07/03/2025

Happy Thursday and welcome back to Tabletop Thoughts!

This week, I am starting a series that I am calling Thursday Drop-in. It will be a sort of encounter/adventure that you can take and just drop into your Shadowdark campaign. These will be handy if you are using the Random Overland Map rules that come with Shadowdark and roll up something that you don’t have already prepared.

This week, we start with The Hunger Below:

In The Hunger Below, a desperate child named Mira seeks help after her brother is sacrificed to a cursed village well that holds an ancient, blind creature known as the Buried Hunger. Once sealed away, the monster now whispers through dreams and decay, corrupting the villagers into Whisperslaves who resume weekly sacrifices. As the party investigates key locations—including a defiled shrine, an abandoned mayor’s house, and the caverns beneath the well—they uncover the truth behind the dark rites and face escalating horrors. With time running out before the next sacrifice, they must choose whether to banish the creature or risk empowering it.

I left the name of the village blank so it could be used with any campaign. The drop-in contains stat for the new monsters and a few names of important NPCs, but it is more of a frame for the gamemaster to build around. I have included a map of the caverns below the well, which can be used if needed.

Please steal this and use it in your game. Change the names, add to the locations, etc. Take it and make it yours.

If you like this and want to see more, please leave a comment. I am working on a few more of these that I should be able to share every other Thursday.

Keep on gaming!