Chapelwick, a "Soulslike cosmic horror campaign" for Dungeons and Dragons, began crowdfunding on Kickstarter on October 14. Spanning levels 1-13, it offers a city-wide dungeon crawl whose bosses and death mechanics are inspired by the ultra-Gothic Bloodborne. Backers can even go all out with unique pins that are awarded to players who land the final blow on one of the game's multi-phase bosses.
Chapelwick is the debut DnD book from Let's Roll Press, who cites horror juggernaut Curse of Strahd as a key inspiration. "We wanted something new, something that captured that classic sense of dread but pushed further into madness and mystery-so we built it ourselves."
Chapelwick itself is an eldritch city that rose from the sea. Let's Roll Press hasn't been too specific about what kind of horrors are found within, but we can make some guesses based on the new content for DnD classes. There are Bards and Druids that can reshape flesh, as well as Fighters and Clerics who connect with the spirit world through otherworldly fires. Barbarians and Monks can warp reality itself, while Paladins and Sorcerers draw power from the vast and frightening unknown of space.
What we do know for sure is that the contents of this DnD campaign will be madness-inducing. Chapelwick comes with a "Mindrift" madness deck that determines how the players - and the city - are shaped by the horrors they encounter.
Madness has always been a core element of cosmic horror, from Lovecraft's earliest stories to modern examples like Bloodborne. Many have criticized the genre for trivializing or misrepresenting real-world mental health issues, however. Based on the Kickstarter page alone, it's not clear how sensitively Chapelwick will present these potential topics.
Beyond character options, Chapelwick houses 13 "Nightmare Hunter encounters", grand boss fights with monsters that distort the concept of each subclass. Like in any Souls game, you can expect to die multiple times trying to fell these foes. Chapelwick offers a death mechanic that revives you after a boss fight failure.
Pledges start at $30, and this tier gets you PDF copies of the campaign, a DM's Guide, and the Mindrift Madness deck. You'll also get an MP3 of a soundtrack specifically created for Chapelwick.
A physical copy of the DM's Guide (plus all previous rewards) costs $65, while a special edition version costs $120. At $175, you'll add a DM's screen and a physical copy of the Mindrift deck to your pledge. Maps, dice, and VTT assets are added at $265.
If you want those pretty prize pins, you'll need to fork out for the $550 Collector's Bundle. This adds pins, art prints, and dice sets for each subclass to your pledge. Plus, you'll get your name in the credits of the book. If you don't have this much to drop on a D&D Kickstarter, you can instead purchase the pins as add-ons, with a set of four available for $25 - or all of them for $80.
You can learn more about Chapelwick on the Kickstarter page. If you'd like to talk about horror campaigns with likeminded fans, join us in the Wargamer Discord. Or head to our DnD races and DnD backgrounds guides to get started on your next character.