Shadowdark: tips for a new GM?

[Bae'zel]

They won't respect your campaign if they don't earn everything they get.

I'd say surviving to the next level in a game like this is well earned, but we all have different ideas of how players "earn" their character development, I suppose.

To me that's either getting a talent roll on odd levels, and on even levels they get +1 spell or +1 to some passive class ability. I think that's pretty cool.

I've never met players who were completely satisfied with just "roll your hit die and increase your max", especially at higher levels when it took ages to get there.

To each their own. Maybe I'm not a good fit for "old school brutalism" like Shadowdark entertains?

 

[Arilyn]

I'd say surviving to the next level in a game like this is well earned, but we all have different ideas of how players "earn" their character development, I suppose.

To me that's either getting a talent roll on odd levels, and on even levels they get +1 spell or +1 to some passive class ability. I think that's pretty cool.

I've never met players who were completely satisfied with just "roll your hit die and increase your max", especially at higher levels when it took ages to get there.

To each their own. Maybe I'm not a good fit for "old school brutalism" like Shadowdark entertains?

You're fine. Shadowdark doesn't have to be unending brutalism. Most classes that offer something every level work well and are fun. Yes, there are some imbalances with some 3pp, but that's to be expected.

 

[Bill Zebub]

One thing I do like about the random abilities on level-up is that there are no abilities that you only ever get if you play to high level. In D&D 5e I never got beyond 12th or 13th level, so I never even saw the coolest things the various classes & subclasses have to offer.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

To each their own. Maybe I'm not a good fit for "old school brutalism" like Shadowdark entertains?

I think the brutalism is often overstated, especially by people not running regular games of it. You can have characters die early and often, but in my experience, and from listening to others, it just seems like it needs a few sessions for everyone to adjust their expectations and play differently (including the DM).

 

[Fenris-77]

I really like Shadowdark. I found it fresh and inspiring enough to have published some adventures for it and done a bunch of design and coversion stuff for it (primarily from Troika's Acid Death Fantasy and a mega dungeon called Ave Nox). It a ton of fun.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I really like Shadowdark. I found it fresh and inspiring enough to have published some adventures for it and done a bunch of design and coversion stuff for it (primarily from Troika's Acid Death Fantasy and a mega dungeon called Ave Nox). It a ton of fun.

Is the Ave Nox conversion publicly available? I'm planning on picking that up at some point.

 

[Fenris-77]

Is the Ave Nox conversion publicly available? I'm planning on picking that up at some point.

No, I didn't think it was copywrite appropriate. If you want to DM me I can send you the document. I'll be honest, there's more in it to covert ADF to Shadowdark to use in Ave Nox than anything else. My plan was to combine ADF, AN, and the desert themes Cursed Scroll as the basis of a larger desert campaign setting for Shadowdark. I am going to run AN eventually though, and you'd be welcome to any additional coversion work I get done.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

No, I didn't think it was copywrite appropriate.

Yeah, I have that concern about the monsters in Reach of the Roach God, even though that's going to be out of print soon and the company dissolved.

Out of curiosity, about how many stat blocks did you need to convert from Ave Nox?

 

[Fenris-77]

Yeah, I have that concern about the monsters in Reach of the Roach God, even though that's going to be out of print soon and the company dissolved.

Out of curiosity, about how many stat blocks did you need to convert from Ave Nox?

Off the top of my head I don't remember. I was going to do all of them though. Its quick, no reason not to.

 

[Fenris-77]

Ok, so right now the document has six new ancestries, two new class, six new backgrounds (the AN ones, converted), and 18 converted AN monster stat blocks. Plus some assorted conversion notes. Plus a fancy cover that I'll eventually incorporate: