Shadowdark Fighters Need More Respect

And I figure out how to do it

What got me most excited reading through the 1e Players Handbooks at 14 years old wasn’t the fact that I could level up and become more powerful (although that was exciting); it was WHO I could become at a certain level.

The book said I could start out as a Veteran and wind up as a Lord with stops at Hero, Swashbuckler and Champion. Sadly, my group of teenager friends did not care about the titles as much as I did and so they were just titles, names of levels rather than something your character could become.

In fairness, there was no process, no stepping stones were detailed on how a character could achieve these grand titles unless of course you were familiar with knighthood and medieval times, which I was not.

Now that I am older, I want to add some value to these titles, make these titles mean something in game and to the players and their PC’s. I want your players to be excited to level up beyond erasing one level on their character sheet and writing in another.

I came up with a simple system for becoming your title.

The Requirement

What is required, or must be achieved, prior to gaining a title.

The Review

Who will judge the process, the test or the rite to see if the PC is worthy of the title.

The Rite

What test must be accomplished by the PC to earn the title?

The Reward

What does a PC receive beyond the title?

I have put all of this in my latest Crit Happens zine Shadowdark Fighters: Earning The Blade.

The zine has 15 ideas for each of the Fighter types, Lawful, Chaotic and Neutral as well as a table for renown once that title is achieved. Here’s a sample.

I may go back to First Edition and work on those titles, but for now, my Shadowdark Fighters are coming for their titles and all that comes with them.

If you’re looking to level up your characters beyond the numbers and expand your setting in the process, check out Shadowdark Fighters: Earning The Blade.

How about you? Do you use titles in your game? What does a PC achieving them look like?