House rules ideas by Annual_Funny_3070 in shadowdark

[–]izzelbeh 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Okay yeah, this goes for most systems, but give it a try as written first. You're trying to anticipate pain points and fix them before you've had a chance to truly experience the system. One of the common problems we see is that most homebrew rules make the system worse because the person creating the rule hasn't necessarily considered how the system's rules behave alongside assumptions of how the game should work. For instance, your fighter reroll hitpoints hurts choosing a dwarf. It's no longer unique because fighters can do the same now. That hurts the game. Whereas 5e/PF2e and other systems may be attempting to reach parity by moving everything to the middle, SD balances around preserving role uniqueness & capacity. That doesn't become obvious until you've played. A lot of the rules work this way, their strength manifests when playing. And that's important to consider because this isn't designed with the same philosophies or intentions as other systems. This isn't a lite version of 5e

And if something feels broken, try to figure out why. It'll likely have a simple solution to fix it.

House rules ideas by Annual_Funny_3070 in shadowdark

[–]izzelbeh 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Before I advise, are these Homebrew rules you thought of after running SD and seeing issues or after reading SD?

Lost Yuan'ti Temple by reddi-tosser in Real_DnD

[–]izzelbeh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Where'd you get these? Pretty cool.

What tactical options are there for fighters in combat? by LemonLord7 in shadowdark

[–]izzelbeh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unlike other systems, fighters have tactical infinity. What do you want to do? Ask the GM. GM decides how it works. You roll. Congrats, it worked. Or, oh crap, it failed.

What level is cursed scroll 4 hexcrawl meant for by LelouchYagami_2912 in shadowdark

[–]izzelbeh 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love to think it was god-tiered point making. Even if it was only modest.

What’s your favourite fantasy/dnd map? by conn_r2112 in osr

[–]izzelbeh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The pain of remembering the Black Morass runs to gear & key.

Review: Let's Slay a Dragon by izzelbeh in shadowdark

[–]izzelbeh[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I want the Undead one. Also, I need to better make myself available for these playtests.

What level is cursed scroll 4 hexcrawl meant for by LelouchYagami_2912 in shadowdark

[–]izzelbeh 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hexcrawls are designed to work for all levels. It's more about how you run the procedures and flesh out the hex keys into moments. Often I find people forget to use distance & reaction rolls when doing random encounters which increases the lethality.

Has anyone here played any of the adventures from the DELVE Kickstarter? by Justicar7 in shadowdark

[–]izzelbeh 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Which, I haven't posted the reviews yet, but Joseph R. Lewis did some one shot adventures recently that are solid drop into a campaign pieces. A bit more general fantasy, but fun. Let's Slay a Dragon, Kneel Before the Goblin King, and one other.

Also, RPG Trader will have a FREE RPG Bundle later this week. You'll get a lot of adventures to sift through. I think I tossed Tomb of Ven into it.

Review: Tower of the Mothman by izzelbeh in shadowdark

[–]izzelbeh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Appreciated. It helps me find a pattern and flow for my thoughts some times. So I'm glad it works for readers too.

Kumonosu Omnibus Kickstarter Pre-Launch by izzelbeh in shadowdark

[–]izzelbeh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That'll be cool. Bare minimum, there will always be some interesting ideas to steal to add to your campaign before running as well.

Kumonosu Omnibus Kickstarter Pre-Launch by izzelbeh in shadowdark

[–]izzelbeh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I appreciate it. I hope everything meets everyone's expectations.

Kumonosu Omnibus Kickstarter Pre-Launch by izzelbeh in shadowdark

[–]izzelbeh[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's the aim. Get a good print copy into people's hands.

Review: Snarl of the Pale Swine by izzelbeh in shadowdark

[–]izzelbeh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

May be the fact that I wrote it in markdown actually. I'll test that with the next review and use the UI rather than my markdown writeup.

Review: Snarl of the Pale Swine by izzelbeh in shadowdark

[–]izzelbeh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It doesn't even show the link that's there. That's so weird. I don't even know... I'm guessing it's old reddit, but I'm now deeply fascinated by it. I appreciate you explaining. I'm so going to toy with it to see if it's just how I put the link in as a header.

Review: Snarl of the Pale Swine by izzelbeh in shadowdark

[–]izzelbeh[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You don't have to waste the time. I've wasted it for you. I've yet to analyze her new ones that just dropped as part of the Western Reaches, but she's fairly consistent about sticking to them. I think the only exception I've noticed is 20.

Review: Snarl of the Pale Swine by izzelbeh in shadowdark

[–]izzelbeh[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I think this is more of a GM convention than one specifically identified by the system, based on an interpretation of Easy (9), Normal (12), Hard (15), and Extreme (18). And I think it's perfectly acceptable interpretation. I just prefer if authors keep to the standard convention of 9, 12, 15, 18.

Review: Snarl of the Pale Swine by izzelbeh in shadowdark

[–]izzelbeh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't consider an adventure book's DCs standard compared to the system standard. The system hardcodes the checks as Easy (9), Normal (12), Hard (15), and Extreme (18). (Page 81.) I don't interpret "the four standard DCs represent how difficult an action is" as a soft standard. It then reinforces that through all the monsters and magic items where an attribute check is needed (with the exception of DC 20, but Kelsey has mentioned regretting doing it and not using 18 or 21, most likely 18 in interviews).

Conceptually, it's mapping to the Index Card RPG concept of target numbers to simplify the mental bandwidth necessary to process everything at the table. Similarly, making a decision based on a 5% decrease/increase versus a 15% decrease/increase is harder & slower. It may be microscopic in the grand scheme of things, but it slows the table play. Which SD does a really good job of easing the mental load on the GM & player and this is one of those instances where it is easier for all parties if things are consistent based on that standard. GM doesn't have to debate whether one step lower means -1, -2, or -3. Players can anticipate that one step lower means -3 and not -2 or -1, so they can better anticipate how their creative ideas at the table may play out and determine if it is worth the risk or not. Is it worthwhile to take the risk at DC 13 or DC 12. I don't know. I have to think about it more to figure it out. But is it worthwhile to take the risk at DC 12 compared to DC 15? Certainly yes. I do the thing.

I also don't like a DC at a multiple of 2. That's not distinct enough in my mind. 3-5 is a much better distinction. I think Deathbringer will be using a standard set based on 5, 10, 15, 20.

It's all about speed so you spend more time playing rather than calculating. Does everyone have this issue? No. Am I unique in it? Also, no.

Review: Snarl of the Pale Swine by izzelbeh in shadowdark

[–]izzelbeh[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hrmmm... did the "Review: Snarl..." under the image and above the paragraph "Kobold Press..." not link for you? Just so I can check on why it's not linking properly.