With help from the Lair community, we collected eight house rules for Shadowdark. On this podcast episode, we run through these rule hacks, offering our thoughts on how they might impact the game. Most of these are not rules we've tried ourselves, so we'd love some more field reports!

And yep, we're looking for even more rules variants. Leave your feedback and/or house rules in the comments, or email us at [email protected].

Like this episode? Check out our other ShadowDark shows:

d12 Ways Shadowdark is Awesome! (S4E15)

d8 Shadowdark Mistakes We Made (S4E19)

d8 Shadowdark Monster Resources (S4E26)

Shadowdark Impressions (Campaigns & Coffee)

Unboxing Cursed Scrolls 3: Midnight Sun for Shadowdark

Unboxing the GM Companion for Shadowdark

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to House Rules00:25 House Rule 1 - No Torch Alarms02:16 Digression: David's real-world LED torch timer04:14 House Rule 2 - One Hour Minus 1d12 on Torch Timers07:30 House Rule 3 - Henchmen09:39 Rule 4 - Constitution Score as Hit Points13:32 House Rule 5 - 30-minute timers for torches16:22 House Rule 6 - Sneaky Triggers18:43 House Rule 7 - More Magic Missiles21:12 House Rule 8 - The Crawling Clock27:21 Obligatory Banter: Finishing the U.S.S. Enterprise32:50 R2-D2 Model Rocket Complete!35:07 Anticipating the Mars Lander37:19 David's Theatrical Debut in Dracula43:43 Celebrating Milestones and Future Plans

Listen to the Episode

Watch to the Episode

Watch d8 ShadowDark House Rules on YouTube.

Show Notes

d8 Shadowdark House Rules

1. No Torch Alarms

Details:

SlyFlourish: ShadowDark House Rules

“Players aren't allowed to use a timer to keep track of torches on their side. They can look at their watch or phone and note the time but they can't set a stopwatch or timer to keep track of torches for them. This limitation puts more responsibility on players to remember to deal with their torches before they go out.”

Our Thoughts

2. One Hour Minus 1d12 on Torch Timers

Details:

SlyFlourish: ShadowDark House Rules

“The GM subtracts 1d12 from the torch timer so no one is quite sure when it's going to go out. This alteration adds a little fun variance.”

Our Thoughts

Ken thinks … this certainly adds stress and anxiety for players

And Dave thinks … a fun variant for for the GM. :) 

David likes this one because humans are bad at estimating.

We don’t don’t think you need this if you’re doing #1

3. Add henchmen to mitigate TPKs

Details:

“After 4 TPKs in 8 sessions, our table adopted rules for henchmen. Make characters RAW. Players select 1 character each as their ‘main’ to earn full XP. Henchmen earn 1 full share of treasure and 1/2 XP. A main can manage up to 4 henchmen plus/minus CHA modifier. Players tend to run a main + 3 henchies. Initiative is rolled only for main PCs, but the player may order their characters actions any way on their turn.”

Provided by macoppy6571

Our thoughts

We like idea of henchmen … is the share split amidst the henchmen? Or do each henchmen get their own XP?

Definitely has the old school feel of old D&D hiring henchmen.

4. Constitution Score as Hit Points

Details:

“I give player HP equal to their con score at Level 1.”

Provided by GM GI Joe

Our thoughts

Wow … that can be a lot of points!

Eliminates a lot of the low level dread, BUT keeps the PCs alive.

5. 30 minute timers for torches.

Details:

“I play solo, so most of my rules are geared towards solo play. For torches, I set a 30 minute timer, and after 30 minutes there’s a 50/50 chance it burns out. If it doesn’t burn out, it can last up to 90 minutes.” 

Provided by BradUtterstrom4105

Our thoughts:

We like the push your luck aspect of this option.

6. Sneaky Triggers

Details:

“For thieves, I roll a stealth check to see if they can hide/sneak around to try to trigger their sneak attack.”

Provided by BradUtterstrom4105

Our thoughts:

We like how this introduces an option for making sure that sneak attacks are happening.

7. More Magic Missiles

Details:

“Magic missile has two missiles at d3 damage instead of one missile at d4.”

Provided by bradutterstrom4105

Our thoughts:

If you’re nostalgic for being able to sling multiple magic missiles.

BUT there is the math of the dice … you’re doing a little more damage per turn AND getting two targets.

8. The Crawling Clock

Details

Crawling Clock write-up for random encounters, which was inspired by Goblin Punch's Underclock write-up.

Our thoughts:

We like the idea … though David’s not great at rolling random encounters.

Ken likes the variability, and having the die there helps remind us that random encounters should be happening.

Obligatory Banter

The Enterprise Flying Model Rocket (ken)

Been working on it for several weeks.

NeutronLad says he’ll likely graduate from college before I finish it.

BUT I am getting pretty close to finishing it. Just need to hand paint a few more elements and then try to stick 50-year old, water-based decals on the ship. 

What could go wrong?

Well, actually, decals that old can disintegrate when you put them in water, so I used clear coat on them in an effort to give them more structure 

Dracula

David’s acting in Dracula as the attendant.

Featured Image Meta

Black-and-white artwork from the Shadowdark core rule book.