Core Ethos Core Ethos These are Shadowdark RPG's core principles and foundations. TIME The most important resource. It must haunt the characters' every decision. They don't have time to search every floor tile for a trap. DARKNESS Respect the darkness. It is the true foe. Few things can hold it at bay, and nothing must make those prized tools obsolete. GEAR Gear is precious and limited. Give value and utility to all of it. ACTION ECONOMY PCs get just one action per turn. Make it count. Use multitasking (pg. 88) for boring small stuff. INFORMATION Dispense information freely. If the characters test the floor where there's a trap, they find it. DISTANCE Close, near, and far distances are loose and don't require precise measurement. Nobody wants to miss firing an arrow into a dragon's eye because of a mere 5-foot deficit. DANGER Casting spells comes with great risk. Magic items are volatile. Fights are fast and unfair. Monsters are insidious. REWARDING INVESTMENT Honor what has been earned. If a character learns a new language, make it matter. Allow new titles or iconic deeds to have an impact on the characters' lives. STAT CHECKS The characters automatically succeed at what they are trained to do. Only use stat checks when there is time pressure and failure has dire consequences.

On Balance BE UNPREDICTABLE In this book, more than a few words are spent explaining the "typical" amount of treasure (pg. 117) or the "average" build of a monster (pg. 192). But typical and average adventuring is not the goal. These numbers are calibrations so you know where to start. Use them to feel out the rudder of your game and know what makes something easy or hard. Then, become unpredictable. If the players think they can win every fight, they won't feel fear. They won't be careful. They won't use their wits. If all treasure is similar in value, there will be no epic trophies to pursue. No motivation. Instead, fill your world with stark dangers and stunning treasures. The most glorious victories are the hard-earned ones. TELEGRAPH DANGER When you remove predictability, you'll want to add a replacement ingredient: telegraphing danger. Don't make threats a secret (unless the players utterly failed to gather information). If the characters are getting close to a manticore's cave, describe the crushed skulls and bones, the reek of rotting meat, and the silence of the birds. CHOICES MATTER A choice between two identical options ("Which door do you open, the one on the left or the right?") is not actually a choice. Players need a way to gather information about their options and make an informed decision. That creates interesting choices. Careful players should be able to find the deep claw marks on one of the doors or catch the low snoring on the other side.