including the tunnels, and many items the players can obtain in order to aid them, though I recommend not giving them all out. There's also the possibility of two traitors being added to the mix, though this is completely up to the Game Master. There is also plenty of lore and a timeline to help the Game Master understand what has happened in the past.

There are a lot of concepts added in, like placing special signs on the Jenga Tower that could influence what happens when they pull, as well as each player having a number tied to sanity that can be raised or lowered based on what they go through.

Hollowdale contains a lot, but that doesn't mean all of it needs to be added in during a single playthrough. The entire point of Hollowdale is to have a horror One-Shot with a mystery angle, while also giving players complete freedom to explore how they want to, while being stalked by multiple monsters, each possessing a special power. The Fog Monster can make locations disappear, as well as make players pass out and wake up in a different location, which is helpful when it comes to splitting up the party. The Mind Monster can create illusions inside a player's mind, which can cause a player to attack another player. It can also change answers on a player's questionnaire. The Fungus Monster can infect players, causing them to pull more blocks for each action they take depending on how bad the infection is. If it's really bad, it can then spread to the other players, making each player weary of the infected player. The Terror Monster rapidly drains a player's sanity, while also requiring a pull when the players look at the Game Master. The more they look at you, the more blocks they'll pull. Utilizing this monster is entertaining as you walk around the players and they keep looking away from you, refusing to make eye contact.

While there's a lot here, my aim was to make a unique experience that many groups could play, with each being personalized. Most games played will be different in one way, shape, or form. The monsters encountered, where they are encountered, which color one of three magic switches are set to, what clues or items are discovered, when each location is visited and in what order, what special events are present, these can all affect how the game plays out, which makes this One-Shot not only unique but also special to each group that plays it.

When preparing to run Hollowdale, feel free to make any changes you deem necessary. You could get rid of the mystery as a whole. You could simply only take a single monster, or maybe just the map. The entire point was to develop something that many people can enjoy, and if that's how it's accomplished then I'll still be happy.

I hope you enjoy playing Hollowdale!