Sneak Peek Part 2: Regions
5 months ago
– Tue, Apr 21, 2026 at 11:33:22 AM
Only 24 hours left on the Inkvein campaign! If you haven’t backed it yet, get over there. We’ve been waiting for you for over a month! In exchange, and perhaps to convince those scared to descend below… let’s examine the anatomy of a region of the Inkvein.
There are 10 regions in the Inkvein (originally 9, but backers made no.10 happen woohoo)! A couple of them have some differences but many follow this structure. Our example today is the first region of the Inkvein: the Old Mines. Note: This material isn’t fully edited yet.
To start, we get an overview page:
To start, we get an overview page:
You get a full page illustration, then the region map, some overview info, and - in this case - a supplementary rumour table.
Next up, we get the region encounter table:
This is where a lot of the magic happens. We get 6 encounter sequences, which offer evolving situations to give the subjects of encounters their own goals and agency outside of PC interaction. We have a saying (my editor, my playtesters, and I) that “the Inkvein never waits.”
Most folks in this dungeon have goals and agendas, and they do not sit still. These encounters can be linked to each other or into locations in a web of connectivity that makes the space feel alive and breathing.
And it’s not just monsters. There are all sorts of encounters to be found in the Inkvein. Plus, not every monster is going to try to gut you on sight.
Oh, and if you just want a standard encounter table that simply has a number of creatures in the entry, this is bolded in the first entry of each row so it doubles up as a traditional encounter table.
With that, we get to the keyed locations. Let’s take a look at a spread:
There’s a few things of note here so let’s dig in.
On every spread of keys, you get a mini-map. No flicking back to the map page (except in 1 region where trust me… it makes sense), the chunk of the map you need is always on the spread.
At the top of each key (except for dead-ends) are exit descriptions that give your players meaningful sensory information to make choices with. Whereas a map only gives you spatial information, Inkvein gives you texture, smell, sound, and taste. This is all part of the claustrophobia-themed experience.
The grey callout boxes are for some special features:
- Faction-event triggered evolutions. In some locations, if a faction event has occurred in the setting, the location evolves as a consequence. This means you don’t need to think so much about how faction actions change the setting. I’ve done a ton of that work for you.
- Return triggered evolutions. For other locations, simply returning after a reasonable period of time results in change. These are like ‘pre-planned’ restockings of locations, so you don’t need to do so much work!
- NPC events. There are some special NPCs in Inkvein who are making their own long journeys through the setting. In some locations, you can find them and trigger them to progress along their event track.
- Cause and effect. In some cases, specific player actions have repercussions that need highlighting, so they are given callouts too.
- Statblocks and magic items.
As you can see, the keying is structured to provide a dynamic environment beyond the immediate content of the location. Locations can change over time without PC involvement! But it’s made easy for you to follow and to run.
Thank you from the team for all your support so far! Our next preview will be an overview on mapping!
Thank you from the team for all your support so far! Our next preview will be an overview on mapping!
