Some Blood and Smoke with Just a Hint of Janus

Just this morning I got the Premium color PoD proof of Blood & Smoke dropped off at the door (I had reviewed the Standard color PoD version over the weekend), so we are good to go live with the PoD versions and in fact they are now on sale at DTRPG. The Premium color PoD book is one beautiful solid tome- as befitting the latest evolution of Vampire The Requiem!

Talked with Eddy, and we had a fair number of pieces go through CCP approvals this last week: art, whole books, logos. Still waiting to hear about an idea I had that I hope to go into more detail on later this year if CCP is cool with it (no, not about buying WW outright), and the 2015 Schedule which is now in their hands. Can’t reveal anything about that yet, but I do hope to let you all in on the rest of 2014 once Rollickin’ Rose and Impish Ian and I sit down and actually have our schedule review meeting this month. We’ll be updating the current expectations listed here, and looking further into 2014. Since I also have end of 2013 accounting meetings this week (the accountant is needed to explain the arcane processes they use to come up with the answer to the single question: did we make any money last year?), we’re squeezing in this talk where we can.

But in general terms, and as I went into at the beginning of this month: https://theonyxpath.com/13-was-a-lucky-number-for-onyx-path/ 2013 was a pretty crazy year for Onyx Path. We innovated and evolved a lot of…stuff. And the price of that, as an entity that wants to keep innovating and having fun while doing it, and which is built on the idea that all of our freelancers also have fun, is that a lot of our internal processes were challenged to keep functioning, never mind trying to evolve them into something that works better. For example, this website. We could do a lot more with it, but once the WW Forums were transferred here we needed to be sure that the transition for our community was a smooth one first and foremost, and think about bells and whistles after that was taken care of. And all things considered, I think we (well, Rose, Ian, and the fabulous WW Forum Mods- I was moral support) did pretty well in making the Onyx Path Forums a welcoming and familiar place.

So, again generally, in 2014 the Onyx Path gang have decided to spend a lot of our internal effort in shoring up those internal processes that need it, evolving those that can be improved, and ditching out-moded ways of thinking or methods that are just clunking along. And this thinking permeates a lot of our discussions about our efforts in 2014. Should we buy a huge booth at Gen Con and have a street party like WW once did? Not this year- we’re going to spend that effort and money on getting more demo games of our lines running at the con, and on having a focused message at the booth that builds on 2013’s presence rather than trying to blow anybody out of the water. Small steps that free us up to devote those resources to the creation of more awesome games and the delivery of those games to you.

For an example, consider our Kickstarters. Because Rose is now able to help me run them, I’m now able to go through the laborious process of trying to find new printers and shippers for our Deluxe and Prestige books and screens. There just wasn’t enough time to find more than a few reputable printers whom I knew could deliver the quality we needed, even if they took a long time to deliver it. Now I can find those who can do both.

Finally, Eddy and I talked about True Detective on HBO. The show might as well be in either version of WoD, and it is noir dialed up to 11. Matthew McConaughey’s dialogue and delivery are like a hypnotic weaving of existential bleakness so deep and dark that they make even me seem like Hello Kitty in comparison. And that provides a delicious catharsis that I’m just craving each week. Eddy had not seen it. But now he has to.

The weekly updates. They’re much less bleak than Matthew McConaughey:

– 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. Charms: Performance is done, Integrity is underway. Social engine overhauls are done, unless the playtesters turn up new issues, but it looks pretty solid right now. Martial Arts are getting some revisions based on playtest results. The various parts of the setting chapter (Chapter Two) are assembled, and expected to fully be in editing within a few days.

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.

– V20 Hunters Hunted 2:  Shipping services still continue to deliver these. 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

– V20 Anarchs Unbound Kickstarter is live and is already three quarters funded!

– Deluxe Werewolf 20th Anniversary Edition: As with HH2, shipping services still continue to deliver these. 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. Ethan is almost done the W20 Wyld West patch writing.

– 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 first drafts were due last week.

– 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): Proof was approved by CCP. Looking to offer the PDF on DTRPG later this week!

– Trinity Continuum: New System ideas continue being hammered out. Most of the Aeon setting material is in.

 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’re compiling changes and tweaks before creating PoD and traditional printing files.

– Hunter: Mortal Remains: Art coming in.

– 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: Last weekend was my 51st birthday and it snowed on me.


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27 responses to “Some Blood and Smoke with Just a Hint of Janus”

  1. Odd_Canuck Avatar
    Odd_Canuck

    Out of curiosity, can you shed some light on the Exalted charm development process changes? They’ve been ongoing for a full quarter now, which seems rather unusual for a process change for tight team. Are they still ongoing because it’s an iterative change?

    1. richt Avatar
      richt

      Hardest and most intricate part of the game. They go back and forth as each set tends to connect to and affect the others. When the Devs feel like they can be talked about usefully, they’ll reveal more of what’s been done with them.

  2. Atavist Avatar
    Atavist

    Happy belated Birthday.

    I’m glad to hear things are chugging along, but I wanted to add that I love the fiction anthologies. I’ve been a staunch nWoD fan, while I enjoyed hearing the stories about cWoD games, I didn’t get into playing the stuff until nWoD came out. Anyways! I really liked them and I’m because of them I’ll be investing in some cWoD stuff. I have to admit though I’m also really looking forward to the Idigam fiction anthology (and chronicle), as Werewolf has been my favorite line and it really needs more love.

    1. richt Avatar
      richt

      Glad to hear you’re excited about the Fiction we’ve been pulling together. I think it’s an important part of how we enjoy our settings- and can really illustrate them for incorporation in the game itself- but very hard to do a line of Fiction well. So we do them where we can, and having Fiction as Stretch Goals in our Kickstarters has been a massive boon to our efforts.

  3. Tiresias Avatar
    Tiresias

    I just got the PDF/PoD bundle coupon for Blood & Smoke. I won’t be using that one, but it’s nice to know it works.

    Looking forward to seeing what the rest of 2014 looks like, especially the blurb for the Fallen World Chronicle. I’ll be happily surprised if another Exalted book shows up on the 2014 lineup thanks to a scheduling technicality, but I’ll take what I can get.

    Happy Birthday!

    1. Phaolan Avatar
      Phaolan

      I WILL be using my coupon for PoD Blood and Smoke, and I’m glad that it shows for both the Premium and the Standard quality for the book. That’s a really nice touch.

    2. richt Avatar
      richt

      Exalted books will keep showing up; they’ll also not be real until we have an actual EX3 core.

  4. Jonathan Avatar
    Jonathan

    Best of luck finding those printers. You and I have traded a couple of e-mails about making the old screens available and I’d be just as happy to buy them from someone other than DTRPG.

    1. richt Avatar
      richt

      Looking for Kickstarter printers- finding a printer to do PoD screens of the older files is still just a pipe-dream.

  5. Brendan W Avatar
    Brendan W

    V20 all the things 8)

    1. richt Avatar
      richt

      All yay!

  6. Quinn Y Avatar
    Quinn Y

    For the “BLOOD & SMOKE: Strix Chronicle” new setting/revision for Vampire: The Requiem, are the old Covenant books still relevant/applicable? Do the extra rules in those Covenant books still apply?

    Thanks

    1. Rose Bailey Avatar
      Rose Bailey

      While the covenants have changed, a lot of the setting material in the covenant books still applies. Some of the rules are still relevant and some aren’t. For example, you can still use the rituals from Circle of the Crone with small adjustments, but things Invictus Oaths and Carthian Law have been replaced with new rules in Blood and Smoke.

      1. Quinn Y Avatar
        Quinn Y

        Cool. Thanks for the info. Blood & Smoke, from what I’ve read, is pretty awesome.

  7. Joe B. Avatar
    Joe B.

    True Detective is probably the best writtens how on TV at the moment.
    And really excited that The Dead Gamers Society is being part of the demo teams at Gen Con this year. Looking forward to our continued collaboration with The Wrecking Crew.

    1. Neall Avatar
      Neall

      You going to be there, Joe?

      1. Joe B. Avatar
        Joe B.

        @ Neall: Yep, Im signed up to run 3 events for The Dead Gamers Society/Wrecking Crew. Are you attending?

        1. Joe B. Avatar
          Joe B.

          Louis G. & Mike C. of DGS are also attending GenCon to run events.

    2. richt Avatar
      richt

      Looking forward to a longer session of hanging out with you and the gang w/less yelling over the music. And yes, the TD dialogue is snappy where it should be and hallucinogenic where appropriate too. Writing= one guy, direction= one guy, I’ve heard, and that may account for it. Very tight creative process and concept.

  8. Monkey Avatar
    Monkey

    Looking forward to the screen for B&S. Is there one for GMC planned or out, I forget (although I am sure it has been mentioned).

    Whilst I’m here, I don’t know if the B&S screen will have character creation guide quick guide on it (not that I want it particularly) – just thought I’d say it might want the favoured attribute free dot on it as it’s mentioned in the book but not repeated under the character creation summery, nor in the character sheet at the bottom with the rest of the creation rules.

  9. Kergonan Avatar
    Kergonan

    Happy Birthday, Richt.

    1. richt Avatar
      richt

      Thanks!

  10. Okamigrif Avatar
    Okamigrif

    “Exploration of a theme continues for the EX3 Music Suites- so far we’ve heard sketches for Dragon Blooded, Exigent, and Infernal.”

    Any chance we’ll get to hear some samples?

    1. richt Avatar
      richt

      Eventually- they’re just sound “sketches” right now.

  11. Erinys Avatar
    Erinys

    If only you guys could come out to the gaming convention in my hometown. Hardly anybody here ever runs WoD games.

    1. richt Avatar
      richt

      You’d want us to grab them and force them to play? 🙂 Mirthful Mike might be up for that with the right incentive!

  12. Jim G Avatar
    Jim G

    Looking at Mage20’s FaceBook page, it looks like Phil might get real close to finishing the document about the time the Kickstarter is ready. Is that correct, or is my timing way off. I’m not complaining or worried either way. I’m excited that it’s so close to being a reality.

    I just thought it was awesome how quickly Demon backers got their PDF while waiting for their books. It was really cool how that worked out and made for a well managed campaign.