Learn to Play: Shadowdark! The Black Wyrm - Free sessions!
The forest dwarves were first. Now the beast is killing and eating your neighbors. Your town is looking for volunteers to face the dangers outside!
Free
Details
Weekly / Wednesday - 12:30 AM UTC
Session Duration / 2.5–3 hours
Campaign Length / 3–5 Sessions
3 / 5 Seats Filled
Report Adventure
StartPlaying Money Back Guarantee
If your game doesn't happen, we guarantee a refund. Just reach out to StartPlaying Support. Refund Policy
Schedule
Meet your party members
3/5
About the adventure
The forest dwarves were first. Now the beast is killing and eating your neighbors. Your town is looking for volunteers to face the dangers outside! No-one wants to leave the town's walls. With the humans out of the forest, fairies have taken over, and now the goblin king Hogboon seeks to claim the entire forest as his new kingdom. This is an old-school compatible module for characters level 1-3, in which your characters leave the safety of home and adventure through the fairy-haunted woods outside the town, delve into dangerous dungeons, and hopefully, slay a dragon.
Game style
Dungeon Crawl
Puzzle / Mystery Focused
Roleplay Heavy
Meet the Game Master
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Beginner Friendly, Inclusive, Rule of Cool
About me
I’ve been creating characters since I was twelve—starting with Basic D&D and a reckless halfling thief—and for the last decade I’ve been running, playing, or reading RPGs constantly. I’ve played or run over eighty games, from classics like D&D and Marvel Super Heroes (FASERIP) to modern favorites like Dolmenwood, Mothership, and more. I’ve run countless one‑shots and short campaigns, and I design games myself. Beginners are welcome, and I’m committed to making my tables welcoming to women, neurodivergent players, and LGBTQI+ players. I run games with diverse friends and convention groups, so this isn’t new for me. I use the simplest tech needed, with video preferred to keep the focus on people rather than platforms. You don’t need to know the rules or build the perfect character—I’ll help you learn as we play. I value engaged play: curiosity, risk‑taking, relationship‑building, and pursuing interesting stories rather than waiting for the GM to dictate the path. Bring curiosity, respect, and willingness to participate, and I’ll meet you with a world ready to respond.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
We will generate characters together using the Shadowdark random character generator. Generate 2 and pick 1. Send the PDF of the character to me in session 0. https://shadowdarklings.net/create - make sure to choose form fillable
What to expect
Preparing for the session
Please have a working microphone, stable internet connection and head full of ideas. Playing with camera on would be appreciated, but is not obligatory. We will use Owlbear Rodeo for maps. Here is the link to the room: https://www.owlbear.rodeo/room/xNdqTPADK8nK/TheGodlyNews and Discord for audio / video
What GM My Guy (Mike I) brings to the table
You can expect distinct NPC personalities, and passionate role-play, and a GM that rolls with whatever the group is keen to do, while I teach you the rules. The world is filled with memorable characters, locations that feel alive, and rewards and consequences for your actions. Music is used sparingly but ambient sound is more common. I use only enough to support my GMing, rather than distracting me from your reactions. Combat is dynamic, tactical, and built to feel like part of the story but as low level old-school gaming, it may be wiser to avoid conflicts and make allies instead. I always reward creativity, awareness, and interaction with the environment, as much as anything on your character sheets I always play with my camera on so you can catch emotions and facial expressions of every creature living in my worlds.
Homebrew rules
Almost nothing is impossible in my games and I will play RAW (rules as written, except where we agree otherwise. If I don't remember a rule at the time, I will adjudicate it quickly and then follow up later during a break regarding any discrepancies. Any incorrect ruling against your character will be fixed or compensated for if they are found. You can expect a GM that is happy to go with the flow of the narrative and invent on the fly and I'll see to it that there is always a way forward
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Webcam
Platforms used
Safety
How GM My Guy (Mike I) creates a safe table
Session 0 discussion, Lines & Veils ahead of session 0 and at the start of each session, and Script Change. I will discuss these the first 5 min of any session with a new player onboarding.
Content warnings
Safety tools used