Christmas One-Shot Ideas For Dungeons & Dragons

Key Takeaways

• A Christmas-themed one-shot in Dungeons and Dragons can involve evil plots like kidnapping Santa.
• Players can choose to disrupt or save Christmas, offering a unique twist to the traditional hero storyline.
• The holiday setting allows for creative encounters like a cursed snow village or an evil Santa delivering misery.

Christmas is just around the corner, and while this holiday may not exist in the world of Dungeons and Dragons, it still exists for the majority of its players. With the snow coming in, decorations on full display, and presents waiting to be wrapped, now is the perfect time to plan a short break away from the long-running campaign for a season-appropriate one-shot.

Wizards of the Coast have yet to give players any official Winter Festival campaign or supplement books, but crafty and creative DMs can create their very own Yuletide game. For those stuck for inspiration, read on for these ideas to implement into or kick-start a festive game.

5 Kidnap Santa Claus

Gather Together An Evil Party to Disrupt the Holiday Cheer

D&D games usually revolve around a group of mostly well-intended characters that will do the damnedest to defeat evil monsters and save the world, even if just for selfish reasons such as gold and glory or saving their own skin. But more experienced tables might want to break away from the tried and true themes of heroism and try their hand at flipping the script and playing as a party of evil persuasion.

Surprisingly, a Christmas-themed one-shot opens the doors for this opportunity. They could ring in the holiday cheer in a completely new way, but having the party play as characters who want to disrupt the holiday for all good boys and girls everywhere, and kidnap Santa Claus before he can deliver a single present. What the party does with St Nick afterward…well, that’s up to them and the DM. They could be in service to a demon or another creature, or doing it for their own goals, wanting the presents for themselves.

4 Save Santa Claus

The Good Version of the Evil One-Shot

Not in the mood to bring chaos and wickedness to the holiday? The prior one-shot idea could still work, but from the other side, placing the players back into the familiar and comfortable roles of the heroes that are here to save the day, and this time, they are also going to save Christmas!

Santa Claus has been kidnapped by evil creatures looking to disrupt the festivities, taking him, all his reindeer, and all the presents he has gathered for their own greed and goals. Now it is up to the players to find out where he has been taken to and save him before it is too late, as he must begin his present delivery by the stroke of midnight. This is a more light-hearted and holiday-appropriate game that could still have all the combat and RP fun of Dungeons and Dragons.

3 The Snow Curse

Winter cheer has arrived at the village, and everyone is prepared for fun games, festivities, a feast, and exchanging presents with loved ones. All seems to be going well and all are happy, until the normal, beautiful snow carries with it a curse on every flake, infecting the village with its evil and magical touch. Now, all the villages have turned into snowmen!

Play as a party newly arrived in this strange town filled with snowmen. What has happened, why has this happened, and is there a way to undo this curse before the snow melts, dooming every villager to a painful death? This combines the themes of Christmas with classic D&D tropes for those looking for a game that closely resembles the tabletop game fans all know and love.

2 You Watch Out

Evil Santa is Delivering Only Misery

Santa Claus is almost always depicted as a good old jolly man who only wishes to spread Christmas cheer, delivering what every good child has wished for. Games, toys, pets, candy…whatever their pure heart desires. But what if Santa wasn’t such a holly jolly guy, and instead of delivering presents and spreading joy, he delivered evil and spread misery? Well, this is a concept players can explore through the medium of Dungeons and Dragons.

Santa is an evil entity, humanoid or something monstrous, and instead of dropping presents down chimneys, he is instead delivering creatures that are spreading chaos and misery. Destroying carefully curated decorations, ripping apart presents, devouring food, and even attacking the family, the evil rein of the Man in Red needs to be stopped. Hearing this chain of events, the heroes are called into action to save the families and stop Santa before even more innocents are hurt.

1 Silent Knight, Unholy Knight

The Dark Knights are a Fary Cry from the Carol

Christmas carols are a great source of inspiration, songs made in tribute to the auspicious occasion in a variety of different ways. Some songs are more jaunty, like Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, or more somber, like Silent Night, Holy Night.

And this is another place DMs could look to for crafting big bads for a holiday-themed one-shot. Instead of night, now they have knights, a pair that embody the total opposite of holiday cheer, and could have powers that match their names. The Silent Knight could be adept at silencing players of magical persuasion to stop them from casting spells that require a verbal component, and the Unholy Knight deals out necrotic damage and life-draining abilities for a challenging boss fight.