# Shadowdark
**Shadowdark** is a tabletop role-playing game by the American designer Kelsey Dionne, published in 2023 by her company The Arcane Library, that blends the fast, lethal dungeon crawling of early D&D with streamlined modern rules such as a single d20 roll-high resolution system.[1](https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/blogs/shadowdark-blog/all-about-shadowdark-rpg) Its best-known mechanic is a real-time timer: a lit torch holds back the darkness for one hour of actual game time, after which the characters are in the dark and the monsters are not.[2](https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/pages/shadowdark) • [3](https://netherbook.com/blogs/which-rpg-to-choose-vs/shadowdark-vs-mork-borg-vs-old-school-essentials) The game's 2023 [Kickstarter](https://www.edgepedia.org/kickstarter) raised $1,365,923 from 13,249 backers, and in 2024 it won four gold ENnie Awards, including Product of the Year.[4](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shadowdarkrpg/shadowdark-rpg-old-school-gaming-modernized/rewards) • [5](https://www.polygon.com/24209789/ennie-award-winners-2024-shadowdark-eat-the-reich/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Designer and publisher | Kelsey Dionne, founder of The Arcane Library, a TTRPG company based in Las Vegas; she previously wrote *The Secrets of Skyhorn Lighthouse* (2017), an adventure on the DMs Guild.[6](https://books.google.com/books/about/Shadowdark_RPG.html?id=_7aezwEACAAJ) |
| Core resolution | A d20 roll-high system with ascending armor class and advantage/disadvantage; a natural 20 is always a success.[7](https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwieland/2023/03/16/shadowdark-looks-back-at-dungeon-crawls-with-an-eye-to-the-future/) • [1](https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/blogs/shadowdark-blog/all-about-shadowdark-rpg) |
| Character creation | Six classic stats rolled 3d6 in order; four core classes (fighter, priest, thief, wizard); separate ancestry and class; no skills; randomized class abilities rolled on charts.[8](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shadowdarkrpg/shadowdark-rpg-old-school-gaming-modernized/description) • [7](https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwieland/2023/03/16/shadowdark-looks-back-at-dungeon-crawls-with-an-eye-to-the-future/) |
| Signature mechanic | Torches last one hour of real time; when the torch dies the characters see nothing and the monsters see everything.[8](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shadowdarkrpg/shadowdark-rpg-old-school-gaming-modernized/description) • [3](https://netherbook.com/blogs/which-rpg-to-choose-vs/shadowdark-vs-mork-borg-vs-old-school-essentials) |
| Magic | Roll-to-cast against ten plus spell level; a failed spell is lost until the caster rests, and a natural 1 triggers a mishaps table.[3](https://netherbook.com/blogs/which-rpg-to-choose-vs/shadowdark-vs-mork-borg-vs-old-school-essentials) • [9](https://theweepingstag.wordpress.com/2024/09/03/rpg-mini-review-shadowdark/) |
| Crowdfunding | $1,365,923 from 13,249 backers (February–March 2023); a follow-up campaign for *The Western Reaches* raised over a million dollars in March 2025.[4](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shadowdarkrpg/shadowdark-rpg-old-school-gaming-modernized/rewards) • [10](https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwieland/2025/03/19/shadowdarks-second-million-dollar-kickstarer-creates-a-full-setting/) |
| Price and format | 330-page hardcover, $59 for print plus PDF or $29 for the PDF; a free Quickstart Set of two 68-page PDFs covers 1st–3rd level play.[11](https://www.tabletopgamingnews.com/enter-the-shadowdark-new-rpg-combines-classic-fantasy-with-modern-features-and-smashes-kickstarter-goal/) • [12](https://blizzardwatch.com/2024/08/28/shadowdark-ttrpg/) • [2](https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/pages/shadowdark) |
| Awards | 2024 Three Castles Award for best game design and four gold ENnies: Product of the Year, Best Game, Best Rules, and Best Layout & Design.[2](https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/pages/shadowdark) |
## Publication and Kickstarter
The core book went live on Kickstarter on February 28, 2023 and funded for $1.3 million in March 2023, a figure the campaign page records precisely as $1,365,923 pledged by 13,249 backers.[1](https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/blogs/shadowdark-blog/all-about-shadowdark-rpg) • [4](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shadowdarkrpg/shadowdark-rpg-old-school-gaming-modernized/rewards) Pledge tiers ranged from a $29 Digital Edition to a $249 Crawling Group tier containing four standard hardcovers plus a premium hardcover; a hardcover pledge included the PDF.[4](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shadowdarkrpg/shadowdark-rpg-old-school-gaming-modernized/rewards) The result is a 330-page hardcover with full rules for characters, gameplay, and game mastering.[11](https://www.tabletopgamingnews.com/enter-the-shadowdark-new-rpg-combines-classic-fantasy-with-modern-features-and-smashes-kickstarter-goal/)
Dionne has connected the project's timing to the 2023 Open Gaming License dispute, saying she did not foresee writing more 5E material.[1](https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/blogs/shadowdark-blog/all-about-shadowdark-rpg) Forbes noted the campaign landed at a moment when D&D was at a crossroads.[10](https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwieland/2025/03/19/shadowdarks-second-million-dollar-kickstarer-creates-a-full-setting/)
## Rules and gameplay
**Resolution.** All actions are resolved by rolling a d20, adding a stat bonus, and meeting or beating a target number, using the seven standard dice. This unifies mechanics that older editions of D&D split across d6 rolls, d20 roll-under checks, percentile dice, and THAC0 combat.[8](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shadowdarkrpg/shadowdark-rpg-old-school-gaming-modernized/description) • [7](https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwieland/2023/03/16/shadowdark-looks-back-at-dungeon-crawls-with-an-eye-to-the-future/)
**Characters.** Ability scores are generated the old-school way, rolling 3d6 six times and slotting the results in order, and that randomness continues into play: class abilities are gained by rolling on charts, with players rolling randomly for a new-but-fitting ability every other level, which limits players' ability to min-max.[7](https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwieland/2023/03/16/shadowdark-looks-back-at-dungeon-crawls-with-an-eye-to-the-future/) • [1](https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/blogs/shadowdark-blog/all-about-shadowdark-rpg) There are four core classes, fighter, priest, thief, and wizard, with ancestry and class chosen separately.[8](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shadowdarkrpg/shadowdark-rpg-old-school-gaming-modernized/description) There are no skills, only ability checks and advantage/disadvantage, and encumbrance is handled with simple gear slots.[8](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shadowdarkrpg/shadowdark-rpg-old-school-gaming-modernized/description)
**Light and time.** The torch rule is the game's distinguishing feature. A torch lasts one hour of real time, so the players must make decisions quickly or run out of light; when the torch dies, the characters see nothing and the monsters see everything.[8](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shadowdarkrpg/shadowdark-rpg-old-school-gaming-modernized/description) • [3](https://netherbook.com/blogs/which-rpg-to-choose-vs/shadowdark-vs-mork-borg-vs-old-school-essentials) Reinforcing this, no ancestry has darkvision, while all monsters do.[12](https://blizzardwatch.com/2024/08/28/shadowdark-ttrpg/)
**Magic.** Instead of Vancian spell slots (D&D-style system of memorized, one-use spells), wizards and priests cast by making a skill-style roll against ten plus the spell level. A failure means the spell is gone until the caster rests, and a natural 1 is a critical failure that sends the player to a mishaps table.[3](https://netherbook.com/blogs/which-rpg-to-choose-vs/shadowdark-vs-mork-borg-vs-old-school-essentials) • [9](https://theweepingstag.wordpress.com/2024/09/03/rpg-mini-review-shadowdark/)
**Combat and death.** Hit points and damage are low, making combat fast and deadly; initiative is always rolled, and monsters use morale and reaction rolls.[8](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shadowdarkrpg/shadowdark-rpg-old-school-gaming-modernized/description) A character at 0 hit points rolls a d20 each turn and recovers 1 hit point on a natural 20.[9](https://theweepingstag.wordpress.com/2024/09/03/rpg-mini-review-shadowdark/) [Experience](https://www.edgepedia.org/experience) comes from finding treasure and spending it carousing, not from killing monsters.[1](https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/blogs/shadowdark-blog/all-about-shadowdark-rpg)
## Design philosophy and the OSR
Dionne describes Shadowdark as "OSR-like" rather than a pure old-school renaissance product, written so that dungeon crawling is fast, deadly, and systematic, like the games she remembered as a kid.[1](https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/blogs/shadowdark-blog/all-about-shadowdark-rpg) In an interview she rejected both labels often applied to it: it is not a retro-clone and not a stripped-down 5E, but a dungeon crawler built around real-time mechanics and tightly controlled inventory; she has said the one-hour torch rule came to her as a revelation while she was eating corn on the cob at dinner.[13](https://thaumavore.substack.com/p/youve-got-shadowdark-all-wrong)
In practice the design keeps old-school elements such as low hit points and damage, no skills, quick and simple character creation, and a less forgiving character death system, while replacing the mixed math of older editions with modern roll-high d20 resolution.[1](https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/blogs/shadowdark-blog/all-about-shadowdark-rpg) • [7](https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwieland/2023/03/16/shadowdark-looks-back-at-dungeon-crawls-with-an-eye-to-the-future/) Dionne frames these changes as quality-of-life upgrades that make play simpler and more intuitive.[7](https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwieland/2023/03/16/shadowdark-looks-back-at-dungeon-crawls-with-an-eye-to-the-future/) The game also borrows deliberately from other systems: roll-to-cast magic from Dungeon Crawl Classics, easy distance measurement from Index Card RPG, and a natural 20 that is always a success.[1](https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/blogs/shadowdark-blog/all-about-shadowdark-rpg)
## By the numbers
- Kickstarter, 2023: $1,365,923 from 13,249 backers.[4](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shadowdarkrpg/shadowdark-rpg-old-school-gaming-modernized/rewards)
- Core rulebook: 330-page hardcover; $59 for print plus PDF, $29 for the PDF.[11](https://www.tabletopgamingnews.com/enter-the-shadowdark-new-rpg-combines-classic-fantasy-with-modern-features-and-smashes-kickstarter-goal/) • [12](https://blizzardwatch.com/2024/08/28/shadowdark-ttrpg/)
- Pledge tiers: $29 digital to $249 Crawling Group (four standard hardcovers plus a premium hardcover).[4](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shadowdarkrpg/shadowdark-rpg-old-school-gaming-modernized/rewards)
- Quickstart Set: two 68-page PDFs and eight pre-made characters for 1st–3rd level play, free.[2](https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/pages/shadowdark)
- Cursed Scroll zines: 68 pages each.[2](https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/pages/shadowdark)
- Third-party support: hundreds of expansions, including dozens of adventures, new player options, and unofficial adaptations of classic D&D settings.[10](https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwieland/2025/03/19/shadowdarks-second-million-dollar-kickstarer-creates-a-full-setting/)
## How it compares with other OSR games
Against **Old-School Essentials**, which preserves 1981 B/X mathematics with descending armor class and dwarf, elf, and halfling as classes, Shadowdark is a d20 roll-high system with ascending armor class and advantage/disadvantage, exactly the shape a 5e player expects, while keeping the deadly exploration-first spirit.[3](https://netherbook.com/blogs/which-rpg-to-choose-vs/shadowdark-vs-mork-borg-vs-old-school-essentials) • [14](https://netherbook.com/pages/shadowdark-starter-guide) Time pressure differs too: OSE uses ten-minute dungeon turns with scheduled wandering monster checks, while Shadowdark's real-time torch is the thing that sets it apart from almost everything else.[3](https://netherbook.com/blogs/which-rpg-to-choose-vs/shadowdark-vs-mork-borg-vs-old-school-essentials) • [14](https://netherbook.com/pages/shadowdark-starter-guide)
Against **Mörk Borg**, which uses four abilities with modifiers from −3 to +3, only scrolls for magic, and a doom die rolled each dawn, Shadowdark is more conventional fantasy with fuller character options.[3](https://netherbook.com/blogs/which-rpg-to-choose-vs/shadowdark-vs-mork-borg-vs-old-school-essentials) Against **D&D 5e**, Shadowdark keeps the friendly d20 core but strips away most of the bloat: fewer feats, simpler classes, faster character creation, and far more lethality.[14](https://netherbook.com/pages/shadowdark-starter-guide) Forbes summarizes the resulting appeal as two-sided: stripped-down Fifth Edition mechanics draw newer fans while fragile characters satisfy old-school players.[10](https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwieland/2025/03/19/shadowdarks-second-million-dollar-kickstarer-creates-a-full-setting/)
## Reception and awards
At [Gen Con](https://www.edgepedia.org/gen-con) 2024 Shadowdark won the top ENnie Award, Product of the Year, plus three other gold medals: Best Game, Best Layout and Design, and Best Rules.[5](https://www.polygon.com/24209789/ennie-award-winners-2024-shadowdark-eat-the-reich/) The publisher also records the 2024 Three Castles Award for best game design.[2](https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/pages/shadowdark)
Independent reviews are more mixed. A September 2024 review rated the game 6/10 for the average player and 7/10 for a nostalgic player, praising fast combat and the real-time urgency while criticizing bland combat and a spellcasting structure that can feel bad in play.[9](https://theweepingstag.wordpress.com/2024/09/03/rpg-mini-review-shadowdark/) The same review found the game mostly compatible with classic B/X D&D and AD&D modules with roughly 15 to 20 minutes of conversion work, and noted that a dungeon crawl that took one session in Shadowdark would have taken about two to four sessions in 5E because of that game's combat and initiative rules.[9](https://theweepingstag.wordpress.com/2024/09/03/rpg-mini-review-shadowdark/)
## Expansions and developments since 2023
The **Cursed Scroll** zine line is the main supplement thread: each zine is a complete 68-page mini-setting with new classes, spells, monsters, and hex crawls that can drop into an existing campaign.[2](https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/pages/shadowdark) Volume 3, *Midnight Sun*, has a Norse theme with sea wolves and seers in dragon-prowed longboats.[12](https://blizzardwatch.com/2024/08/28/shadowdark-ttrpg/) Cursed Scroll 6, *City of Masks*, is a 68-page urban supplement with new classes, spells, and upgraded downtime rules (Spiritualism, Skulduggery, Martial Training, Magical Research); as of that announcement it was available only as a PDF to Western Reaches backers, with a public print and PDF release expected in mid-2026.[15](https://ttrpgfans.com/shadowdark-cursed-scroll-six-city-of-masks/)
In March 2025 The Arcane Library launched a follow-up crowdfunding campaign for the game's first full expansion and campaign setting, *Shadowdark: The Western Reaches*, which also raised over a million dollars.[10](https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwieland/2025/03/19/shadowdarks-second-million-dollar-kickstarer-creates-a-full-setting/) Third-party support has grown to hundreds of expansions, which Dionne encourages.[10](https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwieland/2025/03/19/shadowdarks-second-million-dollar-kickstarer-creates-a-full-setting/) Physical copies of the core book sold out after the first printing; the next printing was offered for pre-order at $59 with immediate PDF access.[5](https://www.polygon.com/24209789/ennie-award-winners-2024-shadowdark-eat-the-reich/) A free solo-play variant, SoloDark, is also available.[12](https://blizzardwatch.com/2024/08/28/shadowdark-ttrpg/)
## References
1. [All About Shadowdark RPG, The Arcane Library](https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/blogs/shadowdark-blog/all-about-shadowdark-rpg)
2. [Shadowdark RPG product page, The Arcane Library](https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/pages/shadowdark)
3. [Shadowdark vs Mörk Borg vs OSE, Netherbook](https://netherbook.com/blogs/which-rpg-to-choose-vs/shadowdark-vs-mork-borg-vs-old-school-essentials)
4. [Shadowdark RPG: Old-School Gaming, Modernized, Kickstarter rewards](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shadowdarkrpg/shadowdark-rpg-old-school-gaming-modernized/rewards)
5. [Hit old-school RPG Shadowdark brings home 4 gold medals from Gen Con, Polygon](https://www.polygon.com/24209789/ennie-award-winners-2024-shadowdark-eat-the-reich/)
6. [Shadowdark RPG, Google Books entry](https://books.google.com/books/about/Shadowdark_RPG.html?id=_7aezwEACAAJ)
7. [Shadowdark Looks Back At Dungeon Crawls With An Eye To The Future, Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwieland/2023/03/16/shadowdark-looks-back-at-dungeon-crawls-with-an-eye-to-the-future/)
8. [Shadowdark RPG: Old-School Gaming, Modernized, Kickstarter description](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shadowdarkrpg/shadowdark-rpg-old-school-gaming-modernized/description)
9. [Shadowdark Review: Does it Deserve 4 Gold Ennies?, Weeping Stag](https://theweepingstag.wordpress.com/2024/09/03/rpg-mini-review-shadowdark/)
10. [Shadowdark's Second Million Dollar Kickstarter Creates A Full Setting, Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwieland/2025/03/19/shadowdarks-second-million-dollar-kickstarer-creates-a-full-setting/)
11. [Enter the Shadowdark, Tabletop Gaming News](https://www.tabletopgamingnews.com/enter-the-shadowdark-new-rpg-combines-classic-fantasy-with-modern-features-and-smashes-kickstarter-goal/)
12. [Explore dungeons without the drudgery with the award-winning Shadowdark TTRPG, Blizzardwatch](https://blizzardwatch.com/2024/08/28/shadowdark-ttrpg/)
13. [You've got Shadowdark all wrong!, Thaumavore](https://thaumavore.substack.com/p/youve-got-shadowdark-all-wrong)
14. [Shadowdark Starter Guide, Netherbook](https://netherbook.com/pages/shadowdark-starter-guide)
15. [Shadowdark Heads to the City of Masks With New Cursed Scroll, TTRPG Fans](https://ttrpgfans.com/shadowdark-cursed-scroll-six-city-of-masks/)
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