General LFTD Questions

Is LFTD an official Shadowdark product?

No. Letters from the Dark is a third-party creation by Chris Powell, who is not employed or associated with Kelsey Dionne/The Arcane Library/Shadowdark in any way.

LFTD is created using the Shadowdark RPG Third-Party License (included at the back of each book and at the bottom of this website), which allows third-party creators to use certain parts of Shadowdark's rules and lore for their own products.

Who makes LFTD?

Letters from the Dark is designed, written, edited, and illustrated by me, Chris Powell (with some licensed artwork, see below).

This storefront is operated by chrpow LLC, a corporation based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Physical books are printed and shipped by Acutrack, a company in Livermore, California.

What's the deal with the introductions? Who are these people?

The introductions are attributed to fictional characters, mostly PCs from my personal RPG campaigns. They are actually written by me, Chris Powell (I'm sorry if I ruined the magic).

Shipping/Payment

What payment methods do you accept?

Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, Diners Club, Apple Pay, Bancontact, Google Pay, iDEAL, Shop Pay, and Paypal.

I received a shipping confirmation email within seconds of submitting my order for a physical product. How is this possible/are you lying?

All physical orders include a digital component. The first shipping confirmation you receive is just a confirmation that your digital files have been sent via email. You should receive another notification within a few days to confirm the physical products have been shipped. That email will also include a tracking number for you to verify.

How are domestic (US) shipping costs calculated?

Domestic shipping is done through UPS, with final delivery handled by USPS. I use the Printed Parcel Expedited rate, which is a flat rate to all 50 states based solely on package weight. There is also a $4.50 flat fee for each order, which covers packaging materials and warehouse labor costs. Combining multiple purchases into a single order will greatly reduce your overall shipping costs.

How are international (non-US) shipping costs calculated?

International shipping is done through DHL. The shipping rate is based on both package weight and destination country. The rate for each country can vary wildly, even between countries that are close to each other. I would encourage anyone worried about international shipping costs to just purchase the digital versions of each book.

Products

If I buy a physical book, can I get the digital files as well?

Yes. Physical books include all digital files for free. The download links should arrive in your email within a few minutes of your purchase.

What is the difference between products sold here and those sold on DriveThruRPG?

All my digital products are also available on DriveThruRPG for the same price. The files on either site are identical. I get much less of a percentage of each sale on DriveThruRPG, so I would greatly appreciate if you bought from this site instead. The physical versions of my products are only sold on this site.

Can I buy a book on this site, but have it show up in my DriveThruRPG library?

No. I totally understand the desire to have all your books in one neat place, but DTRPG is very strict about disintermediation. I can't offer anything on their site if you pay through this site.

How do I order POD versions of the books?

None of my books are sold as print-on-demand (POD). In the past, I sold POD books through DriveThruRPG, but there were a litany of issues both for customers and for me as the creator, so I discontinued that option. If you want physical copies of my books, just order the "Print Book + Digital PDF" version of the title on my storefront. These books are not print-on-demand: they are warehoused and shipped directly to customers, which cuts down on print costs and ship times.

I bought the old POD versions of the books, and now I see that there are newer editions for sale here. Should I buy those?

No. The new editions are 99% the same content, with only a few typos and formatting issues fixed. The main reason for the new editions was to reformat the files so they would work with a different printing company, and to update the legal fine print. Please save your money and buy something useful, like storm windows.

The latest digital files of each book are always available as free updates, either on DriveThruRPG or on this site.

When will you release a compilation of Letters from the Dark?

Never. I've promised from early on that there will never be a remaster/compilation of any books. This is for a few reasons:

• I don't believe in charging people twice for the same thing. Even if you only bought a few LFTD issues beforehand, you would be wasting your money to buy it again as part of a compilation.
• Each LFTD issue is meant to stand alone. The rules and adventure in each issue were created as a cohesive unit, so I don't want to lessen that by lumping them all into one book. Certain monsters, items, and variant rules are repeated between issues, albeit with slight tweaks each time to better match the overall book, so it would be weird to include all the different variations in one source.
• It would hurt sales. I don't want to prevent people from buying my books now because they think they will eventually be released in a superior format. I also don't want my existing stock of books to become obsolete.
• There's just too much. As of July 2025, there are 784 pages of released LFTD content. There's no fathomable way to print that in an A5 book that would be convenient, especially when you're only intended to use ~100 pages at a time.
• I don't have the time. I have a limited amount of time to dedicate to LFTD aside from my day jobs and other responsibilities. I'd rather spend that time writing new content than re-hashing old material.

Will there be special/collector's editions of Letters from the Dark?

Also no. For the same reasons as above, plus I just don't like the concept of special editions.

As a caveat, LFTD Dominion will be released at first as a limited edition before the mainstream version is released, but that's just a consequence of crowdfunding.

Legal/Licensing

Can I do a video flip-through of your books on Youtube?

If you'd like to show parts of the books on video, contact me at chris@chrpow.com. I will happily send you a review copy that you're free to share.

Please do not record yourself going page by page through the entire book and then post it to the Internet. Every LFTD PDF includes a copyright statement stating that the books can't be reproduced via video without my permission.

Can I use a monster or rule from your book in an adventure I'm writing?

If whatever you're writing is meant only for yourself and your game table (i.e. homebrew), go for it! Everything I do is meant to help you make your games more enjoyable, even if that means picking and choosing what you use from my books.

If you'd like to use a particular monster, rule, or system from Letters from the Dark in your own published product (paid or free) or publicly shared document, you shouldn't copy anything verbatim. You're instead free to include a reference like "Use the keep system found on page 24 of Letters from the Dark Vol. IV: Borderlands."

Can I adapt one of your adventures to a different game system, and can I then distribute that adaptation?

For yourself and your game table, go ahead and convert whatever you wish!

If you want to distribute the conversion (paid or free), you'll have to be a little more careful. Your conversion can't serve as a replacement for the original adventure, meaning that your conversion can't provide a usable adventure for someone who doesn't own the original LFTD text. Your conversion can include advice like "replace XXX monster on page 5 with YYY monster," but it can't restate parts of the original text that aren't mechanically relevant to the conversion. It definitely can't include any maps or illustrations original to LFTD.

Also please note that there may be some broader legal considerations in distributing a conversion because it will no longer be covered by the generous Shadowdark RPG Third-Party License. Letters from the Dark is allowed to use certain intellectual property belonging to The Arcane Library, LLC, because it is written with Shadowdark in mind. Those protections will no longer apply if an adventure is converted to another system, so be mindful.

I'm not a lawyer, and I definitely don't speak on behalf of The Arcane Library. Please look at their FAQ for more info.

How do I know I can trust you with my data?

I go to great lengths to avoid giving out my information to anyone on the Internet, and I despise targeted advertising, so I 100% get it.

You can read my privacy policy here. In addition to the boilerplate, I've included an assurance that I'll never use your information or my mailing list for anything other than advertising my own future products to you. I won't email you unless it's an email I think you'll genuinely be excited to read, ideally with some free goodies attached.

Also, even if I wanted to do something nefarious with your information, I'd have no clue how to go about that. Hopefully that assuages your fears.

How should I contact you if I have a question/complaint/request?

The absolute best way is via email: chris@chrpow.com. I'm guaranteed to see that.

Besides that, I don't regularly use social media. I may sporadically check Reddit or The Arcane Library's Discord channel, but not dependably. DriveThruRPG's messaging and comment systems are archaic and unintuitive, so if you try to contact me there, I will probably never see it.

Where did this piece of art come from? Why did I see the same piece of art in some other RPG book?

All of the art in LFTD is either 1. Created by me, 2. Taken from the public domain, or 3. Licensed from stock art services. In cases 2 and 3, it's common that another RPG also uses the same artwork.

When possible, I try to avoid using any stock art that is also used in other Shadowdark-compatible resources, to prevent confusion. In the case of the artwork on page 28 of LFTD4, I unfortunately chose a piece of stock art that The Arcane Library used for their "roustabout" class, which came out the exact same day.

Upcoming

How frequently do new LFTD issues come out?

There's no set schedule. Initially they came out monthly, but as each issue got longer and the complexity of fulfilling orders grew, the schedule became nebulous. Each book comes out when I feel confident it's as good as it can be.

What's next?

Letters from the Dark: Dominion will likely be the next paid product I release. It will be my first crowdfunded project, hopefully launching in Fall 2025 and shipping in early-mid 2026.

Three LFTD issues are also currently in development, although they've taken a backseat to Dominion. I've already teased Letters from the Dark Vol. X: Adventures in Archaeology, and there are even more in store!

Specific LFTD Issues

Vol. I: Out of Time

The product page says this book is 52 pages, but the files only show 44?

The very first version of LFTD1 had 44 pages. Eight new pages were added shortly afterward, bringing the total up to 52 (including covers). If your PDF still has 44 pages, you can download the latest version to see the rest. All print versions have the correct 52 pages.

Where are the stats for the ooze cubes in Area B3?

The ooze cubes were created by Kelsey Dionne (creator of Shadowdark) as part of her "Monster Monday" series. You can find their stats in the URL at the bottom of the book page or by clicking here.

What's the deal with the puzzle solution in Area C8?

Look at Area D on page 22.

Where is the map for Area C10, the belltower?

There's no map included. If you need one, just make it a 30' x 30' square.

How does the clockwork soldier work?

Its number of attacks and movement speed change each round. You can keep track of it with a d4 and the table on page 46.

Vol. II: Slayer's Moon

Is this a Shadowdark conversion of Ravenloft?

No. Lugos is inspired by Romanian folklore as a whole. Since there's an overlap in source material, there are bound to be similarities, but I've actually never read the Ravenloft module (sorry!)

How does a slayer get more prey talents?

The slayer gains one prey talent (of their choice) at 1st level. At each subsequent odd level, they can choose to gain a random prey talent instead of their usual class talent.

What happens if a slayer critically fails a spellcasting check?

If your slayer is capable of casting spells (only available through the "undead" prey talent), they use the priest's "penance" system for critical mishaps (SD 45).

Which classes are allowed to use the new weapons on page 10?

This is ultimately up to the GM. My intent was that only the fighter could use the lance, priest and fighter could use holy water, and slayer and fighter could use the stake.

What does it mean that the new priest spells are "substituted" for turn undead?

This also may be a decision for the GM, but my intent is that a priest who chooses one of these spells can never learn turn undead via another method.

What counts as a "close ally" for the sake of plague?

Everyone in your adventuring party (the other PCs) and anyone else traveling alongside you.

Where do the players begin in the hex crawl?

I would recommend Hex 004, assuming the characters are not native to Lugos.

What happens if the PCs refuse to have their fortunes read by Bita Zusta?

If you're generous, you can give them another opportunity to have their fortunes read. Otherwise, they'll likely be unable to defeat Duchess Dragomir and will have to take her side in the fight against Brasov.

Didn't page 56 used to look different?

Early digital versions of this book had a piece of artwork on page 56 that I later suspected was created by AI (even though it was listed as non-AI on the stock image website). Just to be safe, I removed the image and replaced it with an awesome public domain illustration.

What counts as a "supernatural creature" for the sake of the slayer NPC's "warded" talent?

Anything that isn't confirmed by mainstream science to exist on Earth. Maybe halflings and dwarves can be excluded. Ultimately up to GM interpretation.

Vol. III: Tales of the Fey

If the trickster makes a spellcasting roll, and the result is greater than or equal to the spell DC, but the natural roll is less than or equal to the critical fail threshold, what happens?

A critical failure is a failure, regardless of the DC. The spell would not take effect, and you would lose the spell and roll a mishap.

Can the trickster use a wand or scroll if that spell appears on their spell list?

No.

Where do the players begin in the hex crawl?

I would recommend Hex M1302.

Vol. IV: Borderlands

Is this a Shadowdark conversion of Keep on the Borderlands?

No. The main inspiration for this book was wanting to create a true "beginner" adventure for Shadowdark.

I was disappointed that the most common advice for new Shadowdark GMs was to run the introductory adventure from a different RPG using Shadowdark rules. If someone is a true novice to Shadowdark (or RPGs in general), the last thing they should be doing is converting another system's adventure into a system they don't even fully understand.

It also bugged me that Keep on the Borderlands was such a common recommendation for a first Shadowdark adventure. KOTB was written 50 years ago, before RPG writers had any clue how to write for efficiency or clarity. Each area description is a gigantic block of flowery prose, with the relevant details hidden behind random side-tangents that will never matter in actual gameplay. Telling new GMs in 2024 to run KOTB was just heaping extra work onto them that wouldn't make them better at GMing Shadowdark.

LFTD4 takes the themes of exploration from KOTB but hopefully executes them in a more "Shadowdarky" way. The adventure itself is actually much more inspired by Pathfinder's Kingmaker adventure, in which the party gets to build their own keep after conquering an enemy dungeon. 

Why are mercenaries called "clerics," "mages," "rogues," and "warriors"?

Mercenary classes are different than player classes. Giving them different names reminds players that mercenaries are not PCs, and that they shouldn't make assumptions about the mercenaries' abilities based on the corresponding PC classes.

What does "Requirement: 20+ POP" mean?

This was an awkward phrasing in earlier versions of the book. It's been corrected to "POP 20+," meaning that the keep's maximum population must be greater than or equal to 20.

Why is the hex map blank?

So you can fill it in!

Why wouldn't the players just go straight to the Caverns of Kowse when they see the hex map?

The players shouldn't have access to the GM's hex map. You don't give them the map of each dungeon ahead of time, do you?

How do the orcs get in and out of their fortress if they don't control any exits or entrances?

That's their whole predicament! They're at war with the goblinoids to the south (Area 25) for that very reason.

Vol. V: Hell to Pay

I gave one of the diabolical contract benefits to a PC, and now that PC is overpowered. What went wrong?

The benefits in the diabolical contracts are meant to be overpowered. One of them is literally the first "game breaker" on page 296 of Shadowdark RPG.

The monsters and hazards in this book's adventure are way more deadly than a typical 1st-5th level adventure. The contracts are meant to make it possible for the PCs to overcome those challenges. The contract system is not balanced for a typical Shadowdark adventure, so it probably shouldn't be included in one.

What do I do if the players randomly find the correct Eight-Circle portal on their first try?

You can either let them skip the entire chapter (which wouldn't be very fun), or you can just fib a little bit and swap in a different destination. They won't know the difference.

Why can't the PCs get to Caina on the way from Monument B to Monument A?

This is an unfortunate failure of the map artwork, and I apologize. The Repository of Caina is supposed to be slightly north of the path from B to A, but the 2.5D perspective makes it look like the tower is directly between the two points. The only way to get to Caina is to follow the entire path as described in the text.

Does The Necronomicon take your skin as soon as you pick it up?

No. I agree that the wording is somewhat unclear. That part of the curse only happens if the first part of the curse does. The Necronomicon has no negative effect on you unless you roll a 1 and then fail the DC 18 CHA check.

Vol. VI: Scallywags

How do I track which way the ship is facing?

Don't worry about it. Ships can move and fight in any direction.

Why does the dragon turtle have such low HP?

The dragon turtle stats on page 11 are only meant for naval combat, where damage and HP are tracked differently. The dragon turtle effectively has 300 HP.

What's the downside of powder weapons in a dungeon with no random encounters?

Every dungeon in this book has random encounters. The powder weapons aren't balanced for other adventures.

Why is there no "6" on the sharpshooter's talent table?

That's a typo present in the print book. Results 3-6 should be "+1 to ranged attacks."

Do sharkfolk have a swim speed/water breathing?

No. They're descended from sharks, but they aren't actual fish.

What does "It doesn’t count as a weapon" mean in relation to the sharkfolk's bite attack?

Sharkfolk fighters can't choose their bite for weapon mastery, and spells that enchant weapons can't target the bite.

Why does the sharkfolk NPC have poison?

The idea is that the sharkfolk uses literal fish as its weapons. Since blowfish are poisonous, the sharkfolk's blowfish attack is poisonous.

When do you roll for wind?

I would say once in the morning and once at night, 12 hours apart. This isn't meteorologically accurate, but it's probably easiest to keep track of.

Why does it take the same amount of time to move between areas in the wumpus cave if the paths are different lengths?

Because the wumpus cave is the Platonic graph (stereographic projection) corresponding to the connectivity of the vertices of a dodecahedron. Each path actually is the same length, although they can't exist in Euclidean space. Also magic.

Won't the wumpus hunt get very repetitive and frustrating as players have to keep track of their exact movements through a huge, complex map?

Don't keep track of exact movements. Eventually the players will realize that the wumpus' movements can be predicted. At that point, they just have to announce they have a plan to capture it, and you can hand-wave the specifics of actually executing the plan.

Vol. VII: Monster Mash

Does the bone guardian's "protector" talent mean that it can't damage lizardfolk or that it won't damage lizardfolk?

Can't. If the bone guardian breathes ghost fire on a group of enemies, some of which are lizardfolk, the lizardfolk will be unaffected.

In "Blood & Steel," is Entrance Y in Area A5 or A6?

A6. Earlier print versions of this book had a formatting mistake in the area headings which contradicted the map.

In "Final Delivery," how do I show players the incorrect jungle map (Area B43)?

Check the digital files. There's a printable map with the locations (correctly) incorrectly labeled.

In "Goblin Games," what stops the players from just rushing to the exit?

As suggested in Shadowdark's gauntlet rules, a character needs to escape the gauntlet with treasure in order to reach 1st level. Each character must bring at least one treasure item to the finish line to "win" the game.

In "The Snake Pit," don't replacement characters start out better equipped than original characters?

Yes, but the more characters have to be replaced, the worse their chances are of surviving the final encounter. If players start intentionally killing their characters to get better items, you can hint that it will have consequences.

Vol. VIII: Lucky Stars

How does the energy cell system interact with torch timers? Do energy cells "ride along" with torches as described in the Shadowdark rules?

I would encourage you to use a separate timer (on a cellphone, for instance) for each energy cell, even though this is contrary to Shadowdark's philosophy regarding tracking time. This is because energy cells are more valuable than torches, and because they are non-fungible (an energy cell in a beam sword is not equivalent to an energy cell in a laser pistol), unlike torches.

If a character fires the plaz-launcher, and the roll result is greater than or equal to the target's AC, but the natural roll is less than or equal to the overheat threshold, what happens?

The attack still hits and deals damage before the weapon breaks. This is different than the trickster's spellcasting system in LFTD3 because the plaz-launcher's description never states that it critically fails: just that it overheats.

Why do I have to go to a separate website to view the stats for the A---- B---- and the b---- d--?

Shadowdark's third-party license only covers content from the core Shadowdark rulebook. Since these monsters were released in a different document, I legally can't reproduce them in my book.

Lore-wise, how long ago did The Zenith crash?

All that's written is "centuries ago." In my mind, it was about 300 years ago. It shouldn't matter as long as it happened before the region was populated (so there were no witnesses).

The adventure intro says seven miners disappeared, so why are there are more than seven miners in the dungeon?

Seven miners from the original expedition disappeared. Most of the miners found in the dungeon were members of the subsequent search party, which also included (non-miner) Kosmograd townsfolk.

What's the deal with the items in the curiosity shop (Area K4)?

They're all worthless junk with impressive-sounding names. None of them are actually supernatural or noteworthy except for the meteorite.

Why is the mine map so big?

Because it has to fit The Zenith. If you want to cut down on wasted time and excessive encounter checks, let the party move 100' per round instead of 30'.

Why is The Zenith so small (particularly the hallways)?

I would have preferred making The Zenith at least twice as big, as 600' seems small for a Star-Trek-style spaceship. The problem was that would force the mine to be even bigger in order to fit the ship. If you're playing with theater of the mind, or if your players aren't attentive enough to notice the conflicting scales, you can double The Zenith's size (10'-wide hallways) and leave the mine alone.

What is the illustration on page 42?

It's Chernushka and Ivan Ivanovich from Area A5, back before they were abducted.

Why are there two "alert" symbols in Area B1?

This is a formatting error present in the print books but not the PDF. Ignore the second symbol.

Isn't the elevator circuit puzzle unsolvable?

No, not if the PCs move the pink cable. If they're truly stuck, remind them that the cables are movable.

Vol. IX: Book of the Dead

Why is the kobold ancestry here different from the official Arcane Library one?

The Arcane Library's kobold ancestry was basically "official unofficial" content at the time of this book's writing. The kobold in LFTD9 is a specific imagining of the kobold meant to fit with the book's setting and mechanical themes. You can use The Arcane Library's version of the kobold if you'd like.

Why do scarabid characters not get any benefits until 10th level?

The ancestries presented here are meant for the book's adventure, which starts at 10th level. If I had to create a generic version of the scarabid for all levels, I would say that it gets +1 AC.

Do worshipers of the minor deities automatically get those blessings?

No. They must do something to earn them (at the GM's discretion). The simplest way would be to pray at the obelisk in Area 018.

Originally I planned for there to be 12 unique shrines throughout Anhet, one for each deity. I ended up combining them into a single obelisk to make the map less cluttered, but you can try to implement this if you'd like.

Do characters at 10th level stop earning XP for themselves?

As far as I can tell, the official Shadowdark rules never explicitly state that 10th level is the maximum character level. As written, a 10th level character who earns 100 XP should go up to 11th level, although there are no rules for talents or spells at that point. It's up to you how you interpret the rules. In any case, there probably isn't 100 XP worth of content in this book, so character XP shouldn't matter.

How much damage do the example traps deal?

It's up to you and the needs of your adventure. The example traps in this book are just for inspiration. SD 114 has a table with random trap damage amounts.

What's the deal with the fungal zombie's "living dead" talent? Is it undead or not? It's literally under a section titled "undead"?

The fungal zombie exists to fix a problem in fantasy RPGs that I don't think bothers anyone else.

If a living creature like a fungus inhabits a dead body, I don't think its walking corpse should be put in the same category as corpses reanimated by evil magic. Holy magic like turn undead shouldn't affect a biologically reanimated corpse, because it's really just a piece of meat with some fungi living on it, not an inherently sinful monster. You may disagree with me, but this is my rationale, and I'm sticking to it.

What's the point of the three powerful artifacts if they have to be destroyed in order to defeat the lich-pharaohs?

Defeating the lich-pharaohs requires sacrifice. Once the players discover the three artifacts, they'll initially want to keep them. Whether or not the PCs choose to be selfless and destroy the artifacts is up to them. They're allowed to take the artifacts, leave, and never fight the lich-pharaohs, but the people of Anhet will have to live with the consequences of that inaction.