Comparing D&D 5e to Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells

This is one of several reviews I am doing this year of various table top roll playing games. I am specifically comparing them to D&D 5e. I am doing this with the assumption that my readers are already familiar with D&D 5e. The following review is based only upon my reading of the rulebook. I haven’t played this yet, but I will be posting my opinion after I get a chance to play test it.

I am referring here to the fifth edition of Dungeons and Dragons as 5E and to Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells as SS&SS. This information is for evaluation purposes, it should not be considered official rules of the game. You can assume things that I don’t list here are basically like 5E with only minor differences.

In SS&SS the Dungeon Master is called the Referee.

Summary of the game system

Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells is a rules light sword & sorcery role playing game with an old school spirit created by Diogo Nogueira and published by Old Skull Publishing. As you can see form the character sheet (above) the player has little to keep track of and it should be easy to learn. As is true for most OSR clones it has a lot more in common with early editions than it does with 5e. It was published under the Open Game License (OGL 1.0a).

Primary differences between Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells and D&D 5e

The Core Mechanics

D20 – roll on/under: For Attribute tests, you roll a d20 and must roll your Attribute score or lower.

Positive and Negative Dice: Similar to Advantage/Disadvantage in 5e. You roll 2 die and take the higher or lower result.

Usage Die: When you use a resource you roll a d20. On a 1 or 2, the next time you use that same resource you roll a d12. Next time you roll a d10, then a d8, d6 and finally a d4. If you fail on a d4 the resource id depleted.

Luck Roll: When the Referee calls for a luck roll, you roll a die based on your Architype. If you roll a 1 or 2 you fail and something bad happens – also your luck die is downgraded the same way it does for your Usage Die.

Characters/Opponents: In the SS&SS rule book he refers to player characters as “characters” and to the ones they are fighting as “opponents”. For clarification, in this post I will sometimes refer to player characters as “you” and to the ones they are fighting as “Monsters”.

Character Creation

• Roll Abilities: Roll 3d6 for each in order. There are 4 attributes:
  • Physique (PHY) determines toughness, physical strength and resistance to substances.
  • Agility (AGI) represents manual dexterity, hand-eye coordination and reflexes.
  • Intellect (INT) reflects knowledge, awareness and ability to memorize information.
  • Willpower (WIL) represents force of will, presence and the ability to impose oneself.
• Choose an Archetype [Class in 5e]: There are 3 – Warrior, Specialist, and Magic User
• Determine a Vocation [Subclass in 5e]: There’s no defined list of Vocations. When you perform an action related to your Vocation, you benefits from a Positive Die.
  • A Warrior might be a Barbarian, a Knight, a Soldier, a Mercenary or any other thing you can imagine.
  • A Specialist might be an Assassin, a Thief, a Pirate or a Spy.
  • A Magic User might be a Warlock, a Witch, an Astronomer, a Necromancer or a Shaman.
• Determine Complication: Roll 2d6 on the complications table. For instance, if you were to roll a 2 and a 6 you might have a gambling addiction, or a 4 and a 2 you and you have an enemy that is a blood thirsty pirate
• Buy Equipment: You start with 3d6x10 silver coins (sc) to buy equipment. You also own a set of clothes and one weapon appropriate to your Vocation.

Races

• All player characters are Human

Equipment

• Weapons: are all either Small, Medium, or Large
  • Small: Damage Die: d4 Cost 5 sc
  • Medium: Damage Die: d6 Cost 10 sc
  • Large: Damage Die: d8 Cost 20 sc
• Armor: doesn’t make you harder to hit, It reduces damage. You get to roll a degrading die that lets you soak damage per hit until your armor is destroyed or needs repairing.
• Shields: Shields make you harder to hit by giving your attacker a Negative Dice a number of times each round based on the shield’s size.
  • Small: once per round
  • Medium: twice per round
  • Large: 3 times per round, but you also add a Negative Die to all actions requiring reflexes.
• Encumbrance: You can carry a number of items equal to your Physique score without penalty.

Character level advancement

• No Experience Points: You level up after a number of adventures.
• Leveling Up
  • You advance to the next level after each adventure up to level 6.
  • To advance to level 7 and beyond requires completing 2 adventures each level.
  • At each new level, you add another HD and, for your prime abilities and one other of your choice, roll a d20. If your roll is higher than your ability score increase it by 1 point. No Attribute can be improved above 18.
  • There is no upper character level limit.

Combat

Each round of combat (10 seconds of game time.):

1. Initiative: Unless surprised, Initiative is by HD order, highest going first. If 2 characters have the same HD, the one with the highest Agility score goes first. If your HD is the same as a monster’s, you make an Agility test, and go first on a success.
2. Movement:
   1. There are four basic ranges in the game: close, nearby, far and distant.
   2. In one round, you can perform any feasible action such as attack or cast a spell and move near. If you don’t take an action, you can move far. To move to a distant location requires 3 rounds.
3. Attacks:
   1. When you make an attack, roll equal to or lower than your Physique score for melee attacks or Agility score for ranged attacks.
   2. Melee attacks must be made in close range.
   3. Ranged attacks against targets in close and distant range receive a Negative Die.
   4. Monster attacks: need to roll above your Agility score.

• Critical Hits and Fumbles:
  • When you roll your exact Attribute score or when a monster rolls a 20, a Critical hit is made. When this happens, the attacked will suffer maximum damage plus additional damage determined by the damage roll.
  • When you roll a 20 or when a monster rolls a 1, a Fumble occurs. The attacker will usually either get Negative Dice or the attacked will get Positive Dice on their next roll.
• Damage:
  • You deal damage based on the weapon you use or the spells you cast.
  • Monsters do damage based on their HD.
  • Damage is subtracted from the target’s Hit Points.
  • Attributes may also be reduced, though usually temporary.

Healing and Death

• Healing: Magical healing is almost nonexistent in SS&SS.
  • Short Rests: take about 10 minutes. Make a Physique test (with a Difficulty equal to the number of Short Rests already taken that day) to regain 1d4 HP.
  • Long Rests: take a full day at a safe haven. Recover one Hit Die in HP and recover 1 point of a random Attribute that has been damaged.
• Dying:
  • Monsters: When they reach 0 HP, they are usually dead.
  • Player Characters: You have a chance to survive.
    • When you reach 0 HP you fall unconscious and are dying.
    • If you receive help within 1 hour, you can make a Luck Roll to stay alive.
      • If successful, you regain 1d4 HP but receive a Negative Die to all actions for an hour and lose 1 point of either Physique or Agility permanently.
      • If you fail the Luck Roll, you are dead.

Magic and spell casting

• Spells Known: A Magic User begins knowing 3 spells and learns an additional spell each time they level up. The max number of spells a Magic User can know is equal to his Intellect. To learn a spell, the Magic User must make an Intellect test. If he fails, he may try again when he gains another level.
• To cast a spell: The Power Level (PL) of the spell is determined by the Magic User at the time he is casting the spell. Then the Magic User must make a Willpower test. The Difficulty equal to the Power Level. If the Magic User fails, the spell does not work and he has to choose between 2 options:
  • Lose the ability to cast the spell for that day.
  • Keep the ability to cast the spell and allow the referee to introduce a complication based on the spell.
• Casting Spells in Armor: Casting spells in armor heavier than Light Armor imposes a Negative Die to all Willpower tests.
• Spell Catastrophe: If you roll a 20 on your Willpower test to cast a spell, the spell fails and you roll a d6 + Power Level and consult the Spell Catastrophe table. Results range from “The Difficulty to cast spells increases by 2 for 1 turn.” to “The Magic User accidentally summons a monster with a number of HD equal to the Power Level of the spell.”
• Spell List: There are 50 listed spells. There are no spell levels. Here is an example.
  • Arcane Blast: Blasts a point within far range, affecting targets within close distance, inflicting 1d6 points of damage per PL. Can be resisted for half damage. The caster must specify what kind of damage this is (fire, lightning, force, acid or another element).

Opponents (Monsters)

• Stat blocks: are very simple containing only HD and Special Abilities.
• HD (Hit Dice): determines the monster’s Hit Points (rolled with a d8), its strength and hardness, as well as its damage die (which ranges from 1d4 to 2d12).
• Special Abilities: This can be anything and can have its own damage die.
• Here is an example.
  • Rotting Zombie: HD: 2  Special Abilities: After hitting a target, target must make a Physique test or acquire the Rotting Disease, losing 1 Physique per day until healed.

What you need to get started

All you need is the 48 page core book “Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells” available at DriveThruRPG in print and PDF. There is also “Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells – Addendum” which brings a variety of additions and options that can be implemented in your games.

Final Thoughts

• No Alignments
• No Backgrounds
• No Ability Modifiers
• No Races
• No Armor Class
• No proficiency bonus
• No feats
• No cantrips
• No spell slots
• No spell levels
• No spell components
• No skill system – no ranks or skill points
• No opportunity attacks
• No inspiration
• This is not much like any of the versions of D&D. It is its own system and could be a lot of fun to play. If you are looking for an easy game to play, more like “Conan the barbarian” than “Lord of the Rings”, this might be the game for you. I haven’t read the “Addendum”, but with the core rules, everyone plays a human.
• What I like: Simple character sheet. Easy to play. I like critical hits doing rolled damage + the maximum damage you could roll (in 5e you double the damage rolled which is disappointing if you roll really low). The PDF file has bookmarks – I wish all RPG rule books had them.
• What I don’t like: There isn’t enough variety – no Races, only 3 Archetypes (Class in 5e) and the Vocations (Subclasses in 5e) have no specific features or abilities, only 3 weapon types and you always have the same chance to hit (you roll against your ability score, there is no AC). Someone that is new to fantasy role playing games might have a hard time running this game because it is so rules light the “Referee” will have to make rulings all the time without much guidance. I also don’t like that monsters and PCs have different rules for attacking during combat. I think that if I had never played D&D before, I would love this game. As it is, I prefer a little more “crunch” in the rules.

Comparing D&D 5e to Old-School Essentials.

This is one of several reviews I am doing this year of various table top roll playing games. I am specifically comparing them to D&D 5e. I am doing this with the assumption that my readers are already familiar with D&D 5e. The following review is based only upon my reading of the rulebook. I haven’t played this yet, but I will be posting my opinion after I get a chance to play test it.

I am referring here to the fifth edition of Dungeons and Dragons as 5E and Old-School Essentials as OSE. This information is for evaluation purposes, it should not be considered official rules of the game. You can assume things that I don’t list here are basically like 5E with only minor differences.

In OSE the Dungeon Master is called the Referee.

 

Summary of the game system

Old-School Essentials is a popular game published by Necrotic Gnome. The original D&D game was published in 1974. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons was published in 1977 and had 2 major revisions. The first was the Basic Set published in 1981 which covered character levels 1 through 3. The second was the Expert Set published in 1983, which extended it through level 14. OSE is based on the 1980s Basic and Expert sets. It is a modern presentation of, and 100% compatible with, those Basic & Expert Rules. OSE comes in 2 flavors: Classic Fantasy that contains all content from the Basic & Expert Rules and Advanced Fantasy that adds more classes, options, magic, and monsters. They do a good job of faithfully recreating those rules, while streamlining and clarifying them.

 

Primary differences between Old-School Essentials and D&D 5e

Character Creation

• Basic Character Creation: The list of classes includes the list of races. Your character will be human unless you select a different race. That race is also your class. There is a separate page of information for each class (other than human) depending on whether you are using basic or advanced character creation.
• Advanced Character Creation: You select your race and then you select your class.
  • Other than human, each race is restricted as to which class it can be, and the maximum level you can attain in that class.
  • As an example; if you are a Dwarf you can only be an Assassin (max 9th level), Cleric* (max 8th level), Fighter (max 10th level), or Thief (max 9th level). *At the referee’s option, dwarven clerics may only exist as NPCs.
• Roll Abilities: Roll 3d6 for each in order. [same 6 abilities as in 5E]
• Adjust Ability Scores: Each class has a Prime Requisite ability (see below). With certain restrictions, you can raise your prime requisite by lowering other ability scores, spending 2 points for every point you raise your prime requisite ability.
• Ability Score Modifiers: Each ability has its own set of ability modifiers. For example, here are the ability modifiers for Strength:

           STR          Melee                 Open Doors

           3                 –3                           1-in-6

           4–5             –2                           1-in-6

           6–8             –1                           1-in-6

           9–12            None                     2-in-6

           13–15         +1                           3-in-6

           16–17         +2                           4-in-6

           18                +3                           5-in-6

• • Your INT determines how many languages you know. Your WIS determines Magic save bonus. Your DEX modifies your armor class, your missile attack rolls, and intuitive rolls. Your CON modifies your hit points.  Your CHA modifies NPC reactions and determines your Max # of retainers and their loyalty.
  • Your Prime Requisite ability (determined by your class) determines your XP modifier that is applied whenever you receive experience points.
• Attack Values: Refer to THAC0 below.
  
• Saving Throws and Class Abilities: Record your class abilities and your saving throws. If using the optional rule for weapon proficiency, record which weapons you are proficient with.
• Hit Points: You have to roll your hit points at first level. No exceptions.
  • Modify by your CON modifier.
  • Optional Rule: You can re-roll a 1 or 2 (before applying any CON modifier).
• Alignment: Lawful, Neutral, or Chaotic
• Known Languages: This always includes the common tongue and your character’s alignment language.
• Background: Roll on a table to see what your character did before becoming an adventurer. 
• Determine Secondary Skills (Optional Rule): Roll on the table, or select a secondary skill.
• Starting Gold: Everyone starts with 3d6 × 10 gold pieces.
• Purchase Gear: Purchase your equipment from the equipment lists.
• Armour [Armor] Class: Determined by your armor and DEX.
• Level and XP: Start at 1st level with 0 XP.
• Name Your Character: Give him or her a name and you are ready to play.

THAC0 “to hit armor class zero”

• When Third Edition Dungeons and Dragons came out they dropped THAC0. They were able to do this by completely changing armor class. Back when they were using THAC0, lower Armor Class scores were better, so bonuses decreased your AC and penalties increased it. To maximize compatibility with the earlier versions of D&D, OSE uses these earlier rules. When you attack, if the attack roll is equal to or lower than the opponent’s AC, the attack hits. When you attack a monster, you find your character’s THAC0 on the Attack Matrix and look across it to find the number listed under the AC for the monster to find the number you need (or lower) to hit it. You will want to copy this row from the table onto your character sheet for easy reference.
• Ascending AC (Optional Rule): OSE has this optional rule so you can roll the monster’s AC or higher to hit [like in 5E]. So everywhere it lists an AC or THAC0 it shows the corresponding AC or bonus to hit in square brackets for you to use. It does note that “Using Ascending Armour Class results in very slightly different attack probabilities than when using the traditional approach of descending AC with an attack matrix”.

Classes

• OSE Classic Fantasy: Your character can be a Cleric, Fighter, Thief, Elf, Magic-User, Halfling, or Dwarf.
• OSE Advanced Fantasy: Adds Acrobat, Assassin, Barbarian, Bard, Druid, Illusionist, Knight, Paladin, and Ranger.
• Some classes have a minimum requirement. For instance, to be a Paladin you must have a minimum CHA of 9.
• Each class has a hit dice, a maximum level, a list of the armor you can wear, and weapons you can use. And the languages you get for being this class.
• A class may have other requirements. For example, a Paladin must be lawful. If a Paladin ever changes alignment, he loses all class abilities and becomes a fighter of the same level.
• Each class has its own level progression table that shows: XP required, Hit Die, THAC0 and saving throws for D: Death/poison; W: Wands; P: Paralysis/petrify; B: Breath attacks; S: Spells/rods/staves. If the class casts spells, it also shows the number and level of spells you can cast at each level.
• Each class also has additional features.

Multiple Classes (Optional Rule)

• A character may be of up to three classes, which are selected at character creation.
• When earning XP, the total earned is split evenly between the per-class XP counts.
• When the character has gained enough XP in one of their classes, that class increases in level.

Races

• OSE Classic Fantasy: You can choose to play a Dwarf, Elf, Halfling, or Human.
• OSE Advanced Fantasy: Adds  Drow, Duergar, Gnome, Half-Elf, Half-Orc, and
• Infravision: All races except Halfling and Human have infavision [Similar to darkvision]. It allows you to see heat energy. Visible light and large heat sources disrupt it.

XP and character level advancement

• Experience Points
  • XP is gained from treasure recovered and monsters defeated.
  • Your ability score in your Prime Requisite gives you a modifier that you add to your experience points as you get them.
• Leveling Up
  • The class levels range from 1 to 14.
  • All non-human races, when chosen as a class, have a maximum level lower than 14, depending on the race.
  • Each class requires a different number of XP to advance to higher levels.

Combat

Each round of combat (10 seconds of game time.):

1. Declare spells and melee movement: Players must inform the referee if they intend to cast a spell or move.
2. Initiative: Each side rolls 1d6 at the start of each round. (Referee rolls for monsters and one of the players rolls for their side.) The side with the highest roll acts first.
   1. Ties: Either both sides may roll again or actions on both sides may be resolved simultaneously. (This means that both your character and the monster he is fighting might die!)
   2. Slow Weapons: Combatants attacking with two-handed melee weapons always act last in the round.
3. Winning side acts:
   1. Monster morale (Optional Rule): Monsters have a listing for morale, rated from 2 to 12, which represents how likely they are to fight or flee.
   2. Movement:
      1. If not in melee combat: you can move up to your combat move rate.
      2. When in melee:
         1. Fighting withdrawal: You can move backwards at up to half your combat move rate.
         2. Retreat: You turn and flee, moving up to your combat movement rate. This round you may not attack; your opponent gains a +2 bonus to all attacks against you and you get no shield AC bonus.
      3. Missile attacks: Opponents must be more than 5’ from one another.
         1. Short range: +1 bonus to attack rolls.
         2. Medium range: No bonuses or penalties.
         3. Long range: –1 penalty to attack rolls.

1. Spell casting: You can’t take any other actions or move this round.
   1. Line of sight: The target must be visible to the caster.
   2. Disrupting Spells: If you lose initiative and are successfully attacked or fail a saving throw before your turn, the spell fails and is removed from your memory.
2. Melee attacks: Opponents must be 5’ or less from each other. You can move and attack on the same round. You normally get one attack per round. PC attacks inflict 1d6 damage. Melee attack damage is modified by your STR.

4. Other side acts: In initiative order.

Healing and Death

• Healing
  • Natural Healing: For each full day of complete rest, a character recovers 1d3 hit points.
  • Magical Healing: Magical healing and natural healing can be combined.
• Death: A character or monster reduced to 0 hit points or less is killed.
  • Limits on Returning from Death (Optional Rule)
    • Number of Times: A character’s initial CON score defines the number of times that they can be returned from the dead by magic.
    • Chance of Success: The chance of resurrection magic succeeding depends on a character’s CON score.
    • CON Loss: Each time a character is brought back from the dead, their CON score is reduced by one point.

Magic and spell casting

• A 1st level magic-user has one spell in their spell book, selected by the referee (who may allow the player to choose).
• Spells in memory: The character’s level determines how many spells they can memorize at one time.
• Reversible spells: Some spells are reversible; this is indicated in each spell’s description.
• Memorizing Spells
  • Rest and time requirements: You can memorize new spells after an uninterrupted night’s sleep. One hour to memorize all spells you are capable of memorizing.
  • Duplicate spells: You may memorize the same spell more than once.
• Casting Spells
  • Once only: When you cast a spell, knowledge of the spell is erased from your mind.
  • Freedom: You cannot cast spells if gagged, bound, or in an area of magical silence.
  • Line of sight: The target of the spell must be visible to the caster.
• Spell Effects
  • Concentration: A spell might require concentration to maintain its effect. Performing any other action or being distracted causes concentration to end.
• Arcane Magic
  • Memorizing Spells: Arcane spell casters memorize spells from their spell books.
  • Reversing Spells: The normal or reversed form of a spell must be selected when the spell is memorized.
• Divine Magic
  • Memorizing Spells: When praying for spells, divine spell casters may choose any spells in their class’ spell list that they are of high enough level to cast.
  • Reversing Spells: Divine spell casters can cast the reversed version of a spell by speaking the words and performing the gestures backwards when it is cast.
  • Deity Disfavor: If the character ever falls from favor with their deity, penalties may be imposed.

 What you need to get started

Everything you need is available on Necrotic Gnome’s web site.

This site has a free copy of Old-School Essentials Basic Rules which has enough information to roll up some characters and play a low-level game.

Their site also contains character sheets, spell trackers, and other free downloads. It also has a complete online rules reference and more. Of course, you can also purchase their rule books, accessories, supplements, and adventures.

To play Classic Fantasy, you only need the single Classic Fantasy Rules Tome.

To play Advanced Fantasy, you need the Advanced Fantasy Players Tome and the Referees Tome. These two books also include everything from the Classic Fantasy Rules Tome, so there is no need to purchase that one if you choose to go with Advanced Fantasy.

Final Thoughts

• No Advantage/Disadvantage.
• No proficiency bonus.
• No feats.
• No cantrips.
• No spell slots.
• No spell components.
• No sub-classes.
• No skill system – no ranks or skill points.
• No opportunity attacks.
• No inspiration.
• No death saves.
• Old-School Essentials is largely compatible with material published for any version of D&D earlier than 3rd edition and should be 100% compatible with the 1981 Basic/Expert edition.
• I was playing Advanced Dungeons & Dragons until Dungeons & Dragons Second Edition came out and I liked it better. I was very excited by Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition when it came out. I liked it better still. I didn’t care for4th Edition, so I never played that. When Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition came out, it was everything I had hoped 4th Edition would be. I have been happy playing 5E sense it came out in 2014. However, should I want to go back to playing Advanced Dungeons & Dragons I would seriously consider playing Old-School Essentials. Those old rule books were a little confusing and OSE has done a good job of clarifying, updating and expanding on them.

Comparing Dungeons and Dragons to ShadowDark.

This is one of several reviews I am doing this year of various table top roll playing games. I am specifically comparing them to D&D 5e. I am doing this with the assumption that my readers are already familiar with D&D 5e. The following review is based only upon my reading of the rulebook. I haven’t played this yet, but I will be posting my opinion after I get a chance to play test it.

I am referring here to the fifth edition of Dungeons and Dragons as 5E and ShadowDark as SD. This information is for evaluation purposes, it should not be considered official rules of the game. You can assume than things that I don’t list here are basically like 5E with only minor differences. Where SD uses different terminology than D&D, I have noted the terms used in 5E in square brackets. As an example, “Ancestry [Race]” indicates that SD uses the term “Ancestry” where 5E uses “Race”.

 In SD the Dungeon Master is called the Game Master.

Summary of the game system

ShadowDark is a new game created by Kelsey Dionne. It is a rules-light table top fantasy role playing game with an old school feel, but it isn’t a retro-clone. She calls it a nostalgic-but-new adventuring system. It is currently (as of March 18, 2023) on Kickstarter and has over $900.000.00 pledged of $10,000 goal. She has my pledge and I can hardly wait. In the meantime this review is based on my reading of the ShadowDark free quickstart set.

Primary differences between ShadowDark and D&D 5e

Stats [Abilities]

• Ability Scores: SD and 5E both use the same 6 ability scores.

Ancestry [Race]

• You can choose to play a Dwarf, Elf, Goblin, Halfling, Half-orc, or Human.
• These races should be familiar to you, but their descriptions are very short. For example, here is the entire description for a Dwarf.
  • Brave, stalwart folk as sturdy as the stone kingdoms they carve inside mountains.
  • You know the Common and Dwarvish languages.
  • Stout: Start with +2 HP. Roll your hit point gains with advantage.
• No Darkvision: None of the races can see in the dark.
• Speed: All races have the same move rate – During your turn, you can move up to “near” (roughly 30 feet).

Classes

• Your character can be a Fighter, Priest, Thief, or Wizard.
  • Fighter:
    • You add your CON mod to your gear slots. (Refer to Gear Slots below.)
    • You add 1/2 your level +1 to attack and damage with one weapon type of your choice.
    • You have advantage on your choice of STR or DEX checks.
  • Priest [Cleric]
    • Turn Undead. You know the turn undead spell.
    • You serve a deity who matches your alignment (Chaotic, Lawful or Neutral).
    • You start with 2 tier 1 [level 1] priest spells and gain new spells with each level.
  • Thief [Rogue]
    • Backstab. If you hit a creature who is unaware of your attack, add 1/2 your level to the damage.
    • Thievery. You have advantage on these tasks [In 5E you would be proficient in these abilities]:
      • Climbing
      • Sneaking and hiding
      • Applying disguises
      • Finding and disabling traps
      • Delicate tasks such as picking pockets and opening locks
  • Wizard
    • You start with 3 tier 1 [level 1] wizard spells and gain new spells with each level. (No spell book required.)
    • You can also learn spells from spell scrolls.
  • Titles: Your character in each class receives a title based on his alignment that changes as he advances in level.
  • Talents: [Could be compared to feats in 5E, but much less powerful or complex.] Humans get one additional talent at first level.

Here is an example of the talents for the Fighter class:

2d6	Effect
2	Gain Weapon Mastery with one additional weapon
3-6	+1 to melee and ranged attacks
7-9	+2 to Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution stat
10-11	Choose one kind of armor. You get +1 AC from that armor
12	Choose a talent or +2 points to distribute to stats

XP and character level advancement

• Experience Points
  • XP awards not based on the monsters you kill but on the quality of the treasure and boons you gain.
  • The levels range from 1 to 10 in the quick start rules. I can’t find anywhere if that is the level cap that will be in the full core rule book.
• Leveling Up
  • All classes advance at the same speed.
  • To gain a level, you need to earn your current level x 10 XP.
  • Once you reach a new level, your total XP resets back to zero.
  • You get any new title, spells, and talent improvements listed for your level. Your maximum HP increases, and you might also gain a talent roll.
• Talent Roll: You gain one roll on your class’s talent table when you reach the indicated levels (about once every other level.) Duplicate talents stack unless noted.
• Increased HD: Roll your class’s hit points die and add it to your maximum HP. You don’t’ add your CON mod and you must roll for each level’s HP.
• Ability Modifiers: From a score of 2 to 18 the modifiers are the same as 5E. A score of 1-3 is -4, any score of 18 or over is +4 so there is no need to ever go over 18.

Character creation

• Select a Background, roll Stats, choose an Ancestry, choose a Class, roll one class Talent, determine Hit Points, select an Alignment, roll for starting gold, and buy your Gear.
• Abilities: Roll 3d6 six times and assign to abilities in order.
• Hit Points: Equal to one roll of your class’s hit points die + your CON mod (minimum 1)
• Starting Gold: Everyone starts with 2d6 x 5 gold pieces.
• Purchase Gear: You must purchase your equipment from the equipment lists.

Armor Class

• Unarmored: 10 + your DEX mod
• Armor: There are only 3 armor types. The AC they provide are: Leather 11 + DEX mod, Chainmail 13 + DEX mod, Plate mail 15, Shield +2

Gear Slots

• You can carry a number of items equal to your Strength stat or 10, whichever is higher. Most gear besides typical clothing fills one gear slot.

Luck Tokens [Inspiration]

• These are used just like inspiration with one subtle change. Instead of using it to roll with advantage you can use it to reroll any roll you just made. (This is a common house rule in 5E.)

Crawling [5E doesn’t have a name for this. It is everything that is not combat]

• Characters are in crawling rounds while not in combat. Everyone always acts in turn.
• Round: about 6 minutes but it suggests that you use real world time for time passing in the game.
• Turns: Each person takes a turn, starting with the GM and going clockwise.
• Actions: On your turn in the round, you can move up to near (roughly 30 feet) and take an action, or move twice. An action can be anything you could typically do in 6 minutes.
• Distances: Distances are broken up into close (5 feet), near (up to 30 feet), and far (within sight during an encounter or scene).

Combat

• Round: about 6 minutes.
• Initiative: At the start of combat, initiative is rolled as in 5E, then the one with the highest result goes first, followed by the others clockwise around the table.
• Move: On your turn in the round you can move, splitting up your movement however you want, and take an action, or move twice.
• Actions:
  • As your action you can make a melee or ranged attack, cast a spell, or do an improvised action.
  • You can also do small, parallel tasks on your turn, such as standing up, speaking, activating a magic item, or quaffing a potion. This doesn’t typically use your action.
• Critical Hit: You deal a critical hit if you roll a natural 20 on an attack roll or spellcasting check. For a weapon, double its damage dice on the attack. For a spell, you may double one of its numerical effects.

Morale

• Enemies who are reduced to half their ranks (or half their hit points for a solo enemy) flee if they fail a DC 15 Wisdom check.

Dying

• Death Timer: When you are reduced to 0 HP you set a death timer. You set the number of rounds before you dye by rolling 1d4 + CON mod (min. 1).
• Survive: On your turn each round before you dye, roll 1d20. If you roll a natural20 you rise with 1 HP.
• Stabilize: An ally that is close to you can make a DC 15 INT check. On a success, you stop dying (but are still unconscious).

Magic and spell casting

• Spell Tiers [levels]: These range from 1-5. I don’t know if there will be higher spell tiers in the core rule book.
• Types of Spells: There are wizard spells and priest spells.
• Casting Spells: To cast a spell, roll 1d20 + your INT mod if a wizard or your WIS mod if a priest. The DC to successfully cast the spell is 10 + the spell’s tier [spell’s level].
  • Critical Success: On a natural 20, you may double one of the spell’s numerical effects. This remains in effect on a focus [concentration] spell until your next focus check.
  • Critical Failure: On a natural 1, the spell fails. If it was a wizard spell, you can’t cast that spell again until after a [long] rest and you roll on the Wizard Mishap table. If it was a priest spell, you can’t cast that spell again until you perform a penance to your deity and complete a [long] rest.
• Acquiring and preparing spells: You don’t have to prepare spells. You can cast any spell you know. You acquire new spells when you advance in levels. You can also learn new spells from scrolls.
• Saving Throws: This is typically their Wisdom check opposed by your last spellcasting check.
• Spell descriptions: Each spell is clearly described and easy to use. There is no option to cast a spell at a higher level.

What you need to get started

Everything you need is available on ShadowDark’s web site.

You can download the Quick Start Set for free that includes a one-shot adventure and character sheets.

If you decide you want to run a ShadowDark campaign, you will want to get the ShadowDark RPG core rulebook. It’s not available quite yet, but you can get it as soon as it is available by making a Pledge on their KickStarter page.

Final Thoughts

• This is a deadly game. To quote from the book “Characters at zero HP die in 1d4 + Constitution modifier (minimum 1) rounds. Dead characters are retired from play!” So you had better hope you have a friend close by with a heal spell ready.
• It is very rules-light and stresses rulings over rules.
• No multiclass.
• No spell slots.
• No spell books.
• No spell components.
• No skill system – no ranks or skill points.
• ShadowDark does use Advantage/Disadvantage rolls.
• This is a newer style of game that still feels old school.
• I like it (mostly). I will have to see how some of this plays at the table.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Wizard’s of the Coast’s OGL controversy – here is a link to a post by Matthew Rossi that covers it very well:
After controversy over changes to the OGL, Wizards of the Coast backs down offers D&D content via Creative Commons

My reaction to all of this is two fold:
1) Depending on the Wizard’s of the Coast’s behaviour between now and the time the next version of D&D is released in 2024, and my opinion of that version, I will not be buying any Wizard’s of the Coast products.
2) I will be reviewing, and play-testing a variety of other table top role playing games (TTRPGs).

The vast majority of my readers play Dungeons and Dragons 5e. I am still playing it and it is still my favourite TTRPG. In addition to posts regarding that game, as I review alternatives I will be posting my opinions on them along with the differences between them and D&D 5e. I will attempt to give you enough information to assist you in comparing them to the rules you currently use, and perhaps some additional materials to assist you should you want to play-test them yourself.
I previously posted an ICRPG Conversion Guide If you want to check that one out.

This is my first “5E vs. Alternative TTRPG” post.

You can download a free copy of my 5 page PDF “An Introduction to Dungeon Crawl Classics for D&D 5E Players” HERE. It also contains Combat Reference Sheets.

Here is a summery:

MAJOR DIFFERENCES between D&D 5e and DCC

• The FUNNEL: DCC has you create three of four zero level characters.
During the first 0-level game, it is expected that all but 1 of your 0 level characters will die. The survivor will becomes your level 1 character
• DCC does not have:  Feats, Hit Dice, Spell Slots, Inspiration, or Skill Points.
• Rather than Proficiencies: You are trained in certain skills.
• The classes are: CLERIC (human), THIEF (human), WARRIOR (human), WIZARD (human), DWARF, ELF, HALFLING. Yes, Dwarf, Elf and Halfling are classes.
• Clerics turn creatures that are unholy to their religion. This may include creatures other than un-dead.
• All spells are cast with a spell check. Each spell has a unique chart that adjudicates the spells results.
• Wizards may lose access to a spell after a casting it. If he rolls a low spell check.
• Clerics that roll a low spell check may increase his chance of failing on subsequent checks.
• You can spend ability scores to enhance dice rolls. All characters can burn Luck, and wizards and elves can burn other abilities.
• ABILITIES: 1. Strength, 2. Agility (like Dexterity), 3. Stamina (like Constitution), 4. Personality (like Charisma), 5. Intelligence (like Intelligence and Wisdom combined), 6. Luck
• WEIRD DICE: DCC uses a standard polyhedral set, enhanced with a d3, d5, d7, d14, d16, d24 and d30. Stringing them all together creates what DCC calls a “Die Chain”.
• The Die Chain: d3-d4-d5-d6-d7-d8-d10-d12-d14-d16-d20-24-d30
• Instead of ADVANTAGE/DISADVANTAGE: Whenever the rules specify a bonus of +1d, the die to be rolled moves one step to the right on the chain (or one to the left for a -1d). Multiple steps can switch the die type two or more steps.
• SAVING THROWS: There are three types of saving throws: Reflex (Ref) Is 10 modified by the Agility modifier. Fortitude (Fort) is 10 modified by the Stamina modifier. Willpower (Will) Is 10 modified by the Personality modifier.
• CRITS & FUMBLES: Natural 20s automatically hit and you roll on a crit table, your Luck modifier is added to this roll. Natural 1s are automatic misses, and and you roll on a fumble table. The die rolled depends on the armor you are wearing.
• DEATH: When a PC’s is reduced to 0 HP, he is dead or bleeding out. They can survive up to the number of rounds equal to their level. They can be healed during that time but will suffer a permanent loss of 1 point of Stamina and gain a terrible scar from the wound. If a level 1 or higher dead character’s body can be recovered within 1 hour, the dead PC may test their Luck, usually by rolling a d20, and rolling equal or less that the dead PCs Luck score. If they succeed, then the character was badly injured, but survived their wounds. The survivor will have 1 hp, takes a -4 penalty to all rolls for the next hour and one random physical ability (Strength, Agility, or Stamina) will be permanently reduced by 1 point.
• ALIGNMENT: The 3 alignments are: Lawful, Neutral and Chaotic.
• LEVELS: Your character can advance to level 10.
• INITIATIVE: An initiative check is conducted by rolling 1d20 and adding the appropriate modifier: Agility modifier, and, for warriors, class level. A d16 is used instead of a d20 for characters wielding two-handed weapons.
• ACTIONS: On their turn, a character may move up to their speed and perform actions. A typical PC may attempt one action. Some non-combat actions also count as an action. Some actions may be performed while moving.
• HEALING: Wounds heal with rest. A character who gets a good night’s rest heals 1 hit point. If the character gets a day of bed rest, he heals 2 hit points per night. Critical hits that inflict penalties other than hit point damage heal when the associated damage heals. Some critical hit results may create permanent injuries which can only be healed by magical or extraordinary means. Ability score loss, except for Luck, heals at the same rate: 1 point with a good night’s rest, and 2 points with a day of bed rest. A character may heal both ability score loss and hit point loss on the same night’s rest. Luck, however, does not heal. Except for the special abilities of halflings and thieves, a character who burns Luck does so permanently.
• LUCK: A character can permanently burn Luck (reduce his luck score) to give a one-time bonus to a roll. A character can only burn Luck to affect his own die rolls (except for halflings). Luck is typically used to affect a character’s attack rolls, damage rolls, spell checks, thief checks, and saving throws, but it can also be used for other purposes. A character can declare his intent to burn Luck before or after his die roll. He then specifies how many points he will burn. But he can only burn Luck once per roll.
• WITHDRAWAL: If a character or monster withdraws from an active melee his opponents immediately receive a single free attack. (This is similar to an Attack of Opportunity in D&D).
• TWO-WEAPON FIGHTING: A character can wield a light-weight secondary weapon in his off hand while using a sword or other primary weapon in his natural hand. The character typically attacks using a smaller die.
• TABLES: There are tables – lots of tables. Every time you roll a natural 1 or 20 on an attack, make an ability check, cast a spell, and other times, you might then roll on a table to see what the results are.

If this sounds like something you might want to try, Dungeon Crawl Classics has a free “DCC RPG Quick Start Rules & Intro Adventures – PDF” that contains everything you need to learn the rules and play your first game.
They also have a great deal on their “First Time Fan Kit” that contains everything you need to start playing DCC for $40.00. I got this and had to pay about $20.00 shipping for the 5 pounds of goodies, but it was definitely worth it. These products alone have a suggested retail price of over $90.

 

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