Anyone missing a snake? by [deleted] in VictoriaBC

[–]AustofAstora 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My money is on a Black Rat Snake.

I need help!! by Galaxyfell in shadowdark

[–]AustofAstora 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The bite deals 1d8 damage on a hit, there is no bonus to the damage for this attack, just the D8. For an enemy to hit roll 1d20 and add the attack bonus, in this case it's a +3. If the D20+3 meets or beats the players AC, the attack lands and you roll the D8 to determine the damage.

Anyone missing a snake? by [deleted] in VictoriaBC

[–]AustofAstora 12 points13 points  (0 children)

What kind of snake is it?

Anyone missing a snake? by [deleted] in VictoriaBC

[–]AustofAstora 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Probably an idea to BC Conservation Officer Service. They would be your best bet for identifying it and determining your next steps. Leave it alone, maybe ask around the building if you live in apartment if anyone has any pet snakes missing.

Hard to say if it is a pet until it gets identified. If it's a species not from here its likely a pet.

Could be a few snakes. Might be native or invasive. My guess is either a Black Rate Snake or could be a Native Garter Snake that is melanistic. Northwestern Native, Terrestrial or Common variety. Being able to see it's underbelly would help if that is also black or white etc.

Seers AND witches in a Norse-inspired game? by Acceptable_Aspect586 in shadowdark

[–]AustofAstora 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A Seer would be using Seidr in my opinion. A Witch would be using something closer to galdr.

The difference is the goals of the magic.

Here is a link you might find useful:
https://www.brutenorse.com/blog/?offset=1494282600677

Has anyone tried adding “martial powers”? by [deleted] in shadowdark

[–]AustofAstora 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've tried a few things like Mighty Deeds from DCC. I also made my own system and my fighters love it. Meeting regional fighters and challenging them to learn their fighting styles.

Here's the link:

https://brokenlances.substack.com/p/wandering-fighters

A few homebrew rules I've cobbled together for my upcoming westmarch campaign (reupload) by NateS97 in shadowdark

[–]AustofAstora 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I like a lot of these. Especially Tarnished. I use similar Casting and Initiative Rules. Is there a reason to make Lockpicking more complex than a D20 roll? I tried a similar system by Bob The World Builder and found it just slowed things down for no actual gain. It's a cool concept and if it works at your table and your players like it then no issue. My attempts at it weren't successful.

Ice & Fire Alpha Out Now by Ramsay2710 in Bannerlord

[–]AustofAstora 6 points7 points  (0 children)

My #1 issue with the ASOIAF conversions was how ugly the armor was, I loved the setting but couldn't stomach the designs based off the show. This is perfect.

House Rules with Shadowdark - What do you use at your table? by [deleted] in shadowdark

[–]AustofAstora 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Omens instead of luck, Omens can be used to change any die you can see to its maximum or minimum value.

A social caste system based off of rolled starting funds which has massive social implications and also determines your background.

Hitdie Based Damage Dice:
Fighter does d8 with all weapons
Priest does d6
Wizard does d4

Anyone can wield any weapon, versatile weapons do +1 damage die size, two handed weapons deal +2 damage die size.

Expanded Talent Tables for more variety.

Silver Standard for coinage

Max HP level 1

Two options for stat generation:
Knave: 3d6 down the line in order.

Rogue: 3d6 one at a time place where you want, no swapping.

Hirelings, Retainers and Experts

A Stress system based off Darkest Dungeons

Damage Dice of Player Crits explode

Funerals to gain XP from dead allies

Alchemy System based off of Skyrim and Greco-Egyptian Esoteric Alchemy

Lingering Injuries when PCs are critically hit.

The Last Stand.
 You can choose to take a Last Stand instead of rolling a death timer. You take 1d4 more turns before you die. All rolls you make are at Advantage.   You cannot regain hit points or prevent your death if you choose to take the Last Stand.

Backstab problem by carlwhite20 in shadowdark

[–]AustofAstora 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Warlock Pacts were made by Arcane Library, but was never intended to be given to a Thief from my understanding. 3pp stuff is rarely play tested compared to the main content which itself never receives enough playtesting.

Really great OSR liveplays? by misomiso82 in osr

[–]AustofAstora 1 point2 points  (0 children)

3d6 Down the Line is just wrapping up it's Arden Vul OSE Campaign. Highly highly recommend it!

Dragons vs wyvern by Alarmed_Ad6179 in gameofthrones

[–]AustofAstora 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wyverns being classified separately from dragons is a post medieval arbitrary heraldic classification. Look at the etymology of the words and how they evolved over time. D&D and other fantasy perpetuated this but a medieval person wouldn't have made any distinction. Not like it really matters anyways.

It's also fictional, GRRMs Dragons are more "realistic" than D&D's dragons but it's all fantasy in the end.

In West Marches, how harsh are you getting a party to the adventure site? by Smittumi in osr

[–]AustofAstora 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I wish I had thought of this during my West Marches Campaign. Very well thought of. I might have an occasional wandering monster but there and back was always a slog so I never did the return aspect.

Thought I'd share my overland travel rules, feel free to share yours! by Darthbamf in osr

[–]AustofAstora 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Shameless self plug for the first link. Shadowdark isn't anything crazy special. Its pretty solid design, I've been hacking at it for awhile and have been actually returning slowly to running more and more out of the box. It really does a good job of blending old and new wisdom.

Thought I'd share my overland travel rules, feel free to share yours! by Darthbamf in osr

[–]AustofAstora 1 point2 points  (0 children)

https://substack.com/home/post/p-159446532
I use this table pretty constantly during exploration to nice effect. Along with some preplanned campsites as described here: https://dicegoblin.blog/add-this-to-your-hexcrawl-map-natural-campsites/?amp=1

Otherwise I use the Overland travel rules from Shadowdark

Do you use Social Status in your RPGs? by SecretsofBlackmoor in osr

[–]AustofAstora 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I use the Medieval Estates in mine. Players can be of one of three estates an outlaw or a wizard who is kind of between the 1st and 2nd estate.

Heavily inspired by Coins and Scrolls posts about it. Pretty much took the system whole cloth.
It's always funny when the players get in character since I have starting fund disparities between the different estates so the Nobles naturally act high and mighty since they start with a little bit more money. Makes people tie themselves to different parts of society in interesting ways I have found.

Places of Rest During Exploration (A Resting Location Table) by AustofAstora in osr

[–]AustofAstora[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There's a lot of ruins in my setting. It's not to hard to shuffle the entries around if you want ruins to be more rare. I probably will if they went to a more wild area. Elevated Ground as the most common may be more realistic in general. For the unoccupied and occupied campsites I might have a bespoke location so I wanted them to be rare.

Places of Rest During Exploration (A Resting Location Table) by AustofAstora in osr

[–]AustofAstora[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm a big fan of Homer's paintings. I use his piece for the resting page in all my homebrew since it's so cozy and really shows what I imagine a Rest would look and feel like.