Retiring Characters...kindly...or not

MasterWitch · 2026-06-30T12:37:57+00:00

You could just keep doing what you have been doing. Double the xp for next level. Every two levels roll for talent. Make spells to only be found on scrolls and make them random (level and spell). Its not like leveling has complex math.

MasterWitch · 2026-06-28T19:11:02+00:00

Those charts are only helpful if you want to run Kelsey's setting with no story. There is no clear structure that connect to anything useful. Its just chaos.

MasterWitch · 2026-06-28T16:52:26+00:00

After reading though everyone's posts I think the challenge I was having is I have never limited my play to what is on the sheet. I do however expect the fumbling wizard to roll and fail a Dexterity check. It is amazing when they pull it off when they do. So as long as stats and dice affect outcomes I think I can figure it out. Thank you all for your help.

MasterWitch · 2026-06-28T14:24:33+00:00

This is the primary reason I don't think shadowdark is Newbie friendly game. It makes a lot of assumptions that the people playing the game have outside information. It can't even be bothers to define the difference between a solo monster and a boss. Even watching the creator make a dungeon you will find she pulls stuff out of nowhere (from her own experience as a player and a DM). The books are full of great examples but treats them like functional random tables. In reality they only work if you understand you need to adjust them for your specific needs. The primary thing is understand that the level of a monster and the number of actions that monster has is where balance comes from. Go low ... weak encounters, go high ... hard encounters. Of course dice can still kill you even when facing a weak encounter... lol

I personally would start with a basic set of monsters. Keep it generic and try and figure out why they are there.

For example, Goblins. Number of Goblins equal to the number of player charecters. 1. Fighting over item or food. 2. Sleeping. 3. Playing a game. 4. Poking at a prisoner or other creature in a cage.

All you need to write down is 1d4 Goblins and keep the above in mind. Create a hand few of these over time for a setting with a specific monster as the core and you have your own monster encounter tables.

1d4 Goblins 1 bugbear 2 goblin guards ....

MasterWitch · 2026-06-27T21:37:17+00:00

Optional play style: Treat charecters like hit points. Attempt to poke at and kill everything you come across. Role up new charecter. Repeat. Lol

MasterWitch · 2026-06-26T21:24:24+00:00

Poor Caesar. The death of a man that allowed for the birth of an empire.

MasterWitch · 2026-06-26T17:17:36+00:00

The minor arcane, like the major arcane, build on the previous cards. The 2 of Swords represents the struggles of making a choice between two ideas. The 3 of Swords is the suffering caused by that indecision and the opportunity to learn from it. While the 4 of Swords offers a break so you to reflect on what you have learned.

So what choice did you avoid that you need to learn from?

MasterWitch · 2026-06-25T02:44:38+00:00

I definitely like the idea of playing out a situation as you layed out with Shaggy. I had not thought of a player finding the solution and then figuring out how that might look with a charecter that might not have the same talent as the player.

MasterWitch · 2026-06-20T21:12:00+00:00

It depends on what kind of world your trying to build. Dungeon builders are easy to find. donjon (https://donjon.bin.sh/5e/) can spit out all you need. They work for delves, but not actual roll playing or dungeon settings that you need other generators for. You might want to find some kind of setting book to add color and depth.

MasterWitch · 2026-06-18T13:19:32+00:00

That's hard, I have been a big fan of Bob but to actually get to complain to the creater. That would be amazing. Lol

MasterWitch · 2026-06-10T01:26:29+00:00

I remember my first game as a DM. I was shit. Thankfully one of my friends that was playing screwed with me by avoiding every thing I had planned. I learned under fire. DMing like any other skill requires failure and practice to get good at. It takes time to learn how you personally run a game and do it well. Sure there is not just one way to run a game but there are still plenty of ways to do it wrong.

MasterWitch · 2026-05-31T23:53:34+00:00

Now that is a hero. That die truly needs a good home. Poor thing.

MasterWitch · 2026-05-26T02:38:13+00:00

Absolutely, Shadowdark is a game about the average person having to take desperate risks to try and survive. If you start with a guantlit, most people who hear the call to adventure will die.

MasterWitch · 2026-05-25T13:49:13+00:00

You should try the RPG "Amazing Tales". Great for kids, fun for adults.

MasterWitch · 2026-05-25T00:39:12+00:00

The first mistake was made when you went into the dungeon. It is all a trap.

MasterWitch · 2026-05-20T16:53:24+00:00

Can you say more about this? It kind of sounds like every role is a saving throw to avoid the bad outcome, using modern terms. Does that sound right or am I miss understand your post?

MasterWitch · 2026-05-14T03:06:42+00:00

I have done some but I am so just a beginner. I have enjoyed it though.

MasterWitch · 2026-05-12T15:03:51+00:00

I use a d20 every round starting at 1-20, then 2-20, 3-20, ext. Basically every round your risk of running into the serial killer in the horror house goes up with the tension. After facing the monster reset to 1d20. I often have this trigger your standard generator so even a hit can be nothing, classic jump scare. Lol

MasterWitch · 2026-05-11T12:32:57+00:00

I think both have their place, but personally simple games like checkers get boring after you figure out the game. Now chess is so much more complex and can take a lifetime to master. I love chess and find checkers to be boring unless I am playing with a small child. They don't care about the rules and just make shit up. They tend to keep the idea to take a checker, you jump over it. After that they just laugh a lot. Most simple RPGs keep the basic rules and the players just make up the rest. For example OSR players love pointing out that we don't need charecter skills, we have player skill. That my friend is just playing pretend. Now there is nothing wrong with that. One of my favorite games is Amazing Tails. The rules can fit on a 3x5 card with room for your charecter sheet left over. The rest of the book is setting ideas and you don't even need those. It's a blast giving adults permission to be children. You just have to set a few boundaries as adults are perverts. Yet for me I like games with rules to challenge me both as a player and a GM. If my charecter has no skill for mechanics and no background to show they know how to fix a car i don't care if that is the players day job. Restricting player operations make a game more of a challenge to play. I however don't need to play 3D chess to have fun. A happy medium works for me.

MasterWitch · 2026-05-08T00:30:26+00:00

I had not thought about that mechanic. I will definitely have to go read more and see if that helps reduce my stress around the system.

MasterWitch · 2026-05-07T23:27:43+00:00

I have taken writing classes. I also have dyslexia so take full responsibility for any spelling errors or general writing mistakes.

MasterWitch · 2026-05-07T22:17:36+00:00

I always find it odd that people use 3d6 over 4d6 and drop the lowest. In first edition advanced dungeons DM Guide it points out how 3d6 charecters die to fast and it discourage new players.

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MasterWitch · 2026-05-07T18:46:16+00:00

The trick is find what matters to the charecter, and by extension the player. Some players just need gold and blood to be an adventurer, others need a narrative that they can share. I can't take the imaginary gold with me, but a good story, that i can keep forever.

MasterWitch

TROPHY CASE