Running “The Portal Under the Stars” in Shadowdark

I’ve been playing more Shadowdark lately, and one of the coolest things about the system, in my opinion, is the level 0 gauntlet. The gauntlet isn’t unique to Shadowdark, and according to this Reddit thread, they can be traced back to early TSR modules, but they are a fantastic way to drive home the type of game you will be playing. This is especially true for players with the modern 5e-centric play style stuck in their heads. But what does a good gauntlet look like, and how should it be run?

Well, luckily for all of us, DCC has perfected the gauntlet. It’s the game credited for popularizing the style called a “funnel” in DCC, and many great ones have been around for a while. In fact, my favorite is “The Portal Under the Stars” by Goodman Games owner Joseph Goodman. It also happens to be available for free on their website.

Why I love “The Portal Under the Stars”

First and foremost, it’s fun as hell. Secondly, it strikes the right balance of punishing lethality and avoidable danger. I won’t spoil the whole thing here, but I love how the adventure presents unwinnable situations right in the first session and forces them to use ingenuity and creativity to escape them. In my opinion, it’s the perfect way to say this is an OSR style of play and really makes the players feel it. Then, at the very end, it rewards the characters and tempts them with powerful loot and higher stakes. More on that later.

Converting to “The Portal Under the Stars” to Shadowdark

Luckily, it’s relatively easy for us to convert the adventure from DCC to Shadowdark. Below is my approach; feel free to use it and adjust it as you see fit.

Power Level

DCC characters at level 0 tend to be a smidge beefier than Shadowdark. This is completely optional, but I like to make level 0 characters a little stronger than recommended and lean in on the damage, which feels a little more epic, in my opinion.

This leaves us with two available approaches:

1. Use hit die + CON modifier for character HP at level 0 instead of just the CON modifier

2. Remove roughly 4ish HP from all of the enemies and weaken the traps some

My goal is to let the characters take a hit or two without dying immediately. In most cases, even with the higher HP the characters will still die, so the first option is my preference. I also let the character re-roll HP at level 1 and choose the higher option. That’s optional, but it helps make level 1 feel like the character has progressed, even though we gave them a little more HP at the start.

Conversion Guide

Area 1-1

• DC 14 INT for investigating the door

• Trap: DC 10 DEX save for half damage, DC 20 WIS to see the trap.

Area 1-2

• Spears deal 1d6 damage each

Area 1-3

• Adjust the flame burst to +4 to hit

• DC 10 DEX save to extinguish the fire

Area 1-4

• Keep the flavor of Ssissoraaaggg, using the stats from a Giant Snake

• Demonic horn (Learn in downtime, DC 12)
  Invokes a god once per day on use and casts the trance spell
  (Trance is outlined in Cursed Scroll #3)Silver

Area 1-5

• Great axe & Mace (-1 to DMG, min 1)

• Brittle chainmail (11+ DEX mod)

• Living Bones
  AC 8, HP 2, ATK bite +4 (1d4), MV close
  S 0, D -2, C 0, I -1, W 0, Ch -1, AL C, LV 0

Area 1-6

• Each crystal is worth 5sp

• Crystal Statue
  AC 12, HP 6, ATK punch +2 (1d6), MV Near
  S +3, D -1, C +1, I -1, W +1, Ch +0, AL C, LV 1

Area 1-7

• Silver Soldiers are worth 1gp each

Area 1-8

• Find the secret door: DC 14 WIS

• Crystal Globe is worth 50gp, DC 18 INT + downtime to unlock

• Warlord & Generals
  AC 12, HP 8, MV Close x2, ATK Spear +3 (1d6)
  S +1, D 0, C +1, I -2, W 0, Ch -2, AL N, LV 2

Area 1-9

• Since level 0 characters immediately become level 1, we don’t have to worry too much about the item value relative to XP.

• Treasure

  • Copper grazier (5gp)

  • Make the rod a Staff of Rulership (50gp)

  • Spell scroll of feather fall

  • Coin purse (40gp)

  • Leather armor, Longsword, Longbow, 20 arrows, Mace, Spear, Greataxe, Dagger & Mace

• Award an extra XP to players who have made exceptionally creative or clever plays

Following the Staff of Rulership Hook

Do the players want to find the second half of the Staff of Rulership? I’ve designed an adventure to continue the story called “Inside the Everflowing Curtain,” check it out!