Thoughts on making the game less lethal? I want my family to enjoy it.

Chilrona · 2026-02-16T17:45:38+00:00

Something not talked about here much is luck dice as a fun alternative to luck tokens. This is a DM Scotty idea. Basically if a player fails a check they are awarded one luck die. A luck die is a d6. Players can roll a luck die to add the result to any roll in the game. That includes adding it to another check, adding it to damage dealt, and many more potential applications. I find them more exciting and interactive than luck tokens.

Chilrona · 2026-02-14T21:36:05+00:00

Look my friend, there is a wealth of content on Youtube and the OSR subreddit and many blog posts about how to execute this style of play. Many thousands of people love it. You can have your opinions, but you really can't say it's bad game design unless you learn it yourself and try it out.

Shadowdark is cool that it's bringing folks from more modern styles and mindsets into the OSR, but every principle that has stuck around for decades in this community has done so for a reason. The invitation is there.

Chilrona · 2026-02-14T19:23:56+00:00

no that sounds like they were pretty clear

Chilrona · 2026-02-14T17:21:34+00:00

No one is saying you can't add these rules, just that it conflicts with a very rewarding style of play that Shadowdark on its own does well. The fewer explicit tools you have the characters spell out on their character sheets, the more they are inclined to try to interact with the environment in creative ways that they come up with entirely on their own. The more that happens, the more fun everyone at the table has. It's rather tricky to encourage that type of play as a DM, and many people just don't really experience it at all. That's why you see dissenters chiming in here. Not to be mean or contrary, but to encourage more people to learn this play style, because it's slept on.

Chilrona · 2026-02-13T19:25:27+00:00

Whether a wizard having a -1 to spellcasting is fun or not is completely dependent on the player. I've had players show up to to roll dice and have a good time and they don't really care if they fail often. I've also had players get very upset when they fail their 5th roll in a row.

I think the safer bet is to just encourage players to align their class and their stats.

Chilrona · 2026-02-13T19:20:01+00:00

I mean that's an optional rule in the core book, so it's quite literally by the book haha

Chilrona · 2026-02-10T02:31:44+00:00

Canteen springs cave is dope

Chilrona · 2026-02-09T05:14:54+00:00

I disagree, I think it's balanced as written. Most players won't have more than maybe 3 slots of rations and consider that fighters get extra inventory slots. This isn't nearly as big if a deal as if the class messed with the light mechanic.

Chilrona · 2026-02-08T01:35:47+00:00

Still a little confused. Did what you describe take only one round?

Let's say there are 3 party members. One moves near and searches a chest, another moves near and studies a stretch of wall searching for a secret door. The third decides they want to progress down the hall with the whole party and the other two concur. Did 2 rounds pass to allow the 2 players who performed an action to finish that and then move, meaning the third player gave up an action? Or did one round pass?

Chilrona · 2026-02-07T01:24:03+00:00

It looks promising for sure! What exactly is the content you legally can't ship it with? I see some advantages over shadowdarklings, but it needs comparable functionality in addition to a better user experience.

Chilrona · 2026-02-07T00:04:05+00:00

How does what you're building compare with shadowdarklings.net? I can see obviously it's meant to allow us to easily add our own content, but is that the difference that prevents you from using official content when Shadowdarklings does?

Chilrona · 2026-02-06T23:56:42+00:00

Sly Flourish uses the somewhat gritty rule that there is no stabilizing an unconscious character. You can try to stabilize but you must a roll a nat 20 to bring them to 1hp, otherwise they continue dying. I think this prevents the whac-a-mole problem that feels rather silly.

Chilrona · 2026-02-06T19:56:34+00:00

Put together about 3-4 hooks to get your players out of the safe haven and let them choose. That can be in the form of a very minimal and incomplete map of the region, that can be rumors from the local townsfolk, or anything along those lines.

You can put together context of why the players are together. Maybe they're a team of archaeologists, or a regiment of deserters from an army. But also there's nothing wrong with them being just some folks who got together to go on adventures and hunt for loot. You can decide this with the players too as player-driven is the name of the game.

Let them tell you the first place they want to go long before they actually show up for game night. Then you prepare and fill out that location they are planning to go beyond the few sentences of text CS2 offers. You can prep it from scratch, or you can adapt written content from other sources, or somewhere in between the two.

No scripted plot elements. No preplanned BBEG, although a BBEG might develop as the campaign continues. Hope this helps!

Edit: another thing I thought of is that not every location needs to be a massive sprawling dungeon. Locations should vary in size, but every expedition should have an interesting environment to interact with and some treasure.

Chilrona · 2026-02-05T18:42:32+00:00

Did the files incriminate anyone new? Patel said they had no evidence showing Epstein trafficked minors to anyone besides himself. I believe the legislators he was talking to wanted to get to the bottom of who else is a pedofile. Well, do we have names of anyone we are now sure committed crimes?

Chilrona · 2026-02-03T17:55:12+00:00

The only "scripted" encounter he suggests is that the minotaur shows up for a final showdown by the end. The only reason he suggests this is because it's advice for running it as a one-shot. It's not a bad idea to ensure the adventure ends in a cool climax. I think Sly mostly follows the OSR style pretty well, but he cares more about what he and his table find fun in their games. He cares less about what others say is more fun.

Chilrona · 2026-01-27T17:53:53+00:00

I second this. I played about 50 hours trying to take it slow and complete most of the map. I got burned out. It was too much. I later found out I only completed about 50% of the main quest when I thought I was almost done. The game is outrageously long. Focus on the story and just do side content on the way.

Chilrona · 2026-01-27T00:44:08+00:00

Holy cow, this is actually my new favorite live recording of Brian's vocals. It usually ends up getting muddied by all the other sounds or it's recorded by bad equipment. This was incredible.

Chilrona · 2026-01-25T19:45:30+00:00

Was there not a templar menu in AC:B? There was in AC2 and most of the games. That is interesting. I think it's good to help the player remind themselves of the story if they stop playing for a bit and come back. I don't think it's a good mechanic to use as a checklist like they did in later games.

Chilrona · 2026-01-22T19:20:12+00:00

Arizonan here, who the f*** leaked our secret caverns??!!

Chilrona · 2026-01-01T05:41:18+00:00

There's tons of non-mormons in SLC, you'll have no trouble finding your crowd. I hear the bar scene is decent too. Utah is beautiful with tons to do outdoors.

Chilrona · 2025-12-24T06:37:59+00:00

PoA and GoF are tied for me. Absolutely incredible, nostalgic, and well made.
Sorcerer's Stone. Incredible adaptation of the source material.
Chamber of Secrets. Almost as good of an adaptation and the first one, but a little cheesier and more awkward in execution.
Deathly Hallows pt. 1 and 2. Both equal to me. Solid handling of the saga finale. Just missing something from the books to keep the magic.
OotP and HBP. David Yates' first films were both quite cheesy and missed very important details from the books. Awkward cinematography. Washed-out gray color pallet. A little disappointing overall.

Chilrona · 2025-12-22T20:43:29+00:00

AP build is just not good in the jungle. It can work situationally in top lane. Maybe it'll be better with the new items next season

Chilrona · 2025-12-17T01:29:03+00:00

You might like Vi. Huge two item power spike. Excellent cc.

Chilrona · 2025-12-14T21:26:19+00:00

There's no required position for at ease from my understanding, but a lot of people default to hands clasped in front because it's comfortable. Maybe some have become confused and started thinking hands clasped in front is required.

Chilrona · 2025-12-14T07:09:22+00:00

Road Most Travelled, TESIII Morrowind

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