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.

 

[Scribe]

25K to the next stretch goal of 1.5 Million.

As to the digression here.

I've looked at other OSR systems, there is a lot to like, but nothing has clicked like Shadowdark has.

If I finish my Psion today maybe I'll write up why.

 

[darjr]

I believe this is a nightmare one and many others missed that window, like ToV and SotWW.

It’s either that or the Youtube angle, just creating a product is not enough. It is not a coincidence that the big YTer Kickstarters bring in relatively large amounts of money while experienced creators without that bring in less

yea, that makes sense too. She had a great product, at about the most perfect time, and already built a fan base that was enthusiastic and helped spread the word.

Also a lot of folks in certain 'spaces' already knew her and her creations which also helped.

Still though, there is a quality to the game that isn't quite there for a lot of others.

OSE, is kinda a bad example, because it too has hit wild success, and is fantastic, but it's also essentially a clone of BX, Dolmenwood is close to that too. Shadowdark is more familiar in important ways to many 5e players.

Also I'd argue that Shadowdark is a lot simpler than many OSR games out there. Cairn, Knave, Into the Odd, and others are also much simpler games but are also quite different too. See above.

@overgeeked my attempt at answering your question.

 

[overgeeked]

If I finish my Psion today maybe I'll write up why.

Honestly would love to see it.

 

[overgeeked]

yea, that makes sense too. She had a great product, at about the most perfect time, and already built a fan base that was enthusiastic and helped spread the word.

Also a lot of folks in certain 'spaces' already knew her and her creations which also helped.

Still though, there is a quality to the game that isn't quite there for a lot of others.

OSE, is kinda a bad example, because it too has hit wild success, and is fantastic, but it's also essentially a clone of BX, Dolmenwood is close to that too. Shadowdark is more familiar in important ways to many 5e players.

Also I'd argue that Shadowdark is a lot simpler than many OSR games out there. Cairn, Knave, Into the Odd, and others are also much simpler games but are also quite different too. See above.

@overgeeked my attempt at answering your question.

Yeah. I’ve described Shadowdark as DCC RPG filtered through 5E.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

A bit adjacent to this is something I seen a few OSR fans (not OSR designers) speak out loud. They felt like they kept the torch burning during the "dark times" (which might be 5e or go all the way back to 3e) and thought they would be seen as mentors, teacher, or even as esteemed geek among geeks when the OSR took off. When the newer generation of "kids" came in, no one seemed to care about their version of the "proper" way to play and used YouTube instead.

Of course, in this case, Kelsey literally played with Gygax on multiple occasions, so she has at least as much credibility as any of them.

 

[overgeeked]

Of course, in this case, Kelsey literally played with Gygax on multiple occasions, so she has at least as much credibility as any of them.

If not a lot more.

 

[Bill Zebub]

yea, that makes sense too. She had a great product, at about the most perfect time, and already built a fan base that was enthusiastic and helped spread the word.

Also a lot of folks in certain 'spaces' already knew her and her creations which also helped.

Still though, there is a quality to the game that isn't quite there for a lot of others.

I think the bold point is important. Yes, the stars aligned for Kelsey (or she aligned them) in a bunch of ways, but it's also just a really great product. I haven't looked at all the OSR games, of course, but for the ones I've investigated I could be very specific about what I prefer in Shadowdark. It's not just the hype.

For example, before Shadowdark I was playing Five Torches Deep. Very similar in some ways to Shadowdark, including the spell mechanic. But where Shadowdark has you lose a spell for the day if you fail the cast, and suffer a mishap on 1, in FTD any failure triggers a mishap, and you lose all spells of that level until you rest. I really liked the underlying premise (spellcasting checks rather than saving throws) but when I read the Shadowdark version I thought, "Ohhh....that's much better." And it is! (In my opinion.)

OSE, is kinda a bad example, because it too has hit wild success, and is fantastic, but it's also essentially a clone of BX, Dolmenwood is close to that too. Shadowdark is more familiar in important ways to many 5e players.

I love the premise of Dolmenwood. If they would publish (or license somebody else to publish) Dolmenwood for Shadowdark, I would buy it in a heartbeat.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

OSE, is kinda a bad example, because it too has hit wild success, and is fantastic, but it's also essentially a clone of BX, Dolmenwood is close to that too. Shadowdark is more familiar in important ways to many 5e players.

Yeah, the moment I heard that there are still charts to consult for saving throws, etc., in OSE, my enthusiasm for that line cooled. Been there, done that, not going back.

I will probably eventually get the Necrotic Gnome books, but more so I can play in someone else's game and to study the adventures.

And I suspect a lot of people who grew up with a unified resolution system will find the TSRisms of OSE (which is, of course, the point) to be a big barrier to bounce off of.

Shadowdark incorporates the best innovations of WotC D&D (unified resolution system, advantage/disadvantage) and uses those as a jumping-off point for OSR play.

 

[Bill Zebub]

Thinking through the last few posts, I realize one of the things that annoys me about Shadowdark's attackers is that they seem to have this attitude that we only like it because it's popular. As if we aren't intelligent enough to know when a game hits our sweet spot.

No, it's a great game. Maybe the inverse is true: maybe the attackers can't see what a great game it is because they're so determined to be contrarian.

 

[Scribe]

Honestly would love to see it.

I will admit, timing in life means a lot. The timing of Shadowdark, my own growing dissatisfaction for 5e for several reasons, the tone, the style, it all landed at the right time.

The fact its so smooth, 'clean' and almost effortless feeling absolutely helps.

Anyway, I'm more in the mood of 'this is what makes the game great' vs 'its great because its not like this' right now.