Dark D&D (but not with rules)

[der_kluge]

I'm looking for resources, ideas, inspiration around making D&D really dark.

And if you read that and immediately a half a dozen rules supplement came to mind, I'm gonna stop you right there. I don't want rules. A lot of these are half-assed attempts at really limiting magic, resources, items, etc., or introducing insanity rules, or making combat lean and mean, bla bla bla. I don't care. 5e is perfectly fine on its own, and my intention here isn't to shaft my players into some sort of ham-fisted ruleset that was written because a GM somewhere got all butthurt when the party wizard cast fly and fireball and destroyed his well-laid plans.

No, I'm looking for stories and concepts here. Like, when the goths sacked Rome, the conditions were so bad that people were willing to put their kids into slavery in exchange for dog meat. That's the kind of dark stuff I'm looking for. I doubt WoTC/TSR has ever published stuff this dark, but I'm looking for inspiration. My goal is to break my players. lol

Start with slavery, and then go worse - murderous tyrants, deplorable conditions, a village that has to sacrifice a newborn child to a hag once a year in order to guarantee the village's protection - that kind of stuff.

 

[TwiceBorn2]

Check out the core 3.5 core book and sourcebooks for FFG's Midnight ({Midnight (d20) Full Inventory from - Noble Knight Games). In my opinion, the setting's lore remains some of the best (and darkest) ever published for use with D&D.

 

[aramis erak]

You might see if you can find a cheap copy of the Book of Vile Darkness for D&D 3.5.

Ravenloft can be dark, especially if you hype the call of the Dark Powers, and avoid using the mechanics...

Another darkish setting is (as far as I can tell — the English translation in the dual language text sucks badly) the setting for the RPG Mechanical Dream. as with Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, there's a magical presence that kills sentients who aren't magically protected; unlike FFCC, it's not quick, but slow and agonizing. The setting for FFCC itself is a potentially fun but dark one, especially if the Myrrh is not regenerating fast enough....

Albeit not one good for public use, a "Nazis won WW II. And WWIII. And the Space Race..." with PC's fighting the 3rd Reich in it's 3rd century is a dark but potentially fun, provided everyone's comfortable with the subject matter. Another close relative, borrowed from a CORPS supplement: evil nazi-esque elves have been hiding in a hollow-earth hidey hole... and decide to take over as WWIII begins.

Another dark, but very fun, setting is that of Ninja Burger: you're making fast food deliveries, but you're not supposed to be seen delivering, not even by the customer. If you are seen, your manager may require you to remove a digit or two... or even, seppuku!

 

[Ath-kethin]

Our book Sea Devils of the Pale Hand has advice on developing dark and horrific storylines without additional rules (there are rules in the book, but they're for some new monsters, items, and things like that). Dunno if if that's you're looking for, but from the sounds of things it should be close.

Sea Devils of the Pale Hand at DMSGuild

 

[darkbard]

I'm going to suggest a different tack, since your preference seems to be for fictional rather than mechanical components. Read some Steven Erikson, his Malazan Book of the Fallen, particularly Memories of Ice. Some truly grim and gruesome depictions of the horrors of war, exploitation, and cruelty.

From the Malazan Wiki, here is a description of one beaten and desperate group:

"The Tenescowri were the peasant army of the Pannion Domin. Composed of the famished survivors of the Domin's war on its neighbours, the Pannion Seer purposely let them starve so that he could use them as an expendable infantry component in his army, both keeping his elite forces safe and striking terror into its enemies. The leader of the Tenescowri was Anaster.

They fought as a frenzied and indisciplined rabble armed with cleavers, knives, and hatchets. They relied on overwhelming numbers to bring down their foes, climbing atop one another in an effort to reach their opponents. Those who fell were dragged away to be devoured by their own companions.

They fed on the dead as their only source of food and mated with dying enemies to replenish their numbers. Those born this way were known as Children of the Dead Seed."

Erikson's vivid and detailed prose makes this ten times more terrifying than the above.

 

[Aldarc]

I'm looking for resources, ideas, inspiration around making D&D really dark.

And if you read that and immediately a half a dozen rules supplement came to mind, I'm gonna stop you right there. I don't want rules. A lot of these are half-assed attempts at really limiting magic, resources, items, etc., or introducing insanity rules, or making combat lean and mean, bla bla bla. I don't care. 5e is perfectly fine on its own, and my intention here isn't to shaft my players into some sort of ham-fisted ruleset that was written because a GM somewhere got all butthurt when the party wizard cast fly and fireball and destroyed his well-laid plans.

No, I'm looking for stories and concepts here. Like, when the goths sacked Rome, the conditions were so bad that people were willing to put their kids into slavery in exchange for dog meat. That's the kind of dark stuff I'm looking for. I doubt WoTC/TSR has ever published stuff this dark, but I'm looking for inspiration. My goal is to break my players. lol

Start with slavery, and then go worse - murderous tyrants, deplorable conditions, a village that has to sacrifice a newborn child to a hag once a year in order to guarantee the village's protection - that kind of stuff.

This is where I would recommend the Bible and the Tanakh. There's a lovely story, for example, of the two cannibal mothers in 2 Kings 6:26-30. Long story short: amidst a siege of Samaria that rendered the city to utter famine, two mothers agreed in a pact to eat their children. They ate one mother's kid, but then the other mother reneged on the deal and hid her child, and the mother whose child was eaten went forth before the king looking for justice.

Also, if you want dark, I'd recommend looking through the manga Berserk, which is a dark fantasy series.

 

[Voadam]

I like Cthulhu type stuff in my D&D. Cults of Freeport is a statless sourcebook for a D&D setting with just a lot of dark secret cults. Worth checking out. Easily adapted to other D&D settings, but setup with specifics for Freeport a commercial hub island city state with a history of having grown from origins as a pirate haven.

 

[Marc_C]

The Lost Citadel setting for 5e:

The Lost Citadel Roleplaying

Seven decades ago, there were cities upon cities, kingdoms and nations. Cultures at war and at trade.Humans, dwarves, elves,and others. So it remained for millennia, through two vibrant ages called ascensions. Until the world ended. Nations crumbled. Magic sputtered. Nature sickened...

greenroninstore.com

 

[Voadam]

I also recommend checking out Midgard Campaign Setting. It has elements like a kingdom recently openly taken over by vampires and become an open horror show with blood taxes. There is also the story of a gnome prince having crossed Baba Yaga so she is successfully genociding the race and so in desperation a deal was made with devils for supernatural protection in return for regular sacrifices.

 

[Marc_C]

Shadow of the Demon Lord:

Shadow of the Demon Lord - Schwalb Entertainment

Shadow of the Demon Lord allows characters to confront hordes of demons spilling from the Void and and play through stories steeped in horror and violence.

schwalbentertainment.com