Shadowdark
en
English
Shadowdark Megadungeon Game
Hello all!
I've been wanting to run a moderate-length game of Shadowdark with a dedicated group. I'm looking for a moderate-length campaign about 12 sessions (3 months) and to determine from there if the group wants to continue or move onto something else.
The game would be ran on discord and roll20. Sessions would run 2 fast and furious hours. I'm looking for players who can commit their full attention to the game in a short(ish) window. Shadowdark plays fast relative to similar fantasy TTRPGs.
For those unfamiliar with Shadowdark, it harkens back to D&D 2nd edition. The rules are simpler and it is very easy to pick up (for free too!) - if you've played 5e, it's not an exaggeration to say you can learn this game in 15 minutes, even playing the wizard class. The game leans more into themes of survival horror and resource management than the heroic fantasy D&D 5e evokes - but not a boring kind! It's very streamlined in how it works.
The vision I have for my game is a mega-dungeon set-up with a homebase to return to, with themes of eldritch horror and some political intrigue. The main touchstone media for this story is the anime and manga Made in Abyss.
This is the main caveat about my games:
*Christian values - content is kept PG-13 and violence is not gratuitous, sexual content is non-existent without compelling RP reasons well communicated to the GM, and the Christian faith and traditional beliefs are respected - players can be non-Christian.
If that caveat is no issue to you, it could be a good table for you. If that caveat is attractive to you, it might be a great table for you.
I'll mostly be playing by the book - which is available for free (the quick start edition, anyway) at the Arcane Library's website. With the short play time, I'll play the variant rule to have 30 minute torch-timers (probably the defining mechanic of the game). I'll use maps on the VTT and use limited lighting in such a manner that makes players have to map out the dungeon themselves. I've played a few short games like this and it was really immersive!
If you're interested, please message me the following information:
Your name:
Your age:
A bit about you:
Why you're interested in the game:
Tabletop RPG experience:
A character concept you like that you've played or like to play:
In transparency, I'll share my answers to the questions above:
My name is Josh. I'm 33. I work in education and am married with four children. I'm a pretty typical nerd living in Midwestern USA - I like video games, anime, Star Wars - for my kids age, basically everyone is obsessed with Pokemon right now. Some of my favorite games are the Resident Evil franchise, anything really made by FromSoft these days, and The Legend of Zelda. I *really* like Resident Evil especially for reasons I don't fully grasp, but it bleeds into my TTRPG life, to where I like survival horror games the most and feel I run them the best.
I want to run this game because of the survival horror elements coming more natural to Shadowdark than D&D 5th edition. I like the fast and furious play of it. It plays so smoothly and encourages more creativity because your character sheet is so barebones, you think beyond the sheet more. I want to run a game with the exploration of, say, Dark Souls, with the survival horror of Resident Evil and with story inspirations from Made in Abyss.
I'm coming on 8 years of regular, weekly GMing - mostly 5th edition D&D, but I've branched out to other games the last few years. In lieu of a character concept, I'll share the positive feedback I've gotten from players: tense but rewarding scenarios, strong at integrating backstories, great horror original settings... I think the only main criticism I've received is having been, on occasion, impatient with players taking very long with their turns. Shadowdark makes it easy not to have that temptation, but I'm very amenable to feedback if someone were to tell me something I did or said rubbed them the wrong way.
I'm sure I missed something in this post, but I think that's all the essential details... Please reach out if you're interested. Happy gaming!