I Promise.

Dr. Dungeon Master: Let's face it, nobody likes to spend the majority of a session in slow RP exposition. Players want the quest, but don't always want to go through 2+ hours of buildup before they even get to the action! This is especially true when you are short for time or running a "quick" one-shot.

Dr. DM: The solution, skipping right into the middle of the action and filtering in the background information as you go along. This works if you set it up showing the players their characters are already midway through some shenanigans.

Dr. DM: The other night I tested this theory, getting my one shot crew together and immediately telling them to roll Initiative and mark their HPs as Bloodied (I also marked the monsters as bloodied). Then, during each turn I told the players what their PCs were seeing and what they've done (they robbed a stone giant of his magical goodies and were making their escape while the giant pursued).

Dr. DM: The game became a little like The Hangover, where the party was in a chaotic and confusing situation, left to pick up the pieces while being chased. But, it went very quickly. Pre rolling initiative meant we were in combat already, and the bloodied status meant that the battle had already been going down and we were on the second half! We finished in about an hour, which is sometimes hard for a lvl 6 party of 3.

Dr. DM: The entire encounter included a footrace to escape, dire wolf vs. riding horse, getaway car as a ostrich-pulled Chariot carrying the crippled Warlock strapped in the back, dodging trees being thrown into the road, and knocking a giant off a stone bridge and running over his fingers until he loses his grip and falls into a valley with a roaring river below.

Dr. DM: it was awesome!