Shadowdark Shadowdark Discussion Thread [+]

[Bill Zebub]

Yup.

It uses the core D20 system mechanic of d20 + mods vs a DC, but that originated in 3E. Same with the ability score bonus scale. Which I think Kelsey chose over the B/X bonus scale very deliberately as part of her advancement system, for how it works with Talent rolls and enables a bit of "2-for-1" advancement at lower levels.

Just about the only things it lifts directly from 5E are the rolling with advantage/disadvantage concept, and HP not going below 0 (the game has no negative HP, like 1E, 2E, 3.x, and 4E did).

...and I believe Mike Mearls has acknowledged that he got the idea for Advantage/Disadvantage from The One Ring. I can't cite a source for that, but TOR did pre-date 5e.

 

[Scribe]

For example, let's say PCs are at sea, on a ship that's trading cannonball barrages with an enemy ship. In D&D, a PC might reasonably take a direct hit from a canon and not have any injuries. Conversely, some PCs have attacks that could effectively disable an entire ship rather easily.

How does that play out in Shadowdark?

I mean, they would get hit and die, hopefully.

 

[Reynard]

I appreciate the feedback. The reason I ask is because there are areas of 5E where I wanted some more granularity. With Shadowdark being a game that aims to be stripped-down 5E, I'm not sure if that means some of those areas are even lighter.

In particular, for contemporary D&D in general, the interaction between PCs, vehicles, and mounts has always been a bit odd.

I am interested in learning more about how Shadowdark approaches such things.

Do you feel that Shadowdark handles mounts and vehicles well?

How do things work when bigger scales are involved?

For example, let's say PCs are at sea, on a ship that's trading cannonball barrages with an enemy ship. In D&D, a PC might reasonably take a direct hit from a canon and not have any injuries. Conversely, some PCs have attacks that could effectively disable an entire ship rather easily.

How does that play out in Shadowdark?

I am not sure Shadowdark is the right game for what you are looking for.

 

[Argyle King]

I mean, they would get hit and die, hopefully.

That is how I imagine it in my mind, and that is what makes the most sense to me.

Contemporary D&D typically doesn't play out in that way. I've been open to trying other games that handle such situations that are closer to my expectations.

Maybe the Titanbound project for Shadowdark will offer a better way of handling larger scales. My guess is that a campaign featuring kaiju-sized creatures would address what happens if you're hit by one and/or using seige equipment to battle one. I don't really know. I just thought the concept looked cool and it came with things that I can reasonably still use in other games that I play.

 

[Scribe]

That is how I imagine it in my mind, and that is what makes the most sense to me.

Contemporary D&D typically doesn't play out in that way. I've been open to trying other games that handle such situations that are closer to my expectations.

Maybe the Titanbound project for Shadowdark will offer a better way of handling larger scales. My guess is that a campaign featuring kaiju-sized creatures would address what happens if you're hit by one and/or using seige equipment to battle one. I don't really know. I just thought the concept looked cool and it came with things that I can reasonably still use in other games that I play.

Siege equipment is also coming in the update for Western Reaches I believe, but the core book doesn't handle your scenario.

 

[Xenolith234]

I believe that because the core chassis is light, you could make the game as complex as you like, Ala AD&D. Just bolt on variant rules and subsystems. I’d actually like to see something like that happen just out of curiosity.