The 20th Hunger Games - D&D One shot

In this Dungeons & Dragons one shot adventure the players enter the world of “Hunger Games”. The players are Tributes from District 7 who will be competing in the 20th annual Hunger Games.

What do you need to know about the Hunger Games?

Knowledge of the Hunger Games universe is not required, but does gives colour to the world through references to known locations and characters.

What do you need to know about Dungeons & Dragons?

You or part of your group need a base understanding of the game and one needs to be able to take on the role of the Dungeon Master.

Available character options

All player characters are (human) children between the ages of 12 and 18. For this adventure to fit into the narrative of the Hunger Games the PC classes are not able to cast spells or use any form of magic or Ki. Therefore the recommended classes are: Barbarian, Fighter, Ranger and Rogue.

The provided clothing during the Hunger Games give each player an AC of 10 + Dex modifier. They start without any further equipment and their max HP has a -2 per level because of their age.

This adventure is recommended to be played with 3 to 6 players and can be balanced by scaling their levels up or down between levels 6 (with 3 players) and level 3 (with 6 players).

Running this one shot

This one shot covers a lot that might happen during this adventure and goes into detail of how the locations the players come across look and feel. Despite that, players tent to do stuff, meet people and go to places they are not supposed to go. It is your job as the Dungeon Master to fill in gaps where necessary and steer them back towards the main plot.

Text in boxes can be read out loud to the players when the conditions above them are met.

In this world called Panem exists a strong hierarchy. The people in the 12 districts work hard to provide the Capital with resources and they barely get by. The people in the Capital live a life of luxury. This divide is protected by an army of Peacekeepers. The rest of the world is a undiscovered wildernis. Keep this into account when adding or editing NPC’s and locations.

This adventure uses a lot of randomisation by use of encounter tables. You as the DM can choose to re-roll doubles, edit the number of enemies or add extra options to the tables. This way you can make this one shot your own and create re-playability.

Tip: Turn on Hunger Games style background music.

It wasn’t long after graduating college that the future President Snow became in charge of organising the Hunger Games. Especially in the early years he tried a lot of different tactics to make the games more entertaining to watch, more exciting to bet on and more horrible for the Tributes. There were successful years and some failures, but all of them were neatly documented and lessons were learned. All of them can be rewatched and openly discussed all throughout Panem, except for the 20th Hunger Games. The idea was simple, teams of various sizes of Tributes would participate as a team. However, the large amount of Tributes made it confusing and less entertaining to watch, the varying team sizes took the excitement out of betting, and the teamwork gave the Tributes hope. Mister Snow learned that year that the Tributes and their districts should not be getting hope. This is the story of what happened..

At the day of the Reaping for the 20th annual Hunger Games you all gathered in front of the City hall of District 7. On a normal day you would chop down trees or work in the lumber yards but today all the children between the ages of 12 and 18 were required to be present for the Reaping. The moment drew closer and everyone around you became more and more anxious. Then a silver haired girl of no older than 20, dressed in a purple three-piece suit, stepped onto the stage with notecards in hand. With a cheery voice she says: “Hello and welcome all. My name is Laelia Collins and this year I am the lucky representative of the Capitol here to announce the Tributes from your lovely District 7. This year the rules will be a little different. Instead of 1 girl and 1 boy from each district, there will be rolled a six-sided die for the amount of Tributes. Those chosen are to participate in the Games as a team.” With that she picked up a small die and rolled it on the little table on which she had her notecards. The rolling die was projected on a large screen behind her. It spun for a moment before landing on a [number of players]. A shock went through the crowd. Then Laelia put her hand in a large glass bowl and pulled out slip after slip until she had called out each of your names. What are each of your names? Does any of you know the others? And what does the crowd see as you are being motioned towards the stage?

After entering the closet
In the closet Laelia whispers “Please be quiet. What I am about to show you might just help us win”. After that she unfolds a blue piece of paper with what looks like a circular map on it. In the center there is a large circle labelled “The Crater”. On the East side is a large, bordered space labelled “The Woods”. The rest of the map is filled with tiny squares and two larger ones which must represent buildings. On the South side a building labelled “The Factory”and on the North side is a cross shaped building labelled “The Church”. The rest of the tiny squares are collectively labelled “The Village”. On the top it says in bold letter: “20th Hunger games arena – Location: Atomic Bomb test site”. “I stole this map, if they catch us now, or if any of you talk about this afterwards it will certainly cost us all our heads. Memorize it and never mention it or the locations on it by name. I don’t know what a Church is, but does any of you have a question?”.

After answering any questions
After confirming there are no more questions she takes out some matches, strikes one and burns the blueprint until nothing remains. After that she steps outside and walks back to the dining cart. “Now that I have shown you your sleeping quarters we can get started on your training plans. Before going into the arena you have two days to train a particular skill that might be useful. You’ll get the most effect if you choose one training type each. You can choose to train Survival for recognizing edible plants, Stealth, Medicine, Athletics and Acrobatics. What will each of you focus on?”

After a day in the train you enter the Capitol. You first see its shiny, tall buildings, when pulling into the station you see its colorful people, dressed in the most impractical garb. After that you are transported to a tall black tower in which you have your own floor. You spend your days training, sleeping and eating until it is time to go to the arena. Before you go Laelia gives you a last piece of advice, “In the arena you need to keep your strength up. Eat at least one portion and try to get some sleep every day or you only make it difficult on yourself.”

As a group you are put into a large cage inside a hovercraft. Each of you gets a chip implant in their neck and after about two hours of flying the floor opens and your cage gets lowered into a huge crater. All around you you see 11 other cages getting lowered around the center of the crater. Between all of the cages there are about 15 closed boxes of different sizes, spread out on the ground. Suddenly you hear “3.. 2.. 1..” followed by an enormous BOOM and the cages fall open on all sides. What do you do?

1 or 2	Roll 1d4 times on the Weapon and Weapon quality tables
3	Roll 1d4 times on the Armor table
4	Gain 4d4 food rations in a small backpack

Location: Church

Nearing the building labeled as “Church” on the map you see a towering building, the purpose of which you do not know. The dark brick walls are overgrown with ivy and you see windows, made up of colorful panes of glass. Stepping inside you find yourself in a cavernous hall, supported by four columns. The walls seem stripped clean and on two walls and the floor you see the emblem of the Capitol. The only light comes from the sun/moon coming through the colorful glass mosaics.

The moment you step inside you see that [number of PC’s] little loaves of bread fall from the ceiling onto the Capitol emblem on the ground.

Location: Factory

This huge, stately building has seen better days. Although the gray, towering walls are still standing, the roof is completely gone. Stepping inside you see that the entire building is one large room. Its only feature is a raised walkway, starting at both sides of the door and ending in a platform at the other end. On this platform you see a large, closed vault with a red light on it. On the ground of the room you see 8, lit-up, red-bordered squares among the floor tiles. Unsuccessfully investigating the vault is an opposing team of 5 tributes. When they see you walking in they draw their weapons and one of them shouts: “Do you want what is in here? Come and get it!”

Forest travel and exploration encounter table (D20)

1	Walking through the woods you spot a deer, 20 feet from you, running away from you towards the red line. The deer is 40 feet from the red line. Find the Deer on page 321 of the Monster Manual (or on Roll20). If the deer is skinned and cooked with a successful survival check of DC 12 they count as 6 portions of food, or half on a unsuccessful survival check.
2	You come across a bush of red berries. On a DC 12 Survival check the players recognize that the berries are poisonous and the players who eat it get 2d6 Poison damage, puke up the food of today and can’t retain their food for these 24 hours.
3	You come across a patch of blue wildflowers. On a DC 15 Survival check the players recognize that the flowers are poisonous and the players who eat it puke up the food of today and can’t retain their food for these 24 hours. The roots however are edible and collectively count as 6 portions of food.
4	Walking past a tree you see something shimmer amongst the roots and you find a weapon. Roll on the “Weapon table” and “Weapon quality table”.
5	A tree suddenly falls towards your group, everyone make a Dexterity Saving Throw. (DC 12, 18 (2d8+9) bludgeoning damage on fail)
6	You find a wooden hatch in the forest ground. If they open it they find two sets of armor paddings, roll twice on the Armor table.
7	Walking through the woods you suddenly get attacked by a swarm of Tracker Jackers (Mutated wasps). Everyone make a Dexterity Saving Throw. (DC 15, 11 (2d10) poison damage on fail)
8	As you walk through the woods you hear footsteps and voices in the distance and you can see through the leaves that they have not spotted you yet. Roll a D6 for the number of tributes in the other team. Pick for each of them a “Enemy tribute character sheet”.
9	You find a small clearing among the trees. In the center is a gleaming greatsword in a stone. It is a +5 greatsword. An investigation check of DC 15 reveals that the sword can be pushed down slightly and turned to release. A strength check of DC 25 instantly breaks the sword free of the stone.
10	Among the trees you find a shield on top of a stone pedestal. Picking up the shield without placing back a hefty object (like a stone) triggers the trap. A poison gas is released into the face of the PC who took the shield. They take 2d6 poison damage and puke up the food of today and can’t retain their food for these 24 hours. An investigation check of 15 reveals that the shield is on a pressure sensor.
11	You come across an opposing team of (1d6) tributes who instantly drop their sticks and stones and raise their hands. One of them says “WAIT, maybe we can help each other! We have food and armor to spare, but no proper weapons. How about we trade a bit and go our separate ways?”. They have armor pads 2, 4, 6 and 9 to trade and have 10 food portions. They have no intention of fighting right now, but are ready to fight if they are attacked or if they sense ill intentions. Pick for each of them a “Enemy tribute character sheet”, but replace their equipment to match the scenario.
12	You come across a battlescene. 4 tributes lay on the ground, stripped of their belongings. 3 of them are dead, but one is still bleeding out and can’t move. As she sees you she says with a shaky voice. “Please.. please kill me”. They can either mercy kill her which triggers a canon blast, or they can walk away and hear the canon blast a few minutes later. If they are looking for tracks of the killers they need a DC 10 survival check. On a succes they find the 6 tributes, sitting around a fire, eating and tending to some minor scratches. Pick for each of them a “Enemy tribute character sheet”.
13	You find the spot of a recent campfire near berry bushes that have partially been picked clean. A DC 5 nature check reveals that they are edible berries, but there are only enough berries left for 2 food portions. If the PC’s are searching for tracks, they can find them on a DC 15 survival check and follow them to a tribute team. Roll 1D6 for the number of tributes in the other team. Pick for each of them a “Enemy tribute character sheet”.
14	You suddenly see another team of tributes at the same that they spot you. All (1D6) of them draw their weapons and come towards you. Pick for each of them a “Enemy tribute character sheet”.
15	While walking through the woods you suddenly hear the blast of a canon, signaling the elimination of a districts team.
16	While walking through the woods you suddenly hear the blast of a canon, signaling the elimination of a districts team.
17	Your walk through the woods is uneventful.
18	Your walk through the woods is uneventful.
19	Your walk through the woods is uneventful.
20	Your walk through the woods is uneventful.

Forest rest encounter table (D12)

(for during sleeping, resting, cooking, etc.)

1	Your rest remains undisturbed.
2	Your rest remains undisturbed.
3	Your rest remains undisturbed.
4	Your rest remains undisturbed.
5	Your rest remains undisturbed.
6	While resting you suddenly hear the blast of a canon, signalling the elimination of a districts team.
7	While resting you suddenly hear the blast of a canon, signalling the elimination of a districts team.
8	You suddenly see another team of tributes coming towards you at the same that they spot you. All (1D6) of them draw their weapons and come running at you. Pick for each of them a “Enemy tribute character sheet”.
9	While sitting you see something shimmer amongst the tree branches and you find a weapon. Roll on the “Weapon table” and “Weapon quality table”.
10	A brown bear walks past, it has not spotted you yet. Find the Brown Bear on page 319 of the Monster Manual (or on Roll20). If the bear is skinned and cooked with a successful survival check of DC 12 they count as 16 portions of food, or half on a unsuccessful survival check.
11	The temperature suddenly drops to below 0 degrees Celsius (30 degrees Fahrenheit) for an hour. Make a Constitution Saving Throw. (DC 10, +1 level exhaustion on fail)
12	While resting a tiger suddenly steps into the middle of your camp, ready to pounce. Find the Tiger on page 341 of the Monster Manual (or on Roll20). If the Tiger is skinned and cooked with a successful survival check of DC 12 it counts as 8 portions of food, or half on a unsuccessful survival check.

Village travel and exploration encounter table (D20)

1	The temperature suddenly rises to 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) for an hour. Make a Constitution Saving Throw. (DC 10, +1 level exhaustion on fail)
2	While walking you find a wooden crate among the rubble. If they open it they find two sets of armor paddings, roll twice on the Armor table.
3	As you look back you see a pack of 3 wolves is following you. Looking hungry and ready to attack. Find the Wolves on page 341 of the Monster Manual (or on Roll20). If the wolves are skinned and cooked with a successful survival check of DC 12 they count as 14 portions of food, or half on a unsuccessful survival check.
4	You suddenly see another team of tributes at the same that they spot you. All (1D6) of them draw their weapons and come towards you. Pick for each of them a “Enemy tribute character sheet”.
5	(Ask their marching order) The half of the PC’s that walk in front fall into a 10 feet deep, hidden hole in the ground. The rest of you sees an opposing team of 1d6 tributes come out of their hiding spots with weapons drawn. Pick for each of them a “Enemy tribute character sheet”. PC’s can use their action to make a DC 10 Athletics check to get out of the hole.
6	As you walk through the villages rubble you suddenly hear the breaking and moving of stone, and from underneath the pavement comes a Giant Scorpion charging at you. Find the Giant Scorpion on page 327 of the Monster Manual (or on Roll20). The Giant Scorpion is inedible, but on a successful DC 12 nature check they know that they can extract 4 portions of poison with which they can coat their weapons for an additional 2d8 poison damage on 1 successful hit each.
7	While walking you spot some blue green herbs growing through the cracks. On a successful DC 16 nature check they know that these herbs can instantly revive someone who is unconscious back to 1 HP without causing any level of exhaustion. There are enough herbs for 3 portions.
8	(Ask their marching order) As you walk the one in front feels a stone beneath his/her feet give way. The half of the PC’s that walk in front are suddenly enveloped by a burst of flames coming trough the cracks in the ground. (18 (2d8+9) fire damage)
9	As you walk you are suddenly enveloped by a brown, sandy cloud which quickly blows away. Roll a D4 for any weapons you have that have metal on them. On a 1 the metal rusts away before your eyes and that weapon becomes useless.
10	A team of tributes suddenly jumps out from behind some rocks. All (1D6) of them draw their weapons and come towards you. Pick for each of them a “Enemy tribute character sheet”.
11	As you walk you find a crate like the ones you saw in the crater. Roll once on the Crater Boxes table for it’s content.
12	In an open crate you find 3 discarded weapons of low quality, probably left behind for better ones. Roll three times on the Weapon table. The weapons are of +0 quality.
13	(If they have less than 6 food portions, otherwise re-roll) Landing in front of you on a silver parachute is a huge loaf of bread with a note saying “Keep your strength up”. The bread counts as 6 food portions.
14	While walking through the villages rubble you suddenly hear the blast of a canon, signalling the elimination of a districts team.
15	While walking through the villages rubble you suddenly hear the blast of a canon, signaling the elimination of a districts team.
16	Your walk through the villages rubble is uneventful.
17	Your walk through the villages rubble is uneventful.
18	Your walk through the villages rubble is uneventful.
19	Your walk through the villages rubble is uneventful.
20	Your walk through the villages rubble is uneventful.

Village rest encounter table (D12)

(for during sleeping, resting, cooking, etc.)

1	Your rest remains undisturbed.
2	Your rest remains undisturbed.
3	Your rest remains undisturbed.
4	Your rest remains undisturbed.
5	While resting you suddenly hear the blast of a canon, signalling the elimination of a districts team.
6	While resting you suddenly hear the blast of a canon, signalling the elimination of a districts team.
7	You suddenly see another team of tributes coming towards you at the same that they spot you. All (1D6) of them draw their weapons and come running at you. Pick for each of them a “Enemy tribute character sheet”.
8	While sitting you see something shimmer amongst the rubble and you find a weapon. Roll on the “Weapon table” and “Weapon quality table”.
9	As you sit you see a swarm of Tracker Jackers (Mutated wasps) come at you to attack. Everyone make a Dexterity Saving Throw. (DC 15, 11 (2d10) poison damage on fail)
10	Out of nowhere a Giant Boar comes charging at you with murderous intent. Find the Giant Boar on page 323 of the Monster Manual (or on Roll20). If the Giant Boar is skinned and cooked with a successful survival check of DC 12 it counts as 8 portions of food, or half on a unsuccessful survival check.
11	As you sit quietly you hear footsteps and voices in the distance and you can see that the other team of 1D6 tributes has not spotted you yet. Pick for each of them a “Enemy tribute character sheet”.
12	Coming down between all of you on a silver parachute is a small glass vile with a light blue liquid in it and a small note attached to it reading “In case of poisoning”. If they drink this immediately after receiving poison damage from anything this potion negates the damage and the after effects.

When they are the last team alive
First you hear the last canon blast, signaling the end of this years Hunger Games. After that you hear the announcer yell “This years victors are the tributes from District 7!” while a hovercraft lands beside you, it’s back opens and Laelia and [number of players] heavily armored Peacekeepers with drawn guns step out. Laelia approaches you first and in a soft voice she says “Congratulations, I knew we could do it, but we need to be quick. There is a lot of unrest because of your performance. Your show of cooperation, perseverance and the fact that this is the first year that there is more than one victor is sparking a rebellion in the districts. Snow wants to silence it by executing you. They sent me to bind your hands and feet for the televised execution, but I’m here to help”. As she is talking she uses a sort of plastic pistol to remove the chips from your necks and she loosely winds some rope around your wrists and ankles. “Please trust me and don’t do anything until you get my signal. I helped you to become the victors and I will help you survive”. After she walks away you see a camera crew get out of the hovercraft and set up while the Peacekeepers take position. They stay like this for about 5 minutes before they all load their guns and take aim. You are sure they are about to fire when a huge explosion goes off behind them, just beyond the crater’s edge, which they all turn towards. What do you do?

When they have escaped
And so the 20th Hunger Games ends with you stepping over the border line of the arena. You step into the wilderness and, although you don’t know it yet, towards the ruins of District 13 where your role in the rebellion has not yet ended. Although the Districts are still under thumb of the Capitol, your actions have sparked a rebellion that will lead to it’s downfall. Maybe not now, and maybe not for another 55 years, but the oppressed can never be completely silenced.

Weapon table (D100)

D100	Weapon	Damage	Properties	Weapon class
1	Club	1d4 B	Light	Simple Melee Weapon
2-5	Dagger	1d4 P	Finesse, light, thrown (range 20/60)	Simple Melee Weapon
6-9	Greatclub	1d8 B	Two-handed	Simple Melee Weapon
9-11	Handaxe	1d6 S	Light, thrown (range 20/60)	Simple Melee Weapon
12-14	Javelin	1d6 P	Thrown (range 30/120)	Simple Melee Weapon
15-17	Light Hammer	1d4 B	Light, thrown (range 20/60)	Simple Melee Weapon
18-20	Mace	1d6 B	—	Simple Melee Weapon
21-23	Quarterstaff	1d6 B	Versatile (1d8)	Simple Melee Weapon
24	Sickle	1d4 S	Light	Simple Melee Weapon
25-27	Spear	1d6 P	Thrown (range 20/60), versatile (1d8)	Simple Melee Weapon
28-30	Crossbow and 6 bolts	1d8 P	Ammunition (range 80/320), loading, two-handed	Simple Ranged Weapon
31	Dart	1d4 P	Finesse, thrown (range 20/60)	Simple Ranged Weapon
32-34	Shortbow and 8 arrows	1d6 P	Ammunition (range 80/320), two-handed	Simple Ranged Weapon
35	Sling	1d4 B	Ammunition (range 30/120)	Simple Ranged Weapon
36-38	Battleaxe	1d8 S	Versatile (1d10)	Martial Melee Weapon
39-40	Flail	1d8 B	—	Martial Melee Weapon
41-42	Glaive	1d10 S	Heavy, reach, two-handed	Martial Melee Weapon
43-45	Greataxe	1d12 S	Heavy, two-handed	Martial Melee Weapon
46-48	Greatsword	2d6 S	Heavy, two-handed	Martial Melee Weapon
49-51	Halberd	1d10 S	Heavy, reach, two-handed	Martial Melee Weapon
52-54	Lance	1d12 P	Reach, special	Martial Melee Weapon
55-58	Longsword	1d8 S	Versatile (1d10)	Martial Melee Weapon
59-60	Maul	2d6 B	Heavy, two-handed	Martial Melee Weapon
61-62	Morningstar	1d8 P	—	Martial Melee Weapon
63-64	Pike	1d10 P	Heavy, reach, two-handed	Martial Melee Weapon
65-66	Rapier	1d8 P	Finesse	Martial Melee Weapon
67-69	Scimitar	1d6 S	Finesse, light	Martial Melee Weapon
70-74	Shortsword	1d6 P	Finesse, light	Martial Melee Weapon
75-79	Trident	1d6 P	Thrown (range 20/60), versatile (1d8)	Martial Melee Weapon
80-82	War Pick	1d8 P	—	Martial Melee Weapon
83-86	Warhammer	1d8 B	Versatile (1d10)	Martial Melee Weapon
87-88	Whip	1d4 S	Finesse, reach	Martial Melee Weapon
89	Blowgun and 10 darts	1 P	Ammunition (range 25/100), loading	Martial Ranged Weapon
90-93	Hand crossbow and 10 darts	1d6 P	Ammunition (range 30/120), light, loading	Martial Ranged Weapon
94-96	Heavy crossbow and 6 darts	1d10 P	Ammunition (range 100/400), heavy, loading, two-handed	Martial Ranged Weapon
97-99	Longbow and 8 arrows	1d8 P	Ammunition (range 150/600), heavy, two-handed	Martial Ranged Weapon
100	Net	—	Special, thrown (range 5/15)	Martial Ranged Weapon

Weapon quality table (D12)

D12	Bonus to hit and damage	Quality description
1-3	+0	Low quality. Could have been found in a barn.
4-6	+1	Low quality, but decently maintained.
7-8	+2	Medium quality weapon.
9-10	+3	Medium quality and well maintained.
11	+4	High quality weapon.
12	+5	Shiny and high quality. Made by the finest capitol engineers.

Armor table (D12)

D12	Armor type	Armor Class bonus	Dex mod bonus	Strength requirement	Stealth disadvantage
1	Light armor pads	+1	Yes	No	No
2	Light armor pads	+2	Yes	No	No
3	Medium armor pads	+2	Max +2	No	No
4	Medium armor pads	+3	Max +2	No	No
5	Medium armor pads	+4	Max +2	No	No
6	Medium armor pads	+4	Max +2	No	Yes
7	Medium armor pads	+5	Max +2	No	Yes
8	Heavy armor pads	+4	No	No	Yes
9	Heavy armor pads	+6	No	13	Yes
10	Heavy armor pads	+7	No	15	Yes
11	Heavy armor pads	+8	No	15	Yes
12	Shield	+2	No	No	No

The 20th Hunger Games – D&D One shot

What do you need to know about the Hunger Games?

What do you need to know about Dungeons & Dragons?

Available character options

Looking for more Fanfiction D&D One Shots? Check these out:

Running this one shot

This Hunger Games D&D one shot is available for free.

Adventure start

Rule explanation for the players:

This Hunger Games D&D one shot is available for free.

Location: Forest

Location: Village

Location: Church

Location: Factory

Location: Border line

This Hunger Games D&D one shot is available for free.

Forest travel and exploration encounter table (D20)

Forest rest encounter table (D12)

Village travel and exploration encounter table (D20)

Village rest encounter table (D12)

Peacekeeper stat sheet

This Hunger Games D&D one shot is available for free.

Weapon table (D100)

Weapon quality table (D12)

Armor table (D12)

This Hunger Games D&D one shot is available for free.

Enemy tribute character sheets

This Hunger Games D&D one shot is available for free.

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