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BTW, how do you use Shadow Points? Is there any recommendation on how much shadow players could be exposed to per adventure? Like 3-5 shadow points?

It should vary based on the themes of the adventure. Frolicking in the Shire should incur basically no Shadow, while going to Mordor should be drenched in it.

I agree with Harlath that you should account for how "old" the characters are. It's not fun being hit by Shadow when there's nothing you can really do about it because your Valour/Wisdom is so low. I know that there are GMs that groan that they don't get their blood in the form of bouts...but what's fun for the GM in punishing characters isn't necessarily fun for the player.

I wouldn't say no Shadow, but keep it limited and controlled. You can be more liberal with it once they stand a chance of beating the Shadow Tests. Bear on mind that players usually get to remove Shadow at the end of each adventure. How much you should give depends on the player and how much they enjoy it. My wife hates it, so I give her very little Shadow (we play with just us two so I can afford to tailor it to her like that). Others love it. I personally like enough to feel like it's something to be aware of, but low enough that I can manage it. Look to your players and see how they enjoy it.

I'd say that about 3 or 4 Shadow Points per session on average works well. That's on average though - I will go a session or two without any or only one or two, then the final one before Yule is often a capstone one and that might have ten. It gives it a nice meaty and gritty feeling...without constantly soaking them in Shadow.

Thank you that helps alot think I have a better concept on how to use shadow for now!! The reason I ask is becuase I think there might be some risk or drawback on using Hope too much, but also for the narrative and setting of it.

I have another ”concern” for TN, i read in a old post that some people finds it too easy succeeding with a skill level of 3+. Im not sure thats a bad thing since im not a fan of hard and punishing rpgs. Still im wondering if raising 20 > 23 could fix some of that issue calculating TN, or just make it too hard? Whats your experience with skill rolls?

Thank you that helps alot think I have a better concept on how to use shadow for now!! The reason I ask is becuase I think there might be some risk or drawback on using Hope too much, but also for the narrative and setting of it.

I have another ”concern” for TN, i read in a old post that some people finds it too easy succeeding with a skill level of 3+. Im not sure thats a bad thing since im not a fan of hard and punishing rpgs. Still im wondering if raising 20 > 23 could fix some of that issue calculating TN, or just make it too hard? Whats your experience with skill rolls?

I wouldn't adjust the TN at all, not without play experience and checking the probabilities. TOR is often hard at the start.

There are already levers for adjusting difficulty:
- NPC distinctive features can apply +1d/+2d/-1d on rolls.
- Rough terrain and roads apply -1d/+1d to Journey events rolls.
- Adversaries have Parry to adjust the TN, some can make attacks ill favoured.
- Skill endeavours and councils can have higher/lower resistance.

Taking TN 15 (attribute 5), even thinks a starting PC is good at aren't slam dunks - 2d/3d is 34%/62%. With TN 23-attribute you're at 16%/39% to do the things your PC is supposed to be good at.

Doing this looks like creating a frustrating turn-off to players.

Yes you are probably right I just wanted to take everything in consideration but I wont change any rules mechanics either

The TNs are already pretty high and it's a struggle at the beginning. True, the TNs are low for experienced adventurers, but that's when you get bored with a character, raise an heir, and retire them. You start a new character.

Harlath I don't know if it was you who wrote the 3 PDF documents but well done. It’s a colossal and impressive job. Many thanks to everyone who contributed to thinking about and writing these documents.

Harlath I don't know if it was you who wrote the 3 PDF documents but well done. It’s a colossal and impressive job. Many thanks to everyone who contributed to thinking about and writing these documents.

Some of my contributions are in the homebrew pdfs, such as an essay on encounter design and I’ve offered thoughts on mechanics/balance at times. But circleofnoms put together the impressive homebrews pdfs (from a range of contributors) not me.