OSR Let's make Shadowdark classes!

[Mannahnin]

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.

I mean, in general, absolutely. But the polearms table?! Way to argue the opposite for me!

 

[Andrew Anderson]

BOHEMIAN EARSPOON OR BUST!!!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

BOHEMIAN EARSPOON OR BUST!!!

 

[Samloyal23]

You didn't make the katana enough better than a bastard sword. It should do 1d12/1d20, of course.

Because it's a freaking KATANA.





.....

Hit points are scarce in this game, I originally had it do more. But I did not think it should do as much as a great sword.

 

[Samloyal23]

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.

The main drawback is just the price.

 

[Samloyal23]

Another blog, this is the Fang Shih, a master of chi magic and geomancy for Shadowdark RPG... The Fang Shih

 

[Bill Zebub]

Another blog, this is the Fang Shih, a master of chi magic and geomancy for Shadowdark RPG... The Fang Shih

A little wordy for Shadowdark, but nice flavor.

 

[Samloyal23]

A little wordy for Shadowdark, but nice flavor.

In retrospect, after seeing comments about it in Facebook groups, I think it may have too many spells. It has less than a Wizard, but it may still be too powerful in comparison. Before I put it in an e-book, I think it needs more work.

 

[unnatural 20]

I wonder how one would go about making a Warcaster-type class, a mage with a golem buddy?

Warcaster

Warcasters are powerful arcanists born with the innate ability to mentally contact and control the cortexes within steamjacks. Their intuitive connection to the arcane also enables them to bond with other mechanikal devices, providing vessels for their channeled power. Few in number, warcasters...

ironkingdoms.fandom.com

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I wonder how one would go about making a Warcaster-type class, a mage with a golem buddy?

Warcaster

Warcasters are powerful arcanists born with the innate ability to mentally contact and control the cortexes within steamjacks. Their intuitive connection to the arcane also enables them to bond with other mechanikal devices, providing vessels for their channeled power. Few in number, warcasters...

ironkingdoms.fandom.com

Hmm, I'd probably take a page from 2024 5E design and have a preset golem stat block. I make a lot of monsters for Shadowdark and leveling up monsters is a pretty straightforward process.

The question then would be how many spells the warcaster gets otherwise. There's a half-caster in the game -- the Knight of St. Ydris -- but they start getting spells at level three, which means two levels of no "casting," which seems disappointing.

So a warcaster would probably need a modified version of full caster progression (maybe a level behind the wizard) and probably use the full wizard list.

Does that sound like a good start? If so, I can whip something up later this week.