Depletion for Shadowdark

Frank Mitchell

Posted: 2025-04-24
Last Modified: 2025-04-25
Word Count: 129
Tags: rpg shadowdark

Table of Contents

“Depletion” is an independent product published under the Shadowdark RPG Third-Party License and is not affiliated with The Arcane Library, LLC. Shadowdark RPG © 2023 The Arcane Library, LLC.

Depletion

Some magic items and artifacts have a Depletion. This represents running out of charges, fuel, or some other energy source, or simple wear and tear. Instead of tracking those charges, roll a die to determine if the previous use of the item was its last.

The Depletion notation follows the pattern “frequency, die type: numbers”, e.g. “After every use, d20: 1” or “Every day, d100: 1, 2”. At the interval or event specified, roll the die; if one of the numbers comes up, the Artifact becomes inoperable.

If the artifact may become operable, the Depletion note will say so.