Shadows over Sanctuary

Welcome to Sanctuary

Shadows over Sanctuary (SoS) is a campaign setting and rule supplement designed to adapt the dark, gothic world of the Diablo franchise for the Shadowdark RPG.

This is an ongoing passion project developed for my home table. It introduces new mechanics and character options to recreate the heroic fantasy of the video games without losing the gritty, deadly thrill of standard Shadowdark.

The Setting

I have chosen for the campaign to take place in a specific slice of the timeline, after the Horadrim have defeated Diablo and hidden his soulstone beneath the Tristram cathedral, but before the events of the first Diablo game. There's about two centuries worth of time to place and run my adventures. But that can easily be overlook and you can run it during any period you choose.

This is not a high fantasy realm. In this setting, the only available ancestry is Human. And for balance purposes I opted for the ancestry to not grant any talents.

What’s Inside the Zines?

This project is a living document, released as a series of Zines. Each issue delivers ready to test content to expand the game, including:

• Iconic Classes: Play as familiar archetypes like the Warrior of Arreat, Rogue of the Sightless Eye, Paladin of Zakarum, Priest of Rathma, and Viz-Jaq’taar Assassin. (With more added in future issues!)
• Skill Specializations: At even levels, characters unlock powerful new Specialization abilities and Talents, mimicking the iconic skill trees of the franchise.
• Heroic Tweaks: Minor but impactful adjustments to stat generation, hit point leveling, and a new "Constitution Damage" death system that gives characters slightly more survivability.
• New Gear & Magic: Thematic weapons, class-specific traits, and new spells for the Priest of Rathma class

A Living Project

Because this is developed in my free time for an active campaign, the rules will go through many iterations to see what works best. Check back for future Zine revisions and releases as we add more classes, monsters, and mechanics!

Legal & Affiliation Disclaimer

• This is intended to be freely shared and never profit from it.
• Shadows over Sanctuary 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.
• This project is a fan-made creation and is not affiliated with, endorsed, or sponsored by Blizzard Entertainment.

About This Project & Feedback

Shadows over Sanctuary is a living passion project built specifically for my home table.

We play a very specific flavor of Shadowdark where I hacked some of the things that were not working specifically for the players in this campaign and that love the lore and world from the Diablo franchise. These Zines are the evolving rulebook for our ongoing campaign.

I am sharing these files for free just in case they bring some fun to your table, too. If you actually playtest this content or have questions about how we handle specific mechanics in our games, I would genuinely love to hear about your adventures! You can reach me at www.instagram.com/antro.do.dm.

However, because this is custom-built entirely for my players' enjoyment, I am not looking for unsolicited critique, game design debates, or feedback on what might be "wrong" for standard OSR play. If this hack works for your group, enjoy! If it doesn’t fit your style, no hard feelings, safe travels and may your torch ever burn brightly.