I have no idea how a month has almost flown by with the Deluxe Mage 20th Anniversary Kickstarter, or how a quarter of 2014 is gone already. Jeez Louise, stuff is just rocking forward along the Onyx Path. Which is great in a lot of ways, but its also really easy to put something off for “a day” and find that you don’t get back to it for weeks instead. Gagh!
Fortunately, this week Mr. Webb and I did talk and postponed nothing. We had a few approvals that went through just fine, and a couple of biz dev discussions. Biz Dev. Heh. Monetize. Staycation.
Sorry, got my mind caught in a jargon trap.
We also talked about the various ways Kickstarter is perceived, and the incredible community it engenders, but also how some folks in that community perceive Kickstarter campaigns as pre-orders, or that they now have far more “ownership” of the project they backed than the process is really suggesting. The big news items like Veronica Mars, or the Facebook buyout of Occulus Rift certainly bring this into a larger arena, but even some notes we get from backers suggest that one’s emotional buy-in seriously colors our perception of the KS campaign. It’s the dark side of the awesome feeling backers can have from a fun campaign where their suggestions have changed the project or the KS itself.
And because of the day being what it is, here are a few words about April Fools Day. Or at least my POV in terms of how I think April 1st should be handled by Onyx Path. I’m not a big fan of the fake announcement, no matter how ridiculous. After having survived many of them over the years with White Wolf, I really do think that “ha, ha, we gotcha!” sort of prank is a mis-step in communications between us guys and all of you. It really sounds like a dumb gag shouldn’t change things, but this is communication over the ether, and our understanding of the overall tone of that communication is a combined effect. Like, I work really hard to always write this blog as openly, as honestly, as transparently, as I can. And I hope that that honesty is something that has set the tone and expectations in our dialogue here. So it really seems to me that a gag would contaminate that, and again, this is based on the real world reactions of folks over the years with WW. To paraphrase Gandalf: “The white that is broken is no longer white, Saruman. You putz.”
But, that doesn’t mean I have no sense of humor (well, maybe it does) nor that I don’t want Onyx to have some fun on the day- so what I like are actual projects that approach our game lines with a different slant than we would normally use. You can see that with the later WW April Fools offerings, and last year’s Onyx Path Scion “Not Really Very Good Gods” booklet. Having some fun, but also something that you could use if your personal games could benefit. This year, today, we have the World of Darkness Overly Specific Condition Cards:
Condition Cards have also been produced, in order to make it even easier for players and Storytellers to manage the Conditions in play at their table. Some amazing stories and themes are possible utilizing Conditions and they can provide deeply immersive and compelling moments of significance for your Chronicle.
At least, most of them can…
Included here are Conditions that are so particular, so specific to a very limited situation, so singular in their use, that in good conscience we just couldn’t contaminate our Very Important game design with them. But, depending on your Chronicle, they also might be just what the moment requires.
Written by David Hill, the Conditions guy himself, and haphazardly and vaguely playtested, these Overly Specific Condition Cards include:
- A Missing Tire and No Gas, and a Monster Chasing You
- Broke a Mirror On Friday the 13th
- Cornered by Things That Are Smaller Than You
And the ever-popular:
- Don’t Have Any Clues but the Plot Needs to Move Forward
‘Nuff said.
No Joke Updates here:
– Mummy the Curse – Cursed Necropolis DC is in layout and art & maps are in.
– Exalted 3rd Edition: From Holden: Writing continues on Lore Charms and crafting systems. Evocations are still being worked on this week, and we’ll be ready to start spilling some info about them very soon. Feedback on social mechanics continues to roll in, and we’re getting some useful stuff now. The social mechanics are tougher to playtest since they’re so much more slow-paced, and we’re get our best data on them from the people who are running ongoing stories with the playtest packets vs stand-alone white room testing. Unfortunately, this takes longer, but is finally paying off.
Zub’s EX3 Comic is almost finished being illustrated and both EX3 novels are being worked on. Starting to get one of the EX3 Music Suites to a finished state, the Dragon Blooded theme.
– V20 Hunters Hunted 2: US/Canadian missing packages being gone through case by case- at this point I should have messaged all of you back. Still hearing every day from International backers who are getting their packages, so it does seem that all International packages have been sent. Going to post an Update asking for missing International packages this week,but not until the Mage20 KS is over- too much email exploding right now.
– V20 Anarchs Unbound : The extra text on the added Free State is being worked on- plus an added Free State that Justin was so passionate about that we’re including as a bonus.
– Deluxe Werewolf 20th Anniversary Edition: As with HH2, US/Canadian missing packages being gone through case by case- at this point I should have messaged all of you back. Still hearing every day from International backers who are getting their packages, so it does seem that all International packages have been sent. Going to post an Update asking for missing International packages this week,but not until the Mage20 KS is over- too much email exploding right now. The Heavy Metal Deluxe W20 is slowly being assembled- the W20 discs are in from China and with the printer now. Mike Lee has a new batch of chapters of the W20 “Houses of the Moon” novel for Bill to review. Jess Hartley has the White Howlers Tribe Book in second drafts. W20 Wyld West is in layout and art is coming in.
– Mage the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition- the Deluxe M20 Kickstarter KS has one day to go and we have (as of this writing) 3503 backers, and $597,851 in pledges! We’ve passed 24 Stretch Goals including 3 early t-shirt designs, a Character Pack PDF, a Quickstart PDF, a PDF on the way the Spheres work, an increase in the art budget, Book of Secrets PDF and PoD, two more silk bookmarks, a Mage20 Fiction Anthology, The Book of the Fallen PDF, a free PDF of the classic Infernalism: The Path of Screams, the M20 Cookbook, a pay bump for the creative team, and unlocked the Ultra-Deluxe M20 Quintessence Edition- has passed the minimum 200 copies pledged for that we need to go to press. Come check it out now while you can! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/deluxe-mage-the-ascension-20th-anniversary-edition
– Mage 20 Quickstart: Being written.
– W20 Changing Breeds PDF and PoD versions are on sale at DTRPG! Deluxe files are printing, and embossing. The Changing Breeds Fiction Anthology in editing.
– W20 Book of the Wyrm is in layout. This will be the next Kickstarter project in a week or two if everything times out as expected. We think this book should appeal to W20 and W20 Changing Breeds fans alike.
– V20 Rites of the Blood: is ready for layout, but layout is not yet ready for it, waiting on one artist for finals.
– Trinity Continuum: New System ideas continue being hammered out. Most of the Aeon setting material is in. Logo discussion has started. We’re looking at starting some preliminary blog posts. We’re looking at posting the New System for community review before we roll it into either Scion or the TC, so getting that ready. Had an excellent art meeting last week- we’re looking for the right artists for both the Trinity Continuum Core Book and TC: Aeon books.
– Scion: New Systems discussion continue. Both Scion and the TC above are now moving into active mode for 2014. Contracts and art notes out for the Scion: Origins cover.
– Demon: The Descent: As above: Demon is now available in PDF/PoD/PDF&PoD combo versions. The Demon: Ready Made Characters PDF link has been sent to backers. Demon Seed Collection is in first drafts. DtD Seattle is in first redlines. Heirs to Hell is in final development. Demon Translation Guide is being written.
– Hunter: Mortal Remains: Art coming in and going in for approval to CCP, and is back in editing.
– Book of the Deceived (MtC): Redlines. The loss of a writer means their section has to be given to a new writer, CAS is on top of it.
– nWoD: Dark Eras: Second drafts except for one chapter which is in first drafts.
– V20 Dark Ages: Scribes are scribing 2nd Drafts. David Hill has recently moved to a new country and is still acclimating, more info once he is settled in.
– DtD Players Guide: Flowers Of Hell?: In layout and being art directed.
– V20: Ghouls: In redlines.
– 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.
– W20: The Umbra: In redlines.
– WtF: The Idigam Chronicle: First drafts being written.
– GtSE: Geist Ready Made Characters: In redlines.
– Also: See above for April Fools project World of Darkness Overly Specific Condition Cards from DTRPG now!
Reason to Drink: Sweet 16 party for my daughter this weekend…
Does the fact that “writing continues on Lore Charms” mean that Occult is done?
Can’t give you a straight answer. Should be, but then something changes in another section and a rewrite is needed.
As I thought. Thank you.
Awesome news about Mage 20. Glad it’s been such a huge success.
Eagerly awaiting Mortal Remains.
Happy Sweet 16 to your kid, Rich.
Thanks, UM!
‘I’m not a big fan of the fake announcement, no matter how ridiculous. After having survived many of them over the years with White Wolf, I really do think that “ha, ha, we gotcha!” sort of prank is a mis-step in communications between us guys and all of you.’
Something like that. A good friend was so pissed off by the anonymous-liberty stunt, on behalf of his freelancer friends who found themselves in fear for their pay, that he refused to buy any Hunter: The Reckoning material whatsoever; another was deeply embarrassed by father-ramos being such a perfect poe (Nathan, not Edgar) that it fooled him.
They were not the only ones.
And as long as I’m here, are there plans for a PoD release of the Overly Specific Condition Cards? Because I’m planning to get the GMC, B&S and DTD ones, but I want to consolidate the purchase as much as possible, and I would in fact pay money (not much, but real money) for printed OSCCs to go with the rest of the set.
Yes, there will be.
If I may make a suggestion on the artists I’d like to see for Trinity Continuum: Leif Jones and Langdon Foss are great artists who should comeback to show us how much more they’ve grown.
Oh my God, you know who else should come back for Trinity Continuum? GUY DAVIS! That would be f***ing cool!
Having some artists from the original books would definitely be cool, and we’ve discussed all three of the artists you mention. Love all of them. We’re not doing an Anniversary Edition with Trinity though, so we’re also looking for new talented illustrators as well.
Great! Looking forward to Trinity Continuum!!! I just leafed through the Aberrant Core Rule Book and I saw all the awesome Guy Davis art. Wow.
He’s a great storyteller.
Yea! Book of the Wyrm 😀
I am sooooo ready to pledge. You can count on my full backup. And let me start right away with the feedback, if you’ll forgive me. I would love stretch goals that add to the book. Like an expanded section on corrupted feras, Wyrm worshippers (human or fomori) and other less explored wyrm goodness.
I think both Stew Wilson and myself are thinking the same way.
Excellent! This is going to be glorious. 🙂
Sounds great! Looking forward to being impressed.
I hope they avoid the Writer on Board trope, like the infamous depiction of a thinly disguised James Randi as a member of a child molesting Wyrm cult.
I support your April’s Fool policy. That’s all I wanted to say.
Well, that and omigosh, Evocations spoilers, can’t wait!
Thanks! I appreciate the missive of support.
I’m still looking forward to Exalted, more Demon and Scion.
I’m also immensely pleased that I no longer live in an arctic wasteland, at least not until next December, but that doesn’t have anything to do with you. OR DOES IT?
Mwa Ha Ha!
Let’s see that changeling!
Might happen…
Gosh, I’m hoping for C20. I have plans for it… In memory of a friend I recently lost, actually.
MUST happen! 😀
I completely agree with your statement about April’s fool, and I’d like to add that some of us, from the outside of USA and the countries that have that tradition, every year we have to remember to not have to many hopes about strange projects in April. And sometimes we forget it, and other year we feel deceived with some companies.
Thank you by all your work by the way!
You need to adopt more of our stupid holidays. Dumb your country down! ;P
I will say that I find that Onyx Path(and Later White Wolf) and Catalyst Game Labs(and its predecessor Fanpro) do the best April Fool’s Jokes in gaming. I have used EXXXalted in games, and even the last couple years stuff from Onyx Path/White Wolf have gotten some airtime in the appropriate games. Though, I still think the absolute best April Fool’s Joke came from CGL/Fanpro when they had had the rest of the releases for the year at mostly 95% finished, and announced their release plans for the rest of the year…and NO-ONE believed it, because it was a lot of books(They then proceeded to get all but, IIRC, 2 of the books out by the end of December). That is the joke that on their forums still gets fondly talked about years later.
Far too organized for us! Good joke though.
I think your call on April’s Fools Day is the right one. I never had bad experiences with White Wolf’s stunts in previous years, but I can see how they could get a bit too much occasionally. For example, I recall completely believing the Geist preview which stated that Geists are actually ghosts of other supernaturals that died. It took me about an hour to figure out which day it was. I wasn’t angry because of this, I had a good laugh actually, but it certainly does create a sense of needing to be on your toes. That probably isn’t how you want your community (of mostly customers) to feel. What’s more, I get the feeling that lately Internet has been way too serious about these jokes. Colleagues in the office have been honestly asking around yesterday if Google really is going to give the best Pokemon Master a job. I don’t approve of that. As you say, it’s a clear case of miscommunication, and the fact that it was done on purpose doesn’t make it better (it might even make it worse).
This year’s Onyx Path joke is excellent, though. Still didn’t look into the actual product, but I laughed out loud at the preview.
I just got my PoD proof and was reading through the cards- David did a great job with them. He used ” McConaugheyan” in a description. You should download the PDF and check it out, really funny.
Is it bad one of my main interests in Wyrm20 is a possible update on Braney? Can’t wait for that KS to start.
I wasn’t going to pledge for M20 because Mage hasn’t been a big priority for me and I can wait for the PoD instead of Deluxe. But with the recent announcement of Technocracy Reloaded I might have to kick in.
Hope you did- it was a really fun KS.
OMG! Braney
“I love you,
You love me,
Let’s perform atrocity”
Genius!
In other notes: What? Technocracy Reloaded!? Like, T20?
Awesome M20 kickstarter — I can’t wait to hold my Q edition.
So hope we get a Changeling kickstarter announcement at GenCon. Can’t wait to support it and Wraith.
Thank you OPP.
You are very welcome.
That M20 kickstarter was exciting to watch.
Now I’m eager to see what new books for the Werewolf line will be revealed by the Book of the Wyrm kickstarter.
Strategy-wise, I’m thinking this is one where you’ll have more of a chance to add sections to the book and we’ll only do a few added products. (But we do have a couple of books in mind already).
Hmm.. I gotta say, a book on cultists in dark tones of of Chronicles of the black labyrinth would be awesome. And thats just one of the many possibilities I can see. So much potential here!
On a totally unrelated note to Mage, what’s the chances of getting the Damnation City PDF updated to a single file? I understand when it was produced the two file split was due to the size of the book but since then we’ve had beasts like V20 and W20 that have been produced as one file. I totally appreciate it’s a first world problem but the untidiness of having the two files really irks me and I’d love to see it become one complete volume…
So I posted that comment and got an email confirming the file’s been updated within, what, an hour and a half? Wish I’d asked sooner now…
But seriously, thanks!
Looking into combining the PDFs right now. Wasn’t even aware it was done that way. Fair warning: it’s looking like a huge file. DC was at the very beginning of integrating DTRPG selling into our strategy at WW, and how the files were handled shows that lack of experience.
You’re right, its a massive file (136MB) but its not the biggest of the older files (Changeling the Dreaming as an example clocks in at a whopping 156MB). I’ve watched you guys move forward through the short number of years since you pushed into PDF/POD and I appreciate the constant improvements to older files that I see from you all the time.
April Fools Day notwithstanding, I want to say that I highly appreciate your candid thoughts about Kickstarter, Rich. It’s a very unusual beast, and even after backing every one of the Onyx Path projects (at varying levels), I am shocked to see the same few people making the same demands over and over, regardless of the fact that said demands are patently beyond the scope of any Kickstarter project… I’m SURE you know to whom and what I’m referring, Rich!
The notion of ‘ownership’ is tricky, though. I feel a really strong sense of ownership over The Hunters Hunted II, since Kickstarter pledges were able to increase the content of all versions of the book by a good 25%. That was a really wonderful opportunity for us as the community, but it also slowed down the roll-out of the book. That the W20 saw a similar (but ACTUALLY very different) delay was unfortunate, but the backers of BOTH projects had very similar gripes. Sure, there was some overlap in those two communities, but they shared a lot of the same sense of entitled ownership. I’m not saying it’s misplaced, but I find it curious how it works.
For what it’s worth, *I* never felt that we were treated unfairly, but I sometimes feel like a lone voice in a surly wilderness. As ever, thanks for keeping us in the loop, Rich, and keep up the amazing work!
Actually I’d really prefer to know WHAT people have been saying or demanding that is the main problem. I don’t read every comment on KS feeds, so I may have missed something.
I had complained vocally about quality control problems with the CB20 project and I worry that I’m one of the people considered a problem now.
I also want to know what NOT to say that would accidentally be inappropriate.
Well, your sense of ownership is the good and appropriate kind. The way we set up our KSs to be responsive to the backers is supposed to engender that connection. It’s so much more fun than us just saying- look, this is done, buy it.
Like I think I’ve mentioned before, the negative commentary really comes from a small but loud minority. They really aren’t doing themselves any favors because they aren’t yelling at a sales rep or PR person, but the owner and operator, and once I realize that they simply are unpleasant- not just frustrated at a particular problem, because god knows we all have that going on at times- and are hurting the overall community conversation, then I either ban them or ignore them.
Most backers or fans who talk to me privately are great folks, as you’d expect, and often mention that the vehemence of the negative minority is something that they just don’t want to be near, so they don’t post in the KS comments or whatever.
More than anything, that’s the guiding principle our awesome mods follow on our forums (and I follow here): make the Onyx Path forums a welcome and comfortable place to hang out and express yourself.
Thank you Rich, that is very reassuring. I do not want to be part of any problem.
I think part of the issue is cultural adjustment lagging behind technology.
We’re all used to the old model, where we first hear about the book when it’s put on a public schedule, and yeah there may be delays getting it out — but once we see it on the shelf and ogle all the shiny, we can just buy it and calculate shipping costs on the spot.
Now, we are getting to watch as they are put together, more or less from the beginning (depending on how much the creators share). The wait time _after_we_start_watching is inherently much longer, even if the KS makes no changes to the product and nothing at all goes wrong. The project is announced and shiny previews/blurbs shared before the risks have all been taken or the wrinkles ironed out. But psychologically, many people probably still haven’t adjusted to this new reality.
Meanwhile, OPP is still adjusting to the new tech, learning how to use it most smoothly.
I don’t know how smart of an idea it is to have an open bar at a sweet 16 birthday party but have a happy day with your family Rich! 😛
I’m glad things seem to be running smoothly with all fronts again. Man I didn’t get a Werewolf Metal Edition but I can just imagine how long it will take with my Orichalcum Edition Exalted Book! 😮
I’m not serving the kids booze…just me. 😉
I offer you a fistbump of approval on the idea of doing cool things instead of untruthful things for April 1st. Honesty doesn’t always win friends, but dishonesty always mars relationships, so you have my respect for being above that.
Also, I’m pleased to report that this month’s budget allowed me to kick in for Mage 20 at the proverbial 11th hour. I’ve never actually played Mage, but the concept of the game has always intrigued me, so might as well add another pretty deluxe book to go along with V20, W20, and the others, eh? The Quintessence Edition sure looks badass with the lenticular card, so props to whoever conceived and helped execute that idea.
Best wishes to your daughter on her 16th; that is certainly a reason for a parent to drink 🙂 .
Thanks and awesome that you could join the M20 fun!
I am picky about the kickstarters I pledge to. There has to be something particularly interesting for me. I have pledged to the Changing Breed, W20, M20, Mummy, and Demon kickstarters.I might pledge to the W20 just so we can get a C20. I have pledged to Bones 1 and 2, bombshell miniatures Kickstarter, the Wreck Age Kickstarter, Redshirts, Robotech RPG Tactics, and a few others. One thing that I find myself constantly doing on many of these kickstarters is trying to educate people on why things get delayed. It frustrates me to no end that people who play RPGs and miniatures games do not understand the logistics behind how things work. Especially when kickstarter is NOT an over-glorified pre-order, but is actual INVESTING in a product. The small group of people who do not understand this make things that much harder for people like me. I had a friend who went in for the Q-prime, but who was smart, and before investing, asked me why it had such a long time between funding and release. I wish more people would react like that, and either research or ask those who have some knowledge about this stuff about it before investing in the kickstarter. We live in the Information Age. Ignorance is NOT acceptable any more.
Agreed- asking someone who has backed a few so expectations would be realistic would be a great first step. It’s still such a new thing, and every KS shifts the goal posts of how they function, that I don’t blame folks for any confusion, though. I was getting frustrated with a few backers who seemed not to grasp what an Add-on was until I saw a couple KSs which used the term for their Stretch Goal rewards. Which totally explains why there’d be confusion as I don’t use that terminology for ours.
Richt, One thing I have seen some Kickstarters do to help alleviate that sort of confusion is actually put a definition in the beginning on what things are. Also, every Kickstarter has people that it is their first time to the ball, so, perhaps, having a standard explanation of what a Kickstarter is for those first timers in your FAQ would be good. Another good thing to put in would be the breakdown of the initial funding goal and what, specifically, it covers. Personally, I feel a lot of the griping from people is them not understanding how the back-end of the industry works. You kind of hit on that with your comments on how there is a cultural adjustment going on with Kickstarter and other crowd-funding methods. How we help with that is by trying to educate people. It should not be just veteran supporters who are doing this, but also the people running the projects.
Thanks for the great update! Grats on your daughters sweet 16 and keep up the great work!