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Incline Shadow of the Demon Lord

Andhaira

Arcane
Joined
Nov 25, 2007
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1,868,966
The new RPG Kickstarted earlier this year by Robert J Schwalb. Pdf released on Drivethru.

Inspired by WFRP, D&D and DCC. The setting is dark, but the darkness can be toned down a bit for a perilous world, or dialed up for a world on the brink of destruction. The bad guy aka demon lord, is coming out of the void summoned by his cultists. This causes major catastrophies all over the world, or not if the GM wishes.

Adventures are designed to be short, Schwalb aimed a complete campaign to be played in 2-3 months time. The character generation is simple in the beginning, but opens up as you level offering many choices. Combat is deadly, hit points remain small. System is simple.

Thus far I like it, but still have to read it all. Looks great for play by forum. Art is full color and pretty, suitable for a grim dark world. And I haven't even checked out the monster section yet.

http://drivethrurpg.com/product/155572/Shadow-of-the-Demon-Lord?term=shadow+of+the+demon

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_of_the_Demon_Lord

Lhynn LeStryfe79 Scrooge Night Goat
 

Xathrodox86

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If it's inspired by one of the greatest RPG's ever made (WFRP) it can't be a bad thing! Not to mention that dark and gritty settings are usually more interesting and diverse than all the shiny and heroic ones.
 

Andhaira

Arcane
Joined
Nov 25, 2007
Messages
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If it's inspired by one of the greatest RPG's ever made (WFRP) it can't be a bad thing! Not to mention that dark and gritty settings are usually more interesting and diverse than all the shiny and heroic ones.

Schwalb designed WFRP 2e along with Chris Pramas, as well as worked on D&D 4e and 5e with WOTC staff.

Anyhow, this game has some adult/icky content. There is a spell called Hole of Glory (teleportation spell). Another spell of forbidden magic (evil magic) makes your victim shit himself to death.

Aside from that it's great and mostly mature in tone. The grim dark is handled well. Technology has steampunk elements, with gunpowder, steam power, and trains. Also Blimps or some type of air ship.

System is class based, and very clean with less fiddly bits. You start at level 0 like DCC, go through a basic adventure and then choose a Basic Path (Warrio, Rogue, Mage, Priest). At level 3 you choose an expert Path from a large number. Then at level 7 a master path from another large number. At the same time you advance in level in your earlier paths gaining a new ability or spell at each level. Max level is 10. There are rules if you want to start your game at a higher level than 0 or 1, so no need to slog through a 0 level funnel if you don't want.

One of the best things though, are the Shadow of the Demon Lord mechanics. Basically, the Narrator chooses the extent of the grim darkness of the world. The default setting is a world in chaos, with an empire that has crumbled and each city state sealing it's doors and becoming their own masters. There are guidelines given for major cities, but mostly you are free to add your own stuff. (There is for instance a city of thieves, and also one of beggars I think for those Grey Mouser/Conan/Elric type city adventures. ) There is an advanced city with more steam tech and trains. And so on.

If you choose though, you can use the encroaching Shadow rules to increase the grimdark elements. Here are excerpts as an example:

The game world is in crisis—a crisis created by the Demon Lord. A malevolent and eternal force of entropy, it exists to
devour universes and consume the souls inhabiting them. Although it is an entity of staggering power, the Demon
Lord cannot pass through the boundary between the Void and the universe—at least not yet. Cracks and fissures
appear in the barrier from time to time, though, allowing evil to slip through. Once the Demon Lord’s attention falls on a particular
universe and its hordes have begun to intrude, its influence starts bleeding out from the Void like an evil stain. The
Shadow of the Demon Lord disrupts the cosmic order, weakening and ultimately unraveling the barrier that keeps
the ultimate darkness at bay. The influence of the Shadow can be local, regional, or global. Should it touch a being of immense magical
power, magic might behave in strange and unexpected ways. If it falls over the Gates of the Underworld, they
might seal shut and prevent the souls of the dead from leaving their corpses.

Using the Shadow
The Shadow of the Demon Lord is an optional element that can greatly enhance the mood of foreboding and terror in
your game. It might loom over the entire campaign or be an unstable effect that changes once, twice, or many times. It
can be the main crisis in your stories or a distant threat that lurks in the background.

Black Sun
The Shadow eclipses the sun, turning it black. Impossibly, light still emanates from the shadowed disk, but it is
brown, sickly, and unwholesome. The sun’s gentle warmth becomes a hellish furnace, destroying life as the landscape
becomes a bone-strewn dustbowl.

Game Effect
Food and water grow scarce, and temperatures climb to intolerable levels. Creatures are subject to the effects of exposure (see Game Master’s Toolbox)
for each hour spent unprotected in the tainted sunlight. If exposure causes a creature to take a penalty to Health, it becomes badly burned and blistered.
The dreadful radiation oppresses all that it falls over. From the hours of 9:00 to 11:00 AM and 2:00 to 4:00 PM, creatures in the black sun’s light make all d20 rolls with
1 bane. From the hours of 11 AM to 2 PM, they make the rolls with 2 banes.

Bloom
The Shadow infuses flora with malevolent power, causing plants to shoot up to astonishing size. Forests spring up
overnight. Vines swallow cities. Overland travel becomes almost impossible. In this new environment, strange
creatures skulk through grasses a dozen feet tall or higher to make a meal of whatever they can grab.

Game Effect

The wilderness largely reclaims civilized lands, making travel challenging. Roads disappear, and overland
movement is at one-quarter the normal rate. Lakes and streams become choked with the roots of towering trees.
The wilderness becomes much more threatening: when checking for random encounters, roll twice and use the
higher number.

Corrupted Organization
A powerful organization, such as the Inquisition, the druids, or the Black Hand, comes under the sway of the Demon Lord
and bends its efforts toward hastening the end of the world.

Game Effect
The effects of the Shadow vary with the organization, but usually it induces an obsession with mass destruction.
For example, the Inquisition might persecute anyone who uses magic, not just those who dabble in the dark arts.
The Black Hand might turn to assassinating the rulers of nations, plunging the land into chaos.

Curse of the Beastmen
Overnight, one person in ten transforms into a beastman such as a fomor or warg (see Chapter 10). The victims go
mad and turn against their families in an orgy of violence. Chaos and upheaval spread as the beastmen gather into
hordes to destroy the civilized world.

Game Effect
The flood of new beastmen emboldens the existing tribes, making them more powerful. All beastmen make attack
rolls with 1 boon, and their attacks with weapons deal 1d6 extra damage.

Famine and Drought
The rain stops. Weeks turn into months and months turn into years without a drop from the sky. Water becomes
more precious than gold, and ultimate power belongs to those mortals who can reliably create water with magic.

Game Effect

The world becomes a desert. Water is almost impossible to find. A character attempting to cast a Water spell must first
get a success on a Will challenge roll. Otherwise the spell fails, the casting is expended, and the action to cast it is wasted
 

DavidBVal

4 Dimension Games
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Schwalb designed WFRP 2e along with Chris Pramas, as well as worked on D&D 4e and 5e with WOTC staff.

WFRP 2e -> removes the sense of humor and uniqueness from WFRP.
D&D 4e -> ugh.

Still, worth looking into. Thanks for sharing.
 

Xathrodox86

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WFRP 2e -> removes the sense of humor and uniqueness from WFRP.
D&D 4e -> ugh.

Still, worth looking into. Thanks for sharing.

They've tried to tie WFRP and WFB in 2nd edition. That's why it was set right after the Storm of Chaos. Personally I liked the tone shift from goofy setting that was 1st edition to a more mature one. They've completely dropped the ball in 3rd edition tough...
 

Night Goat

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:necro:

So, is anyone playing this? It looks interesting but seems to be already dead, there's currently not a single game of it on Roll20.
 

Andhaira

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Nov 25, 2007
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:necro:

So, is anyone playing this? It looks interesting but seems to be already dead, there's currently not a single game of it on Roll20.

lol no, it's not dead in the least. It's become one of the most popular tabletop fantasy games out there, and possibly the most popular grim dark fantasy game. WFRP 4e may give it a run for its money though, as might Zweihander now that that has been out a while.
 

udm

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Make the Codex Great Again!
Still alive, but I'm really more excited for the Punkapocalyptic RPG, which also runs on the SotDL engine. Finally, a low-gonzo post-apoc RPG that's closer to Mad Max.
 

Magellan

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lol no, it's not dead in the least. It's become one of the most popular tabletop fantasy games out there, and possibly the most popular grim dark fantasy game. WFRP 4e may give it a run for its money though, as might Zweihander now that that has been out a while.

Zweihander is really good too. :)
 

Old One

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Necro!

Anyone playing this? I'm curious what it's like and how it's going.

Would this be an okay candidate for a first-time RPG experience for young people? They're already sort of twisted weirdos (not in a bad way though), so I'm not really worried about content.
 
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