Mini-Update for Digital Backers - Physical Add-Ons Enabled!
4 months ago
– Sat, Nov 29, 2025 at 01:12:23 AM
It's always fun discovering a flaw in Kickstarter's system almost 24 hours before the campaign ends!
Digital backers, if you have pledged, but would like to add physical Add-Ons, we have now added a new tier for you to do so.
It turns out that when a digital reward is selected as such for shipping (why wouldn't it?), Kickstarter doesn't allow physical Add-Ons to be added to the selected tier.
We've skirted this for you by adding shipping to the new Digital Tier, that allows you to add any of our physical Add-Ons should you wish to do so! Of course, shipping will be calculated at fulfilment, but will be in line with whatever physical Add-Ons you have ordered.
This has been our public service announcement. Thank you your time!
T
A Spotlight on Our Hardest Adventure: The Flayed Performer
4 months ago
– Fri, Nov 28, 2025 at 12:08:18 PM
Building a Villain Worthy of Applause
The Flayed Performer is what happens when Matt has an idea, dives deep into research and resurfaces with an adventure that looks nothing like the one he started. It began as a light-hearted one-shot involving a magical wardrobe - until Matt explained to his wife that performers were being flayed and hung from the rafters. She excused herself before he could elaborate. Fair enough.
This adventure pulls heavily from ancient Greek mythology (damn it Matt, not again!) and takes cues from the playful satyr as well as a lesser-known myth whose grisly ending inspired the darker tone. From that seed, the adventure quickly shifted from whimsical to wonderfully macabre.
With that tonal shift, we knew two things: the adventure needed to target higher-level players and it deserved a villain who was genuinely terrifying. After heroically failing against Strahd for the umpteenth time, we spent time reflecting on what makes both a great villain and a satisfying challenge. Curse of Strahd can often feel punishing or obtuse at times, with overwhelming threats dropping in seemingly at random -but its world and villain are so compelling that we, like so many others, keep returning to it.
So how do you “improve” on such an iconic campaign? You don’t. We never set out to make something better than Strahd; instead, our ideas naturally evolved as The Flayed Performer took shape. We started with a grisly concept and a unique mechanic (we’ll get to that soon!), but early drafts focused more on the gruesome lore than the villain himself.
Play-testing changed that. The Performer kept stealing the spotlight - literally and figuratively - and once the artwork arrived, it became obvious that he wasn’t just the title character, he was an icon for One Room One Shots.
Like Strahd, the Flayed Performer is the undisputed master of his domain. He’s so confident that instead of confronting heroes directly, he turns their attempts to stop him into a theatrical spectacle of his own design, where players must complete a variety of performances to impress him - lest they lose their skin in the process...
Centring the adventure on the Performer allowed us to refine him as both antagonist and narrator. He introduces each encounter with a dramatic monologue and forces the party to participate by demonstrating the consequences of refusal. He’s been a joy to write, a delight to portray and we think he’ll be a villain players never forget!
A Villain Who Evolves with the Story
The adventure begins almost like a fantasy episode of CSI: the party investigates a recent death while the theatre magically prepares for rehearsal. A disguised version of the Performer appears as a curious, helpful observer. It likely won’t take long for the party to uncover his true identity - then the real show begins.
There are ten unique encounters, with three chosen at random for each play-through by the DM, a die roll or by drawing one of our Add-On Encounter Cards. Nine are inspired by the Muses; the tenth is tied to the Performer’s tragic past. Each performance highlights a different gameplay mechanic, giving every class a chance to shine. Along the way, players piece together the Performer’s history through NPCs, lore and environmental storytelling.
Every encounter has two outcomes - success or failure - and each one unlocks a legendary action in the Performer’s stat block. That means every run of this adventure plays differently. Failures add complications: enhancements to the Chorus (the flayed victims reanimated under his control), shifting stage effects or even entirely new enemies appearing in the final battle. Some encounters even have bonus outcomes - secret objectives that can result in the party acquiring unique items or even potential allies for the final battle. As you can see, there is a lot packed into these epic scenes!
Expanding the Adventure offers two short campaign paths for The Flayed Performer:
The Painted World
A return to the original concept: the party investigates disappearances at a theatre, steps through an enchanted wardrobe and finds themselves trapped in a world that behaves like a living stage. The horizon feels strangely near, the trees are props; nothing is quite real except the danger. Hunted by the Performer - the architect of this bizarre realm - the party must survive a gauntlet of living performances. This short campaign gives us the opportunity to add in many of our encounter ideas that lost out in the final version of the one shot, whilst expanding it into a theatrically macabre painted world.
A Ballad of Blood
A darker, investigative campaign where players track the Performer’s killing spree across the city. With new characters, enemies, factions and lore, the party must uncover both his motives and his location while contending with his agents and the villain himself. This campaign sheds a brighter light onto the origins of the Performer, who he is and how he came to be.
Of course, DMs seeking a longer, more elaborate campaign can merge both paths into one grand fable: an urban hunt leading into a theatrical nightmare, culminating in a deadly dance of wits and steel inside the Performer’s twisted domain.
What are you most excited to uncover in the hunt for the Flayed Performer?
Tell us in the comments:
Are you most excited to discover the Painted World or does a citywide chase get your blood pumping? Or, perhaps you want to see how you fare against the Performer himself when the final curtain rises?
Choose Your Next Adventure - Stretch Goal Vote #2!
4 months ago
– Thu, Nov 27, 2025 at 04:21:52 AM
As we pass our first additional adventure Stretch Goal and continue down this exciting path, it seems the eponymous Grimcowl, has yet another task for us...
When you next see Grimcowl, you expect praise - or at least a hint of recognition for your recent deeds. Instead, the mage is buried in piles of ancient manuscripts, muttering to himself as he flips through brittle pages. He looks exhausted, mud still clinging to his once-fine cape, though his eyes gleam when he finally notices you.
“Ah, my friends, you’re back! Looking for more work, yes? Heroic deeds, glorious triumphs, all that sort of thing? I have been busy as well, as you can see!” He gestures grandly, promptly knocking over several half-empty goblets. The contents splatter across the scattered tomes, yet Grimcowl doesn’t seem to notice or care.
“There is no point in asking what all this is - it’s very important, very complicated research! Perhaps one day I will share what so interests me… For now, however, a quest awaits!”
With a wave of his hand, magical mist begins to form, only to sputter as sparks pop from his fingertips. He curses, shakes his hand, and tries again. This time, the fog forms two armoured figures bathed in radiant light.
“The Grand Hall of King Ner!” he declares. “The Throne of Light! Said to be the greatest bastion of virtue in these troubled lands. Yet His Radiance now sends Judicators across the realm to ‘test’ his people for hidden evil. Perhaps you may pass these trials and discover what drives the Paladin King’s sudden zeal.”
The illusion shimmers, reshaping into the familiar outline of a goblin clutching a two-headed feline.
“Although,” Grimcowl adds, “there are still reports of those strange two-headed goblins demanding tribute for their Twinned-God. I’ve even heard of harpies joining their twisted congregation!”
He lets the spell fade, sighing as he sinks into his chair, seemingly spent from such a minor illusion.
“So then, brave souls - what shall it be? Righteous wrath, or goblin gods? I’d choose carefully if I were you - though thankfully, I’m not. Either way, do let me know quickly, I still have much to do and too little time to do it in!”
Comment below to vote on which adventure you'd like to see unlocked as our second stretch goal!
400% Funding - We Did it! NEW Stretch Goal Adventure Unlocked!
4 months ago
– Thu, Nov 27, 2025 at 04:21:12 AM
We finally did it! We've hit over £20,000 and so it's time to unveil the winner of our Choose Your Next Adventure vote!
Introducing the Haunting of Stump-Tree Tavern, our new level 2 adventure! This nightmare-inducing adventure takes place within a haunted tavern, challenging players in a race against time to discover the awful secrets behind the Dreorbaest's appearance, before the slumbering villagers are all killed, one by one!
As we mentioned before, unlike most other Stretch Goals, this isn't just a tack on adventure, it's a full book written to the same scale and quality of our core three.
And of course, what is a One Room One Shot adventure without its accompanying One Hour Encounter prologue?
The Barrow Smith introduces players to a strange, magical forge that can only be used at night. What terrible weapon was made here and can something new be forged, that could help atone for such a deed?
But what's this?
It seems Grimcowl has summoned us once again for another Choose Your Next Adventure...
Diving Deep Into The Temple of the Forgotten Depths
4 months ago
– Tue, Nov 25, 2025 at 09:58:09 AM
Our very first One Room One Shot
Temple of the Forgotten Depths was the first adventure ever written for One Room One Shots. Drawing from ancient Greek mythology (we told you this would come up again) is a story set in an otherworldly space, filled with ancient monsters and primordial gods. The temple itself is a vast domed structure with an upper balcony, long believed to be lost beneath the ocean. If Tomb of Grief is our purest “single room,” then Temple of the Forgotten Depths is the adventure that most fully embodies the idea of a single, contained location.
The premise is intentionally straightforward: an ancient artefact said to imbue the wielder with control over the ocean itself has been discovered, and adventurers are sent to the temple to retrieve it. Players begin after swimming down to the ocean floor, where the temple now rests - the reason for its hidden location until now. Whether driven by gold, academic curiosity or the pull of powerful magic, players expecting a simple treasure hunt quickly find themselves facing corruption, moral choices and the tragic history of a once-majestic sanctuary.
The artefact in question is known as the Jewel of the Ocean, or the Heart of Ceto. Ceto, a primordial sea deity associated with monsters and the many dangers of the deep, was once worshipped here through offerings, rituals - and sacrifices - meant to secure protection and safe passage across her domain. However, the temple has been abandoned for so long that the power of Ceto has waned. The surrounding waters have grown perilous, and without the protective presence once radiating from the Heart of Ceto, a creeping corruption has begun to spread and the ancient children of the goddess now seek to claim the artefact for their own designs.
The temple is built of living coral, enchanted to keep the water out and the interior breathable. Coral bleaching - when vibrant coral turns pale and brittle as its symbiotic algae die - became the inspiration for the temple’s corruption. Once colourful walls are now bone white, cold and calcified. The creatures within bear similar marks; with some attacks leaving permanently bleached scars. These visual marks create lasting reminders of the temple’s corruption, giving players memorable role-play moments without requiring long-term status tracking.
Dangers of the Deep
Exploring the temple is fraught with danger. Drowned Ones - water spirits bound to the Deep One - rise from the seabed to claim the Heart of Ceto before others can reach it. Enchanted traps await discovery, shrines hide secrets that only reveal themselves through intuition and clever problem-solving and any who delve too deeply risk provoking the temple’s last remaining guardian: the Coral Abomination. This hulking elemental can become ally or adversary depending on player choices, offering a flexible narrative pivot point in the adventure. The story culminates in a dramatic showdown as the temple floods and the corrupted Hydra of the Deep - a monstrous denizen of the deep - rises to seize the Heart for itself.
Should the players manage to claim the Jewel of the Ocean, they are faced with a difficult decision. The default adventure hook is that the party is initially hired by the mage Grimcowl to retrieve the artefact, and crossing him is unwise - especially as he represents their only means of returning to the surface.
Yet two other factions reveal themselves throughout the adventure. Within the temple, players may meet the Jengu, a beautiful divine water spirit desperate to heal the temple using the Heart of Ceto, and lurking in the deep is one of Ceto’s own children, the Deep One, who seeks the artefact to strengthen its power in the abyss. The Deep One’s agents already haunt the temple and it will not hesitate to sway or tempt the party.
Join a Cult, Fight Undead Pirates & Sail the Sea
In this Expanding the Adventure chapter, players are able explore a small chain of islands to uncover the temple’s history and location. In this nautical campaign, they'll face off against undead pirates, infiltrate a cult tied to the Deep One and discover oceanic horrors shaped by the spreading corruption. Once they’ve gathered enough knowledge and supplies, they must set sail across the perilous ocean where X marks the spot for the sunken temple - turning the original one-shot into a dramatic final dungeon with a multi-phase boss encounter and protective enchantments that can prove deadly if unprepared.
This short campaign is structured into three clear chapters - the islands, the voyage and the temple. We wanted the journey to feel truly epic while still offering a predictable number of sessions, making it easy for groups to plan and adjust as needed.
New Lore, New Monsters, New Mysteries
Finally, we delve deeper into the temple’s history and our interpretation of Ceto, her children and her followers. This adds new monsters, encounters and oceanic culture elements that any DM can incorporate into their own worlds, complete with new elemental beings and powerful hydromancers.
As we continue polishing Temple of the Forgotten Depths and expanding its world, we’d love to hear from you:
What are you most excited to discover during your voyage across the ocean?
Forgotten sea gods, undead pirates, the Cult of the Deep?
Or perhaps you have other ideas you'd like to see!
Tell us in the comments - we can’t wait to hear where your curiosity pulls you beneath the waves.
