 | |
| Designers | Kelsey Dionne |
|---|---|
| Publication | 2023 |
| Genres | Tabletop role-playing game, fantasy |
Shadowdark is a dark fantasy tabletop role-playing game created by Kelsey Dionne and published in 2023 after raising 1.4 million dollars on kickstarter. As part of the Old School Renaissance, it focuses primarily on dungeon crawling. It won four gold medals at the 2024 ENNIE Awards. [1] [2]
Gameplay focuses on risk evaluation and problem-solving. Players generate character statistics and class abilities through randomized dice rolls. Shadowdark uses a 20-sided die for action resolution. [3]
In an interview with Rob Wieland for Forbes, Dionne explains, "There is a lot of gritty humanity to being a dungeon crawler with a sword and a torch who's only one mistake away from disaster. Unseen monsters, fading resources, the quest for treasure and glory... we understand these struggles implicitly because they are reflections of our daily lives." [3]
Shadowdark won four gold medals at the 2024 ENNIE Awards: Product of the Year, Best Game, Best Layout and Design, and Best Rules. [1] [2] Rob Wieland for Forbes writes that Shadowdark has "become my first choice for down and dirty dungeon crawls". [4]
Keith Baker is an American game designer and fantasy novel author. In addition to working with Wizards of the Coast on the creation of Eberron, he has also contributed material for Goodman Games, Paizo Publishing and Green Ronin Publishing. In 2014, Baker and Jennifer Ellis co-founded the indie tabletop game company Twogether Studios.
Goodman Games is an American game publisher best known for the Dungeon Crawl Classics series of adventure modules and role-playing game, its science fiction offshoot Mutant Crawl Classics, and Original Adventures Reincarnated, a line of updated, annotated, and expanded republications of classic RPG adventures and supplements, mostly from TSR, Inc.'s Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Additionally, Goodman Games produces RPGs using versions of the DCC rules for Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar and Jack Vance's Dying Earth settings, under license. The company has also produced licensed adventures for Wicked Fantasy Factory, Judges Guild, Xcrawl, Iron Heroes, Castles and Crusades, and Death Dealer.
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The Monsters Know What They're Doing is a book series by Keith Ammann, published by Saga Press since 2019, consisting of unofficial supplements for fifth-edition Dungeons & Dragons.
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Mothership is a science fiction horror tabletop role-playing game with Old School Revival style rules published by indie role-playing game publisher Tuesday Knight Games in 2018.
Ironsworn is an indie role-playing game written and self-published by Shawn Tomkin. Its Ironlands setting is low fantasy, set in a rugged frontier. The game received the 2019 ENNIE Gold Winner Award for Best Free Game/Product. Rob Wieland for Forbes named Ironsworn one of his favorite RPG products of 2022 and one of the best fantasy tabletop role-playing games for solo play.
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Mörk Borg is a tabletop role-playing game inspired by heavy metal music, created by Swedish game designers Pelle Nilsson and Johan Nohr and published by Free League Publishing in February 2020. The game features dark themes, frequent character death, and a doom metal playlist. The title means "dark fort" in Swedish.
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Free League Publishing is a game studio and publisher based in Stockholm, Sweden, formed in 2011. The company designs and publishes tabletop role-playing games, board games, and books based on licensed properties and independent works. Their games include Alien: The Roleplaying Game, Vaesen, and Mörk Borg.
The following are the winners of the 24th annual ENNIE Awards, held in 2024.
Outgunned is a heroic action tabletop role-playing game by Riccardo Sirignano and Simone Formicola. It was inspired by the action movies John Wick and Die Hard. It was published in 2024 after raising €286,323 on Kickstarter. Outgunned won two 2024 Silver ENNIE Awards for "Best Game" and "Product of the Year."
Mausritter is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game by Isaac Williams about adventurous mice. It won the 2021 Gold ENNIE Award for "Best Family Game/Product."
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