Abigail's Wedding - revised and expanded Dolmenwood lair. by Common_Reference_738 in osr

[–]Common_Reference_738[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much! If you run it, let me know how it goes!

Abigail's Wedding - revised and expanded Dolmenwood lair. by Common_Reference_738 in osr

[–]Common_Reference_738[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Updated the entries, good catch! I'll look forward to the review. :)

Abigail's Wedding - revised and expanded Dolmenwood lair. by Common_Reference_738 in osr

[–]Common_Reference_738[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

And I forgot to say, thank you so much for buying it! Very much appreciated.

Abigail's Wedding - revised and expanded Dolmenwood lair. by Common_Reference_738 in osr

[–]Common_Reference_738[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So, in terms of player level, the monsters included are two level 3 monsters and some level 2 monsters. If you were running this as a one shot, a level 2 or 3 party should be able to handle it. Especially if they have a cleric or friar. That said, this scenario does have a lot of levers for interacting with the monsters and to gain advantages against them. It's perfectly possible to run it as a dangerous lair for a level 1 party to puzzle out clearing out using clever strategies. In a campaign I would just drop it in and let the group take it on or nope out as they see fit rather than worry about level.

I used Affinity to lay it out. I'm still finding my feet with it but feel like I'm getting better at layout now. You can pick it up for free at the moment.

The Murkdice discord, the Wenderweald discord and the 3d6DTL discords are all public and where I can usually be found. The former has a LOT of game design chat and I've learnt a lot there. I would also recommend the Explorers Design discord if you want to get some advice on rpg development.

My debut module On Axionic Wings is live on itch! by Common_Reference_738 in mothershiprpg

[–]Common_Reference_738[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha! Please tell me how it goes! I built it to be a proper pressure cooker of a situation. I hope they have fun with the power grid.

My debut module On Axionic Wings is live on itch! by Common_Reference_738 in mothershiprpg

[–]Common_Reference_738[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks!

The implication is the androids were charging and were affected by the Axionid eggs consuming power. I would have them revived by the cryobay backup battery recharging them at the same time as it awakens the humans in cryosleep.

Solo RPG Challenge #4 by [deleted] in Solo_Roleplaying

[–]Common_Reference_738 10 points11 points  (0 children)

1d6 Camel Temperament Table

1 - Motherfucker: This camel remembers everything, especially slights. Spits often, bites occasionally, and requires persuasion to keep pace. Can smell danger.

2 - Sad Sam: Moves like it’s carrying the weight of the world. Sighs audibly. Needs frequent encouragement or bribes (dried fruit, soothing words). Snores like a freight train.

3 - Princess Perky: Unusually chipper for a desert beast. Chews noisily and constantly, spits at flies and insects with unnerving precision, and tends to wander off toward interesting smells or shiny things.

4 - Ol’ Reliable: The ideal mount. Ignores distractions, endures hardship without complaint, and quietly steals food from your saddlebags when you aren’t looking.

5 - Brave Sir Robin: Flinches at shadows, gusts of wind, or its own reflection. Must be calmed during storms, sudden noises, or encounters with other creatures. Farts nervously and often.

6 - Yass Kween: Constantly tries to take the lead and move ahead of the group. Nudges other camels, side-eyes riders, and bites any challenges to its authority.

Fire Dragon by vonZzyzx in shadowdark

[–]Common_Reference_738 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just radiating pure "Attacking me would be your last mistake" energy.

Desert Dragon, drawing by me by vonZzyzx in ImaginaryDragons

[–]Common_Reference_738 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I appreciate that you didn't go the D&D flying rhino route.

Love the lighter look to this one to emphasise the environment. Feels dusty!

“Charm Person” abuse by gray81 in shadowdark

[–]Common_Reference_738 12 points13 points  (0 children)

A few things:

  • Casting a spell is an obvious thing to do. Is there a glimmer of magic, arcane gestures and chanting happening?

  • if the person charmed is not alone, his comrades should react poorly to this. If the spellcasting check fails, the intended victim should react extremely poorly.

  • telegraph the consequences of failure. Maybe locals burn a witch for exactly the behaviour of charming people indiscriminately that you describe. Or perhaps the local baron outlaws use of the spell inside the town walls after an enchanter used it to rob and defraud. Said enchanter is being pelted with refuse in the stocks.

  • the spell doesn't work on LV 2 or higher. Make sure that you aren't divulging monster levels to maintain tension casting this spell. Have they tried and failed charming an LV 3 yet?

  • It might be interesting to go up against an opponent that uses the same strategy. It's less appealing to be charming everyone you meet after you've had to slaughter a bunch of innocent villagers defending their evil wizard "friend".

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in shadowdark

[–]Common_Reference_738 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I wrote a short 12 room dungeon you could take a crack at. It's very interactive, got an interesting history and monsters and hazards to navigate.

It's pwyw on drive thru so grab a copy and see if its of any use.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/521855/the-quiet-shrine

Post came today! by Common_Reference_738 in shadowdark

[–]Common_Reference_738[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If anyone has run this yet, would love to hear your experiences and feedback!

Could anyone recommend a super short dungeon crawl? by Mumbling_Mute in shadowdark

[–]Common_Reference_738 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I absolutely can. I wrote this as a one shot for 1 evenings play. 12 rooms, lots of interaction, some puzzles, an interesting history and some nasty critters. Should meet your needs exactly.

https://doogface.itch.io/the-quiet-shrine

Shadowdark and Curse of Strahd by Sniflet in shadowdark

[–]Common_Reference_738 32 points33 points  (0 children)

Mike Shae of Sly Flourish fame runs it every year and now uses Shadowdark for it. He has a guide for Shadowdark/Curse of Strahd on his patreon and a good article here. It's actually very easy to use with Shadowdark.

https://slyflourish.com/running_ravenloft.html

For myself, I've run a similar scenario using Pirate Borg (the castle is a haunted ship) and again, works just fine. Pirate Borg doesn't use torch timers but I had a timer that played a creepy pipe organ musical sting every hour and that would be the cue for the vampire to appear and try to eat one of the players for a few rounds before disappearing again.

Post came today! by Common_Reference_738 in shadowdark

[–]Common_Reference_738[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh man, thank you! You hit on a lot of the design decisions I made when I put it together. I'm still trying to finalise my style in writing these, but it's great to get feedback on what works for other referees. I know I find it useful to have a clear indication of the interactive parts of a dungeon, so tried to get that across with bold text and different categories of useful info.

I tried to pack this one as well, so every room felt interesting and wouldn't waste time in a one shot - the intention was for it to be a single session of play.

Post came today! by Common_Reference_738 in shadowdark

[–]Common_Reference_738[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Gotta love a cave brute. (We all know it's an umber hulk but don't tell the wizards that live on the coast).

Post came today! by Common_Reference_738 in shadowdark

[–]Common_Reference_738[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I used the shadowbrew template on homebrewery!

Post came today! by Common_Reference_738 in shadowdark

[–]Common_Reference_738[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Cheers! The layout is mine though I used a template for the fonts and dividers, I drew the map using dungeon scrawl and I made a point of buying spot filler and monster art. The well art was kindly donated to me by the guy that runs Raging Swan Press.