I've been playing RPGs (specifically D&D) going back to 1977/78 White Box D&D. I've played ShadowDark using the quick start rules and I can say it is without a doubt the real deal. My opinion isn't from hype, but it comes from playing two sessions. I'm a huge fan of ShadowDark and can't wait for the Kickstarter to end so I can get my hands on the full rules.
I'm pretty geeked that it's going to be a quick turnaround too, and that Kelsey Dionne and Arcane Library didn't decide to blow up the book with all kinds of additional features. It's tough getting excited about a game, only to have to wait 18 months to 2 years for it.
@@Living4Crits Kelsey mentioned that Shadowdark has been in the works for about 4 years. It's basically a ready product just needing the numbers to go to print. My thought is that with the huge success of the kickstarter, Kelsey could build up a stock level to support post-Kickstarter sales for quite a long time. This is a key to success. A lot of kcikstarters have success and then drop off the radar because as they become popular, you can no longer get the product. She also has some mentors like Runehammer games that can give her advice on growth through Kickstarter. Critics of Shadowdark going on about influencer hype probably havent played the system and it's a blind judgement without facts. A lot of SD isn't new. It's a system that has taken the best parts of RPG rules and mashed them into a masterpiece that plays wonderfully IMO.
I had to houserule the 0 HP rule in Shadowdark. It was too easy and very silly when I had a character keep going down and the Priest was able to keep healing them, like whack-a-mole. In DCC, losing that point of Stamina makes it matter even though both systems allow for easy divine healing. Come to find out, Kelsey has dismemberment tables and different modes of play in the complete book.
Using the rule today that they didn't know when they would die worked really well. That's how the Thief in the game died. Those dismemberment rules are fantastic too!
I play DCC on Foundry and the great thing is that the Crit tables, spell tables etc are all baked in when you do your action so there's no slowdown digging through charts and tables.
I backed Shadowdark and hope to get the book sent to my hand. I hope to incorporate Shadowdark with my D100 Dungeon and Scarlet Heroes ttrpg system after I rewrite new charecter sheet for it.
It's the D&D vs Pathfinder comparison. Both are doing similar things, but they do them in different ways and they do a few things uniquely their own. Although I like both of these games a lot more than D&D or Pathfinder.
Excellent, balanced comparison between the two games. I've played some DCC but don't claim to be any kind of an expert, however your descriptions certainly matched my experiences. It's a system designed to create gonzo style adventures, whereas Shadowdark is more of a lean, grim fantasy dungeon crawler machine. I couldn't agree more that people should play whatever makes them happy and there's nothing wrong with picking up and playing different games at different times to get the kind of experience you want. (Skyrim / WoW video games for me). Great video. Keep up the excellent work.
Is it a houserule for you that Luck Tokens can be used for Crits? I remember seeing that, but then again I'm old and might have missed it. Great comparison video, sir! Thnx 👍🤓
Rules as written, you can just use it to reroll anything at the table. That said, I do remember somewhere someone house ruling something about crits... maybe?
To me, Shadowdark is just another set of house rules and not ones I find particularly appealing. I stopped playing D&D editions at 1e and got back in via retroclones. So-called "modern mechanics" have zero appeal for me and are a detriment, not a feature. So I don't get all the hype around it. But if others like it, good for them. We're already transitioning away from DCC due to its clunkiness. I love reading the modules, but my players find it a bit too slow at the table. We mashed it up with OSE for quite awhile, but after running a couple long adventures in Swords & Wizardry, they want to switch over to that full-time. So for now, that will be our D&D variant of choice. Though I love the DCC dice chain and find uses for the extra dice in my other games.
I've decided that, if I'm gonna be playing something OSR with simplified and streamlined rules, Index Card RPG pretty much already offers most of the benefits that Shadowdark brings. I'm glad it's taken off for Kelsey like it has, but I do feel a little crummy for all the great systems that already do much of what she brings to the table, but they didn't have the good fortune to come out during a D&D mass exodus, and such a huge push on RU-vid to complement it. 🤷🏻
Your audio is extremely low for a standard RU-vid video. You might want to check the levels and see if it’s on the low end of mic. It makes every other video sound like a booming movie.
I saw! I'm not sure I'm ready to drop into the stunt mechanic again though. I ran a good bit of FA a couple years back, and found that in play over time it really dragged at the table.
