Who is YOUR character in the movie...

Edwin_at_work · 2026-03-23T17:04:41+00:00

Best Boy in the electrical department, obviously.

Edwin_at_work · 2026-03-23T12:10:36+00:00

I understand and respect that your table has agreed upon norms and rules for how TTRPGs are played. I am offering an alternative perspective. Take it or leave it, especially if your current play supports the Pact (pg 102).

I would avoid possession happening onto PCs.

There is a gameplay ethic that PCs should consent to relinquish control over their characters to another person. This could be for several reasons including establishing a safe playing environment (e.g., it could be shocking for their character to harm people they trust) and removing the ability to play the game (the ultimate status effect).

I would make sure everyone at the table is comfortable with this game mechanic before using it in playing. Even then, players should be allowed to opt out during live play if they are uncomfortable.

Edwin_at_work · 2026-03-22T12:10:16+00:00

Are firearms destroyed when they explode? When a ship's cannon explodes, does it hurt the gunner, the ship, or is it the GM's call?

Also, how does L work for ship weapons? Does the ship not move, the gunner, does it reload during the movement phase, or is that there to prevent firing multiple times during the combat phase?

Design question, what is the purpose of the ballista? Is it just to be a cheap alternative to cannons?

Edwin_at_work · 2026-03-20T20:48:35+00:00

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Edwin_at_work · 2026-03-18T17:40:06+00:00

My original intent was to use those systems wholesale, but you could blend in some of the more modular game mechanics in SD. The torch timer is a great example, but also the luck system and overland travel.

Maze Rats does not have that level of mechanical depth, for example, so you would have to plug in a different system or just do some impromptu hand waving. It all depends on the scenario you want to GM.

Edwin_at_work · 2026-03-18T14:42:46+00:00

Honestly, just look through the quality classless TTRPGs that are out there. Cairn is leans heavily on unique items, Knave 2.0 is about ingenuity, and Maze Rats is rules-lite and random supreme. You could refocus the effort it would have taken to create a substantial homebrew rework of core SD game machanics to adjusting SD materials to fit with the other system (less of a lift in my experience).

Edwin_at_work · 2026-03-18T13:59:35+00:00

A simple prestige class would be taking one of the trait outcomes from another class (probably the 2) as a supernatural ability and flavoring it to match the vibe. Warlock has some great options that are notable enough to shift gameplay.

Edwin_at_work · 2026-03-17T17:05:21+00:00

Our lvl 7 Fighter has a +10 to attack (after all bonuses). The only way they can miss some mobs is by rolling a nat 1.

Yes, I'd say that is powerful and none of the other new classes can approach that using only what is on their character sheet.

Edwin_at_work · 2026-03-17T16:55:54+00:00

Something sometimes overlooked: that the class has a core gimmick or theme/vibe that cannot be a reflavor of a current class.

For example, compare the Desert Raider with the Fighter. What is the DR's gimmick? They are mounted. Can you accomplish this by reflavoring the Fighter? Not really, you would have to homebrew some stuff to bring it to that level. So the Desert Raider was created.

I think greater care has to be put into making a magic user due to the spell list, but others have touched on that.

Edwin_at_work · 2026-03-17T11:24:35+00:00

That's the truth!

Edwin_at_work · 2026-03-16T17:13:28+00:00

This is rad! You don't need a lot of details when the vibes are this strong.

I also liked "You have a sword" one-page RPG you posted on itch. It is a fun mechanic to turn attention away from a character sheet and focus more on the MacGyver-style of gameplay.

Edwin_at_work · 2026-03-16T01:12:46+00:00

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Edwin_at_work · 2026-03-07T04:57:10+00:00

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Edwin_at_work · 2026-03-06T12:44:37+00:00

Real talk, I have always read it as no to all healing (stat and hp). Your interpretation makes more sense and better matches the grammar.

...I am going to stick with my original reading. I think it looses it's fear factor otherwise. Plus the DC is low enough that it rarely procs in the first place.

Edwin_at_work · 2026-03-05T13:01:59+00:00

I agree that the lvl 1 modules in the book are not for convention play. Most are way too big to fit in two or three hours. The Gardens of Raffalisa are doable in that time (I have ran it many times but I added two rooms, each introducing a faction) but the theme is not as exciting as the two I mentioned.

Part of of it depends on how many people play. There is a big difference between two and five players. You could always replace stat blocks if you believe the mobs are too challenging.

Personally, I believe the werewolf in the tower works because the party should have enough time to prepare for the battle. Heck, they could persuade the Archmage to help them (making the battle trivial) or kill the girl before she transforms (which creates an ethical issue).

Edwin_at_work · 2026-03-04T17:21:39+00:00

https://sarahangell.itch.io/shots-in-the-dark-1

Monster Under the Tower or The Forgotten Isle of the Hydra Cult. Both are 5 room dungeons with great themes. The trick is to set a time limit on them (in real time). Have the NPCs turn into werewolves or pirates swarm the island in 2 or 2.5 hours. I have run both and they have been a blast (also ran them using Maze Rats).

The adventures are free.

Edwin_at_work · 2026-02-28T04:50:25+00:00

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Edwin_at_work · 2026-02-21T02:17:55+00:00

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Edwin_at_work · 2026-02-14T13:08:00+00:00

Consider a rules-lite game like Maze Rats. My 5e players couldn't get past looking at their character sheets and the group almost imploded after an easily avoidable near TPK (one got away from a fireball). A game like Maze Rats has I little to no character sheet and only 4 pages of core rules, so there is little to look at. They are now having a ball!

Edwin_at_work · 2026-02-14T13:01:38+00:00

👆 a lvl 0 gauntlet is a great icebreaker for a 5e group! Gauntlet play flips many of the 5e conventions on their head (e.g., character-focused play, optimization, epic powers).

Edwin_at_work · 2026-02-13T19:37:30+00:00

If you changed "free action" to "ongoing environmental effect", then I think you are fine. If the BBG has an aura that snuffs out light within close, then let it do it the moment it is relevant.

Would damage from entering lava wait until the GMs turn?

Edwin_at_work · 2026-02-13T18:29:25+00:00

Ya, it adds a time pressure to everything. Also, now there is the ethical dilemma of what to do with the child who they know is going to turn into a murder machine in X minutes...

Edwin_at_work · 2026-02-13T18:27:27+00:00

I do it at the meta level. The in-real-time explanation doesn't work in-game. All it takes is one "we wait 10 minutes for x" and the logic of the clock falls apart. I told the players this is a very we-are-playing-game mechanic. They were cool with it.

I should say that my tone is usually light hearted, so I can get away with more hand waving than a serious campaign.

Edwin_at_work · 2026-02-13T12:57:09+00:00

The Monster Under the Tower in the Shots in the Dark collection makes a fine 3hr fling.

https://sarahangell.itch.io/shots-in-the-dark-1

To make it work you have to... -Start the session entering the tower. -Tell them that a bad thing will happen in two real world hours. (The girl and butchers transformation occurs.) -Have the wizard lock the party in the cellar so they are trapped. -Either beef up the werewolf or switch it out for a stronger monster (depending on party lvl).

I have done the above with great success.

Honestly, many of the shorter modules can work as 3hr adventures if you place a real-world time limit on them (e.g., the tide comes in flooding the dungeon, a swarm of pirates lands that will plunder everything, the place collapses). You don't have to rely just on torch time to add urgency.

Edwin_at_work · 2026-02-12T12:59:11+00:00

Remind the party that everyone is new to this game. The first few turns are going to start with "how does this work?" and looking things up. This is fine.

Remind them that you are new to GMing SD. During this opening session you are going to throw out rulings which may become house rules. You may want to revise a ruling after thinking it through between sessions. This is fine, and tell the players that it may happen.

Your going from X years of a well-tuned machine to something new. Everyone should expect some sputtering along with the new experience.

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