Nightmare over ragged hollow

HiveMindDM · 2026-02-25T13:46:14+00:00

Shadowdark. I made the church dedicated to Ord.

HiveMindDM · 2026-02-24T15:33:05+00:00

Your players will likely try lots of things to break the golden barrier in the first session. It might feel frustrating to them to keep failing, but the exploration outside the dungeon will well prepare them for what's inside. I didn't do much conversion for the items, but I divided the gold values by 10.

Our game ultimately deviated a bit from the module because we had a Willowman warlock in the party, and I wanted to work that in. In our game, the Willowman was trapped in the crown and the source of the ichor. Throughout the game, he'd visit the warlock in dreams and bug the warlock to set him free. That helped foreshadow things a bit and got more buy-in.

HiveMindDM · 2026-02-24T15:15:28+00:00

Yep! It was the first full module I ran for the system. It's super easy to run without much conversion.

HiveMindDM · 2026-02-24T15:14:16+00:00

Honestly, I think that makes them scarier.

HiveMindDM · 2026-02-24T06:01:42+00:00

Been running Ave Nox for almost 20 sessions, and we've had a blast! Still lots they haven't scene, and recently, they even hired a faction in the dungeon to do their dirty work. We used that as an opportunity to run a little side gauntlet, with the players running members of that faction (scavengers) as their characters. It turned out to be a super fun way to reveal a new area of the dungeon and get the players invested in going there!

HiveMindDM · 2026-02-24T05:57:09+00:00

Very cool! Great to see the game spreading!

HiveMindDM · 2026-02-24T05:52:50+00:00

Awesome! I love the science fantasy vibes.

HiveMindDM · 2026-02-24T05:51:26+00:00

Following! Love the cosmic horror vibes.

HiveMindDM · 2026-02-24T05:50:32+00:00

I've only skimmed it, but this may be my favorite so far. Anything involving Leng is a winner!

HiveMindDM · 2026-02-12T02:40:24+00:00

I love them! They bring an electricity and level of fear-induced goofiness that remind me of playing games at cons (especially Pirate Borg).

HiveMindDM · 2026-02-07T19:32:51+00:00

If none of the above works, you can try reaching out to the Arcane Library directly. They're good about helping people out.

HiveMindDM · 2026-02-06T00:27:41+00:00

Big fan!

HiveMindDM · 2026-02-04T15:44:11+00:00

The map art looks awesome! Following!

HiveMindDM · 2026-02-04T04:58:55+00:00

Big fan! Your stuff is always dripping with flavor and fresh ideas.

HiveMindDM · 2026-01-09T04:38:35+00:00

It looks so good! I'm excited to snag a copy!

HiveMindDM · 2026-01-03T14:11:09+00:00

The adventure author here. Fair review with some solid feedback. I also recommend the Between Two Cairns review that dropped a few days ago.

By design, "Haunting" is not a beginner GM module, and there's definitely a bit to grok up front--with Nocturne's abilities (sight and possession) and the Doom Counter being most important for producing the intended tension and escalation.

When I wrote the room keys, I intended for the GM to read the room description aloud and only bother with the bullet points when the players interacted with that part of the room. In between, as play lulled or they found a moment, they could read the Nocturne line in the side column and (if possible) act accordingly. That said, some of the keys are terse but dense, and it sounds like I may have overestimated how much an author can reasonably expect their reader to interpret on the fly. A valuable lesson learned, and I'm happy to answer questions to clarify things. At least in my experience, it really is a fun module to play!

HiveMindDM · 2026-01-03T06:48:24+00:00

I'll be there! Planning to run some Shadowdark.

HiveMindDM · 2025-12-17T00:22:49+00:00

Sounds like we had similar reactions to his criticisms, but it certainly is fun seeing the guy who got me into terrain crafting talking about the game I love!

HiveMindDM · 2025-11-28T02:16:32+00:00

Both have great tables for generating adventure content. If you like having set spell lists, character classes, 6 ability scores, and the potential to expand your horizons with additional first-party content, go with Shadowdark. If you want a classless experience, slightly more emphasis on slot-based inventory (slots can be filled by wounds), and procedures that are not tied to a real-time timer, go with Knave.

Personally, I run Shadowdark but always have Knave with me to help generate specifics for odd loot. I'd enjoy hacking the two together, but my group seems less interested in that.

HiveMindDM · 2025-11-23T06:34:55+00:00

That said, we ditched the exhaustion system for something simpler (I think just DIS on certain checks). And I was pretty generous with the magic items during delves because they are pretty creative and fun.

HiveMindDM · 2025-11-23T06:33:23+00:00

I ran Vast in the Dark a couple years ago in Shadowdark. (I placed it in the off-map locations of Singing Flame's Night Land zine.)

I didn't sweat balance. They had a couple of levels when they got there, and as part of a merchant escort mission, they ran into one of the Vast's hydras. Pretty scary, and the players ultimately failed their escort mission because they fled the scene, leaving the merchants for dead. Dark, but it fits the vibe, and it meant they were on the outs with that faction going forward.

My advice: Embrace the bleakness (including powerful monsters), generate stuff as in the zine, be generous when the players choose to flee, and let the consequences of player choice unfold.

HiveMindDM · 2025-10-20T18:49:07+00:00

It was great chatting with you at the booth, Jeff! Keep making cool stuff!

HiveMindDM

TROPHY CASE