What’s in the Grave?
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The knight pants steadily, loudly on one knee. Sweat pours down his face and beard. He and the northman take turns digging up the grave until they tap on the wooden lid. After a few quick glances, the knight and the northener leap back into...
Played The Black Sword Hack
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Unfortunately, I don't have enough time to try many other ttrpgs as often as I would like. Conventions are a great way to sample other RPG systems and settings. And there are always Discord channels or Start Playing to try different flavors and mechanics. I...
Reflecting on mounted combat in Shadowdark
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Last week, I DM'd my Horselord of Tanishorn one-shot from EruditeZINE No. 1 aka "WARHORSE". I was curious about fleshing out the mechanics and rules for my new Knight Lancer Class and Jousting, plus mounted combat rules as well. The one-shot has the PCs mounted,...
Awesome medieval melee combat in RPGs
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Director Roman Polanski brought Shakespeare's "Macbeth" to the big screen in 1971. And the final fight sequence of men in plate armor with swords, axes, and daggers is still one of the best ever caught on film. It shows the grit and ingenuity of two men...
Do we need a Caller in Shadowdark like D&D in the old days?
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]If you've played tabletop RPGs for a while—especially old-school D&D—you might have heard of something called the “caller.” It’s a role that’s kind of faded out in most modern games… except, maybe not entirely. While Dungeons & Dragons has moved on from formally using a caller,...
Knight Lancer Class for Shadowdark RPG
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A FREE download for Shadowdark RPG. For the longest time, D&D and other ttrpgs, and now Shadowdark have failed to satisfy my need for a traditional jousting knight in the mold of the Arthurian cannon. Now I am working on my first Shadowdark supplement for warhorses...
A New Podcast for Shadowdark Fans
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Started in 2024, by veteran gamers Matt Bruner and Jody Kropholler, Dungeon Master Diaries (DMD) is a podcast about Shadowdark and other roleplaying games. I stumbled across it while listening to other podcasts. My favorite is Monsters & Treasure from Daniel Norton (Bandit's Keep) and...
My Philosophy of Fantasy TTRPGS
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Starting this website and spending my time with some great people, I think it is important to explain my philosophy of TTRPGS. That’s not to say my view is popular or agreeable to everyone. But it will help explain how I view my world settings...
Talking Shadowdark on Monday Night Adventures
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]After watching these guys play Shadowdark every Monday night for almost a year on YouTube livestream, they asked me to join in and play! All of my snarky sniping in the comments sections, aka the "Peanut Gallery", finally paid off. HAhaha! On this particular Monday night,...