Mage Hand Press

A hero image showing a small lizard-like humanoid with angular features. It wears a space suit fit to its body and carries a futuristic, glowing harpoon gun. The text reads "Space Kobold: Asteroid dwellers and starship scavengers”

A banner ad for the Dark Matter Kickstarter asks you to learn more at scifi5e.com

Lore and statistics for the Space Kobold. Like their terrestrial counterparts, space kobolds make up for in cunning what they lack in physical strength. Asteroid fields that play host to space kobold colonies are death traps for spacers, minefields crisscrossed by steel wires and waiting harpoon guns to ensnare any unsuspecting ship that comes near. Once a ship or spaceborne creature is immobilized, a force of space kobolds springs into action, dismantling it with old-fashioned tools and a force of graphids, a domesticated species of asteroid-dwelling beast. Warrens of space kobolds also inhabit the hoard planetoids of eternal dragons or are enthralled by creatures such as cyber liches. Any powerful creature makes an ideal ally for space kobolds, but they prefer overlords that deter spacesharks and other predators.

Kobolds are GM favorites for swarms of low-level foes and dungeons full of fiendish traps. Dark Matter’s space kobolds transform asteroid fields into elaborate traps intended to capture stray spaceships and strip them of parts in minutes. Add them to your game here: magehandpress.com/2026/02/spac...

A hero image showing a desiccated corpse wearing a cracked space suit and shambling toward the viewer in the cramped metal hallway of a spaceship. The text reads "Husks: Suffocated space undead for Dark Matter”. Art by Augustine Marceillac.

A banner ad for the Dark Matter Kickstarter asks you to learn more at scifi5e.com

Lore and statistics for the Husk appear in this square graphic. Husks represent the grim fate of countless spacers who have been stranded in deep space without hope for rescue. Though a husk might at first resemble a spacer in distress, its cracked grey skin and ruptured Life Suit reveals its Undead nature.

Lore and statistics for the Forlorn Husk, a more dangerous and magical Undead monster, appear in this square graphic. Husks abandoned for too long become saturated with a sinister magic that dwells in deep space. They float uncannily in the air, even in artificial gravity, and suck the air out of the room like a hull breach.

Husks are ominous space zombies built for sci-fi horror 5E games. The vacuum of space not only strips bodies of air, it rips away the soul, leaving behind Undead husks. It's one of more than 120 sci-fi monsters in Dark Matter! Check out the plain text on our blog: magehandpress.com/2026/02/husks/

Let us know which one's your favorite, and if you like these sneak peeks into the development process! I'm happy to do more!

Finally we have a cover that explains Dark Matter in a glance: it’s sci-fi, it’s fantasy, and it’s not too saccharine – a giant space skull means there’s peril and stakes! I could not be happier with Kirby’s work and thankful he’s stuck with us for all these years.

After all these years, the Maw station’s skull is an iconic symbol of Dark Matter. Most recently, when I asked Kirby to return to the cover, he really wanted to show off the skull from a new angle, highlighting the space station behind it and the universe beyond. And wow! He was absolutely right.

An illustrated cover for the Dark Matter hardcover

Around our first Kickstarter, Kirby asked for another crack at it. I’m glad he did! This version zooms out to see the entire skull and adds splashes of red within the portal and burning out of the eyes. The teeth still act as a frame to the logo, but the perspective gives it better breathing room.

Already you can see the familiar Maw station, the Void portal, and the tech detail that remind you that it’s sci-fi. In this piece the teeth act as a wraparound frame on the page without much inside. It’s also greener than you might expect, which I believe bothered Kirby shortly after handing it in.

A cover illustration for Dark Matter

He’s also created the same cover for Dark Matter three times over the years, which neatly chart his development as an artist. It also serves to highlight the advantages of keeping the same art team and fostering their creativity over the long term.

Two illustrations of futuristic D&D characters.

His earliest pieces were the Space Marine fighter and Void warlock, which represent some of the things I love about the setting’s art: it’s high-tech, but not too harsh or angular; alien doesn’t need to mean tentacles and gore; and the characters should make you want to play them!

Dark Matter Mega Box: Sci-Fi 5E A 5th Edition campaign setting set in a universe inspired by Mass Effect, Dune, and Star Wars. With maps by Czepeku!

I’d like to highlight the amazing work done by our artist, @kirbish.bsky.social, whose style has defined what Dark Matter has looked like for almost a decade. Let's take a look at what he's brought through the years! www.kickstarter.com/projects/mag...

A graphic showing a jagged, black-and-purple monster stretching into the frame

You've unlocked another stretch goal for Dark Matter! Creatures of living gravity, void elementals arise at the edges of black holes, threatening to drag your crew to oblivion. Back the Kickstarter to explore and survive! www.kickstarter.com/projects/mag...

A spaceship descends into a glade filled with medieval-esque knights and foot soldiers.

James Gurney's canvas for the 1st edition of John Dalmas' Homecoming (1984)
#scifi #sciencefiction #art #artist

Dark Matter Mega Box: Sci-Fi 5E A 5th Edition campaign setting set in a universe inspired by Mass Effect, Dune, and Star Wars. With maps by Czepeku!

Can you survive intergalactic corporate horror and escape the Form, or will you climb the ladder to victory? Bring the adventure to your table when you back the Dark Matter Mega Box!www.kickstarter.com/projects/mag...

A TTRPG battlemap showing a circular ship like a classic UFO with a central cupola.

Mothership Down. After an amoeboid mothership crash-lands on a Low World, the characters must rescue the crew and repair the ship. Soon the characters learn that the mothership has landed in Roswell, New Mexico, and that there’s far more deadly things aboard the ship than Low World soldiers.

A TTRPG battlemap showing a ship crowded with medical bays and equipment.

Every Life Worth Saving. An S.O.S. from the hospital ship Caladrius sees the characters descending to the surface of Kiron, a planet infested with a swarm of deadly psi-worms. It’s a mad dash to find survivors aboard the ship and escape before the worms overrun the ship!

A TTRPG battlemap showing a ship built in the style of a 1950s diner, complete with check-patterned floor and windowed atrium.

Heist at Squengis. To prove their worth to the Firm, the party must infiltrate a ship/diner named Squengi’s to raid its safe. Little do they know, other Contractors are hiding throughout the restaurant on the same job and willing to kill to secure the heist for themselves.

A TTRPG battlemap showing a prison ship.

The Deal. In a prison ship en route for the distant colony of Blackpost, the characters must break free of their cells, find weapons, and make a break for the escape pods! But beware, the Bronze Skeleton “Screw” stands between the party and freedom.

Each chapter of this campaign is a one-shot adventure built around a single battlemap by @czepeku.bsky.social. You can play as one large campaign, or play individual adventures as one-shots. Contractor Corps comes with 11 adventures! Here’s a rundown of some of our favorites.

A hard-bitten male bartended covered in cyborg augmentations holds a burning cigarette in the futuristic bar known as Yokai Flux. Art by Lucas Ferreira CM.

Escape a prison ship bound for the freezing edge of the ‘Verse, join the Firm and embark on criminal adventures in Contractor Corps, one of two hardcover campaigns in the Dark Matter Mega Box. In this criminal campaign, you play a crew of Contractors working for a crime syndicate known as the Firm.

Guardians of the Galaxy is a good touchstone for the 'Verse, yeah!

Update 8: Touring 50 CzePeku Battlemaps · Dark Matter Mega Box: Sci-Fi 5E If you’re not familiar with Czepeku, they make the highest-quality battlemaps in the world, bar none. In the Dark Matter Mega Box, Czepeku brings you a set of 50 – yes 50 – dry and wet-erasable sci-fi...

Check out the Kickstarter to see the full list of maps we're including and lock in your Dark Matter Mega Box: www.kickstarter.com/projects/mag...

A neon-soaked futuristic street viewed from the top down.

Many of the other maps in the collection fall into two camps: urban sci-fi streets, or the floorplans of compelling buildings. Explore a bounty hunter’s tavern, a digital holodeck, or a film set for the moon landing (yes really!)

Crystalline boulders dot a landscape of sand dunes, seen from the top down.

When your ship touches down on an alien world, pick a map and boom – instant adventure! But these aren’t “generic desert #6” and “rocky outcropping #11.” There’s a high-tech base built on that river, strange alien machinery within the crystals of the desert, or a crash site in the lake.

A battlemap showing a top-down view of a football-shaped spaceship dotted with green equipment.

Dark Matter’s in-depth ship combat system lets every player participate with unique roles and build a home base unique to every party. The ship battlemaps included in the collection give you compelling maps for a home base, a derelict ship dungeon crawl, or a hostile boarding action!

A top-down view of a scaffolded rooftop in a futuristic city. The name Czepeku is just visible in the background, identifying the artist.

@czepeku.bsky.social makes the highest-quality battlemaps in the world, bar none. The Dark Matter Mega Box includes a set of 50 dry- and wet-erasable sci-fi battlemaps by Czepeku, in print for the first time. Each is a beautiful and creative backdrop for whatever adventure you can imagine!

Dark Matter Mega Box: Sci-Fi 5E A 5th Edition campaign setting set in a universe inspired by Mass Effect, Dune, and Star Wars. With maps by Czepeku!

Bring it to your table when you back the Kickstarter here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/mag...

A big green suit of armor illustrates this web graphic for the stretch goal. The text reads "Stretch Goal Unlocked: $175K - Mega Spell: Hardlight Battleframe. Summon a Mecha Battleframe made out of hardlight to crush your enemies underfoot!

You've unlocked the $175K stretch goal on the Dark Matter Mega Box Kickstarter! This is a brand new Mega spell for ship combat that creates a giant mech suit made out of hardlight, using a scaling statblock similar to spells such as Conjure Dragon. It's an amazing way to spice up ship combat!

YouTube video by Zee Bashew Animated Spellbook: How to kill a Demilitch at level 5 D&D 5e

Got a pesky demilich to deal with? Get some help from our friend @zeebashew.bsky.social in the latest Animated Spellbook!

You'll never be disappointed by art from Tricksy Wizard - we certainly weren't!

Well hey there, pard'ner 🐎