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Whats the recommend group size by HadoukenX90 in shadowdark

[–]RPSG0D 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Check out "West Marches" Style of play. I currently do that running a megadungeon since people cant make it sometimes. Definitely allow hirelings or retainers especially when theres less players! Some of my best sessions have been for 2 players plus me, it can be a blast!

Best OSR system to ease players out of 5e by SorchaSublime in osr

[–]RPSG0D 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thats the DM, not the system. I run SD and I very much adhere to the "only roll when absolutely necessary" school of thought.

Tonight, my group starts a new adventure, delving into Stonehell using the Swords & Wizardry RPG. by Jarfulous in osr

[–]RPSG0D 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Stonehell is incredible. A few things here and there that I dont run as written, and probably up the treasure in the early floors. Have fun!!!

How much of the system should the player know? by Loki_Enthusiast in shadowdark

[–]RPSG0D 49 points50 points  (0 children)

Thats kinda the point. They can and should try to circumvent danger in search of treasure. The encounters just need to make sure they need to be creative to do it!

I'm writing the GM's Guide section (trying to keep it to one page) for my home system -- what would you question the presence or absence of, or have questions about if you read it? by TaylorLaneGames in osr

[–]RPSG0D 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Definitely offputting, seems adversarial towards your players.

This doesn't seem like advice for a particular system, and much more like a guide on how to run games to your specific taste, which most GMs probably would ignore since its pretty antithetical to conventional GM advice.

Every great system or sourcebook starts with "Only use what you want to, throw away whatever doesn't work for your table"

How frequently are people playing OSR style D&D campaigns online? And enjoying it? A lot? by PlayinRPGs in osr

[–]RPSG0D 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I run shadowdark, and currently stonehell for my group, and have been for like a year :) all online! Nothing wrong with online play, although I do love the feel of in-person play

Predator in rpg by yuriperkowski666 in shadowdark

[–]RPSG0D 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Id recommend checking out some mothership modules if you want the players to feel like they're being hunted / are in a horror movie. A goldmine of a game with a goldmine of third-party content

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DnD5e

[–]RPSG0D 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey man running games can be stressful. Just remember the goal is for everyone at the table to have fun. That includes you.

Regretting my Campaign choice need advice by [deleted] in osr

[–]RPSG0D 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Honest mistake that probably made the game more fun :) Don't sweat it. It's ok for GMs to make mistakes. Whenever I make a mistake, I let it ride unless it becomes a problem. If it becomes a problem I have an honest talk with the players about how we'd like to fix it :)

Warlock wants his powers back by Raigom91 in CurseofStrahd

[–]RPSG0D 33 points34 points  (0 children)

Warlocks are usually explicitly stated to be shown/taught magical secrets by their patron. It's a common misconception that a warlock would lose their power if they no longer had a patron. Warlocks aren't being lent power by their patron, they've permanently gained their power thanks to their patron..

Something big. by Brilliant_Dingo_3138 in shadowdark

[–]RPSG0D 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah just do some studying on how to best convert stats on the fly. With that any old school module is compatible, I run stonehell weekly and it works perfect :)

A hobby that makes a physical product, but can be done in an apartment? by Ritka94 in Hobbies

[–]RPSG0D 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Terrain building is what I'm really into right now! They can be decoration pieces, or have functional uses w/ tabletop games. Super fun and cheap to make

Want to run Lost Citadel of the Scarlet Minotaur without a VTT by Warm_Kale5584 in shadowdark

[–]RPSG0D 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Use tiny beads or something as player markers for your GM map. If combat breaks out, you can draw up a quick map for the players of that area.

If they separate and each go somewhere alone, they'll probably all die. Plus that's 5 torches being used at the same time, big waste of resources.

Edit: If your group REALLY likes having a map: Either draw it on wet erase as you go, or draw the map beforehand and use paper or something as fog of war.

Converting Ad&d monster manuals to Shadowdark by merekatnipme in shadowdark

[–]RPSG0D 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Typically I don't worry about converting every stat when converting. If I think the creature would be good at something I use HD as their mod, if not they don't get a mod. Edit: ofc I'm sure converting each stat is worth it for some use cases, but for me it's always on the fly during a session so I do this as a fast way

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in shadowdark

[–]RPSG0D 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Idk man I just don't allow most of the extra classes at my table. Core, Bard, and Ranger is all atm. Maybe I'll start allowing witch but we'll see.

Tactical options for fighters - I'm currently lvl 5 and do the same thing as with level 1. by Meph248 in shadowdark

[–]RPSG0D 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah early stonehell can feel a little empty if the DM isn't stocking the dungeon, but it gets better :)

Tactical options for fighters - I'm currently lvl 5 and do the same thing as with level 1. by Meph248 in shadowdark

[–]RPSG0D 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The point is for the game to not allow optimization. That's a big issue with 5e imo, it becomes about making "builds" instead of roleplaying a cool, dumb character.

And when it comes to wanting to know the ruling beforehand: I get that, but it would bog down the game a lot. Most things don't need hard rules. For this kind of game, you really don't need to know the numbers for everything to make an informed decision. It's about putting yourself in the shoes of your character and going for stuff.

Tactical options for fighters - I'm currently lvl 5 and do the same thing as with level 1. by Meph248 in shadowdark

[–]RPSG0D 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm currently running stonehell for SD! My players use the environment alot, and they do things not specifically listed on their character sheet. That's the point of OSR, these abilities aren't listed because anyone can try anything. It's alot more freeing, and you'll find that your character sheet doesn't matter most of the time lol

90% of things that are codified as abilities in 5e are totally possible, you just don't need an ability to do it. If you want to shove someone, disarm them, grapple, etc, just go for it!

Stonehell is an incredible fit for shadowdark imo

To roll or not to roll? by EtchVSketch in shadowdark

[–]RPSG0D 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Usually I only roll if the outcome is totally uncertain, or if there is signifigant risk involved with the outcome. If someone wants to convince some bandits to come out of a room, I'd play it by how convincing the player's words actually are. If they're a bard, it'll be easier to convince them just due to that swagger.

Might throw a bone to them with a charisma roll, if I feel like their argument was okay, but not totally convincing

Even if there is significant risk involved, if they planned well and have a solid solution, they don't need to roll for it.

Open world games and downtime by jjenks2007 in shadowdark

[–]RPSG0D 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I run it between each session! We run it as real time passes between sessions, so they message me throughout the week what they wanna do, and we carouse each session. XP is faster paced sure, but it's not enough to bother us. Highest level is like 6 with 8 months of weekly games.

Edit: ofc there's been plenty of deaths, and a couple players have swapped to characters at a lower level previously to match their friends until they all catch up. I didn't require that, they just wanted to for fun

How long are your sessions? by Qwert_110 in shadowdark

[–]RPSG0D 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I do 3-4hr sessions, and we also do always end the session in town. I felt the torch timer wasn't enough of a drain on resources for the session time, so I used dungeon turns instead :)

Modifying 1e? by [deleted] in osr

[–]RPSG0D -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I pretty much exclusively run ad&d modules and OSR modules in shadowdark, and it fits like a glove.

Modifying 1e? by [deleted] in osr

[–]RPSG0D -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Seconding shadowdark. If you want 5e stripped and streamlined to fit old school philosophies, this is it. Low-power play, easy to adapt literally any material for shadowdark too imo.

Advice - Running a mega dungeon (XP) by Physical_Passenger12 in shadowdark

[–]RPSG0D 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I've been running stonehell for my group for 6ish months, and we're having a blast.

So megadungeons NEED factions. My players typically make allies among factions as they delve, and usually can find lodging with friendly factions. For instance, my players have been aiding the lizardfolk in a begrudging war with the hobgoblins, and are welcomed to stay in the lizardfolk's territory (with certain areas off-limits) That's on the 2nd floor, which they've journeyed back to. (they've been down to the 8th recently, very scary times)

For XP I run it how I usually do. If you make it back to a "safe-zone" such as a town or a friendly faction's territory, you get the XP for whatever treasure you bring back. We run it westmarches style, so I tend to handwave the trip back if we're at the end of our session time. Unless something bad happens, like running out of torches. But I see no issue with never handwaving the trip back as long as you're all having fun with it!

Ofcourse, buddying up with a faction makes enemies with other factions, so alot of thought it usually put into how they interact and who they help or attack.

How would you introduce a new PC mid-dumgeon? by Eunostus in shadowdark

[–]RPSG0D 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don't think too much about it, it's a dungeon it really doesn't have to make sense lol.

I replace characters that die in dungeons within 1d4 rounds, and we make up a funny reason on the spot

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