Shadowdark - Back To The Beginning - February 15, 2026

A modern, streamlined return to classic dungeon‑crawling where real‑time light, deadly danger, and treasure‑driven adventure define every delve.

Shadowdark is a fast, dangerous fantasy TTRPG that brings classic dungeon‑crawling back to the forefront. You and your companions descend into the Shadowdark—any place where darkness, myth, and peril hold sway—to explore forgotten halls, evade deadly traps, confront monsters, and escape with treasure. The game embraces the spirit of early tabletop fantasy while sharpening it with modern clarity and speed.

At its heart, Shadowdark is about survival, exploration, and treasure. Characters will venture into the depths not because of elaborate backstories or personal quests, (though that isn't prevented...) but because treasure is the lifeblood of advancement. Gold, relics, and boons are the primary source of XP, creating a clear, shared motivation that keeps the focus on the crawl itself. What characters do with their hard‑won riches—founding guilds, building keeps, or pursuing ambitions—lives outside the dungeon, not inside it.

Now that isn't to say this is a game that can't be used in a campaign, or long story-focused adventure. Shadowdark feels like a return to the beginning of TTRPGs where the core of the game was focused on the adventures your party went on and what happened during those adventures. It hits reset on a lot of the rules, expectations, and traditions that have built up over time to simplify your time at the table and provide everyone MORE game-play. Character backstories, goals, and motivations are still there but they are not prescribed by the rules. Your epic campaigns and stories still happen, but the rules and guidelines that have grown over the last fifty years have been stripped away. 

Shadowdark's rules are streamlined and intuitive. You describe what you do; the GM referee's using simple stat checks and the universal DCs of 9, 12, 15, and 18. Advantage and disadvantage provide those positive and negative situational adjustments, and information is freely given when characters test the right things. Combat is fast and lethal, magic is risky, and clever play matters more than character optimization. The system is familiar to anyone who has played Dungeons and Dragons or other d20 games, but it has cleared out most of the complexity that slows modern games. 

I find Shadowdark rebuilds the TTRPG genre at its core. It leaves a lot of the customized content and guidelines from the last fifty years out by default, while making it easy for the GM and players to add back in what they want to actually play. 

Shadowdark’s defining feature is real‑time light. Torches burn for one actual hour, and when the flames gutter out, the darkness becomes an active threat. This keeps players focused on what is happening and when. Everyone is more engaged because there is a finite amount of time to take actions, and you have to be aware of what you have been doing, as well as where you need to be going. Total darkness imposes disadvantage, accelerates random encounters, and turns every decision into a race against time. Its a simple mechanic that helps creates constant tension and makes every moment underground meaningful.

Character creation is quick and evocative: roll 3d6 in order, choose an ancestry and class, pick a background, and step into the world as a fledgling crawler. The game’s design supports immediate play—groups can go from “let’s play” to “roll initiative” in minutes. It’s ideal for newcomers, casual tables, and seasoned players who want a focused, low‑prep dungeon experience that respects their time.

Shadowdark blends the best of old‑school dungeon survival with modern usability. It’s a return to the fundamentals of fantasy adventure—danger, treasure, darkness, and discovery—refined into a sleek, atmospheric game that’s easy to learn, fast to run, and endlessly replayable.

Collectible Pin

1 x Limited Series 1 Coffee Goblin Pin for Attendees that Purchase a Drink.

Buy any drink during the event and receive a free Limited Series 1 Pin featuring our smiling Coffee Goblin mascot — yours to wear proudly as a first edition adventurer of Espressos & Epics. Supplies are limited, so sip early!