Shadowdark Shadowdark General Thread [+]

[Reynard]

Today's Western Reaches update is a 68 page PDF with ALL the new spells, including those from Cursed Scrolls (so far). Nice!

 

[Scribe]

I mean sure...great, but is it CS 6?

I'm parched for content!

I liked the description for CS 5 though, that could be your weird and unique stuff you were looking for @Reynard

 

[Scribe]

Wait, is there a Gnome out there?

 

[Fenris-77]

Wait, is there a Gnome out there?

There must be.

 

[Jahydin]

While it's not quite large enough to be called a mega dungeon, Bittermold Keep (Cursed Scrolls #1) took my group the better part of five 4-hour sessions to finally explore all of it. They loved coming back each time and seeing how it had changed, as we play (roughly) in real time between sessions. Start and end each session in a safe haven (usually Wardenwood).

No special rules needed. They went through a lot of torches!

SD is a great fit for a open table dungeon crawling game.

I'm thinking of running this soon...

Did you play theater of the mind, maps & miniatures, VTT, or something else? I just ordered two Chessex Megamats and going to draw out the entire dungeon. Also ordered a couple dozen black, silk handkerchiefs to cover it with to create a fog-of-war effect. First time trying to run a large dungeon like this, hope it works out!

 

[Bill Zebub]

I just ordered two Chessex Megamats and going to draw out the entire dungeon.

I have on occasion rescaled maps so they will print out at the right scale for minis then printed on a stack of 8x11 paper, which I then tape together. I feel it ends up looking nicer, for less work, than trying to draw on battlemats.

I also like to project the map on the wall using Owlbear Rodeo, so that I can use fog of war to only reveal what the players explore. I either move their tokens where they tell me, or I let them pass around an iPad in player mode.

 

[Mannahnin]

My usual approaches in the last few years have been fog of war on roll20, or, in-person drawing it out for the players on a Chessex megamat to save time. Sometimes I'll have a premade poster map, or use a 1" gridded presentation pad from Staples and draw out a map in advance if I expect a site will see re-use.

But an approach I've been toying with in my mind for a couple of years is to use Ultimate Dungeon Terrain or something similar with modular wall pieces to lay out the immediate area around the PCs at any given time, but make them map or memorize if they want to have the larger map. This can work both in person or online if I just keep a separate camera pointed at the UDT. Either approach allows me to use my miniatures collection and is quick for setup and takedown, and more space-efficient than a 4x6 megamat while still supporting larger dungeons.

 

[overgeeked]

I came across this video a few days ago. Might be useful for someone.

 

[overgeeked]

But an approach I've been toying with in my mind for a couple of years is to use Ultimate Dungeon Terrain or something similar with modular wall pieces to lay out the immediate area around the PCs at any given time, but make them map or memorize if they want to have the larger map. This can work both in person or online if I just keep a separate camera pointed at the UDT. Either approach allows me to use my miniatures collection and is quick for setup and takedown, and more space-efficient than a 4x6 megamat while still supporting larger dungeons.

I love UDT. You can get some pre-made on Etsy if you don't want to craft your own. Professor DM really should have trademarked that.

The only "flaw" I can see with UDT is the explicit centering of one space. This prevents multiple simultaneous fights...unless you have two UDT and sundry props. So things like fights on both ends of a long room. Fights on either side or a chasm. Etc.

 

[Mannahnin]

I love UDT. You can get some pre-made on Etsy if you don't want to craft your own. Professor DM really should have trademarked that.

The only "flaw" I can see with UDT is the explicit centering of one space. This prevents multiple simultaneous fights...unless you have two UDT and sundry props. So things like fights on both ends of a long room. Fights on either side or a chasm. Etc.

That's part of why my preference is still for the original gridded UDT, rather than the later zoned UDT.

If I were to use zoned UDT, I think I'd want to divide the mid-zone into four quadrants, to facilitate multiple "centers" like you're talking about.