{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/674cf5861c6967d814005868/68e30c4c965488b63ad074c9?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Tavern Watch Plays Shadowdark, Episode 3: What lies below","description":"<p>It’s spooky season here on Tavern Watch, so we’re playing something appropriately spooky —<em>&nbsp;Shadowdark!</em>&nbsp;But a spooky old-school-esque system isn’t enough on its own, so we’re diving back into one of the most classic horror tabletop game modules of all time — the original&nbsp;<em>I6: Ravenloft</em>&nbsp;for&nbsp;<em>Advanced Dungeons &amp; Dragons</em>&nbsp;1E. When new spooky rules meet old haunts, will our heroes survive the night?</p><p>Episode three brings our adventurers into possibly the spookiest part of Castle Ravenloft: the expansive crypts underneath the castle, home to a wide variety of creepy things, from garden variety dead bodies to shambling zombies — and also, according to the adventure module, three thousand bats. On top of that, Strahd’s deadline from episode 1 is running out — he’ll show up to clean up his little adventurer problem on his own sooner or later! </p><p><br></p><p>Our brave adventurers include:</p><ul><li>Liz as Serl Sparrow (Halfling Wizard), whose destiny is it to enter Castle Ravenloft and emerge victorious.</li><li>Nick as Ninir (Elf Thief), whose destiny is… to steal as much loot from the infamously rich Count as he possibly can.</li><li>Chris as Faran (Elf Priest), a brave and doughty religious elf who will face the darkness or die trying.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>This is the finale in a three-part game of&nbsp;<em>Shadowdark</em>! You can&nbsp;<a href=\"https://blizzardwatch.com/2025/10/06/tavern-watch-plays-shadowdark-episode-1-dark-stormy-night/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">check out the first episode here</a>and&nbsp;<a href=\"https://blizzardwatch.com/2025/10/13/tavern-watch-plays-shadowdark-episode-2-never-trust-strange-furniture/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">the second episode here</a>; look for new episodes of our actual plays or news and discussion shows every Monday.</p><p><br></p><p>This game was played in&nbsp;<em>Shadowdark</em>, an Ennie-Award-winning tabletop RPG that marries the familiarity of&nbsp;<em>D&amp;D</em>&nbsp;with the stripped-down, rulings-not-rules sensibility of older versions of the same game, yielding something that’s fast, fun, and easy to play.&nbsp;<em>Shadowdark</em>&nbsp;places an emphasis on being easy to understand and easy to run, making it a great game to pick up and play — even if it’s your first tabletop game! If you’re interested in picking up your own copy of&nbsp;<em>Shadowdark</em>, you can grab it at&nbsp;<a href=\"https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">The Arcane Library</a>. If you want to check out our adventure in Ravenloft for yourself, you can pick up&nbsp;<a href=\"https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/17527/i6-ravenloft-1e\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><em>I6: Ravenloft</em></a>&nbsp;from the DM’s Guild. (We’re also using Venatus Maps’&nbsp;<a href=\"https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/254681/castle-ravenloft-battle-maps\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Castle Ravenloft Battle Maps</a>&nbsp;to play in these episodes.)</p><p><br></p><p>The music in this podcast is “Some Amount of Evil” by Kevin McLeod (<a href=\"https://incompetech.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">incompetech.com</a>), licensed under&nbsp;<a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License</a>.</p>","author_name":"Blizzard Watch"}