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Shadowdark RPG - Opinions? (lemmy.world)
submitted 9 months ago by to c/rpg@ttrpg.network
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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?

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[–] 4 points 9 months ago (2 children)

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.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    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.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago

    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.

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