This was me, before we set up the booth last week at Gen Con. I was a happy and energized man then, not the broken hulk I am now. 🙂 We had a great con, talked to tons of people and had great panels and demos. Give us a shout out in the comments if you followed our daily posts about how things were going.
And here was our intrepid Onyx Path booth crew (minus Ian whose back is to us in the pic below) minutes before the crowds poured in and bought all the books. If you came by and said hi and read this blog, go ahead and post in the comments and tell us what you think about the booth and our presence there. Did I spill a drink on you, or did we let you fire Neall? Let us know if that was fun.
Seriously. We sold out of V20 Dark Ages PoDs in 49 minutes, and by the time the dust settled Thursday evening we had sold 75% of our inventory. We ran a poll amongst ourselves this week as to what we did well and what not, and the booth design and hand-outs were in the good category, so all those Gen Con meetings all year paid off, and not having brought enough books to sell was in the “gotta do better next year” category. Sorry to anyone who came by and wanted a sold-out book, we really didn’t anticipate the rush after last year.
The collectible buttons each day were also something we needed more of as we were out usually by lunch each day. I just didn’t know they be so popular.
We gave away boxes and boxes of this year’s Onyx Path Brochure (you can get the free PDF version here: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/153331/Onyx-Path-20152016-Publishing-Brochure) and I just want to remind everybody that it is a listing of our game lines and new and exciting projects that are coming up. It is not our catalog, nor is it a listing of everything we have coming up. If you have a favorite project and you know we are working on it but it isn’t listed, that does NOT mean we cancelled it. Especially if you can look below to the Updates on this blog and see that it is still being worked on.
Within the brochure, we announced a bunch of amazing new projects, but here are a couple that I want to highlight:
- In 2016, we’ll be continuing our 2nd Edition stretch with Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition featuring the Slasher Chronicle. HtV2 will be developed by Mighty Monica Valentinelli, and like all our second editions it will update the rules as well as expand on the setting material including adding the default Slasher Chronicle.
- The new nWoD game line for 2016 is Deviant: the ??? developed by Dapper Dave Brookshaw. You were human. Once. Now they have changed you, and they hunt you. What they don’t know is that YOU are hunting THEM. We haven’t given this its tagline yet, but a good start might be “The Storytelling Game of Righteous Anger”.
And, in case you missed it, we also announced Vampire: the Masquerade 4th Edition. I posted a separate blog about this a couple of days ago, because it’s a pretty big deal (he said with massive understatement), so you can check out the commentary here: https://theonyxpath.com/vampire-the-masquerade-4th-edition-announced-at-gen-con, but I do want to clarify a few things here:
1- I made the mistake, and this is totally on me, of mentioning the fact that 2016 will be the 25th anniversary of VtM. This does not make V4 a 25th Anniversary Edition or anything like that. We aren’t going to label it that way, nor are we limiting V4 or any other possible 4th Edition of our cWoD lines to coming out on those dates. We’re going to work on V4 until we get it the way we want, and while we are aiming at getting something available next year, it’s more important to us to give V4 the kind of attention and care that it deserves.
2- And expanding upon #1, my thinking on further lines going 4th Edition is that the form that project takes will be based on the information contained in their 20th Anniversary Edition. In all cases our goal will be to create an accessible edition for newcomers as well as our long term fans, and so the comprehensive massive tomes we have seen so far will not be the format the 4th‘s will be in. That format is a wonderland for dedicated fans, as we intended, but so full of info and minutiae that someone coming to them without prior cWoD experience can find them very hard to get into. Not everyone, of course, we’ve had a nice number of folks tell us V20 was their first experience with VtM – in fact, I ran into a fellow at Gen Con who explained how he got his gaming group into cWoD recently.
Finally, I’ll be out next Monday so please welcome Rollickin’ Rose Bailey as she fills in here at the actually Monday Meeting Notes.
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And now, the BLURBS!
Vampire 20th Anniversary Edition: The Dark Ages is NOW available in PDF and PoD versions at DriveThruRPG.com! This massive full color tome is part of the V20 line but does not require V20 to play and enjoy.
The Demon Translation Guide PDF and PoD versions are on sale now! We take fiendish delight in presenting this devilish guide to transferring your Demon: the Fallen and Demon: the Descent characters from one setting to the other: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/151502/Demon-Translation-Guide
The Pugmire Pamphlet we had available at Gen Con is now ready for PDF download. Read about the world of Pugmire from the enthusiastic and optimistic pen of Princess Yosha Pug, as well as notes from the gruff and worldly hunter Pan Daschund: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/153518/Pugmire-Gen-Con-Brochure
The sixth and final Pugmire poster for now, Spike Mutt, is on the loose now as a free PDF or $.99 physical poster, suitable for framing: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/150845/Spike-Mutt-Pugmire-Poster-6
The fifth Pugmire poster, Pan Dachshund, is ready now as a free PDF or $.99 physical poster, suitable for framing: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/150844/Pan-Dachshund-Pugmire-Poster-5
The fourth Pugmire poster, Jack Rat-Terrier, is on-sale now as a free PDF or $.99 physical poster, suitable for framing: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/150944/Jack-RatTerrier-Pugmire-Poster-4
The third Pugmire poster, Sgt. Leo Bulldog, is available NOW as a free PDF or $.99 physical poster, suitable for framing: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/150843/Sgt-Leo-Bulldog-Pugmire-Poster-3
The second poster, Princess Yosha Pug, is available now: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/149750/Princess-Yosha-Pug-Pugmire-Poster-2
And the first poster, Sister Picassa Collie, is here: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/148516/Sister-Picassa-Collie-Pugmire-Poster-1
Start spreading the Code of Man!
Dread Names, Red List for V20 is now on sale! This collection of the most dangerous Kindred ever called Anathema is available in both PDF and hardcover PoD versions: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/150381/V20-Dread-Names-Red-List
W20 fans can howl for the first new Werewolf the Apocalypse novel in decades! The Poison Tree novel by Mike Lee (long-time White Wolf writer and developer, and internationally famous Warhammer author) now available in PDF, ePub, and PoD versions! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/150855/W20-The-Poison-Tree
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And now, new project status updates!:
DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM ROLLICKING ROSE (Projects in bold have changed listings)
First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)
- M20 Book of Secrets (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
- Exalted 3rd Novel by Matt Forbeck (Exalted 3rd Edition)
- M20 Anthology (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
- CtL anthology (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)
- Dark Eras Expansions (nWod Dark Eras)
- Pugmire Early Access
- Dark Eras Companion (nWod Dark Eras)
- VtM Lore of the Bloodlines (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)
- WtA Kinfolk (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
- Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition
- V20 Ready Made Characters (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)
- Beast Ready Made Characters (Beast: the Primordial)
- Beast Fiction Anthology (Beast: the Primordial)
Redlines
- Mummy Fiction Anthology (Mummy: the Curse)
- Wraith: the Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition
- Cursed Necropolis: Rio (Mummy: the Curse)
- Beckett’s Jyhad Diary (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)
- Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition, featuring the Huntsmen Chronicle (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)- In Open Development
- WtF The Pack (Werewolf: the Forsaken 2nd Edition)
Second Draft
- Arms of the Chosen (Exalted 3rd Edition)
- Secrets of the Covenants (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)
- The Realm (Exalted 3rd Edition)
- Dragon-Blooded (Exalted 3rd Edition)
Development
- Promethean: the Created 2nd Edition, featuring the Firestorm Chronicle (Promethean: the Created)
- “Sardonyx” System Rules (Base rules set for Scion and the Trinity Continuum)
- Mage: the Awakening 2nd Edition, featuring the Fallen World Chronicle (Mage: the Awakening) – In Open Development
- W20 Pentex Employee Indoctrination Handbook (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
- Scarred Lands Player’s Guide: Ghelspad (Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)
- W20 Changing Ways (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
- nWoD Hurt Locker (World of Darkness 2nd Edition)
Editing
- V20 Ghouls (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)
- V20 Black Hand: Guide to the Tal’Mahe’Ra (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)
- W20 Shattered Dreams (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
- nWoD 2e core (New World of Darkness)
- Demon Storytellers’ Guide (Demon: the Descent)
- VtM Lore of the Clans Expansions (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)
Development (post-editing)
ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE
In Art Direction
- Dreams of Avarice – Pinging Sam about sketches.
- NWoD 2 – Leblanc working on them.
- V20 Ghouls – Sketches coming in.
- Tal Me Rah – Fulls contracted. Waiting for some of my Ghouls guys to finish up and sending stuff their way.
- W20 Shattered Dreams – AD’d.
- V20 Lore of the Clans – AD’d.
- Pentex Employee Indoctrination Manual – Figuring it out.
- Demon STG – Fulls AD’d. Working up halfs.
RichT here: Mirthful Mike and I will be looking at artists throughout Gen Con, particularly for Scarred Lands and the Trinity Continuum. Part of our mission this year. Edit: we found some real potentially awesome artists, but booth activities didn’t let us talk enough to the artists in artist alley.
In Layout
- Beast – Layout with a hammer.
- M20 How Do You Do That – Checking with Charles on a proof.
In Proofing
- M20 Screen – Still proofing with Phil.
- Ex 3 Anthology – Awaiting updated text file.
At Press (on Drivethru… or whatever)
- Demon Translation Guide – On sale.
- VDA20 – PDF and PoD versions are live, Deluxe cover being worked on.
- M20 – PoD processing.
Special
- Dark Eras – Holding pattern.
- Wraith 20 – Yep… waiting on artnotes.
- Exalted 3rd Edition – RT here: Reviewing 7th Layout Proof PDFs including backer names for the credits and the character sheet.
Other Stuff
REASON TO DRINK: The Legend.
Great seeing you guys at GenCon. I didn’t introduce myself specifically, you looked busy when I was in there, but it was cool to see so many developers talking directly to the fans.
Oh, you totally should have stepped up, we’d have loved to say hi. No worries, though.
First. Let me say that I get what you are saying and none of what I say now is meant as negative. But won’t the x4 edition kinda become mandatory anyway?
What I mean is that, yes, V20 needed to happen to balance with what the others got in terms of scope and ground works but now V4 will have something major none of the x20s got. An updated post end of the world setting.
What of post apocalypse? Post ascension? And so on. I for one would kickstart the hell out of w4 as I really care about the werewolf setting in the past years since it stopped. I have “my canon” but I want to know what you come up with. A lot.
Hope this came through the right way. Its hard to make a clear point with a cellphone but my PC is at the shop.
As noted in the blog, the nature and format and timing of any other line’s fourth edition is still to be determined.
Of course. Absolutely. I understand that. I was just stating my thoughts, I guess. Didn’t actually expect an answer beyond what you’d already stated.
But other fans could jump in and delve into an interesting conversation about what other x4s could look like.
*Sigh*
One of these days I’m going to be able to come to Gen Con.
It would be great to see you guys.
Until then I’ll have to be content lurking on the forum.
Dark Eras is noted as in First Drafts (and has been there for a long long time) and in Special as a holding pattern.
Is there any chance of a more detailed update about how the Dark Eras book is faring?
Writing continues so the art stage is in a holding pattern.
I could do a post this week about the book and the Companion and kinda where we’re at, actually.
Please do! That would be great-
That would be amazing if you could, please!
I just noticed that Dark Eras is in a “holding pattern.” Does this have something to do with the e-mail/KS update from a few weeks back regarding behind-the-scenes work not coming together as hoped?
Writing continues so the art stage is in a holding pattern.
Great to see you again there, Rich. I really appreciate how open and willing to talk you guys are.
Was glad to be there!
I fired Neall five times or so, but none of them took. It was fun, though.
Seriously though, I had an even better time this year than last, mostly due to my fellow Onyx Path folks. And having a downtown hotel. But mostly that first one. *grins*
Glad to hear it, especially all the Neall firings.
Getting to shake hands with Mr. Eddy Webb was one of the highlights of the Convention for me. It’s a little strange to think that the big cheese behind Vampire is such a super nice guy. Also, while I didn’t have an opportunity to meet the rest of you personally,it was great to finally put faces to the names at the Freelancing panel. Thanks for a great time all around.
That’s just a facade. Inside he’s the cunning, manipulative monster that Vampire: the Masquerade needs.
RichT, you are killing me! I’ve been updating the OP website every four hours after seeing the tease about he EX3 pdf “almost being in backer’s hands” during Gencon… I eagerly jumped on this update and looked to the EX3 blurb… and was super sad about the level of detail.
Mind you, I’m used to the detail level… it’s just that the teaser (which is what I’m calling it) had me all hopeful.
I know right?! Its totally fine, I’ll just keep sitting over here impatiently staring at my inbox… Trying so hard not to make plans with people till I read the book… So… Close…
Writing notes on the proofs right now actually. Will still need dev comments as well on these. So closer, but not there yet.
Alright. I can stop obsessively checking my inbox then. 🙂 Thanks!
Hi Rich,
One small request – can we not refer to VtM 4th Edition as V4 all the time please? Every time you do it feels as if you don’t acknowledge the existence of both Requiem and Strix – and I know that’s not true. 🙂
Cheers,
V.
Uhhhhhhh. I’m sorry, if the way we have pushed and revitalized VtR2 isn’t enough to ease your concerns about nWoD, then how we abbreviate this other unconnected vampire game isn’t going to change things.
Hey Rich,
I think you’ve misunderstood my point slightly. I know you do care about nWoD, as you say with the host of 2nd edition books that I am looking forward to. 🙂
However, and I know you’re excited about Masquerade 4, but when you refer to it just as “Vampire 4” you give the impression that you don’t need to specify that it’s Masquerade because, obviously, that’s the vampire game people will think of.
Combine that with the four or five different versions of WoD there are currently (By my count: oWoD, nWoD, WoD20, nWoD2, and oWoD4) just to say “Vampire 4th Edition” doesn’t make it clear which game line you’re talking about. Unless you take the viewpoint that oWoD is the default assumption. I try and imagine it from the point of view of someone coming to OPP fresh, with no idea what games you offer.
I’m sorry if you think I’m concerned about nWoD2 – I’m not. As I say above, I am looking forward to the other chronicle books to come.
Cheers. 🙂
I don’t feel the need to subdivide the way you do. We don’t need to specify every single edition. We have two Worlds of Darkness: The Classic WoD and the new WoD.
I have been playing VtM since it began, and have some thoughts to share with you about a 4th edition. Please can you tell me where or who is best to submit my thoughts to?
As per the linked blog in this blog, Eddy will be asking specific questions of our community in the months to come. Hope you will add your thoughts then. Thanks!
I had my initial “change is bad” reaction to the V4 announcement, but came around pretty quickly to optimistically waiting to see what Eddy has in mind for the game’s direction.
I think if I have one real concern it’s that your upcoming schedule is pretty unrealistic. That sounds pretty harsh, a lot harsher than I mean it to be, but right now the majority of new projects announced in last year’s schedule have yet to be met so a fairly aggressive new product schedule on top of that seems like a heavy burden at this point. To be fair, as a fan it’s not exactly an onerous position to be in to know that there is a ton of stuff in the pipeline so this isn’t a complaint, more of an observation.
Good to see Monica Valentinelli stepping up to develop HtV2 though. One of my concerns was that the team of Developers was being stretched a bit thin and new blood is definitely a good step on your part to prevent that.
Remember, the brochure info isn’t a schedule, so it is actually less aggressive than in previous years as we left a lot of our lines much more open with the idea that we are catching up on current projects. And yes, we intend to continue to bring new talented creators both into Onyx Path, and from writer to developer when the right person is ready for the right project. Right now there a a ton of great people we are working with who we just need to match with a project that will help them shine. Thanks!
Really curious about the post-Gehenna setting. What is VtM without the Antedeluvians? Unless they ARE still around. And now my character is an AnteGehennian.
There will be plenty more info coming as the project is tackled, but conceptually I think you are on the right track. Kind of.
Fired Neall *twice*!
Had a blast with you guys. Your booth was excellent and I especially loved the video of all the different lines! I am very stoked for 2016! 🙂
Thank you, and yes! More Neall firings are always good.
All great news, Ex3 is almost in our hands so I might as well get the hype train rebooted. Do you think we can expect a dev blog for Prometheans 2nd soon? It seems like it’s been a long time since we had any news. Glad to know GenCon went well! Hope to be able to make it there next year.
So great to meet you Rich! It was nice to see The Onyx Path front and center. It seems like you all got a lot of foot traffic. Side note: Would it be possible to have some of those awesome shirts available for purchase onsite at the next Gen Con, I bet they’d sell like hotcakes. It was super awesome that everyone was so accessible, kudos to that!
And special thanks to Rose for signing my Demon book. I’ll have to wait for the next con to get Matthew McFarland’s signature. The games from the Wrecking Crew were great, I was lucky enough to sign up for three. Hopefully next Con I’ll be able to get my hardbound copy of EX3 signed 🙂 Thanks so much, my ST said he’d even honor the card for EX3 I picked up at the booth for 3WP!
It was great meeting you too! I rarely saw our booth without non-Onyx folks in it. Which shirts? You mean our vast RedBubble selection?
Loving that your ST is OK with the card and not surprised the Wrecking Crew games were fun. They give good game.
Yeah, it would probably be impossible given the amount of shirt options. But maybe even just some Onyx Path logo shirts, everyone in my group would have bought a shirt- even though ordering them online is so easy.
Could you expand on Deviant? Based on what I see, it sounds like you play a guy going postal. It seems very close to Beast in many ways. I’m curious what makes this splat supernatural.
Thanks.
My apologies if the information is already in the brochure. I cannot open it on my cell and my PC is still in the shop.
Deviant is about people turned into supernatural beings by human actors – their transformation is “messy” compared to other beings, and they don’t end up with an entirely stable “template”. Most are the result of human conspiracies, cults, mad science, and other groups. Even those whose change was self-inflicted are sought as assets. PC Deviants are the ones who’ve escaped the clutches of their conspiracy – for now – and have a thirst for revenge.
Deviant is Sense8, Orphan Black, Fringe, The Fly, Hulk, Guyver, Tetsuo The Iron Man, Akira, Hollow Man, Jekyll, V for Vendetta, Videodrome, Existenz, Scanners, Dark Angel, several versions of Beauty and the Beast, John Doe, Kyle XY… One thing I quickly realized after Rose and Rich handed me the blurb you’ve seen in the catalog and asked me to make a game out of it is how much inspirational media there is for it, which we’ve not tapped so far.
Many (but, crucially, not all) powers will be physically obvious.
Counter to the trend to increase “power level” over recent games, because the bulk of their foes are normal (albeit organized) people, they will trend to being the street level. The potential for Akira or Dr Manhatten-style blowouts will be there, but most Deviants will be the lowest-powered full game protagonists bar Hunters.
Thanks for the enlightening answer!I am quite fond of Hunter: the vigil and in many ways I think their low power level is key as to what makes them special. Deviant seems to take this and make something similar but new with it.
Consider me intrigued. I’ll keep an eye out.
After richs short comment about the gameline I guessed EXACTLY that. Including the Dark Angel reference 😀 (cool series….still sore that they couldn’t bring it to a non open end).
Glad to hear about it going against the trend of increasing power level. Will it have similar desperate circumstances to other WoD games ( limited resources, moral conflicts, factional clashes, etc)?
Will there be a dark mirror like Awakening’s Seers of the Throne and/or a cracked mirror like the Banishers and the Scelesti?
I’ve been a GM and player of the WoD since V:TM first came out. But, apart from picking up V20 and DAV20, I’ve not bought much WoD stuff since the End Times rolled around. There’s only so much shelf space and Requiem and GMC didn’t do it for me.
However, I’m really interested to see what you do with a fresh take on Vampire with V4. What you posted so far has me interested in the line again. A reset would be a great thing to bring in new players, and I have a few in mind that I think would love this kind of setting but the ‘weight’ of publication history in the older lines just gets in the way for them. Sure its a perception thing, but it is still a thing.
I think this reboot (or whatever we’re calling it) is a necessity and will be very interesting to see unfold.
Also, 25 years now? Christ, I have players who weren’t born when V:TM first came out. O_o.
Good luck on this, its going to be interesting to see where it goes.
Rich – I definitely enjoyed the tweets during GenCon. It was nice hearing about things so quickly. Perhaps in the future you could institute a policy that every time Neall is fired it most be tweeted / posted / etc. That way we can truly feel involved.
I understand that Geist Second Edition was not announced. Can you give us any updates on what you are thinking of doing with that line?
At least we should start a #YoureFiredNeall
No comments about Geist 2nd this year. Stay tuned. 🙂
“No comments about Geist 2nd this year. Stay tuned. :)” ? Does that mean now Geist next year or the year after? (so far as nothing was mentioned I had thought year after)
I stopped by your booth and got to chat briefly with Rose, listen to Dave wax romantic on MtAw2, and bought VtR2 (no shipping charges, woo!). Went to the freelancer panel and got to hear from and see the lot of you. Ran into Eddy at the ENnies and told him how awesome my Beast playtest was (shout out to Wrecking Crew / Dead Gamer’s Society! I played 5 games with them, all outstanding). Didn’t get to fire Neall, maybe next year. Thanks for being a large part of a great convention weekend! Looking forward to the future of Onyx Path.
Did you guys talk anymore about the magazine idea?
I was really interested to read about Ghost Hunters for CWoD. If, for example, you had a teenage daughter who was obsessed with the “Supernatural” TV show, would this be the kind of game she might enjoy?
I’m the developer on that one. Early Supernatural, along with early X-Files, movies like The Awakening and of course, the Ghost Hunters International series were all strong influences when I wrote up the pitch for this book and sent it to Rich.
I plan on making this book cross-compatible with all of the 20th core books to some degree. Naturally it will have a strong thematic and direct mechanic tie to Wraith 20th Anniversary Edition, but I plan on including elements of how paranormal investigators engage other supernaturals as well.
Hopefully I’ll get just the right mix of mystery and horror (with a little smartass humor) into the final product.
Great! Thank you. I love Wraith, so this sounds right up our street!
ive always enjoyed Paranormal State as well (its less popular than ghost hunters international but still pretty decent) =)
ive always liked that sorta thing so i may look into wraith 20. =p even if ive never really touched much of the world of darkness.
I loved your presence at the Con. I had multiple opportunities to learn more about Pugmire, from quick system demo at the booth to sitting in on a Wrecking Crew game to going to the seminar. Everything I learned made me more excited about it. Also, the daily website updates and Facebook/Twitter posts were super helpful- I would have completely flaked out about the seminar on Saturday without the reminders.