The Tomb of the Forgotten is a short Shadowdark tutorial dungeon introducing dungeon masters and players to the basic mechanics of the role-playing game. The adventure takes about an hour to run and includes:

The full adventure, with room descriptions and advice

Pre-generated characters

A DM-friendly battle map with rules references.

A grid-based battle map

A gridless battle map

We created this dungeon as part of Dungeon Jam 2026. Check out the official playlist on YouTube.

Adventure Files

Tomb of the Forgotten - Full Download (ZIP file with the adventure, maps, pre-generated characters)

Tomb of the Forgotten - Adventure (PDF file)

Pre-generated characters - (ZIP file with seven pre-gens)

Maps

Battlemap - GM Version (PNG)

Battlemap - Grid (PNG)

Battlemap - Gridless (PNG)

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Shadowdark Hazards

Listen to the Episode

Watch the Episode

Watch Shadowdark Tutorial Dungeon on YouTube.

Show Notes

The Tomb of the Forgotten is a tutorial dungeon designed to introduce players and game masters to the Shadowdark ruleset. It is set in Mörka Norden, an alternative, Viking-inspired campaign setting taking place on an Earth reforged by Ragnorak. 

This dungeon is purposefully simplistic; the goal is to teach people the basic mechanics of Shadowdark, with a particular focus on areas that diverge from Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. These include:

Light as a resource: Adventurers can’t see in the dark; the monsters can. Torches and light spells burn down over 60 real-world minutes, making them a consumable key resource. 

Characters succeed unless there’s a risk: Players describe what their characters are doing. If it’s reasonable, there’s no time pressure, and there’s minimal risk, they succeed. Dice rolls are saved for impactful moments. 

Playtest Notes (sidebar)

This adventure began as a one-shot Ken ran for his lunchtime gaming group and became the basis for his ongoing campaign. Meanwhile, he refined the adventure to run at MEPACon. 

In each playtest, players were surprised to learn that The Tomb of the Forgotten is not the Den of the Iron Wolf. This led to much testing for secret doors and a gentle reminder to the players that their characters know the den is located further north. 

In a nod to those players who are convinced the Tomb does, in fact, include a secret door and to enable this 5-room dungeon to serve as a launching off point for your own adventures … a secret door was added to the final room. Whether it’s there is up to the game master.

Adventure Summary

The adventurers are hired to track down Jarnulf ("Iron Wolf"), leader of a group of bandits who prey on the people of Natthamn and other forest villages. On their way north, they are caught in a blizzard and forced to take cover in a cave. Inside the cave, they discover they aren’t the only ones there: a crew of tomb raiders is attempting to break through the stone door leading to the Tomb of the Forgotten.

The adventurers talk or fight with the tomb raiders. With the conflict resolved, they choose whether to ignore the runes carved near the stone door that warn of a “forgotten” individual sealed away from the world. Those who push on find that a secret lever opens the door (or that they can use their combined strength to break down the door). Inside they find a stone coffin containing The Forgotten, a warlord who forsook his oaths and was condemned by the god of laws and contracts. They also find urns containing his earthly (and now cursed) wealth. If they open the coffin, they encounter an undead horror which they fight or flee from.

Featured Image Meta

The battle map for Tomb of the Forgotten. Designed with Inkarnate.