Yes, as hard as it is to believe, we are 3 days away from the end of the Exalted: Essence Kickstarter!

What a fantastic ride it has been! Starting with it breaking our record for fasted funded KS project, right through to achieving something like twenty-seven Stretch Goals so far, and with it steadily rising every darn day, it has been great!

What’s important to me about this is two-fold. The first is that we are actually making a version of Exalted that allows for a much simpler and quicker entry into the extremely deep pool that is Exalted lore, and the second being that we’ll be able to overprint this book’s print-run and get copies into stores!

Not because of all the much money we’ll make by putting it into your Friendly Local Game Store – although that is obviously very much appreciated – but because we’ll be exposing a potential new audience to Exalted 3rd Edition for the first time. That’s a Very Good Thing.

Again, as we’ve stated since the book was announced, it’s there to enrich and enable Exalted 3rd, not replace it. Some experienced folks may find they prefer the Essence system, and that’s cool if it allows folks to play Exalted 3rd more easily, but I’m betting they are still going to pull from their Ex3 books as well.

That’s as intended.

Exalted: Essence is there to help everyone enjoy EX3 more: experienced Exalted fans and folks new to the game line, alike!

Because ExEss is not a new edition of Exalted. This is why not every Charm is in there, or every special ability or nuance of a particular kind of Exalted. It’s why we didn’t include the other types of possible PCs, or even NPCs, in this book – they aren’t part of getting people able to play Exalted. And they are still in EX3, if not in this book.

I mean, if we had included everything I’ve seen fans ask about, we’d be back to a massive book like EX3. So pretty much the opposite of our design goals with Essence.

So, please, if you haven’t checked it out yet, we’re releasing the last section tomorrow, and that will mean that every backer has the whole text at that point – a great chance to jump right in here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/exalted-essence-tabletop-roleplaying-game

Today’s Seemingly Unending Meeting:

Actually, it wasn’t bad at all, but we did have some catching up to do. So, here’s a snapshot:

Of course, we discussed the Exalted: Essence KS and how it has been doing and where it could end up. But we also reviewed a list of KSs I compiled last week that takes us through the year. So many cool projects, and it is very tough to decide which ones go to Kickstarter and when.

But we think we have a good mix and a list that actually goes right into 2022, so keep an eye open for what’s next each week in the Kickstarter section below!

We also are throwing around ideas for some different sorts of projects that could utilize our Indiegogo account, as well as an entirely different sales option that you’ll hear more about next week!

If you’d like to hear more about our previous or current Kickstarter plans, and why we do them the way we do, the Onyx Pathcast that goes live this Friday features an interview with James Bell, our renowned “Kickstarter Concierge”. He gets a lot of well-earned appreciation for the smooth and friendly way he has run our KSs for these last several years, and he has plenty of thoughts to share.

I hope they touch on James’ great love and knowledge of TTRPGs, as there’s a heck of a lot more to the guy than his amazing KS aptitude. A gamer for life, he was co-host of the Nerd Tangent podcast for several years, a founding member of the legendary d20 RPG company Fiery Dragon, and one of my favorite GenCon chums. He is also one of the funniest people I’ve ever hung out with, although I dunno if his best material will come across on the Pathcast.

From there, we discussed conventions. Specifically our comfort level with actual, physical, in-the-real-world, conventions. My take since Covid began was that there was no way I was going to order or coerce anybody to physically attend anything until they felt OK with it.

I think we are close, but we’re all a bit wary for a variety of reasons. So no physical conventions this year is where we are – but as Eddy mentioned, things are changing fast, so we’ll be watching and adjusting if it makes sense further on.

If you remember from weeks (months?) ago, we talked about Dixie looking for more editors? Well, she has outdone herself and more than doubled the number of editors we now have available to us. In the months to come, we should see that big list of projects in Editing, below, get processed through as her team does their magic!

Also, another “if you remember” thing I mentioned a couple of weeks ago about the price of Premium Print on Demand (PoD) books skyrocketing on DTRPG that will be happening July 1st. Like I noted last time, this is an across the board price increase mandated by the printers.

It looks like DTRPG is going to be running a site-wide sale for a limited time with all Premium Color PoD books discounted by 25% or so, starting as early as tomorrow! It’s a surprise to us, but hopefully a happy one for everyone, and obviously it’ll be done before July 1st (as we don’t have the details on just when it runs, yet).

In general, folks, I think we should all expect rising prices for our purchases across the board as the fall-out from Covid continues to affect how things are made and shipped. We don’t currently have any projects that were created in China, for an example in our industry, but the number of other TTRPG companies who have seen their projects held up by months and months because of limited shipping space and tripling or more of shipping prices is pretty scary.

Even we have seen our printers starting to raise prices, although not too dramatically – knock wood – so far! Our problems are more in the difficulties our printers and shippers have been having with reduced staff and getting things done and out in a timely manner.

Yet, after saying all that, I’m going to give some great news, timing-wise!

V5 Trails of Ash and Bone has hit pretty much every early milestone it could these last couple of months, including a fantastic turn-around by the approvals folks at Paradox so that we could release the Backer PDF during our Onyx Path Virtual Con, and we are actually going to be able to release the PDF and PoD this Wednesday!

Sometimes, just sometimes, everything clicks just right!

And when it does, we get to push forward a project that really enriches our:

Many Worlds, One Path!

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BLURBS!

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Kickstarter!

The Exalted: Essence KS has three more days to go! We are headed to 3500 backers so far – and there are more great Stretch Goals still to come!

27 Stretch Goal rewards have been achieved so far, including unlocking the Exalted: Essence Screen, Charm Cards, enabling a partnership with NerdieKeppie to create Ex:Essence merchandise like book bags, two Exalted: Essence Novellas, two parts of an epic scenario Adventure Book, a Jumpstart and Ready-Made Characters to get started with Essence, and the Exalted: Essence Companion already has sixteen sections that will be combined into one PDF free for backers, and more great Stretch goal rewards to come!

Our next Kickstarter coming up will be Squeaks In the Deep, for Realms of Pugmire! Rats and mice join the world as player characters! Come explore the hidden depths under the skin of the world and below the City of Pugmire!

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Onyx Path Media!

This week: The Trio interview the delightful, amazing, and fantabulous James Bell – our master of Kickstarters! He, no doubt, has many thoughts about KSs and the gaming industry in general!

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

Check out Vorpal Tales‘ Exalted: Essence actual play on our Twitch and on our YouTube! Here’s episode one: https://youtu.be/XZioOSDJnrc, here’s episode two part one: https://youtu.be/_2wXaH301cM, episode two part two: https://youtu.be/xkKDhougS0I, and here’s episode three: https://youtu.be/XfimmCiSC5g

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:

OnyxPathCon Opening Ceremonies – https://youtu.be/qdEIAhK15JU

OnyxPathCon Community Content Panel – https://youtu.be/f7C934g4bJg

OnyxPathCon Chronicles of Darkness Panel – https://youtu.be/a6G6zTclWBs

Exalted: Essence – Vorpal Tales – Episode 3 – https://youtu.be/XfimmCiSC5g

Vampire: The Masquerade – Styx and Bones – Table Goth – Ep. 5 – https://youtu.be/V8TSvoFqCpE

https://youtu.be/V8TSvoFqCpE

Mage: The Ascension Technocracy Reloaded – Jumpstart – One-Shot: https://youtu.be/jMFlqvvy_Tk

Geist: The Sin Eaters – Jumpstart – One Foot in the Grave – One-Shot: https://youtu.be/N7INcv1vKFM

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

Vorpal Tales have a whole raft of Onyx Path content you should check out!

On Fridays at 5pm EDT experience our Contagion Chronicle: No Time for Reality Season 2. Chicago is still flooded with the reality warping Contagion from strange spaces beyond the Supernal realms. The original team is still lost in Arcadia, but Macintosh alerted a new team to be ready to step in should he and his team disappear. It’s up to this new group now to leverage their vectors and contain this threat.

On Tuesdays at 5pm EDT experience their new overarching Chronicle of Darkness, Insurgence. Vorpal Tales weave an ambitious tale connecting 7 Chronicles of Darkness game lines in one overarching story of rebellion and the cost of self-awareness. Book 1: Defiance begins the tale with Mage: The Awakening 2e.

Join Vorpal Tales every Monday at 9pm EDT for They Came from Beyond the Grave! Enjoy their tale of derring do against the minions of evil in a six part summer tale!

Also, join Vorpal Tales for a story of a pack’s Rite of Passage as they tell a terrifying tale of Werewolf: The Apocalypse every Saturday at 9pm EDT
A Bunch of Gamers continue their Werewolf: The Apocalypse chronicle here. After gathering information at the Silent Strider Grand Moot the packs must now decide what course of action they plan to take. With the conflicting information of whether Carson Faces-the-Storm is an ancestor spirit or a rare Garou turned ghost they must make a decision quickly if they are to save the soul of their friend Howling-King: https://abunchofgamers.podbean.com/e/werewolf-the-apocalypse-episode-73-descent-into-duat/ This is episode 73!

The Exaltcast continues its fantastic show introducing you to all ten of the Exalt types! https://www.exaltcast.com/2021/06/02/the-essence-of-exalted-essence-pt-i-the-ten-exalt-types/ Join them as they delve into Exalted: Essence!    

Over on ExalTwitch they recap their entire first season of Exalted! ExalTwitch: Academy right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmNaafYpNZE 

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 reach Session 26 of their fantastic Mage: The Awakening chronicle right here: https://youtu.be/9FOs4rRMjq8
We welcome back a very guest star to help determine the fate of a city of Parallax.

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

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!

The big Premium Color PoD sale on DriveThruRPG should start tomorrow morning. This is a limited time offer of all Premium Color books discounted by 25% or so. Now’s the time for folks to stock up as Premium Color PoD prices are going way, way up on July 1.

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On Sale This Week!

This Wednesday it is all about the Vampire 5th Edition! First, the awesome release of V5 Trails of Ash and Bone in PDF and PoD versions, and then a ton of Virtual Table Top Tokens featuring characters from our V5 projects for use with any VTT gaming platform – all available on DTRPG

Do not fool for the lies of the vampire, recruit. Throughout their webs are trails of ash and bone, from all their friends, loved ones, companions, and cultists.

The vampire cannot help but be the hungry spider. 

Trails of Ash and Bone includes:

• Four stories, each of a different theme, one set in the forests outside Copenhagen, another in decadent Atlantic City, one in arcane Florence, one the last in urban Birmingham.

• A set of fully playable ready-made characters, enabling a group of Vampire players to jump straight into one of these stories.

• New Loresheets and Oblivion Ceremonies, expanding the range presented in Cults of the Blood Gods.

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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!

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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)
• With Great Power (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• Trinity Continuum: Aether core book (Trinity Continuum: Aether)
• Weird Wonders and Revolutionary Magick (M20 Victorian)
• Bizarre Tales and Unusual Characters (M20 Victorian)
• Scion: Dragon Jumpstart (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Scion: Dragon Companion (Scion 2nd Edition)

Redlines

• Dragon-Blooded Novella #2 (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Tome of the Pentacle (Mage: the Awakening 2e)
• The Hedge (Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition)
• They Came From the Cyclops’s Cave! core book (They Came From…!)

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)
• M20 Lore of the Traditions (Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary 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)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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!)
• Vigil Watch: The Kelder Mountains (Scarred Lands)
• Ghost Hunters Jumpstart w/RMCs (WoD 20th)
• The Paranormal Investigator’s Handbook (WoD 20th)
• Once and Future (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Apocalyptic Record (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)

Post-Editing Development

• Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)
• N!ternational Wrestling Entertainment (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• Dearly Bleak – Novella (Deviant: The Renegades)
• Squeaks In The Deep (Realms of Pugmire)
• Novas Worldwide (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• They Came From Beneath the Sea! Jumpstart (They Came From…!)
• Saints and Monsters (Scion 2nd Edition)

Indexing

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Art Direction from Mike Chaney!

In Art Direction

• Scion: Dragon
• Masks of the Mythos
• Scion: Demigod
• TC: Adventure! (KS) – Reviewing Danielle’s art notes.
• M20 Victorian (KS)
• Dead Man’s Rust
• Exalted Essence (KS) – On KS.
• V5 Forbidden Religions – AD’d.
• TC Mission Statements
• TC Aberrant N!WE
• M20 Technocracy Dossier/Companion – AD’d.
• Squeaks In The Deep (KS) – Prepping KS.
• TC Prometheus Unbound – Maria ADing.
• They Came From Camp Murder Lake! – AD’d.
• Realms of Magic and Mystery
• Saints and Monsters
• TC: Anima (KS)
• TC: Assassin
• Legandlore: Legacies of the Earth – Art buy breakdown all brokedown.

In Layout

• Spiragos Collected Adventures
• WoD Ghost Hunters (KS)
• Legendlore
• M20 Rich Bastards Guide – With Charles.
• They Came From Beneath the Sea! Jumpstart – Over to Andrea.
• They Came From Beyond the Grave! – Final art coming in.
• M20 Technocracy Jumpstart
• Hundred Devils Night Parade – Getting layout files over to Josh.

Proofing

• TC: Under Alien Skies – Wrap up for release.
• Heirs to the Shogunate – Backer errata finished, inputting.
• TC Aberrant Jumpstart – Ready for release to backers.
• Hunter: The Vigil 2e
• Players Guide to the Contagion Chronicle – Paradox approval.
• June Tasty Bit – Les Fantômes – Getting ready for release.

At Press

• M20 Technocracy Reloaded – PoD proofs shipping from DTRPG.
• Mummy 2 – Getting ready for press.
• Mummy 2e Screen – Getting ready for press.
• Deviant – Waiting on printer specs.
• Deviant Screen – Getting ready for press.
• Technocracy Reloaded Screen – Getting ready for press.
• V5 Trail of Ash and Bone – PDF and PoD versions on sale on DTRPG this Weds!

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Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

Happy Summer Solstice! Enjoy the longest day of the year! Not to bring down the room, but tomorrow marks four years since Stewart Wieck passed away. That still seems unbelievable to see written out. Here’s to you, old friend, without whom we’d have had no White Wolf, and none of the games that have meant so much to so many.