Carousing
Carousing is a shared downtime workflow with two rule modes, editable data, player-ready result cards, copper-precise costs, and a persistent GM log.
Use the beer icon on the SDX Tray. The overlay is available when Enable Carousing is on.
The GM assembles and manages the session; players can review/confirm the characters they own according to the active workflow.
Configure Settings → Shadowdark Extras → Carousing Mode
| Mode | Model |
|---|---|
| Original | Tier/cost and a direct outcome/benefit table |
| Expanded | Spending tier, d8-style outcome, d100 benefit/mishap tables, modifiers, XP |
Changing the mode changes the overlay and which editor opens from Manage Carousing Tables.
- Open the Carousing overlay.
- Add/select participating characters.
- Review carried coins and, when relevant, total valued wealth.
- Choose the available tier/drop and confirm participants.
- Roll the session.
- Review each result.
- In Original mode, use the GM-only Apply button for mechanical outcomes.
- Open the Carousing Log when you need the persistent record.
- Reset after the session is finished.
The overlay shows whether the percentage-loss base is coins only or **coins
- gear**.
All arithmetic is performed in copper, even when displayed as GP/SP/CP.
-
1 gp = 10 sp = 100 cp; - a cost such as 5% of 41 gp is 2 gp 5 cp, not a floored 2 gp;
- deduction spends available denominations without silently re-minting the entire purse;
- this matters because Shadowdark encumbrance counts coin quantity.
Carousing Wealth Base controls percentage losses:
| Choice | Percentage is based on | Payment comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Coins only | GP + SP + CP carried | Coins |
| Coins + gear | Coins plus recorded gear value | Coins first |
Gear with no recorded value contributes zero. If a gear-based loss is larger than the character's coins, SDX creates/increases a zero-slot Carousing Debt item with the exact unpaid amount and history.
Original results can include:
- XP;
- Luck;
- percentage wealth loss;
- Renown change;
- narrative consequences.
The result card's GM-only Apply button shows an exact preview and confirmation before committing. Application is idempotent: a second click does not grant the same result twice, and the card displays an Applied badge.
Narrative rewards such as allies, enemies, debts, or bans do not have a safe universal Shadowdark field. SDX appends the full outcome to the character's Notes instead of guessing at mechanics.
Expanded mode applies its numeric XP as part of its own roll path and does not reuse the Original Apply button. Its player-visible benefit and mishap text is also appended to Notes once, along with the applied XP/Renown summary.
The GM-only log is a Journal with one stable page per session. It records:
- participant and roll;
- outcome;
- benefits and mishaps;
- the exact mechanical result applied;
- Expanded XP/Renown summary where relevant.
Pages are found by flags, so renaming the Journal does not orphan the log. Reopening/backfilling is idempotent and should not duplicate the character-note entry.
Open Manage Carousing Tables. The editor follows the active mode.
Supported imports include labeled prose and pipe-separated columns:
30 gp | A worthy night of drinking and festivity | +0
Depending on the section, columns can represent:
- event tier: roll, cost, description, bonus;
- Original outcome: roll, description, benefit;
- Expanded outcome: roll, mishaps, benefits, d100 modifier, XP;
- benefit/mishap row: roll, description.
The RollTable result range can supply the roll column, so it may be omitted. Review the imported editor data before saving.
Link only a structurally compatible RollTable. An Original outcome table is not an Expanded outcome table merely because both contain prose.
The GM can independently show or hide benefit and mishap descriptions from players. These controls apply both to player-facing chat and to the automatic Expanded-mode entry written to character Notes, so a hidden outcome is not silently disclosed on the character sheet. The GM-only Carousing Log retains the complete result. Costs and required player decisions remain visible when the workflow needs them.
Reset did nothing. Update SDX. Current builds use Foundry's deletion operator correctly and clear session/drop flags while retaining the GM-managed roster.
Removed participant came back. Current builds persist key deletion explicitly. A participant with an unapplied result can remain reachable until that result is handled.
Every Expanded row has 0 XP. A mismatched linked table may have supplied no usable fields. Current editors warn and keep configured values instead of overlaying an all-zero parse.
Outcome changed coins but not XP/Luck. In Original mode, click Apply and confirm the preview.
Percentage cost looks different from whole-GP math. It is intentionally copper-precise.
Related: Character Sheets · Settings Reference · Compendium Packs