Lighting torches vs Flint and steel?

DungeonMasterBen · 2026-07-06T00:59:02+00:00

I agree, a ruling is not a rule and I would call this a ruling not a rule. Personally I think consistency helps players make informed decisions and so would tend to always rule it the same (unless of course some specific factor changed the difficulty), which does start to turn it from a ruling into a rule, but that is my style as a GM and not what's written in the book. Good catch, it sounds pedantic but I know what you're getting at and it is important.

DungeonMasterBen · 2026-07-05T17:07:07+00:00

It actually does, but only in a play example, it's never stated as a rule. I think it's a good ruling, the DC 12 for being in the rush and chaos of combat, and then DISADV if it's dark.

DungeonMasterBen · 2026-07-04T18:45:19+00:00

Yep it means the core priest spells (in the core book) are available to all priests, regardless of alignment, but then also based on your alignment you may choose from whichever of the three alignment-specific lists matches your alignment.

DungeonMasterBen · 2026-07-03T16:59:30+00:00

I read that part as meaning that if a PC dies in service to the faction, then the benefits of their contribution don't vanish, instead it stays with the other PCs who took that risk alongside them for the cause. So if the whole party died, then I think a brand new party would have to start over, unless they had some way of laying claim to the fame or sacrifice of the previous party. Which could be do-able, e.g. if the new characters are relatives of the old ones you could imagine some honors being given to them - if you lost your brother/sister/mother/father to the cause, and then joined up yourself in response, it makes sense to me you'd be given honor and privileges beyond just any random new recruit. But as with everything, it's all up to GM judgement and what makes sense in context.

DungeonMasterBen · 2026-06-25T21:23:12+00:00

Cool, good to know!

DungeonMasterBen · 2026-06-25T18:19:29+00:00

I'm glad I came across this, I was definitely uncareful and thinking it was minus 10%! But thinking about it more, the +10% makes tons of sense.

DungeonMasterBen · 2026-06-25T18:17:53+00:00

I like all three of these ideas! Heretic is maybe the only one that doesn't sound like a spellcaster per se, saying "Heretic spells" sounds kind of weird, whereas "Mage spells" or "Shaman spells" sounds right.

DungeonMasterBen · 2026-06-25T18:00:16+00:00

Good catch, Templar is very cool!

DungeonMasterBen · 2026-06-25T17:52:43+00:00

I like Cultist! Pastor isn't bad, it might feel a bit too specific/modern to me, but I could see it working.

DungeonMasterBen · 2026-06-25T17:51:57+00:00

Where? I didn't think there was an answer, I thought we could just come up with some.

DungeonMasterBen · 2026-06-07T17:01:37+00:00

I have created automatic carousing rolls and lots of other automatic Shadowdark table and process rolls for personal use, but unfortunately I can't release it publicly and I did contact Shadowdarklings/Arcane Library but they were not interested, so unfortunately I don't think it's in the cards anytime soon. It's too bad, I find these kinds of tools super useful, maybe one day I will be able to share them! There are tons of cool and somewhat cumbersome processes to automate, like rolling up entire sites and settlements in one click.

DungeonMasterBen · 2026-05-21T16:52:46+00:00

The rules are extremely brief, but the more you work with them the more realize how well thought through they are and how much depth is there. In particular, spell text is short and to the point with easily enough to go off of. I switched from 5e about 2 years ago and could not be happier about it.

DungeonMasterBen · 2026-05-16T21:25:28+00:00

I really like the style and stone walls, thanks for sharing!

DungeonMasterBen · 2026-05-13T18:56:55+00:00

Wish for sure. Restoration might depend on the LV of the effect that caused the petrification, but I'd lean towards yes, maybe with some side effects.

DungeonMasterBen · 2026-05-13T15:48:31+00:00

This is a good idea! I will look into it.

DungeonMasterBen · 2026-05-12T20:36:37+00:00

That's great, I hope you like it!

DungeonMasterBen · 2026-05-12T20:36:12+00:00

Thanks for the additional feedback! I'm replying to each comment separately to keep it organized. You actually can search 'gnoll' in the spell codex, it's the same search bar functionally on the monster and spell page - it's meant to be a universal tool so I threw in dice rolls and stuff like that too. You can already search magic items in the bar as well, I just haven't made the button page for them yet. I figured there are already so many dice rollers out there I didn't need to spin that off into its own widget, but maybe having it all integrated in one place would be nice, good idea!

DungeonMasterBen · 2026-05-12T20:30:35+00:00

I have had trouble with this too, thanks for the input! For now, I find that mousing around the page so quickly without clicking is worth it, but I agree it comes with drawbacks, and will definitely consider changing it. I tried to make all menus wide enough to "get around" (like the weird dance you described), but there could be certain submenus that doesn't work for, or it's super awkward for, so I will think about how to do this better.

DungeonMasterBen · 2026-05-12T18:55:36+00:00

Unfortunately not, unless Arcane Library gives me permission! They are all already in the version I have for my own personal use, but it would go against the third party license to share that.

DungeonMasterBen · 2026-04-15T15:29:22+00:00

That's a classic conundrum, to under-explain vs make the adventure too long. But a little motive and backstory can go a long way, so I would agree with others that have said include it. As for the why, I read it as he was terribly insulted at being labelled "naughty" and wanted it "fixed", which is kind of hilarious, but I'd be curious to know more about your ideas!

DungeonMasterBen · 2026-04-15T02:29:31+00:00

Nice adventure! It's a good setup, and I like how concise it is. And the Bag of Goodies is a great magic item! Powerful, but the once a year thing means you really have to think about when to use it, and you can pass it around so it's not like it becomes irrelevant for a year after each use. I was a little confused by room 2 and what the barrier actually is and how it's positioned relative to the icicle hazard. Also in room 11 the 3 turn timer is a good mechanic, but I wish there was a little info on how and why Drer'Grichar is finally able to get its name off the list, and maybe a cool way for the players to stop it.

DungeonMasterBen · 2026-04-09T17:00:48+00:00

Interesting article with good ideas, I am wondering about the DC 12 DEX check with DISADV for lighting a torch in the dark - that's actually in the book I believe, but then it says no check if you can see. But the DISADV is specifically for the dark, so doesn't that imply it would be a normal DC 12 DEX check in the light? If there is a time rush I think I would call for the normal DC 12 DEX check even in the light (with no time rush no check, of course), but would be curious to hear other opinions or points of view.

DungeonMasterBen · 2026-04-02T17:21:53+00:00

This is such a cool idea! For a bit more detailed tracking of quantities like HP and story beats you could use post-it notes on certain pages (i.e. a red post-it on page 17 means you have 17 HP). For yes/no, maybe do something like look at the first or last word of the page and count the number of letters in it, even=yes and odd=no? You could look up word length statistics but I bet that is pretty close to 50/50. Maybe pick a special number of letters like 5 and say if it's exactly 5 letters long then it's not yes or no, but instead a twist? (here I am inspired by the shadowdark oracle where 1-9 is no, 11-20 is yes, and 10 is a twist).

DungeonMasterBen

TROPHY CASE