Except for these mice – they look pissed-off!
Of course, we don’t know the story here. Are the mice desperate to rob the dogs? Or were the dogs causing trouble? There’s no set “alignment system” in Realms of Pugmire – so you can play ’em in whatever way fits the story you want to tell!
But we do like how nicely things have gone with our Lair of the Rat Kings crowdfunding campaign over on BackerKit where we’re headed towards 300% funding!
In fact, Realms of Pugmire creator Eddy Webb, has this to say about that, as well as another preview about a very UN-nice bunch:
We’re now officially in the slow part of the crowdfunding campaign, although we have had a couple of spikes, such as right after my appearance on GM Talks (which is always a fun conversation). In that podcast, I talked a bit about the Cult of Labo Tor, as I really wanted to make this book the place we finally dig into that nefarious group. So here’s some information about our favorite white mice!
Within the Cult
The Cult of Labo Tor believes they are on the path to true enlightenment. These rodents assert that only they can unlock the secrets of the universe and return the glory of the Old Ones to the current age. They aim to usher in a golden era through a tool they believe only they can wield — science! The cultists assert that the Old Ones used science to push the boundaries of the known and unknown, ultimately attaining a state of total harmony with the universe upon codifying the 100 Theories, a collection of knowledge that permitted the Old Ones to attain oneness with the universe. The cultists believe that by unlocking the 100 Theories, they too will reach the end of understanding and ascend to a higher state of being.The Cult of Labo Tor claims that everything they do is in the name of science. Unfortunately, the cultists have a skewed view of what science truly is. To the Cultists of Labo Tor, science is the art of drawing insight from pain, suffering, and repetition. Experiments are brutal for the subject and often fatal. The cultists maintain that suffering is necessary to gain insight, and that they learned this from their time serving directly under the Old Ones. Some cultists even claim to have visions of their ancestors’ suffering which they believe are sent by the Old Ones as clues planted in the collective rodent unconsciousness. These clues emerge in nightmares guiding the most advanced of Labo Tor to new discoveries.
Quarrels over the true meaning of the content of the 100 Theories of Man are common throughout the cult. Cultists tend to disagree more often than they agree, and their disagreements often become violent. Sometimes this leads to direct conflict between cultists, though that conflict is rarely a physical fight. The most common form of settling disputes between cult rivals is a contest they call peer review. When peer review is declared, two rival cultists each declare a theory. They then find and kidnap dogs, cats, rodents, or whoever they can get their hands on. Once a cultist has a victim, they and their various assistants and underlings begin a series of experiments on their subject. These experiments are agonizing for the test subjects and often have little or nothing to do with the initial argument. Any time peer review is called, the challengers can set up unique terms for that contest. Some common conditions for a peer review are:
• The first rodent whose test subject dies loses.
• The last rodent whose test subject dies loses.
• The first rodent whose subject screams for mercy wins.
• The first rodent who makes a new discovery as a result of their experiment and presents their finding to all other local cultists wins.
Next week, we’ll be talking about being in the final week and about getting out there and spreading the word!
Could call it a whine and cheese bar
Discussing all the various hotels and bars we’ve been in over the years of going to conventions!
And here’s a pic of our sales display at Studio2‘s booth at Gen Con, which just wrapped up yesterday:
Hope some of you had a chance to stop by and pick up some traditionally printed books! We know that a lot of folks attending Gen Con got a chance to both do that, and to play in our Curseborne and The World Below demo games, because all the seats we offered were sold out.
If you were there and played in any of our demo games, we’d love to hear from you about the experience! If you were there and got soaked while demoing games, we’d like to hear about that too! (Because of a super-heavy amount of rain and tornado-brewing weather, rain started pouring down into the gaming halls!)
Now that Gen Con is over, though, we’re expecting Studio2 to get back home, get everything back into their warehouse, and then attend to regular business…like sending out our backer rewards for They Came From the RPG Anthology!. From what we hear, the UK/EU rewards shipping is pretty much wrapping up – so now for everybody else!
At the meeting today, Travis shared this about our Twitch programming:
Inclement weather has been newsworthy in the TTRPG space this past week. Even our Twitch channel was touched by the extreme weather conditions, as it seems like Summer 2026 is intent on being intense! However, if the clouds stay parted in the regions our streamers call home, expect to see new episodes of Curseborne: Accursed in Boston, Guiding the Path, and Trinity Continuum: Adventure: Air Circus! this coming week at their regular times. We have a few things cooking in the background, so be sure to watch this space over the coming weeks for news and announcements!
We’ve been reviewing all of our social media for such things as how folks actually use it, and what we’re currently publishing, and ease of use. That sort of stuff. And right now the team is focused on our Discord channels/servers and taking a good luck at what updates we’d like to make.
If you have any ideas in that direction that you’d like to share, please do drop us a line!
Along the same lines as my reminder post last week, here’s a bit of a reminder that when we put out a Backer PDF or an Advance PDF, we do not want y’all to tell us that the Pg XXs are not filled in. We already know that, and don’t intend to fill them in until we’ve gone through and implemented any changes in the files based on our eagle-eyed community’s input on the errata form. That’s so we have more accuracy with any page numbers for the XXs, as there are often changes to the PDF files that can move a section mentioned in a Pg XX to a different page.
We do say this very thing: do not include concerns about Pg XXs in the Errata Sheet with the sheet, but sometimes folks seem to miss that notice. Having to delete all your errata about the missing Pg XXs isn’t the very worst thing we have to do, but it does slow down the process a tad – and there’s no need for it.
On to more fulfillment news, here’s Travis about Scarred Lands:
In Scarred Lands news, the Edge and Power card proof decks arrived today from DriveThruRPG! These three card decks were unlocked in the $3000 stretch goal in the Scarred Lands Player’s Guide for Savage Worlds Kickstarter campaign, and the print and play versions were sent to backers last week. Today I send out coupons for POD decks, delivered in beautiful deck boxes, to the backers who qualified for them! As I noted in today’s update at the Kickstarter page, this is also last call for late pledges, as Kickstarter will be closing them in just over 2 days! Don’t miss out on your chance to get the Scarred Lands Player’s Guide for Savage Worlds and associated stretch goals before time runs out!
Speaking of Scarred Lands, we got a message from a long-time fan who received a ping from out of the blue from someone in Australia who had one of their first edition Scarred Lands books that contained our long-time fan’s name! Our Australian friend just wanted to reach out and connect with another fan half-way around the world – which tickled the original owner’s sense of community!
Very glad they felt good about the whole communication, and we’re feeling really good about hearing how older fans and newer ones can all enjoy one of our game worlds!
One of our:
Many Worlds… One Path!
Blurbs!
Crowdfunding!
Meep! Meep! Enter, if you dare, the Lair of the Rat Kings! Headed to 300% funded so far!
You can check it out with this link – so you don’t miss a whisker of the campaign!
Onyx Path Media!
Check out our attached media schedule for the videos on our Twitch channel this week!
On this week’s Onyx Path News, Matthew delves into Dead Crops, Scarred Lands, and They Came From!: https://youtu.be/S8NvUeZUUso
Over on The Gentleman Gamer YouTube channel, Matthew does a readalong of the prologue to the new Curseborne novella, Peel Back the Bark: https://youtu.be/ruLPyBOmM7o
Virtual Tabletop!
Check it out now! The Scion Demiplane Nexus! Click here for Early Access:
Campaigns for Scion Nexus went live last week as well. This blog post explains how Campaigns work on Demiplane:
https://www.demiplane.com/blog/campaigns-have-arrived
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
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!
Forged by the machine god, the Exalted: Alchemicals PDF and PoD versions are available this Weds on DTRPG!
On Sale Last Week!
This month’s Tasty Bit expands on the Guardians of the Dying World setting in Storypath Ultra Core Manual with the Dead Crops PDF available only on DTRPG!
Conventions!
Here’s where you can find out more info on physical and virtual conventions we’re going to be involved with!
Fan Expo Chicago – August 14th – 16th (handing out some swag and maybe some pick-up demos in the game room)
Twin Cities Con – November 20th – 22nd (Game Room demos).
PAX Unplugged – December 4th – 6th (Studio 2 will have our books and more).
Project Status Updates!
Our full list of projects will be available monthly on our blog! Check out July’s full list report here; https://theonyxpath.com/release-roundup-july-2026/
DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM EDDY!
Here are the projects that moved to the next stage of production:
Development
Jadestorm (Earthbane Cycle)
- Jadestorm enters development this week (just in time for me to go away on holiday)! Chains seemed to spike some interest, so expect a lot of focus on those fun new combo powers as we close in the crowdfunder. In the meantime, here’s another fantastic element: fighting multiple foes (a Tide) as one Jadebearer!
Tide
Tides are faceless crowds that fight as a single antagonist: waves of charging swordsmen, packs of beasts, riots, or an honor guard converging from every alley and doorway. Tides are immediately overwhelming, if only due to numbers alone, but as the Tide takes injuries and begins to thin, its effective threat diminishes. Tides are particularly susceptible to the Wavering status effect and Breaking. Tides can be small (10-500 figures), modest (500-1,000 figures), or large (more than 1,000 figures), which affects their traits as detailed below. Tides cannot engage in duels, but they may be Worthy and have access to Sorceries, depending on the origins of their members.
Primary Pool: 8/9/10
Secondary Pool: 6/7/8
Desperation Pool: 4/4/5
Size: Small / Modest / Large
Enhancements: +1/+2/+3 to attacks within close range.
Defense: 2/2/3
Integrity: 1/2/3
Injuries: 4/5/6
Armor: 0-2
Initiative: 4
Qualities: 1-4/4/5; Most Tides will have the Encircling, Endless Tide, and Pressing Bodies qualities, as seen in the examples below, and an additional one or two qualities depending on their size. This best represents the threats that large bodies of enemies pose to the party, but Storyguides should feel free to adjust according to specific situations.
Moves: 1-4/4/5
Thinning: Each Injury the Tide takes reduces its primary and secondary pools by 1.
Leader: Tides may be attached to a single antagonist of Risen tier or higher, designated as the leader. The leader has their own separate stats according to their template. If the leader is Taken Out or otherwise removed from the Area, the Tide immediately becomes Wavering and makes a reflexive Break action.
Wavering and Breaking
Enemies in Jadestorm, especially sentient ones, don’t normally fight to the death. A scattered crowd, a rival whose composure has finally cracked, a champion who suddenly remembers that they have a different story to tell — these are the moments that Breaking aims to capture.
The Break Action
A Wavering character makes a reflexive Break action whenever the situation against them shifts unfavorably — a new injury, a new status effect, an attached leader falling, or any other discrete effect that worsens the situation for the character.
When making a Break action, antagonists roll their desperation pool against a difficulty determined by their current situation. The base difficulty is always 1. Upon success, enemies remain to continue fighting. Upon failure, enemies Break, fleeing the Area.
Liminals (Exalted)
- The next big Exalted template book is all written up! Now it’s time for the developers to make sure it all lines up nicely and get it ready for crowdfunding!
ART DIRECTION FROM MIKE CHANEY!
In Art Direction
- Ex3 Infernals – Art notes are in.
- Curseborne Seattle – Once all the art is in for the other CB projects, I’ll get this rolling.
- TC Danger Skies – First map in… second map soon.
- TC Aether Player’s Guide – Full page sketches in…
- TC Steam Wars – Going over amended art buy and looking for a splat artist.
- Pugmire Adventures – Waiting on Jadestorm stuff to be done so I can get these two going.
- Jadestorm (BK) – Awaiting amendments and color comps.
- TWB Underworld Adventures – Full page and cover sketches in.
- Curseborne PG – Just waiting on the rest of the art.
- Monster Kingdoms – Art is all in.
- Lair of the Rat King (BK) – Crowdfunder in progress.
Layout Queue
- Curseborne Compact Edition
- Ex Essence PG – Working on finishing for first proof.
- Curseborne Screen – Finishing as part of my Curseborne Round Up.
Proofing Queue
- Curseborne Community Content Stuff
- Essence PG Novella 1 – Murder on the Divine Carriage – Making the cover.
- Essence PG Novella 2 – Even the Heavens Will Burn – Making the cover.
At Press
- They Came From the RPG Antho – Rewards shipping to backers.
- Curseborne – Interior press files ready.
- Curseborne Tangled Webs – PoD files uploaded and PDF updated.
- Curseborne Jumpstart – PoD proofs ordered. Interior Press files ready.
- Making of Curseborne – Prepping print files.
- At The Gates – Backer PDF went out, errata ends Weds.
- TCF Cyclops Cave Jumpstart – PoD files have been uploaded but I still need to upload the updated PDF.
- Ex3 Alchemicals – PDF and PoD versions available on DTRPG this Weds!
Today’s Reason to Celebrate!
Today is the birthday of our Crowdfunding Concierge, James Bell! Our very own web-thwapping master of communication and logistics for all of our crowdfunders in recent memory, and a really fine fella, besides that! We first met James and the rest of the Fiery Dragon crew during the chaotic days of the d20 craze, but I always tried to hang out with them after hours at all the Gen Cons after that. Their varied but still hilarious senses of humor really helped get me through the stress of Gen Con, and knowing James’ knowledge of both the TTRPG space and retail sales, it seemed like a natural fit to ask him to take over running our crowdfunders from me. Certainly up there as one of the best decisions I’ve ever made – thanks, James, and here’s to many more!