While it is safe to say that D&D has alienated the fans and tarnished the legacy of magic and wonder from Gary Gygax, with its embrace of radical DEI much the same way that Disney has tarnished the magic of Star Wars. However, there are good alternatives from the indie tabletop RPG world.
While Pathfinder is a good alternative, by no means is that our only option. A relatively brand new D&D alternative is emerging with the creative input of TSR legends from the likes of Jean Rabe, Richard A. Knaak, Donald J. Bingle, and Richard Lee Byers, which is on the cusp of discovery. An IP whose creator continues to employ artists, cartographers, and writers to create an experience true to the legacy of Gary Gygax. Enter DARKWORLD from former police officer Patrick E. Pullen.
It is a world that has been in the making for Pullen for ten years. He created his world/IP hoping to revive the 80s and 90s, which feels akin to the old fantasy books and games from TSR. His world is named Torbalin (AKA Darkworld), and the main focus is a continent named Lornea.
It is a unique world where half of Torbalin is always half-light while the other is half-dark. The light side is called The Scorch. The night side is called the Darkfell. A shadowy area known as The Grey is between the two sides, where darkness and light bleed. But Torbalin wasn’t always this way. There was a time when the planet rotated like the Earth’s, offering both night and day. Torbalin’s cataclysm was the God War, which devastated the planet. It was a war where the Goddess Anthelia and the demigod Torin waged a brutal battle that tore the fabric of time and space to unleash cataclysmic effects on Torbalin. The war ended when Morralus, the King of the Gods, stepped in to settle the conflict by stopping time.
Once the war was over and time was restored, Torbalin was forever altered when the planet’s sub became static, never to rise or set again. One side of the planet became light, while the other dark, and with it a new never-ending struggle between good and evil ensued that not even the gods themselves could predict or control. Chaos was the new order. Torbalin is a planet with a wealth of cultures, races, and societies. Some are similar to Medieval Europe, while others are more akin to the ancient Roman Empire. Others are more advanced in fitting a steampunk mold with modern amenities and airships.
When Pullen was developing his IP, he got in touch with Legend of Huma author Richard A. Knaak, and they discussed ideas, which led to him commissioning Knaak to write a novelette entitled The Pyre of Despair. It was then that Pullen got in touch with other former TSR writers, such as Jean Rabe, Donald J. Bingle, and Richard Lee Byers, who he commissioned to write other novelettes.
Pullen himself would contribute to a novelette of his own and would assemble the novelettes to pull together the first of a planned trilogy of anthology books, DARKWORLD: THE LEGENDS OF LORNEA: VOLUME ONE. At the end of this past year, a successful KICKSTARTER was organized, and 66 backers pledged and funded $2,591 to create the first anthology via Drive-Through Fiction, a subsidiary of Drive-Through RPG.
It is available today in PDF, paperback, and hardback (POD) versions on the DRIVE THRU website. It is about 260 pages of dark fantasy with a hand-drawn map and five pieces of original, black-and-white art depicting a scene from each of the five stories. In addition to the anthology, there is a 42-page 4th level 5E adventure, Terror at Murkwell, available separately on the site. One of the add-ons for the KICKSTARTER was a chance to play Terror at Murkwell with Richard Lee Byers, Donald J. Bingle, and Pullen himself.
There have even been hints from Pullen that novels are planned in the future after the completion of the anthologies, along with plenty of more open-world games to dive into.
After being among the 66 backers of the KICKSTARTER, I can say this world is an excellent alternative to D&D to get lost in. After reading the anthology, I felt like a kid again when D&D was great. Currently, there is a plan for a KICKSTARTER of a physical copy of Terror at Murkwell, but as of 2-17-25, it is on hold until Pullen can recover from health-related setbacks that have resulted in the amputation of his right leg and foot. Please pray for him while he is on the mend and check out the book along with the game, which is currently available via PDF, and share them with others.
Want to learn more? Pullen currently doesn’t have a big presence on social media platforms, but he does frequent Facebook and has a domain site under construction. You can show him your support by checking out his DRIVE THRU RPG store at the links below and purchasing the book, game, and other game-related content he has published. Let’s put DARKWORLD on the map.
LINKS:
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/patrick.e.pullen
FACEBOOK DARRKWORLD GROUP: https://www.facebook.com/groups/darkworldrpg
DOMAIN SITE:
https://www.patrickepullen.com
BOOK STORE SITE: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/500482/darkworld-legends-of-lornea-volume-1
TERROR AT MURKWELL & OTHERS: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/9901/patrick-e-pullen
TERROR AT MURKWELL PHYSICAL KICKSTARTER PRE-ORDER:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/darkworld/terror-at-murkwell-5e-adventure?ref=4d7jd5
About the author:
Thomas Hyland is an aspiring indie writer and creator on the autism spectrum that works as a courtesy clerk at a grocery store and a volunteer assistant librarian on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina when he is not creating. You can support him by subscribing to his SUBSTACK and/or his KO-FI at the links below.
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What rule system is it? Sounds interesting!