Gotta be honest here, we kind of had a low energy Monday meeting today. It was quick, to the point, and only had one extended rant (not mine this time). Usually, only a couple of the gang are on the low energy ebb, while the rest are moving right along all uptempo. Not today.
But it’s actually only natural. Fast Eddy Webb just moved and is getting his new house worked on, so his schedule has been roughed over by doorbells and workmen disturbing his concentration. Plus his head has been in proofing the Pugmire Gen Con material, and working on getting me some new characters to draw up. Or as he calls it, writing a short story.
Rollickin’ Rose and I have been doing the thing we do as the Beast Kickstarter campaign heads into its last few days, including working with Matt McFarland of the Black Hat on his text revisions. Along with Matt, we’ve been trying to reiterate why those revisions have been being made (see previous Monday Meeting Blogs), and that has been demanding. As the KS heads towards finishing it’s like our systems are focused on just getting us to the triumphal final minutes. Rose also has been finalizing the nWoD2 core rulebook, getting the revised Quickstarter for Cavaliers of Mars ready as a PoD, and working with Naughty Neall Reamonn Price on the “Sardonyx” System.
Mirthful Mike has, of course, been hammering our releases one after the other out the door, but most especially our Gen Con projects. Now, most of them are at press, and a lot are coming in. I just got our big booth banner here at Shadow Oaks, and it looks awesome. (I also got boxes and boxes of the books we’ll be bringing to sell at GenCon- more on those in further blogs). Even he is showing a deserved sense of being able to take a breath after pulling so many projects together and out to the various printers.
And with the spurt of recent releases, Impish Ian has had more to do in the last couple of weeks in getting the word out through our social media than we’ve seen in a long time; he’s seeing the end of that process and the Gen Con booth activities starting along with the glimmer of the time that the Trinity Continuum has its system and is ready for production. It’s a’ comin’!
Matt and Monica have not only been delivering our Gen Con strategeries, but just got V20 Dread Names, Red List out after working on it for pretty much three years, and got art notes for V20 Ghouls to the Mirthful one. Heavy sighs of relief that free them up to jump into even more pre-Gen Con work in their other (real) jobs.
Even our development updates below have not a single change this week. Maybe it’s the quiet before the storm. Maybe the explosive celebration on the 4th on Saturday will re-energize everybody and everything!
Or, we might all just get drunk.
Either way, I’m not worried. Onyx Path has so many fantastic upcoming projects, both the ones listed below and the ones we’ll be announcing at Gen Con in a month, that I’m glad we have a little moment that comes after so much good work has been done. We need that moment. We gotta recharge, and dive into our next great thing.
Could be getting out V20 Dark Ages, or Mage 20, or… dare I say it? Nah, not going to jinx it and if I say the name then somebody will think I promised it’ll be out next week. But EX3 is really coming along in layout.
Could be the new 2nd Edition nWoD core books. Could be both of our lines waiting for the “Sardonyx” System to go through “beta” playtesting. Could be Justin Achilli’s Vampire: the Masquerade “lite” game. And more surprises further out.
But for now, let’s finish the snarls and get on with the explosions!
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And now, the BLURBS!
Fear the dark places: the Beast: the Primordial Kickstarter has less than three days to go! We passed a whole passel of Stretch Goals like a silk ribbon in the book, a t-shirt, a historical Beast chapter in the nWoD Dark Eras Companion, Beast Ready Made Characters including a Changeling PC, a Beast Fiction Anthology, and a Beast supplement for Mortal Remains PDF. We can still pass several more Stretch Goals in the often crazy last two days, so come on over and check it out.
A basic pledge gets the Prestige Edition, the PDF, and a discount for the physical copy Print on Demand version, all for about or less than the price the PoD will be available for at DTRPG.
The Demon Translation Guide Advance PDF is 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 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) will be available in PDF, ePub, and PoD versions on Wednesday.
We’ll also be releasing a newly re-laid out version of the classic Vampire: the Masquerade fiction anthology, The Beast Within. This was the anthology that started them all, and now freshly redesigned for our standard 6″ x 9″ fiction PoD size!
Convention News: Our friends at Gamerati are running a Game Day on July 25th, the Saturday before Gen Con, in Eau Claire, WI. I’m told there is one nWoD session scheduled already, but they would love it if anybody in our community wants to run other WW or Onyx Path games. So check it out if you want to doing some playing and give them a yell if you want to do some Storytelling: http://gamerati.com/gamedays/
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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)
- Pugmire Gen Con Materials (Be a Good Dog.)
- CtL anthology (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)
- The Realm (Exalted 3rd Edition)
- Dragon-Blooded (Exalted 3rd Edition)
- Dark Eras Expansions (nWod Dark Eras)
- Pugmire Early Access
- Dark Eras Companion (nWod Dark Eras)
- WtF The Pack (Werewolf: the Forasken 2nd Edition)
- 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)
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
Second Draft
- Arms of the Chosen (Exalted 3rd Edition)
- Secrets of the Covenants (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)
- Scarred Lands Player’s Guide: Ghelspad (Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)
- W20 Changing Ways (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
- W20 Pentex Employee Indoctrination Handbook (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
- nWoD Hurt Locker (World of Darkness 2nd Edition)- In Open Development
- VtM Lore of the Clans Expansions (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary 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) In Open Development
- W20 Shattered Dreams (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
- nWoD 2e core (New World of Darkness)
- Mage: the Awakening 2nd Edition, featuring the Fallen World Chronicle (Mage: the Awakening) – In Open Development
- Demon Storytellers’ Guide (Demon: the Descent)
Editing
- V20 Ghouls (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)
- V20 Black Hand: Guide to the Tal’Mahe’Ra (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)
Development (post-editing)
- M20 How do you DO that? (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE
In Art Direction
- Dreams of Avarice – Art Directed.
- NWoD 2 – Art is due on Tuesday or Wednesday. Rattling cages again.
- V20 Ghouls – Art directing. Got a couple of artists already interested.
- Tal Me Rah – Reading through notes for that this week. Got a full page artist lined up but I need to figure out the rest of the roster.
In Layout
- Gen Con Stuff – Buttons are going out this week. Working on Vert Banners… should be quick.
- Beast – Working on the layout graphic elements.
- M20 How Do You Do That – Charles is getting that rolling.
- Pugmire Brochure – Rolling along. Eddy is doing some text tweaks so the layout can flow a little better.
In Proofing
- M20 – Errata getting marked up in the PDF and from what I’ve heard the index is almost done.
- M20 Screen – Still proofing with Phil.
- Ex 3 Anthology – Awaiting updated text file.
At Press (on Drivethru… or whatever)
- The Poison Tree/Werewolf 20 Novel – Should be available Wednesday.
- Beast Within Revised Layout – Should be available Wednesday.
- Gen Con Banners – Looking at the digital proof of the biggun this morning.
- Pugmire Shirt – At Teelaunch. Proof coming this week.
- OPP Gen Con Staff Shirt – Proof version should be here Tuesday.
- Cavaliers of Mars QS – PoD proof with Rich.
- Demon Translation Guide – PDF up, I’m assuming errata is collecting.
- VDA20 – Uploading and updating files Monday afternoon (takes the PoD about an hour to completely PDF).
- Gen Con Brochure – At Gotprint. Had to make some tweaks to the whole thing as it was coming out dark… nothing that will delay stuff.
- Pugmire Brochure – At press.
- The Avarice Chronicle – PoD proof with Rich.
Special
- Dark Eras – Holding pattern.
- Wraith 20 – Yep… waiting on artnotes.
- V20 Lore of the Clans – Holding pattern for appendices.
- Exalted 3rd Edition – RT here: 4th Layout Proof PDFs Devs comments sent back to Maria, along with my own. Devs getting us a marked up EX 1 or 2 character sheet to show the changes they need.
Other Stuff
REASON TO DRINK: Get through the week and celebrate this great experiment of a country on the 4th, which happens to be my oldest boy’s birthday. He still insists the fireworks are for him.
Is it weird that I’m really looking forward the what the Ex3 character sheet will look like?
I mean, it’s obviously the part of the book I’ll be seeing most often on a regular basis, but still!
{really looking forward the*}
*too. Really looking forward too.
…It’s really late where I am.
*To. Not too, to.
It was really, really late.
Not really. There’s a whole school of gamer thought that suggests that the character sheet can be seen as a snapshot of the game. And some folks just like sheets the way some really like maps. It’s another connection to the world and the fun of gaming there. Definitely get your interest with it.
I can buy that. I know a bad sheet can ruin my enjoyment of the game.
I realize Rose has a lot on her plate, but I’m wondering about the status of Cavaliers of Mars. Any movement visible in the medium-term future?
Did you read today’s blog?
Because Cavs is very much Rose’s creator owned project, and an unabashed labor of love that she pulls together as she sees fit, its progress is pretty opaque to me. When Rose has updates or changes to share, she does, and meanwhile I’m still looking forward to the time I can sit down and read through the complete text as an experience. The updated Quickstart reflects a bunch of those changes she has come up with. At Gen Con, we’ll have a bunch there for folks to talk over with Rose.
A couple quick comments: I’ve been following the Beast revisions and I feel they’ve made what was already a good game and concept even better. Kudos to Matt, Rose, yourself and everyone else who was involved.
The Demon translation guide was extremely well done. I was curious though as well if there is a plan in the future for a conversion guide for Wraith to NwoD after W20 is done. Wraith was my favorite oWoD setting and suggestions to port over some of the setting and mechanics would be great.
Have a great time on your son’s birthday this coming up weekend.
Thanks and I agree: I think the changes really help clarify just how the game was intended to come across. Frex: Beasts are Monsters, and a whole lot of them are just nasty – like the very creatures we tell the stories about. But, your PC can more clearly be what you want them to be now: a terrible monster, a conflicted being still dealing with your human life and needs, or a Beast that accepts the calling to use what they are and what their Horror fuels to teach these mortals the lessons of the Primordial Dream. A range, even if not this specific range, of potential play was always our intention.
As for a Wraith Translation Guide: what would you translate it to? Geist?
Geist was always my assumption for what the Wraith-XYZ Translation Guide would deal with, but now that you asked and I thought about it, what about a 3-way Geist-Wraith-Exalted translation guide?
Yeah, I know that’d be at least twice as much work. Just brainstorming.
I was originally thinking more of a way to incorporate Wraith with the Book of the Dead supplement but the more I think of it the more I like a Geist Wraith translation. I am particularly interested myself in getting a way to get Wraith mechanics and parts of the setting into the nWoD. It would help with running a Wraith chronicle in a nWoD setting, expanding on story ideas for a Geist chronicle with a greatly expanded Underworld, or a crossover idea where a krewe or krewes of Geists are working with a group or faction of Wraiths. If Geists were translated into oWoD it could give similar ideas to oWoD games as well.
I’ve had it in the back of my mind for awhile but what really got me thinking about it was how well done the hybrid setting examples were in the Demon translation guide. I had some ideas myself as to how to incorporate fallen angels into my nWoD game where they co-exist with the Unchained and the translation guide not only crystallized what I would like to do it also helped a lot with how the mechanics would work. I’ve made some steps towards incorporating parts of Wraith as well myself but I think a translation or conversion guide with ideas on how to incorporate either into the other game setting would be an immense help.
Purely based on just reading forums I think there is a fair amount of interest out there for this as well. I have no idea if Onyx Path has any plans for a ghost type splat in the future as that may be stepping on Geist’s toes (which is also a really good game and concept) but if not my opinion is that something that would help incorporate Wraiths and Geists into the other’s respective game setting would be very welcome.
The revision softened the Beasts considerably, with a couple of serial killers turned into teachers of non-lethal lessons. The impression given is that the majority of Beasts don’t kill, and if they do, their brethren combine to drive them out of town or worse.
The Building a Legend goal looks awesome! Hopefully we achieve it shortly after the 48 notice emails got out, cause it will be an excellent resource.
Well, we’ll see how those last two days go, I guess. 🙂
I can’t wait to get my hands on the V20 DA Book. It will be glorious!
The Deluxe will be gorgeous and both Mirthful Mike and I are really looking forward to getting that rolling with our printer. We have a lot of fun with creating the Deluxe books’ very different appearances.
Just wanted to take a minute to say THANK YOU. I have received my book of the wyrm for W20 and I cannot properly express how utterly awesome it is to be in it. Thank you.
Well, thank YOU right back! Fantastic that you got it OK!
Will there be any jaw dropping announcements at gen con ………its what I live for!
Could be, rabbit, could be…
Exalted books beyond the core; Arms of the Chosen, The Realm and so on, haven’t seen a change in status for a very long time. Is there a chance that you can give us some glimpse of how things are progressing (or not) with them?
The only reason I’ve given more in-depth updates for EX3 itself is that everyone has been waiting so long for it. For the rest of EX3’s release schedule, our weekly updates are handled the same as for all our other projects, so extra detail once in a while from me. But most of the peaks need to come from the developers. Thanks.
Will you make a Hunter the Reckoning anniversary edition ?
If we are still the license holder when Hunter’s 20th Anniversary rolls around, I don’t see why not.
How far from release Dreams of Avarice is ?
Assuming the artists get a month for the art, and then another month for layout and proofing, the PDF could be ready mid-September. But those are assumptions and estimates.
Thanks !
So you want to wait 2019 for cWoD Hunter and Demon new editions ?
I hope not 🙂
“Want to wait” isn’t exactly the case. Our new editions start with 20th Anniversary Edition celebrations, and so we pretty much have to tie their release to that anniversary year.
And cWoD Mummy ? Do you think about an anniversary edition of this vampire sourcebook ?