March 07, 2025

d12 Ways ShadowDark is Awesome! (S4E15)

33 minutes

On this episode, we delve far from the light to geek out about Shadowdark. The old-school-inspired RPG strips Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition to its essentials, and then adds in some modern sensibilities.

We talk about our favorite mechanics, how it’s impacted our other games (looking at you D&D 5th Edition!), and our players’ penchant for wandering off into the dark.

PLUS: Squishy wizards! Unlimited spells (if they don’t kill you!) Morale failures! AND the upcoming Western Reaches Campaign Setting Kickstarter (link in the comments)

Chapters

0:00 – Intro: Straight into the ShadowDark
1:30 – Rolling Old-School Attributes (3D6 in Order!)
4:10 – The Darkness is Your Enemy: Why Light Matters
7:30 – Inventory Tetris: The Beauty of Gear Slots
10:00 – Squishy Wizards and the Horror of 1 HP
13:00 – No XP for Combat? Time to Get Creative
15:20 – Skills? Where we’re going, we don’t need skills!
18:00 – Morale Checks: Making Enemies Run in Fear
20:30 – Unlimited Spells (But at What Cost?)
23:00 – Clerical Penance: Displease Your God and Suffer
26:00 – Rolling on the Chaos Tables: Why Randomness is Fun
28:40 – Limited Rules, Maximum Improv
31:00 – Excited for Western Reaches—More ShadowDark Content!
32:30 – Final Thoughts & Where to Find Us Online

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Show Notes

Old School Attributes.

Roll 3d6. In order. Re-roll if you all your stats are under 14, re-roll.

No one can see in the dark

But the monsters can.

Where do the monsters lurk?

Gear Slots

Carry a number of items equal to your STR stat or 10.

All gear besides typical clothing fills one gear slot.

Gear that is hard to transport might fill more than one slot.

Squishy heroes

A wizard with 3 hit points? Good luck.

Skills

Easy? You do it.

(It’s infectious … started doing that in D&D too)

Hard? You roll?

Something make it easier? Advantage, Harder? Disadvantage

Morale

Enemies who are reduced to half their number (or half their hit points for a solo enemy) flee if they fail a DC 15 Wisdom check.

Large Groups. Make one check using the leader’s WIS modifier.

Throwback to old school D&D

Your spells can kill you

Dare to roll on the spell failure charts

Magic missile bathes you in purple light?

Unlimited Spells

Just. Keep. Casting.

But do you risk it

Clerical Penance

Inadequate or subversive penance (such as donating your sacrifice to a party member) only displeases your deity further and makes the spell loss permanent.

Embrace the Random

Talents depend on a die, not choice

Limited rules. Maximum improv.

Stripped down version of 5e removes a lot of the game’s specific rules.

Improvise when the specific is needed.

The rules system can fit in your head once you play it enough

It’s in the Goldilocks zone of size

The Western Reaches Kickstarter!

Shadowdark RPG: The Western Reaches Setting

ShadowDark Quickstart

Shadowdark RPG Quickstart Set (PDF)

Feedback

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The post d12 Ways ShadowDark is Awesome! (S4E15) appeared first on Lair Of Secrets.

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