Cleanse the Corruption, Protect the Haven
In a world consumed by corruption, Nevervale remains the last hope. Cleanse the darkness, fight twisted creatures, and protect the haven in this cooperative tabletop game for 1-4 players.
Discover the lore behind a world torn apart by catastrophe and slowly healing
Long ago, people had built great cities with towering walls that reached toward the heavens. These mighty settlements stretched across the lands, powered by ancient magic and old knowledge. But in their desire for more power, they destroyed the natural world, replacing green forests and peaceful meadows with cold stone and magical constructs.
The disaster began with what scholars called the "Unity Ritual" - powerful mages and alchemists wanted to create perfect beings by binding immortal essence into human flesh. They promised this great working would end death and suffering forever. But when they performed their grand ritual across all the kingdoms at once, something terrible went wrong.
Instead of creating paradise, the ritual tore nature itself apart. Dark magic poured out from deep places, twisting animals and plants into monsters, and poisoning the very air with corruption. Within days, the proud cities fell as their enchantments failed. Countless people died, and the few survivors watched their world transform into a place of darkness and fear.
For a full century, the world stayed broken and dangerous. The few people who survived lived in underground shelters or hidden villages far from the ruins of their once-great cities. Fear kept them close to these safe places, as few dared to travel far into the cursed lands beyond.
During these long years, nature slowly began to return - but it wasn't the same as before. The dark magic from the disaster had changed everything. Dangerous creatures now roamed where peaceful animals once lived - slimes that dripped with corruption, walking skeletons driven by dark purpose, and goblins born from shadow and malice.
But hope survived, as it always does. In some blessed valleys, protected by tall mountains and flowing rivers, the land stayed pure and untouched by the curse. The surviving people called these safe places "Nevervales" - valleys that never fell to the corruption. Only in these beautiful places could anyone still see the world as it was meant to be.
Now, a hundred years after the Great Collapse, the dark magic is finally starting to fade. The poisonous mists that once covered the land have lifted, and brave people are beginning to leave their hiding places to explore the world again. You are among these bold pioneers, making your home in a newly discovered Nevervale - a beautiful valley of green meadows and clear streams, surrounded by lands that are slowly healing but still hold many dangers.
Your mission is not just to survive, but to help heal the broken world. Old stories speak of special crystals called "Harmony Stones" - pure gems blessed by nature itself that can cleanse corrupted land and drive away the monsters. If you can find and awaken these stones, the clean lands will slowly grow larger, encouraging other survivors to leave their refuges and help rebuild civilization once more.
Deep beneath the Thornspire Mountains, in a cavern system known as the Deephold, a small community had survived the century of darkness. When the Great Collapse shattered the world above, their ancestors fled into these natural caves. But a great earthquake—triggered by the final violent echoes of that catastrophe—sealed the tunnels leading to the surface, trapping them in complete isolation.
For five generations, the Deephold people lived by the light of phosphorescent fungi and the warmth of underground hot springs. The elders told stories of the world above, but to those born in the depths, these tales seemed like distant myths. The surface world was a place of legend—of something called "sky" and "wind" and "growing things that reached toward light."
Year by year, the Deephold grew quieter. The underground streams that fed the community began to run thinner. The fish in the dark pools became scarce. Most troubling of all, fewer children were born, and those who were often didn't survive their first winter. The elders spoke grimly of "the slow fade"—how even the purest refuges would eventually fail when cut off from the natural world above.
By the final years, only a handful of survivors remained. The youngest among them—a resourceful miner named Kael—stood watch as the last elders passed one by one.
When the final elder, Grandmother Vera, lay dying, she pressed something cold and smooth into Kael's palm—a fragment of green crystal that pulsed with inner light. "Behind the shrine stone," she whispered with her final breath, "the old maps... follow the crystal's call. There must be... others..."
After her burial, Kael found what she spoke of—crude drawings on bark and leather showing tunnel routes marked with symbols he didn't understand. But the crystal fragment grew warm when held near one particular passage, a tunnel that had been sealed with heavy stones since before his birth.
It took weeks to move the collapsed rocks and squeeze through passages so narrow he had to crawl on his belly. His phosphorescent torch died in the depths, leaving only the crystal's faint glow to guide him. Exhausted and nearly broken, he pressed forward through absolute darkness, driven by nothing but desperate hope.
When he finally broke through into daylight, the brightness struck him like a physical blow. The sensation of wind on his skin, the vast openness of sky, the impossible sounds of birds and flowing water—every sense screamed at once. He collapsed to his knees, overwhelmed by a world he had never truly believed existed.
Through watering eyes, he saw it in the distance—a valley of green meadows dotted with wooden buildings. Smoke rose from chimneys. People moved between gardens and workshops. People. Not just surviving, but living.
As he stumbled down into the valley, the first person to spot him—a ranger returning from patrol—shouted in amazement: "Sweet earth, another refugee! Where did you come from, friend?" Soon curious faces surrounded him, offering water and food, marveling at his pale skin and wide, overwhelmed eyes.
When Kael managed to tell them about the Deephold, an old sage stepped forward with recognition dawning on his weathered face. "The sealed caves beneath Thornspire... we always wondered if anyone survived the Great Sealing. You're truly alone up there now, aren't you?"
When Kael nodded, unable to speak, the sage placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry for your loss, child. But welcome—welcome to Nevervale, the Last Haven. We've been here twenty years now, slowly making the valley safe again. There's healing work to be done, and we could use every willing hand."
It was then that the crystal fragment in Kael's pocket began to pulse more brightly. The sage's eyes widened as he saw the light through his clothes. "By the ancient powers... is that what I think it is?"
When Kael pulled out Grandmother Vera's gift, several people gasped. "A Harmony Stone fragment," a woman breathed. "We've been searching for intact stones for years. They're the key to cleansing the corrupted lands, driving back the darkness. Where did you find this?"
Word spread quickly through the settlement. By nightfall, three others had stepped forward to join Kael's cause: the ranger who first spotted him, a battle-hardened warrior seeking redemption, and the old sage himself—determined to see the world healed before his final days.
Standing together in the Last Haven with wind in their hair and solid earth beneath their feet, they finally understood. The Deephold people hadn't died for nothing. Their sanctuary had preserved not just Kael's life, but this fragment of ancient power.
These four heroes weren't just survivors.
They were the final gift the old world could give to the new—and the last hope for driving back the corruption forever.
Follow along on the journey from concept to tabletop
December 19, 2025
Exploration in Nevervale is a gamble. Every time.
You're standing at the edge of the known map. Beyond is... nothing. Just the unexplored darkness. You spend your action point, draw a tile from the Explore Deck, and place it.
What you get is random. Could be a Pure forest - safe, resources, maybe a discovery. Could be a Corrupted wasteland crawling with monsters. You won't know until you flip it.
December 16, 2025
Step onto a corrupted tile. Draw from the Threat Deck.
That's the moment when you never know what's waiting.
Early game, you'll face Slimes - weak individually, but they split when wounded. Hit one for 2 damage and roll a 5 or 6? Now there's two of them. Goblin Patrols are smarter - they gang up, getting +1 attack when fighting together. Corrupted Wolves are worse. Fast, so their first attack can't be blocked. And they leave wounds that reduce your maximum HP until you return to the settlement.
December 12, 2025
Between the monster fights and cleansing rituals, there's something quieter happening in Nevervale. You're building a home.
Every quest rewards resources - Wood, Stone, Herbs, Relics. And when you return to Nevervale, you spend them. A Healer's Hut means your heroes heal to half HP for free. A Workshop lets you buy equipment at a discount. A Training Ground gives everyone +1 to combat rolls.
Here's the thing about Nevervale as a settlement: it's permanently safe. The center tile and the six tiles around it can never be corrupted. That's your anchor. No matter how badly a quest goes, no matter how much corruption spreads across the map, you always have somewhere to come back to.