I remember Shadow of the Demon Lord got lots of discussion...and then poof.

I've never seen in any game stores.

Anyone playing it?

Roleplaying game publishers don't really market their products. They just sort of rely on blogging and word of mouth.

I hear its good though. I'd order a copy if I didn't think the customs officials would confiscate it.

I've seen it in game stores. It is close to a one man show so it probably can do okay if it keeps a steady following.

Quote from: Spinachcat;1012073I remember Shadow of the Demon Lord got lots of discussion...and then poof.

I've never seen in any game stores.

Anyone playing it?

It's doing well enough that there's a new release every fortnight. I believe it's up to 100+ products. I've got most of them in PDF; I've never seen a copy in meatspace.

I haven't played it yet but it's definitely on the list of games I will run one day.

Never even heard of it. Tell us what it is.

Quote from: Dumarest;1012154Never even heard of it. Tell us what it is.

It's like 5E D&D, except that it's FUCKING METAL.

it is a dark fantasy RPG where things are going to shit because the Demon Lord has turned his eye to the .  This, as you may imagine, has stirred up all the monsters, fey, lesser demons, etc. So brave individuals (the PCs) have to fight back against this.  PCs typically have between 1 and 10 levels.  You start in one of the 4 basic careers, and then about level 3 or 4 you pick one of 16 expert careers, and then at level 7 or so, you take one of the 64 master careers, so you have a lot of options for character customization.  As for what form the Demon Lord actually takes, this is never set in stone anywhere, but you instead get a bunch of options, the fall of magic, an ancient dragon, an erupting volcano, etc.
All of this is just the core book.  Additional books offer additional options such as new character races, new careers, new spells, etc.  One of the biggest supplements is the Godless book which changes the setting to a Mad Max style post-apocalyptic wasteland complete with cobbled together cars.  Another book offers a look at hacking the game into space opera.

I have the pdf but I have yet to actually read it because I am so goddamn tired of edgelordy dark fantasy.
(that and the author said he had 500 pages worth of rules for the book but would only release X pages based on how high the kickstarter reached)

It does have it's own setting, but it's as much as a framework for a type of game as it is a game itself.  It's designed to do a really cool "You save the world or watch it die." campaign and then you're done.  No extended campaign here, you're in at start of school and out by summer.

Aside from the main book, the whole thing is a couple decent-sized pdfs and tons of stuff stuff like 4-6 page adventures.  Also sourcebooks like this:

Quote from: Go Beyond the Edge of the World!
What's beyond the Auroral Ocean? Where did the human conquerors come from? Is there anything north of the Desolation? What awaits those who set sail across the Nyxian? The answers to these questions and more are contained inside this expansion to the world of Shadow of the Demon Lord. Each chapter goes beyond the edge of the map, offering a plethora of strange places inhabited by stranger denizens that characters might befriend or overcome. Loaded with adventure ideas and new creatures, this book will inspire Game Masters to take their campaigns Beyond the World's Edge!

Must not be all that much beyond the edge of the world, it's 34 pages and that's with new creatures which means statblocks.

If you're the type of GM who wants to purchase bullet points to go completely flesh out yourself, the supplemental stuff is for you.  If you'd rather have a complete adventure that you can adjust to taste or completely dissemble and use elsewhere, not so much.  Aside from a couple good examples, this is not the RPG for people who are not Dyson Logos.

The main book is cool, and if I had unlimited time I'd run it, but if I want "Dark Fantasy" there's Dragon Age, WFRP3 or Zweihander, LotFP, Symbaroum and other stuff that I would probably go to first.

Sounds a bit like WHFRP, but not enough to get me to buy another game I will probably never play.

Quote from: remial;1012189it is a dark fantasy RPG where things are going to shit because the Demon Lord has turned his eye to the .  This, as you may imagine, has stirred up all the monsters, fey, lesser demons, etc. So brave individuals (the PCs) have to fight back against this.  PCs typically have between 1 and 10 levels.  You start in one of the 4 basic careers, and then about level 3 or 4 you pick one of 16 expert careers, and then at level 7 or so, you take one of the 64 master careers, so you have a lot of options for character customization.  As for what form the Demon Lord actually takes, this is never set in stone anywhere, but you instead get a bunch of options, the fall of magic, an ancient dragon, an erupting volcano, etc.
All of this is just the core book.  Additional books offer additional options such as new character races, new careers, new spells, etc.  One of the biggest supplements is the Godless book which changes the setting to a Mad Max style post-apocalyptic wasteland complete with cobbled together cars.  Another book offers a look at hacking the game into space opera.

I have the pdf but I have yet to actually read it because I am so goddamn tired of edgelordy dark fantasy.
(that and the author said he had 500 pages worth of rules for the book but would only release X pages based on how high the kickstarter reached)

reminds me, more or less, of classic Japanese RPG and fantasy anime

It's a fantastic love letter to WFRP, I think the author (Robert Schwalb) may have worked on the WFRP line in the past. Production values are high, and line support is insanely good as mentioned above.

Character creation and advancement is great - enhanced version of 1e/2e, includes racial levelling for want of a better description.

The game runs fast and smooth, with some excellent mechanical touches.

I can't speak any about the worldbuilding, and with Zweihander out and 4e on the horizon, I won't be investing any.

It's a mix of the WFRP tone (disease, corruption, insanity, etc.) with D&D staples (things named as paladins, druids, clerics. etc. and doing pretty much what you'd expect from them in D&D). It's made for fast play, so the rules are pretty simple overall and you could certainly have someone ready to play within 20 minutes of sitting at the table.

Quote from: Spinachcat;1012073I remember Shadow of the Demon Lord got lots of discussion...and then poof.

I've never seen in any game stores.

Anyone playing it?

GM'd a campaign this past summer. If you're in London, you can pick it up from Orc's Nest (last time I was there, at least, which was like back in Jan this year).

It's wicked sick, bruv. The group leveling, scenario-based progression and the paths system is what I got it for and dude, I do not regret it in the slightest. Fuck D&D's class/XP progression and WHFRP's restrictive careers system, this is the third way.

Quote from: Scrivener of Doom;1012153It's doing well enough that there's a new release every fortnight. I believe it's up to 100+ products. I've got most of them in PDF; I've never seen a copy in meatspace.

I haven't played it yet but it's definitely on the list of games I will run one day.

Run it or play it. Like ASAP. Seriously, this game is fucking good. Whatever you were planning, just leave that and do this game.

Quote from: remial;1012189it is a dark fantasy RPG where things are going to shit because the Demon Lord has turned his eye to the .  This, as you may imagine, has stirred up all the monsters, fey, lesser demons, etc. So brave individuals (the PCs) have to fight back against this.  PCs typically have between 1 and 10 levels.  You start in one of the 4 basic careers, and then about level 3 or 4 you pick one of 16 expert careers, and then at level 7 or so, you take one of the 64 master careers, so you have a lot of options for character customization.  As for what form the Demon Lord actually takes, this is never set in stone anywhere, but you instead get a bunch of options, the fall of magic, an ancient dragon, an erupting volcano, etc.
All of this is just the core book.  Additional books offer additional options such as new character races, new careers, new spells, etc.  One of the biggest supplements is the Godless book which changes the setting to a Mad Max style post-apocalyptic wasteland complete with cobbled together cars.  Another book offers a look at hacking the game into space opera.

I have the pdf but I have yet to actually read it because I am so goddamn tired of edgelordy dark fantasy.
(that and the author said he had 500 pages worth of rules for the book but would only release X pages based on how high the kickstarter reached)

Dude, at least read the book before you start opinionatin' on the system.

You pick Expert Path at lvl 3 and you get your get your Ancestry benefit at 4. For completion's sake on the critical lvls, you start at lvl 0 with no Path (this is like one of best design decisions ever), you pick your Novice Path at lvl 1 and your Master Path at 7.

'Book eschews Warhammer's generally shite setting (outside of some novels that actually make it work) and keeps itself dark fantasy with a heavy twist of steampunk. You could run Thief in the setting if you switch Cult of the New God to Hammerites and the followers of the Old Gods to Pagans and locked PC Paths to Rogue 'n' Thief 'n' shit.

Quote from: CRKrueger;1012205It does have it's own setting, but it's as much as a framework for a type of game as it is a game itself.  It's designed to do a really cool "You save the world or watch it die." campaign and then you're done.  No extended campaign here, you're in at start of school and out by summer.

Aside from the main book, the whole thing is a couple decent-sized pdfs and tons of stuff stuff like 4-6 page adventures.  Also sourcebooks like this:

Must not be all that much beyond the edge of the world, it's 34 pages and that's with new creatures which means statblocks.

If you're the type of GM who wants to purchase bullet points to go completely flesh out yourself, the supplemental stuff is for you.  If you'd rather have a complete adventure that you can adjust to taste or completely dissemble and use elsewhere, not so much.  Aside from a couple good examples, this is not the RPG for people who are not Dyson Logos.

The main book is cool, and if I had unlimited time I'd run it, but if I want "Dark Fantasy" there's Dragon Age, WFRP3 or Zweihander, LotFP, Symbaroum and other stuff that I would probably go to first.

Dragon Age suffers too much from OWOD syndrome in that your shit doesn't matter unlike what's been written in the lore already and what happens in the computer games. I really would not go for that based on wanting to play "dark fantasy".

The rest honestly don't compare. They just don't. Do SOTDL first. It'll scratch that itch and then pop the pustule.

Quote from: DavetheLost;1012207Sounds a bit like WHFRP, but not enough to get me to buy another game I will probably never play.

You don't buy this game for the setting (which is perfectly serviceable), you buy it for the system. It's objectively better than the WHRP system just because of Paths alone not being shitefest of being purposefully badly designed and balanced.

Quote from: Motorskills;1012399It's a fantastic love letter to WFRP, I think the author (Robert Schwalb) may have worked on the WFRP line in the past. Production values are high, and line support is insanely good as mentioned above.

Character creation and advancement is great - enhanced version of 1e/2e, includes racial levelling for want of a better description.

The game runs fast and smooth, with some excellent mechanical touches.

I can't speak any about the worldbuilding, and with Zweihander out and 4e on the horizon, I won't be investing any.

I'm happy for Schwalb that he's able to keep pumping out more material for the game even though it's been out for like two years now and he's doing it all by himself sans art and editing.

Quote from: HappyDaze;1012425It's a mix of the WFRP tone (disease, corruption, insanity, etc.) with D&D staples (things named as paladins, druids, clerics. etc. and doing pretty much what you'd expect from them in D&D). It's made for fast play, so the rules are pretty simple overall and you could certainly have someone ready to play within 20 minutes of sitting at the table.

Yep.

For those on here who like random rolls (which is, like, 50% of you), char crea can be done almost entirely through random rolls. I left it up to the players to decide how much rolling and choosing they did and got a pretty good mix of both.

Anytime someone feels compelled to shit upon other games in order to try and sell their own preference to others, it generally unsells it to me.

Quote from: TrippyHippy;1012602Anytime someone feels compelled to shit upon other games in order to try and sell their own preference to others, it generally unsells it to me.

Direct that passive-aggressiveness towards the posters on here stating viewpoints and being generally dismissive of it without having played the game.