Has anyone tried this game? It’s yet another take on modernizing OSR, which apparently has gathered a few enthusiastic players.
I’ve heard that it doesn’t do anything new, but what is there, it’s excellent. I’ve been feeling the itch for a dungeon crawl for quite some time now (all my parties have been playing narrative-heavy DnD5e/5.5 and it’s becoming a bit stale tbh), so I wanted to master something different. Do you have experience with Shadowdark? Would you recommend it? Is there something I should pay attention to? Tips on how to run OSR?
I’m not a player or GM. I make 2d6 encounter tables and plan encounters for fun.
I’m moving from 5e to Shadowdark. It’s rules light and any holes that come up is filled with my experience with 5E and other systems. I had the biggest grin on my face as I rolled a 1HP NPC. Each of the 4 classes is on a 2 page spread. Simple and easy. The amount of random tables in this book for the GM to quickly use is incredible.
Players may encounter undefined rules. It’s commonly mentioned the stealth section is a bit vague, forcing the GM to make a call on the rules. It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to take to lighten the crunch.
You should definitely download the FREE quickstart rules and run Lost Citadel of the Scarlet Minotaur.
Shadowdark was literally created for your situation, it is designed to be an OSR game with mechanics that will be familiar to 5e players.
As you said, it doesn’t do anything completely new but it is one of the most elegant rpg systemsI’ve ever played. A wonderful balance of simplicity and richness.
If you’re new to OSR styles of play my tip would be to embrace the fragility of life. Having character deaths be an expected part of the game can be quite jarring to players used to 5e. Consider running a “funnel” game where your players each have multiple “level 0” characters that go through a dungeon where most of them will die, and the survivors become your character pool. Its a way to get players to shift their mindset.
The Lair of the Lamb by the brilliant Arnold K is a great funnel dungeon: https://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2020/04/lair-of-lamb-final.html
Feel free to ask any questions you might have.
I really enjoy the possibility of dying at any moment, but one of my players seems a bit frightened by it. Sounds like he doesn’t want to put too much thought or care into a character that is maybe going to die and be replaced a few sessions down the line.
It’s funny, because he and I constantly lament the fact that our current DM is too scared of killing our characters, and constantly pulls something out of his ass to save us at the last minute.
I dread the reactions of my other players, those who are more accustomed (and are even okay) to the narrative-heaviness of our current campaign and its inherent plot armor magic.
I think the funnel dungeon is worth a shot to get your players used to the idea of character deaths.
For my games, in character creation I get my players to come up with 3 words that describe their character (e.g. stubborn, grumpy, drunken) and optionally one “special thing” that can be either an event from their past or just something about them. This lets them put some personality into their character but in a more OSR way than coming up with an entire backstory. It keeps to the ethos of being able to create a new character quickly and it makes the character a little bit more than just a cardboard cutout without the player spending a heap of timing developing them and becoming too attached.
@SamuraiBeandog @Aielman15 Love a three work character approach. We find this is enough to fully describe our characters without stats.
I played my first session tonight (level 5 one shot) and it was pretty fun. I wish it had a more open license so that there would be a public SRD, but that’s a minor complaint.
If it’s of interest, the Glass Cannon Podcast is running Shadowdark as their main game right now. Worth checking out on youtube if you’re interested to see how it plays. The videos show how the hexcrawl works a bit as well. The system seems like a really strong option if it fits the darker vibe you’re looking for.
Thanks, I’ll check it out!
