It’s a Marvelous Week for a Moondance! [Monday Meeting Notes]

Yep! This is one of the full page pieces of art (by Gunship Revolution) for Lunars: Fangs at the Gate, the next Exalted 3rd Edition “fatsplat” book that we’re Kickstarting starting tomorrow (Tuesday) at 2pm Eastern US time.

Looking back at the last two blog posts, let me refer to this Lunars Kickstarter to illustrate some of the ways we’re approaching Kickstarter and book sales now.

1- The text is already written. A lot of the time when our KSs ran way past the estimated date, it was because of writing and/or rewriting the text. That was mostly based on the expectations and aims of Kickstarter from way back when we started, when the creation of the project was part of the whole KS thing. Now, we know better, and with very few exceptions we only KS after the text is finished.

2- The text is going out to backers in sections during the KS. This is a by-product of having the words all written: we can share them with our backers. We prefer to do this is sections throughout the KS so there’s always new stuff to talk about, as opposed to one big info dump. This also lets our backers know that we trust them, and by seeing what we’re going to publish backers can bail before the end of the KS if the book isn’t what they were looking for. No unpleasant surprises.

3- The Reward Tiers don’t delay the book itself. One of the other big factors in delayed rewards have been added material due to Reward Tiers and Stretch Goals that add material directly to the book being Kickstarted. We don’t include those things unless for very specific and controlled reasons anymore. We now create Companion projects where we can add new sections during the course of the KS and concentrate effort on them after the KS’d book is rolling along.

Lunars art by Gong Studios

4- Shipping costs are included in the KS set-up and are realistic for current shipping charges. This is not one of the cool parts of Kickstarting projects, but shipping costs have risen just this year, and we want you to know right as you pledge what costs will be added to your base pledge. Similarly, paper costs have risen dramatically and have been passed on to us by our printer, so the physical book pledge had to rise a bit, too.

5- This is a Deluxe Edition, to go with EX3 and Dragon-Blooded. So the sales chain on this will be PDFs and physical book PoDs on DTRPG, and Deluxes to backers and IPR, rather than to Studio2 for release into stores.

6- Expanded media coverage. In addition to the opening vid that we put up with each Kickstarter, our expanded use of other media to explain our games means that there will be links provided throughout the KS to delve further into what the Lunars are all about. For example, Matthew Dawkins and Neall Raemonn Price will be presenting a Lunars character creation session using the new book.

Lunars art by Priscilla Kim

Other stuff, just a brief word about cons. We’re going to these cons this year, so far, already did MidWinter:

UK Games Expo: May 31st – June 2nd
Gen Con: August 1st – August 4th
Save Against Fear: Oct 12-14
GameHoleCon: October 31st – November 3rd
We’ll also be back at PAX Unplugged later this year.

We will also be appearing at other cons either as Onyx Path or as individual creators, and I’ll get that list going next week below in the Blurbs!

Lunars art by Melissa Uran

One thing we are doing differently is that we’re changing how we do Gen Con this year, because we really want to emphasize demos and play opportunities with all of our many game lines. I’ll go into the details as things firm up, but what we are sure of is that you’ll still be able to buy our books at the IPR and Studio2 booths, that a bunch of us will still be doing panels, and that our demo area is going to be greatly increased.

Because after all, we still want to introduce so many people to our:

Many Worlds, One Path!

BLURBS!


KICKSTARTER:

NEXT UP! We’ll be starting the Kickstarter for the Deluxe version of EX3‘s Lunars on this Tuesday February 12th at 2pm Eastern US time – so don your beast forms and let loose a howl (or snarl or squawk or hiss) to let everyone know it’s coming!

ONYX PATH MEDIA

Illustration by Michael Gaydos

This Friday’s Onyx Pathcast is entitled What We Look For In Freelancers, and the Terrific Trio of Trouble will be revealing just what they, and Onyx Path as a whole, looks for when deciding on who to work with as freelancers on our projects! https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/

And Here’s More Media About Our Worlds:

If YOU have a podcast, YouTube or Twitch channel, or talk about games on a blog or other website, and want to perform actual plays or make reviews of our games, please reach out to the Gentleman Gamer on the Onyx Path forum. From there we’ll share emails and get you started, so when you do start producing content we’ll be able to promote it on our blog and YouTube channel!

On Saturday we uploaded the third part of the excellent actual play of They Came from Beneath the Sea! run by Matthew Dawkins for Red Moon Roleplaying. Here’s a link to the video: https://youtu.be/szxFe7vvBnE Things are getting incredibly creepy in the town of Denton, Alabama, as people are melting into gunge!

The Story Told Podcast has started up its Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition overview series! Here’s a link to their site: http://thestorytold.libsyn.com/wraith-20th-anniversary-edition-overview

Matthew continues his read-through of Scarred Lands novel, Vigilant: Through Shadows and Dreams, on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/n1Ya7caS1U4 You can also find the book on DriveThruFiction as we start uploading mp3s of the chapters, or of course to buy in print: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/253274/Vigilant-Through-Shadow-and-Dreams-Book-One

High Level Games continue their actual play of Pugmire, with our oft-times freelancer and frequent contributor to the Storytellers Vault, Josh Heath, as the Guide: https://www.highlevelgames.ca/podcastingnetwork/pugmire-actual-play-episode-2

And here’s something exciting! Matthew Dawkins will be on our YouTube channel later this week to discuss Werewolf: The Forsaken with frequent Werewolf writer, Chris Allen. Chris also acted as one of the three chaps sharing the developer seat on Shunned by the Moon. Chris and Matthew will be discussing the content of the comments left on this video: https://youtu.be/2my21NosubI and we encourage you to leave comments too!

Please check any of these out and let us know if you find or produce any actual plays of our games!

ELECTRONIC GAMING:

As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is now live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is both rolling and rocking!

ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE:

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue you bought it from. Reviews really, really help us with getting folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these fiction books:

OUR SALES PARTNERS:

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the Screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there! https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

We’ve added Prince’s Gambit to our Studio2 catalog: https://studio2publishing.com/products/prince-s-gambit-card-game

Now, we’ve added Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition products to Studio2‘s store! See them here: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/all-products/changeling-the-lost

iprlogo

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

And you can now order Pugmire, Monarchies of Mau, Cavaliers of Mars, and Changeling: The Lost 2e! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=296

And available this week! Deluxe Changeling: The Dreaming and Deluxe Beckett’s Jyhad Diary! The additional books we have after the Kickstarter ship-outs are done are now at IPR!

DRIVETHRURPG.COM:

This Wednesday, we’re releasing Changeling: The Lost 2e Condition Cards on DTRPG, and CtL 2e Blank Journals are going on sale on our Onyx Path Redbubble store!

CONVENTIONS

New convention notices coming soon!


And now, the new project status updates!

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM FAST EDDY WEBB (projects in bold have changed status since last week):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)

  • M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
  • City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)
  • Geist2e Fiction Anthology (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)
  • Distant Worlds (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
  • Dragon-Blooded Novella #1 (Exalted 3rd Edition)
  • Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)
  • Exalted Essay Collection (Exalted)
  • Legendlore core book (Legendlore)
  • Chicago Folio/Dossier (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)
  • Let The Streets Run Red (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)
  • Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)
  • Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)
  • TC: Aeon Ready Made Characters (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
  • Trinity Continuum Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum Core)
  • TC: Aeon Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
  • Heroic Land Dwellers (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)
  • Monsters of the Deep (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)
  • Tales of Aquatic Terror (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)
  • Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)

Redlines

  • Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition core rulebook (Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition)
  • Creatures of the World Bestiary (Scion 2nd Edition)

Second Draft

  • Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)
  • Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)
  • Scion Ready Made Characters (Scion 2nd Edition)
  • Witch-Queen of the Shadowed Citadel (Cavaliers of Mars)
  • Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)
  • Scion Companion: Mysteries of the World (Scion 2nd Edition)
  • Memento Mori: the GtSE 2e Companion (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)
  • Pirates of Pugmire (Realms of Pugmire)
  • M20 The Technocracy Reloaded (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Development

  • Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)
  • Lunars: Fangs at the Gate (Exalted 3rd Edition)
  • WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)
  • Oak, Ash, and Thorn: Changeling: The Lost 2nd Companion (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)
  • CofD Dark Eras 2 (Chronicles of Darkness)
  • Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Manuscript Approval:

  • Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
  • CofD Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)

Editing:

  • Aeon Aexpansion (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
  • Dystopia Rising: Evolution (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)
  • M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
  • Tales of Excellent Cats (Monarchies of Mau)
  • V5 Chicago By Night (Vampire: The Masquerade)
  • V5 Chicago By Night Screen (Vampire: The Masquerade)
  • Spilled Blood (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)
  • Wr20 Book of Oblivion (Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition)
  • C20 Novel: Cup of Dreams (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)
  • Scion Jumpstart (Scion 2nd Edition)

Post-Editing Development:

  • Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)
  • Night Horrors: Shunned by the Moon (Werewolf: The Forsaken 2nd Edition)
  • In Media Res (Trinity Continuum: Core)

Indexing:

  • Ex3 Dragon Blooded (Exalted 3rd Edition)

ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:

In Art Direction

  • The Realm – More sketches in.
  • Ex3 Monthly Stuff
  • Chicago By Night – Contacting artists to see who is open.
  • Aeon Aexpansion
  • They Came From Beneath the Sea!
  • EX3 Lunars Assets finalized for KS page.
  • Signs of Sorcery
  • In Media Res – Headshots all in, and rest of the finals coming in.
  • Hunter: The Vigil 2
  • Shunned By the Moon – All artists contracted.
  • Book of Oblivion – Sketches coming in slowly but surely.
  • Contagion Chronicle Fulls/splats contracted for KS.

Marketing Stuff

In Layout

  • Dystopia Rising: Evolution
  • Scion Hero – Putting printer files together, sending to press this week.
  • Scion Origin – Putting printer files together, sending to press this week.

Proofing

  • M20: Gods and Monsters – Gathering backer errata.
  • Pugmire Roll of Good Dogs and Cats Gathering backer errata.
  • Adventures for Curious Cats – First proof corrections in.
  • Trinity Core – Inputting Errata.
  • Trinity Aeon – Inputting Errata.
  • Ex3 Dragon Blooded – Indexing.
  • Geist 2e
  • C20 Player’s Guide
  • False Images – EX3 novel Gathering backer errata.

At Press

  • Wraith 20th – Shipping to KS backers.
  • Wraith 20 Screen – Shipping to KS backers.
  • Scion Dice – At Studio2.
  • Scion Screen At Studio2.
  • Fetch Quest – Shipping to US.
  • CtL2e Condition Cards – On sale this week.
  • Slarecian Vault Art Pack 01 and 02 –Waiting for PoD proofs.

TODAY’S REASON TO CELEBRATE: 

Later this week – it’s human heart trading day! Happy Valentine’s Day, ya’ll!


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Comments

23 responses to “It’s a Marvelous Week for a Moondance! [Monday Meeting Notes]”

  1. Michael E Avatar
    Michael E

    I’ll probably start refreshing my browser routinely at 1:59 PM 😉

  2. Nevalie Avatar
    Nevalie

    > Scion Hero – Putting printer files together, sending to press this week.
    > Scion Origin – Putting printer files together, sending to press this week.

    Ooooh, I’m so excited!

    And so grateful for what you’re changing and your Kickstarters. Waiting for these things to be done has indeed become quite tiresome, though I understand how the delay came about.

    1. Yodo Avatar
      Yodo

      I think I’m up to twenty updates on Backerkit, just changing my addons over and over. The extra time was not wasted!

  3. Phaolan Avatar
    Phaolan

    So, to comment on a few points above…

    Regarding delays for KickStarters, I have never felt left in the cold by any of your delays. Most notably Ex3 and Wraith20, both took forever to get, but when they dropped? The wait was 100% worth it. I know that there were different things delaying each of those, but you kept us up to date and didn’t make us – well, most of us – feel like you weren’t going to deliver.

    The other thing is shipping costs. My 4 lbs of V5 prepordered slipcase three-book dealie arrived at my middle-America home from England, and for the outrageous cost of shipping I feel like I paid, I’m fairly embarrassed to tell them that it arrived damaged. Now I kinda know how the non-US KS backers maybe feel, and it’s rough. I know you do your best, of course, and you really do well. That’s what I’m saying.

    1. Diego Avatar
      Diego

      Wolfies, wolfies!!, aaawwwwww!

      ???

    2. Matthew Blanchard Avatar
      Matthew Blanchard

      Why should you feel embarrassed to let them know that your shipment was damaged. You paid Modiphius a lot of money for those books and that slip case – if it arrived damage you should not hesitate to let them know.

      Modiphius is pretty good about issues like this (I had a damaged Star Trek Adventures Core) – though not as good as the group that chased after bad copies of the POD copies of V20 until they got it perfect.

  4. Rob Avatar
    Rob

    I can’t wait for Kith and Kin to give more options for CtL 2e, which is just fantastic.

    What is the approximate timescale from First Draft to availability? Will we see any previews before then?

  5. wyrdhamster Avatar
    wyrdhamster

    ‘Pugmire Roll of Good Dogs and Cats – Gathering backer errata’ – So we wait a week, two for end of errata and PDF should be in publication? 🙂

    1. Eddy Webb Avatar
      Eddy Webb

      Errata takes as long as it takes. Then the developer has to review the errata, incorporate it, and then we slot it into the queue for release.

  6. Molez Avatar
    Molez

    Any way we can know what the pledge options will be for the kickstarter so we can plan things before it goes live?

  7. Troy Avatar
    Troy

    My Wraith 20 should be arriving today, according to the fine folks at the USPS. Woo!

    1. Tim Flannigan Avatar
      Tim Flannigan

      Mine arrived yesterday! So happy.

    2. Scott Banks Avatar
      Scott Banks

      Mine arrived today!

  8. Peter Pena Avatar

    Any chance you’ll start coming to any Texas based cons? Like, PAX South, A-Kon, Animefest, Dallas Comic Con?

  9. Jacques-Tristan Avatar
    Jacques-Tristan

    That anthro nautilus artwork is absolutely fantastic.

  10. Lian Avatar
    Lian

    Does proofing mean we’ll see the c20 pg soon?

    1. PookaKnight Avatar
      PookaKnight

      Hope so. I’m really looking forward to that one getting out into the wild!

    2. Victor J Kinzer Avatar
      Victor J Kinzer

      😀 I have so much anticipation for this text.

  11. C.T. Phipps Avatar
    C.T. Phipps

    Is it too early to ask how THE CHICAGO FOLIO and LET THE STREETS RUN RED writing is going?

  12. Jonathan Avatar

    Masks of the Mythos showed up on the boards quickly…. I’m more interested in Dragon but I’m never disappointed to see anything Scion related.

  13. Neil Avatar
    Neil

    Will Scion Hero and gods and Monsters be POD on DTRPG??

    1. richt Avatar
      richt

      Yes.

  14. Chris Brinkley Avatar
    Chris Brinkley

    Waiting for Signs of Sorcery to expand my mind. I went all-in on Lunars, Scion, and every other KS. But SoS…my preciousssss! Glad to see it’s on track!