2015 was in a lot of ways a year of changes, although Onyx Path Publishing itself became more stable and efficient. Not that that internal tune-up was obvious as projects slid last year, but I think it will make a big difference this coming year now that we have a very different licensing situation.
One of the behind the scenes situations that slowed our progress was that we really spent the year waiting for news of whether the White Wolf properties had been sold; not a total cessation of activity, but a sort of decision making paralysis limbo where we needed and wanted to press forward with our WW licenses, but couldn’t do too much out of concern of being caught short if the new owners decided to pull them from us.
I’ve seen too many companies crash because they had overextended on their licensed projects, and had no intention of Onyx Path getting caught like that.
Instead we focused on hitting these specific project-based milestones through the year:
- starting the 5th of the classic WoD projects, Changeling 20th‘s, Kickstarter; getting V20 Dark Ages’s and Mage 20th’s backer PDFs and PoDs delivered; as well as other cWoD projects to continue to restore life to cWoD.
- the (nWoD) 2nd Editions that we were only just given the OK to do from CCP; running the Beast: the Primordial Kickstarter for the new (nWoD) game line; also running the Dark Eras KS that slipped into 2015 from 2014 and which was one of the reasons we prioritized KSing Beast in 2015; and the end of the year switch to Chronicles of Darkness as a brand covering all the previously nWoD game lines, which took a lot of logistical bandwidth but truly has set those lines up as their own unique setting moving forward just as we had wanted to retool and revitalize them with the 2nd Editions.
- delivering the Backer PDF of Exalted 3rd so we could move into discussing the project based on the material (and tweak and fix it before final release) for its new edition.
- start building an audience for Pugmire, our first creator partnered project.
- have a fantastic GenCon and use our presence there as a platform to talk to gamers we don’t ordinarily get a chance to, and to check out other conventions and see which might be good for Onyx to attend.
- continue to add designs to and build knowledge of our RedBubble t-shirt store, as the last addition to our license we got before CCP was caught up in whatever went on with the WW sale.
Because we pretty much hit these milestones, we can now follow through into 2016 with more projects for our WW game lines, including those that weren’t prioritized.
At the same time, even with our milestone focus, we did have an aggressive schedule to keep up with, and that limited the attention we could devote to pushing our Onyx and creator owned projects last year. We moved them forward, but I really wanted Scion or the Trinity Continuum or Scarred Lands or Cavaliers of Mars to hit in 2015, and that didn’t happen. But things look pretty good for them in 2016 (just check out the Scarred Lands Kickstarter starting tomorrow and the Pugmire KS coming at the end of January).
According to Impish Ian Watson, who loves to compile these sorts of numbers, we released 421 projects in 2015.
Now, 399 of them were t-shirts, posters, and wallpapers. But even 22 new book projects are almost two a month. Plus we also brought 10 classic books into PoD form over on DTRPG and added 7 old White Wolf Magazine issues to PDF form there as well.
We started the year in Kickstarters with the finish of the Wraith 20 KS, and rolled right into Dark Eras, followed by KSs for V20 Lore of the Clans, Beast: the Primordial, and W20 Shattered Dreams. And we end the year with the start of the Changeling 20th KS, which wraps up a week from now. While Wraith 20 is running later than we wanted, and Dark Eras had so much added to it with the Stretch Goals that we are naturally off-target for our delivery, the next three are looking good with some early and on-time Backer PDF delivery and are back rolling along after working out our new approval process with the new White Wolf Publishing.
And we did much in terms of laying the groundwork for further cool projects and sales venues last year. The Deluxe C20 Dice Set pictured above, has just been offered on the Deluxe C20 KS, and is the first time we have been able to offer dice. It will not be the last.
While next week will be more of a look forward into 2016, this week our Onyx Path crew are looking into the year and making bold resolutions that they will fulfill or die trying!
- Mirthful Mike Chaney, our art director, happily grumbles that he’ll “Cut back on caffeine. I’m about 90% positive my blood can be used as a stimulant right now… so time to cut it back to normal levels and get back to drinking water again. Dig back into iBooks Author and work towards creating some really cool interactive digital titles. Expand our artist list. Play more games.”
- Lovely Lisa Thomas, our office manager, efficiently notes that she’ll “Clean out her emails and take on more office processes like contracts.”
- Impish Ian Watson, our webmaster and Trinity Continuum major domo, politely mentions that “I’m going to resolve to try to RP more this year, because I don’t want to lose sight of what makes this fun.”
- Marvelous Matt McElroy, our DTRPG representative and Fiction Coordinator, intends to “Play more games with and get to know more Onyx Path fans and freelancers. Do more with Onyx Path’s fiction titles and get more great stories out.”
- Rollickin’ Rose Bailey, our CofD producer, also says she’ll “Run more games I’m not professionally involved with.”
- Mighty Monica Valentinelli, our marketing consultant and Hunter: the Vigil 2nd developer, shouts out that she’ll “Generate fan enthusiasm!”
- Fast Eddy Webb, V20 developer and Lord of Pugmire, barks this at us “Strike a better balance between projects where I work in other people’s sandboxes (like V20) and projects where I have creative control (like Pugmire).”
- And as for me, I am the Mole Man. No wait, that’s an old Fantastic Four line. As for me, “I’m going to get back to a work and exercise routine that also allows some time for family and fun. Be that games or just watching a movie without checking messages on my iPad. While doing that, I’m looking to break some new ground with Onyx Path this coming year!”
BLURBS!
With 12ish hours to go, check out the Mage: the Ascension 2nd Edition Bundle of Holding! This is your last chance to get classic 2nd Edition Mage PDFs at this discount and with a percentage of sales going to charity! https://bundleofholding.com/presents/With MageAscension
KICKSTARTER!
The Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition Kickstarter IS DOWN TO ITS LAST WEEK! As pointed out above, we now are offering C20 Deluxe Dice Sets as Add-ons because the Dice Stretch Goal was passed! We’ve also added sections on How To Create Your Own Kith, two more bookmarks, and Kith from two international CtD books to the Main book! We’ve unlocked a new Reward Tier that will offer signed prints by Tony DiTerlizzi and a special Sound Board of C20 sounds and music! A C20 fiction anthology, and a How To Manage Your Freehold PDF, and more – we’re just getting started! Next up: Kithbook Boggan!
And here is an interview C20 developer Black Hat Matt McFarland and I did for FlamesRising: http://www.flamesrising.com/talking-c20-with-onyx-path/
In the heady days of the D20 explosion, White Wolf created our own fantasy setting featuring a world devastated by the brutal war between gods and ancient titans. Starting Tuesday the 5th, the Scarred Lands return as the Kickstarter for the new edition of Scarred Lands Players Guide goes live! Hosted on KS by our partner, Nocturnal Media, this Kickstarter is not only for a new edition but for a print run to get those new books into stores!
ON SALE!
The Demon Storyteller Guide is slated to go on sale as an Advance PDF on Wednesday on DTRPG!
V20 Lore of the Clans in PDF and PoD versions now on sale at DTRPG!
M20 How Do You DO That? is now available at DTRPG in PDF and PoD versions!
The Pugmire Pamphlet we had available at Gen Con is now ready for PDF download. Read about the world of Pugmire from the enthusiastic and optimistic pen of Princess Yosha Pug, as well as notes from the gruff and worldly hunter Pan Daschund: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/153518/Pugmire-Gen-Con-Brochure
There are also six Pugmire posters available as free PDFs or $.99 physical posters, suitable for framing:
- Spike Mutt: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/150845/Spike-Mutt-Pugmire-Poster-6
- Pan Dachshund: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/150844/Pan-Dachshund-Pugmire-Poster-5
- Jack Rat-Terrier: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/150944/Jack-RatTerrier-Pugmire-Poster-4
- Sgt. Leo Bulldog: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/150843/Sgt-Leo-Bulldog-Pugmire-Poster-3
- Princess Yosha Pug: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/149750/Princess-Yosha-Pug-Pugmire-Poster-2
- Sister Picassa Collie: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/148516/Sister-Picassa-Collie-Pugmire-Poster-1
Start spreading the Code of Man!
CONVENTIONS!
1 WEEK TO GO! We’re one of the Contributing Sponsors at Midwinter Con this year this January in Milwaukee! We are so looking forward to catching up with all our friends at the Con and showing off our newest projects. This is the first year we are in the dealers hall, so come by and say hi! RichT, Fast Eddy Webb, and Newlywed Neall Raemonn Price will be there at our booth as well as running demo games of Scion and Pugmire. There will be panels for What’s Up With Onyx Path?, WoD 20th Anniversary Games and a Pugmire/Scion/StoryPath System one. In the meantime, check out the show here: http://www.midwintergamingconvention.com/
And now, the new project status updates!
First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)
- M20 Book of Secrets (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
- Exalted 3rd Novel by Matt Forbeck (Exalted 3rd Edition)
- CtL anthology (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)
- Scion: Alpha (Scion 2nd Edition Playtest Alpha Slice)
- Dagger of Spiragos (Scarred Lands)
- EX3 Quickstart (Exalted 3rd Edition)
- Shattered Dreams in-book stretch goals (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
- Ring of Spiragos (Scarred Lands)
- Ex Backer Charms (Exalted 3rd Edition)
- DA Tome of Secrets (Vampire 20th Dark Ages)
Redlines
- Mummy Fiction Anthology (Mummy: the Curse)
- Wraith: the Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition
- Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition, featuring the Huntsmen Chronicle (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)
- V20 Ready Made Characters (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)
- Cavaliers of Mars
- Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)
- Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition
- Night Horrors: Conquering Heroes (Beast: the Primordial)
Second Draft
- Arms of the Chosen (Exalted 3rd Edition)
- The Realm (Exalted 3rd Edition)
- Dragon-Blooded (Exalted 3rd Edition)
- Beckett’s Jyhad Diary (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)
- WtA Kinfolk (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
Development
- StoryPath System Rules (Base rules set for Scion and the Trinity Continuum)
- W20 Changing Ways (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
- CofD Hurt Locker (Chronicles of Darkness)
- VtM Lore of the Bloodlines (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)
- W20 Shattered Dreams (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
- Beast Ready Made Characters (Beast: the Primordial)
Editing
- W20 Pentex Employee Indoctrination Handbook (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
- Dark Eras Expansions (Chronicles of Darkness Dark Eras)
- Beast Fiction Anthology (Beast: the Primordial)
- Dark Eras Companion (Chronicles of Darkness Dark Eras)
- WtF The Pack (Werewolf: the Forsaken 2nd Edition)
Post-Editing Development:
- V20 Ghouls (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)
- Secrets of the Covenants (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)
- Scarred Lands Player’s Guide: Ghelspad (Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)
ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:
In Art Direction
- V20 Ghouls – Awaiting text.
- W20 Shattered Dreams – Awaiting artnotes for Ch. 5.
- Promethean: the Created Second – Pinging Ron… again…
- Scarred Lands PG – Last bits of the artwork coming in.
-
Dark Eras – Art in progress.
- Dark Eras Companion – Still sorting through that buy.
- The Pack – Contracting.
In Layout
- Guide to the Black Hand – Working on it.
- Chronicles of Darkness Condition Cards – After the errata pass is done on CofD core.
- Beast Screen – Awaiting feedback but almost done.
- Mage: the Awakening Second – Once updated text is in, this will move into the layout queue.
- Pugmire Early Access – Inputting first round of Eddy’s corrections.
Proofing
- Beast: The Primordial – Indexing.
- Demon STG – Advance PDF going on sale Wednesday.
- Ex 3 core book – From RichT: Still reviewing Dev notes and adding my own art/design/backer names notes to the proofing PDF. Last week lost to sickness.
- Dreams of Avarice – Ready to roll out to backers on Wednesday.
- Truth Beyond Paradox – Proofing with Phil.
- Pugmire Early Access – Eddy is proofing the first round of the interior.
At Press
- M20 – Deluxes printing (Screen is finished and awaiting book).
- M20 How Do You Do That ?!? – Hopefully available this week.
- Chronicles of Darkness – Should be entering in errata this week.
- Ex 3 Anthology – Waiting for PoD proof.
Special- projects on hold in the art and production area until an external factor is resolved
- Wraith 20 – Can’t go further until art notes come in, still being developed by Rich Dansky.
- Pentex Employee Indoctrination Manual – Some added and amended text needs to come in.
TODAY’S REASON TO DRINK: To a wild and wacky yet restrained 2015!
For more info on our game worlds and our forums, check out www.theonyxpath.com
Comments
70 responses to “2015? Here’s How We Rolled- [Monday Meeting Notes]”
ah, the Storyteller Guide for Demon
what a wonderful way to begin the year, and the cover looks amazing… that’s gonna be two longs days to wait for it but i’m sure it’ll be worth it.
To a wonderful year (past AND future)
Minor request when you have a chance, can you clarify the naming conventions on the Chronicles as far as how they relate to the nWoD versions? Is it only nWoD 2 that is the Chronicles and the old version is still nWoD, is it Chronicles 1 and 2nd Ed, or is it something else all together?
All of the stuff we have previously or would call nWoD is now Chronicles of Darkness.
Demon STG! I thought there was another book I was looking forward to, but I couldn’t remember what it was. Looking forward to it.
What a splendid cover for the Storyteller Guide for Demon!!!
DEMONNNNNN!
SWeet!
…
… the next 48 hours are going to be agonizing.
Ex3 core still in proofing.
At least it’s being done right this time.the wait will be worth it.
Also, illness? Hope you’re okay?
Chest cold had me coughing all through the holidays, not a lot of sleep and fever. Thanks for asking, much better now.
My grandmother always swore by hot honey, lemon, and whiskey. Swift recovery to you, Rich!
I did have a fair bit of tea and honey. And a coupe of slugs of Nyquil every night for a week. Thanks!
Speaking of the Red Bubble store, last year I ordered a pair of T-Shirts for with the Changeling the Lost symbol on it. They came to me poorly positioned, almost like a Care Bear tummy symbol. Has that been fixed?
Hey there,
have you tried contacting Redbubble about the positioning problem with your shirt? I’ve ordered shirts from them. When I’ve had a problem, I’ve taken pics and contacted them. Their customer service department wants to try to make sure people are happy, and will reprint something. I know what you’re talking about, because I’ve had it with other shirts, and it sucks.
I have, and they said that it was a Templating Problem with the file on Oynx Path’s end and they’d need to fix it, hence, asking Oynx Path.
Not that we can see. The Lost skull is larger than most and so takes up more space further down the shirt, but the top starts where we normally do based on RB’s live area template. Since there is a model shot for every shirt design, do your shirts not look the same as the model shots?
I am just ocd enough to have the “how do you do that?” Blurb bother me
I moved, how do I update my address for Dark Eras and BtP?
https://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq/backer+questions#faq_63017
Please make the change yourself to your Backer Survey response. You can find directions on the main KS FAQ. Thanks!
I gotta say, I’ve never regretted missing a Kickstarter more than I do with Mummy.
Demon STG will have to tide me over to then~
I don’t know if anyone has mentioned this but CofD could be pronounced the same as coughed. This thought made me chuckle.
I say it like “See of Dee”.
I’m really psych out that special dices are made for Onyx Path games, especially by our Polish Q-Workshop – I really hope for some Chronicles of Darkness games dice sets, particularly for core CoD, Mage, Promethean or Changeling! I need to refill mine d10 dice bag after all those years. 🙂
Agggh waiting for Mage 2e is killing me. So close, but still not here.
It seems to be taking a tortuously long time to update that text!
Which text are you referring to?
Mike says he’s still waiting for the updated text of Mage, which looks like an old entry he forgot to update, as I’ve already handed it in.
MisterE: The simplest explanation is often the right one.
Yep… should have said approved instead of updated. My bad.
Thanks for the reply and clarification.
Finally Dreams of Avarice! Glory to the Empire! Or not, given the purpose of the book.
Also, Demon STG artwork is incredible. Thank you; I’m looking forward to this one
First of all, I’m happy that the new WW still entrust you with the most games you made great again. But since the announcement of the paradox guys I wounder what happens to the 4th Edition of Masquerade. You announced it before licenses were sold. So will you still make it, are you involved, or is this now on White Wolf alone? And if the new WW take it, what happened to your ideas (new meta plot, rule changes…) for the new edition? Are they gone for good or did the new ruler of the WoD listen to the longtime custodian?
We are still rolling along with the 20th Anniversary cWoD projects, and will for the foreseeable future, but the next edition of cWoD is being developed by the new White Wolf Publishing as a complete One World of Darkness. Martin has also called these 4th Editions, but Onyx Path’s plans for how we were going to create 4th Editions have been superseded by One World of Darkness. How much involvement we will have in that project remains to be seen, but we have talked about some aspects of it already.
That is exiting and super sad to hear at once. Ones in the future, maybe some month (hopefully not Years) after the “one world of darkness” has published, I would like to hear what your take on Masquerade would have look like and how close to that the WW interpretation is.
All the best for the projects you kept, especially the “Chronicles” of Darkness and the 2nd Editions. You made a great Jog there.
I can’t speak for everybody involved, but I think Onyx Path talking about how “we would have done it differently” is a bad idea. Whatever One World of Darkness turns into, it deserves to be appreciated or hated for what it is, not what it might have been if it stayed entirely with us as a 4th Edition. Now if Martin ever wants to talk about that sort of stuff, I’d be glad to chime in, but that’s because it is their call to make.
I thought Changeling Second Edition was in Second Drafts based on dev comments.
Rollicking Rose moves projects based on reports from the Devs and whether all of the text is in the same stage of development. David may be working on some second drafts and still reviewing others.
Can’t wait to see the final copy of Exalted! I am hoping it drops for my birthday at the end of the month. I am also looking forward to it being done so we can begin to see movement on the other projects. Arms of the Chosen in particular has been taunting me from 2nd Drafts since like May.
Oh, and happy new year Onyx Path. I look forward to it being a great one!
Thanks, Adam! Me too! And for much the same reasons as you have listed: wrapping up old projects and getting to new ones we’ve been anxious to get finished and out where folks can enjoy them.
Yeah! The pack is editing! 😀 Joyjoyjoy
Is there a reason The Black Hand: A Guide to the Tal’Mahe’Ra is no longer on the list of monday meeting update ? Or thit it just dropped of ? I hoop to see that 1 soon voor a Kickstarter or PoD
It’s still listed above. It’s under the “In Layout” section.
Happy new year! 🙂
DA Tome of Secrets is coming (soon-ish)! \o/
I just took a look at the Kickstarter and noticed that there was no wordcount mentioned. Do you already know how long are the sections are going to be?
I hope reaaaaally long (who wouldn’t?). I totally dig the new stuff for Koldunic Sorcery and would love to see more of that.
Word count is based on our estimates during the KS, plus whatever shifts to that or expanded sections David has proposed. And during the writing and development, those sections might expand or contract. Hope that helps!
All I need now is confirmation that Geist and Mummy are getting proper 2nd edition versions and I’ll be 100% content with CofD as a whole and will be able to look forward without worry.
We won’t be confirming those until we announce the schedules they may or may not appear in. You’ll have to remain partially content for a while longer. Bu, you know, that’s kind of the way life is, isn’t it? 🙂
Probably phrased that badly in all honesty. I should probably have said that my dream future for CofD would be every NWoD product line having a compatible 2nd edition version sitting on my shelf. A worry a little that we wont see a geist and mummy 2nd edition.
I just completely love CofD and maaayyy be a little OCD. lol
Just expect to see me keeping the geist and mummy 2nd ed dream alive in the comment section until its confirmed either way.
Arms of the Chosen (Exalted 3rd Edition)
The Realm (Exalted 3rd Edition)
Dragon-Blooded (Exalted 3rd Edition)
Are these on hold as everyone works on the core or do they have seperate teams?
Really looking forward to the DB book. Actually find them more intriguing than the Solars
They are being worked on, as far as I’m told. Some of the tweaks to the main book have impacted the info in those books, either for the info included or how to present sections of the books in progress.
I continue to be excited for Mage 2nd Edition and for the print version of Exalted 3rd Edition. I’ve been preparing scenarios for both games for months.
I’m really looking forward to getting them out there, too!
Happy to be a part of the team. Looking forward to 2016!
Very much looking forward to the development you’re doing on HtV2.
Hi there,
those Changeling dice are beautiful. Is there any way we can get them, without having to spend $110 on a book first? I’d be happy to spend $10 more than the $23 if you want.
The $23 dollar Dice Set is discounted for backers supporting the Deluxe C20 Edition and needs to be part of the physical book pledge so that we can ship them with the book. Further potential venues that we might be using to sell them are still being determined, but for sure they will be higher priced and you’ll need to pay for shipping too. Thanks!
I noticed the beast screen in the notes, is there any news about the Dark Era’s screen, i skipped out on the beast screen as i had backed dark era’s at the screen level…
If it is not on the project progress list then it is not being worked on yet. Thanks!
How does Mike’s layout queue work? Does he work on one book at a time or multiple concurrently? I’m just wondering because it would be a bummer if Mage is at the bottom of the queue and has to wait for the other books to be done.
I have multiple titles going at the same time… usually four or so at once. Fear not, Mage is not at the bottom of the queue.
Thank you for all your hard work. Any news on future VtR:2nd ED besides Secrets of the Covenants? I´m looking forward to see where you take the license now that is no longer tied to the World of Darkness.
There are a number of different VTR projects listed on our Current Projects page, linked in the top menu bar.
Doh!, thank you and please forgive my slip.
Wow. That must’ve been rough all last year not knowing if you could keep going with the licenses. I know we were all worried for the past couple of months even with some preliminary good word from WWP, so I can’t imagine what you and your team went through. Hopefully now they’re more energized than ever, because I know I’m even more pumped for the future of the 20th and 2e lines.
And I can’t believe the incredible luck that we’re getting new Mummy AND Demon in the same week. Thank you!
I don’t see Cursed Necropolis: Rio on the schedule though. Is it still in Post-Editing Development, or did the Judges of Duat strike it down in vengeance for your preliminary publication of that Heretic’s Dreams of Avarice?
Is it a requirement at Onyx Path that you need to have an alleritive adjective for your name? Everyone seems to have one.
No, I just like them. Reminds me of the early Marvel Bullpen when they were at their most ground-breaking. Face Front, True Believer!
What does “Post-Editing Development” mean? What exactly is being developed? Sorry if this has been asked before.
usually this development pass does a few things:
1)Make sure the edited test doesn’t run into pictures
2) make sure the editing didn’t change the rules text to a point it is unclear
3)Make sure anything that changed page numbers are correctly indexed.
at least according to blogs from other game companies..
Basically, it’s when the Dev reviews the text after it comes out of editing to make sure edits are valid and nothing got messed up rules wise.
For those of us who can’t make it to Midwinter Gaming Con, will you be posting the Scion playtest for download?
Yay, Kithbook: Boggans! I hope that The Book of Glamour and Keys to the Kingdom are to follow!
2 words “pwetty dice” *.*
=) i know what to get a few ppl for a late x-mas gift now at least….