The Neverling - a 5e & system agnostic Zine Quest adventure
Created by Darryl Jones
Will you brave the catacombs under the clockwork tower? 4 maps to explore, unique monsters, NPCs, magic items, & more, all hand-drawn.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Recapping The Neverling @ GenCon
3 months ago
– Fri, Aug 23, 2024 at 05:58:41 AM
At GenCon, We Play-Tested The Neverling!
During my last update, I shared that sessions of The Neverling were going to be played at GenCon. All of the sessions of sold out, and I was able to get some great feedback from the players.
How did the sessions go?
Over the course of Gen Con, I ran four different sessions of The Neverling. During each of those sessions, I actually ran 4 slightly different versions of the game. Here are some quotes from the players (they will be unnamed):
"Wait, how big did you say the spiders were?"
"Dead enemies tend to do less damage."
"The only way to kill that beholder-tree thing is clearly to burn the whole forest down!"
"How was I to know the (spoilers) were (spoilers). I didn't mean to drop the lid of the crypt on them!"
What I learned
I learned that there are several things that I'd like to edit and tweak. Also, each version of the game had its positives and negatives. I am in the process of editing all of it right now as we speak.
To wrap up, I just want to say that everything is going very well with developing The Neverling, and I can't wait to share it with you!
Thank you all,
Darryl T. Jones (aka Splattered Ink)
Bookmarks & Player Mats are Order and Play the Neverling at Gen Con!
5 months ago
– Tue, Jun 11, 2024 at 07:12:37 AM
Orders are Placed!
Bookmarks and Player Mats are order! Now we are waiting for manufacturing to begin. Once it's up and going, I should get some pictures that I will share with you. I definitely took your feedback into consideration when I made the play mat, and I think you are really going to like it. My goal was to make something that had a lot of visual appeal and usefulness. I didn't want to make something that had a visual appeal but no practical use, and I also didn't want to make something that looked ugly. I think the mat is going to be a great mix of the two!
The Neverling is Coming Along and You Can Played It at Gen Con
The work on The Neverling is humming along. In fact, in the next update, I should be able to share a preview of the book! It's progressing so smoothly that I even have sessions of The Neveling at Gen Con. At the time of writing this, there is only one slot left for The Neverling session! If you aren't able to sign up for that, then don't worry because we have plenty of sessions of Seeds of Decay available: Something Rotten in Oak Den, The Sting of Decay, and The Plaguewood Spider.
Something Rotten in Oak Den - A crack has formed in the darkness, leaking rot and decay. Strange and unnatural creatures have been seen in the shadows. The forest needs heroes! Find the cause of the spreading rot and stop it before it's too late! Seeds of Decay Session 1.
The Sting of Decay - Giant, rot-infected bees terrorize the forest. The honey is spoiled with rot poison, and the queen has been twisted into a terrible creature of decay, a bee-hemoth. Can the farm be saved? The party must act quickly to save the farm and stop the rot from spreading further. Seeds of Decay Session 2.
The Plaguewood Spider - Your party must track down a mysterious creature that has been terrorizing the farms of Lytewick. Your only clue is a young goat that has been turned to stone. Seeds of Decay Session 3.
The Neverling - A corrupted awakened tree has covered the town of Timberborn in nightmarish clockwork insects. The only way to stop it is a secret lost in catacombs under a clockwork tower.
Further, if you like playing games in peace and quiet, then we got more exciting news, GenCon has granted Splattered Ink Games 2 private rooms for our games, one table per. That means you won't have to strain to hear over 5 other games going on next to us.
March was crazy! It's hard to believe how much was packed into one month. After a short visit to see my grandmother (who raised me), I was of to GAMA in Louisville, then about a week at home then off to Gary Con. Following that we had Easter, which for our family, is also a big event. Last week was Spring Break for my kids and then the Eclipse this past Monday. Just a few miles from my home was the epicenter of eclipse activity, where totality had the longest duration. NASA, Good Morning America, and literally thousands of scientists were in the area, using SIU as the hub. Reports suggest 200,000 people visited our region. Thankfully we only had 16 at our house to watch it. :)
Needless to say, I'm looking forward to a few weeks of quiet and routine to focus on the projects that you amazing people have paved the way for me to do.
Progress is on Schedule
Before the end end of the month, I should have the writing polished and edited. Next month's update will include specific details and the first bit of content.
Surveys from Backerkit
As soon as the admins at Backerkit approve our pledge manager setup, I'll send your surveys. This will start with the Smoke Test.
Smoke Tests
A small percentage of backers will get their surveys first. The feedback from that test will tell me if there are any errors or issues that need to be addressed before sending surveys to everyone. Please note: only 10% of backers will get the smoke test, so don’t panic if you are in a later batch! The smoke test should go out within a few days and the rest in about a week. Keep an eye on your inbox!
When the surveys go out, I ask that you complete them as soon as possible so I have the most accurate numbers for production. I want to get 80% of the surveys filled before production starts.
Commonly Asked Questions on BackerKit Surveys
Can I upgrade my pledge through the survey?
Yes! When you get your survey hit the button below "Get Started". This will enable you to up your pledge tier in case you've decided you want a different deal!
My payment didn’t go through and I was dropped from the Kickstarter. What do I do?
Don’t panic! You should still receive the BackerKit survey and you’ll be able to pay for your pledge there.
I missed the campaign. When will preorders be open? They're now live!
Preorders are now live! If you had a friend or colleague who missed out share this link with them!
VTT tokens unlocked! More monsters! Final week!
9 months ago
– Sat, Mar 09, 2024 at 07:46:54 AM
Adventures,
Thank you, for your amazing support. Zine Quest has been a lot of fun! I look forward to producing more zines in the future.
VTT Tokens Unlocked
You unlocked a set of top-down VTT Tokens while I was at GAMA! Amazing! Thank you.
Last Stretch Goal - More Monsters!
That's right. You voted for more monsters in our pole, so that's what you get!
Playmat Sample
I was able to get a sample of the Ultimate 5e Playmat. Here's a photo from my hotel in GAMA. It's really gorgeous. The photo doesn't do it justice.
Add-on Highlight - Seeds of Decay
Seeds of Decay is a 440-page tome of adventure, lore, monsters, items, and more! It is co-published by Hit Point Press, one of the most respected companies in the RPG industry. The books are currently with the manufacturer and set for fulfillment in June.
You can see a preview copy below, in the wild, at Hit Point Press's booth.
For this Zine Quest campaign, physical copies of Seeds of Decay are limited to US-based backers only.
Digital PDFs of Seeds of Decay will be sent shortly after the campaign ends. The PDF will sell for $40 everywhere after the campaign and the big book will sell for $70. They are both discounted during this Kickstarter, as you can see below.
Let me know if you have any questions!
Your forever GM and adventure Imagineer!
Darryl T. Jones (aka Splattered Ink)
Week Two Begins - New Stretch Goals?
9 months ago
– Tue, Feb 27, 2024 at 08:23:38 AM
Hello Adventurers!
It's been an amazing first week. We've far and away smashed the original funding goal of $500. In fact, at the time of writing this, we just passed the 4k mark which is 8x more than the original goal! We've achieved our first three stretch goals:
Upgraded cover stock
New magical items from the Dungeon Scribe
The fire lizard encounter
We are now nipping at the heels of the 5k stretch goal which is a big one, VTT Top-Down Tokens for all of the monsters in The Neverling.
I think it's fair to say that this campaign has exceeded my expectations. Thank you, thank you! As such, it seems fitting that I turn to you, our biggest fans, for ideas for our next stretch goal!
Our main aim for the next stretch goal after hitting the 5k mark is to get more content in your hands. Not only that, but we also want you to choose what content you want in your hands. Click the link to vote for the next stretch goal. If you want more monsters, we got you. Do you have an itch for more NPCs, then we can scratch that. Are gathering magical items your aim in life, well let us help you hit that target! We are excited to see where the campaign is going to go and can't wait to hear from you guys!
