…Next Sunday, A.D.!

Which is, of course, the first line to the opening theme-song for Mystery Science Theater 3000, the cult TV show about watching old movies and making jokes as the movie is screened. Its latest season had a soft open last Friday night for Kickstarter backers – and apologies if I made it sound last week like it was the open for everybody release; mea kulpa, there – and something pretty special and fun happened during the show!

Why…that’s host Jonah and he’s holding up a copy of They Came From Beneath the Sea!!

In fact, as part of our sponsorship of the Gizmoplex – MST3K‘s streaming central point and soon-to-be app – they ran a short ad featuring Jonah and the robots getting prepped for a game of They Came from Beneath the Sea! It was really funny, and ended with this still:

(Please do feel free to check out the URL – it leads to a pretty snazzy landing page chock full of They Came From…! goodness!)

If it wasn’t obvious before, I’m a long-time fan. So seeing our books juxtaposed with the Satellite of Love and crew is just amazing. The folks I’ve been talking to and dealing with have been fantastic, as well, so for us, we’re hoping that this will all mean that even more poor, innocent, people will get sucked into our little hobby!

Like into a swirling vortex in the Bermuda Triangle!

I was also incredibly thrilled to be able to run through the scripts for the ads and get an inside look at turning rough concepts into scripts for filming. At that point I was blown away by Joel Hodgson, the first host and originator of so much on the show, stopping in and fine-tuning the scripts. His sense of timing, voice, and just a fantastic ear for what was MST3K funny and what needed a tweak or two, or seven, was an absolute treat for this fan to witness in action.

As a point of interest, we had a few people ask if there will be They Came From…! actual play featuring the cast, and honestly, I don’t know what may or may not be possible there. I’m reasonably sure I can convince Mr. Dawkins to run a game (I think), but whether any of the team over there has time or interest in such a wacky endeavor…we’ll just have to see!

Last Friday was a “soft open” for backers of their Kickstarter, but if all this is making you interested, the current plan is to be fully open to the public at the beginning of May. That gives them time to fine-tune everything, so that folks can join in at the Gizmoplex and buy a pass for the new season, or even just for an episode, and have access to earlier episodes and other special events. They have many, many plans for how everyone can have fun!

Looking forward to seeing more of our community there!

…Coming To A Kickstarter Theater Near YOU!

The other great thing coming is coming this Thursday, March 10th, at 2pm EST! We’re launching the Kickstarter for the They Came From [CLASSIFIED]! and They Came From the Cyclops’s Cave! Double Feature campaign!

We’ve been talking about, and teasing the title of, They Came From [CLASSIFIED]! for quite a while actually, and now, this week, you can start to see just how we’ll be handling the whole 60s-70s spy genre. Inspirations include the obvious TV and movie media, like Matt Helm, that 00 guy, The Man and the Girl From Uncle, and Get Smart! Extreme lairs for extremely evil adversaries abound – as do those intrepid agents that oppose them with style and panache!

They Came From the Cyclops’s Cave! is really less about the decade and more about fantasy films and TV in general! Steve Reeve’s Hercules is just as much fair game as is TV’s Hercules. Any movie featuring a stop-action monster, from Ray Harryhausen’s masterpieces to, well, less masterpiece-y creatures, all can inspire your own sword&sandals&sorcery adventures!

I’m looking real hard at my all-time favorite 80s fantasy movie: The Sword and the Sorcerer here! The fork-sword must be recreated!

But why, Rich? You may ask. Why put them together as a single Kickstarter?

I just really love the Double Feature idea, and they were both ready to go…so…. It seemed like a great fit, and the very different genres remind me of drive-ins or art-house cinemas that would run out of natural double features and would have to get real creative! The differences in the genres is actually the spark that reveals what’s cool about both of them.

Or what’s ridiculously similar!

If any Philly kids were going to the TLA on South Street in the 70s-80s, you know what I mean!

We even did an old-school Double Feature trailer:

And while we’re speaking of KSs – here’s just a note letting folks know that we have so far shipped out the rewards for the Legendlore and They Came From Beyond the Grave! KS’s and Deviant is slated by the fulfillment shipper as the next one to go out, starting this week! (Knock wood!)

(I was going to write that we’re getting caught up, but then realized what a jinx THAT would be!)

…Or Maybe The Really Distant Past – On Mars!

It’s now officially March, which is the month we are celebrating Cavaliers of Mars for our 10th Anniversary!

Cavaliers of March!

As pointed out last week, Cavs was really the first new gameline we developed, along with creator Rose Bailey, and was the first of our partnerships with creators. I had hired Rose into WW/CCP when I was Creative Director, at the same time that I did the same thing with Eddy Webb (and our old friend Joe Carriker). So when I started Onyx Path, Rose had some thoughts…

You can hear more about this during last week’s Onyx Pathcast, where Eddy and Matthew interview Rose and she goes into her recollections of those early years and how we went from CCP to Onyx Path and her role as Development Producer here for about half the time Onyx has existed. Check it out, because there’s a LOT fascinating info in that interview, including more on Cavs and her other projects!

Rose pitched the idea with the now-famous tagline of “Mars has canals, Mars must have a Venice” as a way to encapsulate what she was aiming for with a swashbuckling sort of vibe amidst the red sands. And, of course, I was familiar with the same pulp and sword & sorcery influences that inspired the setting. Seemed like a great way to diversify our selection of game lines, and a chance to create with Rose is always a treat!

Our 10th Anniversary sales this month include a 50% off sale for both the Cavaliers of Mars core book and screen at both IPR and Studio2 that will run all month (links in the Sales Partners area below), and then starting on March 15th, our super 90% off sale will start for all Cavaliers of Mars PDFs over on DTRPG!

Speaking of DTRPG sales, their GM’s Day Sale is running right now, and there are fantastic discounts on many, many of our PDFs! This ends on the 14th, so you can see that we are carefully making sure that we’re offering something special on sale every day!

This week on the Onyx Pathcast is another look at the creation and the creators of Cavaliers of Mars – I mean, in addition to Rose who came up with the whole wild thing – when Dixie hosts a Cavs Roundtable with Audrey Whitman, Danielle Lauzon, and Steffie de Vaan! That’s a power-packed crew, so give them a listen starting this Friday on the Pathcast! (Available wherever you get yer podcasts!)

…I Won’t Be Able To Find A Way To Segue Into Our Tagline!

But that day hasn’t happened in:

Ten Years, Many Worlds, One Path!

---

BLURBS!

---

Kickstarter!

THIS THURSDAY @2PM EST starts the very different and very daring
They Came from the Cyclops’s Cave! and They Came From [CLASSIFIED]! Double Feature Event! Come see them for the first time: together on the big screen!

Click here to sign up to be reminded when the curtains open! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/they-came-from-the-cyclopss-cave-and-classified

---

Onyx Path Media!

This week: Cavaliers of Mars Roundtable. In which Dixie talks with Audrey Whitman, Danielle Lauzon, and Steffie de Vaan about their experiences writing on Cavaliers of Mars!

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

Onyx Path Media now has its own blog on Tuesdays! We’ll continue posting our highlight of the week here, but Tuesday will be the day to visit if you want to catch up on actual plays, interviews, deep dives, and other assorted Onyx Path media!

Please check out our attached media schedule for the impressive number of 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!

MEDIA HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK:

We’ll be self-indulgent for a moment and show off the link to our They Came From Double Feature trailer! Do enjoy this ridiculous video and leave your thoughts, your hopes for the games, and back the Kickstarter when it goes live!: https://youtu.be/VUXl35ozHec

The Onyx Path News goes live every single week to discuss recent and upcoming releases, dive into some of our most anticipated books, and answer questions from the audience. You can find it on our YouTube channel (click the bell to be informed when we go live!) but if you missed last week’s episode, here it is: https://youtu.be/EvQOM7QdkGg

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. Please subscribe and click the bell icon if you want to be notified whenever new news videos and uploads come online!

---

Virtual Tabletop!

The first of our official sheets designed for Roll20 are now available!

The first of our official sheets designed for Foundry VTTis now available!

As they say:
Direct Link: https://foundryvtt.com
“Foundry Virtual Tabletop is a self-hosted roleplaying
platform with support for hundreds of game systems with modern
features and a developer-friendly API. Foundry VTT is a one-time
purchase where your players connect for free using a web browser.”

More VTT offerings and projects will be arriving this year!

A Quantum Leap (A Trinity Continuum: Jumpstart),The Adventures of Teen Tomorrow (A Trinity Continuum: Aberrant Jumpstart),Quantum Entanglement (A Trinity Continuum: Aeon Jumpstart),are all on Astral TableTop.

Also on Astral TableTop is the Secret of Vinsen’s Tomb for Realms of Pugmire!

Check out Astral TableTop for two free projects: Scion 2E: A Light Extinguished and Scarred Lands: Gauntlet of Spiragos and this Dagger of Spiragos module for sale: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/336406/Dagger-of-Spiragos-5e–Astral-VTT

On DrivethruRPG, here is the main filter for all of our current VTT content:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/4261/Onyx-Path-Publishing?filters=0_0_0_45317_0

A few highlights of our platform agnostic DTRPG content:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/309127/Scarred-Lands-Creature-Collection-VTT-Token-Pack
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/317690/Trinity-Continuum-Hunt-for-the-Red-Widow-VTT
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/340327/Trinity-Continuum-Aeon-VTT-Tokens
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/311578/Scarred-Lands-VTT-Separation-Anxiety
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/311580/Scion-2e-VTT-Origin-Signature-Tokens
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/311579/Scion-2e-VTT-Hero-Signature-Tokens

---

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!

Cavaliers of Mars Hardcover & Screen 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/

Cavaliers of Mars Hardcover & Screen 50% Off at IPR:
https://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Deals-and-Specials/

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

The GM’s Day Sale continues with great discounts on tons of Onyx Path books!:

GM’s Day Sale at DTRPG:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/rpg_gmsday.php?manufacturers_id=4261

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).

Check out the Trinity Continuum: Aeon novella Dawn in the Kindle store!

---

On Sale This Week!

Jinkies! Someone has to fight and somebody needs to run away! Find out which is which and who are the Heroes In A World of Horror! for They Came From Beyond the Grave! this Wednesday in PDF and PoD versions on sale on DTRPG this Wednesday!

Heroes in a World of Horror! is a sourcebook for Players and Directors about to embark upon a story of They Came from Beyond the Grave!, providing you with new playable Archetypes and a diverse selection of characters you can play straight from the book for the 1970s era and the 19th century era of the game!

Heroes in a World of Horror!
includes:

• Three playable Archetypes — the Skeptic, the Kid, and the Escapee.

• Eight ready-made characters complete with character sheets so you can start playing immediately!

• Scene setting and story-provoking fiction to immerse yourself in a world of horror involving the characters between these pages.

Remember: the Pre-Order page for Trinity Continuum: Assassins is open on DTRPG! https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/379041

---

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!

Right now, we’re planning our first plans for the 3rd Onyx Path Virtual Con in June. Can we pull it all together a third time? Wait and see!

---

And now, the new 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-2022

Development Status from Eddy Webb!

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

First Drafts

TC: Adventure! – Thrilling Tales

• Eddy: The stretch goal turning our fantastic radio drama into a playable adventure! It’s getting into gear.

Trinity Continuum – (Tasty Bit) Earth Orbital Habitat

• Eddy: Hired a writer for this upcoming Tasty Bit for Trinity Continuum: Aberrant

Mage: The Ascension 20th – Technocracy Novellas

• Matthew: Michael Barker is developing four stories concerning the Technocratic Union, and has hired some fantastic authors for the task. I’m looking forward to seeing how this one shapes up!

Redlines

TC: Anima – Anima: DLC

• Eddy: First drafts are now all in on schedule, so it’s off to redlines!

TC: Anima – Anima Jumpstart – Cascade

• Eddy: Drafts are in a month early, so I’ll also be redlining this, the first of two jumpstarts for Trinity Continuum: Anima!

Final Draft

Scion – Scion: God

• Dixie: Ever since I edited the cores for this, I’ve been in love with Scion. I was lucky enough to do some writing on Demigod, and now seeing Hiromi and Monica usher God into final drafts is super exciting. I can’t wait to see what the authors do with the devs’ excellent direction!

Development

TC: Aberrant – With Great Power

• Eddy: Had some discussion about how this book ties into the other upcoming Aberrant books, but we’ve sorted out the wrinkles now and it’s full steam ahead!

---

Art Direction from Mike Chaney!

In Art Direction

• CTL2e Kith and Kin – KMJ on fulls… getting Sheikman on some of the halves.
• M20 Victorian Mage – Art continues to come in…
• TC Aether – Getting splats rolling…
• TC Mission Statements – Denmark doing the fulls.

In Layout

• TCFBTG Tales of Depravity – Rough layout done, need art/maps.
• Dead Man’s Rust – Getting the layout on this rolling.
• TC:A Terrat – Knocking this out real quick.

Proofing

• M20 Operatives Dossier – At Paradox for approval.
• TC Assassins– Appendix done. Character sheet will be quick… which just leaves that last piece of art to come in.
• Squeaks in the Deep – Backer PDF out to KS backers
• Paranormalists Handbook – Backer PDF out to KS backers

At Press

• M20 Technocracy Reloaded – Deluxe shipping to fulfillment soon.
• Mummy 2e – Shipping to fulfillment soon.
• Mummy 2e Screen – At fulfillment shipper.
• Deviant – KS reward shipping soon.
• Deviant Screen – KS reward shipping soon .
• Technocracy Reloaded Screen – At fulfillment shipper.
• WoD Ghost Hunters – Shipping to fulfillment soon.
• WoD Ghost Hunters Screen – At fulfillment shipper.
• TC: Aeon Novella: Meridian – PoD proof arrived.
• Hunter: The Vigil 2e – Deluxe files prepping.
• TCFBTG! Heroes in a World of Horror Cards – PoD proofs coming.
• They Came From Murder Lake! – PoD proof ordered.
• They Came From Murder Lake Twist Cards – PoD proofs coming.
• They Came From Murder Lake Quip and Cinematic Cards – PoD proofs coming.
• TC Panopticon – Prepping for PoD
• TC: Prometheus Unbound – PoD proof ordered.
• HtV 2 Wallpaper – Going out to KS backers.
• Legendlore Wallpaper – Going out to KS backers.
• Ex Essence, Squeaks in the Deep, Adventure, and Anima KS Shirts – Going out to KS backers.
• TCFGtG! Heroes in a World of Horror – PDF and PoD versions on sale Weds on DTRPG!
• Trinity Continuum: Assassins pre-order is live on DTRPG.

---

Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

Now, as a fan, I’m thrilled to be able to watch this next season of MST3K; enjoying Jonah and the bots, and looking forward to watching Emily as host, too! Then, in December, the return of my host from when I first started watching: Joel dons the red jumpsuit as host once again!