Shadowdark Finally Played Shadowdark

[Retreater]

Yeah, that is a bad DM implementation. In my Shadowdark campaign, there's been one round of combat in the last two sessions, because the PCs are being cautious and only fighting when they feel guaranteed of victory.

I think that there's a disconnection between GMing styles and what Shadowdark could do well.
First off, Basic D&D adventures from the early 80s are largely monster hotels. I think there's some gaming revisionism that says people were incredibly clever, mature players back then. But let's be honest, we were 8 years old.
Second, the 2-hour convention games run by Lurking Fear were not intended to be cerebral puzzles and tense negotiations.
Until I see real content created that suggests it should be played differently, I can't appraise it. Even the official Cursed Scrolls material is pretty much "monster lair - kill the monsters."

 

[Bill Zebub]

Off the top of my head
Ideas I'd like for the thief...
A talent that lets you hide while being observed, even if it's just for a split second. And maybe with a mechanic where you can lose it (like a spell casting roll). [Because in my game it was almost impossible to ever get to backstab. Or escape from enemies.]
A talent that lets you see in the dark for like one round - so you can either sneak or maybe relight another torch under dire circumstances. Can also be a roll to lose it for the day.
Other abilities...
Escaping grapples/bonds.
Learn to use scrolls.
Quick appraisal of treasure.
Ability to carry treasure more effectively (maybe coins weigh half as much?)
Dodge to take half damage from certain attacks or spells
Ability to use poisons

Yeah I would say Shadowdark is definitely not the game for you, based on the above. Even if your GMs had run the game "correctly" (meaning, like Shadowdark not D&D) you still wouldn't have the kind of mechanics you want.

But kudos to you for trying something new!

 

[Scribe]

Even the official Cursed Scrolls material is pretty much "monster lair - kill the monsters."

Thats...not true.

 

[Bill Zebub]

Thats...not true.

Yeah, that was a weird take.

 

[DarkCrisis]

House rules, baby!

I used d&d standard array for stats. Full HP at level one. Etc Etc.

Shadowdark is great because it's easy to mod

 

[Fenris-77]

Honestly, if that were my experience, I absolutely could (and would) judge the system based on that. This wasn't simply a one and done - it was giving a full three strikes, including a weekend-long go at it as one of those three. How much misery does someone have to endure before deciding a system that they aren't liking isn't for them?

I was trying to take a broader view, but this is probably fair.