Shadowdark Quickstart Ruleset

[Gwydion]

With permission from Kelsey Dionne from The Arcane Library, I've created character sheets and most of the records (items, spells, classes, etc..) to start playing Shadowdark with the quickstart rules. I will keep working on this as I have time. Kelsey has given me permission to convert the entire quickstart player's guide and GM guide. Please see the forge link here for the current build:

https://forge.fantasygrounds.com/shop/items/1096/view

I don't have a lot of instructions yet but make sure you subscribe the Xcore ruleset from the forge here:
https://forge.fantasygrounds.com/shop/items/984/view

Then make sure you have subscribed to Shadowdark quickstart files (linked above).

Current video on how to create a character is here:
https://youtu.be/Uci70I53Z60

Next steps for me are as follows:

Finish bestiary and create a module with NPC records for GMs (complete) COMPLETE
Create full quickstart players guide ref manual (complete) COMPLETE
Create full GM guide ref manual (in process, adventure nearly complete) COMPLETE



UPDATE: Build 6 adds a counter to all spells with the title "Active". It is set to "1" but if you fail a spell, set it to "0" to note that it is not available again until after a rest.


Shout out to Damned for creating a theme for Shadowdark and for creating the XCore ruleset to make this possible! Also, if you want a free pdf copy of the Shadowdark ruleset, you can find it here:
https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/pages/shadowdark

It might take me a while given workload but I'll respond to questions/requests as I can. Hope you enjoy!

[Gwydion]

Added the GM quickstart guide as a separate forge upload. This includes the entire reference manual, all monsters and the adventure with LOS. Please give me feedback if you see any issues. I'm working on pregens this weekend. Note that I included the theme extension in this build as I thought it was more appropriate than having in the player build. Enjoy!

https://forge.fantasygrounds.com/shop/items/1114/view

[Gwydion]

Added Sound module on the forge. Please note you must have Mattekure's Syrinscape Sound module and a subscription to Syrinscape for this to work.

https://forge.fantasygrounds.com/shop/items/1122/view

[Seya]

That's great. Thanks adding this

[Angloson]

Wonderful. I'll be checking in frequently. Thanks!

[Gwydion]

Quick update. I finished the bestiary but want to proof it more before I release it broadly on the forge. Stay tuned!

[Glorwin]

Thanks!!

[Gwydion]

New version is now on the forge with the player's guide ref manual built out. Let me know what you think!

[Gwydion]

Working on converting the adventure in the QuickStart guide.

[Glorwin]

Your the Man!

[Angloson]

You mention Damned made a ShadowDark theme for Xcore. I don't see that extension. Where can I download that? Thanks

[damned]

If @Gwydion had set it up right it should be part of the sand forge download

It's nothing special but it is closer to Shadow dark than the default XCore theme

[Angloson]

Ah..ok, thanks!

[damned]

Ah..ok, thanks!

It looks like Gwydion left it out on his last update. It will be added back in soon.

[Gwydion]

Yes. I have a build pending for the GM quickstart guide and decided to put it back there. Next time I'll remember when I have an update I need to include all files again.....

[geekxx]

Hmm...only the Shadowdark theme is available as an extension in the campaign creation window, though the log says both the theme and ruleset were detected.

[damned]

Its an XCore campaign - thats the ruleset.
Load the Xcore - Theme extension in the Create/Load campaign screen
Inside the campaign Activate the library module(s).

[Angloson]

Thanks, it's up and there. Good work for such a fast turn around. I'll be working on more adventures in ShadowDark for my games...if the players like it.

[Gwydion]

Thanks for the assist @damned! Angloson, let me know what you think. I know it isn't perfect but I think playable. Going to try and work on pregens this weekend. For now I'm off to see my alma mater at the NCAA tournament....

[Gwydion]

Updated with all 8 pregens. Video on how combat works here:

https://youtu.be/Fc1OzLnpS7U

[geekxx]

I'm still not able to get it to work. This is what I see in the create campaign screen:
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And these are the modules that appear:
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And when I create a new character, this is the sheet I get (not the SD sheet):
56767

[Gwydion]

Have you updated to the most recent version I loaded today? It has the eight pregens. See the YouTube videos linked above. You can use one of the pregens as a template. Let me know if you need additional assistance. Keep me posted.

[Angloson]

Hey, is there an extension for languages in Xcore? I notice the extensions I use for 5E are not showing. Do I need to create them myself? Is there a way to create how a language text looks? Thanks. (New to Xcore)

Everything else seems to be working... I hope this could be a new ruleset after the Kickstarter is out. I have backed it and I'll try to run a full blown campaign using the digital goodies I get.

[damned]

Which extension are you using for 5E?
Open it up and add

<ruleset>
<name>XCore</name>
</ruleset>

in the extension.xml

[Angloson]

Ah.. I realized it is and extension or called one, but it does not show in the folders. For 5E it is the Feature: D&D-Official language fonts (FR). I just downloaded the Extended language fonts for Core ruleset and it works. BUT now I'm getting an error. I'll try to reload things, it may not work with this.

[Gwydion]

Working on a soundboard using syrinscape soundboard from mattekure. Any interest?

[Lawlesslisa]

:) that would be awesome

[Gwydion]

:) that would be awesome

Ask and you shall receive! I'll post in the first post as well but it is available on the forge now. You will need to have mattkekure's syrinscape module as well as a syrinscape sub.

https://forge.fantasygrounds.com/shop/items/1122/view

[damned]

Ah.. I realized it is and extension or called one, but it does not show in the folders. For 5E it is the Feature: D&D-Official language fonts (FR). I just downloaded the Extended language fonts for Core ruleset and it works. BUT now I'm getting an error. I'll try to reload things, it may not work with this.

Share a link to the extension?

[Angloson]

The feature of 5E for the Forgotten Realms fonts I can't see in the folders. However, here is the extension I used from the Forge https://forge.fantasygrounds.com/shop/items/62/view I keep getting the error window slide out. Although the fonts seem to work.

[Angloson]

Another oddity: I had added all of the languages of ShadowDark to the list of languages to use in chat. I just updated and opened my campaign and while the extension is loaded, they no longer are listed in the drop-up menu in the chat. They do show up in the language window when I go to options. They are not added there, as they were when I did add them. That is, I have the option to add them, but they did not save as added from when I added them.

[Oso Buho]

Just a small note. Zaldini the Red has the Burning Hands spell twice, he's missing Charm Person.

[Gwydion]

Just a small note. Zaldini the Red has the Burning Hands spell twice, he's missing Charm Person.

Thank you. Will fix.

[Angloson]

I now have the full ShadowDark digital ruleset. Is there anyone working on creating it in FGU? I don't know how to do that really. But I can start playing it anyway, inside the Quickstart portion. Thanks for any thoughts.

[Gwydion]

I now have the full ShadowDark digital ruleset. Is there anyone working on creating it in FGU? I don't know how to do that really. But I can start playing it anyway, inside the Quickstart portion. Thanks for any thoughts.

I'm not aware of an official version being worked on and unfortunately I'm not a real developer so what I've done is about all I can do. I'll let you know if I hear anything.

[MrShipments]

I'm not aware of an official version being worked on and unfortunately I'm not a real developer so what I've done is about all I can do. I'll let you know if I hear anything.

Is there anyone/developer that you might know which we can reach out to, to get a project moving forward?
We are already playing ShadowDark and would love to use the full set in FG.

BTW Great work on your Quickstart ruleset.

[damned]

Rumors... I hear rumors...

[Glorwin]

Rumors... I hear rumors...

I sure hope so!!

[Angloson]

Rumors... I hear rumors...

Rumors... in the tavern. That's how all great adventures start!

*Plops down on a stool, ****ing his ear around to hear all that is whispered in the light, shadows and darkness of the room.

[damned]

Roll 3d6 and call Wizards or Thieves!
Ohhh dont forget to put your money in first.

[MrShipments]

Roll 3d6 and call Wizards or Thieves!
Ohhh dont forget to put your money in first.

I will put in every gold piece I have to get SD on FG! ;)

[Gwydion]

Stay tuned.... If there is anything "official" that gets to be in process you all will be first to know!

[Angloson]

*Nearly falls off his stool, but manages to keep most of his drink in the mug.

"May the light be with you."

[mrsshipments]

Any news on support for ShadowDark?

[Gwydion]

Any news on support for ShadowDark?

Yes. We received the approval from Kelsey to start an official conversion. Clearly it will take time but we are starting and will keep everyone apprised of progress.

[Angloson]

Yes. We received the approval from Kelsey to start an official conversion. Clearly it will take time but we are starting and will keep everyone apprised of progress.

This is wonderful news! Thanks for everything! I'll try to run a few games until completion of the conversion.

[genokahn]

Yes. We received the approval from Kelsey to start an official conversion. Clearly it will take time but we are starting and will keep everyone apprised of progress.

That is awesome news, Gwydion! Thanks so much for taking on this "labor of love"! I am super excited to see a full Shadowdark ruleset mod for FGU! And many thanks to Kelsey and The Arcane Library team for creating an amazing old school gaming system. I have been adding new monsters to the quickplay ruleset as needed while playing through modules (I own the full Shadowdark ruleset now).

Question: Is there any way to add more space to the "Description" section of the Item template? When adding new items, I have to constantly scroll up and down in the description box because you can only read one (maybe two) line at a time.

[Gwydion]

That is awesome news, Gwydion! Thanks so much for taking on this "labor of love"! I am super excited to see a full Shadowdark ruleset mod for FGU! And many thanks to Kelsey and The Arcane Library team for creating an amazing old school gaming system. I have been adding new monsters to the quickplay ruleset as needed while playing through modules (I own the full Shadowdark ruleset now).

Question: Is there any way to add more space to the "Description" section of the Item template? When adding new items, I have to constantly scroll up and down in the description box because you can only read one (maybe two) line at a time.

Let me look into it this weekend. I think I know what you mean.

[HolyOutlaw]

Sir Gwydion, Assuming there will be a Shadowdark forum under the Game Systems section in the near future for official updates?

[Gwydion]

At some point we definitely will. Just getting started so I would check here and in the discord channel for now. Thanks!

[spoofer]

Hey all! I am the "data dude" for this project. There were 195 rollable table in that book! I never want to see a rollable table again in my life! ;)

Anyways, things are progressing smoothly. We have an awesome rule set programmer working on this. The mountain of data including the tables is done. We will have an alpha version soon.

[genokahn]

That is awesome, Spoofer! I don't envy you the task of creating all of those tables but better you than me :D Seriously though, thanks for taking on this monumental task. And thanks to all those folks behind the scenes that are working on the rule set.

[Glorwin]

Sounds awesome! Thanks you for the hard work and that goes to all involved!

[MrShipments]

Great news Spoofer! I can't wait to see all those rollable tables in action.

[spoofer]

Damned is writing the rule set. Here are some images he recently shared on Discord.

57386

57387

[spoofer]

We are making steady progress.

[Angloson]

This is wonderful news!! Thank you all for doing this. Can't wait.

I can feel the darkness creeping in.

[MrShipments]

Any news tidbits?

[spoofer]

We created an image for every monster. We are now working on tokens for every monster. Progress is steady---but there is a lot to do.

57656

[Angloson]

So many 3rd party modules, character classes, and more being created right now. ShadowDark is looking better and better. I'm looking forward to playing on FGU with less prep and more dark crawling!

Thanks for the work behind the scenes guys. This is the reason I have supported Fantasy Grounds over any other VTT. It's diverse in games, detail-rich in features and very versatile.

[spoofer]

We have tokens and images for every NPC. We are working on a set of 100 PC portraits.
I am toying with producing a few animated tokens. The look really cool.
The ruleset programming has been started and is proceeding smoothly.

[MrShipments]

About to start my 2nd group in Shadowdark. Any possible ETAs or news for the FG release?

[Angloson]

I second MrShipments. I'm working on a campaign, but would like todo it straight into the new ruleset. However, I know it takes loads of time, so we will enjoy it with less flare until then. :)

[damned]

We are still some way away from a release date.

[Shimrath]

Is there still a Shadowdark ruleset in the works?

Thanks,
Shimrath.

[spoofer]

Is there still a Shadowdark ruleset in the works?

Thanks,
Shimrath.

Unfortunately, no, not right now. We have stopped working on it. I hope that we start working on it again soon. If we do, then I will post a message stating that.

[MrShipments]

Unfortunately, no, not right now. We have stopped working on it. I hope that we start working on it again soon. If we do, then I will post a message stating that.

oh man... that's bad news.
Somewhere there is a baby goblin crying in his cave....:cry:

[Angloson]

Unfortunately, no, not right now. We have stopped working on it. I hope that we start working on it again soon. If we do, then I will post a message stating that.

Well, that IS unfortunate. Well, thanks for thinking about it. I'll tell my group. :(

[Grimm Pickins]

This is extremely disappointing. This is a ruleset I would easily pay for, as well as others considering the success of the kickstarter.

Despite my investment in FG, as an OSR guy, I find myself not quite getting what I want without having to learn the methodology of coding within - which has become much tougher than the earlier Classic version.

[Wulfgangrpg]

I am not sure why they stopped working on this, but I hope they change their minds or figure out what they need to do, (if there was a problem) to fix it...I looked over a lot of the OSR systems and shadowdark is the first one I really got excited about.

[Angloson]

I'm also still hopeful that ShadowDark ruleset on FGU will come to fruition. The popularity of it in the RPG world is great. I see that others are using other VTTs for this already. I'm a huge fan of FGU for a while. I don't want to use another VTT because of that. So, I'm still hopeful. :)

[Gwydion]

We are still planning on it. Just taking time and had some work and life issues. No ETA immediately but still planned.

[ToxicCrumble]

I know it's takes time, but is there any updated of the Shadowdark Rule set for FGU. I'm in now hurry, I'm just curious if there are any?

[spoofer]

Ahh. I looked for this thread a few weeks back. I thought it was deleted. I am glad you posted as I now see that the thread was in CoreRPG.

After a long hiatus, the development team decided, as a group, to change the membership. Some members retired. Others joined. The project was started again about one month ago and has gone very smoothly. We are in the final stage of the process and we hope to submit to SW for review within a few days. (Yup, we honestly are very close. It is going to happen soon! :))

[Angloson]

Ahh. I looked for this thread a few weeks back. I thought it was deleted. I am glad you posted as I now see that the thread was in CoreRPG.

After a long hiatus, the development team decided, as a group, to change the membership. Some members retired. Others joined. The project was started again about one month ago and has gone very smoothly. We are in the final stage of the process and we hope to submit to SW for review within a few days. (Yup, we honestly are very close. It is going to happen soon! :))

I am ecstatic beyond words. Thank you, thank you!

I will be rereading my PDFs and collected maps, adventures and more to be prepared when this is official. Amazing guys, amazing.

[ToxicCrumble]

WOO HOO! I'm stoked to give it a try, guess i know how im spending my weekend

[spoofer]

The first round of development is complete. We now submit to SW for review, and then fix any outstanding issues. :rv:

[ToxicCrumble]

Awesome! Cant wait ( i totally can btw <3 )

[Grimm Pickins]

Thank you for making this happen!

[Gwydion]

Good morning, all! I'll post on the FG discord as wel but wanted to give everyone warning that I will be deprecating the quickstart releases on the forum about 2-3 weeks after the official module is relesaed. Bayne and Kevin are getting close to releasing the official ruleset which will include the quickstart adventure. Given my quickstart conversion was built on Xcore I don't want to confuse peopole once the official moduel is released. I'll keep everyone posted. Thanks!

[Angloson]

Thanks Gwydion, for the heads up!!