Dungeon Design Contest

How to Enter

• Who Can Enter: All backers at the $59 physical tier or higher of the Roll For Combat Three New Battlezoo Secret Tomes for Shadowdark Kickstarter.
• When to Enter: The official submission page will be sent to all Kickstarter backers approximately two weeks after the Kickstarter ends.
• What to Submit: Up to three one-page dungeons (one for each Battlezoo Secret Tome).
• Deadline: Starts December 22, 2025, all entries due by March 31, 2026.

Dungeon Design Rules

• Dungeon Format
  • Each submission must fit on one double-sided page and follow the character limits and word count limits as outlined below.
  • You must use one of the pre-approved dungeon layouts provided. There are 20 unique map designs in total.
  • The dungeon should follow the standard structure and style of a typical 1-page, double-sided Shadowdark dungeon (see a great example by Kelsey here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7pCRyEuZQA).
• Party Guidelines
  • Each dungeon should be designed for a party of four level 1 characters using standard Shadowdark rules.
• Monster Requirements
  • Each dungeon must use monsters from two sources only:
  • A minimum of 50% of monsters featured in your dungeon must be from one of the Battlezoo Secret Tomes for Shadowdark.
  • Additional monsters must come from the Shadowdark RPG Core Rules.
  • Monsters from multiple Battlezoo Secret Tomes books cannot be used in the same dungeon (you cannot mix monsters from multiple Battlezoo books in a single dungeon).
  • After the Battlezoo Secret Tomes Kickstarter ends, each backer will receive a full list of low-level monsters from the Battlezoo Secret Tomes Kickstarter. We will provide monsters from all three books, and the monsters will be level-appropriate for this contest. We realize it will be difficult to complete your entry before the Kickstarter ends, but we will provide extra time for people to finalize their entries and add in the appropriate Battlezoo monsters.
• Dungeon Theme
  • Each dungeon must reflect the theme of the appropriate Battlezoo book.
  • You can submit up to one dungeon per book, for a total of three entries per backer.
• Submission Info
  • You'll indicate which Battlezoo book your dungeon is for when submitting.
  • The submission link will be sent to all eligible backers on September 10, 2025, via email to the same email used to back the Kickstarter.
• General FAQ Questions
  • Who is eligible to enter the contest?
    • Because we are trying to discover new talent, anybody who has been published in the RPG industry in a significant way is not eligible to enter. If you have been employed full-time as a designer for a game company, you are not eligible. If you have received cover credit as an author of a hardcover print RPG book, you are not eligible. If you have a design credit in three or more hardcover products, you are not eligible.
  • What criteria will be used to judge the entries?
    • Entries are judged and voted on four categories: concept, mechanics, threat balance, and writing style. The concept category encompasses creativity, adherence to the book's theme, and overall coolness. The mechanics category covers selection and design of special abilities, and adherence to the Shadowdark rules. The threat balance category determines whether your monster is appropriately balanced for a 1st level party. Finally, the writing style category scores your overall writing, including readability and appropriate use of grammar. Entries will be presented to the voters and judges anonymously, so do not put your name or any other personally identifying information in your entry.
  • Is there an age requirement to enter?
    • Yes, you must be at least 18 years old to enter; otherwise, you must submit written parental consent. Full details will be provided on this during the time of the contest.
  • Can I enter if I live outside the United States?
    • Yes, the contest is open to all, but all submissions must be in English.
  • Do I give up any rights to my work to enter the Dungeon Design Contest?
    • If you win and your entry gets published by Roll For Combat, we retain all rights to your entry and can adjust it as necessary for final publication. However, if you don't win or get published by Roll For Combat, your entry remains the property of the contestant.

Judging & Winner Selection

• Dungeons will be reviewed by Roll For Combat and special guest TTRPG designers.
• Winning dungeons will be published and played live at Gen Con 2026!

What Do You Win?

Glad you asked—because the prizes are epic.

How Do I Submit My Dungeon?

Once the contest submission opens, you will have the opportunity to submit your dungeon design. The submission will consist of a form for you to fill out outlining your dungeon design. The following sections will be required for your submission using the example dungeon design below.

• Book Being Used: You will have to select which of the three Battlezoo Secret Tomes you have designed your dungeon to utilize. You can submit one dungeon per Battlezoo Secret Tome.
• Title: Name of your dungeon, no more than 25 characters in length.
• Subtitle: A brief subtitle describing your dungeon's theme, no more than 100 characters in length.
• Overview: A short summary of your dungeon's premise, no more than 250 characters in length.
• Random Encounters: A list of 4 possible encounters (must be based on a 1d4 die roll). Each listed encounter must be 50 characters or fewer (so a total of 200 characters for 4 encounters).
• Reward: Describe what the players gain or face at the end of the dungeon. This is often either a unique magic item, treasure, magical encounter, or boss monster. Can be no more than 250 characters in length.
• Dungeon Map: We have provided a list of 20 premade maps. You must select from these premade maps when entering the contest; you can't provide your own map. Each map is shown both with and without numbers for each room. When designing your dungeon, you do NOT need to use every numbered room; rather, these are simply for you to depict which rooms to be described in the adventure outline. For example, you might list this in your entry, where you only list the rooms that you're depicting in your dungeon. The order of the rooms doesn't matter as we'll reorder the numbers in the final product so that they are sequential and uninhabited rooms are left unnumbered.

You can find images of all the dungeon designs later in this document.

• Room Descriptions: You will submit the room descriptions in a single text block and must consist of 8-13 rooms. The total text block must be between 500-600 words in length.
• Extra Notes: You will also have the opportunity to provide us with extra notes about your dungeon design. For example, you can note where there should be traps, secret doors, extra treasure, or other items indicated on the map. These notes are intended for the judges to know where additional elements should be added to the map design.
• Monster Usage: We expect you to add monsters to your dungeon, and when you do, you must use the following guidelines:
  • No less than half of the encounters must be monsters found in a Battlezoo Secret Tomes book. For example, if a dungeon consists of 5 skeletons (from the original Shadowdark rules), 1 nightmare shade and 2 argentarems (both from the Battlezoo Secret Tomes) that would fulfill the requirement as two of the encounters were from the Battlezoo Secret Tomes, even though there were more monsters encountered in the single skeleton encounter.
  • After the Kickstarter is over and pledges have been charged, we will be providing a full list of monsters that you can use from each book that are appropriate for a level 1 party of 4 characters.
  • The remaining monsters must be from the original Shadowdark rules. They can't be from a Cursed Scroll or any other official or non-official Shadowdark supplements—only monsters from the original Shadowdark rules.
• Magic items, treasure, spells, etc.: Any other items added to your room descriptions must also be from the original Shadowdark rules and can't be from a Cursed Scroll or any other official or non-official Shadowdark supplement. You can add your own magic items to the dungeon, of course (such as the listed Reward), but these must be added to the dungeon text and can't refer to an outside sourcebook.