Published sci-fi and horror author Dan Kirshtein, operating under the imprint Lawful Cherry, has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter for Fall of the Free Rim.
This comprehensive, 150-plus-page space western campaign setting is designed specifically for Darkspace and Shadowdark. Set on the dust-choked frontier world of Oster, the project launched in late October 2026 and has already cleared its modest £1,194 funding target, drawing tabletop enthusiasts eager for high-stakes science fiction with an old-school dungeon-crawling edge.
The campaign meets a growing demand across the tabletop hobby for gritty, cross-genre sandboxes that blend the survivalist tension of modern classic roleplaying games with narrative consequences. Oster sits on the edge of charted space, caught in an escalating conflict between the predatory Alada Corp, led by Santiago Alada, and the native Kinkari, who desperately defend their homeland. Rather than serving as a passive backdrop, the book offers a living timeline in which three central factions pursue distinct operational objectives across levels one, three, and five, ensuring the planetary conflict advances whether player characters intervene or walk away.
Faction warfare and the Outer Rim sandbox
Throughout 2026, the independent tabletop scene has witnessed a remarkable maturation of third-party supplements supporting the Shadowdark roleplaying game engine. As designers branch out from traditional dark fantasy dungeoneering, Fall of the Free Rim bridges the gap between desolate dungeon corridors and sun-scorched badlands, drawing explicit inspiration from modular masterworks like Secret of the Black Crag and the political grit of Fallout: New Vegas.
Oster’s perilous geography forms the planetary canvas, with hand-drawn overland travel maps ready for both virtual tabletops and home printing. Journeys across the dunes are managed via an exhaustive regional travel guide loaded with danger, supported by ten lore-rich landmark locations linked to narrative quest hooks. Encounters and intrigue are distributed across designated regional encounter tables and faction rumour matrices. Explaining the ethos behind the shifting political landscape, Kirshtein writes:
Each faction has their own goal, their own secrets, and their own vision for this unassuming dust-ball, and as your party progresses in level, the factions progress toward their endgame. There are level 1, level 3, and level 5 goals for each faction, each ramping up the stakes of the story.”
To ground game masters immediately, the volume includes Ruin at Renn’s Take, an introductory starter adventure crafted to plunge low-level scoundrels straight into local planetary strife. Threat mechanics and wandering entities are collected in the Marauder Manual, providing ready-to-run statistics for frontier bandits, corporate enforcers, and alien wildlife.
High-noon grit and custom arsenal mechanics
Rather than merely dressing classic fantasy tropes in spurs and laser visors, Fall of the Free Rim introduces bespoke rules tailored to the space western sub-genre while maintaining the fast, lethal pace characteristic of Shadowdark. The primary addition is the Quickdraw! mechanic, engineered to emulate tension-filled, cinematic frontier duels without bogging down initiative tracking.
Combat survivability also receives an overhaul through modular weapon and armour attachments. Characters can customise their equipment to impose battlefield status conditions, alter terrain, or deliver critical damage spikes, providing tactical depth for survival in a frontier setting where medical supplies and reinforcements are practically nonexistent. Tabletop artist Hugo Benetti illustrates the project throughout, eschewing generative algorithmic tools and guaranteeing 100% human-crafted artwork and cartography.
The campaign has laid out an ambitious roadmap of stretch goals designed to expand the setting’s scope:
- $2,500: Adds eight notorious, lethal bounty hunters to track and ambush the party.
- $4,000: Unlocks a fully keyed, detailed town map of the frontier settlement of Chokehaven.
- $5,000: Introduces three level-two adventure modules pushing faction objectives.
- $8,000: Adds three level-three adventures bringing the factions to the cusp of their endgames.
- $10,000: Unlocks The Undergarden, a vast subterranean green hellscape containing the ultimate key to Oster’s fate.
Reward tiers
Backers can select between straightforward digital packages and print-on-demand fulfilment handled through DriveThruRPG. The digital entry tier includes the core A5-format sourcebook, starter module, digital tokens, and map files, while the premier pledge offers physical collectors print-at-cost redemption vouchers.
- Pledge $20 (approx. £15): Digital Deputy. Includes the complete digital package containing the 150-plus-page setting in an A5 PDF format, the Ruin at Renn’s Take starter adventure, virtual tabletop and printer-friendly maps, digital tokens, backer credit recognition, and all unlocked digital stretch goals.
- Pledge $20 (approx. £15): Boots & A Badge. Limited to 90 United States backers, this tier offers the full Digital Deputy bundle plus an exclusive limited-edition vinyl sticker.
- Pledge $30 (approx. £23): Saddlebag Soldier. The definitive option for physical book enthusiasts, providing all digital assets, maps, and stretch goals, alongside DriveThruRPG Print-On-Demand (POD) codes to order physical hard copies at manufacturing cost.
Campaign logistics
Operating under Kickstarter’s traditional all-or-nothing model, Fall of the Free Rim will only receive its pledged funds when the campaign concludes on Friday, 13 November 2026 at 1:29 PM UTC. Digital files and print-on-demand codes are scheduled for an estimated backer delivery in December 2026, though extensive stretch goal expansions may extend the final production cycle by three to six months.
