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Unnatural Selection is a new 3rd-party digital and physical Supplement for use with Shadowdark RPG. It introduces over 120 pages of new classes, ancestries, weapons, spells, untamed beasts, underworld oddities, magic items, adventures and other enhancements while maintaining and expanding the core of the Old School Renaissance.
It's also an easy way to entice 5e players to jump ship to the world of Shadowdark RPG. They will discover familiar ancestries, providing a comfortable foundation for them to reinvent their favorite characters.
It brings two worlds together; the untamed and the underworld! A savage beastmaster morphs his form into animals and unleashes primal fury, a plague doctor brews potent elixirs of healing and affliction, a spirit-guided shaman evokes sacred rituals to command the elements, and a nefarious grave warden raises decaying ancestors to do their bidding.
This sleek, black, digest-sized hardcover will be produced by the same manufacturer as the Shadowdark Core rulebook, so it will be a close-as-possible counterpart to the original, with similar stylings and quality.
120+ pages in a concise, two-page spread layout
Rules for all new elements
6 New Ancestries
4 New Classes
70 familiar and brand new spells
65+ New Monsters, Animals, and Underworld Oddities
Backgrounds from the Underworld and Nature
Nature Spirits & Death Pantheon
New Support Spell Type
New Carousing
New Mishaps
New Treasure and Magic Items
Zero Level Gauntlet and Campaign Setting
Incredible hand drawn black-and-white art
SPECIAL EDITION
The PREMIERE version! This special, digest-sized tome is bound in elder drake hide (no, it's a burgundy leatherette, elder drakes weren't open to being skinned, even though they acknowledge how freakin' cool this book is -- maybe they're vegan?)
The cover features a gold-foil imprint of Vaelthar the Untamed, father of the night. Adorning the back cover is a special d20 version of the Tumble Maw, one of the many new monsters found within the tome!
In the Complete editions, you get three 4-page (digest-sized bi-fold cards) adventures. These double as a small Game Master's Screen to keep your secrets safe.
Nest of the Entomancer - Blighthaven is being consumed by giant termites! Your players will delve deep into a cavern carved by pincers to unveil the mastermind orchestrating this entomological apocalypse.
Temptation of Dominus - Vanished children and a mysterious crypt unearthed by the militia. Mere coincidence? The players must plunder the crypt while avoiding Dominus' temptations and rescue Blighthaven's progeny!
The Felwood Curse - The trapped spirit of a fallen hero has been tormenting travelers who pass by the forest of Felwood. Players must rescue the spirit and fight back the blight of the shadowdark ere it engulfs the realm.
Twenty-Four Zero-Level Characters
Jump right into the Lottery of the Lost zero-level gauntlet adventure with these 24 Zero-level characters on cardstock! Four characters per page (front and back), because they're going to die anyway! Perfect for new groups, pickup games, or conventions.
"This is a super cool book. I'm going to be the first in line to pledge."
--Kelsey Dionne, Creator of Shadowdark RPG
"I think it's dope as hell. The thing that's cool about it is that it's absolutely seamless."
--Professor Dungeon Master, Dungeon Craft
"It's a completely stellar example of what high-quality third party content should look like."
--Baron De Ropp, Dungeon Masterpiece
"Hauntingly Gorgeous."
--House DM
From the Community
"I’m very excited for this supplement. I’m the type of DM who prefers to use “official only,” but the presentation and attention to detail on this supplement has got me wanting to use it. Can’t wait to purchase. I feel like this supplement really captures the spirit (art, mechanics) of the game!"
--Jaeden D. N.
"This is something really special. Unnatural Selection extends the Shadowdark rules laterally, offering new ways to play whether you want a grittier game, or a more fantastical one. And its just a lot of fun to play!"
--Brennan O.
"This supplement has beautiful, evocative art and adds fun, interesting content that feels so in line with the original you'd mistake it for official content."
-- K. Dixon
"When I first read the premise of Unnatural Selection, I was instantly smitten. This Shadowdark supplement was aimed directly at me and I rushed the opportunity to playtest and provide quality assurance. I wanted this supplement to be more than awesome; I wanted it to be the best version of itself."
--Mathias C. H, Playtester(Kiwi4BBQ)
"Backer #10 here! It's a must have for any Shadowdark player & GM as well as a the perfect book for pulling 5E players into the system."
--Todd P.
"It's really amazing content your team has made and I'm happy to back your vision. It's dope AF."
Digital rewards will be delivered as soon as they are completed. At the time of this writing, all the rewards are at least 80% complete. By the time the campaign is over, the rewards will be 90%+ complete with edits and tweaks remaining. Our goal is to deliver these digital assets by Halloween.
For physical rewards, we have quotes from shipping partners, and have decided to work with Easyship. They have handled numerous crowdfunding efforts, including $17 million campaign for a foldable eBike called MATE X. They are more than capable of handling Unnatural Selection.
Shipping
Shipping is not included in the pledge tiers. Estimates are as follows:
For pledge tiers expecting a single hardcover copy of Unnatural Selection. Additional add-ons, rising gas prices, and other factors may influence your final shipping costs.
USA: $6.50 Canada: $14.00 International: $15.00
For the Crawling tier, which includes 5 copies of Unnatural Selection:
With a lifelong love for drawing that began in her childhood, Bunni seized the opportunity in 2017 to transform her artistic talent into a career. Rapidly acquiring a multitude of commissions and showcasing her ability to adeptly capture various artistic styles, she yearned for a project that would blend her passion with her creative aspirations. It was this burning desire that gave birth to Unnatural Selection, an endeavor crafted to fulfill her deepest imaginations and bring her artistic passion to life.
Kevin Sheller
Kevin has accumulated over 22 years of experience as a producer and executive producer in the console video game industry, encompassing the successful launch of more than 30 titles, including the legendary Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. Now, Kevin is channeling his wealth of expertise and creative prowess into the intricate realm of tabletop role-playing games in the creation of Unnatural Selection and other adventures. His commitment to shared vision shines in his latest venture, where he wholeheartedly embraces the philosophy and ethos of Shadowdark, crafting an experience that truly reflects the vision of its creators.
Greg Spanier has been a lifelong lover of imagination and storytelling. His journey into the world of role-playing games started in high school when he discovered Dungeons and Dragons, and his love for RPGs remained undimmed throughout his life. It eventually extended beyond personal enjoyment and seeped into his professional life when he opened a game shop. MaCnarB Gaming in South Mississippi has been a welcoming hub for gaming enthusiasts for over a decade. Greg's primary aim is to share the joy and laughter that come from playing RPGs, whether the session ends in a triumphant victory or a total party kill.
You totally can! Just download your FREE Quickstart PDF HERE. Not only does the Quickstart contain all the new classes and ancestries, it also includes some of the original, hand inked artwork and showcases the layout and style of what we're creating for the TTRPG community.
You can also head over to Shadowdarklings.net to automatically generate a plague doctor.
Everyone who backs is automatically eligible for the stretch goals for their tier!
Be one of 250 backers to share THIS PROJECT to Facebook and receive a free holographic sticker of this skeleton busting out!
These will be included for free in all pledges as physical rewards!
All you have to do is Go HERE and click the "SHARE THIS PROJECT ON FACEBOOK" button!
You can already find the Plague Doctor on the ever-so-handy shadowdarklings.net! If you haven't heard of it, this website allows you to easily generate Shadowdark characters and export them as PDFs or for direct import into your favorite TTRPG platform!
In only a few hours, we reached $20,000, so all of the rest of the classes in Unnatural Selection will be just as easy to generate on every shadowdarkling's favorite website.
This will be available for everyone in the world who plays Shadowdark, so you are improving the entire community by achieving this milestone!
And since the shadowdarklings.net creator, Swoone, gets a piece of the Unnatural Selection pie, it's a great way to thank him for his tireless hard work for your convenience and enjoyment!
Wow, look at you go! We have achieved $30,000 raised, so two moreancestries are added to the Unnatural Selection physical and digital rewards.
These will be included for free in all pledges as either digital or physical + digital rewards, and they will be added to shadowdarklings.net as a part of this achievement!
The extra ancestries will be decided by community vote that will be taken after this achievement is reached!
In the first 48 hours we made to $50,000 raised! That means a new spellcaster will be added to the Unnatural Selection physical and digital rewards.
These will be included for free in all pledges as either digital or physical + digital rewards, and it will be added to shadowdarklings.net as a part of this achievement!
The ovate is a specialized subgroup of the druidic order, focused on nature, divination, healing, and omens.
You did it! With $75,000 now raised, a new fighter has been added to the Unnatural Selection physical and digital rewards.
These will be included for free in all pledges as either digital or physical + digital rewards, and it will be added to shadowdarklings.net as a part of this achievement!
From the volcanic depths, fiends are a fighter class that have attained mastery over fire. They can imbue their weapons with magical flame and wield arcane pyromancy.
This campaign has gone better than we could have ever hoped. Your love for the Shadowdark RPG and the rest of Kelsey's passionate community has made it possible. As a thank you, we wanted to provide a free set of custom dice representing the look and feel of Unnatural Selection and the Shadowdark RPG.
These will be included for all backers of the Physical Edition COMPLETE (priced at $55) and higher.
