Shadowdark: tips for a new GM?

[Scribe]

We used a "Dark Souls" re-birth system; when they died (and they died pretty frequently), they were reborn at the last camp they rested at, but had to roll on a chart inspired by the Dark Souls TTRPG, where most of the effects were negative (eg, you fade and lose -1 to Constitution, or you lose a key memory, or you become more scary looking and get a penalty to Reaction rolls etc...). That softened the blow a bit and people liked it a lot (Dark Souls and Elden Ring are well known to these crowds).

This looks like a cool idea!

 

[Distracted DM]

*Which reminds me: my favorite modification to Shadowdark chargen...or any RPG where you roll 3d6 straight down the line...is to give the player an option to "invert" their stats. That means you replace all six numbers, still in order, with 21 - N. 3's become 18's, 4's become 17's, and so on...until 17's become 4's, and 18's become 3's. But it's all or nothing; you have to invert all six numbers.

I'm intrigued by this- statistically, good rolls are as likely as bad ones yeah? So it'd give players the feeling of control and choice, without affecting the actual balance of rolls much?
Well, I guess you're giving their single statline TWO chances to be good sort of, since they could roll well and have good stats, or roll terrible and invert for good stats.. but... yeah, this works pretty well without creating something OP, maybe?

 

[Bill Zebub]

I'm intrigued by this- statistically, good rolls are as likely as bad ones yeah? So it'd give players the feeling of control and choice, without affecting the actual balance of rolls much?
Well, I guess you're giving their single statline TWO chances to be good sort of, since they could roll well and have good stats, or roll terrible and invert for good stats.. but... yeah, this works pretty well without creating something OP, maybe?

Well, the average of 3d6 is 10.5. With 4d6-1 it's 12.25. And with this method* it's about 11.5.

*Assuming you always and only invert if the total is higher. That might not always be the case, though. Somebody might (for example) prefer 18, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 over 3, 13, 13, 13, 13 13.

 

[Xenolith234]

I used a real world torch timer and would decrease it if they spent time picking a lock or searching etc. pick a lock? 10 minutes off the timer.

Like BX it can be pretty deadly the first few levels. The character that survives to like 3rd level is your actual character

Also make Hirelings available if you need to.

Also I don’t like SDs xp system and just use a standard D&D one.

Did you use the fighter XP track from B/X? Just 1-10 or did you calculate it differently?

 

[DarkCrisis]

Did you use the fighter XP track from B/X? Just 1-10 or did you calculate it differently?

Yup. Just fighter xp for everyone.

 

[Bill Zebub]

I'm intrigued by this- statistically, good rolls are as likely as bad ones yeah? So it'd give players the feeling of control and choice, without affecting the actual balance of rolls much?
Well, I guess you're giving their single statline TWO chances to be good sort of, since they could roll well and have good stats, or roll terrible and invert for good stats.. but... yeah, this works pretty well without creating something OP, maybe?

Earlier I didn't respond to the bold part, but yeah I think that's one thing I love about this approach. It gives the players an interesting choice instead of just being pure RNG.