Back in Black!

All righty then! I sure hate to miss a week with these blogs- it’s not as much fun when I’m not talking with you folks and letting you know what we’re up to here on the Onyx Path.

Big news is that we just launched the Kickstarter for the Deluxe Anarchs Unbound– the V20 look at those rebellious vampires that are fighting the power (The Cam and The Sabbat). Like any book developed by Justin Achilli, this one went through the Open Development Process of posting chapters and gathering comments, and now you can check out 99% of the current text here at the KS page:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/deluxe-anarchs-unbound

Go ahead and check out the text and let us know what you think!

Eddy and I finally had a chance to meet, and we went over a few licensee/licensor issues, made sure I sent him the checks and things I’m supposed to, and reviewed where things stand with the proposed 2015 Schedule. (See, we hadn’t forgotten that- it just needed refinement and feedback and more refinement.) He let me know that all signs point to him attending Gen-Con this summer, which is awesome as that means I get my awesome roomie back, and that we can do our usual comedy of errors with our panels.

We talked a fair bit about Mid-Winter Con, which I was deeply sorry to have missed, and how it has really grown. Coming out of that is the idea that we should talk even more with our blood cousins at By Night Studios– which I hope happens soon- and stories about the inevitable couple of fans who needed info about this whole Onyx Path publishing White Wolf thing. I hear one fan hadn’t even made the jump to the cWoD Revised editions, so no surprise he hadn’t heard of us, but a great opportunity to catch him up to date. If any of you folks know of fellow gamers that would be excited about what we are doing to shepherd the WW game lines (or were big Trinity or Scion fans, too), please let them know that we’re bringing them back. Point them to this website, or the OP Facebook page, etc. Thanks- every time one more fan gets the word, we all benefit.

I know you missed these guys: the weekly updates:

– Blood and Smoke: The Strix Chronicle (VtR) The PDF is available on sale on DTRPG! The acclaim that this project has gotten has been amazing! Thanks so much everyone who has already picked up the PDF- we’re actively getting the PoD files together right now. B&S Screen PDF is in for approval and B&S Condition Cards are supposed to go on sale Friday at DTRPG.

– 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: Presence has been put to bed, Performance is getting wrestled into compliance. It’s been unexpectedly tricky because it encompasses so many disciplines (music, dancing, oratory) and the #1 thing people have been asking for has been that the mechanics express that granularity, rather than just lumping them all together into universal effects like EX1 and 2 did. John has a number of Charms written for it and it’s moving forward.Edits have been coming back and getting implemented for those sections that have gone out to editing already. Leadership system and merits are getting finalized this week, Storytelling is going to be prepped for edits. Antagonists are getting some tweaks based on things we’ve seen in the playtest. Art notes are being compiled (banging on Performance/social system delayed ’em).

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 today and already headed towards being halfway funded- see above.

– 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. Four pieces of the Traditions two-page spread art have been approved by CCP. Going to do its Kickstarter after Anarchs Unbound‘s.

– 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 yesterday.

– 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 in for approval with CCP.

– 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: To get warm.

39 thoughts on “Back in Black!”

  1. Glad to see you’re back. Any chance we can get some info about the Scroll of Ages?
    Even if it’s just a stickied post on the Mummy forums, I would still be interested in seeing it.

    Reply
  2. I realize Im likely putting the cart well before the horse, but in light of a lot of the emerging advances in PoD and 3d printing and the continuing success of crowd funding, is it at all a possibility to see a return of Trinity: Battlegound? Or has that ship sailed?

    Reply
    • While I enjoyed it, it sank pretty quickly originally, lasting only six months. The TBPG was devised in an attempt to make up for the cancellation of the supplements like LoneStar and ChromePrime, but even the TBPG was cancelled before it was completed.

      We’d have to have a pretty compelling reason to start it over again, beyond “we can 3d-print the miniatures.”

      Reply
    • It would be a very different project for us and rather than trying to shove it into a book publishing schedule, I’d want to do it right- and as Ian points out, there are some downsides. But I wouldn’t rule out some variation on the idea- I just want us to get to a point where we have the initial game books up and in folks’ hands.

      Reply
  3. Very, VERY excited for Hunter: Mortal Remains. I hope that if it’s successful(it will be), there’s some plans for more Hunter-related material.

    Hunters Hunted 2 is fantastic, by the way.

    Reply
  4. Very interesting update on Ex3 this week, particularly the Storytelling chapter. Sure, it’s probably the least interesting chapter in the book, but I think it was the only chapter we hadn’t gotten an update on yet.

    Reply
    • I am also pleased to have an update, but I have to disagree. It was one of the most interesting chapters for me in 1st and 2nd ed. I’ve always been a fan of the day-to-day struggle stories (the Tier 1s), at least in terms of conception for stories, so much so that its sometimes hard to wrap my mind around the world-shattering epics needed to run Exalted. The storytelling chapter has always helped me really get a grasp on exactly that: what it means to tell an Exalted story.

      Reply
      • I find GMing chapters in general tend to overlook small but crucial details like “OH GOD MY PLAYERS ARE BOTCHING ALL THEIR ROLLS WHAT I DO.” I don’t need a Storyteller chapter to figure out how to write a story, but I do need it to figure out how to get around problems that will only come up in an RPG.

        Then again, some things just can’t be taught. They must be learned.

        Reply
  5. What’s the likelihood of a GMC NPC repository at some point, say detailing common inhabitants of a town/city?

    Coming into world of darkness fresh, one has to convert the few npcs in the original blue book, and if they go for blood and smoke there are no stated vamps.

    I’m thinking if the major players both mortal (from crime boss to mayor, judge etc) and supernatural (Prince, Sheriff) had a book it would be easy to populate your worlds for the newcomer.

    As is the options are to create everythig from scratch or buy other books/search free adventures and convert.

    Reply
  6. Any word on how Idigam Chronicle is coming along? The fiction anthology is still listed as this month, though the book itself seems to have moved to April.

    Reply
  7. Yea! An update!

    Taking aside for a while the fact that I must be getting annoying with this by now, any vague idea of when we might start hearing more details on the new Scion? :p

    Reply
  8. Just curiosity, but will we be seeing an adjusted schedule for the Ex3 line? Or is it all currently on hold/stasis until Core gets finished?

    Reply
    • As Rich said above, “Having a big scheduling meeting about upcoming projects tomorrow actually and will have info about Idigam in next week’s Updates.”

      The meeting’s been put off due to illness, but it’s still happening as soon as we can get together.

      Reply

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