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Sometimes we GMs need a break. Perhaps you've been running your game week after week for a year now, or perhaps the well of ideas has gone temporarily dry. If so, then a one-shot game may be just the thing for you. But hey, if you are going to run another game for just one weekend why not make it interesting? Halloween is fast approaching, and will be the perfect opportunity for a one-shot adventure.

You know we have all sat around at one point or another during a slow moment and asked each other what our stats would be if we were characters in any given game system. We've all wondered what powers we would pick, and thought about how much fun it would be to be a Vampire, a Mage or some other supernatural badass. In my group's case this led to some good-natured arguments and teasing, but we still all thought it was a lot of fun.

So, with this in mind, you can craft a perfect supernatural tale of horror for your players. Pick your favorite modern day horror game (anything from Call of Cthulu to Hunter will do), and then have your PCs generate characters based on themselves.

The exact adventure you run will vary depending on which game you chose, but it should be dark and creepy. The following scenario should work in just about any game:

The players start out in exactly where they happen to be in real life. Whatever room, basement, restaurant or place that you happen to be playing. First, the power goes out (you will need candles to do this right). When the players look outside they realize that the power is off all over the neighborhood. At first they probably think nothing of it, but then screams start in the distance...

Since you are a part of your gaming group you are going to need to eliminate yourself before going any further (since running yourself as an NPC takes some of the fun out of things). So whatever supernatural antagonist who works in the game should dismember you first. It should spend time feasting on your corpse (or whatever is appropriate) while your PCs run for their lives.

Then you can make things even more interesting...

• Twist #1: Before you go any further in the game, have the players each pass their character sheets to the person sitting on their right. It can be a lot of fun seeing someone else play you. Our group had a blast doing this.
• Twist #2: Have your corpse show up at some point in the adventure. Perhaps you are a vampire or a zombie, but whatever you are, you're hungry for your former friends souls (or blood or brains).
• Twist #3: All of the PCs are ripped apart one by one in the first few minutes of the adventure, only to rise as zombies, or vampires or wraiths. I found that this was really fun using White-Wolf's Wraith game.

Regardless of what route you take remember this. No one should survive the evening. No one is safe! My own group had a blast last Halloween, and I hope you do too.