The Sundering Shroud: D&D 5E Steampunk Campaign

The pitch, in one breath

Four people wake up on the streets of Kaelveron with no childhood, no family, and the same annoying magnetic pull toward the same grimy tavern. Outside, the sun keeps blinking out like a dying bulb. Each eclipse lasts a little longer. Each one leaves the world a little colder.

The Sundering Shroud is a 119-page, ready-to-run campaign for Dungeons & Dragons 5E, dragging a party of four from desperate level-1 nobodies to level-10 legends across 10 chapters, 15 side-quests, and one spectacularly dying world.

What is The Sundering Shroud?

The Sundering Shroud is a grim, gear-driven campaign set in Atheria, a steampunk world of brass, steam, and dying divinity.

It begins in Kaelveron, the “Jewel of Atheria,” where four strangers with no memory of their past are drawn together in a tavern called the Rusted Cog.

Then the eclipses begin. Each one lasts longer. The world grows colder. Riots spread, crops fail, the Ecliptic Conclave preaches the return of a god, and the Crimson Cartel turns disaster into profit.

From the Ashen Wastes to a lost laboratory, from the Cartel’s hidden forge to the final stand against a Fallen God, the party must fight for the last sunrise Atheria may ever see.

No pressure. (Okay, a little pressure.)

What’s inside the book

The world of Atheria

Atheria runs on three things: steam, faith, and denial.

Kaelveron is the jewel and the lie. The Gilded Exchange sparkles. The Brass Quarter preaches. The Underworks below it never stops coughing. When the eclipses begin, the cracks in Chapter I become the chasms the party falls into for the rest of the campaign.

Beyond the city walls lie the Ashen Wastes, where a buried engine the size of a cathedral waits under the sand, and the Spirehold, where the campaign ends the only way it possibly can: loudly.

Meet your villains

The Crimson Cartel. They own the coal, the docks, and most of the city guard's loyalty. When the cold comes, they do not panic. They raise prices.

The Ecliptic Conclave. Zealots who believe the Shroud is not a disaster but a homecoming. The genuinely upsetting part is how often they turn out to be right.

The Fallen God. I am not spoiling this one. I will only mention that the final chapter is called “The Final Fight” for a reason, and that your players might want to roll up backup characters. Just in case. No reason.

Faces of the Shroud

Not every threat in Atheria wears a crown. Some carry answers, some carry guns, and some are simply waiting for the party on the wrong road.

Why this one’s different

• It is done. You are backing finishing and printing, not a promise and a vibe board.
• The dark is a mechanic, not a mood. The eclipse system makes the world get measurably worse on a timer, and your table feels every tick of it.
• Level 1 to 10 in one book. A complete arc with a beginning, a satisfying middle, and an actual ending. No “Volume 2, sold separately, to find out how it ends.”
• Steampunk with teeth. Firearms, gadgets, clockwork horrors, and a faith-versus-machine war that actually pays off.
• Made by one stubborn human who has shipped before. Many times. Keep reading.

Pledge Tiers

Every physical tier includes the complete PDF, and every tier unlocks every stretch goal reached during the campaign.

Stretch goals

Every €500 unlocks a new goal, and every goal is free digital content dropped into every backer's files, PDF-tier included. No new physical SKUs to delay your book. Just more game for the same money.

Hit them all and even a €12 PDF backer walks away with a campaign, a one-shot, a subclass, a bestiary bump, a map pack, handouts, audio, and a world guide. For twelve euros. I may not be great at business, but I am great at value.

Who's behind this?

Hi. I'm Sereyrathana, a solo creator making steampunk 5E adventures under the Gearwheel Grimoires name for more than 3 years now! One person, a lot of brass, and a faintly concerning number of finished books.

My track record, so the “will this person actually deliver” question answers itself:

• Ars Mechanica, a complete six-part adventure path (Labyrinth of Brass through The Molten Prophecy).
• The Nocturne trilogy, plus a Civil War map pack.
• Aerenthia: Dark Awakenings, with print-ready editions and a full NPC roster.
• Astrohagen, a drop-in steampunk city sourcebook.

Dozens of bolt-on modules: subclasses, species, legendary weapons, boss packs, potion lists, rumor tables, a 50-map steampunk pack, and one extremely good steampunk cat named Gizmo.

I make steampunk 5E content, I make an alarming amount of it, and I finish what I start. The Sundering Shroud is the biggest single book I have ever put my name on.

Shipping and timeline

Digital Delivery: PDF files will be delivered through DriveThruRPG after the campaign. No shipping, no waiting for a parcel, just the ancient magic of the internet.

Print Process: Print editions will be handled through DriveThruRPG’s print-on-demand service. Backers with a print reward will receive a DriveThruRPG link after the campaign, then enter their delivery details and pay the printing and shipping cost directly at checkout.

Worldwide Shipping: DriveThruRPG ships worldwide. Shipping costs are calculated at checkout, with no hidden markup from us. You can also combine eligible orders where possible to help reduce shipping fees.

Small tip: Combine orders with other creators and addons and to save on shipping fees.

Delivery timeline

Campaign: The campaign will run for 30 days.

Digital Delivery: PDF files will be delivered through DriveThruRPG within about 2 weeks after the campaign ends.

Print Process: Print links will be sent after the campaign through DriveThruRPG. Printing and shipping times depend on DriveThruRPG processing and your delivery location.

Stretch Goals: Unlocked digital bonuses will be delivered through DriveThruRPG alongside the PDF or as soon as they are ready.

Dates are estimates, but the manuscript is already finished. This is a delivery and print timeline, not a writing one.