OSR Let's make Shadowdark classes!

Samloyal23

Adventurer
I have been really cranking out content for Shadowdark on my blog for the last several weeks. This is the class oriented content I have posted so far. I have also created a large and growing pile of monsters for the game. Be warned, none of this has been tested in play as of yet.
My Runecaster class based on the 2E HR Vikings book. I think I nailed the class itself, but I was never happy with the actual runes. I may deconstruct them one day, make them less authentic but more Shadowdark-ish.
My unarmed combat rules and Brawler class. So far, this is my most popular blog, I think I filled a gap in the rules without doing anything too overpowered.
My most recent class, the Star Knight, is a fantasy version of a Jedi knight. This also has some new weapon and armour types to add some variety.
Not a new class, but a modification of the official Bard class. I did not like the vaguely described hypnosis ability and I wanted a magical power for bards that was limited, musical, and based on folklore.
 

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Bill Zebub

“It’s probably Matt Mercer’s fault.”
More seriously, I think it would be more in the Shadowdark style to either:
A) Just say that a katana is a bastard sword (and wakizashi is a short sword, etc.) by a different name
B) Make the new weapons have trade-offs: if it's better in some ways, it has a drawback, too.
 

Mannahnin

Scion of Murgen (He/Him)
More seriously, I think it would be more in the Shadowdark style to either:
A) Just say that a katana is a bastard sword (and wakizashi is a short sword, etc.) by a different name
B) Make the new weapons have trade-offs: if it's better in some ways, it has a drawback, too.
Playing devil's advocate a little, I think it's reasonably in flavor for an old school game to make a weapon just better, as a class feature, but put some kind of limitations/drawbacks if lost. Though I'm a bit skeptical about the design/fun value. How many times does it have to get lost/threatened/broken to balance out it just being better all the time?
 

Whizbang Dustyboots

Gnometown Hero
Playing devil's advocate a little, I think it's reasonably in flavor for an old school game to make a weapon just better, as a class feature, but put some kind of limitations/drawbacks if lost. Though I'm a bit skeptical about the design/fun value. How many times does it have to get lost/threatened/broken to balance out it just being better all the time?
I'd rather go with the 5E approach: These other weapons are just renamed versions of what we already have, more or less. The alternative eventually gives us Gygax's pole arms table.
 

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