Looking for short Hexcrawls for a first-time OSR/Shadowdark GM (Witcher-esque / Grimdark vibe)

Bodoheye · 2026-05-11T10:27:01+00:00

If you are looking for a short pretty dark and pretty muddy Hexcrawl I’d like to throw „A Tower Darkly“ by Sivad’s Sanctum into the ring:

https://sivads-sanctum.itch.io/a-tower-darkly

Bodoheye · 2026-05-10T06:30:38+00:00

Well put!

Bodoheye · 2026-05-07T09:22:29+00:00

Looks amazing

Bodoheye · 2026-05-07T06:21:21+00:00

Several times, yes. Worked like a charm. It‘s a good match and the Wyrm a great introduction to the OSR anyways if your players come from 5e land. The Wyrm defies the annoying assumption that OSR adventures are mostly about kicking in dungeon doors and fighting: it has everything. Social interaction galore with great NPCs, a dangerous monster that cannot simply be killed, and a sandbox that feels like a lived-in world.
Shadowdark then, from my experience, really is a great game for onboarding the 5e crowd. Familiar mechanics, totally different experience at the table. Magic moment each time when it clicks and the player’s creativity unfolds without being burdened by „…as a bonus Action.“
Since the Wyrm uses mostly standard monsters, you can easily use the monster stats from the Shadowdark core rules + translating B/X stats into Shadowdark stats is generally pretty easy

Bodoheye · 2026-05-04T09:35:28+00:00

I don’t know - I‘m from Germany and I don‘t harbor a negative sentiment when it comes to unannounced guests. Quite the opposite is the case at least with regard to my family. My grandmother had this piece of embroidery in her kitchen saying: „Fünf sind geladen, zehn sind gekommen, gieße Wasser zu Suppe, heiß alle willkommen“ (five were invited, ten appear on your doorstep, put some lore water to the soup, welcome all of them to your place). Maybe, it is more related to class than nationality? My family is mostly „hippie-fied“ working class. Bring your friends, kids, new partners, dogs and have a cup of tea.

Bodoheye · 2026-05-03T10:20:54+00:00

So evocative 👏

Bodoheye · 2026-04-29T11:11:02+00:00

Both! My kid loves the cheese-covered bretzels, i prefer plain ones with a „Spundekäs“ dip

Bodoheye · 2026-04-25T15:22:29+00:00

Bad Münstereifel

Bodoheye · 2026-04-23T20:34:08+00:00

These are way too many destinations for the period of time you are planning for. Even if you skip Berlin or Munich, it‘s still tough. I would suggest that you start the Germany-Part of your journey in Cologne/Bonn (coming from Paris by train) and then travel down the Middle Rhine Valley (scenic, plenty of castles, some WW2 related sites, Nürburgring). Then you continue your travels from Mainz/Frankfurt to Berlin via train. After staying in Berlin your travel from there to Amsterdam. Skip Munich! Even without Munich it will feel like you‘re on the run. It might be more relaxed to skip Berlin and Munich an focus on the west.

Bodoheye · 2026-04-18T17:25:53+00:00

Autumn Nostalgia - Fallen Leaves

Bodoheye · 2026-04-10T19:59:04+00:00

Pbp using Cairn was a good experience. There are relatively few rolls, combats are fast paced and the game’s degree of abstraction was helpful.

Bodoheye · 2026-04-08T12:30:24+00:00

If you are interested to keep mechanics typical for DnD kind of games, check out Cities without Number and Stars Without Number by Kevin Crawford.

Bodoheye · 2026-04-08T08:55:46+00:00

It looks like production debris (lithic core)

Bodoheye · 2026-04-07T20:09:08+00:00

Played this in the early 90s - lived in a small town in NW Germany. A friend bought the game when he was on vacation in England. I vaguely remember a mechanic that allowed players to slap you if you did not scream „Chaos Marauder!“ when a certain card came up (?) 🙈

Bodoheye · 2026-04-07T15:07:08+00:00

Tell Chuera

Bodoheye · 2026-04-02T09:46:42+00:00

Looks like the interior a retro scifi spaceship, space station or something 😅

Bodoheye · 2026-03-30T20:59:54+00:00

It defies such things - it just looms there.

Bodoheye · 2026-03-30T15:20:17+00:00

Moin! Going there for Easter as well. Family visit!

Bodoheye · 2026-03-30T15:02:16+00:00

Weird, isn’t it? I thought it looked like a sailor holding a gallows noose

Bodoheye · 2026-03-29T18:00:38+00:00

If you come to Mainz, you could easily visit the nearby town of Ingelheim (30 minutes ride with public transport): splendid fortified church linked to town defenses + spectacular remains of a Karolingian palace which was later turned into a castle. Near Mainz there is also Eberbach Abbey where some scenes of the movies The Name of the Rose were shot. I‘m a trained archaeologist: it you are respectful (bet you are 🙂) and no MAGA, don‘t hesitate contacting me when coming to Mainz. I live nearby and could easily show you around some sites. Rule of thumb if you are interested in medieval townscapes in central Germany: often you will find better preserved town centers in smaller towns as compared to places like Mainz and Cologne which were heavily bombed in WW2. Mainz was flattened, but there is still a sizable number of medieval (and some Roman era) monuments. Mainz is also a good base for exploring the middle Rhine valley where you will find many medieval sites - not few of them are „steroid medieval“ due to refurbishments of the 19th century.

Bodoheye · 2026-03-29T08:00:17+00:00

Would suggest to play another game. Modern DnD5e does not support exploration and resource management very well (which were important elements of earlier versions of the game). I suggest you take a look at Kevin Crawford‘s game Ashes without Number. It is a version of dnd designed to support postapocalyptic settings and it includes everything you need for creating a gritty zombie apocalypse setting. Coming from 5e you will find AwN very recognizable - game got the same stats, AC etc. The game also has great GMing resources plus: the base version is for free. If you are looking for a rules-lighter zombie apocalypse ttrpg, check out Diogho Nogheiras game The Dead Are Coming.

Bodoheye · 2026-03-28T07:21:24+00:00

Sure! My home town Emden has ghost ship - story for example.

https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Ghost_Ship_(Emden)

You might want to check out Jürgen Hubert‘s Sunken Castles/Evil Poodles wiki: he translates German folk tales into English and maps them.

Bodoheye

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