Cursed Scroll Zine, Vol. 2: Red Sands

by Kelsey Dionne

Fearsome assassin-sorcerers lurk in a hidden desert monastery, towering sand dunes hide lost treasures, and pit fighters battle for glory beneath a scorching sun.

The second issue of Cursed Scroll Zine is here to add a harsh and wondrous desert setting to your TTRPG game world! Inside its 68 pages, you'll find:

Fortress of the Burning Brothers, a 4th-6th-level adventure that pits the characters against two warring efreet in a grim, iron stronghold
The Djurum, a shimmering desert hex crawl rife with desert sorcerers, bandits, sandstorms, and lost treasures
Three new classes for Shadowdark RPG: desert rider, pit fighter, and ras-godai
Rules for pit fighting, riding mounts, poisons, and enduring wounds
14 new monsters, including The Scourge, a mad dragon that haunts the desert wastelands!
Classic, hand-drawn maps and player-safe JPEGs for virtual table tops
Cursed Scroll uses Shadowdark RPG rules, but it's easily compatible with any old-school fantasy roleplaying system.

68 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2023

Reviews

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another very nice, and jam-packed, zine for Shadowdark. Issue 2 of the Cursed Scroll has a desert theme and once again provides a hex map, new classes, monsters, and a dungeon adventure. Instead of spells other supplemental material includes new weapons, a pit fighting mini game, and additional rules that cover travelling in the harsh desert landscape, mounts, and using poison…so yeah, chock full of stuff!

I love the evocative nature of the adventure material provided. I think that both hex descriptions and the provided dungeon strike a nice balance between giving you the details you need to run the game without bogging you down in minutiae or removing your ability to play some things fast and loose. I especially like the Ras-Godai class, a sort of magical ninja assassin that oozes with flavour.

There’s not really much else to say. If you’re a Shadowdark player or GM this is a great supplement.

[Matthew J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

More good stuff. Desert adventures. Efreeti. A cult of assassins. All that kind of thing. Some new classes, some new optional rules. A new keyed hex-crawl map. And a new adventure to place within it.
If you're into Shadowdark, it's pretty much a no-brainer that you should check it out. I'm definitely hoping that if I am able to bring the game to the table, someone plays a Ras-Godai. I kinda like the idea of one showing up in other lands, perhaps a member of a new temple in the region or something.