Rules

369 rules · 30 books

The complete rules reference, in book order. Pick a book, jump to a chapter, or filter across everything.

Shadowdark Core

Introduction

p.9 · 2 rules
Shadowdark p.9
The Basics p.12

Characters

p.16 · 12 rules
Overview p.16
Starting Level p.18
Stats p.19
Background p.30
Alignment p.31
Deities p.32
Titles p.34
Languages p.36
Starting Gear, AC p.37
Gear Slots Gear › Gear Slots p.39
Character Names p.42
Level Advancement p.43

Magic

p.48 · 4 rules
Casting Spells p.48
Wizard Mishaps p.50
Scrolls and Wands p.53
Spell Attributes p.54

Gameplay

p.79 · 16 rules
Adventuring p.79
Rolling the Dice p.82
Luck Tokens p.83
Using Stats p.84
Making Checks p.85
Time p.86
Turn Order p.87
Crawling p.88
Resting p.90
Stealth and Surprise p.91
Combat p.92
Overland Travel p.94
Downtime p.95
Carousing p.96
Wizards and Thieves p.98
Example of Play p.100

Game Master

p.105 · 25 rules
Your Role p.105
The Players p.107
Core Ethos p.108
On Balance p.109
Running the Game p.110
Not the Enemy p.112
Set the Tone p.113
Let There Be Darkness p.114
Modes of Play p.115
Random Encounters p.116
Traps p.118
Hazards p.119
The Gauntlet p.120
Awarding XP p.121
Something Happens! p.122
Rumors p.124
Adventures p.126
NPCs p.128
Rival Crawlers p.130
NPC Names p.132
Shadowdark Maps p.134
Overland Hex Maps p.136
Settlement Maps p.138
Taverns p.140
Shops p.142

Monsters

p.193 · 4 rules
Monster Attributes p.193
Monster Generator p.194
Make It Weird p.195
Designing Monsters p.196

Treasure

p.271 · 5 rules
Treasure and XP p.271
Mundane Items p.282
Boons p.284
Magic Item Attributes p.286
Designing Magic Items p.300