Distant Worlds: Adventure Zines for Shadowdark & Aetherdark

Before I dive into self-promotion, start by downloading previews of Shipwrecks, The Astral Spires, and The Fated Land.

Shipwrecks

Ships broken by krakens and raided by pirates drift in the empty dark between the stars, equally deathtrap and salvage opportunity.

Explore a broken ship, still embedded in the body of a slain kraken, trying to find treasure without disturbing the parasites that infest its decaying corpse. Try to rescue the survivors of a wrecked colony ship before destructive nova waves from a nearby stellar crystal destroy it. Fight through a demons aboard an ancient vessel to the angelic core that once powered it, trying not to fall into its heartless trap.

• 8 full shipwreck encounters, from short drop-in events to full dungeons, with events ready for all character levels.
• Rules for salvaging shipwrecks.
• 13 pages of random shipwreck-generator tables for Aetherdark campaigns.

The Astral Spires

In silvery mists above an endless void, spires of earth rise up. Supported by their magical rulers, the spires hold deadly dungeons where evil rulers cannot be slain without destroying the soil beneath your feet.

The loam hungers. Living roots cover the earth, binding a troop of bandits to their will, preparing to spread their threats through the world. A coven of hags let chaos spread as they eye each other, trying to decipher which of the remaining four murdered the fifth of them. Two dangerous adventures and other sites with rich adventure seeds offer a challenge for any group.

• 23-room infiltration dungeon-crawl.
• 4-page dungeon-crawl/murder-mystery adventure.
• Map with 11 more full locations with inspiring adventure hooks.
• Full setting guide, including random names, a treasure table, enemy stat blocks, carousing tables, and dangerous factions.
• Dungeons that can fit into any typical fantasy setting.

The Fated Lands

Fate twists according to the movement of planets, moons, and stars, warping events and molding reality. Guided by foresight, but always seeking ancient records to better map the future, a mighty empire thrives on the floodplains at the heart of a desert.

Keep the swarming terrors and salt-blights at bay, saving who you can, as you defend an isolated town against the doom prophesied to arrive in a timed, mass-battle event. Delve into the ruins of a city buried beneath a dune, carefully avoiding the sentient trees that brought its end as you seek the prophecies that will let others ward off that threat in the future.

• 30-room dungeon crawl where the walls themselves are a threat.
• 3-hour encounter, defending a town against nightmare beasts.
• Custom rules for heat exhaustion in the desert, and for giving players the benefits of prophecy without railroading their gameplay experience.
• Full setting guide, including random names, a treasure table, magic items, enemy stat blocks, carousing tables, and the key locations of the region.
• Dungeons suitable for any desert setting.

Reward Tiers

Interviews

Zine Size

All three zines are 64 pages long (excluding the covers), and will be printed staple-bound on A5-paper, the same size as the official Shadowdark zines.

Aetherdark, Taking Shadowdark to the Stars

If you're unfamiliar with Aetherdark, check out the complete free rules in the quickstart guide. As Aetherdark is an extension to the Shadowdark rules, most of this content runs identically without it, but you may want it for the shipwreck encounters.

Made by Humans

I did not use any AI while creating these zines, and the artists who made the art in the zines did not use AI in their work.