With help from the Lair community, we collected eight house rules for Shadowdark. On this podcast episode, we run through these rule hacks, offering our thoughts on how they might impact the game. Most of these are not rules we've tried ourselves, so we'd love some more field reports!
And yep, we're looking for even more rules variants. Leave your feedback and/or house rules in the comments, or email us at podcast@lairofsecrets.com.
Like this episode? Check out our other ShadowDark shows:
d12 Ways Shadowdark is Awesome! (S4E15)
d8 Shadowdark Mistakes We Made (S4E19)
d8 Shadowdark Monster Resources (S4E26)
Shadowdark Impressions (Campaigns & Coffee)
Unboxing Cursed Scrolls 3: Midnight Sun for Shadowdark
Unboxing the GM Companion for Shadowdark
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to House Rules00:25 House Rule 1 - No Torch Alarms02:16 Digression: David's real-world LED torch timer04:14 House Rule 2 - One Hour Minus 1d12 on Torch Timers07:30 House Rule 3 - Henchmen09:39 Rule 4 - Constitution Score as Hit Points13:32 House Rule 5 - 30-minute timers for torches16:22 House Rule 6 - Sneaky Triggers18:43 House Rule 7 - More Magic Missiles21:12 House Rule 8 - The Crawling Clock27:21 Obligatory Banter: Finishing the U.S.S. Enterprise32:50 R2-D2 Model Rocket Complete!35:07 Anticipating the Mars Lander37:19 David's Theatrical Debut in Dracula43:43 Celebrating Milestones and Future Plans
Listen to the Episode
Watch to the Episode
Watch d8 ShadowDark House Rules on YouTube.
Show Notes
d8 Shadowdark House Rules
1. No Torch Alarms
Details:
SlyFlourish: ShadowDark House Rules
“Players aren't allowed to use a timer to keep track of torches on their side. They can look at their watch or phone and note the time but they can't set a stopwatch or timer to keep track of torches for them. This limitation puts more responsibility on players to remember to deal with their torches before they go out.”
Our Thoughts
2. One Hour Minus 1d12 on Torch Timers
Details:
SlyFlourish: ShadowDark House Rules
“The GM subtracts 1d12 from the torch timer so no one is quite sure when it's going to go out. This alteration adds a little fun variance.”
Our Thoughts
Ken thinks … this certainly adds stress and anxiety for players
And Dave thinks … a fun variant for for the GM. :)
David likes this one because humans are bad at estimating.
We don’t don’t think you need this if you’re doing #1
3. Add henchmen to mitigate TPKs
Details:
“After 4 TPKs in 8 sessions, our table adopted rules for henchmen. Make characters RAW. Players select 1 character each as their ‘main’ to earn full XP. Henchmen earn 1 full share of treasure and 1/2 XP. A main can manage up to 4 henchmen plus/minus CHA modifier. Players tend to run a main + 3 henchies. Initiative is rolled only for main PCs, but the player may order their characters actions any way on their turn.”
Provided by macoppy6571
Our thoughts
We like idea of henchmen … is the share split amidst the henchmen? Or do each henchmen get their own XP?
Definitely has the old school feel of old D&D hiring henchmen.
4. Constitution Score as Hit Points
Details:
“I give player HP equal to their con score at Level 1.”
Provided by GM GI Joe
Our thoughts
Wow … that can be a lot of points!
Eliminates a lot of the low level dread, BUT keeps the PCs alive.
5. 30 minute timers for torches.
Details:
“I play solo, so most of my rules are geared towards solo play. For torches, I set a 30 minute timer, and after 30 minutes there’s a 50/50 chance it burns out. If it doesn’t burn out, it can last up to 90 minutes.”
Provided by BradUtterstrom4105
Our thoughts:
We like the push your luck aspect of this option.
6. Sneaky Triggers
Details:
“For thieves, I roll a stealth check to see if they can hide/sneak around to try to trigger their sneak attack.”
Provided by BradUtterstrom4105
