Apr 6, 2025 10:22 pm
This campaign aims to create a nice, clean, long-term, OSR dungeon-delving experience. Something a small group of us can get into a semi-daily routine. My goal is to get a regular kick of TTRPG that fits into a busy schedule and that'll still let us tell the story of adventurers exploring the world and maybe one day making it to level 10.
The aim will be to have posts be relatively succinct so the higher frequency of posting is manageable (say at least every 1 to 3 days). Simply stating an action for the current room along with an aside of dialogue or inner monologue if players would like to get into some RP. Perhaps we can have a separate chatter thread so characters can talk freely without waiting for their turn to post. This would just be run by a common sense rule of when talking between each other is possible. This isn't to say RP won't be encouraged! Just that game pacing will be a priority.
In terms of commitment, I know the likelihood of collecting four to five people on the internet and committing to a very long-term game is probably wildly rare, but I am open to the idea of searching out new players to replace old ones; it'll just be a matter of open communication. I totally respect the reality of life getting in the way of things, It's crazy out there!
I'd like to start with the iconic 'Lost Citadel of the Scarlet Minotaur' to feel the game out before potentially opening up into a more sandbox game. However, I know Shadowdark players might be too accustomed to this module, so I'd be happy to start something custom.
In terms of tone, I'm aiming for some standard fare. Your classic fantasy, violence and evil. However, I'm specifically not interested in exploring darker themes such as sexual violence or sadism. I'm also not a fan of PvP without substantial story reasons and investment from both players. There will be standard expected levels of character death, as is the nature of Shadowdark. When characters are killed, I'd like to have a tradition of players describing their own death so they can manage their own levels of comfort with death and send themselves off in the heroic style they deserve.
I welcome any experience level. I started on D&D 4e, moved to 5e, and have DM'd and played plenty over the board for several years. However, I have limited Shadowdark experience; this will be my first time running a PbP game.
Players of all walks of life are welcome. This game will be LGBT-friendly.
Some extra stuff about converting Shadowdark into something more PbP friendly.
- Shadowdark uses 'always on' initiative. In PbP, I would loosen this to just make sure all other players have posted before posting again. We can skip people if they do not post in three days.
- My current plan for Initiative in combat will be for me to roll everyone's initiative and have players act either before or after the enemies.
- Torch timers will expire after 10 rounds (This can be tweaked and balanced if we find the frequency is off).
- Posts will simply state what point of interest you'd like to investigate and how.
- To help move between rooms run a bit smoother, players can end a post with 'ready to move' or 'ready to follow character x' So we don't need everyone to describe moving into the next room independently.
I'm very open to more experienced PbP players' advice on how to make a game run smoothly. I'll have this open on a first come, first served basis because I assume if you've read this post and you are interested, there's no reason you shouldn't be on board!
Last edited April 6, 2025 11:52 pm
