Dark Mythos | Cthulhuian Horror for use with Shadowdark

CONTENT

Dark Mythos
The core sourcebook — everything a GM needs to run Cthulhu Mythos horror in Shadowdark.

• Cults of the Mythos — deity write-ups for Cthulhu, Yig, Shub-Niggurath, Nyarlathotep, Azathoth, Yog-Sothoth, Nodens, Hastur, Tsathoggua, and Go'ath-Muirn (an original addition — "the Empty Despair," a god of stagnation and grief). Each entity comes with multiple named cults, GM advice on running stories around them, and the reasons ordinary people fall into their worship.
• Bestiary — stat blocks for Mythos creatures (Deep Ones, Mi-Go, Shoggoths, and more) in Shadowdark format.
• Spells and magic items for warping the game toward cosmic dread.

Dark Mythos Adventures
Five adventures, five kinds of dread, each built around one entity from the core book.

• Filth of Fools (0-level funnel) — Two grave robbers, a demon-bound amulet, and an innkeepers' cellar that shouldn't exist. Inspired by Lovecraft's "The Hound."
• Firnstead's Fault (Level 2–4) — A frontier town sinking into its own fissure, a priest's prayer answered by the wrong god, and three eggs about to hatch.
• The Twelfth Silence (Level 1–3) — A silent bell, a sleepwalking town, and a twelve-hour clock before something claims Candlewick for good.
• A Waking Hunger (Level 2–3) — A farmer buying up the countryside, a toad god sleeping under his cellar, and a groundskeeper who won't stay dead.
• Where There Is Smoke (Level 3–4) — A burned priory, a fallen "angel," and a Mi-Go superweapon aimed at a war you've never heard of.

Dark Mythos Fiction Anthology

Ten of H.P. Lovecraft's own stories, straight from the public domain — Dagon, Nyarlathotep, Hypnos, The Picture in the House, The Lurking Fear, The Curse of Yig, Pickman's Model, The Call of Cthulhu, The Dunwich Horror, and The Hound— each one followed by The Dissection Table: a craft essay that cracks the story open, calls out what's actually useful for adventure design and what isn't, and walks you through turning it into something playable. Read the story that started it, then learn how to steal it. System-neutral — it works at your table no matter what you're running.

PRINT TIERS

PRINT-ON-DEMAND TIERS

DIGITAL TIERS

ADD-ONS

Add-ons available throughout the campaign. Most everything will also be available in the Pledge Manager.

Add-Ons not included in any Reward Tiers: Dice Sets, Great Old One miniature, Nyarlathotep miniature. 

SHIPPING & TIMELINE

Shipping will be collected after the campaign via Backerkit once the book is printed and ready for fulfillment. We do our own fulfillment for domestic orders and the print-on-demand items internationally are fulfilled by Lulu.

Current Estimated Shipping Costs:
US: $9+ (for Hardcovers)
CAN: $22+ (for Hardcovers)
Print-On-Demand:
CAN: $12+ 
EU: $12+
UK: $9+
AU: $13+
Rest of World: $20+

Backers that purchase miniatures or dice should expect a higher shipping cost to account for additional packaging. 

Timeline:
Q3-Q4 2026: Crowdfunding Campaign. Completion of editing and layout. 
Q4 2026:  Digital fulfillment via Backerkit and printing.
Q1-Q2 2027: Fulfillment of physical items.

THE TEAM

Daniel D. Fox | Writer
Creator of ZWEIHANDER RPG. Developer of Blackbirds, Fever Knights, Flames of Freedom. Designer of kids' board games (Pete the Cat, Very Hungry Caterpillar, I SPY, Dog Man, Daniel Tiger, Briarpatch). A miserable little pile of secrets.

David Barrenine | Writing
A frontend web developer during the day and a creative daydreamer the rest of the time. David has worked alongside several creatives in the TTRPG community to help bring their projects to fruition, such as Exploring Eberron and Frontiers of Eberron by Keith Baker on DndBeyond, Souls for the Taking by Ed Greenwood and Rhys Yorke, and The Devoured Labyrinth by Zac Goins & Andrew Bishkinskyi. ALSO, David has headed projects of his own to bring the World of Oranth to as many people as possible. He's a layout artist, game designer, writer, illustrator, cartographer, and general jack of all trades who has successfully run Kickstarters for The Necromancer of Exetus, Knights of the Shadow Realm, Gribble's Guide to the Academic Adventurer, and A Player's Guide to Oranth. He is constantly looking to expand the Oranth setting by creating new and exciting products to make memories at tables for all aspiring adventurers and always looking to work with other creatives to bring their worlds to life.

Frank Tedeschi | Writer
When not wearing a lab coat working as a Biochemist, he spends time writing, designing, and running Dead Box Games, publishing weird and immersive TTRPG content thoughtfully crafted to inspire unforgettable stories like Goblin Teeth, Bleaksprout, and Spirewitch, with more projects in development. Recently had the pleasure of contributing writing and design for a number of projects, including Devoured Labyrinth, Pocket Saga, Skarr Awakened, and of course, Raptor Ruckus.

Jeff Jones | Publisher & Layout
Jeffrey publishes a variety of RPG supplements and is usually behind the editing and layout. Additionally, he writes articles, herds cats and produces RPG Ramblings, a podcast interviewing creators in the Tabletop RPG Hobby.

John Baltisberger | Writer
Multi-award winning author and game designer of speculative and genre fiction and gonzo games. Writes brutal splatterpunk, occult musings, and innovative prose in sci-fi, fantasy, horror, poetry, nonfiction, and romance genres. Edits, writes, and designs games like the Wandie-winning Odd Gobs and the Ennie-winning Obscure. Known for his novelizations in the MÖRK BORG space. Creative Director of Madness Heart Games and Sr. Narrative Designer of Vast Grimm.

Joel Allard | Playtest GM
Joel C Allard, aka Gamerunner Goomablier, is a rockhound, data nerd, and longtime fan of fantasy, sci-fi, and horror. In 2021, Joel was bribed with crawfish etouffee by his brother-in-law Ed to play an OSR-style RPG and hasn’t looked back. ShadowDark and similar systems have become Goombalier’s mainstay and there are many adventures yet to come!

Michael Wert | Editing
Michael Wert is a multiclass editor/proofreader/game designer who cut his RPG teeth on D&D back in the 70's. He can be found most often behind the scenes at Gnome Stew, a website devoted to generic Game Mastering advice which won several ENnie Awards for Best Blog during his tenure, co-hosting the Misdirected Mark Podcast on the Polygamerous Podcast Network, or working on games as a partner at Encoded Designs. He's also worked extensively with Angry Hamster Publishing, Engine Publishing, and Third Eye Games.

Playtesting
Gamerunner Goombalier, Joel Allard, an aspiring GM and adventure designer with Goombalier Games in Plano, TX. Playtesters: Kayla "CandyFrog" Griebenow, Kris "Red" Nelson, Shelby "Zero" Barbara, Lauren "Tynk" Gilreath, Lon “KatDaddy 47” Nickles, Conrad “Conrad” Mooter, Austin “pythonagm1” Meeks. Kevin "Loaki8" Craft, Nadine “Poison_Goose~” Luther, Nicole “Boo” Bean, Daniel “Jester” Rumczikas, Ethan “UnionQuack” Wilson.

RUNEHAMMER | Artist
Runehammer is the creative forge of game designer, writer, and illustrator Hankerin Ferinale, best known for INDEX CARD RPG and CROWN & SKULL. With bold artwork, inventive mechanics, and an unmistakably energetic style, Runehammer creates tabletop games built to spark imagination and keep the action moving.

Stephen Clements | Editing lives in Pensacola, is a writer, editor, and self-aggrandizing video producer, and serves as this adventure's editor. His stories appear in anthologies such as Memphis Noir, Memphis Dirty: Tales From The Dirty South, The Other Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and his RPG work includes modules and settings in AD&D 1e, DCC, MCC, and OSE for creators Joe Bloch, Chris Clark, Ryan Howard, and Mark Taormino. You can find him on YouTube @stephen.clements.

William "This Effin' GM" Tramp | Writer
Will has written multiple products for D&D 5E (DMsGuild), and is featured in Zweihander: Reforged, but that's not nearly as impressive as the time he ran a  mile in under 4 minutes, 20 seconds. You can find him on Youtube, Twitter, Tiktok, Etsy, and BlueSky: @ThisEfiinGm.

Zac Goins | Writer
Zac has written for dozens of publications, including entries in D&D 5e, Marvel Multiverse, Mork Borg, Mothership, OSE, Pirate Borg, Vast Grimm, Zweihander and more. In another realm, he is the Director of Marketing for Limithron and the former god of death.