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.

 

[nightnoongames]

The usual formula is roughly three times what it does in the first day.

I feel like this changes a lot when running a campaign for an established fan base. It's easy for those campaigns to get heavy buy-in from their community early on, and difficult to keep the momentum going. They also don't spike in the final three days like you would usually expect.

Here is Pirate Borg for instance, who landed at $621,000, less than double their Day 1 earnings:

Dolmenwood did just over double day 1 when they ended at $1,389,000.

Obviously, I'd love to see Shadowdark 3x day one though!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Backed the crap out of this one... also, there are free preview PDFs over at the KS page that allow you to play many of the new classes and content for FREE right now! At least 4 new classes and a new ancestry (half-elf) are available. Sitting at almost $700K just 5 hours or so in...

It is such a class act (and a flex) to consistently say "here's a bunch of what you're paying for, for free, before you decide to give me any money."

(Seriously, anyone who's never played Shadowdark: The quickstart guides are free and have more content than the old BD&D boxed sets. Play forever for free.)

 

[darjr]

This KS will also benefit from GaryCon. A lot of word of mouth could be generated there. It's also the third largest in number of games there too. Not including the tradition of running a lot of pickup games that Shadowdark has at GaryCon.

 

[TheSword]

IMO, the Slipcase pledge level is fantastic, especially if you missed out on the first three zines like I did.

View attachment 399243

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shadowdarkrpg/western-reaches?ref=backertracker

If the individual books are each a zine, how are they so thick as hardcover? Those look like 200+ page books if they are A4 hardcover?

 

[Bill Zebub]

also, there are free preview PDFs over at the KS page

Why am I having trouble find that? (EDIT: nvm, found it....)

 

[Bill Zebub]

If the individual books are each a zine, how are they so thick as hardcover? Those look like 200+ page books if they are A4 hardcover?

There's a live stingbat folded up inside each one.

 

[Scribe]

If the individual books are each a zine, how are they so thick as hardcover? Those look like 200+ page books if they are A4 hardcover?

I believe I read there is extra content, but I'm quite busy at work and am only able to glance over at this.

 

[mamba]

Good for Kelsey, was not sure how this would do, but it certainly exceeded my expectations. It is on track to outdo the original KS and usually core books sell best, so she clearly is growing her community

 

[nightnoongames]

If the individual books are each a zine, how are they so thick as hardcover? Those look like 200+ page books if they are A4 hardcover?

The premium slip case contains eight books. The first six are the six Cursed Scroll zines in hardcover. These are ~70 pages. One is the GM'S Guide to the Western Reaches, and the other is the Player's Guide to the Western Reaches. These will both be ~200 pages. The Player's guide has all of the player options from all of the Cursed Scrolls as well as The Roustabout class in print for the first time!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Good for Kelsey, was not sure how this would do, but it certainly exceeded my expectations. It is on track to outdo the original KS and usually core books sell best, so she clearly is growing her community

Notably, the conversation around Shadowdark is no longer "well, it should be more like Errant" or "who asked for this?" Rather it's "who's got room in their Shadowdark game for one more?" And the amount of Shadowdark stuff on Kickstarter is too much to keep track of, which is an amazing sign of growth.

If I were an RPG YouTuber, there's probably a good video in how Shadowdark's community growth compares to Mork Borg's, which is the only thing I can think to reasonably compare it to.