Session Zero: Character & World Building [TEST]

Classes

Fighter

Priest

Thief

Wizard

menu_book How to Play Shadowdark RPG in 5 Minutes

The core mechanic of Shadowdark is rolling a d20, adding a bonus from your abilities, and trying to beat a target number representing the difficulty of your task or the strength of your opposition. Gameplay typically sends characters into a dungeon or wilderness shrouded in darkness to search for treasure and/or slay monsters. Play proceeds in turns, which always take place in initiative order, so each player can decide what they're doing at any given time. Characters have a limited inventory, measured in gear slots, which determines how much they can bring in and take out from the dungeon. Characters gain experience and level up based on how much treasure they can successfully extract from dungeons, which is complicated by deadly monsters and creeping darkness. They need torches to see, and each torch only burns for one hour of real time (the GM usually has a timer running as play proceeds) before the characters are left in terrifying darkness. Characters who use magic and cast spells can wield game-changing power at a cost: they must roll to cast their magic without incident and risk losing the spell or worse if they fail. Manage light, food, weapons, magic, hit points, and other resources to survive the deadly dungeon and return filthy rich!