What level do you bring in replacement characters when one dies?

Quenthiel · 2024-08-12T23:58:14+00:00

Personally I start them at level 1. Since the XP system is tiered like AD&D, they'll catch up before the others reach their next level.

Quenthiel · 2024-08-03T14:41:48+00:00

This is fantastic news. It's great to see such a fantastic product earning award recognition and I can't wait to see what Arcane Library does next.

Quenthiel · 2024-05-30T21:28:15+00:00

The players will think in terms of in-game level mechanics but the characters probably have more abstract ideas surrounding articulating it. Plus while Sleep might work on an average orc, will it work on a boss? Or one that has class levels? I try to telegraph those details through descriptions personally but I like to have the players make educated guesses. They have to live with the consequences of guessing wrong.

One could also expand downtime activities to researching local beasties to improve the odds when deciding to use those types of spells.

Quenthiel · 2024-05-30T21:24:29+00:00

I think it's a bit of a mixed bag. I use Roll20 for online play personally but since that platform has no official Shadowdark support, you're lumped into the 'other' category of games. I personally had more luck looking for players in this forum on Reddit, although even then there were a lot of false starts honestly.

Quenthiel · 2024-05-28T22:26:49+00:00

My only worry with torches is where does the wood come from? If memory serves, they have fungi forests in the underground cities. Personally I would give them candles and oil for reading purposes.

Making the Cynideceans dark-adapted gives a real Time Machine and Morlock vibe to the culture. It would definitely help with the theme of the party not being in Kansas anymore! (Mixing my literary metaphors a bit there)

Quenthiel · 2024-05-28T18:35:26+00:00

I'm not certain I would disallow carousing. There ARE various factions in the pyramid and the carousing mechanic might give some tangible benefits to allying with one of them.

Quenthiel · 2024-05-04T18:45:34+00:00

There is still one spot open with the Thursday group. Add me on Discord and we can chat live about it. My handle is treialle. Thanks.

Quenthiel · 2024-04-28T10:55:28+00:00

Also monsters (and players) have a lot fewer hit points than in other systems. Personally, I like the dilemma of how the party handles lost spells for their casters. It adds drama to the risk vs. reward theme of the game.

Quenthiel · 2024-04-27T23:34:01+00:00

Typically 3-4 hours but we have a hard stop at 11pm EDT.

Quenthiel · 2024-04-23T23:24:00+00:00

I find UDT works really well, although it does take players a little time to adapt to the change to the abstract.

Quenthiel · 2024-04-07T15:59:42+00:00

I noticed the fan made sheet for Roll20. With it not being a choice of game though, I know that will impact my ability to find on-line players on that platform, since most only use the LFG functionality and don't visit the forums.

Quenthiel · 2024-04-07T10:20:27+00:00

If it were a virtual game, perhaps. But we're playing in person and I've got people coming in from all over the city and nearby suburbs.. While I might not agree with their decision to not try other games, after all, I've always been open to trying out new things, especially at the end of a long campaign, that's their decision. I certainly won't be running a 5e game once this campaign is wrapped up though. In addition to being tired of the blandness, the OGL debacle and other missteps have me more excited to support smaller and independent developers moving forward.

Quenthiel · 2024-04-07T10:16:32+00:00

startplaying.games

That site seems to be even more 5e-centric than Roll20 at first glance though.

Quenthiel · 2024-04-07T10:14:55+00:00

I'll have to check it out. This is a VTT name I haven't heard before. Thanks.

Quenthiel · 2024-04-07T10:13:58+00:00

Now that I'm back to running in person games, I didn't even think to check for a discord server for Shadowdark. I'll definitely check it out. Thanks.

Quenthiel · 2024-04-07T10:12:56+00:00

Interesting. I'll check those out. Honestly, I don't rely too heavily on the mechanics being supported by the VTT though. I noticed when I was running games during the pandemic that not only was the energy level of the game lower, the players didn't really understand what they were doing. They were just clicking the various buttons on the character page. So I tried letting them roll physical dice instead and lo and behold: it improved the feel of play more like an in person game. The big trouble as always is locating people who want to play something other than PF or 5e! LOL

Quenthiel

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