In a fantastical realm where dungeons teem with peril and treasure awaits the bold, five intrepid tomb raiders embark on epic adventures. Together they navigate deadly traps, battle mythical beasts, and uncover ancient secrets in their quest for fortune and glory.
Come adventure with Venesta, Mishka, Briar, Wrinn, and Kozmin as they venture into dark places seeking gold and glory.
This is the pilot episode of The Pits Below – an animated fantasy series. We need your help to make it a reality.
The Pits Below is based on Menagerie Press's adventures for Shadowdark RPG, adapted as animation by CBC Cartoons.
We are doing the first segment of episode 1 as a B&W animation. Depending on funding we will develop extra details and audio production and mastering.
Our ultimate goal is to produce a movie or cartoon series, funded in stages.
Menagerie Press is 100% committed to only human-made products. Computers have a place in tech and video games, not creating the artistic things we love.
Menagerie Press is collaborating with Crawl Club Publishing on Backerkit - if you back both The Pits Below and Righteous Vow, you'll unlock a bonus from both projects!
Righteous Vow Vol. 2: The Whispers of Minh is a third-party adventure zine compatible with Shadowdark RPG. Issue #2 is almost double the size of #1 and includes adventures, art, fresh ideas, and will provide many a perilous journey for the Shadowdark RPG.
Backing both our Pits Below cartoon and Crawl Club's Righteous Vow Vol. 2, you'll unlock bonus rewards:
From Menagerie Press, you'll get a full-color art piece depicting an adventure moment in the Pits Below.
From Crawl Club, you'll receive an exclusive digital art print by Uriah Groves.
Menagerie Press has published a few RPG products, including:
Shadowdark:
The Iron-Aged themed Celtic Shadows
Megadungeon The Pits of Brund
Woeful Barrows and Other Places
D&D 5E Organized Play Adventures:
Chaos in the City of Splendors (Adventurer's League Epic for WOTC)
Spears of Glip Dak: Four Adventures
Swords of the Moonsea: Five Adventures
And many other D&D 5E adventures. We also created Westlands, a 2D6 RPG based on Traveller and Sword of Cepheus, and have over a dozen adventures available for that system.
This is our first foray into animation, so we've partnered with CBC Cartoons as our studio.
We will fulfill The Pits Below's digital files via DriveThruRPG.
DriveThruRPG fulfills print-on-demand books and card decks. Backers receive a one-time code for a print book or print-on-demand (POD) card deck. POD backers are responsible for a small printing and shipping fee, and DriveThruRPG prints and ships their products. This is the most cost-efficient method we've found to get products to our backers.
If you're unfamiliar with DriveThruRPG's print-on-demand, the deck costs are approx. $13+ shipping per deck in the USA. These decks retail for more, so you save by backing us on Backerkit.
Customers in the EU or customers impacted by UK shipping tariffs may incur additional costs. Please check with your local post offices, as these situations vary by region and package details.
