Despite being the most popular genre in tabletop role playing games, fantasy encloses several different worlds, genres and feels. Even Dungeons & Dragons spans different ideas of what fantasy is through its various worlds. Compare the gothic horror of Ravenloft to the pulp adventure of Eberron or the strange science fantasy of Spelljammer.
One of the best dark fantasy games on the market is Shadow of the Demon Lord. This critically acclaimed role playing game dives into a gloomy world where the titular villain is destroying the world of Urth and the players are the only ones who can do anything about it. The game features fast mechaincs, a quick level progression and a level customization system that puts multiclassing in every other RPG to shame.
The man behind the modern classic, Rob Schwalb, has returned to Kickstarter to create a new version of the Shadow of the Demon Lord rules. What started as a revision turned into a passion project called Shadow of the Weird Wizard. Same tight design, same fantasy action, but a new weird world and a new strange villain to uncover.
Interview With The Demon Lord
“Some people bounced off Shadow of the Demon Lord,” said Schwalb, “Despite digging the mechanics, I went full dark on the setting. I received many requests for a more traditional fantasy game using the game system, and I took those requests to heart. I thought a lot about my early experiences with tabletop roleplaying games, and used those fantastical elements to construct an interesting and evocative world suitable for all audiences.”
Shadow of the Weird Wizard features a titular character that’s a mystery instead of a obvious villain. His disappearance plays into the backstory of the game, but tables choose to investigate it or not. It’s not exactly a lighter tone; it’s more of a stranger one.
“Where Demon Lord focuses on endings,” said Schwalb. “Weird Wizard embraces new beginnings. In the core game, the characters come from the ranks of refugees fleeing the war, chaos, and plagues of the old country to make new home for themselves in the borderlands. Opportunities abound to make peace with the peoples living here, contend with wicked faeries, and unearth the mysteries left by the Weird Wizard himself. Being a game of heroes drove redesign of the game’s system. Characters have access to more resources, can take a lot more punishment, and have access to more options than do Shadow of the Demon Lord characters.”
What’s New In Shadow Of The Weird Wizard?
Fans who want to check out the game may download a quickstart right now. This preview includes rules, characters and a short adventure. It also highlights the differences between the games.
“Initial design had Weird Wizard as a reskin of Demon Lord, but as I worked on the game, I examined every mechanic and put it through its paces. Weird Wizard preserves the path system, but skips the “level 0” starting character concept. Turn order remains fluid and flexible, but rather than divide rounds into Fast and Slow phase, combat sees enemies act first followed by the players, who have the option to “take the initiative” and leap ahead of the monsters. Spells and spellcasting ditched the rank and power approach from Demon Lord and instead have castings embedded in the spell design. Many of these updates reflect my experience running Demon Lord and feedback gained from the legions of devoted fans.”
The Kickstarter contains many played stretch goals. Much like its predecessor, Weird Wizard will have dozens of small digital supplement that expand the world, offer additional player options and add more optional rules for tables to use. Backing now means players and GMs will have new material for the game sent to them for years to come.
“Oh, there are so many planned,” said Schwalb, “but I think the Forbidden City supplement is the one that excites me most. It details the heart of the Weird Wizard’s realm, a place where he lived, worked, and conducted his experiments. His absence leaves the city to the clockworks he created to serve and protect him. For players, this supplement will include detailed rules for creating and playing clockwork characters, new paths, a new tradition. For the Sage (aka the GM), it provides details on the city and several quests that take place here.”
Bundles Of The Demon Lord
For those infamiliar with the previous game, Bundle of Holding is running a pair of bundles featuring dozens of digital books that support the creator and his charity of choice, the Wildlife Conservation Society. Shadow of the Demon Lord provides the core rules, expansions for the worlds, a starting adventure and a full campaign. Demon Lord Legacies provides more class options, spells, monsters ancestries and optional rules to get the game’s feel just right for each table.
The Shadow of the Demon Lord Bundles of Holding end on August 30th. The Kickstarter for Shadow of the Weird Wizard ends on September 7th. The new game is currently slated for an August 2024 release.
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