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.

 

[Bill Zebub]

An alternative xp approach (Hunter Mode) is to award half a monster’s level as experience points (instead of treasure).

One of the main reasons for doing xp based on treasure recovered, rather than monsters killed, is based on the design principle that not all monsters are meant to be fought (because you'll die if you try). D&D, in contrast, tends to encourage the "let's find if there's anything left to kill so we can get some more xp..." and then if the DM throws in a monster that's "too hard" the players are shocked.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It's not all hack-n-slash, no.

Reaction rolls are front and center in Shadowdark, so I find that adventures often have less combat than 5E, where combat = XP (as opposed to the acquisition and spending of gold) and players are incentivized to rush in and start stabbing.

 

[mamba]

If Post-Tashas 5e is one direction, Shadowdark is the other, and I know exactly which direction I wish to travel.

I agree about the direction, but I would stop on that path way before I arrive at Shadowdark. As it stands I bounced off 2024 because it is moving further away from what I want and I am looking forward to Mike Mearl's game, it seems to aim for that sweet spot I want from what I can tell so far

 

[Scribe]

I agree about the direction, but I would stop on that path way before I arrive at Shadowdark. As it stands I bounced off 2024 because it is moving further away from what I want and I am looking forward to Mike Mearl's game, it seems to aim for that sweet spot I want from what I can tell so far

Yeah, and thats fine of course!

I think for me personally, having gone through the 3/3.5/PF1 'build' phase, I've come out the other side and the idea of 'just roll and then roll with it' has so much appeal I struggle to even understand WHY it appeals to me so much.

Not that builds are bad or wrong or whatever, but I dont know what it is, something in the last few years just snapped and I simply cannot be bothered anymore.

 

[Arilyn]

You know, I'd like to say it doesn't have to be that way, but I'm having a hard time coming up with a counter-example, so fair point, players.

Mausritter

 

[Bill Zebub]

I agree about the direction, but I would stop on that path way before I arrive at Shadowdark. As it stands I bounced off 2024 because it is moving further away from what I want and I am looking forward to Mike Mearl's game, it seems to aim for that sweet spot I want from what I can tell so far

Shadowdark seems to hit the sweet spot for a lot of people, but of course it's not going to be everybody's sweet spot. I found my game; I hope you find yours, too!

 

[aiouh]

I think we know what must be done. We need to make a 3rd party player-facing book called Advanced Classes for Shadowdark: Player's Handbook. And if they want even more subclass options we can release a book called Advanced Handbook for Shadowdark: Fighter. Maybe we can then write sandbox modules for it that are called "Fort on the Shadowinbetweencountriesdarklands"

 

[Arilyn]

Shadowdark seems to hit the sweet spot for a lot of people, but of course it's not going to be everybody's sweet spot. I found my game; I hope you find yours, too!

I have too many sweet spots, which is not good for my finances!

 

[Bill Zebub]

I have too many sweet spots, which is not good for my finances!

Same! As much as I love Shadowdark, I have also started acquiring Dragonbane....

RPGs are like bicycles, where saying is, "The optimum number of bicycles to own is N+1, where N is the number of bicycles you currently have..."

 

[mamba]

Shadowdark seems to hit the sweet spot for a lot of people, but of course it's not going to be everybody's sweet spot. I found my game; I hope you find yours, too!

can’t argue with Shadowdark being popular, I think I mostly would want a few more moving pieces in the classes if I used it as the baseline.

Might pick up Shadowdark anyway, wouldn’t be the first game I get out of curiosity