RPG Spotlight: ‘Shadowdark’ Combines Classic Fantasy with Brutal Realism
One of the most popular TTRPGs of the moment is ShadowDark, a game that takes you to a land of fantasy but makes sure you know the stakes.
Many of the most popular tabletop RPGs out there right now are the product of a very successful Kickstarter campaign. And ShadowDark is no exception. And it makes sense. Players get to browse through games they’d probably like to play and fund those, specifically from the ground up. So when The Arcane Library pitched ShadowDark as “classic adventures” for “5E and old-school” gamers alike, it filled a niche that many people were looking for.
ShadowDark
When you think of tabletop RPGs, you probably think of the classic dungeon crawl. With the rising popularity of TTRPGs as a hobby, popular shows and podcasts, and the sheer number and variety of games available, it’s not all dungeons and crawling anymore. But still, a very particular game and style often comes to mind. ShadowDark capitalizes on that with a system that marries the classic dungeon crawl experience with more modern game design.
This is a system with a certain element of realism to it. For example, things are timed. As in real world timed. Your torch will only last an hour, and the GM will likely have a timer going. This means that discussion is no longer a free-action, so you’d better be doing more working through the puzzle and less driving your GM up a wall. Things are most difficult in the dark, and not everybody has dark vision.
Encounters also have the tendency to be deadly. Yes, of course they can be deadly in any system. But many games prioritize longevity and story over most other things- a standard that I tend to appreciate- but ShadowDark learns hard into a style that keeps the game going. Don’t waste time arguing about a plan, we don’t have time for that. In fact, there may not be time to plan at all, we may just be going for it and hoping for the best. Things don’t get boring, there aren’t usually slow-downs or sessions where the GM does a lot of planning and the players only stand in one room and discuss treasure distribution. We’re losing light and it’s time to get going.
Character Creation & Game Play
If you’ve played other TTRPGs, you’ll likely be familiar enough with ShadowDark‘s playstyle. Players chose from four classes and works within six traits. Many aspects are randomly rolled up using a reference chart, and much of the necessarily information is located on just a small handful of pages for quick and easy referencing.
Similarly, the rules follow a roll and add your modifiers sort of play style style that we’re all very used to. It’s not exactly innovative, but we’re also not tryin to reinvent the wheel when it rolls so well already.
And I think that’s the crux of ShadowDark and what’s made it so popular. It’s not a whole new take on the tabletop roleplaying game. Instead, it takes elements that already worked from other games and melded them together into something that’s equal parts fantasy and realism. Sure, we’re fighting monsters in a dungeon, the stakes are high and we’ve got to keep an eye on the clock.
Have you played ShadowDark yet? What do you think of this system? Do you prefer your games a little more realistic, or total fantasy? Let us know in the comments!
Happy adventuring!
