Game created by The Arcane Library.

Full Disclosure: This review is going to be highly biased. I’ve known Kelsey Dionne since before Shadowdark was born. I consider her a friend and I really like this game. I am a late backer to the Kickstarter, but I would have been an early backer had I been able to. I have believed in this project since I first saw the playtest document.

That having been said, I think anyone who plays fantasy TTRPGs, especially Dungeons & Dragons 5E players, should give Shadowdark a try. Yes, it bears some resemblance to 5E, Old School Essentials and Dungeon Crawl Classics on the surface. But let’s be honest- most fantasy D20 RPGs are going to resemble D&D somehow. Let’s leave that notion at the door.

There’s going to be a massive flood of new fantasy TTRPGs using all kinds of systems starting in August with Gen Con. Shadowdark was already well in the making when the Open Game License debacle happened in January. It sent Kelsey scrambling to rewrite Shadowdark and the whole project almost got scrapped entirely. Luckily, things worked out in the fans/Third Party Publishers’ favor and the Kickstarter went off smoothly.

Here we are with the Arcane Library, nearly $1.3 million later. The game is amazeballs. The PDF is already available, and a game jam is already in progress on Itch.io. (It’s going to be great for me if I can get my entry done before deadline.) I’m anxious for my physical copy, but in the spirit of minimalism, I have it on all my devices here at home.

A lot of dedication and talent went into Shadowdark.

Let’s talk about the game itself.

I love Shadowdark. It’s sleek, light, and easy to work with as a GM. I think it appeals to the old codger B/X crowd as much as it appeals to the 5E masses. It’s fun to run as it is to work with. I’m looking forward to getting my family away from 5E and into Shadowdark and eventually other games.

This game really is rules lite. I mean, I know I’ve said that about games before. This one really is proof positive that 5E and even Pathfinder 2E are a bit clunky, especially for new players. Shadowdark character creation takes me maybe 10 minutes to do the crunchy part. Backgrounds, etc take a few minutes longer. It reminds me a lot of ICRPG in those regards.

After First level, things are super easy. Probably the easiest they could possibly be. Roll more hit points. Roll your new Talent. Figure out new spells for casters. And just like that, we’re off to the next adventure. No clunky skills, feats, or multiclassing to gain added benefits. You can literally play one class your character’s whole career. The best part is you always benefit in some way from leveling up.

Combat is pretty slick in this game. It’s adaptable to any style of play from minis to Theatre of the Mind. The majority of the combat section is summed up on two pages. Once players understand Advantage, Disadvantage, Difficulty Classes and how d20 rolls work, it’s pretty easy.

Working with Close, Near, and Far ranges took a little getting used to, but it saves on minis. Monsters and PCs have fewer hit points than other games, and only monsters can attack more than once which cuts down on the action economy issues. Say what your character is doing on their turn. Let the GM decide what you need to roll. Do the thing. Pretty simple like the days of yesteryear, really.

Then there’s the environment.

The Shadowdark is a frightening amalgam of underground cairns, mazes and other dungeon environments. It’s dark- really dark down there. The PCs don’t have characters with darkvision. But the monsters all do. Your torch is your life in Shadowdark. Torches staying lit are just as important as armor and weapons.

Wandering around in total darkness makes the group targets for wandering monsters. What’s more exciting is torchlight is tracked in real time. The group needs to stay on top of their light sources or face the direst of consequences. The lighting mechanic in this game reminds me of 5 Torches Deep or Ten Candles RPG. It definitely makes things more exciting.

The first time a group of crawlers aka adventurers goes into a dungeon they should experience the drama of fighting with torches in hand. I think the second trip would involve a handful of retainers to carry torches and loot.

Speaking of carrying things, Shadowdark has a really simple, elegant encumbrance system. You have a number of gear slots equal to your Strength stat or 10, whichever is higher (minus clothing.) No more using Str as the Wizard’s dump stat. But it prevents characters from becoming unregulated filthy lucre mountains of magic gear and I think it’s refreshing.

Just a sample of the amazing interior art.

A few things I’m slightly less keen on.

My apologies to Kelsey, but I have two small things I’d like to see find their way into the game. The first is classes. There are only four starting character classes in the book plus Ranger and Bard available elsewhere. This is one point where I like OSE just a little better. But I know Arcane Library and friends are working out other classes.

Second is what I call “wizard fizzle” with the spell failure rules. All casters roll to cast. Failure means the spell is lost for the rest of the day. On the upside, the system isn’t fire-and-forget. The Wizard Mishap table, while fun to mess around with, could spell certain doom if the caster rolls poorly enough. Scrolls and wands can backfire, too. Priests have it a little easier, in my opinion.

Going forward with Shadowdark.

One of the most positive things about Shadowdark I have seen so far is the Shadowdark RPG Third Party License. The Arcane Library is actively encouraging fans and Third Party Publishers and create freely for Shadowdark. The January WotC OGL scare has affected us in the TTRPG community in profound ways as evidenced by the implementation of this license.

Personally, I plan to work on monsters, more spells, weapons, and magic items. I will probably be working on some adventures as well. The nice thing is with Shadowdark being a D20 based fantasy game, many things will overlap nicely with other games or be easily converted. This core book is the bare bones of a successful RPG just waiting to be filled out.

Next time we’ll talk about all of the amazing art, spells for caster classes, and monsters.

Thanks for being here. I sincerely hope everyone will give Shadowdark a try. I appreciate you.