Shadowdark RPG Game Master Tips and Tricks

[@kolardgreene3096]

I finally ran the quick-start adventure for Shadowdark. During the adventure, my girlfriend's first character died to a slime. I had never had a player character die in one of my games before, and although I had prepared the players thoroughly for that possibility, I was stunned. That's it? I let her get killed by a little slime? I didn't know what to do. For a second I thought my friends would be done with the game, that they'd riot...but they kept playing. My gf established her new character, they escaped from the dungeon back to a town I created, and they escaped from the Scarlet Minotaur in the nick of time. And afterward, they said it was one of the most fun experiences they'd ever had with an RPG...and I realized we had gone over the expected play time by an hour and a half. My girlfriend told her family and now I'm designing an adventure for them. They each put two characters together in an afternoon and I used the quickstart GM tables to get ideas. The dungeon outline was done in an hour. This is definitely my new go-to game for straight up adventuring!

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

This is magnificent! It's so interesting how our expectations can flip on their head like that. I'm so happy that the character death turned into an exciting and galvanizing moment for your players. It's a bit shocking at first when you haven't had character deaths in your game, but it also teaches the players how to be careful and clever... and they reap the rewards of that through smart gameplay and characters that survive to gain levels and become legendary! :D

[@mikefahey9910]

People don't realize in RPGs that failure (with the right group and GM) is some of the best parts of the game - most memorable and the events players talk about! Mine was my cleric/fighter trying to run out of The Tomb of Horrors naked...spoiler - he didn't make it

[@c.c.germaine9960]

I ran The Lost City of the Scarlet Minotaur for my mom and she LOVED it. Her first TTRPG experience, and by the end she had a new found love for the genre, and the loved the crawl. I will be DMing the same One Shot at our local game store to show my 5e group how much fun ShadowDark is.

[@mortgagedad]

C.C. was it run only for your Mom? As in, there was only 1 PC for the adventure? If so, how did it go? Was she overpowered? Did you beef up her stats (start her at level 2 perhaps?) Asking because I'm looking to run this as SOLO adventure. Thx.

[@YukonJack88]

Dude … ❤❤❤ That is fucking cool 😎

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

This is AMAZING. Makes my week. I am so happy you brought your mom into the gaming fold with this adventure, what an honor and fantastic story to be a small part of! :D Big high-fives to you and your gamer mom!!

[@c.c.germaine9960]

@@mortgagedad Hi Kip, this adventure is good for solo! My mom is a new player, she chose to play as a thief, and to help her out I rolled up two randomly generated support NPCs as her companions ; a fighter, and a cleric. Two feisty dwarves. I added them to the constant initiative order, but made sure they didn't solve any of the puzzles outright, or "save the day" as it were. She was the hero, and survived on clever wit and luck. Her character started at Level 1 as usual. She was in no way OP. Have fun with this my friend.

[@cugms]

I ordered the book and am so looking forward to playing this! I just got back into D&D after having not played for 40(!) years. So I'm coming from having played AD&D 1E and then leaping to 5E. I discovered Shadowdark from Dungeon Craft's channel and really loved everyhing he described - the realworld light timers, the limited gear slots, the simplified everything, the random components to character building... It really looks like a perfect blend of old-school and new, while preserving (and I think likely enhancing) that gritty, dangerous (i.e. fun!) experience I remember from the 80s. Thank you for this brilliant creation! Can't wait to play!

[@ARKavli]

As a historical fencer, I've never liked the attacks of opportunity. It is easy to break engagement... you don't just turn your back and start running away. Also, if you get a free extra attack for them stepping away, you should get a free extra attack if they don't do anything. But maybe you do in D&D, I usually play other systems.

[@davidpencil3576]

This project is the first Kickstarter I have ever backed. Next week, my group has their last session in the 1-20 campaign I've been running for them over the past couple of years, and then we will start a new campaign using Shadowdark the following week. They are all excited to experience the whiplash of going from being demigods to fragile intrepid adventurers again. I've built out a campaign world in which there is a massive ancient underground civilization whose inhabitants all got cursed and turned into monsters, with descending circles like Dante's Inferno leading to a mystical gate at the very bottom.

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

This campaign concept sounds awesome! :D Hahahaha I'm glad they're ready for being weak and flawed dungeon crawlers once again!

[@christopherkuppers1607]

I would love to watch a video about Light in Old School/Shadowdark games. Not just what the rules are, but what they mean in play, e.g. Does needing light mean, denizens of the dungeon always see you coming? Does needing a free hand to carry a torch mean, Fighters hardly ever carry them? Can you cast spells while carrying a torch? Does a dropped torch give enough light, so you could just drop them during the fight? I assume, most of these questions are rulings the DM makes but as someone not familiar with the Dungeoncrawling Mindset, I can't tell which rulings make for the best Dungeoncrawling experience

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

Good idea for a future video! I think talking about these things and hashing out ideas with the Shadowdark community is also an excellent way to go. Veteran GMs have a ton of insight into answers to your questions, and no two are exactly the same. For me personally, I'd say you do need a free hand to carry a torch, the light does give away your position if you're not careful (lanterns are of great benefit because they can be briefly shuttered), and you can cast spells while holding a light source. A dropped torch should give decent light, but has a risk of going out (maybe 1 in 6 odds) when it hits the ground.

[@WizardOfAtlantis]

Hence you often see Dwarven miners with candles on their hats/helms :)

[@handloading]

We played last night with the lights off and flash lights and a timer. When the timer went off, the flash lights got turned off. Super spooky! Thank you so much for Shadowdark!!!!

[@mikefahey9910]

Totally awesome!

[@rafaeljoseph3951]

Love this idea!

[@sanjaraejour9632]

I really like that there are no opportunity attacks. It means characters will actually move around in combat as they don't have to worry about getting hit, allowing it to be more dynamic. Also makes it easier to throw in something the party might have to do during a combat, such as having to interact with objects to disrupt a ritual while cultists are fighting to stop them. Keeping an eye on turns outside of combat is also a great way to help ensure quieter players are able to participate more. I know that's something I've struggled with in the past, and having it in the rule book would have definitely helped (and likely still will, as online play can also cause issues with connections, accidentally muted mics, and volume settings). I've also introduced the idea of running a Shadowdark game to my main group, and they like the idea. Definitely planning on running a one-shot or short adventure with it for them once our current campaign has concluded. (Or possibly if someone can't make it to a session. Always good to have something that can be done then.)

[@MartinJutras]

I discovered ShadowDark a few days ago and yesterday I bought the PDF. I've been playing Dungeons and Dragons for close to 40 years and I don't connect anymore with it. Since the fourth edition, D&D doesn't feel like D&D to me. The game got more complicated, the amount of stupid races and classes they added was just too much for me. I like old-school fantasy and old-school gaming. Which ShadowDark I found exactly that. So a huge thanks to you.

[@ShannonFerguson]

Great advice! I will be running the Lost Citadel with my high school RPG club! I think this game will be the game I've been looking for since 1980! Thank you, Kelsey!

[@stillmattwest]

You've been gaming since 1980, and you're still in high school??? JK.

[@ShannonFerguson]

@@stillmattwest Yes, but I graduate this summer! No more classes, no more books, no more teachers' dirty looks!

[@claudiofreitas9425]

Congrats on the awards. Looking forward to running Shadowdark in a few months for the first time!

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

I just ordered my copy of the book. I have been playing 5e for 6 years (Forever DM). I have been CRAVING that old school feel and tone of the old D&D. I am SO excited to give this a try. I have so many friends and family members who wouldn't have the time or energy for the crunchiness of 5e. This is perfect. Thank you thank you!

[@WizardOfAtlantis]

The real-time torch-lighting idea is just fantastic. It takes what was such a pain in the >>> mechanic that we didn't ever use it (as kids, back in the day) into being a real-world, keep you on the seat of the sofa mechanic in the 'real' world. Really good twist/take on the idea.

[@stillmattwest]

And it brings the idea of time records to a new generation. Time and resource management are vital to a good dungeon crawl, but those ideas were all but lost in the WotC editions of D&D. Kelsey figured out a way to bring them back in such an elegant way.

[@lunasophia9002]

This is solid advice, not just for Shadowdark but for running the game in general. Makes me so excited to get my books!

[@dmingtheworld]

I love the static initiative and zoned combat. These are at the top of my list for DM recommendations after running Scarlet Minotaur for several different groups now. Great work, Kelsey! See you at Gary Con!

[@TimDecker989]

Hey, I know you! 😀 In fact I think you introduced me to Shadowdark! ❤

[@Petrichoroma]

Always-on initiative, like so much of Shadowdark, is a mechanical expression of game design philosophy. It reminds everyone at the table that everyone at the table matters. Kelsey’s ability to design from meticulously reasoned praxis and explain that process with succinct precision is Shadowdark’s strongest selling point for me. Inherent in comprehending the text is the rationale that makes better GMs and players. Kelsey Dionne makes hacking/customizing easy for anyone, because understanding the mechanics and intent of Shadowdark’s design is organically intuitive. Shadowdark forms a very strong foundation for anyone interested in ttrpgs to understand how games work, how to tweak, how to make calls, and how to communicate clearly about mechanics. Thank you, Kelsey. The value of Shadowdark, for me, is the insights and experience of such a talented game designer, distilled into a concise single-volume book. I’m drawn to the high level of both research and innovation which create such an elegant and transparent system. Videos like this make me confident there’s even more of what I want in the full book. I’m really looking forward to it!

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

This is incredibly high praise, and I am humbled and so grateful for it!

[@stillmattwest]

Love the Gygaxian vocab in this comment. Yeah, I noticed it. Yeah, I'm a nerd. Anyway, I completely agree that this is the best benefit of always-on initiative. I play a lot of play-by-post games, and it will help there, too.

[@michaelbarry1651]

Kelsey's hair is a force of elemental chaos...it is the terror within the scream, the dark behind the shadow...

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

Hahahaaaa!! It really seems to have a life of its own! It's the one who is truly in control.

[@michaelbarry1651]

@@TheArcaneLibrary Advice to Game Masters: "Attack the hair-do!"

[@AlexSanchez-d5p]

We use one hour candles as torch timer. The candle would be in front of the player who is holding the torch, we have had as many as three candles lit at a time. It’s a lot of fun. Great game.

[@MattSmith83]

You are killing it! Every one of these tips point out something that I might have missed and immediately home-brewed out of the game but your perspective makes it super evident why that would be a bad idea. Thank you!

[@dbrianlovingood30]

Thanks for the tips Kelsie! I am really looking forward to getting my hands on the full version of the rule set. So far this is EXACTLY what me and my group have been looking for. I am a DM of 30 years who grew up in AD&D 2nd edition, but most of my current player group grew up in 3e, PF, or 5e. We all love a grim, dark, gritty, but simple system. This really scratches that itch. Thanks from all 8 of us, seriously, keep it up!!!

[@Hellvector]

Excellent advice Kelsey! My players are growing more enamored with each session and I’m becoming increasingly anxious about the end of the Kickstarter!

[@timleeds4346]

Congratulations on shadow dark and all the work you have put into it. Wish you the best.

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

Thank you so much!! :)

[@DaVeO52]

Thanks. In my 2nd session we just had the torch go out in The Lost Citadel just as the group came upon a lone ettercap. None of my vet D&D players had ever seen one and they were freaking out. They are scrambling to get a torch lit. I had them roll a Wisdom DC check of 11 DISADV to try and locate a torch in their gear, someone will also have to locate tinder and steel. I probably should have only put the DC at 9 but I surmised that seeing the monster briefly had set their nerves on end and they don't know if there are more scrambling on the ceiling. What a great moment. 😅

[@MrSteveK1138]

Late backer and already loving it! Well written blend of OSR and 5e. Also love all the charts, reminiscent of Dungeon Crawl Classics but much more manageable.

[@d20play]

Thank you Kelsey! Great advice. Looking forward to my second run!

[@retrodmray]

Such great stuff, great advice here, and so glad to be covering this myself as well! Thnx, Kelsey!! 👍🤓 Those real-time mechanics are so COOL!

[@sentino68]

Thank you Kelsey! Always a treat learning from you.

[@alexcothren5103]

I just ran my 1st gauntlet for lvl zero Shadowdark. I gave every character a crawling kit for free but no weapon. I kept torches to 30 min, and my players used their phones to do individual timers so i didnt have to keep track of it. It worked really well. I also added Death Bringer RPG luck dice that recharge on a nat 1 to allow for a little super hero shennanigens. I adapted @HouseDM s 1st gauntlet and made it my own. It was so much fun.

[@HauxYZ250]

I am so excited to try this game with my group. The play style seemed to be too freeform for my taste but after reading through the book and listening to some videos, it all just feels very intuitive and makes me wonder why I felt the 5e structure was “my style”.

[@bokgil]

Currently on holiday and I just got the PDFs of the core rules and the other goodies. I cannot wait to read them once I return home! Congratulations! 😊

[@samurguybriyongtan146]

Man,this time stuff is really melting my brain. I’m excited to try it out and break some of my own, deeply ingrained habits.

[@Avoloch]

what would be fun for a next product is a mini setting - 12 / 12 hexes so we can fit our own adventures in it (or published) you can call your influencer friends to make one hex each.

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

All three of the Cursed Scroll zines each have a hex crawl of around that size in them! And my plan is to keep doing that for future ones! :)

[@thenovicedm7966]

Are torches "re-lighted" with an adjusted timer should the PC drop or purposefully douse the torch? Looking to run my first table (virtual) with Shadowdark. I've ran several campaigns with Roll20 for 5E already....but my group wants to try Shadowdark for our next set of games. Thanks for the product and I'm looking forward to realizing this game system for our table.

[@geoffreynelson6413]

I love the ‘Fall back to the initiative order.’ Great advice.

[@sungamer1686]

I have to admit that Shadowdark is the first project i have backed on Kickstarter (subversion RPG being the second one for a grand total of two), I can't wait to try it out!

[@LegionMiniatureGames]

Backed the kickstarter with everything! Can’t wait to get it and create some content around it. Looks great !

[@robertbird9807]

I played Shadowdark for the first time tonight and I loved it! It gives me the same feeling as playing BECMI as a kid, I'm excited for the next session

[@Gravehaven007]

I am so excited to get my hands on this!

[@cimerians]

Great video, just got it on Backerkit last month after a friend told me what it is. This is what I've been looking for for what seems like ages, its's brilliant, original D&D with modern conveniences. Totally blown away. Do NOT change a thing with this game. :)

[@nemooh]

Love this game system! Just ordered from 4 pack adventure starter and starter rules from drivethrurpg. Can't wait to get an actual book. Love what I see of your writing style.

[@UnwalledGarden]

This is very helpful. I’m stoked to run my first session of Shadowdark!

[@spaceflows]

Really looking forward to this! Can’t wait to introduce this to new players and (selfishly) can’t wait to enjoy all the streamlined gameplay.

[@pablomiron6108]

You are really shaking the TTRPG world... congrats Kelsey! I might drop a OD&D game to try Shadowdark ;)

[@VosperCDN]

The torch timer is great, and I've also recently moved to the range band style of engagements over distance measuring, which has worked great.

[@WolfHreda]

Just bought the print & pdf this week. Can't wait to run an adventure I'm writing for my group.

[@xenofett7008]

I'm paying off two other Kickstarters on my card so I couldn't back this. However I look forward to this games retail release and plan on using this system.

[@twistedturns65]

About to run my first Shadowdark game, so excited.

[@Kyrnsword]

I ❤ Shadowdark TTRPG and after backing the Kickstarter I cant wait to get the core book in my hands!

[@DolkkarToyznstuff]

Thank you for sharing your tips from your experience with Shadowdark, it's greatly appreciated.

[@maxpower3050]

Thanks, I look forward to playing Shadowdark. I'll pick it up when it's available.

[@Kuldirongaze1]

Please don't take this the wrong way but I love how in every video your look like you just woke up. You have this Albert Einstein animated hair thing going. I envision you waking up from a dream with an inspiration that you need to quickly share in a video :)

Can't wait to try Shadowdark with my group. Can't wait to get my hands on that beautiful book, but I'll have to wait quite a bit until its actually available in Europe because the shipment + taxes for EU on the kickstarter make it prohibitive. Still, love the whole idea of this, I'm pumped to DM it!

[@RoadDeerGames]

Cavalier class: Mounted= test all distances as 1/2 (far is near, a hole 10 feet wide acts like 5 feet for you). You and your mount share health and carry capacity. if you ever die or leave your mount behind on purpose it is lost and you must buy a new one.

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

I've got a mounted-combat focused class coming out in Cursed Scroll #2! :D

[@evansj18]

I have really enjoyed reading and watching Shadowdark content since the kickstarter launched. I was curious about how you would use this as part of a larger campaign or overarching story. Is that part sort of left up to the gm's discretion to be as detailed or 'hand-wavy' as their players like it? It seems as though that part could easily be summed up in a sentence or two (you go carousing, then resupply and find a rumor about the location of your next macguffin). Then boom, your players are standing at the entrance to another dungeon.

[@michaelwest6834]

You are not too far off base. OSR is known for location based narratives. That means if your group pillages location B and defeats the bandits, what impact did that just have on your world? As the DM, you decide that and the next session will literally write itself. You also ask the party at the end of the session, what do they want to do next time? Maybe they want to explore location A that you created in the very beginning. Maybe they want to explore the village that you started them out in and help the local lord with another problem. Maybe the impact from the group pillaging location B is actually the local lord’s new problem. Essentially you prep a few locations in the beginning with a few situations. See where the players go and then you do nothing but react to their actions from that point forward. Prep situations and not plots. Never prep more than a session or two ahead and never have a preconceived outcome. You as the DM get to discover the “story” at the same moments the players do and your prep time is significantly less.

[@jonnaseattle466]

I haven't seen the full rules or know what direction Shadowdark will go, but how much action encompasses "the game" is really up to you and your players. Certainly I know the carousing tables that I currently use have all kinds of complications that involve the PCs into goings-on *inside* the town. For example, after a failed carousing check (on tables I made inspired from miscellaneous sources) one character discovered that an former lover showed up and dumped them with a child that was supposedly the child of the character, a complication that became a recurring cost and source of issues. But if Shadowdark has abstracted downtime rules then you could focus on dungeon crawling if that's what you prefer.

[@gstaff1234]

Great video and excited the Kickstarter is going so so well!! Question: what about arrows and bolts from ranged weapons…could there be a distant range, beyond far, where the attack is then with a disadvantage?

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

A good question! I think in an encounter/scenario where huge distances come into play, I'd start to implement disadvantage for very long shots. Something like shooting a longbow off a castle wall at an approaching army. But I don't think this will come up terribly often, thankfully!

[@michaelmorrison8679]

getting ready to run this for my group at Garycon so these are great tips. I've never tried to run the real-time lightsource thing so I admit i'm a bit nervous about it.

[@MemphiStig]

Love what you've done and what you're doing. Keep up the great work. Congrats on the huge ks success!

[@MagneticDavid]

Hi there!. Like VERY many people I am super excited about your Shadowdark kickstarter. I would love it if you would share a video on your reaction to how well it's done. When you have time, if you feel like it.

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

Aw! Heck, that is really kind of you to ask! I will definitely do that. :)

[@Kevlar-78]

Excited to get this to my table ! Congrats on the project ! 🍻

[@mAcChaosCh]

A question for Kelsey or anyone else: when you get enough XP to level up, do you stop gaining XP until the session is over? Or can you spill over and keep going? Let's say you are level 1, you got 10 XP halfway into the session by finding treasure, and now you find more treasure. Are you capped at 10 until you go back and level up? Or do you get up to 11 XP, 12 XP, etc.

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

I’d say you should roll that extra XP into the next level!

[@marcelwirtz9646]

Very cool summary, I am really curious to receive the final version of the book 😎

[@MagneticDavid]

Kobold Press' Tales of the Valiant (just completed) Kickstarter goal was $100 K, and raised $1,151,914. 10 times their goal from 10,057 backers. The Arcane Library's Shadowdark Kickstarter goal was $10 K, raised $1,365,923! Over 100 TIMES their goal from 13,249 backers. So, The Arcane Library got backed by ~3,200 more backers AND earned $214 K more than Kobold Press! Congratulations AGAIN on your great work. In case it hasn't hit you yet, Welcome to the the Major Leagues!

[@toddrohrer8680]

Playing shadowdark reminds me of playing dnd in the 70s when I first started playing it. Ps your wife makes amazing art

[@Grimlore82]

Loving the tutorial videos!

[@wanderinghistorian]

I think what would be neat is to see a video on why you made these new rules. Like what things drove you to think them up and so forth.

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

That'd be a fun thing to discuss! I wonder if an AMA talking about the game design of Shadowdark RPG could be useful for people. There are tons of things to talk about as far as design considerations, influences, and problem-solving decisions with the mechanics. :)

[@thomasmcdonnell2629]

I tried to back your kick starter and didn't get it to go through but I hope I can get Shadowdark RPG later

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

Sorry about that, Thomas!! Sometimes there are weird tech hiccups. I'm reopening late pledges on the Kickstarter page April 18th or 19th -- the reward tiers will be available for another attempt if you want to give it another shot! :)

[@ryanjmcintyre]

Thanks for this, it addressed the things I’d been most unsure about.

[@bryansmith844]

Played with my guys last Friday and had a an absolute BLAST! Question though, once a character drops to 0 hp and gets stabilized (dramatically just before their timer ran out in our case!) how do you figure out when they’re back in action? We ruled on the fly the downed character made a DC13 CON check each turn and when they hit it they came back with d4 hp (they were a fighter starting with d8 hp). Was so fun, deadly, and refreshing!

[@TelepathicWhale]

I believe it says right next to the Death Timer, that every round, on the downed PC's turn, they roll a d20. On a natural 20, they wake up with 1 hit point.

[@bryansmith844]

@@TelepathicWhale you’re right, but what happens if they don’t roll a nat 20? Do they just keep trying forever? X amount of times? We were doing a oneshot so I figured I’d set a DC slightly above “normal” (DC12) since they were a fighter (they probably were used to getting KOd imo haha) and they would popup with half hp. If he got dropped again I’d probably just increase the DC and half the hp die again, idk.

[@zellak-pr7pu]

@@bryansmith844 you get 1d4 rounds ( +1 for each CON bonus ) if you dont roll a 20 by the end of the last round then you are dead. Read the pdf

[@Hikertrash215]

I get what Bryan is saying, which is how long after you've been stabilized (not dying) do you regain consciousness. From my reading of the rules, if you are stabilized you no longer are 'dying' but you remain at 0hp until you either receive healing or take a rest (8hours). So getting K.O.'d and not having any healing available puts you out of commission until everyone rests for the night.

[@bryansmith844]

@@Hikertrash215 that’s kind of what I was reading too, decided to give a chance to keep that player engaged though, we’d already had a character fall 30’ in the first round and go unconscious so they got to camp out at the entrance until the wizard woke up.

[@ketchupguns]

just downloaded the Quickstart Rules and trying it tomorrow!

[@stillmattwest]

Just stumbled on my Bundles of Horror in my PDF collection. I've sworn off 5E but I bet some of those could convert to Shadowdark pretty well...

[@TheHexeract]

do we have a ship date on the crowdfund books yet? I can't wait!

[@GrandNagusEli]

Super excited to have the books in my hand

[@kyrnsword72]

*I like to see in tt system: *Roll location D10 with DMG 1 Head. Cost. Fix 2 back: 3 torso: 4 arms: 5 hands 6 Main hand 7 off hand: 8 Belt 9 legs: 10 feet. Cost. FIX With defferent arnor pieces like helms, cloaks and boots. Good example of this is in D100 Dungeon.

[@ThomasStell]

Runequest rolls a D20 for hit location and has locational armor pieces.

[@Tatterdash71]

As a player of many editions of D&D/AD&D, I was wondering if initiative is rolled once or every round. I do love how unpredictable every round initiative is, but I guess it make tracks durations harder.

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

Good question! It's not every round unless you want to use one of the book's optional gameplay modes (Chaos Modes) to do that during combat, which effectively makes initiative into a side-based version. :)

[@Xeweros]

regarding the torch, it might be interesting to try out a similar system like Darkest Dungeon is using it. For example they start with a torch for 1h, the closer it gets to 0 the dimmer it gets. When the light a torch, they get back another 20mins or so. There could also be a big or small torch, that give different timer values. And attacks of monster to the torch reduce the timer and stuff like that. or it might just turn into another HP bar or a system to be managed... Might be interesting to try it out, how it works.

[@Karsten_W]

How did it work out?

[@mikefahey9910]

I haven't run the game yet and I have cursed scroll #1 and will be increasing class choices as they come out. I know my players will want to multiclass (I was thinking only dual class). My thought was if they wanted a second class was to allow it, but they would still only get talent rolls on levels 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 -- so which class and what level would matter. Is this something you had to tackle in play test and what did you do? Thanks so much -- super excited for this :)

[@lukejackson3901]

Love these videos!! Please do more 😊

[@marcovolo5982]

Interesting, thanks! Would you say Dungeon Crawl Classics is easy to adapt for Shadowdark? I have a bunch of adventures (Harley Stroh

[@tabletopgamingwithwolfphototec]

Noted & already did some of this stuff. I find keeping players in initiative makes them more paranoid (alert).

[@MarkCMG]

Thanks for the video! Nifty tips!

[@TheBrutumFulmen]

Do you treat spellcasting in Shadowdark as requiring a verbal & somatic component? This seems like the default assumption in D&D style games, but I don't think it's mentioned. Could a caster still do magic while bound and gagged (or in a Silence spell)?

[@timjfads]

I've played systems with n without opportunity attacks n prefer not having them. It adds tension, tactics n freedom to games. I also like not being able to break up movement between attacks even tho that's more restrictive

[@sonic_gloom]

Great video! Thanks for the tips.

[@technogent8023]

Thank you so much for the tips. Do the rules (or will the rules) have tips for DMs on creating fair but challenging combat encounters? It's always something I struggle with. Should a loose rule be to have the bad guys HD totals average out to the same as the party's HP?

[@derekishmael4034]

Look forward to trying out the game. Do you have any plans to get this into Foundry VTT?

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

We have some wonderful folks in our Discord server working on a Foundry option right now! :)

[@dmvalterink7361]

I have a question, I don't understand clearly how to balance a combat encounter, the book says about the 1:1 monsters but it's still not clear to me. I get that you must combine the character levels per encounter and distribute like a budget. So technically, 4 level 1 characters could fight a lvl 4 monster, am I getting it right?

[@adamdorris7104]

Yes, this follows the idea. You find the assigned monster level based on character level and multiply by characters for total. Then split that among however many monsters. Equal numbers will be closer to normal danger. As the book says, one monster is weaker because of action economy, and a horde is very strong, so expect that difference or make slight tweaks. Just don't forget to leave some unbalanced fights (as written) so things are interesting. Just be sure to always telegraph danger with evidence and examples. Sometimes, seeing an adventurer running away is a good reminder of that being an option.

[@raphaelherrera7230]

Is there any chance that you will make a late backer option for the recent Kickstarter?

[@dylanhyatt5705]

Yes, I'd like to second that. Those of us who came late feel locked out of the complete rules set - hopefully Kelsey will either run another kickstarter or make the content available for wider sale. I love the design because it's deeply intuitive and organic, frees the imagination.

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

Late pledges will open up next week! :D

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

Yes, absolutely! Took me a bit of time to get it set up, but we're going to open late pledges starting next week. You'll be able to get any associated PDFs right away! :)

[@Andy-lo2cb]

Many of us probalby found D&D 5e combat to be lacking. I like the direction of simplifying the combat and concentrating on what's fun. Is there a way to try this game for free? I have been spoiled by Paizo who post all their rules for free. I am looking for a grimdark classical Diablo setting that Pathfinder 2e can not deliver on. Nothing against Pathfinder 2e, it is a game system that is good at what it does. My big concern for Shadowdark is the lack of emphasis on measuring and the ambiguity it may introduce to combat. I've been really messed up by DMs using ambiguous combat mechanics (they call it area of the mind). One example is when my party got hit by a dragon's breath attack while I was far away... behind a rock... but got jurked back to the middle of the party like laggy video game. Area of effects are a nightmare with ambiguous mechanics. My personal experience is measuing speeds things up by circomventing miscommunications and there are systems where measuing is fun, like pathfinder 2e.

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

That's a fair concern! Shadowdark uses measurements that are similar to zones, and it really is necessary to track. It's mostly in rough 30-foot increments. There has to be some form of distance tracking because movement distance and spell range do matter.

[@Akeche]

I have a question regarding treasure and XP, actually. In the quickstart book there didn't seem to be a concrete indication of what actually will give x amount of experience. There were examples yes, but the tables themselves seemed as if I'm supposed to just wing it?

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

To a degree, you do just wing it! But almost all treasure is worth 1 XP, unless it's really amazing, in which case it's worth 3 XP. You'll probably know right away how to categorize it. The other treasure types (poor, 0 XP), are for total junk, and legendary XP is for exceedingly rare quest items (10 XP).

[@1970joedub]

I’m very smitten by the torch timer mechanic. I DM a lot.

[@andrearovati]

hey Kelsey, speaking of DM tips, do you have any for a smaller party? In my group there are me (the cruel DM) and two players. I've never had any problems with 5th edition and I don't think I will either with Shadowdark but if you have any tricks up your sleeve I'd gladly listen to it.

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

I'm super late on answering this, sorry! I think a small group might either benefit from being exceedingly cautious in the dungeon, or else having each player pilot two characters instead of one. I'm of the belief that almost every dungeon should be survivable just on wits alone, so hopefully the design philosophy for most Shadowdark RPG adventures permits that! :)

[@MichaelJHinds]

1:03 Alternatively if you’re playing with adults with cell phones, try having the PC who lights the torch set the timer on their phone.

[@ishpimp]

Im trying to get on the newsletter, so I can be on the Late Pledge list😅 please help. I heard that it might be Tuesday or Wednesday. Im in PST, so do I just wait till 12am??? 🙏🏽👍🏽

[@henriquecanalle2630]

My doubt is...there is no saving trhows....the spell just works right away?? For example a sleep spell...there is no resistance?? Thanks in advance

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

That's correct! The spells just work (except on a rare occasion when the target gets to make a check to avoid the worst effects, which is explained in the spell description). One interesting byproduct of that is how it affects monster design. You will notice that no enemy spellcasters have a sleep-like spell, or an instant death spell, etc. -- that sort of thing is reserved for player characters. There are a lot of reasons why that is, but tl;dr is that it's fun for players to sleep enemies en masse, but not to get sleep'd en masse.

[@chrisdevbenoit5703]

Hi! I am about to start two groups one is a community youth group and the other is a group for folks struggling with ptsd. I love your work and was wondering if you would consider reaching out to me and we could talk further about shadowdark and how I could use the free pdf to teach folks how to play. I had planned to use 5e, but this seems a lot more interesting and I can do it more episode based instead of a long campaign.

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

Hi, Chris! This is so cool that you want to use Shadowdark for this noble purpose! I'm always down to give advice for teaching new people how to play, especially with such a wonderful reason as this. One thing I'll suggest is that there are tons of community groups and resources with people who may have greater insight than I do, so I'd really encourage you to join our Discord or Facebook groups (linked below). I'm also happy to help directly, if you can forgive some occasional slowness in communication since I'm going full-tilt at fulfilling and supporting the Kickstarter! Email: [e-mail] Discord: www.thearcanelibrary.com/blogs/shadowdark-blog/join-the-arcane-library-discord-server Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/shadowdarkrpg/

[@ricardorios492]

Can you play this game as solo????

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

Yes, I think you absolutely can! I'm going to try my hand at it in some upcoming videos using the Mythic GM Emulator system! :)

[@Kyrnsword]

​@@TheArcaneLibrary Scarlet Heros emulator is my favorite😊

[@toddrohrer8680]

Do u have plans to have other books to the game like a monster book or campaign book

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

Definitely! I'm not sure what yet, but plenty more books to come. I think my next project will be a big adventure!

[@toddrohrer8680]

I can’t wait

[@francoisbelanger6886]

About Thief Backstab ability, is it intended to be only allowed if the character achieve a surprise at the start of a fight? Or the thief may try to hide again during a fight a take others backstab attack?

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

I think both of those are viable options, although hiding at the start tends to be easier to accomplish!

[@spencercoker4077]

QUESTION: Do SCROLLS Critically fail like WANDS? Also, can a spellcaster use a scroll of higher level than they can "know"? Can they "learn" a spell from a scroll higher level than they can "know"?

[@zellak-pr7pu]

Read the free pdf.

[@spencercoker4077]

@@zellak-pr7pu I read the pdf front to back several times, and it does not address the specific points above.

[@zellak-pr7pu]

@@spencercoker4077 Page 55 , you can only use spells on your list. So not possible if they are higher level. A failed casting is the same no matter what way you do it.....where does it say otherwise ?

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

Scrolls do critically fail like wands! And yes, a spellcaster can use a scroll of a spell they don't know and/or a tier higher than they can cast. Only wizards can learn spells from scrolls, and it can be from a tier higher than they can cast.

[@TheBrutumFulmen]

it's a little unclear, but I think "your list" just means the wizard spell list vs. the cleric spell list

[@zellak-pr7pu]

How do you run dual wielding....you get 2 attacks but cannot use a shield ( OSR Berserker ??? )

[@TheArcaneLibrary]

No codified rules for it (adding double attacks starts to slow the precious action economy and speed down). I'm looking at the design for 2-weapon fighting now because a ranger class won the voting on the Kickstarter for a stretch goal option, and I'd implement it to have a passive rider effect + an occasional effect you can activate. Current thoughts on a trained two-weapon fighter are: You get +1 to AC while you wield a weapon in both hands. 3/day, make an attack with advantage. If you hit, deal damage with both of the weapons you wield.

[@zellak-pr7pu]

@@TheArcaneLibrary Cool...i like that.