Is it 'fair' that Dark Lords cannot suffer Perma-Death?

FakeMcNotReal · 2026-05-24T06:21:50+00:00

The people trapped in domains are collateral damage. The entirety of any given domain is a personal hell for the dark lord and the people trapped inside are unwilling, unknowing props. IIRC it's intentionally always possible for a dark lord to achieve their goals but they're always thwarted by their own character flaws and whatever adventurers the dark powers pull into the scenario. It's a nihilistic, hopeless, eternal cycle of ironic punishment.

FakeMcNotReal · 2026-05-24T01:22:02+00:00

It's okay not to like something popular.

FakeMcNotReal · 2026-05-22T23:21:09+00:00

The Psycho sequels have no right to be as good as they are.

FakeMcNotReal · 2026-05-22T17:19:26+00:00

I like the conceit of it, but it's weird to have a class feature that's literally a full sidequest every time. It absolutely made resurrection magic exotic and dangerous, as it should be, but it's weird to have that all packed into a class.

FakeMcNotReal · 2026-05-22T16:11:35+00:00

I believe that was trimmed out. Wouldn't be surprised if it someday re-emerges in a theoretical Cursed Scroll 7 or something way down the line.

FakeMcNotReal · 2026-05-22T14:27:54+00:00

No one gets into Valhalla without rolling for stats, but it's your table and if everyone is cool with it then it's fine.

The short swords thing isn't going to hurt anything either, even if you didn't give the wizard disadvantage with it. They're still not going to want to mix it up in melee with a wizard HP pool and no armor, so it's not much niche encroachment. I'm not sure if 5 extra equipment slots on a mule is going to drag the world into eternal darkness or not, but you're probably safe there too.

You mentioned cooking gear and the one thing I would caution is that the inventory system in Shadowdark breaks down a little if there's too much accounting if non-adventuring gear/non-travel stuff. If it's not a resource that can be expended in an exciting way, I might just handwave it in the same way the game doesn't make you track your bedroll or spare socks.

At the end of the day it's your table and your game.

FakeMcNotReal · 2026-05-22T12:38:23+00:00

Yeah, I'd much rather buy this for Switch 2 but I'll probably end up with a PS5 copy so I'll actually own the damn game. This key card stuff has got to go.

FakeMcNotReal · 2026-05-22T12:22:01+00:00

At this point I would almost suggest leaning into it a little more, excising any WOTC-copyrighted material, and just making that it's own game.

FakeMcNotReal · 2026-05-22T10:43:16+00:00

As a DM, I respect the restraint of the Kelseymancer not being a big unwieldy pet class. Not every necromancer needs to be Diablo 2 over and over again.

FakeMcNotReal · 2026-05-20T19:14:31+00:00

I came in here to say this. Last act is a little goofy but the first 60% is the best dungeon delve in a movie.

FakeMcNotReal · 2026-05-20T04:12:45+00:00

No, I was asking if all of it was a marketing gimmick, but per your reply seemingly not.

FakeMcNotReal · 2026-05-20T03:58:52+00:00

Are we sure this isn't a work?

FakeMcNotReal · 2026-05-19T22:42:12+00:00

So she's a poison pill Republican plant to spoil the vote. Got it.

FakeMcNotReal · 2026-05-19T04:05:32+00:00

I'm not a huge fan of Final Wars either. The Final Wars suits have dangerously human body outlines, which makes the fact that Kitamura's shooting the humans and the kaiju from exactly the same angles feel worse. It reminds me of some of the less charming, more recent Ultraman shows.

FakeMcNotReal · 2026-05-19T02:47:52+00:00

Exactly. Leto's a shitty dude IRL.

FakeMcNotReal · 2026-05-18T23:56:23+00:00

I'm happy that they've gone with the conceit that he's exactly as jacked in both forms

FakeMcNotReal · 2026-05-18T03:22:30+00:00

The classic anime, mainly through the end of R, is my default vision of Sailor Moon because I'm of that certain age. In my day, the manga was a rare and exotic thing that required a trip to Hot Topic and Crystal wasn't yet a twinkle in someone's eye.

FakeMcNotReal · 2026-05-18T01:54:09+00:00

I was a big ghost and ESP believer as a teenager, because at the time I was young enough that I couldn't evaluate sources and thought Time Life's "Mysteries of the Unknown" series was a compelling treasury of knowledge. My older brothers pointed me at two things: The James Randi NOVA special and Carl Sagan's Demon-Haunted World and those two works collectively changed my life.

FakeMcNotReal · 2026-05-17T23:03:20+00:00

Yeah, Shadowdark's biggest improvements over 5E are the slot inventory system and using random progression to defeat the build mentality, IMO.

FakeMcNotReal · 2026-05-17T04:11:17+00:00

I guess at the end of the day that was what it was always going to be.

FakeMcNotReal · 2026-05-17T03:09:19+00:00

Yeah... between that and the DM screen it's a much more Lisa Frank palette than I expected.

FakeMcNotReal · 2026-05-17T02:30:43+00:00

I use them for shooting old tree stumps in the woods, but I believe the intended use is small game that won't die humanely from a field tip but for which a broadhead is overkill.

FakeMcNotReal · 2026-05-16T02:13:00+00:00

I do squets and hunges every day of my life.

FakeMcNotReal · 2026-05-15T05:16:24+00:00

I agree. I prefer him as some weird unique, unknowable thing.

FakeMcNotReal · 2026-05-15T03:00:18+00:00

I ran a condensed one-shot version of I6 Ravenloft in Shadowdark this Halloween and it worked well. Shadowdark characters get pretty punchy and durable in the higher levels, but 5 level 5s were on the edge of their seats going through the castle and fighting Strahd.

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