We’re almost exactly a month out from our second Onyx Path Virtual Convention, and things are not so much convoluted – unlike our poor friends’ path here in this illo from Squeaks in the Deep – as they are starting to get fun and exciting as the convention gets firmed up.

Which is why I wanted to remind everybody today that there is still time for anyone who wants to run a game to do so! The reason to say that now, is that the sign-ups for playing in games during the con open on Weds the 19th, which as of this writing is two days from now!

We hope that having a month will give folks enough chance to plan their attacks and clear space in their schedules to play. This is more than twice as much time as our extremely truncated schedule last year allowed us to give folks – so we’re really glad the organizational work happening behind the scenes was able to make this happen!

It’s really a Tetris game organizationally to set up any convention, and virtual ones are no different. Just today we had to move the starting ceremonies on Friday, June 11th, an hour earlier in order to accommodate all the great programing folks want to put on!

Which is a good problem to have, really, and it’s a testament to the team that we’re flexible enough to do it.

I do know that we’ll be having the latest in the “What’s Up With Onyx Path?” panels, and for those of you who love announcements, you’ll be thrilled to know that we’ll be announcing some awesome new projects at the panel!

Speaking of which, Matthew has included the vid from last weekend’s What’s Up w/OP? panel from TryItCon – as well as info from that con – at the start of the Media section below. No massive revelations from us in that panel, but plenty of talk about the status of current projects, the TV show, all that and a heapin’ helpin’ of our down-home foolishness!

Back to the upcoming Onyx Path Virtual Con, and if you are interested, folks will get a first look at They Came From [Classified]!, which should let the cat out of the bag about the subject of that game! After all “all cats are grey in the dark”. Plus, our own Eddy Webb will be running a playtest and first look at Trinity Continuum: Anima! So please do sign in for those if you can!

We ran a beginning run-thru “session 0” sort of thing for TC: Anima last week, and we’ve got a delightful group of playtesters. There’s even one older guy on there who is really looking forward to see how we can solve the mystery Aeon gave us in both the “real” and the MMO worlds! Ahhh…I can’t keep anything from you folks: that guy is me, and I had a ball with the players and Eddy’s running of the game so far – so join me, and all of us, as our characters use their Glass implants to access TerraSurge!

If you ever wondered how the Storypath System would handle a fantasy game, this one’s for you!

Eddy also pointed out that our friends at Vorpal Tales are ready to run Pugmire‘s Squeaks in the Deep at our convention, and he has total confidence that they are going to do a rat-a-tat job with it!

And A Less Than Con-gested Meeting Today:

Some Covid shots and a post-Covid family meet-up meant our Monday Meeting today was only partially attended, but our missing crew-mates did send in their notes. So we’re covered. As you can tell with the whole theme of this week’s blog, a lot of our time was spent on talking about last weekend’s TryItCon and then next month’s Onyx Path Virtual Con.

Y’know, one useful, if not good, thing about no in-person conventions is that we’ve saved a lot on Marketing expenses for almost two years, and we’ve been able to use those kinds of funds differently. You’ll see us stretch in a few directions Marketing-wise this coming year, and we may pop up in some unexpected places!

We were all informed by Podbean that our Onyx Pathcast has had over 100,000 downloads from their site! Which is fantastic and great to hear! (Eddy does say we are closer to 140,000 downloads, but who are we to argue?) In any case, it’s thrilling to know that so many of you have been enjoying the Terribly Terrific Trio’s antics and insight like we always have in-house!

Just a reminder here in the quieter part of the blog: player sign-ups start on this Wednesday the 19th for the Onyx Path Virtual Convention, part the deux!

That’ll do it this week, gang. Thanks so much for checking in on this thing we do each week in order to keep everybody out there up-to-date on where things stand with our:

Many Worlds, One Path!

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BLURBS!

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Kickstarter!

We’ve put together the stuff we need and have put Exalted: Essence in to get the approvals for one of our next couple of crowd-funding campaigns. More when we have it!

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Onyx Path Media!

This week: An in-depth look into the mysteries of the Trinity Continuum: Anima design diaries!!

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

TryItCon was a roaring success over the weekend! You can find our “What’s up with Onyx Path?” panel over on our YouTube channel, right here: https://youtu.be/1-Vhw3tkDKM

All badge proceeds went to the Helen Keller Foundation and the first $1,500 in ticket sales were matched and donated as well! Please donate to the Helen Keller Foundation right here: https://helenkellerfoundation.org/

For anyone new to our media section, you can find us running and playing games over on twitch.tv/theonyxpath pretty much 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!

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, including:

Changeling: The Dreaming – Yours to Keep – Episode 2 – https://youtu.be/loWeNrxxPM0

Scarred Lands – Dead Man’s Rust – Red Scar Players – Episode 7 – https://youtu.be/nwsg9WJ-wtk

Exalted – Tomb of Dreams Jumpstart – Episode 1/2 – https://youtu.be/JVCvYS2K284

They Came from Beneath the Sea! – Party Beach Creature Feature Jumpstart – Episode 1/2 – https://youtu.be/O8XjwZQajXQ

Realms of Pugmire – The Secret of Vinsen’s Tomb – Episode 1/2 – https://youtu.be/jP6KpS8By4s

What’s up with Onyx Path? Panel – https://youtu.be/1-Vhw3tkDKM

Subscribe to our channel and click the bell icon if you want to be notified whenever new news videos and uploads come online!

The Story Told Podcast are back with The Fall of JiaraExalted recap! This is one of the best Dragon-Blooded chronicles around, so please give them a listen: http://thestorytold.foolsmoon.ca/fall-of-jiara-act-2-recap

A Bunch of Gamers continue their Werewolf: The Apocalypse chronicle here: https://abunchofgamers.podbean.com/e/werewolf-the-apocalypse-episode-69-rest-and-recovery/ This is episode 69, so you know it’ll be nice.

Caffeinated Conquests has been running a superb They Came from Beneath the Sea! story over on their Twitch channel. Give them a follow and enjoy their hilarious roleplay!https://www.twitch.tv/caffeinatedconquests

McStabber Studios ran an excellent, short Changeling: The Dreaming chronicle, which you can find in full right here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNJbJLVC_ivyvggeuHiQXBdtAukvPf5Ox

Ekorren continues their excellent Exalted 3rd Edition series over on YouTube! You can find their latest video – on Making Better Stunts – right here: https://youtu.be/tOSHES7Ycm8

The Exaltcast continues its fantastic show introducing you to the wonders and horrors of the Realm and its various inhabitants. The next episode is for Holistic Battle Understanding – https://www.exaltcast.com/2021/05/07/holistic-battle-understanding-commanding-armies-and-ships/ – Exalted often has a demigod square off against a Deathlord, but what about lesser encounters like an Exalt vs several dinosaurs, the Brides of Alhat or maybe several boats? Monica and Chazz talk mass combat, triremes and reducing people to statistics.

Over on ExalTwitch they’ve been running some amazing games of Exalted, and even have a show wiki for viewers to follow along! ExalTwitch: Academy is set in The House of Bells, a prestigious school for Dragon-Blooded Exalted of the Realm to train in the ways of war. The chronicle follows three young Dragon-Bloods as they try to prove their worth to their fellow students, their Houses, and themselves.

Their most recent VOD, Episode 17 (“Away Home”), is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twssCr1FmbE

The playlist for the series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zb3M2x8PJk&list=PLsZP95-GZNa0ynoCIVyliNF5rypCHvh0M

The show wiki, with synopses, character descriptions, etc: RPGClinic Wiki | Fandom

Wards & Witchcraft continue their wonderful Mage: The Awakening chronicle which you can watch right here: https://youtu.be/rHKCf6jdRmA

After a misadventure in the fey the witches find themselves on the wrong side of a deathless murder knight. Who is this Black Knight and can our heroes escape with their lives…?   

Please check these out and let us know if you find or produce any actual plays of our games! We’d love to feature you!

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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 based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is awesome! (Seriously, you need to roll 100 dice for Exalted? This app has you covered.)

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Virtual TableTop!

Two Virtual Tabletop adventures: the Gauntlet of Spiragos and the Dagger of Spiragos for Scarred Lands on Astral TableTop and DriveThruRPG!

Scars of the Divine War, which ended less than 200 years ago, have still not healed. One such scar is the Chasm of Flies, a rent in the earth created when the titan Spiragos the Ambusher was smote down by one of the young gods, Vangal the Ravager. Now, the Chasm is inhabited by spider-eye goblins and their spider allies, but it is also thought to be the resting place of powerful artifacts from that elder age.

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.

Build your own adventure, or choose from pre-generated game kits like Gauntlet of Spiragos and Dagger of Spiragos. Create character sheets, craft maps, or just jump right in to connect with your friends and start your adventures!

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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!

Our selection includes these latest fiction books:

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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

Our Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition books are also available from Studio2 in the US: https://studio2publishing.com/products/vampire-the-masquerade-chicago-by-night-sourcebook

Here’s the link to Studio2‘s part of the Scarred Lands Sale!

Studio 2:https://studio2publishing.com/collections/scarred-lands

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!

Here’s the link for IPR‘s part of the Scarred Lands Sale!

IPR: https://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Deals-and-Specials/

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

Here’s the link to DTRPG‘s part of the Scarred Lands Sale! DTRPG:https://www.drivethrurpg.com/saleguide.php

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On Sale This Week!

On Wednesday you can meet the V5 Children of the Blood! PoD and PDF versions available on DTRPG!

Do not trust these people. Trust us. Trust me. I didn’t survive for as long as I have through mundane means, through lack of conviction, or by fooling myself into believing there is nothing greater than myself in the world. Join me, and I can show the truth. I can be your friend and your confidante. There may be sacrifices along the way, but I promise, it will lead to your enlightenment. 

Children of the Blood includes:

• A broad selection of new SPCs to introduce into your stories as antagonists and supporting characters, with many linked to strange and dangerous cult organizations — some new for Children of the Blood, others expanding concepts introduced in Cults of the Blood Gods and Forbidden Religions.

• Ready-made characters for players, along with coteries for them to form, allowing you to take material from this book and immediately play with it.

• New Bloodlines, Loresheets, Merits, and Flaws, all available to help expand your playable options in a chronicle of Vampire: The Masquerade.

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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!

As announced, the 2nd Onyx Path Virtual Gaming Convention will be coming to you live starting Friday, June 11th and running until Sunday, June 13th (including a special post-con Jackbox gamefest Sunday night hosted by Dixie)!

The GM Sign-up Page & Code of Conduct for OPP Con are now live:

Code of Conduct:https://intercom.help/startplayinggames/en/articles/5208570-onyx-path-code-of-conduct

GM Sign-up:https://intercom.help/startplayinggames/en/articles/5217651-onyx-path-virtual-gaming-convention-2021-faq

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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)
• Tasty Bit: Car Lifting Competition (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Panopticon Novella (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• Scion: God (Scion 2e)

Redlines

• Dragon-Blooded Novella #2 (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Tome of the Pentacle (Mage: the Awakening 2e)
• The Hedge (Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition)
• M20 Lore of the Traditions (Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
• Apocalyptic Record (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)

Second Draft

• No Gods, No Masters (Scion 2nd Edition)
• TC: Adventure! Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Adventure!)

Development

• Contagion Chronicle: Global Outbreaks (Chronicles of Darkness)
• Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)
• Adversaries of the Righteous (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Wild Hunt (Scion 2nd Edition)

Manuscript Approval

Post-Approval Development

• Many-Faced Strangers – Lunars Companion (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Exigents (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Once and Future (Scion 2nd Edition)

Editing

• Lunars Novella (Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• The Book of Lasting Death (Mummy: The Curse 2e)
• Dead Man’s Rust (Scarred Lands)
• M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
• Mission Statements (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
• The Clades Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)
• Yugman’s Appendix: People of Ghelspad (Scarred Lands)
• CtL2e Novella Collection: Hollow Courts (Changeling: The Lost 2e)
• Heroes in a World of Horror! (They Came From…!)
• Dystopia Rising: Evolution Fiction Anthology (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)
• Prometheus Unbound (was Psi Orders) (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
• Legacies of Earth (Legendlore)
• Scion Fiction Anthology (Scion 2nd Edition)
• M20 Rich Bastard’s Guide To Magick (Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary)
• They Came From Beyond the Grave! Jumpstart (They Came From…!)
• Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Monsters From the Crypt! (They Came From…!)
• TC: Aeon Novella: Meridian (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
• Exalted Essence Edition (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Crucible of Legends (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• The Devoted Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)
• Proteus Nova Compendium (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• TC: Aeon Novella: Dawn (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
• Tasty Bit: Pets (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
• Trinity Continuum: Assassins (Trinity Continuum Core)
• Saints and Monsters (Scion 2nd Edition)
• They Came From Camp Murder Lake! (They Came From…!)
• Contagion Chronicle Ready-Made Characters (Chronicles of Darkness)
• Trinity Continuum: Anima
• Tales of Depravity! (They Came From…!)
• They Came From [Classified]! (They Came From…!)
• They Came From [Classified]! Jumpstart (They Came From…!)
• Realms of Magic and Mystery (was Terra Incognita) (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Trinity Continuum: Adventure! core (Trinity Continuum: Adventure!)
• Tasty Bit: Les Fantomes (Trinity Continuum)
• Vigil Watch: The Kelder Mountains (Scarred Lands)
• Ghost Hunters Jumpstart w/RMCs (WoD 20th)
• The Paranormal Investigator’s Handbook (WoD 20th)

Post-Editing Development

• Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)
• They Came From Beyond the Grave! (They Came From!)
• Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Player’s Guide to the Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)
• N!ternational Wrestling Entertainment (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• Dearly Bleak – Novella (Deviant: The Renegades)
• V5 Trails of Ash and Bone (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)
• V5 Forbidden Religions (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)
• Squeaks In The Deep (Realms of Pugmire)
• Novas Worldwide (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• They Came From Beneath the Sea! Jumpstart (They Came From…!)
• Tasty Bit: Zeus We Just Wanna Talk! (Scion 2nd Edition)

Indexing

• Mummy: The Curse 2e

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Art Direction from Mike Chaney!

In Art Direction

• Scion: Dragon (KS)
• Masks of the Mythos (KS)
• Scion: Demigod – All notes out to artists. Still need to lockdown 1 more artist for Pantheons.
• TC: Adventure! (KS)
• M20 Victorian (KS)
• Dead Man’s Rust
• M20 Technocracy Jumpstart
• Exalted Essence (KS) – KS graphics almost finished.
• V5 Forbidden Religions
• TC Mission Statements
• TC Aberrant N!WE – Talking with artists.
• M20 Technocracy Dossier/Companion – Starting on this.
• Hundred Devils Night Parade
• Squeaks In The Deep (KS)
• TC Prometheus Unbound
• They Came From Camp Murder Lake!
• Realms of Magic and Mystery
• Saints and Monsters
• TC: Anima (KS) – Reaching out to artists for the two different art styles.
• TC: Assassin

In Layout

• Spiragos Collected Adventures
• Hunter: The Vigil 2e – Josh working on it as art trickles in.
• 21-22 Onyx Brochure – looking good so far.
• WoD Ghost Hunters (KS) – putting together the layout.
• Legendlore – revised text in.
• M20 Rich Bastards Guide – Over to Charles, art is all in.
• They Came From Beneath the Sea! Jumpstart
• V5 Trail of Ash and Bone
• They Came From Beyond the Grave!
• Players Guide to the Contagion Chronicle

Proofing

• Mummy 2 – In Indexing.
• TC: Under Alien Skies – Wrapping this up.
• Heirs to the Shogunate – Getting 2nd Dev Proof together.
• M20 Technocracy Reloaded – Doing pgXXs and prepping interior files for press.
• TC Aberrant Jumpstart
• Deviant Screen – To Paradox for approval.

At Press

• Aberrant – KS fulfillment rolling.
• TC: Aberrant Screen – KS fulfillment rolling.
• Contagion Chronicle Jumpstart (Chronicles of Darkness) – PoD proofs on their way.
• Children of the Blood – PDF and PoD versions on sale Weds on DTRPG.
• Vigil Watch Compiled – PoD proofs on the way.
• Mummy 2e Screen
• Deviant – Waiting on printer specs.

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Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

Today is the birthday of Howard Elliott Ashman (May 17, 1950 – March 14, 1991), who was an American playwright, lyricist and stage director. He collaborated with composer Alan Menken and together they are most widely known for bringing on the “Disney Renaisance” of animated films for Walt Disney Animation Studios. They began their collaboration with the musical God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1979), for which Ashman directed and wrote both book and lyrics. Their next musical, Little Shop of Horrors (1982), for which Ashman again directed and wrote both book and lyrics, became a long-running success and led to the 1986 film. At Disney, Ashman’s playful use of language and ability to use just the right words and tones on the films The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), and Aladdin (1992), elevated those three films from the sort of regular animated films Disney had been doing and formed the rebirth of the studio (and its inevitable rise to media juggernaut). He was unique and brilliant and his work has made millions of children (and adults) very happy!