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Shadowdark RPG (Print + PDF)
$59.00
The hardcover version of Shadowdark RPG. You also get a free PDF download immediately.
Old-school gaming, modernized!
Shadowdark RPG is a critically-acclaimed tabletop fantasy RPG that raised $1.3 million on Kickstarter in March 2023.
Just want the PDF version? Link here.
What Is Shadowdark RPG?
In Shadowdark RPG, you and your group of crawlers use magic, steel, and wits to delve into mysterious ruins, lost cities, and monster-infested depths.
Wondrous treasures and long-forgotten secrets await you! But don't let your last torch burn out, or you could be swallowed by the Shadowdark...
5E players will find what they've been waiting for: an intuitive and complete TTRPG that serves as a seamless bridge into the heart of the Old School Renaissance.
Old-school gamers will find a system that is familiar and nostalgic, but with major quality-of-life upgrades that modernize the old-school experience.
Your legend awaits, crawler.
Lift your blade, light your torch, and plunge into the unknown depths of the Shadowdark!
Features
• The four core classes: fighter, priest, thief, wizard
• A d20-based, roll-high system
• No darkvision — total darkness is dangerous
• Treasure grants XP, and tracking it is dead simple
• Roll-to-cast spells — magic is exciting and risky
• Simple distances (close, near, far)
• Monster morale and reaction rolls
• Always-on initiative — time is easy to track
• The six classic stats (3d6 in order)
• No skills — just ability checks and advantage/disadvantage
• Separate ancestry and class
• Randomized character class abilities — emergent character growth!
• Low hit points — fast and deadly combat
• Simple encumbrance (gear slots)
Inside The Book
Shadowdark RPG is a complete game with all you need in one tome. It includes:
• 330 pages in a concise, two-page spread layout
• A5 handbook sizing for easy use at the table
• Full rules for characters, gameplay, and GMing
• 239 classic monsters
• 85 iconic spells
• 97 mighty magic items
• Dozens of robust roll tables for just about everything
• Spectacular black-and-white art
• Chapter markers along the side of the pages
• Ribbon bookmark in hardcover version
S
More over, 5e: "Shadowdark" is new favorite fantasy RPG
Are you a long-time fan of the "world's most popular roleplaying game" but tired of its bloat, wonky math, and tedious drift away from what makes fantasy so great? Do you wish you could return to the "old school" spirit fantasy adventuring in dungeons--but without having to go back to the horrendously primitive mechanics of the 70s-80s (THAC0!)? If so, "SHADOWDARK" IS THE GAME FOR YOU! It looks and feels like classic fantasy but plays like "5e" simplified, streamlined. If you've played D&D since 2014 then you already know 95% of what you need to play "Shadowdark" with little in the way of new rules. The bloat, min-maxing, power-gaming, and fixed mathematical progressions are all cut out, leaving just easy-to-run, fast-moving, and excitingly tense adventure gaming.
What you get for this purchase is a hardcover rule book plus a full PDF copy with a list of contents internally linked to sections of the document for easy access. Get the free Quick Play trial version first and you'll know exactly what to expect here: spells above the beginning tiers and more of them, more magic items, and a lot more monsters, plus some supplemental rules for running a campaign, including a downtime in which characters can go "carousing" for fun and bonus experience. The full rule book also has lots more great black-and-white ink drawings in the classic fantasy style. Your print copy comes in an attractive, nicely bound hardcover about the size and thickness of a typical trade book (8.5" x 6" and 1.5" thick). It even comes with a nice little ribbon attached to the spine to use as a built-in bookmark.
Even if you just want to get the game as a sometimes trade-off with playing other RPGs, this "Shadowdark" purchase is WELL WORTH the price.
R
Great Stuff
I've been playing D&D since the 1980s and the feel of this game takes me back to those early days of exploring dungeons and facing monsters with my friends. I love everything about this product.
K
Rules-light RPG that is heavy on the fun
Had an opportunity to play this at a recent, local gaming convention and it was a lot of fun! The game is very quick and easy to learn, and takes adventuring back to grittier, darker times where the lifespan of an adventurer is counted in torch-light duration!
The book is great quality. It's foot print is a little bit smaller, which I like a lot, with clean, easy-to-read text and a LOT of tables to help the GM. The artwork is thematically spot on and a joy to peruse.
Pick this up and talk your gaming group into just "trying" a one-shot. You all will enjoy it!
S
Amazing Book
Already had a pdf version so I knew what I was getting but it is such a great book I needed a physical copy. Great system too. We've played a few sessions and it's been a blast. Get's me back in the feeling of game nights when I was younger of just racing in to explore a dungeon for no other reason than the desire to see what's down there.
C
Great Book! ![User picture]()
Loved every page of it! Very well put together and and lays impressively flat for a book of its size. I'm very excited to give the game a run at my table!
