Shadowdark Setting Looks Set To Be 2025's First Million Dollar TTRPG Crowdfunder

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Just launched today, the new Western Reaches setting for the Arcane Library's popular Shadowdark roleplaying game (which itself raised $1.3M in 2023) has flown past half a million dollars in the first few hours, and looks certain to join the Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarter Club imminently!

[[Edit/Update--and it's done it! $1M less than 12 hours into the Kickstarter campaign!]]

2025 has been quiet so far this year on the million-dollar crowdfunding front. This new setting is a sandbox environment with new classes and ancestries, and various areas such as the Gloaming Forest, Djurum Desert, and Myre Swamp. It comes in two 200-page digest-sized hardcovers. Also included are new issues of the game's Cursed Scroll zine. The full core set will cost you $129, or $149 for a premium version, with fulfillment expected in December 2025.

At $670K at the time of writing, just 3 hours into the campaign, The Western Reaches is already the 7th most first-day funded TTRPG ever, having just passed 2024's Terry Pratchett's Discworld RPG: Adventures in Ankh-Morpork. It looks set to pass 6th place very soon, which is 2023's Ryoko's Guide to the Yokai Realms - A 5e Tome. Only five TTRPG crowdfunders (so far!) have ever hit the million-dollar mark on the first day. You can see the full ranking at the Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarter Club.

The Western Reaches are an unexplored land of fragile civilizations, majestic landscapes, and forgotten horrors that lurk in the dark.

In the Reaches, you could play as:

  • A painted witch from the steppes hunting for the secrets to deeper magic
  • An armored knight from the City of Masks guarding frontier villages from attack
  • A silent monk from the mountains searching for the assassin who killed his teacher
  • A scarred pit fighter from the desert looking to make her fortune outside the arena
  • A quick-witted explorer from the jungle who can find any artifact for the right price
  • A seafaring warrior from the northern isles who fights for the glory of the Old Gods
This sandbox setting is fast, elegant, and flexible in the signature Shadowdark style. You don't have to memorize lore; you'll discover it as you go. The world moves and grows with you as you explore it.


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I certainly love seeing 3rd party publishers do well, but am I alone in wondering what all the fuss is about with Shadowdark? I looked at it a while back when I was looking for an alternative RPG for a Ravenloft campaign I was going to run, and all the SD fanboys couldn't resist fawning over it. My take away was that it was overly simplistic to the point of just not giving players very many options, plus I wasn't running a dungeon crawl, and it seems kind of specifically tailored around dungeon play. I also could never force my players into getting random benefits at level-up. They would absolutely hate me for that. So, what am I missing here? Is it just quite simply - simplicity and speed over options and variety?
No matter how good a game might be be, no game can be for everyone. Just because a game isn't for you doesn't mean you are "missing something" or that there is something wrong with the game. It just isn't for you.

it is kind of rude to imply people that like something you don't are just "fanboys" though.
 




I certainly love seeing 3rd party publishers do well, but am I alone in wondering what all the fuss is about with Shadowdark? I looked at it a while back when I was looking for an alternative RPG for a Ravenloft campaign I was going to run, and all the SD fanboys couldn't resist fawning over it. My take away was that it was overly simplistic to the point of just not giving players very many options, plus I wasn't running a dungeon crawl, and it seems kind of specifically tailored around dungeon play. I also could never force my players into getting random benefits at level-up. They would absolutely hate me for that. So, what am I missing here? Is it just quite simply - simplicity and speed over options and variety?
I like the game, but I had some of the same concerns that you have. So I made some adjustments (eg, letting players choose their benefits instead of rolling randomly), but also being very liberal with letting the players attempt interesting stunts and hijinks. The rules-light nature grants a lot of flexibility.
 

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