Should you go to Gen Con? We’re talking about our experience at GenCon 2026 so you can decide for yourself. And be “our experience”, we mean David’s experience, because he’s the one who went.
8 Killer Ideas from the Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG (S6E1)
Season 6 · Episode 1
Monday, September 14, 2026 • Duration 21:00
The aliens have arrived. Every building in the world has collapsed. And now we’re all trapped in a world-wide dungeon, trying to fight our way to the 18th floor to save the world. On this episode of Side Passages, we’re looting our eight favorite concepts from the Dungeon Crawler Carl Starter Set.
The PDFs for the starter set were released to backers in late August 2026. The print version of the starter set and the core rulebook are expected to ship in late fall. We took a look at the starter set. Here are our eight killer concepts from the game.
Summer Reading List 2026 (S5E20)
Season 5 · Episode 20
Thursday, August 6, 2026 • Duration 32:59
It’s summertime, which means it's time for our annual summer reading list! Featured books include Veil by Jonathan Jans, Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove, Dungeon Crawler Carl Matt Deniman, God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert, and the Great Book of Amber by Roger Zelazny.
d4 Underground Hazards for Shadowdark (S5E19)
Season 5 · Episode 19
Saturday, July 11, 2026 • Duration 21:44
We return to Shadowdark environmental threats by delving deeply into underground hazards. Among the dangers we discuss are collapsing tunnels, fungal forests, and the fun-but-dangerous Goonies-style water slides. Inspiration for these threats comes from Ken's Mörka Norden campaign, which features a Viking-inspired alternative universe ... and a trek underground to explore the "Deep Crawl" in search of the nefarious Rat King.
Morale: The Forgotten GM Tool (S5E18)
Friday, July 3, 2026 • Duration 19:24
On this episode, we’re talking about how making your monsters run away can improve your game. The concept is morale, an old school D&D game mechanic that reflects how your antagonists feel about the combat.
At the start of the combat, monster morale is high. They have overwhelming numbers and a charismatic leader. But then combat starts. They lose half their number to a fireball. The barbarian decapitates their leader with a critical hit. Suddenly, the remaining monsters are worried.
And they’re thinking of running away.
Good RPG Prep Begins Before You Sit Down (S5E17)
Season 5 · Episode 17
Thursday, July 2, 2026 • Duration 50:03
How does a new creator build a massive TTRPG audience so fast? In this interview, we sit down with Daði from Mystic Arts to discuss his journey, his magazine The Broadsheet, and how he uses tools like Obsidian to manage 15-player West Marches campaigns as well as smaller campaigns.
Shadowdark Tutorial Dungeon
Season 5
Saturday, May 30, 2026 • Duration 07:20
The Tomb of the Forgotten is a short Shadowdark tutorial dungeon introducing dungeon masters and players to the basic mechanics of the role-playing game. On this episode, we walk through the adventure and its accompanying map.
d4 Arctic Hazards for Shadowdark (S5E16)
Season 5 · Episode 16
Saturday, May 23, 2026 • Duration 19:51
We talk about four winter hazards for Shadowdark: ice crevasses, reindeer stampede, freezing fog, and hypothermia.
The Great Shadowdark Torch Debate (S5E15)
Season 5 · Episode 15
Friday, April 24, 2026 • Duration 12:41
The rules say torches throw light to a "Near" distance, which is 30 ft.
But is that 30 ft. from the torchbearer (30' radius, 60' diameter?) 30 ft. centered on them (15' radius, 60' diameter)?
The majority says it's 60' diameter ... but a vocal minor argue for 30'. Which way is right? We use a combination of physical torchlight tools and a virtual tabletop to illuminate the issue ... and draw on Ken's experience accidentally doing it both ways in his games.
Chapters
00:00 Exploring Light Sources in ShadowDark03:20 The Mechanics of Illumination07:56 Strategic Use of Light in Gameplay11:30 Environmental Effects on Visibility
Listen to the Episode
Watch the Episode
Watch The Great Shadowdark Torch Debate on YouTube.
Show Notes
The Shadowdark Torch Debate
When it comes to the core rules, the explanation of how torches work is straight forward:
Torch. Sheds light to a near distance (see Light Sources, pg. 84). Burns for one hour of real time.
A near distance is up to 30 feet, so clearly, the torch illuminates to a 30 foot radius, meaning you have 30 feet of light behind and a head of you. A fellow party member could advance to the edge of the light in a single move.
What about other sources of illumination? The wording is the same for the light spell works the same way:
Light. One object you touch glows with bright, heatless light, illuminating out to a near distance for 1 hour of real time.
Lanterns sheds light to a larger distance:
Lantern. Casts light up to a double near distance
And yet ... people disagree. In comments on our previous torch light videos, people said that's too liberal. They say a torch sheds light to a 30 foot diameter ... centered on the torch itself. This approach causes the torch to shed light 15 feet in all directions from the torch bearer.
Ken inadvertently did it both ways:
30' radius using real-world torch rings on a battle map
15' radius using Roll20's default illumination setting.
Which one is better? It depends.
Brighter Torches: Light as Radius
Based on our entirely unscientific survey of online opinions, the majority think torches shed light in a 30' radius. This has several advantages:
A brighter torch illuminates a larger portion of the map
Avoids the issue of adventurers inadvertently running off into the darkness
Helps prevent adventurers from falling behind (and into the darkness) when the torchbearer moves forward.
Adventurers can cover more ground each round, which speeds up game play.
This approach greatly enhances the utility of lanterns, as they illuminate a total of 120 feet worth of dungeon (60 feet in all directions from the caster). Lanterns allow non-torchbearers to make a double move (double "near") in one round, which enabling even faster passage through the dungeon. Faster movement through the dungeon means they have a better chance to escape threats, which increases survivability (you can decide for yourself if that's a pro or con).
The downside?
There are fewer places for the monsters to hide
Monsters can't sneak up on the adventurers as easily.
Faster movement accelerates the pace of the game, which may not fit with the sense of dread you were hoping to build.
Dimmer Torches: Light as Diameter
Historically, D&D spell descriptions tended to bounce between "diameter" and "radius", causing some confusion, but at least giving you a rules reference to check. Shadowdark's core rules don't offer that clarification, and a minority has gone with the more limiting definition.
At only 30 feet across -- 15 feet on either side of the torchbearer -- the weaker torches offer several advantages (mostly to the game master).
Adventurers can only move 15 feet before plunging into darkness. This forces the party to either light more torches, or stay close together.
A closer-packed party enhances the claustrophobic feel of the dungeon
Using more torches to increase light means the adventurers consume a key resource at a faster rate.
The downside is it slows down exploration, which in turn slows down the game. It also enhances the mobility of the monsters relative to the players, since the night-adapted horrors can move at full-speed without any drawbacks.
In Ken’s campaign, this nearly earned him a Total Party Kill as a ravenous gelatinous cube chased the adventurers. The gelatinous cube moves at Near, same as the player characters. But because they were trying to conserve torches, they only had one light source. That meant they needed to either flee the cube at half speed or run headlong into the darkness. It made for some dramatic moments, at least until they ignited several more torches ... and let their erstwhile allies, the Rat King's cultists deal with the cube while they ran.
Conclusion
We searched the FAQs and didn't find a definitive answer to the question of "radius" vs. "diameter" for light sources. That said, even if there were a rules-as-written answer, we think the right answer is the one that works best for your campaign.
Even if you go with the majority "bright light" torches, having a doom-filled dungeon that suppresses light output could make for a more challenging and horrific crawl.
What do you think? Leave a comment on YouTube or email us at podcast@lairofsecrets.com
Featured Image Meta
Co-host David fears the light.
Shadowdark Hazards 101 (S5E14)
Season 5 · Episode 14
Friday, March 20, 2026 • Duration 15:35
What do icy waterfalls, greasy floors, and light stealing smoke have in common? They’re all hazards!
Welcome to Lair of Secrets. In this episode we're talking about Shadowdark hazards. The things that drown you, crush you, blind you, steal your memories, and more!
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Shadowdark Hazards02:33 Types of Hazards in Shadowdark04:50 (Spoiler Warning!) Examples of Hazards in Gameplay07:25 Creating Hazard Charts09:57 Combining Hazards for Greater Challenges12:38 Future Adventures and Hazards15:01 Conclusion and Call to Action
Listen to the Episode
Watch the Episode
Watch Shadowdark Hazards 101 on YouTube.
Show Notes
What is a hazard? Hazards are often environmental effects like quicksand, rushing water, and falling debris. They're things you might be able to mitigate or evade, but per the rules, there's often no way to "defeat or permanently disable them". The core rulebook defines them on page 115.
Hazards are divided into three types:
Movement: Slow or stop movement.
Examples: Caltops, tar fields, steep incline
Damage: Ongoing damage that characters suffer while exposed to the hazard
Examples: Acid pools, lava, pummeling hail
Weaken: Saps the character's physical capabilities, mental grit, or resources.
Examples: blinding smoke, memory stealing, snuffs light sources,
The rules note that you can combine these to create particularly dangerous threats.
Movement + Damage
Exploding Rocks (Damage) + Loose Debris (Movement)
Movement + Weaken
Grasping Vines (Movement) + Sleep-inducing Spores (Weaken)
Damage + Weaken
Icy Water (Damage) + Snuffs Light Sources (Weaken)
What the rules don't do is give you specific stats or mechanics for the example hazards, which hurt my brain, which grew used to having things stated out under the various editions of Dungeons & Dragons.
While the core rules don’t give any written mechanics for hazards, the Arcane Library's published adventures *do* give us a few examples of how they're used in adventures.
Hazards Chart: Published Examples, Sample DCs & Damage, and Homegrown Hazards
Check out our "Shadowdark Hazards Chart" post for the hazards chart we reference in the episode, as well as example hazards quoted from Lost Citadel of the Scarlet Minotaur and Cursed Scroll #3: Midnight Sun.
Featured Image Meta
Cover artwork from the Shadowdark RPG game master screen. Credit: Arcane Library.
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