Creating and Adapting Monsters for use in Shadowdark RPG
A downloadable guide
Monsters, monsters, monsters!
You can never have enough of 'em! There are a million monsters out there from dozens of fantasy roleplaying games, but how could you possibly use them all in Shadowdark? My zine Creating & Adapting Monsters for Use in Shadowdark RPG helps you to Shadowdark-ify any monster you run into!
Adapting monsters can actually be pretty easy, and this zine provides three ways to do it!
Option I: Build by Equivalents
Comparing monsters to existing Shadowdark Monsters.
Option II: Build by Adaptation
Taking existing monsters within Shadowdark and tweaking them to meet your new monster needs.
Option III: Build by Benchmark
The most involved (and my favorite) of the three, this process (11 steps!) is more extensive and really helps you to make your own monsters!
These techniques can be used to adapt monsters for any roleplaying game! The concepts are exactly the same! So, if you play Old School Essentials, Knave, Cairn, 5e, Basic Fantasy RPG, Swords & Wizardry, B/X, or even non-fantasy systems, you can get something out of the techniques found in this zine!
I've been obsessing over Shadowdark monsters for a while now, so I've included some in this zine as a Mini-Bestiary. Plus, I've paired them with awesome art from great artists like Billy Blue, JeShields, Kim Diaz, Yuri Perkowski, and MORE!
These 46 monsters include 17 wholly new monsters along with others not included in official Shadowdark materials. You can plug these monsters right into your home game or use them as reference for making your own.
There is also a 14 page Shadowdark talent bank! Use this list of talents from the Shadowdark core rules to plug into your own monsters.
And don't forget to print our your own Quick Combat Statistics bookmark licensed from Matt Dietrich!
If you want to follow along with more of my monster-making antics, you're in luck! I've dubbed 2025 the "Year of the Monster!" Every day this year I'm posting a monster to my BlueSky account. Follow along with that project right here!
This zine pairs well with...
Creating and Adapting Monsters for use in Shadowdark RPG is an independent product published under the Shadowdark RPG Third-Party License and is not affiliated with The Arcane Library, LLC. Shadowdark RPG © 2023 The Arcane Library, LLC.
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Exclusive content
Support this guide at or above a special price point to receive something exclusive.
Monster Zine - Physical Copy (US Option)
Get a physical, professionally printed copy of Creating and Adapting Monsters for use in Shadowdark RPG shipped to you in the US.
Includes a free monster-making bookmark while supplies last!
Price includes shipping.
Monster Zine - Physical Copy (International Option)
Get a physical, professionally printed copy of Creating and Adapting Monsters for use in Shadowdark RPG shipped to you anywhere in the world that I can ship it!
Includes a free monster-making bookmark while supplies last!
Price includes shipping. Recipient is responsible for any applicable VAT or other import duties.
Development log
- Typo Fixes/File Updates42 days ago
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
An exact breakdown of the 46 monsters:
I might come to appreciate the reprints if you share your reasoning behind including them—e.g., do you find them particularly relevant as templates?
Hey there!
Thanks for asking about the breakdown of monsters in my zine!
I included the reasoning in the intro to the zine, but for everyone reading here I included all of the monsters from the Shadowdark core rules that I referenced in the monster-making examples so it's easy to reference them. The zine was designed as an instruction manual first and the bestiary was just a bit of an added bonus!
Thanks for your support
Hi Michael
Looking at the free GM Quickstart Guide, only 7 of the 19 reprints are included there, so it makes sense that you want your Zine to stand on its own.
I really enjoy the new monsters and the 27 pages on monster making!
Hi, just checking that the zine is meant to be printed at a5 size? (The same size as the Shadowdark core book)
Great question! The zine is digest size, 5.5x8.5 inches!