I like to think that a shady Tetromino Commissioner convinced Bo Jackson that his talents were needed in yet another arena. Thanks for the high praise!
a hobgoblin
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I want more of the Rock Snorters! I enjoyed that their tactics are all terrible and very Street Fighter appropriate. There are two Rock Snorters submerged in a sewage pool, breathing through a straw? That's bonkers!
Fun, inordinately colorful characters and quite an expansive dungeon that seems ready to use. Nice work!
Classic Shadowdark hex-y dressings and cool cover art! Really Drunk is a great trait name. The threads of night are awesome, and the risk of becoming a Thrall is a lot of fun. The CHA boon "spells" is a neat potential reward!
I got a little confused on the overview page and by the map. It makes sense, but there are many boxes, arrows, and maps with multiple perspectives. I noticed the adventure Overview states that "Korreg Lem has[Leffa] in their basement, [...]" However, Visha Pereem is the school with Leffa! They are identical, so I can see why it was mixed up, haha.
The whole concept is really fun and well-executed!
The way the Sigil Instability keeps the pressure front and center in the players' minds seems like a fun element, though I agree with the other commenter that 70 minutes feels quick! The three trials and the boss battle are great individual set-piece encounters or challenges, and the inspirations for each are quite clear. The games themselves have very little overlap, so I'm sure it was a challenge to tie them into a cohesive adventure. Fun ideas!
Hey, this has an elegant simplicity that I dig, personally. The layout is clean with a restrained use of color, and the scope of the keep is tight and usable. I like the fire-and-ice mashup from the inspo, though it may be difficult to incorporate much of the background information. The Wand of Shape Ice has no obvious purpose (from what I can tell), but it seems that it could lend itself to all sorts of shenanigans.
As for what Cri pointed out, you may have intended the Area 2 bridge to be above Area 10 (typo of Area 11), since that room describes the flame monsters being unaware of the bridge above them slowly melting.
Thanks for taking a look! That's true: physical stats feature in most checks. Adding a glitch or something that targets mental stats could be a huge win!
The Winged Yeti is a nod to my entry in the last Shadowdark game jam. Definitely not a relevant reference for anyone but myself, but with the DK Jr. NES title, I figured I'd sneak it in there in place of DK.
CCN usage is a smart way to scale the castle's difficulty, especially if players may travel through them out of order. The consistent castle layout is helpful and very Super Mario. The Silverfish's transform mechanic is a neat way to "promote" a mob monster.
I'd agree with the other comment that the sheer amount of enemies may overwhelm Shadowdark characters. Shuffling in unique treasures or giving the transformed commoners personalities might enrich a castle's unique feel.
Fun concept and very NES-style!
Hey, this was a lot of fun to read through, and it seems very usable. I like the Adventure-type scales at the beginning that let GMs/Players know what to expect. Having the players pick the quick start scenario is a fun touch. Respect for handcrafting your map and the 3D perspectives were a nice touch!
Thank goodness Captain Sneerl forgot to charge his disintegration gun!
The rumors seem extremely helpful for directing players and hinting at puzzles! I love that the weapons double as cool magic items and puzzle pieces. Also, the Demonic Draw boss mechanic is awesome! I was wondering if the bloodstains carried significance, so I'm glad you added the boxed callout.
I typically like a less directly structured dungeon adventure, but given the NES Zelda inspiration and the Baron de Ropp escalated puzzle influence, this is perfect! It really feels like you could have pulled this out of an NES classic and put in Shadowdark details.
I love the dark graphics and hand-drawn aesthetics, very Shadowdark. The town of Undertow, the Cave, and the Fugu-folk have great character. This has awesome vibes!
It took me a little while to figure out how the 2d8 exploration/encounter table works. For enemy encounters, you have provided cool monsters, but does the GM decide which ones, how many, and whether to include those or other Shadowdark creatures every time? The Hazards seem more manageable for a GM to improvise.
I have to agree with folks that "She, Most Deep" is an excellent, ominous name. Good work!
You nailed the NES vibes here! I love the art and layout design too. It might be a bit busy on the Area description pages with the background and everything, but I love it. The setup is easy to understand, but everything absolutely oozes with personality!
Let me just call out a few of my favorite things.
- "His pus-filled eyes ooze and crust from ‘seeing too much shit’" Geeez
- A swanboat-hippo love story
- Saving the day without all the keys (though I'm not sure how the option is communicated to the players)
- 5d100 damage on explosion? So you're saying there's a chance! :P
- Torches with effects? Genius!
- Poor ol' Pizbak
- Everything happening at The Gash
Very fun! Very playable!
Fun dungeon escape full of Greek mythology! Casting Felix the Cat as a Rakshasa is the best. Backwards name and backwards hands!
I ran into questions in a few places; for instance, regarding Quakes with Xelif. Since that happens every round, is there always a 50% chance of hitting another PC? Or is it one time per round? Can the Cyclops's key simply be taken while he's petrified? Is this intended to telegraph the Medusa?
Regarding the Medusa, I love the idea of calming the pool, a great way to incorporate the environment; similarly, the Cerberus' Lair bursts of fire. And "Tracks. Circuits the room — Match the PC's footwear." Great way to provide players with insight into some of the setup here!
Great work! I love a bit of mythology! Oh, and great maps as well!
I'm not 100% sure, but the jam may have asked to incorporate all three NES titles that were assigned. Regardless, I'm a fan of the layout and graphics, and the excellent use of Mega Man.
The start menu table of contents and the pre-gen stat blocks are all splendid. The map is clean and readable, and for the most part, I was able to identify the rooms from the descriptions easily. I have an idea how I might run the sliding floor tiles, though it's not immediately obvious to me. Fun thematic monsters, especially the Silent Guardians (a la the Weeping Angels). The distended giant snake is a great way to clue players in that it has one of the crystals.
We need a stat block for the Ancient Weapon so we can have a Kaiju Battle! Awesome work!
Tidy little bandit hideout! I love the semi-procedural nature of the module. It gives enough structure and detail to be a consistent and sensible locale and cast while incorporating indeterminate, interesting elements for replayability or looseness at the table.
I like the three-x-ago setup, but it took me a moment to realize that the brigands, bandits, and mauraders were the same bunch. The vocabulary used throughout is very enjoyable! Great work!
Splendid art and layout (w/ nicely featured Dyson Map). Awesome vibes from the enthralled and Mind Masters. The challenge presented to the players provides room for investigation, conversation, and problem-solving in the village before things get cooking (enthralled villagers or otherwise). The repercussions of a completed ritual are so intriguing, I almost hope the players fail to stop it! Awesome work!
Interesting purgatory-state for a dreamy village. The atmosphere is heavy and the details sparse, but the flow and task are communicated well. Once the players understand that finding and destroying the statues is their aim, a final obstacle for the players to confront might be a good addition. Fun idea and good work! "The sheep dream true!" Spooky!
Cool mechanism to summon up a menagerie of strange locales, my submission has a similar idea! I like the cover art you've put together. It might be easier to find outcomes if the second-order circle were a header row and the intersection of column/row pointed straight to the outcome. But that might squish your descriptions a bit.
"It reads: Live. Laugh. Love. if deciphered." That's hilarious. I must use that at some point. Good work!
I love the three-part act structure and layout of your adventure. Clever usage of props, traps, and treasures to enhance the theme and field of each part! That and the different ways of encountering Karkinos or Amphipteres all create a vibe and enrich each set piece. The presentation includes numerous neat ideas for providing the GM with tools that show the players what a space is about. Great work!
Great cover and comprehensive roll tables. It's uncommon to have an adventure primarily aimed at survival, so this could be fun! I wonder if locating the void ship and uncovering a way to heal the steppe could be incorporated up front with the survival aspect. Also, I like the concentric circle navigation. Nice work!


