Shadowdark RPG - Opinions? (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 days ago by Aielman15@lemmy.world to c/rpg@ttrpg.network

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Has anyone tried this game? It's yet another take on modernizing OSR, which apparently has gathered a few enthusiastic players.

I've heard that it doesn't do anything new, but what is there, it's excellent. I've been feeling the itch for a dungeon crawl for quite some time now (all my parties have been playing narrative-heavy DnD5e/5.5 and it's becoming a bit stale tbh), so I wanted to master something different. Do you have experience with Shadowdark? Would you recommend it? Is there something I should pay attention to? Tips on how to run OSR?

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[-] tiberius@lemmy.ca 7 points 2 days ago

I'm not a player or GM. I make 2d6 encounter tables and plan encounters for fun.

I'm moving from 5e to Shadowdark. It's rules light and any holes that come up is filled with my experience with 5E and other systems. I had the biggest grin on my face as I rolled a 1HP NPC. Each of the 4 classes is on a 2 page spread. Simple and easy. The amount of random tables in this book for the GM to quickly use is incredible.

Players may encounter undefined rules. It's commonly mentioned the stealth section is a bit vague, forcing the GM to make a call on the rules. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to take to lighten the crunch.

You should definitely download the FREE quickstart rules and run Lost Citadel of the Scarlet Minotaur.

this post was submitted on 30 Jan 2026

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