How would YOU change Shadowdark?

NN said:
And the point of me adopting a new system is that it supports some sort(s) of gameplay better than the systems I already have.

What is Shadowdark/B-X/AD&D/3E/5E/DCC/Powers and Perils/ going to do better ?
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That is really a subjective question and depends on your taste. What I find to be “better” you might not like at all.

For me, Shadowdark takes the approach of a B/X game in terms of power levels and hangs it on a very stripped down 5e chassis, including the Advantage/Disadvantage mechanic and Inspiration (luck tokens).

It then introduces new mechanics like the torch timer, xp system, class mechanics, ancestry, etc. that differentiates it from other OSR games.

The rules are free and I encourage you to read if you haven’t already them to learn more.
 

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NN said:
Can anyone recommend a shadowdark adventure.

What I want is a proper shadowdark adventure, one where I think, "This is a good adventure! AND I can see how it would work better as Shadowdark adventure than a BX / OSE etc etec adventure !
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I'm a huge, huge fan of Kelsey's one-page adventures. You can see one of them here for free (along with Bryce's rave review of it):

The Wavestone Monolith | tenfootpole.org

tenfootpole.org tenfootpole.org

Whether it works better as Shadowdark particularly is a matter of opinion. But it's great, and I think very few full-length adventures have as much flavor and fun as this index-card-sized one.
 

NN said:
Can anyone recommend a shadowdark adventure.

What I want is a proper shadowdark adventure, one where I think, "This is a good adventure! AND I can see how it would work better as Shadowdark adventure than a BX / OSE etc etec adventure !
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Honestly, the Quickstart adventure is a really good adventure that showcases much of what makes Shadowdark great.

But whether you like Shadowdark more than B/X or OSE is going to depend on whether you feel like those games need a modern touch up. Because Shadowdark is built for the B/X experience with some modern sensibilities built in, as well as some purely new and innovative design choices.

One thing that I LOVE about Shadowdark that gets lost in these discussion about published adventures and running TSR modules with it is how Shadowdark allows you to make really great and fun adventures with very little prep or even on the fly. Generating a dungeon with unique and engaging encounters, NPCs and creatures is literally just a few tables away. i built entire 4 hour convention sessions in less than half an hour using the tables and guidelines in the Shadowdark core book and a little imagination.
 

NN said:
The whole point of a new system is it does something better.
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It does -- on the engine side. That doesn't make any difference on the adventure side.

Outside of Dungeon Crawl Classics, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find an OSR adventure where the system makes a major difference. And plenty of people play DCC adventures under other systems and enjoy them just fine.
 

Bae'zel said:
Standard attribute spread (15, 14, 13, 12, 10 and 8, yes, provides higher than average stats, we know)
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Good lord, NO. Noooooooooooo!

I would never want to tell another player that they're having badwrongfun, but if we're not rolling for stats, I honestly question the entire point. Just play 5e! And that's not a knock, because I love 5e. But Shadowdark is going for a different vibe, and rolling 3d6 is IMHO a vital part of that vibe. If someone wants to roll 4d6 drop the lowest, sure. Allow a player to swap two scores to play their preferred class, maybe. But not rolling at all? At that point we're no longer actually playing Shadowdark, and we've left the OSR/nuSR sphere entirely.

3d6 down the line, as Crom intended.
 

NN said:
And the point of me adopting a new system is that it supports some sort(s) of gameplay better than the systems I already have.

What is Shadowdark/B-X/AD&D/3E/5E/DCC/Powers and Perils/ going to do better ?
Click to expand...
I'm not sure why you're acting like you're in a fight here.

Shadowdark is a streamlined d20 game that uses modern innovations (advantage/disadvantage, ascending AC, an emphasis on relatively flat ability scores) to accomplish OSR ends. It, like a lot of other OSR games, is largely a remix of influences from other games, barring the always-on initiative and torch timer (both of which I think actually have antecedents elsewhere in gaming), to deliver a fast-playing adventure game that's extremely compatible with the rest of the OSR space.

If that doesn't appeal to you, then you shouldn't buy it.

It is not Errant, stuffed full of new systems.

It is not OSE, emulating classic TSR B/X gaming.

It's not 5E, with its higher degree of crunchiness and low lethality.

It's in between all those things.
 


The only rules that I modify or ignore are:

I don't use initiative out of combat. I can see how it might be good for some groups, but I never did it that way in 45ish years of playing D&D and I'm not keen to start now.

I give casters a free luck token to minimize the chance they completely whiff on spells. Or, in the same vein, give a free luck token to any player who accepts 3d6 in order as rolled.

When playing online, I use standard order of initiative because that's actually easier than going clockwise on a VTT.
 



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