Shadowdark Shadowdark General Thread [+]

[Simon The Hunter]

I like to insert "intermediate" biome hexes between vastly different hex boundaries, eg: swamp one side, desert the next, but in between is a zone full of quicksand and mangrove like succulents with the associated beastie that might like that kind of environ.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I like to insert "intermediate" biome hexes between vastly different hex boundaries, eg: swamp one side, desert the next, but in between is a zone full of quicksand and mangrove like succulents with the associated beastie that might like that kind of environ.

There is insufficient quicksand in RPGs.

 

[Scribe]

 

[overgeeked]

There is insufficient quicksand in RPGs.

Movies and TV shows prepared me for a life filled with quicksand and exploding gas stations. I’ve yet to encounter either. Closest I’ve got was watching a woman drive away with the gas hose still in her car. My wife and I braced for a boom. Nothing. The hose just detached and she was flagged down a few feet later. The look on her face was amazing.

 

[overgeeked]

The new Questing Beast video touched on this idea, although didn't credit the source that I saw, but I really hope Shadowdark DMs read Knock! and see the article about when it's not appropriate to roll at all. Once you know that you don't need to be rolling for basic (or impossible) stuff at all, it should feel a lot less like anyone's missing a skill system.

Do you remember which issue that’s in?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Do you remember which issue that’s in?

I think it's in Knock! #1.

 

[Fenris-77]

There is insufficient quicksand in RPGs.

Given the importance quicksand attained in all our young brains as one of life's marquee problems we would have to solve in our lives, I agree.

 

[Bill Zebub]

Movies and TV shows prepared me for a life filled with quicksand and exploding gas stations. I’ve yet to encounter either.

Hang in there. Your diligent preparation will someday pay dividends.

 

[Reynard]

There is insufficient quicksand in RPGs.

Given the importance quicksand attained in all our young brains as one of life's marquee problems we would have to solve in our lives, I agree.

Hang in there. Your diligent preparation will someday pay dividends.

The quicksand is metaphorical, and we are already hip deep.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

They are problems though...for their playstyle and preferences.

Something being a problem for someone does not mean that the game itself is broken. Though, I suppose that's quibbling over semantics at this point.

I'm not sure that's a distinction that makes a difference. If people didn't think OD&D was broken and needed fixing there'd never have been any other RPGs*. Again, that's literally how the entire hobby came to be. Someone played a game, thought something was broken, and got to fixing it. Fix enough things and it's a completely different game.

* You can trace this backwards in time as well. If Gygax didn't think Arneson's Blackmoor notes were broken and needed fixing, there'd be no OD&D. If Arneson didn't think Wesley's Braunstein was broken and needed fixing, there'd be no Blackmoor. Back to Strategos, back to free Kriegsspiel, back to rigid Kriegsspiel, etc.

I think the difference is that OD&D fundamentally was broken. When I finally read it, I would have been hard-pressed to understand the game without the decades of knowledge I had. Now, that didn't stop it from being successful, as we all know, but for every part that is simple and has continued to this day, there are parts that are unexplained or just plain convoluted.

I honestly find those complaints super weird. Between the background and the class, you already know what your PC is good at, and the book gives examples of using that information with rolling to succeed.

There already is a skill system in the game, but it's just "what would a character of your ancestry, background and class be good at? Roll with advantage using the proper attribute stat as a bonus." Maybe people need a cheat sheet for what a former wizard's apprentice might be good at, but I am dubious that is really hard for most groups to figure out. ("No, Steve, being a former wizard's apprentice doesn't mean you're good at taming an unruly horse.")

Yeah, I think that works much better for me. It's easy enough to understand. One wonders what D&D would look like if it had stuck with Secondary Skills instead of Non-Weapon Proficiencies.