Solo Shadowdark Episode 0: The Setup!
Вставка
- Опубліковано 13 вер 2023
- Our first Shadowdark solo gameplay video is here! 🔥
First of all, a point of learning - I had the values of Mythic’s Fate Chart reversed! Low means yes, and high means no. A couple arrows were pointing at some weird spots on the chart, too. I’ll get those right next time. In any case, we still got a fun setup!
This video is the "session zero" as I talk about how I created our characters and roll up the starting situation with Mythic GM Emulator.
Plus... meet Rosalin the mouse?! 🐁
Shadowdark RPG Kickstarter: www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
Mythic GM Emulator 2E (Wordmill Games): www.drivethrurpg.com/product/...
Wonderful custom dice by Monomakes: www.etsy.com/shop/monomakesCraft - Ігри
You have to be careful with the solo rpgs. They sneak up on you. Started out doing a "one dude making his way through a forest to fight a warlock" and now it has multiple characters, several NPCs, civil war among the warlocks, weird plot twists, cursed magic items, and one strange scruffy wolf-dog (who is probably the secret main character all on).
THIS SO MUCH! Solo RPGs are great. haha
This guy knows. This guy knows 😆
Wow! It's incredible where fantasy can take us....wonderful adventures! Great job!
Can’t wait for part 2
YES! I love solo gaming and I love Shadowdark. I can't wait to try out Solodark. Thank you Kelsey! 😁 🧙♂️
Been running my own solo games for a few years now, found it very fun and rewarding for when I can't get a group together. I'm happy to see just how much solo rpgs have grown!
How cool that you're using my dice! Thanks for the valuable support K!
Good luck going solo :) Those are good stats though.
Dude I thought I recognized your dice! They’ve been in my wishlist for a while!! Been putting away that sweat jar money.
Thank you and Trevor for making Solo more popular! I'm really excited seeing your journey!
Hi Kelsey, I wasn't sure if you were using the Fate Chart how it was meant to be used. I guess it doesn't matter too much as you still got answers to your questions. But I know you are new to this solo-play malarkey so just wanted to help 😊
Once you've come up with your Fate Question you decide on your odds (50/50, Likely etc.), then cross-reference that with the current Chaos Factor, which gives you three numbers. So with odds of Likely and Chaos Factor of 5 it gives you 13/65/94. You then roll the d100, and in this example, a roll of 1-13 = Exceptional Yes, 14-65 = Yes, 51-94, and 95-100 = Exceptional No
Sorry if you already knew this, I guess there is no wrong way to do this, I just got the impression you were altering the Chaos Factor with every question, which is perfectly valid, but that's what confused me and prompted this post as the CF usually changes only at the end of a scene 🤗
Looking forward to hearing your adventures with Torsen and Leanna⚔🧙
I did have it reversed and didn’t notice since I started off rolling 50/50 odds! 🤣 I’m accidentally carrying over the “roll high for affirmative” mentality of Shadowdark.
I’ll definitely get this correct in the next video! 🤓
@@TheArcaneLibrary Oh I see, that makes sense now 😆
I'm hyped for this solo play! Already starting off fun! 😊😊 You're amazing , friend!
This is soooo cool for playtesting everything Shadowdark. Yay!
Thanks for boosting solo play! Your use of the GM emulator to get to mouse as a familiar was a great example of creative use. Trevor Duvall (Me, Myself and Die) would be proud of you!
Trevor is so awesome!! I hope he gives me a pass on having the math reversed on the Fate Chart for my first time though. 😅 Authenticity at its fullest.
Hi, I discovered you thanks to your live with Trevor Devall (Me, Myself & Die). Love your content, love the fact that you give solo play a go and OMG love Shadowdark. You just made me preorder the whole set. Those rules look awesome for solo play with all the random tables, the simplicity and the layout of the book. Just amazing. Thank you for everything you've done for this hobby !
I swear, you're like the Hermione Granger of RPGs. 🖤🖤🖤
Hehehehe! Thank you, DT! Even when I get the rules wrong, some Hermione-grade confidence goes a long way! 🤗
Really excited for this series! I'm new to the channel, having discovered you through Me, Myself, and Die, and I'm interested to see how Shadowdark plays solo.
I'm *super stoked* to see where this goes! Solo play is so much fun and it's great to see you experiencing it like this with _your own_ game!
LETS GOOO! I'm beyond excited to see how this goes
I’ve been really looking forward to this. It didn’t disappoint!
Super excited for this series!
Yay! I have been anxiously awaiting this. I also plan to use 2 characters for my solo game and my rolls gave me a human thief and a half-orc fighter.
I am also really intrigued by your recent post mentioning Solodark... I'll be watching for that.
Nice setup, Kelsey! Looking forward to more!
May they fare well. Thank you for showing your method of solo play.
I'm just getting back into TTRPGs (via DCC right now). I'm soooo bummed I missed your kickstarter. I believe in this game! I hope I can get my hands on one of the hardcover core rulebooks one of these days. Cheers and Congrats on the success of your kickstarter! And solo play? Yes please!!
After watching your interview with Trevor, I've been completely hooked by both his channel, and the Mythic GM Emulator! I plan on incorporating it into my sandbox game to add some interesting context to things like random encounters.
Love Shadowdark, and I can't wait to see you run it solo!
Looking forward to this series and how it plays out using Shadowdark.
Thank you for the video, the game is amazing! :)
I know you must be very busy getting the last of the kickstarters fulfilled but I can't wait for the next episode! I just recently discovered Shadowdark so I'm waiting for the physical book to be available in the store but it's great to know it can work solo!
I can't wait either! :D I'm excited to see the end of fulfillment through so I can get back to writing and making videos. I think we're almost there! :)
Me, Myself & Die is the only live play I watch. Until now. Looking forward to your adventure.
I have been playing solo for about five years, now. It can be very rewarding. My one tip is to fail forward as much as possible. Especially if you're soloing a game meant for a party. Good luck and have fun.
Really looking forward to this series!
Wow this is fascinating I have never even heard of solo play like this before!
Super cool, thanks
Really excited for this!
Finally!!! Can't wait for this :D
1 take? And it's so succinct 😅 Excellent work Kelsey! So excited for episode 1!
Only the dice rolling was one take! Me talking about the rolls got a bit of a trim. 😂
The chaotic nature of the dice interwoven with your imagination paint an enticing story.
This looks so fun! I wanna try out a solo game in the Djurum from Cursed scroll 2, I've always loved desert settings
Looking forward to the next part
Hi there Kelsey,
I just discovered it this week, and feel like the universe is playing a joke on me.
These were my the homebrew changes to 5e that I've been using for the past 3 months:
-No more proficiency bonus
-No Cantrips,
-Skill Checks replaced with Ability Checks
-Removed Cantrips,
--Casting a spell triggers a 1d20 magic check, misfire table on a 1, double the spells numerical values on a 20.
-Magic Missile gets a special feature that will, on average, double the number of casts per day
-Adventurers are called "Crawlers"
-Sneak Attack simply triggers if the target "is unaware of your presence"
-Upcapped Wizard spells per day (if they find the scrolls to learn them)
In the last few years I totally started doing more solo play, years ago I dabbed in it but now I use so many tools that have some along. I am excited to play shadowdark solo!
I've never tried this sort of solo play, let alone using Mythic specifically, but after watching some Me Myself & Die, it seems like Chaos Factor could only work if you always phrase your question so that the more "chaotic" result is a YES, which seems both hard to remember and sometimes, even when you remember, hard to judge.
I think there’s something to this! The book suggests to try to frame questions in the active/positve as much as possible, which I think is good advice for the system, but takes a bit of practice.
Not even to mention that I had the values for yes/no reversed in this video! 🤣 But I think I’ll get better at all of it over time.
It is coming! SOON in our hands and in time for the holidays - SHADOWDARK! Kelsey - I cannot wait to play this! PLEASE do a video about how to convert 1e modules/adventures to Shadowdark-appropriate stats! Thank you!
Yes to solo!! I'm just getting going on trying that
Some advice i've learned from trying to dive into solo Myself, its actaully EASIER (not better) to Pre-Generate a few world building NOUNs before play:
1. 1-2 Micro-setting/Place: Decide on Region/Biome, insert a Man-made structure or Natural Landmark, make a historic origin story for the place/landmarkor, Create an upcoming event. This allows the players to head to the location, inspect the building/landmark and interact with its history or alter the upcoming event.
2. 1-2 NPCs: Decide the NPC Role or profession, a Motive (want to do or want to stop), Their Conflict (an obsticle or dilemma stopping their motive). This can give you a person or quest giver to help or stop their motive.
3. 1-2 Factions : same as NPC list but its a group of people or organisation.
If you setup these 3-6 things BEFORE starting your adventure, you will have the "context" needed to use mythic AND not get stuck as often. I use the mythic FATECHART for all the Small details that wouldn't have been discussed in the pre made list . Like is the door locked, what is the weather like, is bear going to attack me
I was normally a Runehammer viewer/fan and thats (also seen HouseDM’s video) where I’ve heard about the Shadowdark. I immediately loved the visuals and overall aesthetic (hate darkvision lol). After checking it out by looking at the quickstart and character sheet, I was hooked and I started looking for videos. After watching what the people I follow said about it, I said why not hear it from the creator as well. And this is the part I must say, I’ve watched 4-5 videos already and this is an awesome, precious channel. Thank you for all the content, I am a follower now 😅 (Will get a copy of the game as soon as possible)
Aw, heck! That is such a kind message. Thank you so much! :)
I just got my Shadowdark reward as backer 6,000 sumthin and omg,... what a masterpiece! This book is stunning! The DM screen, the zines! The perfect Christmas present for me. Very much worth the wait, the quality of everything is superb! This was actually my first kickstarter ever & yes, this is the ONE! Thank you Kelsey, you are brilliant, amazing & inspiring. By the way, are those dice in the video crafted by the same artist that made Runehammers?
Yay!
Pretty cool characters. Just enough information to make them fun and letting the player filling the blanks.
I have to say I’m excited that I may get shadow dark this month
Kewl 😅. I look forward to getting Cursed Scroll 4. Thanx 🎉
I am buying this after work. Also, buying the cursed scrolls. I don't have anyone to play with, so I'm more than happy to go solo.
Hola Kelsey, estoy buscando los vídeos que van a salir por estás fechas, después de que salió tu libro de Shadowdark Solo. Ya bajé el mio de Arcane Library, y solo estoy esperando estos nuevos videos. Saludos con cariño de tu más grande fan de México.
I've been so excited for this series 😁 love the character set up so far! After your video with Trevor I immediately snagged my own copy of the Mythic Emulator, and have been reading through it.
I could be wrong, but I believe that your Fate Chart readings are incorrect. As I understand it the Central number of each panel of the chart is the percentage chance of a Yes answer, and so rolling below or equal to that number gives you a Yes, rolling above it gives you a No answer. I'm much more used to meet or beat systems then percentile systems, so my brain keeps resorting to "roll high is positive", but when I check the book (p.23-p.24) I'm pretty sure it functions as - roll low for Yes.
So for your initial question with odds at 50/50 and chaos factor 5, your roll of 32 I believe should be a Yes. Second question at likely - 98 would be Extreme No. Your last roll of 39 should mean yes, though your red arrow was pointing to the panel for chaos factor 4 - which if the CF has changed to 4 then 39 does indeed read No.
Lastly - where'd you get those chonky dice? I need them 😁
You are very right, I had them reversed!! Gonna make sure I have that right next time! Thankfully this video was just the warmup. 😅
Edit: oh, and the dice! I love them. They’re by a dice creator named Monomakes! He’s on Etsy and also will do custom orders for people. 😊👍
Glad you like them 😎
Cool stuff. I already really want to know what is going to happen to these imaginary people!
Session 1 is gonna be super big!!
like the d6 dice!
HEHE Kelsey used the chart backwards XD. I would love to see Trevor react to this video on his channel
Right?! I'm laughing so much about this! I know he hates making mistakes, and I did say part of my plan was to lower the bar so he can look even better... ;D
Neat!
I was hoping you would come up with your own solo system but this is fun to watch just as well.
I’m working on one right now called SoloDark that is designed specifically for Shadowdark, so that’s a forthcoming project! 😊 I’ll surely do some more episodes with it after I give Mythic a spin!
@@TheArcaneLibrary😊🎉
just picked up my copy of the 2e emulator. It excites me because colorless storage generated a different setting in my brain vs your result so lots of application and possibility
I am already loving the word associations! I think they so easily lead you to what your brain finds most interesting or compelling in the moment. No two interpretations will be the same!
this and the tome of adventure will be a potent pair
@@TheArcaneLibrary
Ei!! Até u guys seing Lazy GM Prep showing his preparation for a Shadowdark campaign?
Yes! It's been so cool to see him doing Shadowdark material, my mind is blown! :D
@TheArcaneLibrary you addressed an issue I've come across a few times as I've played Shadowdark... when you roll one alignment for your character and a different alignment for their deity. You mentioned that a witch's alignment doesn't necessarily have to align with their deity's alignment in the way a priest's does... I'm relatively new to TTRPGs... is this a codified thing, a common sense thing, or am I missing some text that explains this more in depth? I am all for some cognitive dissonance when it comes to role playing a character who espouses one thing and worships another, but when trying to explain this to some teens I was running Shadowdark for, I was at a loss as to the 'official' thought on this. Any thoughts?
A good question! In Shadowdark, the only time a character’s alignment has to match their deity is if that character is a priest. However, most people choose a deity rather than rolling randomly, so I think most players choose one that suits their character. In my case, I thought it might introduce some interesting conflict or gray area to roll randomly! Sometimes a character can worship a god for whichever reason (tradition, habit, aspiration) but not really embody that god’s ideals. I think we even see that in the real world more than we realize!
Thanks@@TheArcaneLibrary ! My group and I really get into the randomness of rolling through *everything,* but thanks for the clarification! Looking forward to your Solo Shadowdark Adventures!
Kelsey, I’ve been using an oracle system for a long time now that I really like. You roll a single d6 after asking a binary question and the results are as follows: 1. Definite No 2. No 3. No, But 4. Yes, But 5. Yes 6. Definite Yes. I prefer it to the Fate Chart, but I use the random tables inside of Mythic on top of that oracle. It really spices up scenarios and gets you thinking.
Looking forward to your first episode!
Kelsey, I am vision-impaired and I absolutely love the large numbers on your dice. I did a Google search and didn't find anything like yours, so could you tell me where you got them? I would love to get a few sets for me and my wife. Our health isnt the best lately, especially our eyes, so these dice would be a huge help. Thank you in advance, and we can't wait to receive our kickstarter soon. We love what you do.
Hey Robert! I love these dice -- it's hard to find something like them. They're hand-made by an artisan named Monomakes. He has an Etsy store and is always open to messages about custom orders, which these two dice sets were! Here's the link: www.etsy.com/shop/monomakesCraft
I'm very happy you start with more than one PC. I am not a fan of that Lone Wolf theme that solo books seem to want.
I am late to the party, but I'm guessing after 7 month, there's not going to be a follow up. I'll keep checking back, because I like the narrative you've developed.
There will be! I still have at least three more of these to film - just got side-tracked with writing a more custom solo system for Shadowdark, first. More on this very soon! :)
@@TheArcaneLibrary It's ALL good! I have been running Shadowdark for my son since the quickstart. This Sunday, I start a full campaign. I love your system and am very grateful for the content you provide.
Big fan of the rpg, been reading and rereading it a lot lately, got my first game scheduled for later this month, hope my friends survive. Do you have any plans to expand this in the future? Id back another kickstarter in a heartbeat.
Definitely! :) I'm writing more Cursed Scroll zines (three are in the works), and we're releasing a big solo gameplay system made specifically for Shadowdark called SoloDark. That's the next project!
Beyond that, I'm looking at megandungeons, more adventures, and plenty more besides that I can't even guess yet. :)
@TheArcaneLibrary so will these be going on kickstarter as well or should I look here on your youtube for updates in the future?
@@DasHaydenator It's very likely we'll put this up via Kickstarter when they are ready, but I'll for sure be posting things on UA-cam as well! And we have some upcoming videos (the next in the series for this video) using the system. Those should be coming out toward the end of March! :)
When is the solo play episode 1? Liked episode 0.
Thanks so much! :) It's in the works. I decided to go a little bananas and start crafting terrain to set up some cool camera shots... XPS foam and paint are flying around!
Two months in and still waiting the episode 1 of this series =(
Soon! I went a bit overboard on prepping the next round… you’ll see what I mean, hahahaha!
@@TheArcaneLibrary thank you very much for your response, it means a lot to me. I want to play shadowdark, and I would like to play something like Bardin from Vermintide (veteran ranger). My current group is my family (my dislexyc wife, and my 2 teenage step sons, one of which has low spectrum authism). They are not prepared for shadowdark yet as it is too deadly for them, but in time they will fit =)
Anyway, any tips to play "solo Bardin"?
@@lulipe21 I think a ranger is a great choice as a solo character! They're really versatile and can do a bit of everything. I might start off with a ranger as your main character and have at least one supporting character along with since Shadowdark can be very deadly for just a single PC. And definitely retreat when things are looking grim! But otherwise, a ranger is a great place to start on the solo style!
Have you done any more solo gaming ?,any plans for more solo rpg videos?
I’m going to be filming several more in short order! I first had to get some custom solo rules worked out for Shadowdark since I’m weird. Took some time, but I’m back on track now!
For the halfling race, when you turn invisible for 3 rounds do you remain invisible even if you attack?
Some GMs prefer to interpret this differently, but I don’t personally have the invisibilty end due to attacking.
Aby idea how to check order status? I ordered a copy of shadowdark in August and I got no updates on fulfillment.
Hey there! We just got the first Kickstarter shipment and it’s on the way to the warehouse. So we should be sending the books out in a few weeks! :)
That was a fun video . When is shocked dark going to ship
Thank you! :) It's looking like late October/early November!
November would be best it’s my birthday month lol
I cannot find session 1. Have there been any more solo videos?
More coming very soon, in fact! I am just now spinning these back up with the release of the SoloDark core engine rules.
@@TheArcaneLibraryWoah! Great timing! I just found these after you posted the Solodark rules to Discord. I'm really anxious to try this during my lunch break tomorrow, but I'd love to see how you handle play. Looking forward to more from you on this! Thanks Kelsey!
I watch Slyflourish each week and he has been running Shadowdark for the last few weeks. He mentioned that you released updated overland travel rules but didn't link where they could be found. I supported the Kickstarter and am waiting for the books, but wanted to check this out. Can you tell me where to find this extra material?
Hey there! :D I haven't officially released the expanded hex crawling rules, but I did share a beta test version of it with my Discord. It's still being tweaked and refined, but I plan to release it as a part of Cursed Scroll 4 (I'm currently working on next three Cursed Scrolls).
I'm probably going to keep it contained to the Discord server for now until I get a chance to more thoroughly test it, but the server is free to join and is a great place to keep an eye on test material and upcoming work. The current version of the rules are pinned in the Shadowdark channel! :)
Weren't the lower rolls on the Fate Chart supposed to stand for a yes? I might have been using Mythic wrong this whole time 😅
I might have that in reverse lol! Now I need to double-check!
You're right. You have to roll low for a Yes result. That's why as you choose a greater likeliness, the numbers are greater, so you have a greater chance to roll under them.
In Kelsey's case it didn't make a big of a difference because she rolled mostly 50/50 at Chaos Factor 5, which is pretty much symmetric in that sense.
I made the exact same mistake when I was starting out, if you're used to roll over systems it can be a bit tricky but once you're used to a percentile system rolling under becomes more intuitive as your target number then becomes your percentage chance of success (or of a yes in Mythic's case.)
@@odolowa1 I figured I’ll leave these mistakes in here as an example and just go with it! 😅 Fun is more important than perfection, and maybe it’ll help people see they don’t have to have it all correct from the start, hehehe. I’m glad I’m not the only one who made this mistake!
What are those d6’s?? Where can I get them?
They're custom dice by Monomakes! I put his Etsy link in the video description. :)
Anyone know what dice those are?
They’re by a dice creator named Monomakes! He’s on Etsy and also will do custom orders for people. 😊👍
LOVE the big numbers (sadly, when you get into your late 40s you just can't read smaller things in low light very well).
@@HereComeMrCee-Jay totally! That's partially why I designed them that way. I hate having to put on my specs hehe.
@@HereComeMrCee-Jay Yeah, I think even with good eyes, the big clear numbers would be nice for people being able to read them across the table!
@@TheArcaneLibrary Awesome, will bookmark! Thank you!
Me, Myself & Cutie-Pie🐁 (the cutie-pie is Rosalin, true protagonist, shameless self-insert fursona, and probably horse-sized
Rosalin is immediately going to become the protagonist! 🐭
Where is Episode 1? 😥
On the way! Going to start filming them after Gary Con in a couple weeks! :)
so... is this still a thing?
Yes! :) I ended up going on a design bender and writing my own solo system more suited specifically to Shadowdark. Just got done with the “minimum usable” version a few days ago. I’m going to spin this series back up after Gary Con using those rules!
@@TheArcaneLibrary Awesome. Looking forward to it!
My son told me if the game comes before Christmas he’s going to hide and not let me open it until Christmas Day lol 😂
First
PLEASE release session one. 🥹🙏I’m waiting eagerly to see how you do it before attempting my own solo campaign.
Agreed! Checking back every other day (not exaggerating) looking for new videos solo shadowdark. Can't wait.
@TheArcaneLibrary thanks for leaving in and admitting to your Mythic GM Emulator mistakes. Takes a certain type of person to do that. I always had a good vibe from you, and now I know I was right.
When can we expect our pledges to ship?
Target is October
We’re on track for late October/early November! 😊
@@TheArcaneLibrary Fantastic! I backed at full level and am SUPER excited to dive in.