I'm going to be running a 1 shot sometime in the not immediate future, but soon, and I thought something neat would be the carrion hill adventure module. The only problem is that I'm not sure how to shave it down to be reasonable to do as a one shot, without losing the feel of the module. Which is why I'm asking you more experienced people. I thought about cutting some of the earlier parts, but then I realized that that really eliminates much of the build-up, which is really important for the feel I'm going for. So how do you guys think I should approach this?
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Reduce the number of cult members. Instead of having three surviving members, only have one or two. I recommend dropping the necromancer and his middenstone operation, but dropping the rogue and his home is doable as well. This accelerates the schedule of the adventure while making sure the stakes don't rise too much, although I should warn I've never actually GM'd this one. You might also trim down the encounters in the Sunless Grove some, but again I'm not sure what you could sacrifice. Honestly this one feels pretty bare-bones to start, and a quick survey of the forums says the whole version as printed is "only" about ten hours' worth of play time.
Hope some of this is helpful!
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I really don't think this one should be rushed because the mood is what makes it interesting. But since we want to shorten it, I suggest the following:
Crove (the guy who runs the insane asylum) is the guy who is essentially the leader of the cultists (so he's the most interesting to fight/talk to). He knows the most about the monster. But his asylum area is quite long to go through in my opinion. His asylum has two levels and so many little battles with insane people and guards in his ward. The lower level has more insane people and monsters. There's just a lot to explore it takes forever. I think maybe just having one floor and taking some of the monsters out? Again, the monsters and craziness of this dude is what makes it interesting (but also long).
The other two cultists aren't as interesting as the leader but going through their areas is faster.
The Sunless Grove part was actually pretty quick and the most fun for me. You can skip the Dark Creepers room completely if you want to shave off a fight.
If you don't have resourceful PCs, you can always use an NPC the mayor provides to help translate the books the players find in the Sunless Grove to save some time. And the mayor can help locate and recognize the cultists to also save time.