The existential question we all ask in the difficult, gazing-into-the-abyss, times of our lives.

Like when we’re being attacked by badgers.

Fortunately, the answer is YES! There is a Dog, and they are a Good Dog, and they live in Pugmire!

Which, of course, brings us to the Realms of Pugmire (Pugmire 2nd Edition) Kickstarter that has only a few more days to run. Thursday at 2pm EST, I think. So far, we’ve passed seven Stretch Goals, and are running hard – on all four paws – to make that wonderful 1,000 backers goal before we’re done!

If you haven’t backed, please do check it out, and no matter what, please tell your friends, especially if they are gamers who have significant others and/or kids that they’d like to get into TTRPGing. Realms of Pugmire is a super entry point for players, with easy to grasp characters and the simplified Onyx20 rules that make it easier to learn to play than most of your d20 games out there.

Ah yes, the d20. Not to mention the d12, or d8, or d4! Put the ubiquitous d6 and our beloved d10 (or two) in there, and we’re looking at the range of dice needed for these sorts of games. We were hoping for a brand new set for Realms of Pugmire in time for the Kickstarter campaign, and we might still get there on Tuesday, if not then BK! If we get it on there, here’s hoping our backers dig the set – we think it is pretty funky, and fun enough for Pugmire gaming – but we’ll see!

If we get enough interest and have a good experience with this dice company, we’d like to extend our business with them into 10-siders for our other games. We think these folks could create some pretty evocative dice, and the Realms of Pugmire set could be just the beginning of something really good.

Especially if you’re into dice!

Bring your virtual dice to the games on Friday: Game Night With Onyx Path Publishing at Start.Playing is Friday 2/24/23! It’s always the last Friday of every month, and generally we focus on one game line – Friday it is the Trinity Continuum game lines – but you can find a wide range of available games to sit down with, virtually. Links in the Convention section below.

Some of you are probably aware of this, but for all the rest of you, just wanted to mention that the backers’ PDF for Exalted Essence went out to backers today, which is 8 days earlier than the KS estimate, so that noise you hear is the resulting sounds of thousands of PDFs being downloaded around the world!

Essence is a simplified and much slimmer version of Exalted 3rd Edition, designed to complement the EX3 core as an easier on-ramp to the wonderful world of Exalted. You can still order the book in Deluxe and regular traditionally printed and bound editions, as well as options for ordering PoD and PDF versions, on our BackerKit page.

And, as we’ve noted before, Exalted Essence contains all of the old and new Exalted types – so you can dive right in months or years before those Exalted types get their own 3rd Edition fatsplat books!

And Now For Something Completely Different…well, different for today’s MMN blog, at least. I’m working on the design and reference sketch for the cover of Trinity Continuum: Aegis, our upcoming game of playing during the collapse of the Bronze Age. As I do with these, I ask for notes from the devs that describe the major NPCs, character types, major places, antagonists, and events.

Then I start making very rough sketches to just generally get a feel for what sort of imagery I’m working with. We’re at that stage right now. Here’s a quick pic/peek of my sketch pages:

If you know the format for the TC books, you can probably guess that there’s a city way at the bottom, and something fiery/explosive at the top (and probably elsewhere, as well), and that we’ll have three PC type folks boldly striding towards the viewer. Beyond that, I haven’t really decided on placement or scenes. Now that I have these very rough ideas, I can generate how to work these moments into the cover – but even before that, I need to do more visual research!

I’ve got some existing physical places to look up. Bronze into Iron Age armor and weapons, Classical-era Grecian masks, robes, jewelry, what a ship like the Argo would look like comin’ atcha, and just how a certain famous advanced island civilization was described. So, not too much…

Some Brief Thoughts On Long-Term Characters

A couple of items came across my radar today, almost one after the other. The first was the 55th anniversary of the first Columbo appearance on TV in Prescription: Murder. This version of the rumpled crime-solver was not yet 100% the Lieutenant Columbo we’d soon get used to on the many episodes of the Mystery Movie and further made-for-TV movies, but he’s played by the delightful Peter Falk, which is a lot of the way to the finish line in terms of characterization.

The next was the notice that actor/comedian Richard Belzer had died. Belzer started in stand-up comedy, and was extremely supportive to up-and-coming comics according to the tributes posted about him, but what I am always amazed about is the fact that he has appeared on a record number of TV shows playing the same character: Detective Munch, whom he originated in the fantastic underrated gem Homicide: Life On the Street. Here’s a list from an article I found today:

Detective John Munch is the only fictional character played by the same actor to physically appear on over 10 different television series. The character has appeared in “Homicide: Life on the Street,” “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Law & Order: Trial by Jury,” “30 Rock,” “The X-Files,” “Arrested Development,” “The Beat,” “The Wire, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

He also made appearances on the animated series “American Dad,” “The Simpsons“, and as a Muppet on Sesame Street in the sketch “Law & Order: Special Letters Unit.” I believe he also showed up in “The Lone Gunmen”, the X-Files spin-off, but I’d have to check that, yet I am sure Munch was mentioned as a source by Idris Elba on the BBC‘s Luther. There are even online storylines you can look up showing how Munch biographically appeared on all the shows – at least the live-action ones – and how this created a Munch multiverse across networks and production companies, a Munch-iverse, that they’ve even connected to other connected-TV universes.

But that’s all in a different media from our hobby.

What I was struck by was how these long-term characters played by one actor remind me of players who play essentially or specifically one character while roleplaying. Specifically, because a lot of our worlds have been in existence for decades, so we have some players who have played the same character in various games all that time. I’d imagine that they, like an actor playing one character ala Columbo and Munch (or respectfully, Falk and Belzer), continue to tweak and fine-tune the character’s various personality quirks.

When I say “essentially”, I’m thinking of those players that pretty much always play the same type of character, even if they have different names. I think we’ve all sat at a table with a fellow player who only plays a fighter-type, or a spell caster, or rogue. Different names, usually, although sometimes their character names are all slight variations of the original, and maybe even some variations within the same general type, like a werewolf associated Gangrel one time and then a hit-man Gangrel the next.

Before going any further, I’m not talking about this in any negative way – far from it! The magic of our hobby is how it allows, and positively encourages, folks to create and play their characters based on what works for the player. Finding the nuances of playing the same character for thirty years is an amazing feat whether you are a professional actor or enjoying roleplaying. Knowing your own “sweet-spot” and then trying different player character options that include it is as valid as my jumping from character type to character type to “try it out”.

And I think that we playing our characters – and here’s to all the long-term NPCs that GMs are hauling around through the years and decades as well! – actually have a bit of an advantage over actors playing characters long-term. I don’t mean writers and fellow performers, because we essentially have those with our GMs and fellow players. What I mean is that we have systems in our games that actually structure how our characters progress, often along with new powers that frame how our characters’ personalities might evolve.

That’s a built-in set of cues to our “performances” that can do a lot of heavy lifting idea-wise, while still, in most cases, allowing us to decide just how our character will react and change. I can now meld into the earth and sleep all day essentially protected: does my vampire get more or less paranoid and safety conscious? Are they more likely to sass an Elder because they fear the consequences less, or more likely to see this new ability as a gift that signifies they are ready to rise further through the ranks?

For a game like Scion, where there are very distinct upgrades through different tiers of play, those upgrades aren’t only cool new powers, they also represent different ways that the character perceives the world around them – and it, them! They are different play-styles ultimately, and how do the characters stay true to themselves, if they do? Those are pretty big dramatic changes, after all.

Perhaps, like Peter Falk and Richard Belzer, playing their characters through the decades and across different networks and production companies, we hold on to some essential personality traits that won’t/can’t change. Columbo was almost unfailingly polite until his case was proven, Munch always maintained a cynical belief in the wheels within wheels in his cases. Maybe Diego, optimistic Scion of Poseidon, sees the waters of the oceans as waters that cleanse and restore, rather than unfathomable deeps filled with awful monsters of the seas, and so builds a Demigod and then a Godling based on maintaining that vision?

Anyway, this was supposed to be “some brief thoughts” not a novella, so how about I end it here and instead depart thinking about what it would be like to play one character across all our:

MANY WORLDS, ONE PATH!

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BLURBS!

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KICKSTARTER/CROWDFUNDING!

REALMS OF PUGMIRE! In the FINAL DAYS!

C’mon and back this amazing non-OGL D20-based fantasy game of uplifted dogs in a world they never made! : https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/339646881/realms-of-pugmire-tabletop-rpg

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Onyx Path Media!

This week:

Eddy, Dixie, and Danielle will ponder the blank sheet, the empty hour that stretches – that time in every creative person’s life where they just…can’t…come up with any ideas! Some tales of woe and self-help tips will be offered by these three maestros of ideas!

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

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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 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:

Our spotlight this week flies over to Eddy Webb being interviewed on the Monster Movie Fun Time Go podcast! https://anchor.fm/mmftg/episodes/They-Came-From-Beneath-the-Sea-RPG-Bonus-episode-with-Eddy-Webb-e1v834r Eddy had a chance to speak about They Came from Beneath the Sea!, Pugmire, and the OGL situation, so it’s worth checking out!

The Onyx Path News discusses recent and upcoming releases! You can find it on our YouTube channel (click the bell to be informed when we go live!) but if you missed the last episode, here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ULm4gXjCV8

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Virtual Tabletop!

Two new Roll20 items of interest for Scion players!

First, a Scion VTT bundle is on sale over at Roll20:

https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/bundle/19378/scion-second-edition-bundle

And there’s also the Scion Jumpstart, all ready for Roll20 VTT fun!

https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/bundle/21165/a-light-extinguished-a-jumpstart-for-scion-second-edition

Here is a new screenshot of the upcoming They Came From Beneath the Sea! Compendium!

More news and links when we have them!

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!

Direct Link: https://foundryvtt.co

Looking for more virtual tabletop resources? We have a selection of
Tokens, Encounters, and more available now at DriveThruRPG!

Get ’em here: 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/

IPR is running a special sale on Scarred Lands PGs, Creature Collections, and dice! Plus first edition Pugmire/Monarchies of Mau books and Screens, dice, and pins!
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!

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 novellas Dawn and Meridian in the Kindle store!

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On Sale This Week!

It’s the last Wednesday of the month, so here’s the Tasty Bit for this month: the TC: Assassins: A Fight in the Museum PDF will be available on DTRPG! Not just a cool encounter for TC: Assassins (or any Storypath game), it also contains the tokens and maps needed to play on any VTT venue!

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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!

We’ll be at the IPR booth at the GAMA Trade Show April, 24th to 28th, so let your friendly local game store know that they can talk to us there! And if you ARE a retailer, we’d love to chat right there with you!

Game Night With Onyx Path Publishing at Start.Playing is THIS Friday! Come play some Trinity Continuum in celebration of the upcoming Talents Player’s Guide KS! (But any of our game lines are welcome all day long!)

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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And now, the new project status updates!

Our full list of projects will be available monthly on our blog! Check out January’s full list report here: https://theonyxpath.com/release-roundup-january-2023/

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM EDDY

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

Development

Tasty Bit – Scion (Street Intersection)

• Eddy: It’s exciting to see different writers approaching these new Tasty Bits from different angles. This vignette about a Scion learning of her godly heritage will be a nice addition to any Storyguide’s toolkit

Manuscript Approval

Exalted – What Lies Forgotten novella

• Danielle: As expected, Lauren’s novella was aces and I was able to quickly move it to approvals.

Realms of Pugmire – Jumpstart

• Eddy: The Kickstarter is still rolling along, but there’s no rest for good dogs! We’ve got the jumpstart for the new edition of Pugmire sitting on Rich’s desk for approval and petting.

Post-Editing Development

Exalted – Pillars of Creation (was Exalted Essence Companion)

• Danielle: Edits are back, and the developers are digging in. With Essence core going out to backers this week, we’ll be able to incorporate all the mechanical and style changes that were made there.

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ART DIRECTION FROM MIKE CHANEY!

In Art Direction

• Ex3 Eight Directions – Contracting.
• Ex3 Crucible of Legends – The bulk of the art is in and approved by Paradox.
• SCION Once and Future — Contracted and sketches already in for fulls.
• Legendlore: Legacies of Earth – Awaiting finals.
• TC Anima – Now that HIVE is done with all the other stuff we had them on, back to cranking on Anima.
• TC Player’s Guide KS – Awaiting finals.
• TC Assassins VTT Adventure – Artnotes out to artists.
• MtAw Tome of the Pentacle – Assigning artwork.

In Layout

• W20 Apocalyptic Record – Yeah, it’s my next KS layout project.
• DTR  Devoted Companion – Working on it… had to spend extra time on Essence.
• SL Vigil Watch Kelder Mtns – Awaiting final map and packing up assets for Ron to lay it out.
• Storypath Ultra Brochure

Proofing

• February Tasty Bit – Briefly.

Indexing

• TC: Adventure!

At Press

• TC: Adventure! – Indexing.
• Exalted Essence – Backer PDF out to backers.
• M20 Victorian Age – At KS fulfiller.
• M20 Victorian Age Screen – Printing started.
• Scion Dragon Screen – Printing started.
• Scion Dragon – At KS fulfiller.
• Scion Masks of the Mythos – At KS fulfiller.
• Scion Masks of the Mythos Screen – Printing started.
• Ex3 Lunars Novella – PoD proof on the way.
• Ex3 Adversaries – Finishing incorporating errata, pg XXs.
• Tasty Bit: Assassins: A Fight in the Museum PDF on sale this Weds on DTRPG!

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Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

Today in the US, we have a federal holiday. Washington’s Birthday, or is it President’s Day? The day is an official state holiday in most states, with names including Washington’s Birthday, Presidents’ Day, President’s Day, Presidents Day, and Washington’s and Lincoln’s Birthday. The various states use 15 different names. Depending upon the specific law, the state holiday may officially celebrate Washington alone, Washington and Abraham Lincoln, or some other combination of U.S. presidents (such as Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who was born in April). Washington’s Birthday was celebrated on February 22 from 1879 until 1970. To give federal employees a three-day weekend, in 1968 the Uniform Monday Holiday Act moved it to the third Monday in February, which can occur from February 15 to the 21st. The day soon became known as Presidents(‘) Day (the placement of the apostrophe, if any, varies) and provides an occasion to remember all U.S. presidents, to honor Abraham Lincoln’s and Washington’s birthdays together, or any single president of choice. Uhhhhhhhhhhhh….