Episode #7 'Trust me, I'm a Doctor...'

 Awaiting the approach of the McQuarrie brothers, the ambush positions of the murderhobos...I mean the party, have considerable advantages. They quickly make short work of two of the evil McQuarrie brothers, the Professor himself running across the muddy field to dispatch the third as he starts to tractor to get away (slowly - as chases go, it was a damp squib). Clearly, this party of so called 'academics' is not to be trifled with.

'Yeah...there seems to be a weight problem in the car we hired?'

 Watching the whole thing however, without taking sides, is local farmer Ian MacDonald - no friend of the McQuarries, and who turns out to be a good source of information. Being an NPC, he immediately trusts the people who just despatched the McQuarrie brothers ...uhhhh...

Inviting the rampant killers..um...the party back to his farmhouse, he relates the tale of the missing MacRae baby, Hancock's relationship with Margaret in town, and the general strange goings on around Cannich regarding the new French witch in town - Anne Chantraine, and her accomplice Duncan MacBain.

Merely an artist's impression of the mysterious Anne Chantraine, who may, or may not, be really old...

 The party resolve to try and find the mysterious Margaret first - as she serves them whiskey in the Cannich pub. They try to pass a note, but it is seen by the landlord...and quickly dismissed.

They note that she is wearing an elder sign on a necklace, similar to the one that Henry had been wearing...

 

Mags' elder sign...

They follow her, and note that she enters a tenement house, the door opened by a man...

Shotgun diplomacy may not be the order of the day this time... 

 

Shadowdark#2 'everybody was Kung Fu Fightin'

 Working their way further into the dwarven complex, having accidentally sealed the entrance, needing a new way out, and having lost two characters so far, the poor characters continue.

Down to ten people, they encounter the 'giant eyeballs with legs that work like facehuggers'...and end up having to kill two of their own party members (including one of the hobbits ...yay!).

Spiders later take care of one of thieves.

And then, there were seven...

'Dearest AI...pray tell, why is shadowdark combat better than that of 5e?'

While "better" is subjective—5e excels at crunchy, option-heavy grid-based tactics for larger groups or players who love build optimization—Shadowdark shines for old-school dungeon crawls where every fight feels risky and combats resolve in minutes, not hours.

In short: Shadowdark combat feels like a gritty swordfight—tense, swift, and punishing—perfect for crawl-focused play. 5e is a tactical minis game. If your group hates sloggy sessions, Shadowdark "fixes everything wrong with 5e" by prioritizing fun over features. Try the free quickstart PDF for a test run.

1. Blazing Speed and Flow (No Analysis Paralysis)

• Shadowdark: One move (~30 ft, abstract "near" range; can split or double-move) + one action (attack, spell, improvise) per turn. Initiative: d20 + DEX mod for all (players + GM), highest first, then clockwise around the table—no tracking order sheets. Turns fly; even 6-player games have "rounds [that] fly" with "no decision gridlock."
• 5e Contrast: Action + bonus action + reaction + free movement + dozens of subclass features/spells. Individual initiative order often causes "whose turn?" delays and option overload.
• Why Better: Combats end fast (e.g., 3 PCs vs. 3 monsters in ~40 min max, often less); real-time torch burning (~1 hour play) adds urgency without pausing.

2. High Lethality and Stakes (Fights Matter)

• Shadowdark: Low HP (roll class HD + CON only at lvl 1; no CON after). Damage: straight dice (e.g., 1d6 sword, no STR mod). Crits (nat 20) double dice. At 0 HP: death timer (1d4 + CON rounds, min 1); roll d20 each turn (nat 20 stabilizes at 1 HP) or ally DC 15 INT check. Enemies morale-check at half HP (DC 15 WIS).
• 5e Contrast: Massive HP pools, death saves (3 successes/fails), reliable healing (e.g., Healing Word bonus action), short/long rests galore—fights drag with "immortality."
• Why Better: Every hit hurts; players avoid fights or flee smartly. "Combat is fast, brutal, and decisive."

3. Minimal Bookkeeping and Rulings Over Rules

• Shadowdark: Abstract ranges (close=5ft, near=30ft, far=sight). Attacks: d20 + STR/DEX vs. AC (flat math, mods -4 to +4). No spell slots/components/books—cast via check (DC 10+tier; crit fail = long rest penalty). Gear slots limit encumbrance.
• 5e Contrast: Precise grids, concentration tracking, spell slots/prep, conditions (prone, restrained), advantage/disadvantage stacking.
• Why Better: Less math/tracking = more immersion. "Vague terms like 'close/near/far'" keep flow; fixes 5e's "needlessly gritty detail."

Episode #6 ....G..G..G..ghost!

Having found Hancock’s house, our heroes work out that not only has the door once been kicked in, the lock has then been repaired, and then picked. What the ???

Of course, little do they realise that moment before they arrive, their old friend(?) ‘Sinead the Mad Irish’ is there. Why? Well, turns out she had been hastily recruited by Adam – Henry’s ‘friend’ – to remove a rock-face from the dig site, with her special skills.

True to form, she plants a tripwire/blast trap inside a vase and Professor Schmidt walks right into it, receiving a large piece of priceless Ming vase to the face. (I’m sure he’ll be fine).

Revealing herself to her old friends, there are several uniquely comical… I mean deadly serious --- moments of argument as the characters wonder just what the hell is going on?

Eventually, having resolved their differences, they search the house, finding the terribly decayed (and sanity roll provoking) body of Henry Hancock hidden behind a picture…with the eerie feeling that they are being watched.

They find a photo of Henry and Adam from Easter Island, with the strange inscription on the back related to the ‘the whistler’ and the fact that the ‘sword and the spear are one…’.

 Indeed, the local farming community, whom they seem to have disturbed, at least in the form of three strangely behaving brothers, appear to be getting closer, wondering why the house has been disturbed…

Realising that Hancock has been questioned and murdered, they search the rest of the house – and reason that whoever took Hancock, was searching for something As McDaid has a smoke downstairs, not wanting to see the remains of Hancock, he has an otherworldy encounter with the terrifying ghost of the man himself...in the kitchen, which tries to possess him.  

I mean they were going to split the party...but if Scooby Doo has taught us anything..am i right?.

Fighting back (with good rolls) he shrugs the thing off, realising from his Cthulhu Mythos (gained from a recent read of Culte des Ghouls) that not only do the remains need to be buried, but that the reason for the spectre must have something to do with an ‘artefact’ in the house, the famous ‘disk’ they have read so much about – which means the previous search by the bad guys did not find it.

Hiding the car, and musing with regard to getting out of there, they instead quickly check the basement, and in the coal cellar, hidden by an improvised box, is part of the disk of R’lyeh… which appears to be a fragment of a map, inscribed upon a neatly sliced golden fragment.

As two of the farmer brothers (potentially the McQuarries) approach the house with shotguns, the characters lie in wait… they may have questions....especially regarding this strange 'French woman'...