Two great things are happening this week: the launch tomorrow, Tuesday, of the Branch Riders Kickstarter over on The Bodhana Group‘s KS page, and our own Onyx Path Virtual Gaming Convention starting this Friday and running through Sunday!

Lot’s of folks have things to say about those two events, and more! So I’m going to save my typing finger (that’s right, one finger typist) and my voice for the Opening Ceremonies Friday night, and let some other folks do the talking here!

First, Con talk from our Con-cierge, Travis Legge (not in the quotation font as there’s a lot here):

Onyx Path Virtual Gaming Convention 2024 is this weekend! The excitement is palpable among our techs, panelists, and actual players as we prepare for a weekend full of fun and informative content!

On Saturday, June 15th at 12:30 PM EDT we are hosting the Curseborne Panel! After a long, winding road filled with mysterious glitches and misfortunes, we’re ready to pull the curtain back on Curseborne! Come learn about Curseborne! There may even be a Q&A!

Aside from the panel, folks interested in Curseborne will have an opportunity to check out an actual play on Friday, June 14th at 6 PM EDT! This world premiere actual play will be simulcast on all our partner channels! If you can’t make the Friday night showing, no worries! The Curseborne Actual Play will be rebroadcast several times throughout the weekend! You can catch encore presentations at:

Saturday, June 15th at 9:30 AM EDT on RollingNomads

Saturday, June 15th at 4:30 PM EDT on Plastic Age Plays

Sunday, June 16th at 10:00 AM EDT on SimulacraTV

Sunday, June 16th at 3:00 PM EDT on Dork Tales

Sunday, June 16th at 6:00 PM EDT on Onyx Path

While we have the Curseborne Actual Play, and dozens of actual play events on our partner channels, there are also opportunities for you to play or run games as part of the convention, through our partners at StartPlaying. Visit https://startplaying.games/event/onyx-path-convention-2024/search to see what games are on offer! Signing up for a game is simple! Just choose the game and time slot you want, click the “Join Game” and follow the prompts. If you don’t have an account at StartPlaying, it will prompt you to set an account up. 

If you would like to run some games for the convention, there’s still time to set up some events! Visit https://intercom.help/startplaying/en/collections/7379816-game-master-faqs for all the information you need to get set up as a Game Master and run your own games!

The convention wraps up for the weekend on Sunday, June 16th at 5:00 PM EDT with the Closing Ceremonies! I hope to see you there!

Rich here, back again to note that the last of the five Curseborne character creation videos that lead into the Curseborne Actual Play Travis mentions is available in time for y’all to get a peek at what’s coming at the Con. It’s linked down in the Onyx Path Media section below!

Then there’s our second big event: Branch Riders are coming at you this Tuesday the 11th at 2pm EDT on Kickstarter!

For years I’ve mentioned The Bodhana Group and the good they do as they use tabletop games to enhance their professional therapuetic efforts, and now they are ready to present to the world their own TTRPG that draws on their experience in both gaming and therapy. It’s exciting and more than a little humbling, to think that Onyx Path could have helped them create something that will be both fun and real-world helpful!

Here I give you the kind words of The Bodhana Group‘s public face and all-around grand poobah, Jack Berkenstock, as he gives a little insight into the beginnings of the project and our working relationship during the creation of Branch Riders:

Working with Onyx Path has been an incredible journey with Branch Riders.  Our relationship with OPP started many years ago with their sponsorship and support of our annual Save Against Fear Convention.  This culminated in some meaningful chats with Rich specifically about the benefits of gaming that led to a long 15 year friendship as well as a firmer idea of our direction as an organization  It traveled further when we started using Pugmire in our first private run groups.  When we pitched the idea of Branch Riders initially, it sounded kind of… overzealous.  Rich knew what we were driving towards but hinted for us to think further through what it would actually look like.  Nice sketch, could you firm up some of the lines there? The thought of having a game take place in eight different realms was the concept of throwing ten pounds into a five pound bag.  From the beginning the goal and the approach from our collaboration with Onyx was never to make this Onyx’s game, it was always to help guide us towards the game we really wanted to make.  The original idea from us was a therapy game, and at first glance it was pretty heavy handed.  But working directly with Onyx and Eddy specifically was perfect as our process was very similar. Pugmire was Eddy’s game and his vision came through.  Did changes have to be made, certain.  We quickly realized that a straight THERAPY GAME was really not what we wanted.  Our trainmings we teach that a good story is at the heart of using RPGs for therapy.  We really wanted a game that was fun to play and one that could be more easily used in therapy and education.  The process of our weekly meetings was much along the lines of instead of Eddy telling us what we should do, he asked questions to help us refine what our goal was and then asked… is this the best way to get there?  

It was and still is much like a quote misappropriated to Michelangelo when asked (supposedly) how you sculpt David.  “You start with a block of marble and chip away everything that isn’t David.”  We never felt that we were being led or had our hands held in a way that took our decisions out of the process.  Our goals were always in the forefront.  But we knew this guidance at his heart believed in what we were producing and Eddy’s wealth of designer experience was invaluable.  We made our realms make more sense, put the therapy elements into the background of the setting, which was our mission and original goal.  Once our vision of a fun to play game first became more focused, the work got easier and more organic.  Mechanics came out of the true goal.  Early in this process of just pitching the idea, Eddy and I met at a PAX Unplugged for lunch and Eddy told me (paraphasing here) – “You got some good bones here, but you gotta make it a great skeleton to hang the actual game on ort you don’t have a game.”  Fleshing out the realms, the resolution system and all of its narrative components, plus the idea of customizing the game through designing your own elements just all made more sense. Onyx didn’t tell us what to do, they helped us figure out what we wanted to do.  And through that we have learned a lot and this has resulted in a passionately designed game that we are proud to reveal and share with all of the world.

One Branch, Several Meetings:

Our OPP Con/Anniversary Sale is rolling at IPR with more than 20 titles (a combination of books, screens, and dice) up to 75% off all month long (and even at their both at Origins) and now expands to include both DriveThruRPG and Roll20! Check out the links below for great celebratory savings at all three sites!

Last Thursday, we wrapped up the At the Gates crowdfunding campaign on BackerKit with over 1200 backers! We are thrilled to see so many returning backers – and stunned at the number of new backers drawn in to this magical world that Danielle created!

As a matter of fact, here she is now with her own message to add to our thanks to all of you who supported and talked up the campaign:

Thank you to everyone who helped make the Backerkit campaign a smashing success. We had so many people join in, which is so heartening to hear. I know I’ve said it before, but I’m so honored that so many people wanted to check out this game and have had such wonderful things to say about it. I want to give a huge shout out to my writing team who just knocked everything out of the part so hard. It’s always hard when you have a vision for a setting and you have to give it to other people to write, as their vision may not completely align. Instead, they took what I had already written and made it better, cooler, and came up with so many great additions I didn’t even think of. 

I can’t wait to start hearing stories of people playing the game. Please share your play adventures with us, as it both helps us know if we need to tweak anything for the final version and I just love hearing that I’ve made something that has brought joy to others.

Now that Eddy has finalized his house in England and has attended UKGE (as discussed last week), it is time for he and I to continue working on the Threats and Curs book for Realms of Pugmire. And we are – in between prepping for the Onyx Path Virtual Con and other projects! In format, this is going to be a very different book as its inspiration is a different, much older book from the dawn of TTRPGs, and yet still it’s a Realms of Pugmire book.

For example, here’s an excerpt from the book’s foreword that Eddy has written in the style of early game books, even if the sentiments are all his very own:

It is with a massive amount of pride that I and the folks at Onyx Path Publishing bring you this new release for Realms of Pugmire, a collection of new and updated enemies called Threats & Curs. While we’re immensely proud of all the hard work we’ve put into the original edition, all of us had an itch to do a big book of antagonists… a manual of monsters, if you will.

So I’m doubly excited that Onyx Path was
keen to be more experimental with this book, making it an homage to the original book from 1977 that inspired many of us.

As time goes on, the Realms of Pugmire phenomenon grows in leaps and bounds — indeed, the popularity of the game and the world continues to expand from its humble origins a decade ago as just a short story and a handful of notes on my computer. This trend is immensely gratifying, both to me and Onyx Path, and encourages me to devote even more time and attention to all things Pugmire. I hope that, as long as there are passionate fans for it, we can continue to make more high-quality (and occasionally experimental) books for all Realms of Pugmire fans to enjoy.

Rather than go into any more detail now on just what we have planned, here’s a drawing I did for Threats and Curs of a carnivorous water-lily called a Wopper!:

Hoping to see you all starting Friday at the Onyx Path Virtual Convention as we celebrate our:

Many Worlds, One Path!

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Blurbs!

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Crowdfunding!:

BRANCH RIDERS – STARTS TUESDAY JUNE 11th on KICKSTARTER!

From our friends at The Bodhana Group:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tbgjack/branch-riders-tabletop-role-playing-game

COMING NEXT: Scion: Mythic Shards

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Onyx Path Media!

This week: Matthew, Danielle, and Eddy talk about cons past (i.e., UK Games Expo) and cons future (i.e. Onyx Path Con)!

As always, this Friday’s Onyx Pathcast will be on Podbean or your favorite podcast venue!

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Please check out our attached media schedule for the 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!

The Onyx Path News goes out every Monday and in this one, Matthew provides some handy Curseborne pointers! Catch up on everything right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsjNv-Li3ck

It appears The Old Ways Podcast has released its episode on the Outcasts from Curseborne! Check it out right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klEXpgXs3DQ&t

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Virtual Tabletop!

https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/search?tag=Unique%20Status:OnyxPathSale

The Monsters of the Deep Compendium with all of the monsters added to the They Came From Beneath the Sea! Compendium core, including Tokens for VTT play, will be on Roll20 and DTRPG this Weds!

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

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

Scion is just the start! They Came From Beneath the Sea! and other
Onyx Path RPGs are in development for Roll20 virtual tabletop!

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

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

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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!

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

MASSIVE SALE at IPR Celebrating Onyx Path‘s 13 years of business! Our biggest sale ever!

Our OPP Con/Anniversary Sale is rolling at IPR with more than 20
titles (a combination of books, screens, and dice) up to 75% off all
month:

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

You’ll also be able to take advantage of this sale on select books at the IPR booth at Origins Game Con in a couple of weeks!

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

Onyx Path Anniversary Sale is on:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/browse?promo=1000009
https://www.drivethrufiction.com/sale.php
https://www.storytellersvault.com/sale.php

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).

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On Sale This Week!

How do you learn more about the Clades in Deviant? Pick up the new PDF and PoD versions of The Clades Companion this Weds on DTRPG!

And while you’re at it enjoying the Chronicles of Darkness– the Advance PDF of the Contagion Chronicles Ready Made Characters also goes live Weds on DTRPG!

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Conventions!

As we are slowly returning to attending conventions in person after avoiding them during the COVID-19 outbreak, keep an eye out here for more physical and virtual conventions we’re going to be involved with!

We will be repped by Studio 2 and IPR at Origins Game Fair in June.

Onyx Path Virtual Con will be June 14-16.

https://startplaying.games/event/onyx-path-convention-2024

Info on signing up as a GM and listing a game:

https://intercom.help/startplaying/en/collections/7379816-game-master-faqs

See the schedules below!

Game Night With Onyx Path Publishing at StartPlaying is the last Friday of every month! Come play some of our games that night! (But any of our game lines are welcome all day 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

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Project Status Updates!

Our full list of projects will be available monthly on our blog! Check out May’s full list report here: https://theonyxpath.com/release-roundup-may-2024/

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM EDDY

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

FIRST DRAFT

Tasty Bit – Æon: Diplomacy and Conflict

• Eddy: The next Tasty Bit for Trinity Continuum: Æon is underway! This one will cover diplomacy, and when diplomacy goes wrong….

DEVELOPMENT

Scion – Mythic Shards

• Matthew: This weekend I recommend tuning in to either of the Scion panels taking place at Onyx Path Con to find out about Mythic Shards and what it contains!

MANUSCRIPT APPROVAL

Exalted – Sidereals Novella

• Danielle: Lauren said that Elliott did a fantastic job, which is high praise from our resident genre fiction author!

POST-EDITING DEVELOPMENT

The World Below – Ed Greenwood’s Monstrous Ecology of The World Below

• Matthew: Polished, primed, prickly, and ready to hollow out and wear… Oh, I was talking about an arthri exoskeleton. The book looks good too!

The World Below – Underworld Adventures

• Matthew: How do you think you’ll fare in a face to face with a Well Lich? Outlook: Not so good.

Tasty Bit – CLASSIFIED Villain #3

• Matthew: “We want information. Information! INFORMATION!” “You won’t get it.” “By hook or by crook, we will.”

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ART DIRECTION FROM MIKE CHANEY!

In Art Direction

• Ex Essence Pillars of Creation – With Maria. And going to DAC for art.
• Ex Essence Deeds Yet Undone (Dirt Cheap) – With Maria. Navella and/or Gong for art.
• SCION Mythic Shards – Signing off on Sketches.
• Branch Riders (KS) – Branch Riders – Ready to roll on the 11th.

In Layout

• M20 Victorian Weird Wonders and Revolutionary Magic
• Scion No Gods, No Masters – close to first proof.
• Pugmire 2e – My next KS project to tackle.
• TC Player’s Guide – Getting stuff over to Pauline.
• SCION Path to Apotheosis – Heading over Dixie’s way.

Proofing

• Ex Essence Charm Cards
• Ex 3 Exigents Screen 
• Pugmire Threats and Curs
• SCION No Gods, No Masters

Indexing

• TC Aether – putting in index and page xxs.
• Scion God – putting in index and page xxs.

At Press

• Reprints:
• Scion Origin – Printing.
• TC Core – Printing.

• Exalted Essence – On the boat. Toot! Toot! Tooooot!
• Ex Essence Screen – At Studio 2.
• TC Anima Terra Surge Screen – Sending info to screen printer for quotes.
• TC Anima – Pinging printer about cover specs again.
• M20 Lore of the Traditions – On the boat. Toot! Toot! Tooooot!
• Ex 3 Exigents – Getting quotes for trad printing.
• TC Aether – Going ahead and getting that quote going too.
• They Came From the Cyclops Cave! – Prepress issues fixed.
• They Came From CLASSIFIED! – Fixing some issues from prepress.
• They Came From the Cyclops’s Cave Screen – Sending info to screen printer for quotes.
• They Came From CLASSIFIED Screen – Sending info to screen printer for quotes.
• Ex3 Sidereals – Errata gathering and sorting…
• Squeaks in the Deep Companion – Out to KS backers.
• Ex Essence Jumpstart – Out to KS backers.
• CofD Contagion Chronicles RMCs – Advance PDF available this Weds on DTRPG!
• Deviant Clade Companion – PDF and PoD versions available this Weds on DTRPG!

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Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

On Friday we’ll be able to celebrate several things! 1) It will be the one year anniversary of Exalted Essence being available to the public, 2) Related and very hopeful: our shipment of traditionally printed Essences and Deluxes will show up at Studio2, 3) It’ll be the fifth Onyx Path Virtual Con Opening Ceremonies! Come and check it out at 5pm EDT and see me ring the legendary Silver Bell, famed in song and story!