Nevermore Roleplaying Game

Nevermore - July 2024
over 1 year ago – Tue, Jul 16, 2024 at 02:39:13 PM

Layout has begun! I'm pleased and excited to report that the  writing for the Nevermore core rulebook is officially complete, and I've started the layout process. How long will it take? Hard to say since I've never done the layout for a book this big. I feel comfortable saying that PDFs should be available by October and likely before. Once the layout process is completed, the book still needs to be proofread so that will take some time as well. I'll make another update in mid-August, and by that time, I should have a better idea of when I'll be done. 

I'll be sharing PDFs of chapters as they are completed on my Patreon and if you want more updates you can follow the Nepenthe Games Facebook or Instagram. There's also the Nepenthe Games Discord, where you can get involved and ask questions directly. And don't forget to tell your friends that they can still pre-order Nevermore on Backerkit at the Kickstarter pricing. As soon as the book goes to print, the price will be increasing. 

We're in the home stretch. Thanks again for your support!

  

Nevermore - June 2024 Update
almost 2 years ago – Thu, Jun 27, 2024 at 11:19:07 AM

Greeting Folks, 

I just got back from a week vacation at a LARP (Starfall Academy) and then Origins. I was hoping to put out an update before leaving until things got a little too hectic, but I'm here now. I also wanted to wait until I could officially say this to give an update - the writing for the final chapter of Nevermore is COMPLETE! 

I'm going to be reviewing Chapter 10 through the weekend and then send it off for editing. Next week, I will be starting the layout, a daunting process, to be sure, but I'll update you as I go along. I haven't wanted to overwhelm folks with too many updates, but from this point forward, you can expect an update on or around the 15th of every month, and if I have something important to announce, sooner. 

I know it's longer than I anticipated, but we're truly in the final stretch, and I think the additional playtesting really helped to improve the game. 

I post updates more often on the Nepenthe Games Facebook page so make sure to join if you want more details. (We're also on Twitter - for now - and Instagram.  And of course, Patreon members get to see everything as it comes long, including final and edited drafts. As soon as the final chapter is edited, Patreon members will be able to see the raw text of the book. 

Now back to work making games!

Nevermore - March 2024 Update
about 2 years ago – Mon, Mar 04, 2024 at 01:41:45 PM

Hey Folks!

I'm back with another update. I wish I could say that the book was done, but I'm not there yet. It is coming along, though. Two more chapters are going off to editing next week, and I hope to have one more for them as soon by the time those are edited. That leaves just the final two chapters, both of which are now written and just need final development and then editing. I'm not going to put a date on completion at this point because every time I do, something comes up that causes delays. Let me just say that I'm doing everything I can to get this thing to you all. 

I'm truly humbled by a lot of the messages of support I've received. I know this thing is taking longer than anticipated. The reality is that Nepenthe is all me at this time. I hire freelancers for art and editing, and I have a lot of support from friends and my wife, but for the most part, it's just me. That means anything that affects me causes a delay. The good news is, that, like I said previously, we're getting close to the end. I see the light at the end of the tunnel and I'm pretty sure its not a train. At least, I hope not!

On the upside, both the Fortune/Doom tokens and the Nevermore playing cards have already been purchased and are sitting here in my office. And I have dozens of pieces of gorgeous art ready for layout. It's just that pesky writing and development...

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me. My apologies for not answering messages. I don't know why but messages were not showing up for me from about November on. Someone told me that they sent me a message and when I saw that nothing was showing I contacted Kickstarter. Two days later, a bunch of messages showed up. I'll keep an eye on that in the future.

Also, a reminder, that is you want a more behind the scenes look at Nevermore, you can always join my Patreon. Members get to see every chapter as they are completed (rough drafts and edited drafts) as well as all of the art, etc. Every penny from the Patreon goes right back into making the game better (more art, printing, etc.). 
https://www.patreon.com/ianlemke

Thank you again for all of your support!

Ian Lemke
Nepenthe Games





 

Nevermore - November Update
over 2 years ago – Fri, Nov 03, 2023 at 01:06:03 PM

Hey Folks!

Spooky season is past us, but I hope you all had a happy Hallowe'en. I'm running a little late on this update, but I wanted to make sure a few things were in place first. So, where do things stand?

Playtesting is essentially done. In addition to all of the previous playtesting, I just wrapped up a short campaign (a series of about six adventures) that I was super happy with. I guess they had a good time because some of the players are insisting that I publish some of the adventures. We'll see. 

The big news is that chapters 1 through 5 have been sent off to the editor. That leaves five chapters to complete, but as I said in my previous update, most of the actual writing is done. It's mostly a matter of cleaning things up and doing all of the development work. I'll be posting all of the edited chapters over on my Patreon as soon as they are done. Although nothing ever goes as fast as I'd like, I still expect I can get the PDF out to you all in Q1 2024. 

The Fortune/ Doom tokens are in, and they look awesome. The playing cards have been ordered, but they won't be in until the end of December or the beginning of January. That's about all I have for you now. Expect to hear from me again around the beginning of December, and hopefully, I'll have some more clarity.

Nevermore - August Update
over 2 years ago – Wed, Aug 02, 2023 at 01:29:39 PM

Greetings Friends,

I wish I could tell you that Nevermore was complete and that we are shipping. Sadly, that is not the case. What I can say is that we are fast closing in on completion. I could offer a bunch of reasons and excuses, but suffice it to say that life and work have not gone exactly as planned and things are not as far along as I had hoped. To be fair to all of you and myself, I'm setting a revised release date of January for the physical book, with PDFs coming in December.  I'm very sorry for the delay, but Nevermore is pretty much a one-person project (me).  I'm going to do my best to get books in your hands as soon as possible while also maintaining my commitment to creating a quality book. 

That said, I'm doing my best to get things back on track. The good news is that the extra time has allowed me to do more playtesting which will make for a much better game in the end. It's hard to count, but I can safely say that I have done over 100 hours of playtesting since the Kickstarter and a few other groups have also been running regular playtests as well. I'm really happy with how things are looking, and in the end, I believe the extra time will be worth it. 

So, where do we stand? The rules chapters for the book are 90% complete. Playtesting has led to some significant changes and finishing those revisions is about all that remains. The setting and narrating advice is about 75%. A few chapters have already gone through a first editing pass, and more will follow shortly.  The art is looking solid. In fact, think it looks amazing. There are a few final pieces in the works, but those should be coming in this month. 

I wish I had better news, but I'm excited about the final product, and I think you will be too. Thank you for your understanding. You can expect the next update when the book heads into layout (hopefully by October). At that time, I should be able to offer a solid final date. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.

Ian Lemke

Nepenthe Games