Shadow of the Demon Lord

Shadow of the Demon Lord
Designer(s) Robert J. Schwalb
Publisher(s) Schwalb Entertainment, LLC
Publication date 2015
Genre(s) Horror Fantasy
Playing time Varies
Random chance Dice rolling
Skill(s) required Role-playing, improvisation
Website http://schwalbentertainment.com/shadow-of-the-demon-lord/

Shadow of the Demon Lord is a horror fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) created by Robert J. Schwalb. A Kickstarter campaign[1] was launched and funded on March 12, 2015.

Game

Setting

The game takes place in a world standing on the brink of the apocalypse. What is the cause? Who is responsible? The Demon Lord, of course! This being of staggering power and boundless evil authors the catastrophes blighting the landscape. Each new horror released reflects the Demon Lord's approach, the touch of its shadow, and its growing hunger for not only the planet but the entirety of all things. Although near, the Demon Lord remains outside the cosmos, rattling the cage of its prison as it strains to escape the Void to visit catastrophic destruction to your world.

The apocalyptic tone is on a dial. If you don’t want to blow everything up right away, tune it down low and the game plays fine as a less perilous, dark fantasy role-playing game. But if you are inclined to crank up the volume, the game provides several catastrophic templates you can use to model how the world is falling apart. These templates represent the Shadow of the Demon Lord; wherever the Shadow falls, chaos and upheaval are born. The Shadow might loose global pandemics, famines, droughts, earthquakes, demon princes to stomp across the countryside, the living dead, and other world-spanning disasters and threats.[2]

Game Mechanics

Shadow of the Demon Lord is played by using a d20 and a d6. Instead of using a scaling set of numbers to model easier and harder tasks, the game uses banes and boons. For each different positive circumstance that could help you succeed, you have a boon. For each different negative circumstance that might prevent your success, you have a bane. Banes and boons cancel each other out. When attempting to complete a task, for each bane or boon, you roll a d6 with your d20. Of the numbers rolled for boons, you add the highest number rolled to the number you rolled on the d20. Conversely, of all the numbers rolled for banes, you subtract the highest number rolled from the number rolled on your d20.[3]

Insanity and Corruption

Characters may gain insanity when they see or experience something that strains the way they understand the world or something that harms them in a way that’s difficult to accept. Coming back from the dead, suffering a grievous wound, seeing a loved one brutally killed can all inflict insanity. Seeing a 30-foot tall corpulent demon riddled with drooling maws from which spill slime covered fleshy monstrosities as it waddles across the countryside might also shatter a character’s mind.

Corruption functions as a control mechanism for curbing excess in the game. Shadow of the Demon Lord is an amoral game. There is no such thing as good or evil. Players can play their characters in whatever way makes sense for their individual stories. Some actions and activities have lasting consequences. Murder in cold blood, torturing the innocent, learning Black Magic or Demonology spells can leave stains on the character’s soul. Corruption measures the degree to which a character’s soul is stained. A few points has little affect on a character, but accumulating several may cause some interesting developments to occur in the game. For example, a character with a handful of Corruption points might cause children in his or her presence to cry, animals to attack, food to spoil, and shadows to writhe. A character that gains Corruption from certain sources might suffer other effects. One effect from the Black Magic tradition states that if you learn too many Black Magic spells your character might become so corrupted that once each week a child within 8 miles of the character simply dies.[4]

Character Creation and Advancement

Character advancement in Shadow of the Demon Lord is based on a path system. In the beginning, players create 0 level characters who do not yet realize that a greater destiny awaits them. For them, they are completely new to adventuring and have not yet met the other characters that will form their group. At 0 level, players begin by making one big choice, their Ancestry.[5] Ancestries are akin to traditional fantasy RPG settings as race or ethnic origin such as elves, dwarves, or humans. In Shadow of the Demon Lord, there are also other, more game-specific, choices, such as Jotun "a hulking albino humanoid with the blood of giants flowing through her veins" and clockworks "a person made from cogs, springs, and gears."[6] Once a player makes this initial choice, they fill in their character sheet with the information provided by that Ancestry. That's it. Character creation takes between 5 and 10 minutes.[7][8]

Once the group completes their first story (or adventure), they are ready to take the next step on their path to greatness by choosing a Novice path. Typically this choice is made based on things you accomplished during the first story. If a character spent time fighting in hand to hand they may choose Warrior. If the character found a tome of ancient magics then they may choose to be a magician.[9] After completing a few more stories the group then chooses their Expert path. Oracle, Druid, Archer, and Thief are but a few of the choices characters can make at this point. After several more stories are completed the characters choose their Master path. Some of the Master path choices include, "sharpshooter, shapeshifter, dervish, gunslinger, or something else that describes the area where your character focuses his or her training." As the group advances through paths they gain benefits from their paths. With each choice the characters become more powerful and complex.[10]

Products

Title Authors Date Pages Formats SDL Stock # ISBN
Shadow of the Demon Lord Core RulebookRobert J. SchwalbDecember 2015272Print and PDFSDL1000eISBN 978-1-4951-6886-4
The main source book for the game. 
Demon Lord's CompanionRobert J. SchwalbDecember 201554Print and PDFSDL1001e
New options for players and Game Masters. 
Victims of the Demon Lord Starter GuideRobert J. SchwalbSeptember 201556PDFSDL1002e
Rules for creating starting characters and the game's rules. A subset of content from the main book. 
Tales of the Demon LordRobert J. SchwalbOctober 201549Print & PDFSDL1003e
The pack includes an adventure for starting characters, two stories for novice characters, one story for expert characters, and one for master characters.. 

Game Products Sortable Lists

Title Date Pages SDL Stock # Notes
Shadow of the Demon Lord 27 August 2015 SDL1000e
Demon Lord's Companion 9 December 2015 SDL1001e
Victims of the Demon Lord: Starter Guide 14 September 2015 SDL1002e
Tales of the Demon Lord 26 October 2015 SDL1003e
Tombs of the Desolation 10 January 2016 SDL1013e
Terrible Beauty 2 April 2016 SDL1014e
Exquisite Agony 28 May 2016 SDL1015e

Poisoned Pages

Title Date Pages SDL Stock # Notes
Dark Passages 1 February 2016 SDL1601
Fever Dreams 14 February 2016 SDL1602
The Flue of Farewell 1 March 2016 5 SDL1603 Adventure
Tooth and Claw 20 March 2016 SDL1604
Blood will Run 10 April 2016 7 SDL1605 Adventure
Tales of the Desolation 9 March 2016 25 SDL1606 Adventure
Unhinge the Mind 18 April 2016 SDL1607
Power in a Name 9 May 2016 SDL1608
Riders of the Wind 25 April 2016 SDL1609
Children of the Restless Earth 16 May 2016 SDL1610
Flesh of the Fallen 23 May 2016 SDL1611

Special

Title Date Pages SDL Stock # Notes
Unholy Champions of the Demon Lord 30 October 2015 SDLDAD

Shadow of the Demon Lord Adventures

Title Level Authors Artist Date Pages SDL Stock #
Survival of the Fittest Starting Robert J. Schwalb Biagio D'Alessandro

Jack Kaiser

Eric Lofgren

31 August 2015 8 SDLAchievement
The Slaver's Lash Starting Chris Pramas Britt Martin

Ivan Dixon

22 September 2015 4 SDL1006ae
A Year Without Rain Starting/Novice Bruce Cordell Pat Loboyko

Eric Lofgren

Dan Heinrich

28 September 2015 6 SDL1006be
The God Below Novice Steve Winter Andy law

Pat Loboyko

Britt Martin

5 October 2015 5 SDL1006ce
Wretched Expert Shane Hensley Andrey Vasilchenko 12 October 2015 7 SDL1008ae
A Measure of Faith Expert Steve Townshend Britt Martin

Andrey Vasilchenko

18 October 2015 7 SDL1008ce
The Apple of Her Eye Novice Steve Kenson Britt Martin

Andrey Vasilchenko

1 November 2015 7 SDL1008be
The Giant's Tribute Master Rich Baker Claudio Pozas

Jack Kaiser

Cecil Howe

Britt Martin

9 Novemember 2015 7 SDL1010ae
The Star's Refuge Expert Monte Cook Eric Lofgren

Britt Martin

15 November 2015 5 SDL1010be
Beware the Tides of Karshoon Expert T.S. Luikart Andy Law

Eric Lofgren

Britt Martin

22 November 2015 6 SDL1010ce
With My Last Scream Master Miranda Horner Jack Kaiser

Cecil Howe

29 November 2015 6 SDL1012ae
The Measure of a Man Master Scott Fitzgerald

Gray

Jared von Hindman

Cecil Howe

7 December 2015 6 SDL1012be
The Huntsman's Isle Novice Skip Williams Ivan Dixon

Britt Martin

14 December 2015 5 SDL1012ce
Heart of Winter Master Chris Sims Jack Kaiser

Eric Lofgren

Cecil Howe

3 January 2016 8 SDL1017ae
Oblivion's Edge Master Stephen Radney-

MacFarland

Cecil Howe

Ivan Dixon

Jack Kaiser

Todd Wilson

17 January 2016 6 SDL1017be
The Darkness in Shadowturrets Master Ed Greenwood Cecil Howe

Jack Kaiser

Britt Martin

Mirco Paganessi

24 January 2016 8 SDL1017ce
The Gorgon's tears Expert

Poisoned Pages

Cam Banks Eric Lofgren

Mirco Paganessi

Todd Wilson

7 February 2016 8 SDL1023ae
The Last Train to Darksville Master Matt Forbeck Jack Kaiser

Bob Schwalb

Todd Wilson

21 February 2016 5 SDL1023be
The Flute of Farewell Expert Steve Dee Bob Schwalb 1 March 2016 5 SDL1603
The Feast of the Father Expert Jason Bulmahn Biagio d'Alessandro

Mirco Paganessi

Bob Schwalb

6 March 2016 8 SDL1023ce
Tales of Desolation 4 Adventures Jerry LeNeave

Andrew Follett

Nat Webb

Greg Marks

Mirco Paganessi

Ivan Dixon

Cecil Howe

Jack Kaiser

Eric Lofgren

Britt Martin

Todd Wilson

9 March 2016 25 SDL1606
Blood will Run Novice

Poisoned Pages

Dan Heinrich Dan Heinrich

Eric Lofgren

Andrey Vasilchenko

Todd Wilson

10 April 2016 7 SDL1605
The Demon's Wet Nurse Novice Stan! Cecil Howe

Jack Kaiser

27 April 2016 9 SDL1025ae
A Case of Consumption Expert David Noonan Kim Van Deun,

Cecil Howe,

Bob Schwalb

05 June 2016 6 SDL1025be

Press

On October 25, 2014, Schwalb announced the creation of a new company, Schwalb Entertainment,[11] and the creation of a new role-playing game entitled Shadow of the Demon Lord.[12] The press release describes the game as mixing horror and fantasy elements.

The game has been previewed at several small conventions, with a large playtest at the Winter Fantasy convention in January 2015. A Kickstarter is planned for the Spring of 2015, with a potential publishing date in the Fall of 2015. The Schwalb Entertainment web site has provided several previews of the game's underpinnings, including systems for magic, combat, and initiative.

Robert discussed the game in an interview on the German site Obskures.de,[13] on the Obsidian Portal blog Words in the Dark,[14] in episode 73 of the Table Topics podcast,[15] and in an interview with Skullbanger Media.[16]

Michael Long of Tribality posted several articles about the game on the Tribality Game News and Review Web site on March 12, 2015,[17] April 8, 2015,[18] and August 27, 2015.[19]

References

  1. "Kickstarter "Shadow of the Demon Lord"".
  2. "Kickstarter "Shadow of the Demon Lord"".
  3. Robert J. Schalwb. (4 November 2014). "Dice and Accessibility". Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  4. David Gross (13 March 2015). "Creative Colleagues: Robert J. Schwalb". Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  5. Obskures (9 December 2014). "Shadow of the Demon Lord: An Interview with Robert Schwalb". Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  6. Obskures (9 December 2014). "Shadow of the Demon Lord: An Interview with Robert Schwalb". Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  7. Michael (11 March 2015). "Table Topics: Episode 73 – Shadow of the Demon Lord; Interview with Robert J. Schwalb". Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  8. Obskures (9 December 2014). "Shadow of the Demon Lord: An Interview with Robert Schwalb". Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  9. Obskures (9 December 2014). "Shadow of the Demon Lord: An Interview with Robert Schwalb". Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  10. Obskures (9 December 2014). "Shadow of the Demon Lord: An Interview with Robert Schwalb". Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  11. "Schwalb Entertainment". Schwalb Entertainment. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  12. http://www.dnj.com/story/money/business/2014/10/30/game-designer-transforms-hobby-career/18220343/
  13. "Obskures.de Shaodw of the Demon Lord Interview". Obskures.de. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  14. "Words in the Dark blog Shadow of the Demon Lord". Obsidian Portal. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  15. "Table Topics Episode 73". Table Topics.
  16. "Skullbanger Media Shadow of the Demon Lord interview". Skullbanger Media. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  17. Michael Long (12 March 2015). "Tribality Shadow of the Demon Lord Kickstarter 2". Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  18. Michael Long (8 April 2015). "Tribality Shadow of the Demon Lord Kickstarter 2". Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  19. Michael Long (27 August 2015). "Tribality Shadow of the Demon Lord PDF". Retrieved 18 May 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/23/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.