First off, the featured image this week has nothing to do with the title of this week’s blog, and I feel I must apologize for not linking them thematically. But I put that shot of me there in order to ask you folks: should I change my standard “sparkler in mouth” icon that I use just about everywhere to that purple vested guy? I think I look a bit scary or angry, but what do you think?
Towards the stuff most of you come here for, here is the revised rest of WW 2014 Schedule through to 2015 that we have made a tradition of revealing at the beginning of the year. As I have noted before, the Schedule is something we use to estimate when we’d like the projects to release, it isn’t used to force any of our teams into a delivery date but to provide a framework and structure. We show it to you folks in the interest of transparency and so you can see that we are in fact working on these magical projects. Also, bear in mind that this is just the schedule for our WoD White Wolf IPs. We’re not posting Exalted 3rd books until the core book is at a point that we can far more accurately judge it’s time to completion, but at the point we know then the already announced books will be added starting with Arms of the Chosen. And we’re playing it closer to the vest on Scion and the Trinity Continuum as their re-imaginings are more complex.
Aug: DtD: STG was earlier originally in the year, but the added Demon Stretch Goal projects allowed us to push it a bit further so that each project gets the love it deserves.
DtD: Demon Storyteller’s Guide – Deeper looks at the ongoing struggle to survive on the run from the God Machine, as well as several suggested new Chronicle examples and variants.130,000 words/ 220 pages. PDF/PoD.
nWoD: Dark Eras– For 2014 we don’t present a new game line- instead we present each of the previous nine game lines with an evocative and appropriate historical period. Each Dark Era shall be helmed by a Developer/writer who is fully excited by the potential of that Era- for example, Ethan Skemp would love to shepherd his award-winning Changeling the Lost in France during the Era of powdered wigs, treachery, and flashing blades. The key to this project is that the base nine time period/supernatural pairings are rife for expansion using the Stretch Goals built into Kickstarter. For the first time we can construct this book using direct feedback from the fans during the process and increase some Eras’ word-count or add entirely new Eras as the community pushes for their favorites. Initially 220,000 words/ 320 pages. PDF/PoD Hardcover/ limited edition print run.
Sep:
Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition –. A letter of love to our Oblivion fans. In style and philosophy a matching volume to V20. Developed by Rich “Dead Guy” Dansky. 300,000 words/ 500 pages. PDF/PoD Hardcover/ limited edition print run.
Oct: W20 Umbra was originally earlier in 2014, but made more sense later in the year as Stew Wilson needs at least a little break after helming the Idigam Chronicle.
W20- The Umbra– The Umbra is the one part of the World of Darkness that really needs every word possible—it’s the one place that doesn’t have an analogue in the real world. It is covered in W20, but it really needs more detail, hence this book. The focus is on the Middle Umbra and the Penumbra as a setting and a storytelling tool, using the detail that we couldn’t go into in W20. 96,000 words/ 160 pages. PDF/PoD. Hardcover/ possible limited edition print run.
Nov:
nMtA- The Fallen World Chronicle- This book combines both setting and rules info to create a default Chronicle for Mage: The Awakening that still allows the sandbox play that nWoD is known for. The Chronicle focuses on the legends of the earliest human civilizations that first captivated readers’ interest in the nMtA core rulebook and presents a world where Mages still are discovering what secrets those ancients knew, and what dark mysteries destroyed them. 160,000 words/ 264 pages. PDF/PoD
VtR: A Thousand Years of Night– The fledglings think of elders as antiquated relics at best and childer-devouring beasts at worst. They’re wrong. Elders are vital and dangerous, canny monsters who have survived the rise and fall of countless lesser vampires. This book explores vampires who transcend history, who see the rise and fall of leaders and even nations. Elders are strange and mysterious enough to be conspiracies in and of themselves… or they’re dangerous outsiders who know where the bodies are buried. Playing an elder lets players immerse themselves in the history of their cities and the larger World of Darkness. An elder might have endured frenzy in the burning of Atlanta, or have strangled Jack the Ripper with his own two hands. This book provides guidance on playing Requiem in a whole new way, with new powers and hooks into mortal society out of reach for ordinary characters. Blood and Smoke compatible. 72,000 words/ 120 pages. PDF/PoD.
Dec: We moved DW3.0 later in 2014 to compensate for M20 moving into 2014, and for the expected projects that will come out of M20‘s Kickstarter campaign.
M20- Digital Web 3.0– The fans are already yelling for this- the classic magic infused internet sourcebook updated for M20. 96,000 words/160 pages. PDF/PoD. Possible deluxe edition.
Jan: Here’s a book that slipped to 2015, but one that lots of folks are asking about and so before anyone gets worried…
V20- Blood Diaries of the Clans- This volume will revisit the Clans as so many fans have requested, effectively functioning like a collection of mini-clanbooks, with each clan’s subsection arranged in the same format. This title would give many new story hooks, character concepts, history, and clan-specific crunch that pairs rules with setting. In particular, the combo Disciplines, which were not covered in V20 but have been requested again and again. Using the Open Dev feedback and Kickstarter process, we’ll be incorporating fan submissions: YOUR vampire made this combo power, or one of the prominent figures in clan history is YOUR vampire. 150,000 words/ 240 pages. PDF/PoD/ Deluxe Edition.
The 2014 Schedule is something Eddy and I discussed today at lunch- the move of Blood Diaries being one of the topics. We also reviewed WW’s social media sites and approaches. It might surprise you to know that Onyx Path does not “own” every WoD or Exalted Facebook page or other social media outlet. CCP still has some under their aegis that we do still post to, but while we at Onyx always try and connect with our community through all the venues we have, there are some places harder for us to sync up with. Which brought up a larger picture discussion as to just how we at Onyx Path perceive the social media community.
Well, obviously,we have a fair number of different venues we regularly post to including this blog and our attached Onyx Path Forums. Having the forums has been a huge boon for us, as it has pulled together the community from the old WW website. This was huge in our steps towards having a more focused way of communicating to all you wonderful folks. We have the Onyx Path Facebook page as well as a number of line-specific FB pages, and both Onyx Path and myself post more than daily on Twitter. And all those posts and tweets get reposted to our other aforementioned social media. With such a diverse community consuming it’s news and info in different ways, we need to be all over these sites, but social media is only one kind of fan outreach and we also make sure we are communicating through other venues- we’re always looking for more ways to reach out to both past members of our community and potential new fans as well.
For us, it’s not a competition for numbers, despite how much that tends to drive some social media, but of community engagement. Our community is there because they want to be, and this is the same with all the writers and developers and art directors who carve time out of their days as volunteers to talk with you folks. They love our games and worlds, and want to share that with you. At Onyx Path, we want folks spending the time on our social media because they are really into what we’re trying to do, which is why we’re not spending time, energy, or money on inflating our numbers of followers, or likes, or whatever. And considering how some social media venues tend to change their processes and ranking systems seemingly at random, I think we’re better off. That’s why we are spending time making sure this Onyx Path site right here (that we can make sure is running the way we want it to) is the place that has the latest news, blogs, and the forums.
Speaking of the latest news- the weekly updates:
– Blood and Smoke: The Strix Chronicle (VtR) Both the PoD and the PDF are available on sale on DTRPG! B&S Screen PDF is in for approval and the B&S Condition Cards are on sale at DTRPG, too.
– Mummy the Curse – Cursed Necropolis DC is in editing.
– Exalted 3rd Edition: While John hunkers down to rewrite the Charms chapter he is also changing some of the ways he’s been doing these to enable more to get finished, the rest of the team is working on a couple of EX3 chapters that continue to be finalized for Editing. On the Charms, Integrity is finished and Linguistics is up next. On book progress, chapter two (the setting chapter) is finished, sorcery rules are being revised. Playtest is ongoing and continues to generate excellent feedback that has substantially tightened up the combat engine and combat Charms thus far.
Zub’s EX3 Comic and both EX3 novels are being worked on. Exploration of a theme continues for the EX3 Music Suites– so far we’ve heard sketches for Dragon Blooded, Exigent, and Infernal. Heard another pass at the DB, but with more of an Asian set of instruments.
– V20 Hunters Hunted 2: Shipping services still continue to deliver these, although I have messages into both the US and European shippers trying to find out if we have gotten back shipments yet. Of Predators and Prey: The HH2 Fiction Anthology PDF/electronic is on sale at DTRPG: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/124845/Of-Predators-and-Prey-The-Hunters-Hunted-II-Anthology We’re looking at putting the PoD version to proofing this week.
– V20 Anarchs Unbound Kickstarter is live and is almost funded!
– Deluxe Werewolf 20th Anniversary Edition: As with HH2, shipping services still continue to deliver these, although I have messages into both the US and European shippers trying to find out if we have gotten back shipments yet. The Heavy Metal Deluxe W20 is slowly being assembled after several bad starts with the ink density on the metal covers- bad density= flaking, scratching, peeling. Mike Lee has a new batch of chapters of the W20 “Houses of the Moon” novel for Bill to review. W20 Anthology PDF is on sale at DTRPG now, and we are looking to get the PoD files on sale this week. Jess Hartley has submitted the White Howlers Tribe Book is in red-lining, and the W20 Cookbook PDF was delivered to backers before last year ended- I’m waiting for a proof of the PoD version. W20 Wyld West patch writing is going into editing.
– Deluxe Mage the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition has Phil on the very last sections of the book. Reviewing full pages in b&w first from Mike Kaluta. Five pieces of the Traditions two-page spread art have been approved by CCP. Going to do its Kickstarter after Anarchs Unbound‘s, and had a really fun conversation with Phil about how we can do the KS and how involved he wants to be. He said something about a fire and video.
– W20 Changing Breeds PDF and PoD versions are on sale at DTRPG! Deluxe files are with the printer. The Changing Breeds Fiction Anthology is in progress with second drafts.
– W20 Rage Across the World: The PDF went to Deluxe W20 backers first as an appreciative gift for their patience, and is now on sale at DTRPG. Waiting for the proofs of the PoD.
– W20 Book of the Wyrm is in layout. A couple of additional art pieces still coming in.
– V20 Rites of the Blood: is ready for layout, but layout is not yet ready for it, art finals rolling in.
– Under the Darkening Sky (classic Dark Ages): PDF is available on DTRPG. This was one of those books that was in progress right as the Dark Ages line ended, so show your support for that bygone and beloved setting and let us know you want more!
– Trinity Continuum: New System ideas continue being hammered out. Most of the Aeon setting material is in. Logo discussion has started.
– Scion: New Systems discussion continue. Both Scion and the TU above are now moving into active mode for 2014.
– Demon: The Descent: In a surprise move, we delivered the Demon PDF to KS backers before the end of December, and we’ve compiled changes and tweaks for an updated PDF before creating PoD and traditional printing files.
– Hunter: Mortal Remains: Art coming in and is in layout.
– Book of the Deceived (MtC): Second drafts being worked on.
– nWoD: Dark Eras: Writers are writing.
– V20 Dark Ages: Scribes are scribing. Some on 2nd Drafts. Check out the discussion on the WW Forums and these very blogs.
– DtD Players Guide: Flowers Of Hell?: In editing.
– V20: Ghouls: Writing continues very well.
– V20 Red List: In final draft stage.
– The Making of the Art of Children of the Revolution: Out to backers who pledged for it. Creating PoD files to go with PDF for sale on DTRPG.
Reason to Drink: Snoooooooooooow.
Comments
53 responses to “Silent Snow, Not So Secret Snow”
The new picture makes you look like Davos Seaworth, so I’d call it a clear winner.
Eagerly waiting Dark Eras and The Fallen World Chronicle. I just hope they’ll come around before the Canadian dollar hits rock bottom.
That’s quite a compliment. Although, for now, I still have all my fingers.
I gotta agree. Rather dashing looking fellow and it is much less grainy.
Like the new pic Rich, definitely in keeping with the distinction and sophistication you are bringing to OPP.
The “sparkler in mouth” icon makes you look badass, like a boss. It’s not even the sparkler, it’s your expression. The new icon is great as well, really, badass as a Chuck Wending selfie or Ron Swanson’s gaze. Hard choice.
So excited about all the upcoming releases, specially Wraith and Blood Diaries!
Ron really compelled me into watching the series- fun character.
I’m curious about VtR: A Thousand Years of Night. Could we perhaps get some word regarding who is working on this book? I’m also curious about what this will cover that Ancient Mysteries has not? Personally, I would love to run an Elders game, and am happy to see more material covering historical settings for ancient monsters.
As far as I recall in the discussions with Rose, this looks at Elder play more deeply and is written to be compatible with Blood and Smoke as well.
Vampire: Blood and Smoke has beautifully revived Vampire: The Requiem. I can’t wait to see “A Thousand Years of Night”.
I have asked this previously in the comments to the W20 Kickstarter, but it probably was buried under the many, many other comments, so hopefully it may get through here: for those of us who have ordered the HME, can adress changes still be processed? We were told early November that the deadline was over, which makes sense for the ‘regular’ deluxe books that shipped out in December or so, but seeing how the HME are still being produced, and if shipping takes as long as with the ‘regulars’ may not be shipped out until April or later… Well, my adress at least won’t be the same by then, and I suspect I am not alone. I have messaged RichT my new adress on kickstarter, but no response, so… It would be nice to know at least whether this adress change is still possible…
I have your address change. I don’t and can’t respond to every address change email- for W20 there were more than 400 changes.
Thank You – I don’t expect you to respond to every adress change message, just wanted to make sure the deadline in November could be handled flexibly for the HME. I know you’re probably flooded with enquiries about the W20 at the moment – thanks for clearing that one up (I was starting to have nightmares about the people moving into my parents old place getting very confused about a pretty book about Werewolves left on their doorstep and throwing it out eventually).
You should be OK- and I’ll ask again before shipping for address changes so you can double-send the new address just to be sure.
Just a thought, but could a Google form, or some other website form (PHP?) be created for folks who want to change their addresses? That way they know that it has been submitted to a database (perhaps with an automated Email reply that it has at least been submitted?)
Great to see the Blood Diaries back on the release schedule. Talking to Justin about it at Warpcon, and hearing the plans for it has really got me excited for it. Now to find a place in the schedule for Dirty Secrets 2?
This is the 2014 Schedule, you can find out about the 2015 Schedule in August. A Back Hand book might be on there…
Writin on a painfully bad to type on tablet so might be a wrong, but the only mention of theIdigam Chronicle is in October, and thats only because another book has moved there because Stew is busy with it.
Is there going to be a similar open dev process to this one too?
This is just the second half of the Schedule posted in this blog. The 2014 Schedule that is on our site still has Idigam, and we’re in the process of updating the whole year. Stew has used Open Dev for most if not all of the W20 books he has developed, I’d expect him to do the same with Idigam, but it’s his call.
No mention of Secrets of the Covenants? So I guess it’s being pushed back to 2015 second half?
Or it remains in the first half of 2014, on the schedule on our site here?
Oh… Hadn’t considered that much better possibility. Probably because I can’t recall it being mentioned in a long time. Anyways, always looking forward to new Requiem books.
That’s even better! 🙂 I’m just asking because the book is never mentioned in the weekly updates.
I’d recommend against the purple vest. It’s too hostile an image for a forum image.
“The [Fallen World] Chronicle focuses on the legends of the earliest human civilizations that first captivated readers’ interest in the nMtA core rulebook.” Well, that’s an interesting spin on the ‘AAAAAH, kill New Agers and their Atlantis with FIRE!!!!’ reaction on the forums.
I’m really of two minds about this. On the one hand Dave Brookshaw seems to be focusing on some of the elements of Mage I find most interesting and would have chosen to see expanded. But on the other I am not sure I will like what he actually does with them. I read an RPG.net post of his in which he said that the Scelesti are the only ones that really know what was going on in ancient times, which presumably means what’s in their Left-Hand Path chapter. I could never accept that as the new default.
Hello!
That description is very old – I think it predates my involvement – and I’ll update it today. The Chronicle book’s focus has really pulled together over the last year.
As for the Scelesti… I didn’t. I said the Scelesti are the oldest faction (the Arrow are technically the youngest, though the Free Council had a much bigger change only a few decades earlier), as they date all the way back to Kish. They were already ancient in the time of Mage’s Dark Era, which is set before the Pentacle and Seers existed.
Sorry Dave, I thought the write-ups I pulled the text from were up to date, but Fallen World’s was still the overall description rather than your much more interesting and accurate current plans. Mea culpa.
My fault for not checking! I think it’s life’s way of telling me to start blogging.
Thanks to Dave, the Schedule page has been updated with a newer description.
Niiiiice. They don’t seem all that different to me in terms of content, but the new one does sound much more exciting.
The description sounds like everyone is in the Mysterium now.
Blood Diaries of the Clans? Yeah, I’m diggin’ that. The (Revised) Clanbooks were a high point of the V:tM line for me and it’s great to hear that they’ll be revisited for V20. Please keep the in-character narration if possible-they just wouldn’t be the same without it.
Regarding OP’s presence on social media, I don’t envy the job of anyone who has to deal with managing/updating all those news outlets, but even with a widespread presence, I’m finding that it’s difficult to get news about new WW/OP products unless one knows where to look. Given that books aren’t appearing on store shelves anymore, I’m running into quite a few people who are under the impression that WW is out of business (and have never heard of OP), and I can’t say that conclusion is unreasonable for the casual fan to arrive at. There are a few contributing factors that I can see at work here, but the first thing I’d look at changing is the fact that the new White-Wolf.com page doesn’t do anything to highlight the fact that new products are still being made. It’s not unmentioned, but the fact that OP handles new releases is buried in a wall of text in a boilerplate corporate layout. Onyx Path needs to be front & center on that page, especially given that the old layout for the site hadn’t been updated in some time.
I just did a Google search for “White Wolf news,” and the first result I got was the @wwpublishing Twitter account (also the only relevant result on the first page of results). I can see that it’s pretty up-to-date, which is good, but doesn’t mention OP in the account description and links to the dead-looking White-Wolf.com site, and it also lacks the sidebar that @TheOnyxPath has. Does CCP not love you?
Another problem for the casual fan is that (in my experience) many the current game line pages are nigh impossible to find on Facebook, though I fully understand that this may not be within your control. Let me share a quick anecdote with you: in 2011, WW had long since stopped publishing anything for the lines I was interested in (the cWoD games, Exalted, and Scion), and the practically dead official site didn’t give me any hope of future releases, so they had fallen off my radar. Then, I was looking at someone’s FB profile and saw that they had liked a page entitled “Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition.” This was the first I’d heard of V20, through an obscure link on a random person’s public profile. Of course, I pre-ordered my deluxe copy as soon as possible, which was about a month after that, so I lucked out on the timing. Anyway, the problem with Facebook presence is that if one types the name of their favorite line in the search bar, the first (possibly only) result is the token Wikipedia-populated page for the game line, listed under the category for books. No OP, no 20th Anniversary line page. Of course, FB’s algorithms are ten kinds of screwy, so my results are not guaranteed to be the same as those of another, but if these experiences are in fact the norm, you can see how it would be hard for an old fan to find out new information about the games they loved (and could love again).
Well, that went on longer than I expected. On to pictures! Rich, you need a totally new image to be associated with, like one of you reclining in a big leather chair, hands clasped behind your head, feet kicked up on an oak desk, with some kind of status symbol prominently displayed, like a pile of money, or a tiger. Or, failing that, stick with the sparkler. 🙂
Hmm, sparkler seems to be winning in general. I actually just had a great talk with a friend of ours who is a Facebook marketer, and she let me in on quite a few strategies that should help Onyx get better presence on FB. Again, we don’t care about the number of likes as a numerical popularity contest, but we do want fans to be able to find us.
Does CCP love us? Well, CCP can’t love anyone as it’s a company and not a person with emotions. 😛 But, snark aside, the fact that they were able to carve out any time at all to put up the landing page has to be counted a win for us. Now, we at least have the chance that folks will read to the 4th paragraph and come over here to find out what’s up. It’s up to us to continue to get the word out that we’re creating new projects.
I love Onyx Path. I despise CCP. And it’s all emotional.
Well, that’s my point. You, as far as any of us knows, are human and therefore capable of strongly held emotional responses. A business is not and can’t. And thanks for loving us!
I saw the Fallen World Chronicle set for the end of the year. Is the Idigam Chronicle still set for sometime in 2014? I didn’t see it anywhere on the list of current projects or the revised release schedule.
Hmm, I see it in July. Was it not listed previously?
I found it on the Scheduling page. I just didn’t see it anywhere in the blog post above. I wasn’t sure if it got bumped. Thanks! 😀
Since our posted schedule only went until August, Rich’s post goes from August to December. So it’s not unexpected that stuff from the first half of the year wouldn’t show up there.
Maybe a link and a reference to the “Current schedule through July” just before the “New schedule additions” might help folks who don’t catch that the new begins where the current schedule leaves off?
Personally, I think the new picture is quite stylish. Don’t worry about scary or angry. You publish horror games. You don’t want to go for cute and cuddly. It would inflict unnecessary conceptual dissonance on your fan base.
VtR: A Thousand Years of Night: Only 120 pages? To me, this is what Requiem has been crying out for since it was published. It’s a terrific game world, and it’s become orders of magnitude more so after the Blood & Smoke revamp, but it’s hard to immerse yourself in it the way you can in Masquerade’s world, because there isn’t that depth of background and history to immerse yourself in. Could we get a chance to support an expansion?
Speaking of Masquerade’s world, is there any room for more Dark Ages products on the schedule, if DA20 really takes off? (I’m setting money aside for its Kickstarter already). Darkening Sky has whetted my appetite.
For WoD stuff, sure a freaky scary picture is cool- but for Exalted, or Scion, or Trinity…not so sure there although maybe I’m a super-villain in Aberrant in that pose.
Page count means nothing, Jon Snow. 80 pages but every page is filled with tight evocative inspiring writing is surely better than 160 pages of repetitive and dull blah-blah-blah. Not pointing pro or con at anything in particular. If Rose needs more pages, she’ll tell me.
Much like M20 or Wraith 20, we’re leaving the months after the V20: Dark Ages Kickstarter open as there’s a strong chance that there will be additional projects added during that campaign.
V20- Blood Diaries of the Clans
Yes. This, all of this. I’d like to see more of this, and see a variation of this for all of the X20 lines. Yes. Take my $?
I’ve suggested an updated Guide to the Traditions and Guide to the Technocracy for M20.
I heard brief mention on a forum a while ago, but can we get official confirmation that the 2015 splat has been pitched? Or is that outside of this purview?
I like the sparkler. The new image makes you look old and Vincent Pricey. Nothing wrong with VP, mind you! I mean “Vampire” and all that. (Gets ready to duck) It just depends how young and vital you want to appear. (Gets ready to duck again)
OKAY LET’S TALK ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE! 😉
Today there were several updates to Demon the Descent. I am to understand the update has all the Kickstarter names (mine included, yay), but more importantly—does it have all the errata corrections?
Continued excitement for Trinity, Scion and Exalted. Saving my pennies for the awesome M20!
Hey, anything after 50 is old! 😉
The updated Demon PDF contains all the errata Matt and Rose sent to layout. So basically, what we know about right now- like any published work, it will likely always contain some errors even with so many helpful folks sending us errata.
That’s cool. I always expect a few minor gremlins to stick no matter what. I love how how this new way of publishing sweeps most of them away however.
> Hey, anything after 50 is old!
life begin at 50!!
by the way, I recently submitted some projects and I’m afraid they got lost on the road. How can I check if they were properly submitted?
I’ve been passing submissions on to Rose as she is compiling writing submissions. Although I like to acknowledge every submission, it’s just a fact of the business that not every email or submission gets an “I hear you” reply. Don’t feel bad, keep in touch and submitting new work /ideas as you can. That’s how a lot of our writers break in eventually.
Ok, than I’ll keep sending projects
(hoping you don’t blacklist me as stalker 😀 )
Some books in the schedule have been marked as limited print run, not as deluxe edition. I take these are the same thing as Kickstarted deluxe/premium books? Am I wrong?
They may be Kickstarted, but might not. It’s a catch all description to leave us room to decide as KS evolves.
Will Exalted 3rd use xp or beats?
EX3 is not being designed to match the God Machine Rules.