Cults of Shadow for sale on Drivethru

Cults of Shadow. 

The book provides a lot of background detail to bring cults to life. It's written for the 7 deities of Shadowdark but beyond that there are no mechanics and no reason it couldn't be used, adapted, torn apart to fit any OSR cults. For each of the 7 I've written up:

• Overview
• Scripture
• Penitence & Funeral Practices
• Rituals & Festivals
• Cult Ranks
• Sects & Orders
• Saints & Heroes
• Common temple layouts/features.

I've also spattered fun bits Lore in the ugly little empty spaces that appear when you try to have 2-page spreads. Currently only the pdf is available, I'm still waiting on proofs from the softcover.

Crew Morale

Shadowdark (and most OSR systems to be fair) has a morale system but nothing about ongoing morale for hirelings or companions. This started as fun business I could add during a caravan to give the guards, merchants, and other help, something to do. This would be in addition to normal encounter rolls. Then I decided to make it a bit more generic so that it applies to a ships crew or mercenary group or whatever. 

Donning Armor

5E has a simple number for donning armor but I think it should be just a bit more than that. PCs should not be sleeping in their armor, at least not the metal armors, not if they want to get Long Rest credit. That means they need to be able to put it on quick whenever whomever is on watch calls the alarm. Should make things interesting for turn or two at least.

Camping

Camping is another thing I've always hand-waved but which should probably have at least a roll, a roll that might provide a few seeds. This one is kind of basic but in times I could see it being useful, like when the PCs need rest, and if they blow the roll they won't get the expected healing. So in my latest 1-Page rules I present Camping.

Shopping

Sometimes you just don't want to deal with the haggling, or role-play out the shopping trip at all. Generally that's my take, but just pick from the list of stuff in the book is a bit lame as well so heres a table to add a bit of variety to this common task.

Haggling

I never liked role playing out haggling, it seemed a good place to create a silly little one-page rules so that something happens without my having to play it out. 

 

Public Opinion

This idea comes from a scene in one of my favorite movies and the quote that has been bandied around my table for decades. "There's no food for you here..." Of course its from American Werewolf in London where the Americans stumble into a bar on a bad night and get a nasty response from the locals. 

If you think about it a bunch of blood covered adventurers are probably not gonna be welcomed right away and the normal reaction rolls take the charm of the party into account the way they should when used in a civilized area. Plus, any chance to make CHA useful... 

Dungeon Foraging

I was thinking about foraging from the previous post and thought Shadowdark is designed for a lot of gaming spent in the Shadowdark, so foraging rules for a dungeon environment might be nice. I really liked the last one, how different levels of success gave better results and figure I'll keep that format for any other rules that pop to mind. Perhaps I'll end up with enough 1-page rules someday that I'll bundle them for easy use. Anyway, since light is such a big factor I decided to add some desperate light options for success.

Living Off The Land

I ran across a news story about quick quartering, that's how hunters up in Wyoming quickly dice up their game to pack out the meat, being far from your truck and hunting solo, you've got to do it fast before bears catch the scent.  

That made me think about surviving off the land in RPGs and I've never really found a mechanic that handles thing that I was happy with. I particularly like the idea that a better roll means more rations and less offal to draw in hungry beasts. I included foraging rules as well because in my game Elves are herbivores and followers of the Goddess Gede are vegetarians. The rules are for Shadowdark but obviously adaptable to any system.

Tremors Meets Shadowdark

 I've always loved the Tremors series (although I haven't seen the TV series, I didn't even know there was one until recently). I even love the later installments. Burt Gummer is a great character, over the top yes, but they turned a one-note character into something when they brought him back. Unfortunately what makes him so much fun doesn't work in a medieval fantasy environment so I left him out and stuck to the Graboids and there are a lot of them.

Yes they are more or less Bulettes but they have more character, and they really make you think, what would I do in that scenario which is what I really want from a horror movie (that is why I love Zombie movies). So here I present the Graboids for Shadowdark.

 

 

 

 

 

Army of Darkness Meets Shadowdark

I've always loved Army of Darkness. It has the right sense of humor and violence and really finished the trilogy  nicely. I even like both endings and find it hard to pick which I prefer. So it seemed a no-brainer to run it through AI and see what the system had to say.

 

 

 

By-Tor and the Necromancer for Shadowdark

 I'm a fan of Rush (the Canadian band) and for some reason I thought it would be funny to see what AI would do if asked to create Shadowdark statblocks for the the characters in the song The Necromancer from the album Caress of Steel. To be honest it's far from a favorite but what the hell. Here are the lyrics. 

I. Into Darkness
As grey traces of dawn tinge the eastern sky, the three travelers, men of Willow Dale, emerge from the forest shadow. Fording the River Dawn, they turn south, journeying into the dark and forbidding lands of the Necromancer. Even now the intensity of his dread power can be felt, weakening the body and saddening the heart. Ultimately they will become empty, mindless spectres. Stripped of will and soul. Only a thirst for freedom gives them hunger for vengeance…
Silence shrouds the forest
As the birds announce the dawn
Three travellers ford the river
And southward journey on
The road is lined with peril
The air is charged with fear
The shadow of his nearness
Weighs like iron tears
 

II. Under the Shadow 
Shreds of black cloud loom in overcast skies, the Necromancer keeps watch with his magic prism eyes. He views all his lands and is already aware of the three helpless invaders trapped in his lair…
Brooding in the tower
Watching o’er his land
Holding every creature
Helplessly they stand
Gaze into his prisms
Knowing they are near
Lead them to the dungeons
Spectres numb with fear
They bow defeated
 

III. Return of the Prince
Enter, the Champion, Prince By-Tor appears to battle for freedom from chains of long years. The spell has been broken…the Dark Lands are bright, the Wraith of the Necromancer soars away…in the night
Stealthily attacking
By-Tor slays his foe
The men are free to run now
From labyrinths below
The Wraith of Necromancer
Shadows through the sky
Another land to darken
With evil prism eye…

What I didn't expect is the line "the three travelers, men of Willow Dale" prompted the AI to ask if I wanted stats for them as well. I've cleaned up the statblocks a very little but 99% comes from the AI, which obviously has a sense of humor.

 

By-Tor and the Snowdog for Shadowdark

By-Tor returns, but this time he's the villain for some reason. I think Geddy admitted in his bio that they didn't realize this for years until some fan asked about it. So first the lyrics.

1. At The Tobes of Hades  


The Tobes of Hades lit by flickering torchlight

The netherworld is gathered in the glare

Prince By-Tor takes the cavern to the northlight

The sign of Eth is rising in the air

By-Tor – Knight of Darkness,
Centurion of evil – Devil’s Prince

II. Across the Styx

Across the River Styx out of the lamplight

His nemesis is waiting at the gate

The Snow Dog – ermine glowing in the dampnight

Coal black eyes, shimmering with hate

By-Tor and the Snow Dog
Square for battle, let the fray begin…..

III. The Battle (instrumental)

i) Challenge And Defiance

ii) 7/4 War Furor

iii) Aftermath

iv) Hymn of Triumph

IV. Epilogue 

The battle over and the dust is clearing

Disciples of the Snow Dog sound the knell

Rejoicing echoes as the dawn is nearing

By-Tor in defeat retreats to Hell

Snow Dog – is victorious

The land of the Overworld is saved again

 

 

 

 

 

Free: Medieval Court Intrigue Generator

 Too often when my players arrive in court I fail. A nearly empty throneroom with King/Queen and maybe an advisor or scoundrel trying to keep the party from the Royal. Watch a historical drama and it's not that way. Kings meet people at their pleasure, if the King is at a party they will meet people there, if they are out hunting they'll drag the person along. There will be others there listening in. I never really did anything with all that because I never really thought about it.

When I was working on Black Adder the AI asked about court intrigue and the results blew my mind. So here is the resulting Medieval Court Generator. Hopefully there is something worthwhile for everyone to use in there. If not, well it's free.

Medieval Court Generator

Free: Medieval Horror Generator

 While I was playing with AI and generating statblocks for movies and shows I found the AI would often request would I like a table to do this, or a table to do that. In most cases I said yes out of curiosity. Attached is a 24 page PDF I gave the creative name Medieval Horror Generators with a couple of pictures. It's got bits on creating Chaos Cults, Downtime activities that might be useful prior to tackling a Horror, a monster of the week generator, and a long list of bounties/beasts. It's free. Enjoy.

 Medieval Horror Generators

Labyrinth Meets Shadowdark

I watched labyrinth a long time ago on cable. I don't think it did that well which is a shame. Anyway it had interesting creatures design done by (or based on) the works of Brian Froud. Pictures of the different characters are available here.

 

 

 

The Black Adder Meets Shadowdark

I love The Blackadder, not as quotable as Monty Python and the Holy Grail but somehow I still prefer the late medieval aesthetic. Because it takes place in an alternate history version of the War of the Roses it's perfect to repurpose for a medieval fantasy campaign.

Since it's a tv series (6 episodes) there are a lot of characters. AI missed Edmunds brother Henry and when I asked specifically for him it thought he was Edmund's dad which is weird. I had to ask AI specifically for some as it just sort of skimmed over such as the Black Seal but it finally produced them when asked.

Norsemen Meets Shadowdark

Note I'm not talking about the Lee Majors movie from decades ago. This is a more recent Norwegian comedy (also known as Vikingane). It's filmed in English and Norwegian, the humor is dry. It only went three seasons which is a shame because I couldn't get enough. Oddly enough AI had an issue with this one, when asked for minor characters it invented a few that I don't remember and that aren't in IMDB. Maybe they were sucked from another show or movie but that's weird as it got the rest right. So anyway I chopped the incorrect ones although I might use them somewhere at some time.

Eric the Viking Meets Shadowdark

 Another lost gem. Erik the Viking one ha a lot going on and is a bit more fantastic than Jabberwocky but there is some interesting things going on (Norse gods being children, Christian Priest unable to see mythic elements). It's fun if imperfect, but to be fair making bloodthirsty vikings funny is a tall job. 

Anyway Statblocks for the main cast of Erik the Viking in case you need a few Sea Wolf statblocks for your campaign.

Jabberwocky meets Shadowdark

I've always liked the movie. It's not as funny as Holy Grail but the movie captures a grim medieval period better than any other movie. 

So I decided to play with AI (ChatGPT). I had it convert the characters over to Shadowdark statblocks and see how that worked. I think the AI did a fine job although it took some work to really make the statblocks look proper. I tried to get AI to do an image I was happy with but unfortunately the Image AI wasn't up to the task and I hated everything it churned out. The Image AI was probably blocked by copyright issues. I decided to just use a DVD cover. Anyway it was fun so I'll probably do the same to a few other movies/shows when I have time.