Codex Vancian - Spell Slot Magic for Shadowdark

As I've stated before, I'm a really big fan of the OSR game Shadowdark, and I really enjoy how it blends old school with newer resolution mechanics.

The only thing I don't connect with well is Shadowdark's magic system. Shadowdark uses a roll-to-cast system where a success means the spell works and a failure means the spell does not work and cannot be cast again until after a night's rest. Rolling a 20 results in a better than normal cast, while rolling a 1 results in a disaster for the caster. Many people love this kind of dangerous and wild system, but I am not one of them.

I have always favored Vancian Spell Slots since I was introduced to them way back in my AD&D days. A famous fantasy writer once recalled first reading the original D&D rules for spell slots and believing this would be perfect for his fantasy world, which itself eventually became a popular campaign setting. He explained that it gave concrete rules for how many spells a wizard actually had each day. This magic, while limited, did something for his setting that nothing previous did for magicians - it grounded them in a way where you could imagine yourself as one. This is what I like about Vancian magic and why I decided to bring it to Shadowdark.

Vancian magic was inspired by the writings of Jack Vance in his Dying Earth series. The idea is that a magician collects their spells into various ways, but can only store so many of these magical patterns in their mind each day for use. A magician may possess many spells, but must carefully choose which to bring with him or her on their adventure. As the magician casts their spells, they “release” the patterns stored or memorized in their minds and must rest before being able to cast them again. This is the basis of Vancian magic, sometimes called “fire and forget” magic.

Anyways, that's something that's always appealed to me as a GM and as a player. To that end, I have created a guide on how to convert Shadowdark's magic system over to Vancian spell slots. There are two methods presented in this guide, one using the OSR spell list and the other explaining how to convert the Shadowdark spells themselves, which is far more time consuming but rewarding.

Head over to get your copy!