Look At The Fire, Man! [Monday Meeting Notes]

Of course the big news is that we’re starting the Trinity Continuum: Aberrant Kickstarter campaign tomorrow, Tuesday July 2nd, at 2pm Eastern US time. And above is one of the pieces of artwork; this one featuring the dramatic moment when Randel Portman manifested his powers. Becoming then, The Fireman – the first known Nova (Aberrant).

Just one Word of Warning about the KS: as of the time I’m writing this, we are still waiting for the OK from Kickstarter after their review of the site. Certainly, we don’t expect issues after 30+ KSs, but if they don’t green-light this in time – just keep an eye out on our social media for when it will be live!

And while I’m at it, please note that you’ll need the Trinity Continuum: Core book in order to play TC: Aberrant, and we’ll have options for how you can include that with your rewards. We’re also going to give backers links for the finished TC: Core character creation chapter and the TC: Core Jumpstart along with the Trinity Continuum: Aberrant preview text released during the Kickstarter.

As previously, our goal with this Kickstarter is to raise the funds to print more books than the ones backers pledge for, so that we can get Trinity Continuum: Aberrant into retail stores. Scion 2nd Edition has only just been available for a month in retail, and our next Storypath System books to go into stores will be the Trinity Continuum: Core and TC: Aeon projects, followed by Dystopia Rising: Evolution and They Came From Beneath the Sea!, so we’re just getting started with introducing Storypath to the world.

Any help you can give by pledging to this Kickstarter will certainly help that effort!

Shunned By The Moon art by Leo Albiero

Like I mentioned last week, I personally have a long history with Aberrant, so I’m really looking forward to seeing where this KS goes. Plus, I got to work with Steve Kenson on this edition, a designer whose work I’ve loved since Mutants and Masterminds, and who was great to chat with on the couple of Diversity in Gaming panels we were on together.

I was so glad that after having pitched him on joining the team, and then poor Steve having to wait years as we hammered out the core Storypath rules, when at last I could finally contact him and say we were moving forward. A fair amount of that gladness was that he was still interested in the project after so much time had passed since we first talked about it!

But he was, and, in fact, you’ll be able to hear his fascinating thoughts on Trinity Continuum: Aberrant, as well as many other games and issues, on this coming Friday’s Onyx Pathcast where he is interviewed by the team!

In parallel with the Trinity Continuum: Aberrant Kickstarter, we continue to run the TC: Aberrant web comic You Are Not Alone right here on this site. So far, we’ve been thrilled with everyone’s comments as the storyline begins to talk about the world situation in TC: Aberrant and hint at the changes we’ve made to the setting in this edition.

Please be assured, we made no changes lightly, but this is very much a new edition, not a continuation of storylines from first edition. Our real world has significantly changed since the late 90’s when Aberrant was conceptualized, and so must the game’s setting. Plus, then, the idea of examining personality cults and deconstructing super hero tropes was still something fresh to the genre…not so much now.

We think we’ve moved the whole setting forward in ways that will thrill newbies and long-time fans alike, but we should know better how that has registered once You Are Not Alone and the TC:Aberrant KS have finished. Come along with us – and let us know what you think – it should be a fun ride!

Related Storypath System news: the Storypath Nexus Community Content site looks like it’ll be ready to go after this week. The July 4th holiday just jams up our effective time, so after this week we’ll be more readier.

Speaking of another world entirely, July is also the start of the Scarred Lands mega-campaign.The Vengeance of the Shunned starts, why, right about now, on the Slarecian Vault Community Content site for SL.

This was all planned by a team of community content authors headed up by Travis Legge, who we just recently brought on to lead the development of Scarred Lands. So, you could think of this mega-campaign as a really huge “audition piece”! But really, there are so many talented people who contributed, and I’m sure you’ll be seeing their names in official projects before long!

Wraith20 Book of Oblivion art by Mel Uran

Finally, I’d just like to encourage our community to give a listen to last Friday’s Onyx Pathcast. Our Trio have had a lot of fun during this past year of podcasting, and while they continue to bring their positive energy to last Friday’s episode, the subject matter is really not something that they are joking about.

The subject is Harassment, which is an issue that we at Onyx Path have been dealing with in a variety of ways since the company was founded. In fact, some of the strongest sections of this Pathcast are when Dixie, Eddy, and Matthew, speak of the different kinds of harassment they have personally encountered during their time in the TTRPG business.

From over-eager fans, to other industry “professionals”, to attacks and threats from strangers on the internet; all of these and more demoralize and frighten the very creators that our community look to for creative and engaging work.

I’ll provide you with another anecdote: if you look at our production in the 2017 time-frame, and the relative dearth of Kickstarters and number of seemingly stalled projects, a large number of these issues were because our creative teams were simply exhausted from dealing with harassment across the board. They had no creative impetus because so much of their time was spent defending themselves, and friends and co-workers.

A large part of our 2018 and 2019 Onyx Path Summits were about how to deal with all this negativity, including my shifting these blogs away from talking directly about these ongoing problems and into focusing on the fun and creative things we are doing. Not as a smoke-screen or panacea, but as a deliberate effort to remind both our community and ourselves of how awesome it is that we are able to create whole worlds for a living.

We can acknowledge the seriousness of the issues involved without letting that drive us away from the truly magical projects we create. You can hear that in the voices of Eddy, Matthew, and Dixie, and the conversation they have.

This is why this episode of the Onyx Pathcast is important.

Please take some time and give it a listen, if only to get a better grasp on the challenges we all face to bring you all of these:

Many Worlds, One Path!

BLURBS!


Kickstarter!

Starting Tuesday July 2nd at 2pm EDT, the Trinity Continuum: Aberrant Kickstarter will blast its super-powered way into our lives!

ONYX PATH MEDIA

Onyx Pathcast art by Michael Gaydos

This Friday’s Onyx Pathcast features world-renowned expert on all things super-heroic in games, Steve Kenson! The gang talk with Steve about his huge body of work, his specific brilliant design work on Trinity Continuum: Aberrant, and his many other interests: https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/

And Here’s More Media About Our Worlds:

The live Onyx Path News was such a hit last week (watch it again here: https://youtu.be/ssolzT5iGOo) that we’ll be doing it live again this coming Wednesday! Subscribe to our channel and click the bell symbol to be informed whenever a new video goes up!

Matthew’s Contagion Chronicle actual play continues apace with multiple parts uploaded over the last week! Here’s episode seven, where our characters encounter (and slaughter) a bunch of Beshilu: https://youtu.be/U5yrLR1WYmI

Keep watching Travis Legge’s Scarred Lands actual play of Myths & Matchmakers over here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmiXCaSrrCIjmCJQQ7oLwLNahmDbdn_2J Seriously: he’s one of the best people to watch if you want to find out about this setting!

Devil’s Luck Gaming haven’t stopped with their epic journey through Scarn either: https://www.twitch.tv/DEVILSLUCKGAMING

And our journey through the Scarred Lands doesn’t end yet, as the always excellent Caffeinated Conquests continue to march through the Gauntlet of Spiragos here: https://youtu.be/ygamfg9yBak

Returning to the Chronicles of Darkness, Occultists Anonymous‘ latest episodes of the Mage: The Awakening 2E continue here: 
Episode 25: Igniting An Old Flamehttps://youtu.be/2va2Eae2jfcMammon has some time alone to reconnect with an old acquaintance. Atratus speaks with her dead brother. Wyrd has some concerns. Songbird… meditates.

Episode 26: Escalation https://youtu.be/L4pADEK8aPo Atratus, Songbird, and Wyrd the Seer have a discussion of what is necessary to handle the mysterious Letter Man. Plans are made to investigate the original meeting spot. Songbird remains in his room..

And the Keeper of the Archive continues their overview of Scion Second Edition here! https://youtu.be/nCg8aXg1c0c and https://youtu.be/iaLFToU6OD0

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 awesome! (Seriously, you need to roll 100 dice for Exalted? This app has you covered.)

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 from which you bought it. Reviews really, really help us get folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these fiction books:

OUR SALES PARTNERS:

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire and Monarchies of Mau 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

Scarred Lands (Pathfinder) books are also on sale at Studio2, and they have the 5e version, supplements, and dice as well!:
https://studio2publishing.com/collections/scarred-lands

Scion 2e books and other products are available now at Studio2: https://studio2publishing.com/blogs/new-releases/scion-second-edition-book-one-origin-now-available-at-your-local-retailer-or-online

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

And you can order Pugmire, Monarchies of Mau, Cavaliers of Mars, and Changeling: The Lost 2e at the same link! And NOW Scion Origin and Scion Hero are available to order!

On Sale This Week!

This Wednesday, we are offering the Changeling: The Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition Player’s Guide in PDF and physical book PoD versions on DTRPG!

CONVENTIONS!

Gen Con: August 1st – 4th
Save Against Fear: October 12th – 14th
GameHoleCon: October 31st – November 3rd
We’ll also be back at PAX Unplugged later this year!


And now, the new project status updates!

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM 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)
  • Exalted Essay Collection (Exalted)
  • Trinity Continuum Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum Core)
  • Wraith20 Fiction Anthology (Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition)
  • One Foot in the Grave Jumpstart (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2e)
  • Dragon-Blooded Novella #2 (Exalted 3rd Edition)
  • Exigents (Exalted 3rd Edition)
  • Terra Firma (Trinity Continuum: Aeon) Titanomachy (Scion 2nd Edition)
  • Crucible of Legends (Exalted 3rd Edition)
  • Many-Faced Strangers – Lunars Companion (Exalted 3rd Edition)
  • Contagion Chronicle: Global Outbreaks (Chronicles of Darkness)
  • W20 Shattered Dreams Gift Cards (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th)
  • W20 Art Book (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th)

Redlines

  • Monsters of the Deep (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)
  • Tales of Aquatic Terror (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)
  • Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)
  • Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)

Second Draft

  • Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)
  • Dragon-Blooded Novella #1 (Exalted 3rd Edition)
  • Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)
  • Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition core rulebook (Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition)
  • Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)
  • Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)
  • Geist 2e Fiction Anthology (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)

Development

  • WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)
  • Oak, Ash, and Thorn: Changeling: The Lost 2nd Companion (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)
  • M20 The Technocracy Reloaded (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
  • Creatures of the World Bestiary (Scion 2nd Edition)
  • Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)
  • Scion Companion: Mysteries of the World (Scion 2nd Edition)
  • Let the Streets Run Red (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)
  • Cults of the Blood Gods (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)
  • Legendlore core book (Legendlore)
  • City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)
  • TC: Aeon Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Manuscript Approval

  • Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
  • Pirates of Pugmire (Realms of Pugmire)
  • Hunter: The Vigil 2e core (Hunter: The Vigil 2nd Edition)
  • Chicago Folio/Dossier (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)
  • Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)
  • TC: Aeon Ready-Made Characters (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Editing

  • Memento Mori: the GtSE 2e Companion (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)
  • Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)
  • Spilled Blood (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)
  • Lunars: Fangs at the Gate (Exalted 3rd Edition)
  • Heroic Land Dwellers (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)
  • DR:E Threat Guide – Helnau’s Guide to Wasteland Beasties (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)
  • DR:E Jumpstart (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)

Post-Editing Development

  • M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
  • V5 Chicago By Night (Vampire: The Masquerade)
  • V5 Chicago By Night Screen (Vampire: The Masquerade)
  • CofD Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)
  • Distant Worlds (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
  • Dark Eras 2 (Chronicles of Darkness)

Indexing

ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE!

In Art Direction

  • Contagion Chronicle
  • Dark Eras 2
  • M20 Book of the Fallen
  • VtR Spilled Blood – Waiting on the splat art.
  • Trinity Continuum Aeon: Distant Worlds – Sketches coming in.
  • Trinity Continuum Aberrant – KS Sketches and finals coming in.
  • Hunter: The Vigil 2e
  • Ex3 Lunars
  • They Came From Beneath the Sea
  • TCFBtS!: Heroic Land Dwellers
  • Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed
  • Ex3 Monthly Stuff

In Layout

  • V5: Chicago – A couple of chapters left to go!
  • Trinity Core – Getting cover specs from printer.
  • Trinity Aeon – Getting cover specs from printer.
  • CoM – Witch Queen of the Shadowed Citadel 

Proofing

  • DR: E – annotated proof back to Josh
  • Aeon Aexpansion
  • C20 Cup of Dreams – This week.
  • Ex 3 Monthlies

At Press

  • Dragon Blooded – Deluxe shipping to Studio2.
  • Dragon-Blooded Cloth Map – Shipped to Studio2.
  • Dragon-Blooded Screen – Printing.
  • The Realm – PoD proofs ordered.
  • Trinity Core Screen – Printing.
  • TC Aeon Screen – Printing.
  • C20 Player’s Guide – PDF and PoDs for sale Wednesday!
  • Geist 2e – Need to input Errata.
  • Book of Oblivion – Putting in errata.
  • Trinity: In Media Res – PoD proofs ordered.
  • Scion Jumpstart – Gathering errata from Backer PDFs.
  • Scion Ready-Made Characters – Gathering errata from Backer PDFs.
  • Blood Sea – Errata being input.
  • WtF Shunned by the Moon – Advance PDF prepping for next week.

Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

On this day, at about 11:30 in the morning after 23.5 hours of labor, my first daughter was born, singing, well cooing, from first breath and looking right into my eyes with her baby blues. And today, she’s a Psychiatric Resident and mother of her own cute little baby. Time, it flies! Love ya, kid!


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Comments

30 responses to “Look At The Fire, Man! [Monday Meeting Notes]”

  1. Yiodan Avatar
    Yiodan

    The worlds you create are phenomenal and as a result generates passion and pathos in great measure. Some of it, it saddens me, manifests in ways that just aren’t fair to you guys. No one should have to deal with such negativity. My respect and good vibes to you all.

    And best of luck with the KS. I will be amongst the first to pledge. Aberrant looks amazing!

  2. perverseness Avatar
    perverseness

    Manuscript Approval
    Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

    *Takes moment, dances in a wild frenzy*
    Woot!

    1. Eric Zawadzki Avatar
      Eric Zawadzki

      I daresay no one is dancing more enthusiastically about this news than I am, but I’m thrilled that you’re thrilled! 😀

      1. Chris Handforth Avatar
        Chris Handforth

        And dancing you should be Eric! This is awesome news!

  3. karpomatic Avatar
    karpomatic

    ABERRANT!

    I LOVE YOU ALL FOR THIS!

    Neall, I’m still hoping for a playtest at Pax Unplugged this year.

    1. Neall Avatar
      Neall

      Psht, you know it.

      1. karpomatic Avatar
        karpomatic

        Awesome.

  4. Michael E Avatar
    Michael E

    Did I miss the KS for Trinity Aeon or Trinity Core? I’m a little confused as to how the timelines for all of these line up, going just off of the project update status?

    1. Ian A. A. Watson Avatar
      Ian A. A. Watson

      Yep, the original Trinity Continuum Kickstarter ran from late January to early March last year. It’s mentioned in the weekly Wednesday release blog post in the Kickstarter section.

      You can still preorder it here if you want to get in on it.

      1. Michael E Avatar
        Michael E

        I surely do. Thanks!

  5. Keeper of the Archive Avatar
    Keeper of the Archive

    I will say that the Aberant Kickstarter is my most anticipated Kickstarter of the year. I always loved the Trinity titles, and was always saddened they didn’t really take off, though I suspect that was due to all the little issues(the name change from Aeon to Trinity causing people in a pre-Social Media world to lose track of it, Aberant deconstructing superhero tropes before that was the cool thing to do, and Adventure! just not getting the exposure it deserved).

    I totally hope it goes live on time, so we can get Adventure! in the Storypath system.

    1. richt Avatar
      richt

      I think that if we were not the #2 TTRPG (and for one month the #1 during this time period) company while the Trinity books were coming out, their sales numbers would have been fantastic for a smaller company. The Aeon thing didn’t help, nor the “but where are the vampires?” crowd that wrote off even trying a new game setting and who we were primarily hearing from, so all of that combined and we’re just thrilled that we get a chance to revisit and reboot the world(s) involved!

  6. Factol Pentar Avatar
    Factol Pentar

    Shunned! Shunned! Shunned! Shunned!

    We are hungry for Leath & Chris’s collection of awesome.

    1. Bunyip Avatar
      Bunyip

      SOON!!!

  7. JimG Avatar
    JimG

    Very excited about Aberrant. I really like Aeon, but I made a point to back it to help Aberrant become a reality. Steve Kenson working on it was a stroke of genius.

    1. richt Avatar
      richt

      We were very thrilled and lucky to be able to work with Steve on this.

  8. Carl Avatar
    Carl

    So very much looking forward to the Aberrant kickstarter. I just suffered a loss in my family and the joy that Aberrant will bring will brinh a amile to my face.

    PS. Lookibg forward to Divis Mal, love the character so much. I was a kid when he first was written and to see a gay man in a fiction role, it was awe inspiring.

    1. richt Avatar
      richt

      Very sorry for your loss – and oh yes, Divis Mal is very much still a prime motivator in the world of TC: Aberrant!

  9. David Meloche Avatar
    David Meloche

    Aberrant Kickstarter is my group’s most anticipated project since we learned OPP uses KS to get new projects launched.

  10. C.T. Phipps Avatar
    C.T. Phipps

    Congratulations on your new daughter!

    Also, this Kickstarter is going to be huge! I just know it.

    1. richt Avatar
      richt

      To clarify if I wasn’t clear, it’s my first daughter, who is in her early 30s, whose birthday was this week. 🙂

  11. Matthew Barker Avatar
    Matthew Barker

    I was really excited about Aberrant but with the Australian dollar the way it is and the price of international shipping it was going to be $165 for 1 book.

    I’d love to support you all as I’ve loved Trinity for a long time but it’s just not feasible at that price. Maybe if you ever get around to Trinity Continuum: Adventure we can bundle them in together?

    1. richt Avatar
      richt

      Understood. The purpose of the KS is to fund extra copies being printed in order to get them into stores, so your local game stores should be able to order them for you. And, as always, you’ll be able to order PoD and PDF versions from DTRPG.

  12. Paul C. Avatar
    Paul C.

    Excellent news! I can’t wait to read Deviant! And… Will we see Hunter The Reckoning 20th Anniversary Edition?

    1. richt Avatar
      richt

      And if you back the Deviant Kickstarter, when that happens, you’ll be able to read it early (albeit in a text-only and unedited form). As for H20: you’ll need to ask White Wolf/Paradox if they will green light it – we’d love to do it!

  13. Yiodan Avatar
    Yiodan

    Wait, a new Werewolf artbook! Am I imagining things!?

    OMG! Thanks OP! Getting my paws on that! Horrible pun fully intended.

  14. Samuel Fore Avatar
    Samuel Fore

    I am looking forward to HtV 2e! I really need some updated Endowment R&D rules. My very real obsessive tendencies will settle for nothing less than official rules to work from for my custom designs, and the guidance in Mortal Remains is helpful but I can still hear the rule monkey screaming about it in the back of my brain. Also, yay for Deviant!

  15. Tim Flannigan Avatar
    Tim Flannigan

    So will we get a Deviant sub-forum soon?

  16. Cipher Avatar
    Cipher

    All the best for your daughter!Good luck and happiness!

  17. Clell Flint Avatar
    Clell Flint

    I posted through the FAQ for TC:Aeon but didnt’ get a response there so not sure it was ever seen and no other place to send errata. There is unfortunately a typo in the reference document for the TC: Core screen in the Character Creation section where it incorrectly lists the extra skills gained as 3 and the rules state it is 6