We’re all very excited about The World Below going on sale Weds on DTRPG! It’s the first of our games set in the Earthbane Cycle – fantasy games using the Storypath Ultra System. And Weds is the first time that folks who missed the crowdfunding campaign get a chance to check out this gorgeous tome, so we’re looking forward to hearing what everybody thinks!
As some of our more longtime front-facers might recall, the original idea for The World Below came out of an episode of the Onyx Pathcast, as Matthew, Dixie, and Eddy played a game of fast game concepts. Matthew so liked his ideas from that session that he wrote up a whole proposal for me to review…and I really liked it, too! So much so, in fact, that I devoted that year’s Inktober drawing marathon to drawing up 31 monsters from the setting!
Which gave us a great conceptual start to the project – and those monster descriptions by Michele Masala and Ed Greenwood were so evocative! Hard to go astray visually with those write-ups!
This was also the project where I wanted us to push the colors and design in places to evoke the luminescence of the fungi and crystals and magic inherent in the underground setting. As seen in the art above, and here below, a piece by one of my favorite long-time artists to work with, John Cobb:
John’s artistic iconography – the way you can always tell one of his illustrations are his – has been consistent all through the decades, and is so very on-target for The World Below. It was a treat to see how he would interpret the art notes!
But while things are often glow-y and strange underground, we also asked another long-time artist of ours to provide more “down to earth” art to illustrate that part of the setting, as well. Here’s a piece by Brian LeBlanc, that shows what happens when your PCs let down their hair (or scales, or tendrils, or whatever) and relax in a world of sudden peril:
So, you’ve heard from the visual side, here’s Matthew with some words:
The templar looked through pained eyes at the bodies of his companions. He clutched his warhammer tightly. It was a fine hammer. He’d lost track of how many days it’d been since he and his party were entombed alive. Alive. They were all alive then. Somehow, by some dark miracle they all survived the cave in. And then the food started running out. And then the water. And now, weeks, maybe months later, he was the only one left. He’d hoarded resources. He was smart.
He knew how to conserve and preserve.
But now even his supplies had run out.
“Soon. Soon it’ll end.”
His words emerged from cracked lips.
The templar often heard movement in the caves around his. At first he cried out for help, or smashed the wall with his hammer, but never was there a response. Were they too far? Was it a species that depended on sight more than hearing? Did they not care? He didn’t know, but they never responded to his cries.
Eventually he put them down to hallucinations.
But now, digging. Something cleaving at a wall, close to his head. Another hallucination?
“H-hello?”
The digging stopped. That meant whoever it was has heard him.
“Please! I’m in here.”
The digging continued. Faster. Harder. Yes, finally. Rescue. Someone had figured out where he was. Maybe it wasn’t too late to enact some Boh miracle and resurrect his companions. Their bodies hadn’t rotted, as his eyes had never left them.
Now the digging was close. Except it didn’t sound like digging any more. More like scratching. And not the kind of scratching from a worker with a tool, but from dozens, perhaps hundreds of furious claws and teeth at work.
“Oh no. No.”
The ‘diggers’ broke through the wall a few minutes later. By the time they were done digging through the templar, who put up a valiant resistance despite his exhaustion and deprivation, he was wishing he’d shared out his food. Maybe he would have died sooner. Maybe his companions would have still been alive to fight alongside him.
Your adventure begins when you discover his remains and pick up his warhammer. It’s a fine hammer. One with which you can forge an adventure.
And on that happy note, it’s time to celebrate! The World Below is being put on sale on DriveThruRPG this Wednesday! I am beyond happy to see it reach release. This is a game I’ve developed from concept to execution, and from the tiny fungal acorn where it started, it has bloomed into a great field of nourishing mushrooms. And game ideas! The World Below boasts so many character options, so many story hooks and seeds, so many monsters, and much much more.
Please check it out when it’s released and please leave your ratings and reviews on DriveThruRPG! We always appreciate them.
Thanks, Matthew! I can only repeat Matthew’s note about how leaving reviews and ratings really help a project get noticed in the vast sea of new games all over DTRPG. Please do leave something if you can!
In other news, we finished up the TC: Steam Wars crowd-funder last Thursday, so we’re letting the engines cool down after going past the end time on a Backer Train (Rig?).
Thanks to everyone who backed our little project- not only did you fund a beautiful looking book, but your backing pushed us past the Kaiju Factor Stretch Goal! (Which isn’t the real name for the project, but what creator Larry Blamire called it in an email header, and I like that as a placeholder). More news on that as we continue to work on both projects.
Having giant monster rules for Storypath Ultra opens the doors to all sorts of shenanigans throughout our SPU game lines! Hee heee!
…To Hamster Balls!
Don’t ask.
Big news is that the GMs Day Sale has launched at DTRPG/Roll20:
Across the Eight Directions is 50% off as a spotlight:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/featured_promotions?promotion_id=25_GMD_DTRPG
100+ other digital titles are 20% – 40% off:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/4261/onyx-path-publishing?filter=31817&src=browse4261
Plus, our entire Roll20 catalog –
https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/publisher/1716/onyx-path-publishing
And over on IPR, they too have a sale started, with an amusing name: the Excessive Accessories Sale is on now for a lot of our older physical products:
https://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Deals-and-Specials/
75% off Dice, Screens, and more.
And here’s Travis with the written version of the report on the Game Jam he talked about in the meeting:
The Second Annual Storypath Nexus Game Jam run by AwkwardGM Corbin has completed, and the winners were announced over the weekend! In case you missed the broadcast, those winners are:
- Popularity Award: Trinity Continuum: Intermundium by Melody Haren Anderson
- Judge Award: The Trickster’s Guide To Ascension by Paul McKenna
- Grand Prize: A Winter of Horror by John Pasion and Tristan Marks
Thanks to all who participated! If you didn’t get a chance to get your release out in time, that’s okay! Finish it up and get it out there! The Storypath Nexus is there all year round for you to post your ideas and contribute to these game lines!
Our friends over at Bodhana went on-air in Central Pennsylvania to talk about and demonstrate their mission AND our joint Branch Riders game in this video that aired on Fox43 out in those parts:
Just a note for those of you who picked up the Curseborne Ashcan previously, if you grab it again from your DTRPG Library of PDFs, you’ll be able to get the newest version which contains the Sorcerers! When last we made the CB Ashcan, we were still finalizing the powers and how to present them for the Sorcerers, so we left them out, and now all that’s in there!
Also, Matthew continues his series of videos about the Families in Curseborne, and I’d be remiss not to mention that the link for the Bathorites family of The Hungry lineage (vampires) is down below in our Media section! Almost everybody into horror has heard the name Bathory, but in Curseborne, what do you actually know? Matthew pulls aside the black lace curtain for a new look!
Finally, here’s some more Scarred Lands news from Travis:
On Tuesday, March 4th, Aegis Studios will release the Gauntlet of Spiragos for Scarred Lands Savage Worlds in advanced PDF! This is a complete adventure taking the characters from Novice to Seasoned and includes 20 pages of setting rules, player options, and ready-made characters so you can dive right into your adventure in the Scarred Lands! Spread the word and be sure to pick up your copy of Gauntlet of Spiragos!
This is particularly cool for me, because Gauntlet was my personal project. Originally conceived for 3.5 Edition, then actually written for 4E during my years on the late, lamented WoD MMO team in a perhaps futile attempt to keep me sane, then translated into 5E by Scoot Holden to be published by us, it’s super to see the ideas transformed into Savage Worlds now!
There you have it, things happening all over our:
Many Worlds, One Path!
Blurbs!
Crowdfunding!
Coming Next: Exalted Essence Players Guide!
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 discusses They Came from the RPG Anthology! and Curseborne Nexus! Check it out right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa12G6NWv7U
On The Gentleman Gamer’s YouTube channel, we have a new Gentleman’s Guide to the Accursed with his video focusing on the Bathorites family! Check out this official lore drop here: https://youtu.be/tWbHzv_7G3I
And here’s a lovely deep dive into They Came from the RPG Anthology! for you: https://youtu.be/IFCi0rE0Sko
Virtual Tabletop!
Our entire Roll20 catalog is part of the GMs Day Sale–
https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/publisher/1716/onyx-path-publishing
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
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
Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books, dice, and screens? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/
The Excessive Accessories Sale is on now at IPR:
https://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Deals-and-Specials/
75% off Dice, Screens, and more.
As always, you can find Onyx Path’s titles in PDF and PoD versions at DriveThruRPG.com!
The GMs Day Sale has launched at DTRPG/Roll20:
Across the Eight Directions is 50% off as a spotlight:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/featured_promotions?promotion_id=25_GMD_DTRPG
100+ other digital titles are 20% – 40% off:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/4261/onyx-path-publishing?filter=31817&src=browse4261
Plus, our entire Roll20 catalog –
https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/publisher/1716/onyx-path-publishing
The first part of the print shopping experiment is live on DTRPG:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/browse?format=1000240-book-printed-publisher-fulfilled
This is limited to the USA only at first, but will expand later after
data crunching and review.
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!
Deep below the surface lies…The World Below! Grab a torch and follow us to the treasure trove unearthed that is The World Below Core Rulebook – part of the Earthbane Cycle – PDF and PoD available this Weds on DTRPG!
Conventions!
Here’s where you can find out more info on physical and virtual conventions we’re going to be involved with!
This year’s Onyx Path Virtual Game Con will be happening on June 6-8! Mark your calendars!
Game Night With Onyx Path Publishing at StartPlaying is the last Friday of every month! Come play some Curseborne 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
Project Status Updates!
Our full list of projects will be available monthly on our blog! Check out February’s full list report here: https://theonyxpath.com/release-roundup-february-2025/
DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM EDDY!
Here are the projects that moved to the next stage of production:
REDLINES
At the Gates – Companion
- Even more options are being included in a game that already has a ton of them! The writers have been pulling out all the stops to provide lots of new material, including some very exciting Advanced Arts!
Curseborne – Tangled Webs
- I’ve seen people in the Onyx Path Discord wanting more liminalities and Outsides… Well this book is going to please you, based on what the authors have come up with. Stay tuned!
MANUSCRIPT APPROVAL
Curseborne – Curseborne Antagonist #4 (Apr 2025 Tasty Bit)
- The next creepy antagonist for Curseborne slithers into Manuscript Approval. Just make sure you don’t ask too many questions….
ART DIRECTION FROM MIKE CHANEY!
In Art Direction
- Ex3 Abyssals – Received approval from Paradox.
- Ex3 Miracles of the Divine Flame – Finals in and over go devs.
- Ex3 Exigents Jumpstart – Sketch Revisions over to devs, awaiting feedback.
- Ex Essence PG – Interior finals from HIVE and Gong over to devs. Cover revision came in this morning.
- Curseborne – Getting in touch with guys about doing splats and a couple of other artists for halfs.
- SCION Wild Hunt – Contracted.
- SCION Demigod Companion – Contracted.
- SCION Dragon Companion – With Maria to get contracted.
- SCION Rock Gods – Art buy configured. Awaiting artnotes.
- TC Aether Jumpstart – Gonna see who I can get to do the art on this one…. the full is gonna be important for this one.
- At The Gates – Sending out art notes and contracts.
- Branch Riders – feedback sent to Gong. Still waiting updates.
Layout
- Scion Tasty Bit Combo
- TC With Great Power
- TC Aether Screen
- SCION God Storyguide Screen
- Pugmire 2e Screen
- SCION God Storyguide Screen
- World Below Screen
- SCION Titans Rising – getting assets to Ron.
- Ex3 Abyssals
Proofing
- Ex Essence Pillars of Creation – Cover fix underway. Proofing continues.
- SCION God Screen
Indexing
At Press
- Reprints:
- Scion Origin – At Studio2, prepping for shipping to backers.
- TC Core – At Studio2, prepping for shipping to backers.
- Ex 3 Exigents – Quoting and press files.
- Ex 3 Exigents Screen – At Studio 2
- TC Aether – Prepping press files.
- Ex 3 Sidereals – Quoting and press files.
- Scion: God – Prepping press files.
- TC Aegis – PoD files uploaded.
- TC Tasty Bit Combo – PoD proofs ordered.
- The World Below – PDF and PoD versions on sale this Weds on DTRPG!
Today’s Reason to Celebrate!
In honor of our own Eddy Webb, today is World Hearing Day – a campaign held each year by the World Health Organization (WHO). Activities take place across the globe and an event is hosted at the World Health Organization in Geneva annually on March 3. The campaign’s objectives are to share information and promote actions towards the prevention of hearing loss and improved hearing care.