Shadow of the Demon Lord (SDL1000)

Arrived fast, great read. Sistem is deadly&fun.

I purchased this book after seeing Undead Viking's product review. I didn't intend to play it, but I have been playing role-playing games for over 30 years, and I'm interested in how they evolve. I'm about half way through now; enough to understand the basics of the game without being familiar with all the spells and monsters. I'll sum up my ratings as follows:System Game Play (4/5): Game play is fairly simple when compared to something like GURPS, yet it makes enough sense to make it feel right for the genre. It isn't very detailed, with things like armor locations, and crippled limbs, but depending on your needs, that may be just what you're looking for.Character progression is simplified, but offers a fair amount of options. The game is very chart heavy; especially for character generation/maintenance, but you can bypass the random nature of it, and just use them for inspiration.Lastly, the game includes everything that you need, like monsters, in one book. This make it easier to reference, and it's nicer to your wallet.Setting/Mood (5/5): The game is set in a dark world, and the art and game design reflects that. Characters can gain corruption and lose sanity which can change characters in very interesting ways. I find the corruption aspect unique to a role-playing game; at least how it's handled mechanically here.A particularly interesting element in the game is how they explain death, the afterlife, and ghosts. Most games don't cover this, which is surprising, because it tends to come up as you play.The game encourages developing character stories as they improve. I like, and support this concept, but you may ignore it, or include it as you see fit.End of Ratings.Summary: Even though I said that I don't intend to play this, I probably will at some point. It's a well thought out, and nicely presented effort. I gave this game 4 stars because I prefer games with even simpler rules these days, but my preference may not be yours. If you like traditional role-playing games, this is a smart,and stylish attempt.

This game is darker in tone than the standard fantasy settings, and the mood and themes of the game come through evocatively on every page of the book... but, you can feel free to ignore the whole "Demon Lord invading reality" theme and easily just play a fantasy rpg if you want. The game mechanics are solid, the core book contains everything the players and game master need to play. I highly recommend it, especially for those not wanting to invest in some of the more mainstream high-fantasy rpg lines, as this game gives you lots of fantasy kick for your buck. Honestly, I kept this book and sold of my Pathfinder and 13th Age books, so if that's any indication of the high regard I hold SofDL in, then there you go. It does everything the other, more verbose and rules-heavy games offer, and just as well.

This is one of the best table top rpgs I've ever played. As an adult gamer with a job, wife and kids it's difficult enough managing my time without having hobbies. This game is easy to run and the rules are simple, but it has such amazing depth and ability to customize characters well beyond my groups expectations. I haven't gm'd a game in 5 years but we picked this up and i ran the first session with little prep and just a quick read of the basic rules and it went beautifully. Having had some more time to explore the system the simplicity and depth is just beautiful. It's a mature game for adults that want to balance life and hobbies and not invest more time into a game than you get out if it. It blends osr ideals, 3e, 4e, cthulhu and wfrp into a bad ass good time.

I have been playing shadow for around 8 months now and I can definitively say that it is my favorite TTRPG. The magic system and path system make every character feel completely unique. The dark and gritty tone of the game is also a welcome addition to my group, but it is incredibly easy to take it out of your group if you don’t like it. Overall, this system is great and every fan of fantasy ttrpg’s needs to try it

This is great game in a great book. It is well put together. With thick heavy stock pages. Easy to read and easy to follow guide to character creation and advancement. As well as giving comprehencive understanding of the world and how to run a game from just this book. Plenty of creatures for your PC's to interact with and/or do battle with. Cool full color art work. My only complaint would be that, I ordered it new directly from Amazon and it arrived damaged. (Shipping box was unmarked) Not horribly. but, enough for me to be bothered by it. Since I am constantly on the move with my intended gaming party, I wont have time to wait for a replacement.

A Diablo II type setting in a tabletop RPG. Dark and deadly. Great dice system using boons and banes instead of advantage and disadvantage of DnD 5e. Lots of character customization. Dark and deadly. Our GM is a sick twisted individual that loves these kind of games. We will never be the same again.

Wonderful game, especially if you like fantasy and horror mixed together. It has quickly become my favorite.