Finding other players for an online tabletop roleplaying game is a challenging proposition especially when a game system is newer or more niche than an established game like Dungeons & Dragons 5E or Pathfinder 2E. Fortunately for players interested in Shadowdark RPG, there is a vibrant digital community of players and Game Masters eager to share their passion for this wonderful game.
StartPlaying Games
The fastest, most reliable way to find a Shadowdark RPG group is through StartPlaying Games. Players and Game Masters seeking active groups of committed players can connect with one another by joining a gaming group instantly or by reaching out through direct message. Any day of the week, a player wanting to dive into the Shadowdark can find an active group and begin their adventure without worrying about scheduling conflicts.
StartPlaying Game Masters run Shadowdark RPG games daily, catering to all experience levels (both player and character). Players can sign up to games knowing the person behind the screen is an experienced professional running the session within a clear Code of Conduct dictated by the Terms of Service. Session Zeroes and Safety Tools ensure a player is signing up for the experience they want. Prices per game vary, so there is a Shadowdark RPG game to suit every budget.
The Arcane Library Website
The Arcane Library website is the official repository of Shadowdark RPG on the internet. In addition to selling Shadowdark RPG products and merchandise, the Arcane Library also offers free content, a mini-blog, and access to a free Discord community.
The mini-blog even includes an article titled “How To Get 5E D&D Players to Try A New RPG System” in case you have the players, but haven’t yet sold them on Shadowdark RPG. The first piece of advice offered is “Offer to run a one-shot”. Running a one-shot is easy using the free Shadowdark RPG Quick Start Set, available in PDF form on the Arcane Library website, which includes both a Player Guide and a Game Master Guide.
The Arcane Library Discord
The best place to interact directly with other Shadowdark RPG players in real-time or asynchronously is the Arcane Library Discord. The server has over 11,000 members and even Shadowdark RPG’s creator Kelsey Dionne makes regular appearances in the chat!
At any given moment, players from many countries are discussing ongoing campaigns and Shadowdark RPG products, as well as player and Game Master tips. Designers can solicit feedback or find inspiration for adventure, class, monster, and setting design. Artists can share their work directly with other artists and fans. Many enterprising fans have made free conversion guides available to help run adventures written for other systems using Shadowdark RPG. The Arcane Library Discord is not only engaged and passionate, but helpful and inclusive as well.
The Arcane Library Discord also includes forums for players seeking groups. The games offered include in-person and online games, paid and free games, play-by-post games, and even open table games. Games are available in different countries and in different languages.
Shadowdark On Facebook
The Shadowdark RPG Official Group is, as the name implies, a Facebook group moderated by the Arcane Library. The group has nearly 5,000 members posting threads on a variety of topics ranging from session recaps to Game Master advice to constructive comparisons to other OSR games.
The Facebook group differs from the Arcane Library Discord in several ways. The Facebook group contains more self-promotion posts, such as third-party products, YouTube videos, and podcasts. The Facebook group also trends towards image-based content like terrain set-ups, merchandise unboxing, and session photos. The slower pace of the Facebook group facilitates discussion and encourages the sharing of material the member wants to be accessible longer.
The Shadowdark RPG Facebook Group has two features useful to players attempting to find a Shadowdark RPG group. The first is the “Members” tab, which allows you to see who among your friends is already interested in Shadowdark RPG. The second is the “Events” tab, where players can list in-person games, online games, and conventions.
Shadowdark On Reddit
Shadowdark RPG also has a presence on Reddit in both the r/Shadowdark and r/osr communities. (Note: Neither Reddit community is affiliated with the Arcane Library.)
r/Shadowdark currently has more than 9,000 members. In the last week alone, users have created threads showing off homebrew classes, discussing the new Kickstarter campaign, and of course sharing Shadowdark RPG memes.
Occasionally, members will use r/Shadowdark to seek out other players for ongoing games, but it’s less common than the Arcane Library Discord. Posts soliciting groups are likely to be buried under other posts or ads since Reddit is, by its nature, less organized than a Discord server.
r/osr has over 46,000 subscribers and features similar content to r/Shadowdark but for the broader OSR (Old School Renaissance/Revival) community including Shadowdark RPG. Excluding posts related to the mechanics of a specific game, most content will be at least tangentially relevant to Shadowdark RPG fans. Unlike r/Shadowdark, the r/osr community has a dedicated thread for players looking for games.
The Arcane Library YouTube Channel
No exploration of the online community for Shadowdark RPG would be complete without a visit to the Arcane Library YouTube channel. The channel has over 32,000 subscribers and seventy-six videos. The channel isn’t simply a promotional tool. Kelsey Dionne’s videos walk you through the process of creating classes, designing dungeons, and making monsters for Shadowdark RPG. She has also posted adventure walkthroughs, which guide Game Masters through preparing and running the four major Shadowdark RPG adventures.
While YouTube is known primarily for its video content, every video has a comment feed, which players and fans can use to interact with Kelsey and with other fans. Keeping a finger on the pulse of the community, to know what excites fans, is crucial to creating the kind of gaming experience that will attract other players to your table and keep them at your table.
The following YouTube channels also feature Shadowdark RPG content:
Friendly Local Game Stores
At a panel at Gary Con in 2025, Kelsey Dionne addressed the role of local game stores in her business model. While maintaining that large-scale distribution to game stores is not financially viable, she emphasized the importance of local game stores in community building.
Currently, local game stores interested in stocking Shadowdark RPG will need to order products through the Arcane Library webstore. Shadowdark RPG is not distributed on Amazon.
Shadowdark RPG has a vibrant online community, but internet presence doesn’t always translate to familiarity offline. As a non-scientific experiment, I called ten local gaming stores that carry tabletop roleplaying games in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties here in southern California. Of those ten, none carried Shadowdark RPG in their stores and only one employee I spoke to was vaguely familiar with the game.
Community Growth
The success of the recent Shadowdark RPG Kickstarter for the Western Reaches suggests that Shadowdark is a booming community. Kelsey Dionne has hinted at a possible organized play league called Shadow League, although presently that goal is still distant. On StartPlaying.Games, Shadowdark RPG GMs have begun to organize to promote and support one another in an effort to foster community. Kelsey stated in another recent discussion at Gary Con that she is optimistic about the future of Shadowdark RPG and all evidence indicates that players, GM’s, and fans should be as well.
Play Shadowdark RPG on StartPlaying Games now!
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Meaghan J (she/her) is a professional Game Master, podcaster, and game designer based in Los Angeles specializing in Dragonlance, Ravenloft, and other dark fantasy settings. Play games with Meaghan J here.
