Shadowdark Shadowdark General Thread [+]

Velderan · Feb 25, 2026

overgeeked said:
3PP die first, got it.

At least they feel better about dying because they got a reroll before you murder them.

Whizbang Dustyboots · Feb 25, 2026

Fenris-77 said:
I switched to V3 when my laptop crashed. It's been great so far.

In other news, a little something-something for those of us laboring to publish 3PP content.

View attachment 430279

Not quite as cool as Pirate Borg's Harbourmaster t-shirts, but pretty fun.

"Sorry, I get a bonus luck token. Let me show you the link to my DTRPG page."

Fenris-77 · Feb 25, 2026

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
Not quite as cool as Pirate Borg's Harbourmaster t-shirts, but pretty fun.

"Sorry, I get a bonus luck token. Let me show you the link to my DTRPG page."

I was hoping it was one per publication, but alas, no.

darjr · Friday at 9:31 PM

Late pledges end today, FYI.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shadowdarkrpg/western-reaches?ref=8r79ao

morrangor · 2026-03-04T21:53:02+0000

Hey you all, what are your thoughts on using Henchmen or Hirelings in Shadowdark?

Scribe · 2026-03-04T22:33:08+0000

morrangor said:
Hey you all, what are your thoughts on using Henchmen or Hirelings in Shadowdark?

Not a big fan considering one of the core restrictions is gear slots. That said, I've got a few in something I'm working on but its intended to be for a DM + 1 player scenario.

Whizbang Dustyboots · 2026-03-04T22:54:44+0000

morrangor said:
Hey you all, what are your thoughts on using Henchmen or Hirelings in Shadowdark?

As long as the cost to hire them is meaningful, I think it's fine, since a big part of the play loop of Shadowdark is being able to bring home as much gold as possible to use for carousing. That process is a big part of most groups' XP.

Obviously, some of that would be mitigated by the fact that henchmen can make it more likely a group will get back alive and the hirelings can carry more treasure out (although TSR-style hoards of mountains of coin are going to level your Shadowdark characters insanely fast and probably should be cut back by 90% as a general rule). I would have hirelings, at the very least, want an equal share of treasure and have hirelings get a half-share, just to make it a difficult decision to bring them, rather than the clear best course of action. (Any obvious best course of action in game design, IMO, is a sign things are too good.)

timbannock · 2026-03-05T00:34:28+0000

I have no problem using them. Hirelings don't go in the dungeon. Henchmen do, but demand an equal share and generally have at least a few slots filled with useless trinkets so they aren't pack mules for the players. They are costly and cut into your carousing money and all that, so it's not worth it to build an army like in high-level B/X play.