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.

 

[mamba]

To me ORC does it right: if you choose to benefit in Open Gaming, you must thereby support others in Open Gaming.

and to me ORC does it wrong because it forces everyone to release their rules for free, except for the one at the start of the chain. I prefer CC-BY over ORC, it is more open / less restrictive

This disincentivizes the creation of ‘rules’ (classes, monsters) that you need to make available for free and incentivizes the creation of ‘fluff’ you do not need to release for free, like adventures. So you are basically back to what you criticize about the Shadowdark license

 

[Reynard]

and to me ORC does it wrong because it forces everyone to release their rules for free, except for the one at the start of the chain. I prefer CC-BY over ORC, it is more open / less restrictive

This disincentivizes the creation of ‘rules’ (classes, monsters) that you need to make available for free and incentivizes the creation of ‘fluff’ you do not need to release for free, like adventures. So you are basically back to what you criticize about the Shadowdark license

That seems entirely backward to me. ORC doesn't require that you create an SRD for everything you make. It just says that if you create mechanics under ORC, they are by definition Open Content (which was true under the OGL as well, even if people ignored it). That means that if you create a new spell or monster or subsystem in one of your products, I don't need special permission to use that in one of mine. That is the way Open Gaming is meant to work. If you don't like it, don't use ORC.

 

[Bill Zebub]

This is starting to sound like an argument with Richard Stallman about free software. With a similar level of productivity.

 

[Reynard]

This is starting to sound like an argument with Richard Stallman about free software. With a similar level of productivity.

Again, I'm not especially salty about SD in particular. I was just explaining my POV on the matter.

 

[darjr]

The Arcane Library's Kelsey will live stream an AMA at 2pm Central. #shadowdark #Dnd #ttrpg #osr

Ask Me Anything: Western Reaches Kickstarter!

An AMA with Kelsey for the Shadowdark: The Western Reaches Kickstarter!Check out the Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shadowdarkrpg/western-...

www.youtube.com

 

[MostlyHarmless42]

I'll admit I've been sleeping on Shadowdark. As someone who is genuinely interested but put off by the name, the art style, and given that most of the people I've seen who've talking tending to fall into a single category of discontented grognards type players (again no shade intended, it's a valid playstyle justnot for me), and someone who HATES dark edgy angst fests and 1e/2e gritty meat grinder dungeon focused campaigns (or medieval simulators), as well as both of those specific mechanical rulesets, is Shadowdark still worth checking out?

I'm genuinely looking for a potential alternative to Dnd 2024, but I find both versions of pathfinder to be too fiddly with rules, DC20 just seems to be like two decades away from actually being playable/released, I hate card games (so no daggerheart), and my players won't play anything that isn't fantasy (so no call of cthulhu or traveler). To couple that with I actually like the 2024 ruleset (just hate the company) and I've been struggling to find an alternative.

 

[Arilyn]

I'll admit I've been sleeping on Shadowdark. As someone who is genuinely interested but put off by the name, the art style, and given that most of the people I've seen who've talking tending to fall into a single category of discontented grognards type players (again no shade intended, it's a valid playstyle justnot for me), and someone who HATES dark edgy angst fests and 1e/2e gritty meat grinder dungeon focused campaigns (or medieval simulators), as well as both of those specific mechanical rulesets, is Shadowdark still worth checking out?

I'm genuinely looking for a potential alternative to Dnd 2024, but I find both versions of pathfinder to be too fiddly with rules, DC20 just seems to be like two decades away from actually being playable/released, I hate card games (so no daggerheart), and my players won't play anything that isn't fantasy (so no call of cthulhu or traveler). To couple that with I actually like the 2024 ruleset (just hate the company) and I've been struggling to find an alternative.

I love SD. Definitely not discounted grognard, as I never liked D&D much, back in the day. It's not really grimdark edge stuff, and is actually focused more on exploration over meat grinder. It can be very dangerous, but smart, careful play alleviates much of its reputation for "disposable" characters.

It's really easy to alter to taste, so you can readily play with the danger/playstyle dials.

It plays fast and rules are easy to absorb and remember. I played in a long, rather epic campaign from Cursed Scroll 3.The GM expanded on the setting. We had lots of roleplaying, politics, alliances, exploration and delves into the deep. It was a very fulfilling campaign and we had interesting, fun to play characters, without all the extra weight of 5e rules. If your group likes having lots of abilities and gaining a lot of power from levelling up, SD might not be for you. There is a very playable free starter version available online, which includes a great Dungeon. Give it a try and see if it's a good fit.

BTW, Daggerheart isn't a card system. It just prints the player abilities on cards, for ease of remembering. Not trying to talk you into Daggerheart, just clarifying a common misconception.

 

[Scribe]

I'll admit I've been sleeping on Shadowdark. As someone who is genuinely interested but put off by the name, the art style, and given that most of the people I've seen who've talking tending to fall into a single category of discontented grognards type players (again no shade intended, it's a valid playstyle justnot for me), and someone who HATES dark edgy angst fests and 1e/2e gritty meat grinder dungeon focused campaigns (or medieval simulators), as well as both of those specific mechanical rulesets, is Shadowdark still worth checking out?

I honestly feel the 'dark and edgy' angle is played up.

If one actually looks at the book objectively, sure you may not care for the font style, or the name, Tales of the Valiant killed any interest I had in it the moment they went away from Black Flag for example so I get you, but the play style, the random tables, and much of the art?

Its not dark and edgy, its actually far closer imo to the 80's satirical style of a lot of Games Workshops stuff.

I dont know, I think its pretty far, really far honestly, from something like Glumdark.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/exaltedfuneral/glumdark

 

[robowieland]

I'll admit I've been sleeping on Shadowdark. As someone who is genuinely interested but put off by the name, the art style, and given that most of the people I've seen who've talking tending to fall into a single category of discontented grognards type players (again no shade intended, it's a valid playstyle justnot for me), and someone who HATES dark edgy angst fests and 1e/2e gritty meat grinder dungeon focused campaigns (or medieval simulators), as well as both of those specific mechanical rulesets, is Shadowdark still worth checking out?

I'm genuinely looking for a potential alternative to Dnd 2024, but I find both versions of pathfinder to be too fiddly with rules, DC20 just seems to be like two decades away from actually being playable/released, I hate card games (so no daggerheart), and my players won't play anything that isn't fantasy (so no call of cthulhu or traveler). To couple that with I actually like the 2024 ruleset (just hate the company) and I've been struggling to find an alternative.

I think the Grimdark and Killer DM stuff get overplayed when talking SD. Like people jumping into a Paranoia thread with "This discussion is above your security clearance, citizen".

Yes, characters are fragile compared to 5e. But once players learn that lesson they adapt to a more cautious and strategic type of play. Plus there are also several optional rules like luck tokens that soften the harder edges of the game.

It's a stripped down 5e that looks to emulate old school play without sticking to old rules. It reminds me of games like Shredder's Revenge: a modern game that feels like the original TMNT arcade games without some of the cheap moves those games have that frustrate and are built to eat quarters.

It's not just beardy old white dudes that are into this game. A lot of folks coming into the hobby from 5e want the old school experience that Shadowdark provides.

Also, just in case nobody posted this yet, there's an excellent free quick start that contains my favorite dungeon built for the game. You can check it out yourself if you like.

DriveThruRPG

www.drivethrurpg.com

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Yeah, the free quickstart is the place to start. Huge amount of material -- enough for levels 1-3 (out of 10) at a minimum -- and the price is very right.