The Dark Below — Episode 1

The deeper you travel, the less the surface matters.

Far beneath the roads, forests, and cities above, ancient powers have carved kingdoms into the stone. Dark Elves rule from hidden halls, Duergar merchants navigate dangerous trade routes, and Myconid colonies spread silently through forgotten caverns.

But something else lurks in the darkness. Something that even the underground kingdoms have learned to fear.

Welcome to The Dark Below.

Originally released as part of our Monthly Mini Subscription, The Dark Below — Episode 1 returns as a Legacy Print-on-Demand miniature pack, bringing 14 unique fantasy characters and creatures, plus encounter terrain, to your tabletop.

Whether you're building an underground campaign, preparing a dangerous dungeon crawl, or just need more terrifying things to throw at your players, this collection brings an entire subterranean world to life.

What's Inside

Dark Elf Forces — The Nobility of the Deep

An underground empire built on ambition, deception, and a healthy disregard for the lives of surface dwellers.

• Veilfire Archmage – A powerful wielder of arcane magic whose influence reaches far beyond the battlefield.
• Gloamknife Assassin – A silent killer who prefers her enemies never see her coming.
• Cinderweaver Mage – A dangerous spellcaster bringing magical destruction to the darkness.
• Blacksteel Heavyblade – An imposing warrior built to hold the line and break anything foolish enough to challenge it.
• Webcourt Inquisitor – An intimidating agent of dark-elven authority, equally suited to interrogation or execution.
• Noble Scion – An ambitious aristocrat with the influence to command others and the arrogance to believe they should.
• Veiled Priestess – A mysterious religious figure whose devotion may be more dangerous than her magic.
• Gloom Spellblade – A deadly combination of martial precision and arcane power.
• Twinblade Duelist – A swift, elegant warrior who believes one blade simply isn't enough.

Duergar — Merchants and Guardians of the Deep

Not everyone beneath the surface is interested in conquering the world. Some are just trying to make a living. Others are making sure those merchants survive long enough to collect payment.

• Irondeep Merchant – A hardened underground trader, perfect for introducing questionable deals, valuable information, or unexpected allies.
• Deepforge Hammerguard – A heavily armed defender ready to protect a caravan, fortress, or particularly valuable shipment.

Myconids — The Living Fungal Kingdom

In caverns where sunlight has never reached, something strange has taken root.

• Sporeguard – A fungal guardian protecting the mysterious colonies scattered throughout the depths.
• Myconid Sovereign – A towering fungal ruler, equally suited to an ancient guardian, mysterious ally, or terrifying encounter centerpiece.

Psionic Horrors

• Voidmind Warcaster – A mysterious psychic spellcaster hinting at darker intelligences lurking even farther beneath the surface.

Encounter Terrain — The Web Shrine

A web-covered shrine marks the boundary of dark-elven territory.

Use it as a ritual site, ancient altar, ambush location, forbidden monument, or a particularly unsubtle warning that the party has wandered somewhere they absolutely shouldn't be.

You have gone too deep.

DM Tips — Adventures Beneath the Surface

The Dark Below gives Dungeon Masters more than a collection of underground monsters. It gives you the beginnings of an entire subterranean civilization.

The Noble Houses: Build rival dark-elven factions competing for influence, territory, and magical power. Your players can fight them, negotiate with them, or get dragged into political schemes they barely understand.

The Underground Trade Route: An Irondeep Merchant hires the party to escort a shipment through hostile territory. Unfortunately, nobody mentioned what was actually inside the crates.

The Fungal Kingdom: A Myconid colony has begun spreading into abandoned tunnels. Are they peaceful inhabitants protecting their home, or has something corrupted their Sovereign?

The Shrine of Webs: A forbidden ritual is underway deep within dark-elven territory. The party must infiltrate the shrine before the ceremony is completed.

The Whispering Depths: Strange psychic disturbances are spreading through the caverns. The Voidmind Warcaster may be responsible, or perhaps they're simply the first warning of something far worse.

Dungeon Master's Note

Not every underground encounter needs to end in combat.

Sometimes the strange mushroom creature is friendly. Sometimes the heavily armed Duergar is just trying to sell you something.

And sometimes the charming dark-elven noble offering to help the party is absolutely, positively going to betray them.

That's what Insight checks are for.

Charm & Ember Legacy Series

This pack is part of the Charm & Ember Legacy Collection, a Print-on-Demand series bringing our previously released monthly miniature themes back to the tabletop.

Every miniature is made to order in-house using premium resin, then cleaned, cured, and inspected by our hardworking production goblins.

Miniatures arrive unpainted and ready for your next painting adventure or tabletop encounter.

Estimated Production Time: 5–10 business days before shipping.

Unlike our regularly scheduled subscription shipments, Legacy Packs are freshly printed when ordered. That means a little extra production time, but the same Charm & Ember quality and attention to detail.

Continue the Descent — The Dark Below: Episode 2

The greatest danger in the darkness is the thought that isn't yours.

Episode 1 introduces the kingdoms, factions, and creatures living beneath the surface.

But the deeper you travel, the stranger things become.

In The Dark Below — Episode 2: The Illithid Dominion, the adventure descends into the domain of the Mind Flayers, where psychic horrors, ancient intelligences, and terrifying experiments threaten everything above.

Expand your underground encounters with additional dark-elven champions, Duergar, Myconids, and powerful psionic enemies.

Episode 2 is featured in our November 2026 Monthly Mini Subscription.

Together, these two collections give Dungeon Masters an expansive cast of characters, monsters, and terrain for their own adventures beneath the surface.

Subscription Adventurers

Enjoy building encounters with themed miniature collections?

Join the Charm & Ember Monthly Mini Subscription and receive a brand-new collection of 15 physical fantasy miniatures every month.

New monsters. New characters. New encounters.

All without needing your own 3D printer, because the production goblins have already handled that part.

Your next adventure is only a subscription away.