Yep, we’re back this week after having held a couple of meetings since last we talked. The Onyx Path gang and I talked about a bunch of things, like you’d expect, and here are our top topics:
1- Our ongoing Monarchies of Mau Kickstarter. It’s rolling through the slower section of the typical Kickstarter pattern, but Eddy and I have a few more interviews on tap before it wraps up in 10 days, so we’re hoping to get the word out a bit more. We also talked about letting folks know that there are still some of the rewards that let you get your cat or dog illustrated – so see below in the BLURBS! where I mention that!
So far though, we’ve been really happy with the response and are ultra interested in looking at it and Pugmire side by side once the KS is done.
Also, just to mention this here like I did on the KS page: Monarchies of Mau and Pugmire are totally compatible and designed so you can play cat and dog adventuring parties.
2- I pitched a bunch of projects to the new White Wolf last week, both for the 20th Anniversary line and for Chronicles of Darkness. That led, naturally to our team coming up with eleventy-billion ideas of what we could do, if the projects are approved. In fact, most of our meeting today was that brainstorming, he said teasingly.
3- Of course, because we are two months away from it (and how did we get to June so fast????), we touched base on our GenCon plans. Mirthful Mike is slamming through our GenCon graphics all this month, including this year’s brochure, the StoryPath brochure for this year that explains the system – but this time with a focus on the Trinity Continuum – as well as a new backdrop for our booth, and slews of buttons that we’ll be giving away during the con.
4- Just like the the Monarchies of Mau KS, Fast Eddy Webb has a deadline coming up next week: right after the KS is over, he gets on a plane to start his new adventure living in Ireland. We had a great chat in our traditional Monday Lunch Meeting today talking about the future of the world of Pugmire, how to find useful work to do when you are waiting for a huge life change, and several unannounced projects we’ll be talking about working on together in the future. More about Eddy and his importance to Onyx Path next week.
5- We went over where we are with our fiction ebooks with two “waves” of six books each already up on Amazon, and now appearing in the B&N Nook store. This is really just our toehold into those venues and what more we can do includes more venues like them (Apple Store?), or moving to another level by adding in game books. More info on that below in the BLURBS!, and please, if you buy any of the books from those venues, we would really greatly appreciate you leaving some kind of review. Stars or written reviews, anything helps spread the word!
6- We mentioned this in last week’s meeting, but I think it is worth bringing up to you folks: if you haven’t seen the Fiction Friday posts, they are well worth checking out as each Friday we excerpt some of the astounding and evocative fiction from both our novels and anthologies, and also from our game books. A really simple way to get a taste of game lines, and specific books.
7- We went over the set-up and possible developers for Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras 2. Thanks to all of our many backers who contributed ideas for possible new Dark Eras! We think we have figured out how we’re going to start the book and frame further chapters for when we do the Kickstarter – which will be the next one we do!
We think we learned a great deal from CofD: DE‘s Kickstarter, and follow-through, and are using that to pull together DE2 a little differently. We want to keep the main book a good sized book, but not the mammoth tome we eventually published for the original Dark Eras.
8- And then, as we always do, we moved into the project updates phase where Rollickin’ Rose and Mirthful Mike go through where our active projects are. Pretty much the end result of which you read every week below in the Project Status Updates. Rose is still helping several dev teams across all our game lines, we’re expecting to send the Deviant outline over to the new White Wolf any day now, our new Exalted 3rd devs are really starting to get the hang of what we need them to do, and Mirthful Mike had a cold all weekend.
There ya go!
BLURBS!
KICKSTARTER!
10 days to go, and are at that stage where we’re doing a lot of talking to bloggers and games sites while pledging slows awaiting the big 48 hour push next week! Please help us out by talking Monarchies of Mau up on social media and to your friends, especially your cat-loving friends. Don’t be shy, every mention helps!
We’ve already shot past Stretch Goals for an exclusive t-shirt, an Intro adventure, the first three Mau stories in a fiction anthology, a book of character write-ups featuring the characters submitted by backers, and our second adventure goal – this time by Dennis Detwiller. Now we’re looking at more short stories, including one by our very good friend the amazing Joe Carriker, with plenty more to come! If you get a chance, here’s the link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/monarchies-of-mau-fantasy-tabletop-rpg
SPECIAL ALERT: Right now, as I write this, a Gorgeous Kitty reward tier spot has opened up and allows you to get your cat pictured as a character in one of the beautiful illustrations going into a Monarchies of Mau book! These kinds of reward tiers get snapped up fast!
Also, there are five Conspicuous Canine reward tier spots still open which don’t just get your dog into an illustration, but created as an NPC in the world of Pugmire! Since one of our Stretch Goal rewards is the Roll of Good Dogs and Excellent Cats, they may even show up illustrated and statted-up in there! If you missed this in the Pugmire KS, now’s your chance!
ON SALE!
ON AMAZON:
We’re delighted to announce the opening of our ebook store on Amazon! You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle. Our initial selection includes these fiction anthologies: Vampire: the Masquerade‘s Endless Ages, Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition‘s Rites of Renown: When Will You Rage 2, Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition‘s Truth Beyond Paradox, Chronicles of Darkness‘ God Machine Chronicle, Mummy: The Curse‘s Curse of the Blue Nile, and Beast: The Primordial‘s The Primordial Feast!
And now you can get these books in the Barnes and Noble Nook store too!
- Vampire: The Masquerade: The Endless Ages Anthology
- Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Rites of Renown: When Will You Rage II
- Mage: The Ascension: Truth Beyond Paradox
- Chronicles of Darkness: The God-Machine Chronicle Anthology
- Mummy: The Curse: Curse of the Blue Nile
- Beast: The Primordial: The Primordial Feast Anthology
And this week, we’re releasing another six fiction books:
- Vampire: The Masquerade: Of Predators and Prey: The Hunters Hunted II Anthology
- Werewolf: The Apocalypse: The Poison Tree
- Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Songs of the Sun and Moon: Tales of the Changing Breeds
- Vampire: The Requiem: The Strix Chronicle Anthology
- Werewolf: The Forsaken: The Idigam Chronicle Anthology
- Mage: The Awakening: The Fallen World Chronicle Anthology
Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Here’s the link to the press release we put out about how Onyx Path is now selling through Indie Press Revolution: https://theonyxpath.com/press-release-onyx-path-limited-editions-now-available-through-indie-press-revolution/
You can now order wave 2 of our Deluxe and Prestige print overrun books, including Deluxe Mage 20th Anniversary, and Deluxe V20 Dark Ages! And Screens…so many Screens!
ON DRIVETHRURPG.COM:
From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: Three Kingdoms of Darkness (Changeling and Geist China 220-280). Famine weakens the empire, and war splits it apart. It is an age of ambition and strife, where the hungry dead walk the earth in great numbers, and the Lost must rely on their own kingdoms. Warlords and commoners, ghost-speakers and orphans — who truly serves the Mandate of Heaven?
On sale in PDF and physical copy PoD versions Wednesday on DTRPG!
From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: The Wolf and the Raven (Werewolf and Geist Vikings 700-1100). The Viking expansion across Europe comes at a pivotal time in history, as new faiths rose to challenge the old and new ways threatened to sweep ancient tradition aside. The Forsaken sail with raiders and explorers, seeking new lands to claim and new spirits to conquer, while Sin-Eaters walk the battlefields bringing the honored dead to their final rewards. The world grows larger and more dangerous by the day, but there are great rewards for those brave enough to fight for them.
On sale in PDF and physical copy PoD versions Wednesday on DTRPG!
Curated by Matthew McFarland, developer of Changeling: the Dreaming Twentieth Anniversary Edition and featuring authors such as Myranda Kalis, Wren Handman, and Peter Woodworth, this C20 Anthology of Dreams is on sale in electronic/PDF and physical copy PoD formats on DTRPG.com! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/209390/C20-Anthology-of-Dreams
We dream, and we tell stories. We dream of love and the sort of person who might complete us. We dream of horror and wake breathless. We dream of magic, of flying through the air, or breathing underwater. We dream of fantastic vistas and amazing monsters.
We dream, and then we wake, and we tell stories. Our dreams create the Kithain, the changelings. Our stories are sustenance.
Now on DTRPG, the EX3 Tomb of Dreams Jumpstart PDF/PoD jumps up for sale!
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/208891/Tomb-of-Dreams-an-Exalted-3rd-Edition-Jumpstart
Once, in the time before the gods forgot their names, when the world was flat and floated on a sea of chaos, there was an age of gleaming cities, untamed wilderness, enlightened devils, greedy spirits, and mighty heroes. This was the age of the Exalted, champions empowered by the highest of gods.
Tomb of Dreams will jumpstart your group’s Exalted game—all you need to start playing Exalted Third Edition is this book, pencils, and 10-sided dice. Included here are the game’s core rules, five pregenerated characters, and a self-contained scenario that can start a new campaign or that Storytellers can use in an ongoing chronicle. And for groups that already have the Exalted Third Edition main rulebook, Tomb of Dreams will serve as an introduction for new players and a quick reference during play—anyone intimidated by that prodigious volume need only read Part 1 of this book to get started.
What legends will they tell of your deeds?
Sailing out of the dark, the V20 Dark Ages Companion Advance PDF is now on sale on DriveThruRPG.com! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/211504/V20-Dark-Ages-Companion
Travel the long roads and deep seas in search of power and experience danger, or tackle the wilderness to hunt monsters and face death. Settlements large and small dot the black expanse with the promise of sanctuary, life, and community. These bastions of civilization present cold comfort, when playing host to vampire warlords and sadistic Cainite faiths. Whether led by a Prince, a coordinated belief, or hounded by monsters from without and within — no domain is truly the same as another.
Dark Ages Companion includes:
• Domains scattered across the world, from small fiefdoms to massive cities. Bath, Bjarkarey, Constantinople, Rome, Mogadishu, and Mangaluru each receive coverage.
• Apocrypha including plot hooks, new Paths, and mysteries to explore in your games.
• A how-to guide on building a domain within your chronicle, including events and servants necessary to make a domain as functional or dysfunctional as you wish.
• A study on warfare in the Dark Ages period, so combat in your chronicles can gain authenticity and lethality.
Bill Bridge’s new W20 novel, The Song of Unmaking, is on sale in PDF/ePub/PoD versions on DriveThruRPG.com: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/208366/W20-The-Song-of-Unmaking and in ebook form on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071VM2S3D/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1494441226&sr=1-1 !
The fabric of reality is cracking. Fissures appear in thin air, glowing with balefire. Something is scratching on the other side, pressing, beginning to break through….
The Wyrm’s corruption finds its way into the hearts of humans and Garou alike. Even an ultra-rational techno-cratic scientist can fall sway to its lies. Channeling his hate and resentment through the most sophisticated machine ever created, Basil Czajka has turned a tool designed to peer deep into the heart of the quantum universe into a nursery for the hatching of a horror — a creature whose birth cry is destined to unmake Gaia’s Song of Creation.
The only ones standing in his way are One-Song, a broken-down old Theurge, and Lord Albrecht, whose heed-less anger might be the very weapon the enemy needs to crack the egg and free the Unmaker.
The Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras Companion has arrived in PDF and PoD physical book versions at DriveThruRPG.com! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/207879/Chronicles-of-Darkness-Dark-Eras-Companion
The Dark Eras Companion presents eleven new Eras for the Chronicles of Darkness. Stretching from Ancient Rome and Egypt through the Black Death, the Thirty Years War, the Reconstruction, and the Russian Revolution, the Companion showcases even more of the secret history of this eldritch world. Included in each era are “snapshots” of the various supernatural creatures, including vampires, changelings, mummies, and demons. Also included are lists of inspirational media to help you put these Eras in context for your troupe.
Open the Dark Eras Companion and take another look back in time.
V20 Lore of the Bloodlines awaits in PDF and physical book PoD versions on DriveThruRPG.com!
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/207392/V20-Lore-of-the-Bloodlines
Lore of the Bloodlines is a single volume (created via Kickstarter) that revisits some of the bloodlines in Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition, providing story hooks, character concepts, history, and bloodline-specific rules. The secrets of the Baali, Daughters of Cacophony, Gargoyles, Harbingers of Skulls, Kiasyd, Salubri, Samedi, and True Brujah are now yours.
Lore of the Bloodlines includes:
• The history, lore, and nightly practices of nine bloodlines, told from the perspective of the Kindred themselves.
• New combo Disciplines, powers, Merits, Flaws, and other rules specific to each bloodline.
• Revisions and updates of more classic Vampire: The Masquerade material to V20.
Night Horrors: Conquering Heroes for Beast: the Primordial, PoD and PDF versions is now on sale on DTRPG.com!
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/202615/Night-Horrors-Conquering-Heroes
This book includes:
- An in-depth look at how Heroes hunt and what makes a Hero, with eleven new Heroes to drop into any chronicle.
- A brief look at why Beasts may antagonize one another, with seven new Beasts to drop into any chronicle.
- Rules for Insatiables, ancient creatures born of the Primordial Dream intent on hunting down Beasts to fill a hunger without end, featuring six examples ready to use in any chronicle.
CONVENTIONS!Discussing GenCon plans. August 17th – 20th, Indianapolis. Every chance the booth will actually be 20? x 30? this year that we’ll be sharing with friends. We’re looking at new displays this year, like a back drop and magazine racks for the brochure(s).
In November, we’ll be at Game Hole Con in Madison, WI. More news as we have it, and here’s their website: https://www.gameholecon.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)
- Exalted 3rd Novel by Matt Forbeck (Exalted 3rd Edition)
- Trinity Continuum: Aeon Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)
- M20 Gods and Monsters (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
- M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
- C20 Novel (Jackie Cassada) (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)
- Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)
- The Realm (Exalted 3rd Edition)
- Dragon-Blooded (Exalted 3rd Edition)
- C20 Ready Made Characters (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)
Redlines
- Kithbook Boggans (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)
- Ex Novel 2 (Aaron Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)
- DtD Night Horrors: Enemy Action (Demon: the Descent)
Second Draft
- V20 Dark Ages Jumpstart (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)
- GtS Geist 2e core (Geist: the Sin-Eaters Second Edition)
- Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)
- Scion: Origins (Scion 2nd Edition)
- Scion: Hero (Scion 2nd Edition)
- WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)
- Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)
Development
- Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)
- SL Ring of Spiragos (Pathfinder – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)
- Ring of Spiragos (5e – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)
- Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition, featuring the Huntsmen Chronicle (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)
- M20 Cookbook (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
- Pugmire Pan’s Guide for New Pioneers (Pugmire)
WW Manuscript Approval:
- BtP Beast Player’s Guide (Beast: the Primordial)
- VtR Half-Damned (Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition)
Editing:
- Wraith: the Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition
- Arms of the Chosen (Exalted 3rd Edition)
- Book of Freeholds (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)
Post-Editing Development:
Indexing:
ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:
In Art Direction
- Beckett’s Jyhad Diary
- W20 Pentex Employee Indoctrination Handbook
- Cavaliers of Mars
- Wraith 20
- W20Changing Ways
- Ex3 Monthly Stuff
- Storypath Brochure
- VDA Jumpstart
- Scion Origins
- C20 Jumpstart – AD’d and Contracted
- Ring of Spiragos
- Ex 3 Arms of the Chosen – AD’d & Contracted
In Layout
- M20 Art Book – In progress…
- Prince’s Gambit – New Cards out for playtesting
- Gen Con Stuff
Proofing
- CtL Huntsmen Chronicle Anthology
- M20 Book of Secrets – Hyperlinking and wrapping things up. Once all that is done, we will send it to WW for approvals.
- VTR: Thousand Years of Night
At Press
- Beckett Screen – Shipped to shipper.
- Dark Eras: To the Strongest – PoD proof on the way.
- C20 – Getting that over for indexing this week.
- Pugmire – Printing.
- Pugmire Screen – Printing.
- Pugmire Cards & Dice – Printing/manufacturing.
- Wise and the Wicked PF & 5e – At Press… signed off on the proofs on Friday.
- Dark Eras: The Wolf & Raven– Going on sale on Wednesday!
- Dark Eras: Three Kingdoms of Darkness – Going on sale on Wednesday!
- Dagger of Spiragos (5e) – Out to backers.
- Dagger of Spiragos (PF) – Out to backers.
- V20 Dark Ages Companion – Inputting errata.
- BtP Building a Legend – Errata should be wrapping up.
- Monarchies of Mau Early Access
TODAY’S REASON TO CELEBRATE: In Ireland, today is June Bank Day Holiday! Which has got to be given props as the most generic holiday name ever! Slainte!
Comments
36 responses to “Hello Kitty! [Monday Meeting Notes]”
Glad to hear the brainstorming went well. Hop some Werewolf the Forsaken stuff came up.
I’d love to see that Secrets of the Tribes book that was hinted at at GenCon last year
So thrilled to see C20 Ready Made Charterers and hear there are new 20th projects pitched. I sincerely hope some of those are approved and we get to hear about a couple of them at Gen Con.
We’ll have to see how that all times out, but expect a few GenCon announcements one way or the other.
That’s why I say hope. I know it all depends on review time and actually responses from WWP, but I’m rooting for you.
Consider my mind blown. I figured Cavaliers of Mars would be up next, as being furthest along the development cycle. (Assuming it’s still going to get a KS, which I’m not 100% sure of, any more than I am with the Exigents and Lunars books for EX3.)
Cavaliers will definitely have a KS so long as that’s what Rose wants to do. We’ve slated that for the first KS after GenCon.
Wait, so that implies Dark Eras 2 will be before GenCon?
These are both very good things!
Im loving the artwork for Monarchies <3
= ^.^ =
Also YAY for the M20 BoS starting to slide into home from rounding third base..
Thanks! And yes, we’re getting very, very close now.
Hi Rich, when the new Exalted developers were announced, you said June was the target for Arms of the Chosen. I know you guys usually don’t give dates, but do you still feel like it’s on track for this month.
On another Exalted topic, are you planning a KS campaign for The Dragon-Blooded? At what stage in the book’s production would you hold the campaign?
As always, I’m very excited to hear about future projects. Keep up the good work!
I am also really interested in this. I may have finally wrangled my group into playing an Ex3 game. It would be a huge help if this book drops as we are in the character creation stages.
So… I really hope things work out.
Looking at what still needs to be done with Arms of the Chosen, I think that is doubtful, but hopefully not by much. We just need to go through the regular process with the text at this point as it is totally written, so we’ll move as fast on it as we can.
Still planning on a KS for Dragon Blooded, but we’re not going to run it until all of the text is finished and available as excerpts for the KS. So, end of this year/early 2018.
Is that all the text finished as in all the way through editing? So just art/layout and indexing would be needed?
If so, I am excited about that time frame.
Text is currently in editing… art is currently in progress (they got started early last week).
Layout won’t commence until all the art is all in.
Think Hamid was asking about Dragon-Blooded rather than Arms.
Doh… I thought he was asking about Arms of the Chosen.
That’s the second time a picture has referenced Book of Shadows. Is that a mislabeling of Book of Secrets, or has a renaming or new product gone through?
Fixed.
I would say it’s an alternate name It’s. Some call it The Book of Secrets others The Book of Shadows, but it’s one in the same.
Correct! Thanks!
Doing a Dark Eras 2 kickstarter seems premature given Changeling, Hunter, and Giest haven’t had their 2e corebooks finished.
I think a Changeling 2e kickstarter made more sense right now.
My top concern are mechanic that are broken and unusable by Changeling, Giest, and Hunter.
By the time that Dark Eras 2 is published, those three 2nd Editions will already be out.
Those seem like famous last words.
Yeah, I seriously questioned not adding some ambiguity there. But, CtL2 writing is almost done, Geist2 is well along with the writing, and HtV2 is working through first drafts. So, at worst we’ll know how to make the appropriate Dark Eras compatible.
Thank you for answering my concerns, I am satisfied.
Your ‘The Song of Unmaking’ Amazon hyperlink seems to link through to Drivethru Rpg.
Thanks – seems like WordPress was insisting on linking it to the link above – try it now!
“we’re expecting to send the Deviant outline over to the new White Wolf any day now”
Dances around fire, face lifted to sky, bellowing “BOOYAH!”
No pressure though.
Again, life is a constant struggle for us at the moment, and we are sad we wont be at GenCon. However, as we live in the area, first round is on me :)!
About DE2 being “not the mammoth tome”, a possibility sould be that some stretch goals, instead of opening new chapters, open new books (as it was done in some new gamelines).
They could be expansions of some popular Dark Eras to other gamelines (Neolithic), converting them in a full dark era book open to all gamelines, or a new dark era fully fleshed (I remember Dave said that a Nameless War Dark Era chapter was too short. Maybe a full book of it could be offered as an Stretch goal).
We did this last time. 🙂 The Dark Eras Companion with its dozen-ish eras was an “overflow” book for all the extra chapters we got with the Dark Eras Kickstarter.
To Ian’s point: we’re planning on a Dark Eras 2 Companion in order to allow continued Chapter Stretch Goals ala DE1. As for a Stretch Goal for an entire product, it’s been something I’m considering but adding something like that will a) take the place of some new Stretch Goals for adding new Eras, and b) require a velocity of pledging that we normally don’t see in order to justify the Stretch Goal amount required to cover the cost of creation of said book that we normally don’t see in non-Deluxe KSs.
What we try and do with Stretch Goal projects is to add them to a KS so that the KS “extra” funds will pay for the creation of something we normally wouldn’t create because of the chance we won’t make enough on it to cover the cost of creating it. Using KSs to fund fiction books, for example. Or at least the SG amount should be a big boost to covering costs. But like I said, I am considering a couple of ideas, and also keeping a close eye on the individual DE1 chapters we’ve been publishing on DTRPG to see what the interest is there.
Dark Eras: The Wolf & Raven– Going on sale on Wednesday!
What a coincidence my daughter just asked me what I wanted for Father’s Day. Looks like the choice was just made for me.
What great timing! Thanks!