It really takes a village of monsters-

– to pop a Kickstarter campaign to funding in less than 8 hours and drive it past its first Stretch Goal (the first stories in a CB PG anthology)! But y’all did it! Thanks so much for giving the Curseborne Player’s Guide a great start in these first few days of the campaign!

One of the things worth mentioning, now that we’ve started sharing sections of the book to backers, is that our intention all along with the Curseborne core book is to provide a very accessible world for modern horror/dark fantasy no matter if you are one of our WoD or CofD fans, or are new to our horror-ific game lines. That means that we decided at the start to provide a starting experience in the Curseborne core book for folks wanting to play the 31 types of Accursed. (With all those types of beginning characters, adding in more would have meant another Mage20 or Exalted 3rd, and books that size may have actually been outlawed).

Which gives us a chance with the CB PG info to flesh out those core core rules and setting, but with material designed to add to that initial tier of play. So, you don’t need to play Venators to have them as antagonists in the core, but we can offer them as an option in the CB PG. If your core experience does not include hunter PCs, it’s totally your call or not to include them, while leaving non-PC Venators as a valid part of the Curseborne world as a whole.

That’s really our thinking with the CB PG – how can we expand the depth of the setting that would have been too much to include in the core? Not too much in terms of our work or page count, but too much in terms of the leaner experience we want everybody to have access to with the core. So you get more flavoring for the Families, and more Families to show how it’s done. Like the Venators, we applied pretty much the same thinking into adding the Orphans: your group wants to explore variations of Family all the way through to non-Family? Here’s the book for you to have that info!

But I’ve rambled on, and we have some devs anxious to share their far more important thoughts! Here’s Eddy:

Nice! Already heading towards 150% funding after only a few days! I’m so excited to see how far we can take the funding on this player’s guide. Plus I’ve seen some great discussion around the Families we’ve revealed. One question that’s popped up (and this came up during the Kickstarter for Curseborne as well) is “why would I play a member of [jerk Family full of jerks]?” And the answer is twofold.

First, and most simply, some people do actually enjoy playing jerks, and we want to offer that option. With over 40 Families between the core rulebook and the Player’s Guide, there’s a lot of room for variety, so having a few Families that cause friction can really work for some groups.

The other reason is that part of the ethos of Curseborne is that player characters often want to kick against their elders. While it’s not a game entirely centered around rebellion, that is a part of the game’s core design, so by having a few Families that can be quite villainous, that makes it easier to make a character that pushes against that Family. But also, even local Families might not cleave to the accepted dogma. There’s a lot of room for nuance, but you have to start somewhere.

In fact, in the player’s guide, we give some roleplay advice, and I think the introduction to that section covers it well:

Every Family has its own dynamic; sure, they’ve all got their niche, but even beyond that, the Families structure themselves in their unique manner. Some are literal families, others hew close to the bone, feeling closer than families of real flesh and blood, and the rest find some other structure that’s better suited to governing the various misfits who’ve been cursed to bear their name. Here, we open the Family albums to get a good look at who’s watching from the cheap seats, who’s pulling the strings, and who’s the dummy.
Great-great-grandad bargained my soul away for wealth, power, and long life. Turns out, he didn’t ask for immortality. Maybe I can’t undo the bargain, but I sure as shit can make him regret it in the time he has left.
Of course, these glimpses behind the curtain are just that: glimpses. No Family is a monolith, and just because their dynamics tend toward a certain framework, doesn’t mean any given cell is beholden to these structures. For every city of Poltergeists who diligently obsess over territory and rules, another shrugs away the diktats of an obsolete generation. While most Premiere lean into their Family values, others decide to forge their own bright path into the world, decrying the lack of sacrifice granted by nepotism.

So definitely feel free to skip over any Families that don’t appeal to you, but there are a lot of good reasons why repulsive Families are presented as playable options. Plus, if you hate your Family, you can always decide to be an Orphan. But maybe that’s for next time….

Not to be outdone, heeeere’s Matthew!:

Matthew here! Just chiming in to let everyone know how much fantastic content we were able to fit into the Curseborne Player’s Guide. I wasn’t a developer on this one, though as an author and the line dev, I’ve been in a position to see all the amazing work added to this book and really see it as an essential part of the Curseborne RPG line.

You have nine new families, an effective new lineage (of sorts) in the form of the Venators, the wayward Orphans – all of which are playable – along with new spells, new edges, new heirlooms, and a whole new quick character creation system! On top of that there’s all kinds of setting information and lore for how families function as units and how they relate to each other and more details besides on the kinds of spaces the Accursed gravitate toward, where they exert influence, and what serves to intimidate them.

In short, this book contains a hell of a lot of content. It was my great pleasure to write the Napoleons and the Nest, and it’s been wonderful to see the Napoleons in particular being so well received. Thank you all for the feedback on the Onyx Path Discord!

I’d love to see people discussing in the comments their favourite new families, what they’re anticipating the most, and where you’ve been sharing the Kickstarter around. If you have a YouTube channel or a podcast and you’re letting people know, or a blog or simply a Facebook or BlueSky account and you’ve posted about the game, tell us and we can share it!

Thank you to all the amazing Curseborne supporters. The Player’s Guide is only possible because of all the support you’ve given the core book, and all the enthusiasm you’ve shown for the continuing game line.

Now back to working on Seattle: City of Curses…

Hope that all sounds interesting to everybody – we’ve certainly enjoyed coming up with cool additional lore and rules for Curseborne with this Player’s Guide! Keep an eye out in the weeks soon to come if you want to see howa Curseborne fiction anthology might be done, or a Jumpstart, etc…

*Miracles of Divine Flame* art by Navella

A World of Evil and Humidity

Explain? Well, having lived in Atlanta during the 90s… it felt like that all the time!

The Month of Darkness Sale is on now at DriveThruRPG/Storytellers
Vault with pretty much all of our World of Darkness and Chronicles of
Darkness PDFs up to 40% off.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/4261/onyx-path-publishing?promo=1000223
https://www.drivethrufiction.com/en/publisher/4261/onyx-path-publishing?promo=1000611
https://www.storytellersvault.com/en/browse?promo=1000224

And we’ll have more sales news later this month, too! We’re pulling out all the horror stops for October this year!

Sidestepping over, here’s a Kickstater campaign that I’m NOT involved with, but it is from our own Travis Legge, so let’s let him talk about it! Take it away, Travis:

Aegis Studios is pleased to announce we are getting ready to launch the Scarred Lands Player’s Guide (SWADE) Kickstarter! You can sign up at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/oando/scarred-lands-players-guide-for-savage-worlds to be notified when the campaign goes live!

From the signup page: “We are bringing the critically acclaimed Scarred Lands fantasy setting to the Savage Worlds Adventure Edition! Aegis Studios has licensed the Scarred Lands setting from Onyx Path Publishing, creating materials for Savage Worlds under the ACES license! This Kickstarter will help fund the Player’s Guide, including over 30 new Ancestries, new Cultural Packages, new Powers, and information on the world of Scarn! Sign up to be notified when the campaign goes live!”

And in related news to better demonstrate how Savage Worlds works with Scarred Lands:

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be running a Scarred Lands (SWADE) actual play starting with a session zero Thursday, October 9 at 1 PM EDT! We’ll be playing over at the Dork Tales twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/dorktales) and showcasing new material from the forthcoming Scarred Lands Player’s Guide (SWADE)!

We have more actual plays coming to support both the Scarred Lands (SWADE) Kickstarter and the Curseborne Player’s Guide Kickstarter! Keep an eye on this space for more announcements!

Meanwhile, we’re wrapping up the layout for Branch Riders and getting very close to getting the Backer PDF out. It’s been a very different process to work with our friends at Bodhana to bring their baby this far, so we’re all looking forward to hearing what folks think! I realize the game tends to float under the radar for a lot of you, but it really is an amazing blend of dimension hopping adventure up front and TTRPG as a learning and growing tool under the hood!

Thanks everybody for checking in and letting us know that you’re getting onto our Onyx Path website a lot faster these days. We got a bit of a clean-up on the front page thanks to Impish Ian Watson, and we also were able to grab a whole bunch of data on usability and usage that we couldn’t because of how our service providers were “arguing” with each other.

Live and learn, I guess! Which we continue to do, and hope to bring all of you along with us, on our journey to:

Many Worlds, One Path!

Blurbs!

Crowdfunding!

Curseborne Player’s Guide!

Funded in less than eight hours, already achieved the first Fiction Anthology Stretch Goal!

To view all the horror yourself: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/curseborne-players-guide

Onyx Path Media!

Check out our attached media schedule for the videos on our Twitch channel this week!

This week on the Onyx Path News, Matthew discusses the Curseborne Player’s Guide, the Curseborne t-shirt and assorted merch, and Scion: Rock Gods and Road Trips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IUl96d3lyU

Matthew (the Gentleman Gamer) has also made a video delving into the porcine Napoleon family: https://youtu.be/h6-dALt3eU0

Our good friend Corbin has released a comprehensive breakdown of the Storypath Ultra combat system right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPRNhG5TSA8

Virtual Tabletop!

Scion Demigod Available on Roll20 NOW!

The Scion: Origin and Scion Hero Compendiums are now available on Roll20!
https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/publisher/1716/onyx-path-publishing

The first of our official Scion sheets designed for Foundry VTT are now available! https://foundryvtt.co

They Came From Beneath the Sea! on Roll20 VTT!
https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/bundle/22308/they-came-from-beneath-the-sea

Looking for more virtual tabletop resources? We have a selection of tokens, encounters, and more available now at DriveThruRPG! https://bit.ly/3SnrNJ7

Our Sales Partners!

We’re working with Studio2 to provide our traditionally printed books out into your local game stores. Game stores can order via their usual distributors, and can also contact Studio2 directly. And individuals can check out our projects via the links below!

Select Chronicles of Darkness Screens and Monarchies of Mau books,
screens, and dice 50% off at Studio 2:
https://studio2publishing.com/collections/onx-onyx-path-publishing

Some more deluxe books have popped up on Studio 2, with more on the way.

https://studio2publishing.com/collections/onx-onyx-path-publishing

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books, dice, and screens? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

Some last chance/clearance titles at IPR:

https://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Last-Chance/

As always, you can find Onyx Path’s titles in PDF and PoD versions at DriveThruRPG.com!

Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

On Sale This Week!

How are they connected to the Divine Flame? They’re the Miracles of the Divine Flame for Exalted Exigents! PDF and PoD versions on sale this Wednesday on DTRPG!

Check out our brand new Curseborne Player’s Guide Preview PDF this Weds on DTRPG!

On Sale Last Week!

Roarin’ down the road comes the rockin’ final PDF and the rollin’ physical book PoD of Scion: Rock Gods & Road Trips – now on DTRPG!

Featuring:

New Boons and Birthrights meant to be the best equipment roadies and rockstars can count on!
The Mythic Engine, a new system meant to empower episodic storytelling in Scion!
An entire tour of ready-made scenarios detailing a Band of rockstar Scions’ ascent to fame!
Tools to enhance mythical stories set on the road, including memorable locations touched by legends, music-themed antagonists, cryptids, and more!

Conventions!

Here’s where you can find out more info on physical and virtual conventions we’re going to be involved with!

We’ll have demo games running at these upcoming conventions:

GameHoleCon, where we’ll be running some demos.
Paganomicon, where we’ll be running some demos.
PAX Unplugged, where we’ll be at the Studio 2 booth with books, screens, etc.

Game Night With Onyx Path Publishing at StartPlaying is the last Friday of every month and through that weekend! Come play some Curseborne that night! (But any of our game lines are welcome all weekend long!)

Here’s a link to give anyone $10 credit to play games on Start.Playing:

https://startplaying.games/referral/clog9y0v10006ju0968iev95m

Please spread the word about GMing games as much as possible! Details on how list a game are at the bottom of the page in the FAQ:

https://startplaying.games/event/game-night-onyx-path

Project Status Updates!

Our full list of projects will be available monthly on our blog! Check out Septembers’ full list report here: https://theonyxpath.com/release-roundup-september-2025/

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM EDDY!

Here are the projects that moved to the next stage of production:

FIRST DRAFT

Curseborne – Curseborne Antagonist (Nov 2025 Tasty Bit)

The November Curseborne antagonist is being worked on. What is it? Stay tuned!

MANUSCRIPT APPROVAL

Exalted – Infernals

Infernals is now in Paradox‘s hands for approval!

EDITING

The World Below – Secrets of Kalm and Kaos: The World Below Storyguide’s Handbook

It’s time for Dixie to examine the manuscript for faultlines and dirty great crevasses (I’m sure she’ll find none). This may be my favourite sourcebook for The World Below. There’s a huge amount of content in there that really opens up the game.

ART DIRECTION FROM MIKE CHANEY!

In Art Direction

Ex3 Infernals – All crowdfunding art contracted, sketches coming in.
TCF Cyclops Cave Jumpstart – recontracted.
Heroes of Action and Wonder – It’s contracted.
SCION Wargames – Sent over to Maria.
TC Aether Companion – Working out the specifics of this…
TC From the Shadows – Got comic sketches in…. need to contact cover artist for update.
At The Gates – Map to go and its contracted…
SPU Core Manual – Snag with artnotes fixed.
TWB Underworld Adventures – Contracting.
Curseborne PG KS – Running in the night. Running in the shadows.

Layout

TC Anima AR
PUGMIRE 2E Screen – I’m getting this and the mau screens going.
ROP Curious Cats of Mau Screen
Curseborne Screen
SCION God Player’s Guide – Final art is in and ready to go.
SCION Dragon Companion – With Ron Thompson.
Ex3 Alchemicals – Moving it to layout… but I’m not jumping on it immediately as it’s too soon after Curseborne.
Curseborne Fiction Anthology

Proofing Queue

Branch Riders – Working on making final proof.

At Press

They Came From the RPG Anthology VTT
TC Aether – At Studio2, wrapping up shipping physical books to backers.
Scion God – At Studio2, wrapping up shipping physical books to backers.
Scion God Screen – Wrapping up shipping out with books.
TC Aether Screen – Wrapping up shipping out with books.
Curseborne – Backer PDF errata to close this coming Friday.
Curseborne PG Teaser PDF on DTRPG this Weds!
Ex3 Exigents Miracles of the Divine Flame – PDF and PoD versions for sales Weds on DTRPG!

Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

For all of our many, many opera fans out there: On this day in 1600 – Euridice, the earliest surviving opera, receives its premiere performance, beginning the Baroque period.