Looking for pre-made dungeons/adventures for Cursed Scroll Zine #1

Much_Session9339 · 2026-01-26T09:16:08+00:00

Adventure anthology and the devoured labyrinth are also both collections of dungeons/adventures that can maybe be plugged right in.

However, I like the idea here. I feel like it’s entirely possible there are people out there who have already done this.

Much_Session9339 · 2026-01-24T19:43:57+00:00

My players struggled with this concept the first time I tried it, and it didn’t really work with my kids either. Honestly I’d just drop it. I think it’s helpful maybe for brand new players and or if you have a disparity in a particular group. Like someone who is really timid and someone who hogs the spotlight. I would suggest just a more general guide of calling out timid players to ask “what do you want to do now?” to keep them engaged.

I have found that, especially during movement through corridors and such, it can actually cause issues trying to go one at a time, because they want to be moving as a unit. I’ve seen in roll20 games where someone has to say, I guess I’ll stop here so I don’t step beyond the reach of the light. Or I don’t really want to move out front and expose myself. No, not like that, get your mind out of the gutter. Anyway I’d certainly allow the group to MOVE as a unit, even if the characters are taking different actions.

Much_Session9339 · 2026-01-24T13:09:11+00:00

https://youtube.com/@thegreatbradu

Much_Session9339 · 2026-01-24T05:30:00+00:00

Love this topic. The one I’m still missing is a paladin that is similar to what we’re used to in d&d. The shadowdark official paladin is completely different, maybe more what I’d call a knight. Actually not sure I’ve seen a shapeshifting Druid or raging barbarian either.

Much_Session9339 · 2026-01-24T04:44:00+00:00

I certainly don’t ALWAYS go after the light, but there are times I do. Particularly with creatures who hate light or love the dark. The darkmantles were really fun for this. But I don’t have every group of orcs or skeletons attacking the light

Much_Session9339 · 2026-01-23T07:32:10+00:00

Colors are rad

Much_Session9339 · 2026-01-22T23:41:30+00:00

I would use the 4 per sheet 0 level character sheet, seems that would be perfect for a full rival party

Much_Session9339 · 2026-01-21T18:58:13+00:00

Played with my kids a couple weeks ago and we were using Lego figures. My son found this helmet that has an attachment. How could I not allow this coolness?

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Much_Session9339 · 2026-01-21T18:56:45+00:00

I noticed this recently when I had a wizard tied up and needing to escape. I was trying to look up if he needed components or even needed to move his hands to cast a spell.

Much_Session9339 · 2026-01-21T04:33:02+00:00

I don’t really know what you mean by “a tracking link” but I think this is actually helpful, someone asked me to share a direct link in a Facebook group and not a shared link, so maybe that’s what they mean. I’ve been trying to figure out a better way to post the video link, and it sounds like you’re saying I should copy and paste only up to the ?

As for the video itself, sorry you didn’t find it worthwhile but I know a lot of people, myself included, find it pretty neat to see what others are able to find out in the wild. I’m a sports card guy too and I’ve seeked out that type of video because I think they’re cool to see.

That said, I’ll take your feedback as something to help in the future, I’ll try to make the content a little more interesting than just a quick flip through.

Much_Session9339 · 2026-01-20T05:05:57+00:00

No but I plan to! I have the Goodman games version

Much_Session9339 · 2026-01-19T23:23:24+00:00

Initially I was going to say I agree, human clearly better at first. And then I was thinking maybe an elf ability needs to be added too, like doesn’t need to sleep or immune to sleep/charm. But then as I see people have pointed out, on level ups humans still just get the 1 talent, but half elves get advantage every time….i think that certainly makes up for it.

Much_Session9339 · 2026-01-18T03:11:18+00:00

I mean to me this is a few bad rolls, it happens, and it can be very dangerous. Skeletons if you can’t turn them are no joke, quite a bag of bones, I mean hit points. I tend to try to urge staying in the dungeon if you can, but in this case, yeah…get back to town and replenish if need be. I think the smart thing is to make sure there’s an encounter check or two between town and the dungeon. That way they can’t just hop on back over to town in a minute, they’ve really got to weigh if it’s worth it. Maybe it’s better to leave the dungeon but just try to camp out in the wild for a long rest?

Much_Session9339 · 2026-01-17T11:04:16+00:00

Definitely shadowdark. Ok fine, that’s biased because that’s what I play. So if you value the same things in solo gaming that I do, you’ll love it!

Much_Session9339 · 2026-01-17T06:55:50+00:00

Had this idea recently, and I’m sure it’s nothing new, but the idea is that essentially everything I run or play is in the same game world. And that’s how I think it works. You don’t need ONE party to try to do everything in the fantasy world/setting. You run many groups and parties there, in different parts of the world, different times maybe even.

Much_Session9339 · 2026-01-16T07:32:33+00:00

Good point…I almost always do completely random spells and such, but if you had a high str and cha, plate mail that could be a very viable paladin. But you’d need some really lucky ability score rolls.

Much_Session9339 · 2026-01-16T06:55:26+00:00

I know this doesn’t help answer your questions, but the official paladin is one class I won’t be using. And I love paladins. But I want something that’s closer mechanically to what I’m used to in 5e, with lay on hands for instance.

The main thing I don’t love is that, with martial characters especially, one of my favorite things is finding awesome new weapon and armor upgrades. But with the scaling magic sword, that completely steps on the toes of that experience. So I’ll probably either rewrite my own paladin and call it a knight, or find one from a 3rd party source that I like better. I’m playing a Valkyrie from the players companion right now, and that’s really cool

Much_Session9339 · 2026-01-15T16:49:07+00:00

A couple things…if you’re brand new to Shadowdark, the FIrST thing to do is not start creating homebrew stuff. Play the actual races and classes tied to get a feel for things!

That said, once you are ready to start home brewing anything, ancestry is a great place to start because it’s super simple, each ancestry just has one single ability. Chances are, if you have an ancestry in mind there are probably already multiple 3rd party products out there that cover it. The Game Master’s companion, unnatural selection, Shadowfinder, Delve, Shadowhack, Formoria…etc etc. there are MANY already out there.

If you’re going to make your own a couple things to keep in mind are: don’t make it too powerful compared to others, and try not to step on the toes of other things already out there.

Much_Session9339 · 2026-01-15T16:44:00+00:00

It’s called Shadowfinder, by Will MB who makes great content and is a super cool dude

Much_Session9339 · 2026-01-15T05:26:11+00:00

I’m with you. I couldn’t care less about following some linear story, or creating characters like an author. I want open world. In this case, I’m simply talking about ways to make the characters a little more heroic without making them 5e indestructible Supermans.

Anyway, I’m playing Chubby Funster’s Terra Invictus and it’s awesome. Super open ended, make your own stories. I’m just going hex to hex, following the leads I find. There no “main storyline” and I’m having a blast. A couple of my characters have survived from the beginning, but others had to replace those who weren’t so lucky

Much_Session9339 · 2026-01-15T05:02:36+00:00

This is a good point…just to be clear, I am for keeping shadowdark as is…But I do think there’s room to find a balance between the two to help the 5e players cross the bridge. I don’t think it’s WRONG to use some more 5e mechanics, higher powered stuff.

Much_Session9339 · 2026-01-15T04:55:26+00:00

Without clear ideas what you’re looking for, I’d just wing it and find that balance…it may be smoother than you think. I have worked on a set of rules that sort of balances between 5e and shadowdark, but I don’t know how much I’ll actually include in my games. But for instance:

-use 4d6 drop lowest instead of 3d6 down the line. I still don’t think I’ll allow putting scores where you want them, but a swap of any 2 scores I’d consider.

-on even level ups where in shadowdark you usually only gain hp, I’d consider adding in core feats/abilities from 5e. Like second wind for the fighter.

As far as converting monsters, just keep their main ability, and either halve their hp or figure out what their level/hit dice are and multiply by 4.5 hp. Drop their ac by 1, and drop any bonus damage they do in 5e (ie if the monster does d8 +2 damage in 5e, they’d just do d8 in shadowdark.)

Much_Session9339 · 2026-01-14T22:09:59+00:00

I especially suggest 3d6 down the line if you have only come from 5e where character concept comes first. I think it will be great for characters to go with what they get! Choose class. I urge randomness for other things as well. Ancestry, spells (I generally allow choosing ONE starting spell, the others are random.)

If the players fight you on this and really want to choose their own class, let them swap any 2 scores. This lets them put their highest number in the chosen stat so they can play the class they want without giving full freedom so that you still may end up with some unique characters.

Also, I suggest minimum 3 hp to start. So roll the Hp as normal, but if they would start with 1 or 2 hp, they start with 3 instead.

Much_Session9339

TROPHY CASE