Thank you for the shout out, Mike! And thank you for making TTRPGs more accessible for all of us. Let me know if you need any help with Shadowdark in the future!
Will try with ShadowDark I did Ravenloft with The One Ring 2e, and it fits smooth as if it were made for it. - The travel system is just a must try. - The Taint rules are as per the dark powers rules. - The thing that a Dark Lord overwhelms and influence the realm is just a Ravenloftic mechanic. Tried with Rangers of the ShadowDeep and was an amazing experience too.
I’ve been crafting myself a ravenloft domain to play shadowdark games in. This gives me hope my idea is a good one (main game is pathfinder my shadowdark is a side game I run).
Thanks for this great resource Mike! The timing is perfect. I will be running a Halloween game for the first time and LOVE the idea of running Ravenloft with Shadowdark.
I feel the need to emphasize a point Mike made in passing: one thing about running Ravenloft (especially Curse of Strahd) is that the further away you get from DND, the more difficult the conversion is. I converted the Strahd Must Die Tonight implementation into Fantasy AGE 2e for Halloween this year. It worked well and my players had fun and I felt it was worth sharing the conversion notes with others, but it was a /lot/ of work to do that conversion. Every time you run into a dnd-specific spell, a dnd-specific monster, or a dnd-specific trap, you get to do some extra footwork, there is very often not an analogue in your system to (say) magic circle and the fine details often matter a lot in CoS. Rankled the lazy dm-influenced part of my brain a lot. I would say, if you want to convert a Ravenloft in another system, use I6. It has less assumptions in it.
I've been reading a lot of old versions of D&D lately, and one thing I've noticed with older D&D is they sometimes express a die roll as a range instead of XdY. So, for example, the thing about the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind flaring for "1 - 10 rounds" could (maybe?) be read as flaring for 1d10 rounds. if you happen to roll max, you can ash a vampire, but you can't just choose to keep it flaring until you succeed. And once it's done, it won't work again that week.
Yep, in AD&D (1e) a weapon might do 2-7 damage, and it was assumed you could do the math to figure out that meant 1d6+1. That wasn't necessarily a +1 magic weapon either, just the normal range for some.
Mike, I'm thrilled that you put together such a through video on this! And access to the docs you used through your Pateron is so cool. Thanks for doing what you do and bringing more attention to Shadowdark! :D
Great video! I've been looking for a one-shot and always thought Ravenloft would be too complex or epic to play in one night, but this gives me a lot of good ideas to work with. Also re: 40:50, I don't know if you've see Corkboards & Curiosities, but I really liked her video on reimagining a female Strahd as the Matron of Barovia, playing on themes of power and manipulation from a mother who only wants what's best for her ungrateful and disappointing children. C&C plays with a lot of psychological horror, so this remaking is something you'd definitely want to screen for with potential players, but it's an interesting and fresh reinterpretation.
This video is what pushed me over the line to finally pick up the original Castle Ravenloft. Running this with Shadowdark makes so much sense. Thanks for the excellent advice!
I'm on my second watch through of this video, and just signed up for your Patreon - like a mist pulling me into Barovia. I'm very tempted by this. Thank you! I want to run it over three sessions, I think - a little more depth. So enjoyable and exciting!
Great video, very helpful. I'm thinking about running i6 this Halloween, and I'm still undecided about the system. Other than retroclones, I'm considering Worlds without Number, Dungeon World, and also Dread of all things 😂 Maybe Savage Worlds or Swords of the Serpentine jest year, when I know the module better.
Tome of Strahd idea! If this is played over a long time, then this: If destroyed, Strahd can't regenerate. But the book reappears in a random spot after a time (the next sunset? A week later?)
You have an amazing channel. Bought your lazy dm books earlier. Very happy about them. Did not pay much attention to the channel. Now that I started listening to the podcast - I find myself much more inspired. I especially appreciate following your preparation episodes. Thanks for the effort and great work. Best Thomas
NICE! Player-based dungeon mapping should help keep the players involved and discover and see it as they would as the character. They draw their own fog of war.
My players are all in person, the idea of getting them to map it out sounds interesting and fun, do you know of any resources or what that "style" is called so I can see some examples by any chance. Great video.
I have not played or even read Shadowdark but I really think for horror or pulp type games BTB 5E14 or 5E24 really cut a lot of the things that enhance horror. For instance the near ubiquity of darkvision removes many tools for horror from the DM’s hands.
Hey Mike, Are you still going to use Shadowdark this year or something else? After running the Gloaming campaign for so many sessions is there anything you’d do differently if you do run Ravenloft using Shadowdark again?
Well of course, but systems like shadowdark up the ambiance of it all. I’m going to try running it using OSE because I’m hoping to p much get a retro experience for my party that has played though CoS in 5e.
It occurs to me listening to the idea that players cannot set a timer to trackj their torches - suppose you had some real candles that burned for an hour and you randomly cut off pieces of varying lengths from the bottom. the players pick one somehow (out of a bag, roll a die) and you light it at the table. Now that candle IS the torch! You have to eyeball it to decide when to switch it because they don't burn for exactly an hour, its give or take.. And if you stop watching it and it goes out? Oops your characters are in the dark.
I'm just looking into Shadowdark now and am checking out vids on it. I don't understand when reviewers claim Shadowdark is close to what you said "the pace, the feel" of AD&D. AD&D is even slower than 5e with all the rules exceptions and sheer volume of rules and table referencing. Shadowdark I've not played but it just seems like a stripped down 5e.
Shadowdark’s similarity to AD&D is more in focus than duplicated mechanics: its low hp and more prominent logistical considerations (light sources, slot encumbrance), XP for treasure, and randomized gains for level-ups. It runs much quicker due to using stripped down 5e, as well as “always initiative”, real-time torch timers, and simplified movement/range. Playing Arcane Library’s free quick-start rules for Shadowdark is a good way to feel the game.
I think you did turn order not as written. If the players beat you on initiative, they do all do a turn, either one after another or coordinated (optional rule). And then you (DM) do your turn. Vice versa if you beat them on initiative. The DM turn doesn’t intrrleave with player turns during a round.
Finally, a vampire stat block that Mike likes
Thank you for the shout out, Mike!
And thank you for making TTRPGs more accessible for all of us. Let me know if you need any help with Shadowdark in the future!
Thank you!!
How does it differ, or is it extrapolated, from the monsters builder in ShadowDark?
@@zionich It's extrapolated from the Shadowdark monster building guidelines, using bears as a baseline. Every monster is just some form of weird bear.
This is awesome. Next year, Halloween one-shot…100%
There it is! I really looked forward to this video :) Thanks for sharing your insights!
Will try with ShadowDark
I did Ravenloft with The One Ring 2e, and it fits smooth as if it were made for it.
- The travel system is just a must try.
- The Taint rules are as per the dark powers rules.
- The thing that a Dark Lord overwhelms and influence the realm is just a Ravenloftic mechanic.
Tried with Rangers of the ShadowDeep and was an amazing experience too.
I'm 1000% going to run this with my more veteran players. Thanks so much for this amazing guide!
I’ve been crafting myself a ravenloft domain to play shadowdark games in. This gives me hope my idea is a good one (main game is pathfinder my shadowdark is a side game I run).
Thanks for this great resource Mike! The timing is perfect. I will be running a Halloween game for the first time and LOVE the idea of running Ravenloft with Shadowdark.
I feel the need to emphasize a point Mike made in passing: one thing about running Ravenloft (especially Curse of Strahd) is that the further away you get from DND, the more difficult the conversion is. I converted the Strahd Must Die Tonight implementation into Fantasy AGE 2e for Halloween this year. It worked well and my players had fun and I felt it was worth sharing the conversion notes with others, but it was a /lot/ of work to do that conversion. Every time you run into a dnd-specific spell, a dnd-specific monster, or a dnd-specific trap, you get to do some extra footwork, there is very often not an analogue in your system to (say) magic circle and the fine details often matter a lot in CoS. Rankled the lazy dm-influenced part of my brain a lot.
I would say, if you want to convert a Ravenloft in another system, use I6. It has less assumptions in it.
35:36 Holy Symbol of Ravenkind (Revised): He cannot Charm, he cannot Regen, and he has DisAdv on attacks. Cool!
I've been reading a lot of old versions of D&D lately, and one thing I've noticed with older D&D is they sometimes express a die roll as a range instead of XdY. So, for example, the thing about the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind flaring for "1 - 10 rounds" could (maybe?) be read as flaring for 1d10 rounds. if you happen to roll max, you can ash a vampire, but you can't just choose to keep it flaring until you succeed. And once it's done, it won't work again that week.
Yep, in AD&D (1e) a weapon might do 2-7 damage, and it was assumed you could do the math to figure out that meant 1d6+1. That wasn't necessarily a +1 magic weapon either, just the normal range for some.
Mike, I'm thrilled that you put together such a through video on this! And access to the docs you used through your Pateron is so cool.
Thanks for doing what you do and bringing more attention to Shadowdark! :D
ShadowDarktober is upon us 🦇
Great video! I've been looking for a one-shot and always thought Ravenloft would be too complex or epic to play in one night, but this gives me a lot of good ideas to work with.
Also re: 40:50, I don't know if you've see Corkboards & Curiosities, but I really liked her video on reimagining a female Strahd as the Matron of Barovia, playing on themes of power and manipulation from a mother who only wants what's best for her ungrateful and disappointing children. C&C plays with a lot of psychological horror, so this remaking is something you'd definitely want to screen for with potential players, but it's an interesting and fresh reinterpretation.
This video is what pushed me over the line to finally pick up the original Castle Ravenloft. Running this with Shadowdark makes so much sense. Thanks for the excellent advice!
Amazing. Can't wait to get my hands on that kit!
I'm on my second watch through of this video, and just signed up for your Patreon - like a mist pulling me into Barovia. I'm very tempted by this. Thank you! I want to run it over three sessions, I think - a little more depth. So enjoyable and exciting!
Great video, very helpful. I'm thinking about running i6 this Halloween, and I'm still undecided about the system. Other than retroclones, I'm considering Worlds without Number, Dungeon World, and also Dread of all things 😂 Maybe Savage Worlds or Swords of the Serpentine jest year, when I know the module better.
Tome of Strahd idea! If this is played over a long time, then this:
If destroyed, Strahd can't regenerate. But the book reappears in a random spot after a time (the next sunset? A week later?)
two minutes in and i once again run into something which further encourages me to just go back to (1st ed) AD&D already
thanks Sly 💖
I knew this would work as a zero level funnel! Thank you for all this detail. I am going to try this. 😊
You have an amazing channel.
Bought your lazy dm books earlier.
Very happy about them. Did not pay much attention to the channel. Now that I started listening to the podcast - I find myself much more inspired.
I especially appreciate following your preparation episodes.
Thanks for the effort and great work.
Best
Thomas
NICE! Player-based dungeon mapping should help keep the players involved and discover and see it as they would as the character. They draw their own fog of war.
Great Video, thanks! What are your thoughts about running the whole Curse of Strahd (5E) using Shadowdark?
This sounds AMAZING! I super wanna do this sometime!
I'm starting to get the impression that Shadowdark fits the theme of a Conan adventure or Primeval Thule... May have to invest in a copy!
Sounds like a fun time!!!
"strahd pulls out his iphone and says "siri, set an alarm for 4:15 pm"" lol
My players are all in person, the idea of getting them to map it out sounds interesting and fun, do you know of any resources or what that "style" is called so I can see some examples by any chance. Great video.
I have not played or even read Shadowdark but I really think for horror or pulp type games BTB 5E14 or 5E24 really cut a lot of the things that enhance horror. For instance the near ubiquity of darkvision removes many tools for horror from the DM’s hands.
Excellent.
Hey Mike,
Are you still going to use Shadowdark this year or something else?
After running the Gloaming campaign for so many sessions is there anything you’d do differently if you do run Ravenloft using Shadowdark again?
You can run castle RAVENLOFT with any rpg system if your a good DM . Pretty simple
Well of course, but systems like shadowdark up the ambiance of it all. I’m going to try running it using OSE because I’m hoping to p much get a retro experience for my party that has played though CoS in 5e.
Hey Mike how do I find your conversion notes on patreon?
Under adventures on the pinned rewards page
39:40 became a patreon, cannot find this kit anywhere. New to patreon so any assistance is appreciated.
Check the big reward page. It’s the first pinned post.
@@SlyFlourish Found, thank you, excited to try this out for Halloween 🎃
It occurs to me listening to the idea that players cannot set a timer to trackj their torches - suppose you had some real candles that burned for an hour and you randomly cut off pieces of varying lengths from the bottom. the players pick one somehow (out of a bag, roll a die) and you light it at the table. Now that candle IS the torch! You have to eyeball it to decide when to switch it because they don't burn for exactly an hour, its give or take.. And if you stop watching it and it goes out? Oops your characters are in the dark.
Now, play Curse of Strahd with EZD6!
I'm just looking into Shadowdark now and am checking out vids on it. I don't understand when reviewers claim Shadowdark is close to what you said "the pace, the feel" of AD&D. AD&D is even slower than 5e with all the rules exceptions and sheer volume of rules and table referencing. Shadowdark I've not played but it just seems like a stripped down 5e.
Shadowdark’s similarity to AD&D is more in focus than duplicated mechanics: its low hp and more prominent logistical considerations (light sources, slot encumbrance), XP for treasure, and randomized gains for level-ups.
It runs much quicker due to using stripped down 5e, as well as “always initiative”, real-time torch timers, and simplified movement/range.
Playing Arcane Library’s free quick-start rules for Shadowdark is a good way to feel the game.
I think you did turn order not as written.
If the players beat you on initiative, they do all do a turn, either one after another or coordinated (optional rule). And then you (DM) do your turn. Vice versa if you beat them on initiative. The DM turn doesn’t intrrleave with player turns during a round.
Number of views at 666...
🤘
Dangerous? What, no level drain? Pshh.
Don’t nerf the undead.
Puffin Forest
27:07 Hey, you triggered my Siri! 😂