Shadowdark Shadowdark Discussion Thread [+]

[Scribe]

What do you think of Shadowfinder?

I didnt pick that one up. Looking at the preview, there is a lot being added, which I'm not a fan of and one of my struggles. I really really like the core for SD, and I try and resist the tendency to just keep adding stuff, which for me is easy to fall into. Better to have no more to remove in the quest for perfection.

 

[Scribe]

Better to have no more to remove in the quest for perfection.

To this point, I've now performed a review of what I've been working on, I wouldnt even call this an alpha product yet, and cut out a number of things, and listed out what I need to combine/consolidate into single sections.

Thankful Kelsey added Bastions and Warbands as I don't need those now!

If I get another few productive nights like this in, heck maybe I can have something ready for end of Q3? Do we dare hope?

Now off for a walk!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Shadowfinder feels -- to me -- like something that was created because it could be created, thanks to the Pathfinder SRD, not necessarily anything that Shadowdark needed.

I am skeptical that there are a lot of Pathfinder fans driving 70 miles per hour down the freeway suddenly throwing their car into reverse and jumping straight to Shadowdark.

Using the Pathfinder SRD makes sense, sort of, in some cases -- it's a good cheat sheet for having a bunch of convertible monsters and magic items in one place to bring over, although I think it'd be more true to the spirit of Shadowdark to just grab the TSR AD&D or B/X books and use those as inspiration -- but the player-facing crunch especially feels like a product in search of an audience.

If you want something lighter than Pathfinder and heavier than Shadowdark, that's literally most of the fantasy RPG market.

 

[Reynard]

Shadowfinder feels -- to me -- like something that was created because it could be created, thanks to the Pathfinder SRD, not necessarily anything that Shadowdark needed.

I am skeptical that there are a lot of Pathfinder fans driving 70 miles per hour down the freeway suddenly throwing their car into reverse and jumping straight to Shadowdark.

Using the Pathfinder SRD makes sense, sort of, in some cases -- it's a good cheat sheet for having a bunch of convertible monsters and magic items in one place to bring over, although I think it'd be more true to the spirit of Shadowdark to just grab the TSR AD&D or B/X books and use those as inspiration -- but the player-facing crunch especially feels like a product in search of an audience.

If you want something lighter than Pathfinder and heavier than Shadowdark, that's literally most of the fantasy RPG market.

Considering that Shadowdark is not under any sort of open license, I am not sure how legal it is to make a Shadowdark/Pathfinder mash up anyway. Unless I am wrong, Patherfinder 1E's SRD is still only out under the OGL, right?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Considering that Shadowdark is not under any sort of open license, I am not sure how legal it is to make a Shadowdark/Pathfinder mash up anyway. Unless I am wrong, Patherfinder 1E's SRD is still only out under the OGL, right?

Shadowfinder is a series of third party Shadowdark supplements, so there's no issue on that end, as far as I can see.

But yeah, the guys creating the Shadowfinder stuff are just scraping the Pathfinder 1E SRD (which might include a lot of stuff from the supplements, too -- Paizo has added a lot to the SRD) and re-releasing it for Shadowdark.

 

[Reynard]

Shadowfinder is a series of third party Shadowdark supplements, so there's no issue on that end, as far as I can see.

But yeah, the guys creating the Shadowfinder stuff are just scraping the Pathfinder 1E SRD (which might include a lot of stuff from the supplements, too -- Paizo has added a lot to the SRD) and re-releasing it for Shadowdark.

Right. What I meant was I don't think the OGL and the Shadowdark licenses are actually compatible. Not that I think Arcane Library would go after anyone, but SD does not have an OGL and isn't released under CC. The compatibility license is more restrictive if I recall (I have not actually read the license in a while).

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Right. What I meant was I don't think the OGL and the Shadowdark licenses are actually compatible. Not that I think Arcane Library would go after anyone, but SD does not have an OGL and isn't released under CC. The compatibility license is more restrictive if I recall (I have not actually read the license in a while).

Oh, that wouldn't have occurred to me. Good question.

 

[Reynard]

Oh, that wouldn't have occurred to me. Good question.

Not that it matters. The SD community runs pretty fast and loose with IP. There are lots of copyright questionable products on that DTRPG page.

 

[Scribe]

A question for the people of culture that would read this thread.

For a long time I've been partial to the SD style, for SD products. Black covers, black and white art, clean and aggressively readable.

My current work however, asks for something pretty different. I'm basing it on the SD core (and WR as noted for Bastions and such) but the tone is not the same gritty, down to earth pure SD style because I've come to the conclusion that SD nails that, fully.

So, how critical do you all feel that that same tone/style/whatever is retained? Does it matter to you personally, like how Aetherdark may as well be an official product, or do you accept different styles, or desire different styles?

I'm pretty sure I'm leaning hard into something far more colourful, but wanted to hear thoughts on the matter.

 

[Mannahnin]

A question for the people of culture that would read this thread.

For a long time I've been partial to the SD style, for SD products. Black covers, black and white art, clean and aggressively readable.

My current work however, asks for something pretty different. I'm basing it on the SD core (and WR as noted for Bastions and such) but the tone is not the same gritty, down to earth pure SD style because I've come to the conclusion that SD nails that, fully.

So, how critical do you all feel that that same tone/style/whatever is retained? Does it matter to you personally, like how Aetherdark may as well be an official product, or do you accept different styles, or desire different styles?

I'm pretty sure I'm leaning hard into something far more colourful, but wanted to hear thoughts on the matter.

Having a consistent visual design helps link supplements to the core line, and probably increases the percentage of the SD audience who would be interested.

That being said, I think there's definitely room for Shadowdark-compatible books which deliberately strike a different tone and match the writing to the aesthetic. I don't think everything written for the system needs to keep the core aesthetic. For me the most important thing is that the art and design support the individual product in question.

On a larger scale, I suspect if people write and publish good books which branch out like this, that will add to Shadowdark's utility, longevity, and reach within the game market.