OSR/Shadowdark: Escape from Slavery in the Odyssey Across the Wasting Sea

“Invaders from the sea struck your village without warning or mercy. Hobgoblin raiders ripped you from your homes in the dead of night, killing those they did not take and setting fire to everything you have ever known. Bundled into boats by the dozens, swift oars carried you across the ocean to an unknown land half a world away. Soon after you made landfall onto a tropical island, you were put to work digging up a strange ore that glowed with its own light. Weeks of toil have begun to take its toll, but word has begun to spread among the slaves, of a prophecy given by a priest of the God of Fate as she lay dying. A foretelling of ragged, battered souls who would suffer through every horror imaginable, but come through the other side and return home to carry word of what has happened here.

These words inspired hope, even as collapses and disease took lives by the dozens. This prophecy has given you something to cling to, and as the 30th day of your toil begins, a way out becomes clear…”

Looking for four players to run a small campaign centered on the escape and long voyage home of a group of runaway slaves.

The game system will be Shadowdark, a simple TTRPG inspired by old-school D&D editions with some modern elements and improvements. I will provide PDFs of all relevant books, and I must emphasize the system is not very complicated at all; whether you’re a veteran or a newbie, you’ll have no trouble picking it up. This system is also well-suited for individualized homebrew. I will point out that if you’re used to 5e, player characters in this sort of system operate at a *much* lower power level.

There will be a heavy emphasis on roleplay and cautious dungeoneering. Death is a very real threat; if a character stumbles on a poison dart trap, they will not be taking a certain amount of damage, they will roll a saving throw and perish if they fail. Player characters will all be originally ordinary villagers, normal people whose potential is brought out by incredible adversity. Combat will be similarly deadly;

The campaign will begin with a Funnel adventure of my own creation titled “Tomb of the Dead Gods.” A Funnel is a brief adventure for level 0 characters. Each player will pick a race and background for three characters each; many of them will die in the face of deadly challenges. At the end of the funnel, the survivors will gain their first level, picking a class based on their experiences and innate talents. This adventure will feature the player character’s first escape from slavery, and the very beginning of their long voyage home, leading into the full campaign I am tentatively calling “The Odyssey Across the Wasting Sea.”

If you're interested, please fill out the application.