Trinity Continuum: Anima continues towards its last week on Kickstarter, while Trinity Continuum: Assassins opened up its Pre-Order page last Wednesday and rapidly climbed to #1 on DTRPG.

We’re hoping that folks look at TC: Anima and TC: Assassins, and enjoy the idea that we have three legit Trinity Continuum settings we’re offering at the same time! I don’t think we’ve done that before. Folks can compare, and already are, and mix and match as they like. Some fans are already looking at what TC: Anima would be like if part of the cyber-y-punk setting included assassins, and others are looking at the previous TC settings, like TC: Aeon or TC: Aberrant, and playing around with what happens to TC: Anima if X or Y happens in the other settings.

All in all, it’s an exciting time to be a Trinity Continuum fan!

Today, I’m going to pull back the curtain a bit on the creation of the two games’ covers, but please bear with me if some of these graphics get a little funky – the blog software can sometimes do odd things to the visuals.

When starting out to figure out the cover image for a core Trinity Continuum game book, I start by reading through the text. Like you might expect, it’s a lot to read through. But I’m not reading to enjoy, although I do, or to figure out how to play the game. I’m reading it to get some idea of the best visuals in the setting.

I’m looking for specific elements, as I already know the genre and theme having OK’d the project when we all got it started. Things like important locations, heroes and villains, even organizations. We have a format for these covers, so I’m looking for a cityscape for the bottom of the piece, three possible player characters for the area above the city, and some notable NPCs for the “big heads” higher up the visual.

Starting with TC: Anima, I also had to design the MMO PC types ahead of doing the cover design, and we used those initial designs to do further concept art that ultimately went to the artists of the book’s interior illustrations as reference.

After the above pages, and a stack more, were OK’d be the dev team, I used them myself for the MMO sections, and just sketched up a bunch of elements from the text that might be good for the cover. Obviously, I knew Cascade would be our cityscape, as that city is it for the “real world” part of the setting.

On the right are a couple of the looser pieces exploring what could go into the image, and already you can see the visual dividing line between the cyberpunk and MMO settings would be shattered pieces of images – a visual metaphor for the Glass implant. On the left are tighter drawings that I’d use to pull in the specific characters’ appearances and gear.

Having drawn up the original concept art for the FSA decades ago with first edition, it was fun to “go backwards” with the generals’ shoulder/chest com gear. Theirs needs to look like it could be an earlier generation of tech compared to the generation in TC: Aeon.

From there, I started to play around with fitting the details in with the general design, and like the previous cover illustration sketches, I would up with several pieces of paper that laid out to create the vertical shape of the overall illustration.

I scanned these in and combined them in Photoshop, and then added notes for the artist to create this kind of document:

Having worked with our fantastic and talented cover artist, Shen Fei, on all the previous TC covers, my notes are written in a way that I think (hope) communicate what we’re looking for with as much clarity as needed but without using terms that, as an artist, could be unclear or confusing. Too much description or too flowery or idiomatic wording can be worse than too little when you are trying to figure out what the client wants!

Here’s the finished art from the cover:

Now, for TC: Assassins, I wasn’t making as much of it up, so much as finding the kinds of images that sold the cool killer aesthetic we were going for. Again, I did a bunch of sketches of different “assassin” type imagery. Obviously, lots of guns, targets, explosions, but also slickness, shadow, risk, and a kind-of “high-end” lifestyle. There’s just so many media references, that really it’s more a question of narrowing down what we want to depict.

As you can see, in creating the first pass on this illustration, I was actually cutting and taping sketch ideas together. I wanted a visceral feeling as I cut and taped, a physical methodology to the subject matter. 😉 Here’s the bottom half:

Then I started to fine-tune elements and tighten up the art and replace them in the pasted up strip. Here’s the three PCs section supposed to go above the cityscape:

From there, I scanned in the tightened art, adjusted some things in Photoshop again, and added in notes for Shen Fei. Again, hoping that my notes give just enough info to get what we want but not so much that they hamstring any artistic inspiration. And, again, hopefully the notes are written in a way that my meaning comes across simply for the artist.

If you see parts of the finals that aren’t perfectly like the sketches, please do know that we have no issues with that. If you see it on the cover, we’ve been over several stages of Shen’s sketches and colored “comps” before we get the final, and we often will fine-tune that as well. I don’t need Shen to slavishly copy my sketch so much as use it to get across what we need where and in a lot of ways it’s the feel that is most important in these genre-based settings for the Trinity Continuum. And here it is:

So, now that show and tell is over – back to the Monday Meeting!

Here It Is Now:

Gonna keep this brief after the ton of stuff above.

We’re just showing the tip of the iceberg with the Scarred Lands fiction anthology PoD that will be order-able via Amazon this Wednesday, in terms of our books as Amazon PoDs – more are coming soon! Our gang have been navigating the twisty waters of the Amazon PoD jungles for quite some time (see what I did there?), and we’re expecting more goodies to go live soon.

Many of you have read my descriptions of the fantastic times we’ve had over the years at the MidWinter Convention in January in Milwaukee. It’s run by a great group of folks who work really hard to provide a fun and safe convention for everyone. Gaming rooms, panels, live-action, and a fantastic staff. I even heard Eddy Webb might be there this year in his “return engagement”. If, you were looking for a gaming convention that fits that description, please do look them up!

We spent a good amount of the meeting making 10yr Anniversary plans…

Also started locking down our holiday plans as December takes that way too speedy slide towards the new year and there’s never enough hours in the day to take care of all the “holiday stuff”. It’s not just us, a lot of our freelancers are trying to finish up projects before we get out of the first part of the month, and begging off assignments until the first of the year.

I can’t blame them! Even though, the big holidays were when I did most of my freelance project catch-ups back in the day, I’m glad for folks who are being smarter than I ever was at prioritizing their time.

You’ll see that with a bunch of the folks who work with us on Twitch as well, as they ease off of streaming to handle life things…and to prep for new shows next starting in January. It’s a great time to catch up on our YouTube collection!

But that’s all going to happen in the weeks to come, today we’re full-speed ahead, sailing through the cosmos to visit our:

Many Worlds, One Path!

---

Blurbs!

---

Kickstarter!

The Trinity Continuum: Anima Kickstarter funded in seven hours and has already passed several Stretch Goals, including a Terra Surge specific Reference Screen – A three-panel Storyguide Reference Screen with charts and information for running a game set in the virtual world of Terra Surge will be created and offered as an Add On to any hardcover reward tiers for +$25.

We’ve passed 830 backers so far, so please do help us spread the word and get some more interested folks over to check it out! Only 10 Days To Go!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/trinity-continuum-anima-tabletop-roleplaying-game

---

Onyx Path Media!

This week: Going Back To Conventions! And other remote updates shared with you by the Terribly Terrific Trio of Terror!

As always, this Friday’s Onyx Pathcast will be on Podbean or your favorite podcast venue! https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/

For anyone new to our media section, you can find us running and playing games over on twitch.tv/theonyxpath every day of the week! Plus, if you’d like your games hosted there, just get in touch with Matthew Dawkins using the contact link on matthewdawkins.com. 

Please check out our attached media schedule for the impressive number of videos on our Twitch channel this week! In particular, keep those eyes open for our Storypath Showcase, where we give an excellent profile of our various Storypath games and how to play them!

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK: We’re highlighting the 307 RPG Podcast as they spent the time discussing They Came from Beyond the Grave! in depth recently, and have even created a character! Listen to their show right here: https://307rpg.com/

Come take a look at our YouTube channel, youtube.com/user/theonyxpath, where you can find a whole load of videos of actual plays, dissections of our games, and more. Please subscribe and click the bell icon if you want to be notified whenever new news videos and uploads come online! Please check the following videos out:

It’s all Trinity this week!

Trinity Continuum Anima: Polyhedron Podcast Actual Play – Episode One: https://youtu.be/ahL_PqMtDvE

Trinity Continuum Anima: Polyhedron Podcast Actual Play – Episode Two: https://youtu.be/akzFitPJaSs

Trinity Continuum Anima: Polyhedron Podcast Actual Play – Episode Three: https://youtu.be/gf4sZ80CHF8

Trinity Continuum Anima: Polyhedron Podcast Actual Play – Episode Four: https://youtu.be/BbZNwpWoEEQ

Trinity Continuum Anima: Polyhedron Podcast Actual Play – Episode Five: https://youtu.be/57cPGvlgJwU

Trinity Continuum Anima: Polyhedron Podcast Actual Play – Episode Six: https://youtu.be/UpwLMFf2MWQ

Trinity Continuum Aeon – The Entelechy Archive: Session One: https://youtu.be/uKL21gaNBlk

Trinity Continuum Aeon – The Entelechy Archive: Session Two: https://youtu.be/dNWFhooe0vI

Trinity Continuum Aeon – The Entelechy Archive: Session Three: https://youtu.be/D55MoLSt98Y

Storypath Showcase – Trinity Continuum: Anima – Session Zero: https://youtu.be/yYeDpud-5m4

Storypath Showcase – Trinity Continuum: Anima – Session One: https://youtu.be/yYeDpud-5m4

Storypath Showcase – Trinity Continuum: Anima – Session Two: https://youtu.be/Bw2Oo6JwXyw

Terry Robinson and Chazz Kellner (you might recognise some names here from Mage: The Podcast and the Exaltcast) have started a new show to cover RPGs called Pain in the Dice! In this episode they discuss Titanomachy for Scion! https://www.paininthedice.com/2021/11/16/book-talk-titanomachy-for-scion-2e/

ExalTwitch: Academy Season Two follows three young Dragon-Bloods in the aftermath of their school’s destruction. The House of Bells’ fall was blamed on Anathema corrupting the student body, but Oresta, Pyres, and Gale Whispered must clear their names and seek out those actually responsible before the Realm collapses. Here’s the latest episode! https://youtu.be/NEYb63Jq1ZY

Watch ExalTwitch: Academy live every Sunday at 18:00 ET on https://www.twitch.tv/rpgclinic.

And here are all the episodes of the new season for you! If you’ve missed any, the videos in their back catalogue are easy to find. All you have to do is subscribe. Here’s their entire playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsZP95-GZNa0ynoCIVyliNF5rypCHvh0M

---

Electronic Gaming!

As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is live! The dev team has been doing updates since we launched and appreciate your notes and feedback!

---

Virtual Tabletop!

Jump into the Trinity Continuum with 3 NEW Astral Jumpstarts!

The Trinity Continuum is a vast timeline of adventure, speckled with dramatic points across the past, present, and future. Explore parts of the Trinity Continuum timeline with these three Jumpstarts fully enabled for play on Astral TableTop. Each Jumpstart includes ready-to-play characters and all the rules you need to embark on your Astral adventure.

A Quantum Leap (A Trinity Continuum: Jumpstart)

A group of cultists is playing with matter altering explosives beyond their control. Join forces with 3-5 players to track down and stop them before the universe as we know it is changed forever. 

The Adventures of Teen Tomorrow (A Trinity Continuum: Aberrant Jumpstart)

Bring the superhero action to your table with all the rules you need to assume the roles of Teen Tomorrow and jump right into play! This adventure is designed for 3-6 players.

Quantum Entanglement (A Trinity Continuum: Aeon Jumpstart)

The Stars Await! – Launch yourself onto the galactic stage with this high-flying, interstellar romp. Includes everything you need to run this adventure for 3-5 players. 

Also on Astral TableTop is the Secret of Vinsen’s Tomb for Realms of Pugmire!

Play Now on Astral TableTop!

The Secret of Vinsen’s Tomb module comes with all the maps and encounters, ready to play, along with pre-generated characters and character sheets wired up for automated rolling. It also offers the GameMaster some guidance on playing the scenario on Astral for those GMs new to the platform or entirely new to virtual tabletops (VTT).

Create a free account first, then the Quickstarts will be available on the Home page. If you are getting this via DTRPG, after checkout, look for the link to unlock your adventure on Astral.

Also on Astral TableTop, we have two free projects: Scion 2E: A Light Extinguished and Scarred Lands: Gauntlet of Spiragos and this Dagger of Spiragos module for sale: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/336406/Dagger-of-Spiragos-5e–Astral-VTT

Astral TableTop is the easiest way to play any tabletop RPG online, free. Astral already supports popular systems like D&D and Pathfinder, and Astral can support virtually any tabletop roleplaying game. Get started quickly with built-in support for most popular game systems. Whether you’re brand new to TTRPGs or a veteran tabletop gamer, Astral‘s ease-of-use and built in automation is designed to streamline gameplay.

https://www.astraltabletop.com/

How to guides and FAQ: https://help.astraltabletop.com/

Here is the main filter for all of our current VTT content on DTRPG:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/4261/Onyx-Path-Publishing?filters=0_0_0_45317_0

A few highlights of our platform agnostic content:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/309127/Scarred-Lands-Creature-Collection-VTT-Token-Pack
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/317690/Trinity-Continuum-Hunt-for-the-Red-Widow-VTT
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/340327/Trinity-Continuum-Aeon-VTT-Tokens
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/311578/Scarred-Lands-VTT-Separation-Anxiety
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/311580/Scion-2e-VTT-Origin-Signature-Tokens
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/311579/Scion-2e-VTT-Hero-Signature-Tokens

---

On 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).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue from which you bought it. Reviews really, really help us get folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Also this week, the PoD for the Scarred Lands fiction anthology: Champions of the Scarred Lands is live to order on Amazon!

Our selection includes these latest fiction books:

---

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!

You can pick up the traditionally printed Pugmire and Monarchies of Mau main books, screens, and the official dice through our friends there! https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

Now, we’ve added Chronicles of Darkness books such as Changeling: The Lost Second Edition products to Studio2‘s store! See them here: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/all-products/changeling-the-lost

Scion 2e books and other products are available now at Studio2: https://studio2publishing.com/blogs/new-releases/scion-second-edition-book-one-origin-now-available-at-your-local-retailer-or-online

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

And you can order Pugmire, Monarchies of Mau, Cavaliers of Mars, and Changeling: The Lost 2e at the same link! And now Scion Origin and Scion Hero and Trinity Continuum Core and Trinity Continuum: Aeon are available to order!

As always, you can find Onyx Path’s titles at DriveThruRPG.com!

---

On Sale This Week!

This Wednesday the Scion fiction anthology: Tales of Heroes is available in PDF/electronic and PoD versions on DTRPG!

Also this week, the PoD for the Scarred Lands fiction anthology: Champions of the Scarred Lands is live to order on Amazon!

Remember: the Pre-Order page for Trinity Continuum: Assassins is open on DTRPG! https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/379041

---

Conventions!

Because dates for physical conventions are subject to change due to the current COVID-19 outbreak, we don’t yet have a list of upcoming physical conventions. Instead, keep an eye out here for more virtual conventions we’re going to be involved with!

While we won’t be attending as a company, Dixie and some of our folks will be attending PAX Unplugged in Philly in a few weeks, and Eddy and a few more of our gang will be at Midwinter Convention in Milwaukee in January. Seek them out if you are attending those cons!

---

And now, the new project status updates!

Development Status from Eddy Webb! (Projects in bold have changed status since last week.):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep.)

• Exalted Essay Collection (Exalted)
• Terat Novella (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• Squeaks in the Deep Jumpstart (Realms of Pugmire)
• Tasty Bit: Polyphemus (Trinity Continuum)
• Tasty Bit: They Came From Animal Distaster Films!

Redlines

• Dragon-Blooded Novella #2 (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Tome of the Pentacle (Mage: the Awakening 2e)
• Scion: God (Scion 2e)
• With Great Power (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• Adventure! Addendum (Trinity Continuum: Adventure!)

Second Draft

• The Hedge (Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition)
• W20 Howls of Apocalypse Scenario Book (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)

Development

• Contagion Chronicle: Global Outbreaks (Chronicles of Darkness)
• Wild Hunt (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Bizarre Tales and Unusual Characters (M20 Victorian)
• Weird Wonders and Revolutionary Magick (M20 Victorian)
• No Gods, No Masters (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Scion: Dragon Jumpstart (Scion 2nd Edition)

Manuscript Approval

• Trinity Continuum: Aether core book (Trinity Continuum: Aether)

Post-Approval Development

• Exigents (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Scion: Dragon Companion (Scion 2nd Edition)

Editing

• Lunars Novella (Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• The Book of Lasting Death (Mummy: The Curse 2e)
• M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
• The Clades Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)
• CtL2e Novella Collection: Hollow Courts (Changeling: The Lost 2e)
• Dystopia Rising: Evolution Fiction Anthology (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)
• Legacies of Earth (Legendlore)
• Exalted Essence Edition (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Proteus Nova Compendium (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• They Came From [Classified]! Jumpstart (They Came From…!)
• Realms of Magic and Mystery (was Terra Incognita) (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Vigil Watch: The Kelder Mountains (Scarred Lands)
• The Paranormal Investigator’s Handbook (WoD 20th)
• Apocalyptic Record (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
• M20 Lore of the Traditions (Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
• Many-Faced Strangers – Lunars Companion (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Panopticon Novella (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)
• TC: Adventure! Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Adventure!)
• Tasty Bit: They Came From the Bermuda Triangle!
• W20 Icons of Rage (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
• Squeaks in the Deep Companion (Realms of Pugmire)
• Adversaries of the Righteous (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Whispers From Darkness (was Masks of the Mythos Companion) (Scion 2nd Edition)

Post-Editing Development

• Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Squeaks In The Deep (Realms of Pugmire)
• Novas Worldwide (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• Saints and Monsters (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Trinity Continuum: Assassins (Trinity Continuum Core)
• Prometheus Unbound (was Psi Orders) (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
• The Devoted Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)
• Contagion Chronicle Ready-Made Characters (Chronicles of Darkness)
• Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Trinity Continuum: Adventure! core (Trinity Continuum: Adventure!)
• Mission Statements (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
• Tales of Depravity! (They Came From…!)
• Trinity Continuum: Anima
• They Came From [Classified]! (They Came From…!)
• Once and Future (Scion 2nd Edition)
• They Came From the Cyclops’s Cave! core book (They Came From…!)
• Dead Man’s Rust (Scarred Lands)
• TC: Aeon Novella: Meridian (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
• Crucible of Legends (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Indexing

• Hunter 2e (Hunter: The Vigil 2e)

---

Art Direction from Mike Chaney!

In Art Direction

• Scion: Dragon
• Masks of the Mythos
• TC: Adventure!
• M20 Victorian
• Dead Man’s Rust – Sending to Maria to AD.
• Exalted Essence – Art buy figured.
• TC Mission Statements
• Squeaks In The Deep
• Realms of Magic and Mystery – Rolling along.
• TC: Anima (KS) – KS live.
• TC: Assassin – Maria ADing.
• Legendlore: Legacies of the Earth
• Novas Worldwide
• W20 Apocalyptic Record
• Mage20 Lore of the Traditions – KS art AD’d
• TCFBtG! Monsters From the Crypt
• They Came From [CLASSIFIED]! and They Came From the Cyclops’s Cave – Art is going.
• Kith and Kin – Awaiting art notes.
• EX3 Exigents (KS) – Art notes to Maria to get artists.
• EX3 Across the 8 Directions – Awaiting art notes.
• EX3 Adversaries of the Righteous – Awaiting art notes.

In Layout

• Scion: Demigod – Layout proceeding.
• Squeaks in the Deep Screen
• Squeaks in the Deep – Layout proceeding.
• TC Prometheus Unbound – Layout now with me.
• HtV 2e Screen
• Paranormalists Handbook – Layout proceeding with Josh.
• Saints and Monsters – Layout proceeding.
• TCFGtG! Heroes in a World of Horror – Layout beginning with Ron.

Proofing

• Hunter: The Vigil 2e – Indexing.
• Spiragos Collected Adventures
• They Came From Camp Murder Lake! – Prepping PDF and PoD files.
• Hundred Devils Night Parade – Advance PDF errata input.
• M20 Technocracy Dossier/Companion
• Aberrant VTT
• Ghost Hunters Jumpstart and RMCs

At Press

• M20 Technocracy Reloaded – Deluxe getting ready for press.
• Mummy 2e – Getting ready for press.
• Mummy 2e Screen – Files sent to printer.
• Deviant – Press proofs back to printer.
• Deviant Screen – Files sent to printer.
• Technocracy Reloaded Screen – Files sent to printer.
• TGFBtG! Screen – Files sent to printer.
• WoD Ghost Hunters – Trad printed book files with printer.
• WoD Ghost Hunters Screen – Prepping for printer.
• M20 Rich Bastards Guide – Advance PDF errata input.
• Legendlore – Trad printed book files with printer.
• Legendlore Screen – Files with printer.
• TC Aeon Novella: Dawn – PoD proof ordered.
• V5 Forbidden Religions – PoD proof ordered.
• M20 Technocracy Jumpstart – PoD proof ordered.
• Tales of Heroes: Scion Fiction Anthology – PDF and PoD live on Weds on DTRPG!
• They Came From Beneath the Sea! Jumpstart – Sent PoD files.
• They Came From Beyond the Grave! – Trad printing proofs being reviewed, sent PoD files.
• Trinity Continuum: Assassins pre-order is live on DTRPG.
• They Came From Beyond the Grave! Jumpstart – PoD files uploaded.
• TC Aberrant N!WE – PoD files uploaded.

---

Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

Today is the fourth anniversary of publishing “Thank You, Darcy Cat”, Eddy Webb’s P.G. Wodehouse-inspired tale of a ninny noble dog, Alistair Afghan, and his much more with-it valet, Darcy Cat, as an audio drama. Lovingly crafted by our friends, the sound-geniuses at Audioblivious Productions, it was an early effort to bring our worlds into different media, and we think it succeeded pretty darn well!