I find the Cleric class a bit awkward and I recently stumbled on a system (Crytps & Things) that does not have Clerics. Instead there is white, grey and black magic. White magic contains cleric-like spells, while grey and black magic is closer to spell list of the Magic-user class. Grey magic causes damage to the caster, while black magic's toll is graver and corrupts the caster. (see this review for a better explanation).

I really think this is flavorful. Is there something similar for Shadowdark?

A buried castle is revealed once more as something ancient and terrible awakens beneath. At the bottom of the sea, a palace standing outside time is the site of an audacious heist. Above a desolate peak, an invisible stairway ascends to the stars.

NinjaDark: Five Strange Adventures gives you five ready-to-play mini-adventures, each one a complete story on a double-sided A5 card. Run them standalone or combine into a journey through Meido, Land of the Dead.

Inspired by Miyamoto Musashi's Book of Five Rings and creepy traditional Japanese folk tales, each adventure explores both a different elemental force and a totally different style of play.

We made this because we just wanted to explore adventures that felt different from the usual. And we thought the mini-adventure format would be easier to write (spoiler: it's much much harder). So we've got imprisoned kaiju; a reverse heist where you have to escape with the treasure (and where time is stopped); climbing a 1000 year-old bonsai, and so on. If you're looking for something different, check it out.

Hey everyone! We just launched Rock & Roar! Once Bitten, Twice Shy on Kickstarter!

If you like classic rock and tabletop RPGs, we’ve mashed the two together into another collection of music-inspired monsters. The creatures make plenty of nods to song lyrics and the songbooks of the bands that inspired them.

A few details:

• 54 new monsters inspired by songs and musical artists
• Separate editions for Shadowdark and Old-School Essentials
• At least 16 magic items, plus mini-quests
• Stretch goals to unlock even more content!

The original Rock & Roar! was successfully Kickstarted and fulfilled earlier this year, and we had copies available at the Arcane Library booth at Gen Con. Now we're back for another round of musical mayhem!

If you'd like some classic rock in your next RPG session, come check it out!

After making a bunch of generators & name tools based on my lists last week, I thought it might be useful if some of the tools helped the players too. Now, there's a monster folkname generator that they can use to name a monster they come across in the wild. A name they discover and assign.

It's for the GM too, because villagers don't say "owlbear." They name the thing that ate their goats.

Hit the button and you get five names. Some words fit any creature. Tags match the creature type. No beakless beasts called Blisterbeak. Every tag is on by default. Click one to switch it off.

> Monster Folkname Generator

I also overhauled the Kumonosu tools for my drow setting. The dictionary now has 569 words (slowly it's becoming a proper language you can actually speak), and the name, settlement, inn, shrine and house crest generators all draw from it. There's a script tool too, if you want your handouts in drow lettering.

> Kumonosu Tools

Every tool is free. If you want to hear when new ones go up, I send out a newsletter every other Thursday called Idle Thoughts. New subscribers get Vigil, a level 4 crawl to free a king's soul and slay vampires, for free: sign up here. Okay, I feel like a disgusting shill now. I need to bathe in lye.

I'm thinking about tackling jungle (CS 4 adjacent) generators next, but also maybe establishing some character ones. Let me know if there are any in particular you are interested in. Okay, that's not entirely true. I'm working on Nang's Noodle Shop at the moment, but I'm letting the others simmer.

Looking to hear from experienced Shadowdark GMs and players: do you run reactions and morale as written in the Shadowdark core book, or do you use an adjusted version?

I’ve been on an OSR/Old School kick of late, buying everything from OSE and Swords & Wizardry to Knave and Mork Borg. Something that struck me is Shadowdark’s reactions table trends far more hostile than most 2d6 reaction tables (including for other games that also add CHA mod), and the DC 15 WIS check for morale makes creatures very cowardly compared to classic 2d6-roll-over-morale monsters, but also other alternatives like Dungeon Crawl Classic’s WIL save morale checks.

I had been inclined to change the morale check DC to 12, with ADV or DISADV rolls for especially brave and cowardly creatures, respectively, and a modified reactions table where only a 2 was immediately hostile (attack on sight), trying to more closely emulate that games, but maybe that’s a mistaken instinct.

How do reactions and morale play in your experience? Do you run RAW with good results, or do you tweak the default procedures?

How do you run a warband that has spell casting?

Like a cultist warband would have

Hp:32 Lvl:4 Longsword +1 (3d8) .

But does the Deathtouch spell become (6d4) or does it stay the same and can only be used on unique beings. I didnt see anywhere thatd clarify spells for warbands.