The 8-Bit Shadowdark Game Jam is over! Long live the 8-bit Shadowdark Jam!
Hosted by Dungeon Masterpiece‘s Baron de Ropp, this follow-up to last year’s Weird Tales jam had 60 entries. A bit less than the Weird Tales crowd of 117, or the Shadowdark Independent Game Jam‘s 112, but still a very strong showing. To be fair, it was a tough competition this year; entries were required to blend three classic NES games into a usable Shadowdark adventure. Tall order!
Our own humble contribution (Gangsters & Gargoyles) placed sixth after the first round of voting. Not too bad. We made the finalist list. I’m proud of us! We tried to fit an NES booklet form factor, and outside of our one-page work, it’s probably the most punishing page size we’ve worked with yet. I think if everyone had worked within the NES booklet standard, we might have pulled it off.
I challenge you: who writes in a tight space better than us?
Still, size isn’t everything. Ultimately, no one could stand against Cri’s Gristle & Vine: Crypt of the Child. Congratulations Cri!
Got No Class
Now, I never played Adventures of Bayou Billy, Gargoyle’s Quest 2, or Super Gloveball.
I did, however, play a truly insane amount of Super Mario and Super Mario Bros 3 as a kid.
So when I think 8-bit adventure, I think of mushroom-eating Italian plumbers. And I don’t think I’m alone in that. I snuck a little extra life mushroom into our adventure, but I would have gone a lot further without the Jam guidelines (and that intense form-factor decision).
To that end, if you’re thinking of playing Gangsters & Gargoyles or any of the fine games produced for the jam, I’ve written you a class. After all, what’s an 8-bit Adventure without an 8-bit hero?
The 8-Bit Plumber
It was just another day when you slipped into a large green pipe and found yourself tumbling into a world of beautiful princesses, menacing turtles, and magical mushrooms. How will you use your power? Smashing bros? Karting rainbow roads? Hosting parties? Or will your terrifying vertical leap free the toadstool people?
Weapons: All Weapons
Armour: Leather Armour
Hit Points: 1d6 per level
Jump: You may leap 15ft into the air as part of your movement. If you jump onto an enemy within Near (a DEX-based attack roll), they take 1d8 damage.
Bonus Lives: While unconscious and affected by the Death Timer, you regain 1HP on a d20 roll of 18+.
Squeeze: You may fit into pipes or pipe-like openings as if you were half your size.
Talents:
2. Ground Pound: Increase the die size of the damage dealt by your Jump attack (Maximum d12).
3-5. Multi-Jump: After a successful Jump attack, you may immediately make another Jump attack. You may do this as many times as you’ve taken this Talent, but you cannot target a creature twice in one round.
6-9. +2 to Dexterity or Constitution stat
10-11. +1 to Melee and Jump Attacks.
12. Choose a Talent or distribute 2 points to stats.
Enjoy this blog post? Don’t sleep on Gangsters & Gargoyles! It’s a fine module, and free to a good home while supplies last. Check out all of our Shadowdark Adventures. And if you want to stay on the blog take a look at our light-eating monsters, magic swords, and animalfolk ancestries. Thanks for reading. Stay weird!