Want just the core rulebook? Back at the PDF or Book tier!
Looking to bring the full ink experience to your table? Back at the Deluxe Boorista Box tier!

The hauntingly illustrated ink core rulebook includes:

The limited run Deluxe Boorista Box set includes:

*Please note that we are not liable for any supernatural powers that you may gain from ingesting these caffeinated Elixirs.

ink uses a brand new D6-based system that was designed from the ground up to be full of unique but accessible rules. Our design goal was to create a game with deep variability and strategy that is simple to learn and fast to play.

Players roll a set of D6 dice for both skills and combat. The custom glass dice available in the Deluxe Boorista Box make it easy to differentiate rolls based on the design of the dice, but the game can be played with any ordinary set of D6s.

 

Players level differently in ink than in traditional games. For the history of tabletop roleplaying games, GMs have feared (some more than others) accidentally killing their entire party of players. But in ink, that’s encouraged…

This unique reframing allows players to try creative builds, encourages GMs to send their most horrific creatures into battle, and brings a whole new meaning to the afterlife.

Each time players are defeated, they gain new abilities, Powers, memories, and more as they sail once again across the dark seas of the Ink. With a little luck, they may even be able to recover lost equipment from the forsaken shore where they last fell... before some other creature does.

Every character has both a Spirit and a Shadow. Shadows come in a variety of forms and grow in strength as the game progresses.

Want to cast a Shadow that incinerates your foes? How about one that freezes them instead? Shadow Powers act as an “ad hoc class system” that allows players to customize their characters as they play instead of getting locked into a single path at the start of the game.

These Powers have a variety of traits that cause enemies to take on different status effects such as Burn, Chill, Poison, Terror, and Frailty.

But watch out! Other creatures in the Ink can hit you with status effects as well. Tokens and tracker cards included in the Boorista Box Set make it easy to track the Stamina and Status Effects of both characters and enemies. Print and play versions of the cards and tokens will be available to all PDF and Book tier backers.

Spirits handle skill checks with fast and simple D6 rolls based on proficiency. Shadows use a collection of D6 rolls to determine the success of their attacks and Powers. In both cases, players must also roll their Karma die to either aid or hinder their efforts. Good Karma makes rolls easier, bad Karma makes them harder. A player’s Karma changes throughout the game based on their roleplaying actions.

There is no “initiative” in ink. Players select their actions simultaneously with the GM. This allows for more rapid combat that better mimics the frenzy of Shadows battling creatures in the Ink.

The Deluxe Boorista Box comes with action cards that speed up action selection during combat. Print and play versions of the cards will also be available to all PDF and Book tier backers.

Campaign Generation

Don’t have time to prep for game night? No worries. ink includes a rapid generation system for new Journeys. Roll up a series of Keys, Fiends, Elixirs, and more to quickly put together an epic adventure.

Players will need more than just combat prowess to defeat Greater Fiends. Each Greater Fiend included in the book has unique powers and defenses that take advantage of their surroundings. Your players will need to think creatively in order to defeat them. Don’t be surprised if it takes a few TPKs to figure out their weaknesses.

Some of the greatest dangers in the Ink lurk just beneath the surface of its dark waters. Spirits will need a ship to travel from island to island across these toxic seas. Ink includes rules for ship creation, sailing, navigation upgrades, weapon and defense upgrades, sea combat, and more.

Better keep your dice protected in something that will float, like the lighthouse dice chest that comes with the Deluxe Boorista Box. This dice chest features the Lighthouse at the heart of the Ink and is crafted out of real oak wood by our partners at Elderwood Academy.

They fall into the Ink, of course, and that’s where the adventure really begins.

Bring back the Spirit of a character who died in a prior campaign, revisit a much loved but long departed NPC from games long past, or create a newly departed spirit just for this game. Journey with them as you battle epic creatures and Fiends and help them come to terms with their prior lives among the living. Don’t linger in purgatory too long or your Spirit will become a part of the inky ocean below.

Your Spirit seeks to escape from purgatory but your Shadow may have other ideas. These dark and intangible companions are made up of unbridled emotion. During combat, Shadows take over completely, making for rapid combat sessions full of exciting supernatural powers that have been gained through magical Elixirs found along your journey. 

Bring your Spirit and Shadow into harmony, work together, and you might just find a way to move Beyond the Ink.

The Ink is a dangerous place. This shifting and ethereal world sits atop a sea of seemingly endless toxic black waters. It is said that those waters fill up a great bowl that hangs above the deeper, hotter realms of the afterlife.

The dark, unchanging sky overhead reaches up high enough to touch the Firmament—a great clockwork sky fortress protected by the Astral Keepers. The Firmament blots out all light from the heavens and the living world above. This ancient fortress keeps the lost spirits of the Ink from ever rising up to the gentler realms.

For spirits here, the Ink is all that exists. They must escape this place before they too become part of the dark waters.

The seas of the Ink are dotted with small islands called Keys. While danger lurks on many island shores, Keys are also home to Elixir Shops. These restful cafés are staffed by Booristas, spirits that are so skilled that they can brew the waters of the Ink into powerful Elixirs that grant Spirits and Shadows new supernatural powers.

Spirits are made up of the personality and memories of those who have left the world of the living behind. Spirits may have died any time past, present, or future. Their names may come from all cultures known and unknown. Death holds no prejudice and the Ink counts spirits from all corners of existence among its trapped denizens.

 

Shadows are companions of Spirits and represent their unbridled emotions. Shadows have shifting and eerie forms that can utilize supernatural powers to launch powerful attacks. They defend their companion Spirit at all costs.

Booristas are a special kind of lost Spirit that has found a way to survive in the Ink by running a café. Booristas use special techniques to filter the toxic waters of the Ink into potent and strongly caffeinated elixirs. These elixirs imbue Spirits with mighty (but temporary) supernatural powers. Booristas rarely have their own Shadows.

Creatures of all types lurk along strange coasts and below the dark waters of the Ink. Some are Spirits and Shadows too far gone to seek escape from the Ink while others are creatures born of the darkness. Be particularly mindful of the ones with fewer or more than two eyes.

Fiends are powerful forces that feed on the souls of spirits in the Ink. They linger near Passage Beacons, the subtle tears in the fabric of the Ink that some say lead to the Beyond. Defeating a Fiend is never a straightforward task.

Want to share some elixirs at your table? Our otherworldly partner, Many Worlds Tavern, is hard at work roasting up some special blends of “ink” just for you. The Deluxe Boorista Box set will include two custom roasted blends, one as dark as the Ink and the other a spirited light roast. Our living (and not so living) taste testers can confirm that these brews will stir even the most frigid of lost souls.

We are proud to be exclusively partnering with these ghostly (and sustainability-minded) coffee roasters. We joined forces with Many Worlds Tavern on this project because of their commitment to making the world a better place, including their commitments to donating to charities and advocating for safe spaces in gaming.

We are proud to be partnering with Games for Change to support the G4C Student Challenge program! A percentage of all sales of ink will go directly to supporting this amazing program.

The Games for Change Student Challenge is a national game design program and competition that invites students to create digital games about issues impacting their communities. Now in its 8th year, the Student Challenge reaches thousands of middle and high school students across the country through hands-on virtual game design courses, game jams, and a national game design competition. This important program brings computer science education and a focus on civic and environmental issues to youth globally.

Snowbright has supported the G4C Student Challenge for several years by serving as an industry mentor to several Title I US schools benefiting from the program. With ink, we are excited to provide direct support to the program so that it can continue to expand and inspire youth.

 

As a company, Snowbright is committed to being a leader on ecological issues in tabletop games. When you back a Snowbright game, you can be certain that we have tried to design, source, and manufacture that game as green and as ethically as we can while also still maintaining the high quality that you expect of our games. This raises the cost of manufacturing on some of our components, but it's an important step for the game industry to take toward reducing our impact on the environment.

All of the printed components of ink, including the book, box, cards, tokens, and stickers, will be printed using FSC-certified materials. FSC certification ensures that products come from responsibly maintained forests that provide environmental, social and economic benefits.

Ink includes no plastic components in its box set or at any other tier and, as a company, we strive to use as little plastic as possible throughout our operations.

We have chosen to include a high end glass dice set for ink in part because glass manufacturing can be more environmentally friendly than manufacturing more common acrylic and resin dice. Glass dice can also be recycled while traditional plastic dice cannot.

We are working with Many Worlds Tavern to ensure that the coffee provided through this game is ethically sourced and that it comes in appropriate, compostable packaging.

Beyond ink, Snowbright actively works with climate scientists, educators, and nonprofits to promote climate change education. We actively donate to climate change research organizations and are advocates for a greener, more sustainable future. 

Snowbright Studio is your friendly local LGBTQ+ game studio focused on making heartwarming, eco-friendly, family-friendly games and adventures for 11 months out of the year. (We get a little spookier in October.) We love our studio pets, hot mugs of tea and coffee, and debating horror movies. Go team vampire! (Note from team werewolf: please ignore the previous sentence. The vampire people don't know what they're talking about.)

Done being spooky for a bit? Visit our website to check out some of our other games, including our cozy tabletop RPG Teatime Adventures and our birdwatching card game Birds of a Feather! Don't forget to follow us on socials to get an inside look at the art behind ink and other amazing Snowbright projects!

Due to the continued uncertainty and shifting prices of global shipping, shipping costs will be calculated and charged after the BackerKit campaign is over via the Pledge Manager, NOT during the campaign itself. The chart below is an estimation of shipping costs that will be charged for each pledge level. These estimates do not include any additional copies or add-ons and are subject to change.