…all through the Onyx Path house, not a creature is working tho’ lots of games give us wows.
Like W20 Changing Ways, our featured cover this week!
So I mentioned last week that Onyx Path‘s “office” will be closed after today until Jan 2nd. While we could all use the break, and the holidays force a lot of non-work time too, we’re really looking at taking advantage of doing this now because a lot of our publishing partners are taking this time off.
For example, you’ll note in the “At Press” stage below in our weekly Progress Report that we have a fair number of things labeled as “PoD ordered”. That’s because our PoD printing plant is now on vacation. Mid-January and into February is going to be packed with new PoDs for sale!
The truth is, though: we’re really bad at vacationing.
Rollickin’ Rose Bailey says she is taking advantage of the time not spent herding our Onyx cats to work on Cavaliers of Mars, and I’m pretty sure I’ll be using my time to draw up Monarchies of Mau NPCs. Speaking of cats.
Just about every time one of our Onyx Path crew says they are taking time off, they come back with a new idea or something they finished while they were supposed to be relaxing. It is tough when you love what you do to turn off the creative mind.
And also like I mentioned last week, our fantastic freelance creators around the globe will still be working hard on their projects between holiday movie openings and other fun. (At least that’s what I always did as a freelancer).
The other thing, is that a bunch of us are also prepping for Mid Winter Con in Milwaukee starting Jan 10th (for us), and so we know we’ll basically have a week after we get back and then we’re off to the con. This is above and beyond our usual con efforts, as we’re ending it by staying an extra day and having our Onyx Path yearly summit.
So first, the con itself. Everybody who works on the books from our Onyx Path crew will be there. Impish Ian Watson, Mirthful Mike, Rollickin’ Rose, Mighty Matt McElroy, More Mighty Monica Valentinelli, Fast Eddy Webb, and your humble blog writer myself will be there. Normally, you’d need to go to Gen Con to see all of us, but with the Summit coming we’re all there and it’ll be a great chance to find out just about everything you’ve been wondering about.
Plus a lot of our phenomenal freelancers will be there, we’re doing demos for lots of our games and particularly the Trinity Continuum as that Kickstarter will either be running on close to it, special playtests like for Fetch Quest, the Pugmire card game, and we’re going to be making an extra-special announcement that we think will be a particular interest to the Mid Winter crowd.
As for the Onyx Path Summit itself, this is something that we used to do late one night at Gen Con, but frankly, we’ve grown beyond being able to cover what we need to in a few hours after dinner. So we’ll be doing a review of 2017, looking at financials, and generally getting a good feel for where we’ve been in order to move to the fun part of the evening.
That’s planning for how we want to grow and what we’re going to focus on in 2018 and into 2019. And beyond!
Two years ago, the crew surprised me by wanting to focus on shoring up our company processes and we drew up plans for that instead of what cool new game we could create or license. Which is what I had expected them to talk want to about.
This year, we’ll just have to see.
We may have some notes about the meeting when the Monday Meeting Notes go up (I expect on Tuesday that week. It happens once in a blue moon.)
But if you want to be involved, please post your thoughts on what you’d like to see us doing, how you’d like to see us do it, whatever – and I’ll bring your comments up for discussion at the Summit.
We will definitely be talking about how to structurally and conceptually continue with our ongoing projects and the stressful necessity of bringing on new game lines and worlds. Because after all:
Many Worlds. One Path.
BLURBS!
KICKSTARTER:
The Trinity Continuum Kickstarter will go live in January!
ON SALE NOW:
As we try and find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is now live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is both rolling and rocking! Right now, they’re working on implementing multi-dice and die previews in the store, after adding in a lot of requested upgrades and tweaks, which is going along nicely but is a ton of work. Here are the links for the Apple and Android versions:
http://theappstore.site/app/1296692067/onyx-dice
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onyxpathpublishing.onyxdice&hl=en
Three different screenshots, above.
(The Solar Anima special Dice)
ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE:
We’re delighted to announce the opening of our ebook stores 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). Our initial selection includes these fiction anthologies:
- Vampire: The Masquerade: The Endless Ages Anthology (Kindle, Nook)
- Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Rites of Renown: When Will You Rage II (Kindle, Nook)
- Mage: The Ascension: Truth Beyond Paradox (Kindle, Nook)
- Chronicles of Darkness: The God-Machine Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)
- Mummy: The Curse: Curse of the Blue Nile (Kindle, Nook)
- Beast: The Primordial: The Primordial Feast Anthology (Kindle, Nook)
And here are six more fiction books:
- Vampire: The Masquerade: Of Predators and Prey: The Hunters Hunted II Anthology (Kindle, Nook)
- Werewolf: The Apocalypse: The Poison Tree (Kindle, Nook)
- Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Songs of the Sun and Moon: Tales of the Changing Breeds (Kindle, Nook)
- Vampire: The Requiem: The Strix Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)
- Werewolf: The Forsaken: The Idigam Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)
- Mage: The Awakening: The Fallen World Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)
Andand six more more:
- Vampire: The Masquerade: The Beast Within Anthology (Kindle, Nook)
- Werewolf: The Apocalypse: W20 Cookbook (Kindle, Nook)
- Exalted: Tales from the Age of Sorrows (Kindle, Nook)
- Chronicles of Darkness: Tales of the Dark Eras (Kindle, Nook)
- Promethean: The Created: The Firestorm Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)
- Demon: The Descent: Demon: Interface (Kindle, Nook)
And even more books are now on Amazon and the Nook store!:
- Scarred Lands: Death in the Walled Warren (Kindle, Nook)
- V20 Dark Ages: Cainite Conspiracies (Kindle, Nook)
- Chronicles of Darkness: Strangeness in the Proportion (Kindle, Nook)
- Vampire: The Requiem: Silent Knife (Kindle, Nook)
- Mummy: The Curse: Dawn of Heresies (Kindle, Nook)
OUR SALES PARTNERS:
We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the Screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there!
https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire
Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Here’s the link to the press release we put out about how Onyx Path is now selling through Indie Press Revolution: https://theonyxpath.com/press-release-onyx-path-limited-editions-now-available-through-indie-press-revolution/
You can now order wave 2 of our Deluxe and Prestige print overrun books, including Deluxe Mage 20th Anniversary, and Deluxe V20 Dark Ages! And Screens…so many Screens!
And you can now order Pugmire: the book, the screen, and the dice! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=296
DRIVETHRURPG.COM:
With a howl of RAGE, the W20 Changing Ways Advance PDF charges at you this Wednesday on DTRPG.com!
Changing Ways is an in-depth look at what it means to be a werewolf, both on a personal level and as part of a pack. It digs deep into what it feels like to have bones re-knit after breaking, the range of senses available across all forms, and the sudden heady rush of the Gifts and Rites bestowed by spirits. It also provides a look at what life is like for lupus and metis werewolves, characters who have had experiences alien to any person. It shows the many ways that werewolves organize in packs, and how those packs are designed as groups of warriors, rather than aligned to the behavior of wolves.
Changing Ways contains:
• A detailed look at what it means to grow up as a lupus or metis werewolf, and how that colors a character’s perspective.
• More information on what it feels like to be a werewolf, a creature that changes in both body and mind.
• Frameworks and organizations for packs, along with new tactics and systems for forging the pack as part of play.
Arriving at DTRPG.com this Wednesday, and soon to your tables: The M20 Mage Cookbook!
Food is Life
We are what we eat. As mages throughout history have realized, the foods that sustain our bodies sustain enlightenment as well. Such foods become extensions of the people and cultures that create them. Now Brother Oliver Lyon, Knight Templar and a humble baker’s son, travels around the world hunting the Fallen and gathering fine recipes along the way.
Enchanting Recipes
From Mandarin lion’s heads to alchemical booze, Brother Oliver’s collection of delicious recipes spans the cultural realms of Mage’s human world. Among these many culinary concoctions, you’ll find:
- Lobster Bisque
- Angel Torte
- Chicken Nanban
- Corn Fufu
- Beef Wellingtons
- Battenburg Cake
- Cannibal Stew, and so much more
Feed Your Body, Feed Your Soul
The M20 Mage Cookbook is a non-canon but tasty culinary perspective on the world of Mage: The Ascension
The world of Pugmire comes alive in this full cast audio drama experience “Thank You, Darcy Cat” available now on DTRPG.com! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/226921/Pugmire-Thank-You-Darcy-Cat
The police dogs have called Alistair Afghan to discuss the crimes of his valet, Darcy Cat. But this misunderstanding leads to the discovery of a deadly secret deep in the heart of Pugmire society. Will Alistair and Darcy be able to save Pugmire from this threat?
Created by Audioblivious Productions in conjunction with Pugsteady. Check out Audioblivious at https://www.audioblivious.com/!
We unveil Vampire: The Requiem 2e‘s Half-Damned as an Advance PDF on DTRPG.com!
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/227500/Half-Damned
I love her, she’s family, but I don’t love what she is.
– Antonio Ramírez, dhampir
This book includes:
• An exploration of what it means to be one of the Half-Damned, dhampir, revenants or ghouls.
• Mechanics for creating Half-Damned characters.
• Information for creating and running chronicles using the various Half-Damned character types, both with vampires and alone.
• Information on Half-Damned antagonists for vampire chronicles.
Legacy of Lies, the V20 Dark Ages Jumpstart, goes undead in PDF and physical book PoD versions on DTRPG:
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/222956/Legacy-of-Lies-A-V20-Dark-Ages-Jumpstart
TWO PRINCES. BITTER RIVALS. AND A COTERIE CAUGHT BETWEEN THEM.
Marcus Verus, the vampiric Prince of Chester, secretly prepares to go into torpor. Should his plans be made public, the Prince knows the wolves — both real and imagined — would launch an attack, threatening all within his domain.
That’s where you come in.
Legacy of Lies includes:
- Basic rules for players and Storytellers
- Introduction to the Vampire: The Masquerade Dark Ages setting
- Introductory adventure
- Characters for players and Storytellers
Appearing on DriveThruRPG is the Advance PDF for Arms of the Chosen for Exalted 3rd Edition! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/226224/Arms-of-the-Chosen
Take up the panoply of legendary heroes and lost ages, and awaken the world-shaking might of their Evocations. Before the dawn of time, the Exalted wielded god-metal blades to cast down the makers of the universe. In an ancient epoch of forgotten glories, Creation’s greatest artificers forged unimaginable wonders and miracle-machines.
Now, in the Age of Sorrows, kingdoms go to war over potent artifacts, scavenger princes risk everything to uncover relics of the past, and the Exalted forge great arms and armor on the anvil of legend. These treasures are yours to master.
Discover the mystical power of the five magical materials and the secrets of creating your own Evocations. Wield weapons of fabled might and don the armor of mythic heroes, making their puissance your own. Claim Creation’s wonders: the miraculous tools of the Chosen, living automatons, flying machines, hearthstones, and more. And unleash the mighty warstriders, titanic god-engines of conquest and devastation, to once more shake Creation with their footfalls.
What dark secrets do the eldest vampires hold? Find out in Thousand Years of Night for Vampire: The Requiem! PDF and physical book PoD versions available on DriveThruRPG.com. http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/214130/Thousand-Years-of-Night
You may think that with a multitude of people coming, going, dying and running away, we’d be tired, done, or ready to give up.
Instead, I find myself restless, looking for the next thing.
There’s always a next thing, and I for one am not yet ready to die.
– Elder Kincaid, Daeva Crone
This book includes:
• Detailed instructions on creating elder vampires, including how to base chronicles around them
• A look into the lives of elders, how they spend their nights, who they work with, and why including their roles in both their clans and covenants
• New Devotions, Merits, and Rituals for elder vampires
• The kinds of creatures that pose a threat to elder vampires, including Inamorata, Lamia, Sons of Phobos, a new elder conspiracy, and more!
Is a life of running and hiding a life worth living? We say yes. There’s always something between the running and the hiding, and those moments of grace make it all worthwhile.
The Huntsmen Chronicle Anthology is a perfect companion piece to Changeling: The Lost, 2nd Edition. These stories spin tales of the Lost, of those abducted and enslaved by fairies. Those who escaped, but whose captors will stop at nothing to find them. These fairies summon forth the Huntsmen, primordial hunters who understand nothing but pursuit and capture. The Huntsmen are unstoppable monsters, and the Lost can only look to each other for respite, rare comfort, and rarer trust.
The Hedge has parted and you can get the Advance PDF of The Huntsmen Chronicle Fiction Anthology for Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition at DTRPG.com! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/210042/The-Huntsmen-Chronicle-Anthology
A Land Where Legends Walk
Drawing enthusiastically on Greek mythology, the revised and re-imagined Scarred Lands nonetheless retains its place as a modern fantasy RPG setting. This is a world shaped by gods and monsters, and only the greatest of heroes can expect to be counted among them. The most populous continent of Scarn, Ghelspad, plays host to vast unexplored regions, hides unsolved riddles from ancient cultures, and taunts adventures with the promise of undiscovered riches hidden among the ruins of older civilizations.
Yet the myths of the Scarred Lands are relatively recent events. The effects of the Titanswar still ripple through the world, and the heroines and villains of many of these stories are part of living memory, if not still living.
The Award-Winning Fantasy Setting Returns
Scarred Lands has been a favorite fantasy setting since the release of the Creature Collection for the d20 System in 2000. In subsequent years, over 40 titles were published for Scarred Lands, making it one of the most fully supported fantasy RPG settings ever and the premiere product line of Sword & Sorcery Studios.
Available in both 5th Edition and Pathfinder compatible versions! PDF and PoD formats available NOW!
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/193014/Scarred-Lands-Players-Guide-Pathfinder
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/197803/Scarred-Lands-Players-Guide-OGL-5e
CONVENTIONS!
Midwinter Game Convention in Milwaukee, January 11-14 is going to be on us soooo fast after we get back. It’s where we’re going to be bringing a big crew of many of your favorite Onyx Path designers and we’ll be running demos and making some special announcements at the show! http://
And now, the new project status updates!
DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM ROLLICKING ROSE (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)
- M20 Gods and Monsters (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
- M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
- C20 Novel (Jackie Cassada) (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)
- Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)
- CofD Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)
- Guide to the Night (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)
- M20 The Technocracy Reloaded (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
Redlines
- They Came From Beneath the Sea! Rulebook (TCFBtS!)
Second Draft
- WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)
- Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)
- Monarchies of Mau (Monarchies of Mau)
- Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)
Development
- Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)
- SL Ring of Spiragos (Pathfinder – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)
- Ring of Spiragos (5e – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)
- Scion: Hero (Scion 2nd Edition)
- Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)
- Trinity Continuum: Aeon Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)
- GtS Geist 2e core (Geist: the Sin-Eaters Second Edition)
- Night Horrors: The Tormented (Promethean: The Created 2nd Edition)
WW Manuscript Approval:
- Exalted 3rd Novel by Matt Forbeck (Exalted 3rd Edition)
Editing:
- Ex Novel 2 (Aaron Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)
- Kithbook Boggans (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)
- The Realm (Exalted 3rd Edition)
- Scion: Origin (Scion 2nd Edition)
Post-Editing Development:
- Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition, featuring the Huntsmen Chronicle (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)
- Dragon-Blooded (Exalted 3rd Edition)
- Pan’s Guide for New Pioneers (Pugmire)
Indexing:
ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:
In Art Direction
- Cavaliers of Mars – New art getting assigned.
- Ex3 Monthly Stuff
- Scion Origins
- Ring of Spiragos – Got Rich’s cover in.
- Changeling: the Lost 2
- Trinity Continuum – Seeing sketches.
- Ex3 Dragon Blooded – Sketches are coming in left and right…
- Pugmire – Pan’s Explorer’s Guide (or whatever) – Syme is almost done with the splats.
- Boggans – Reviewing art notes and figuring out the art buy.
Marketing Stuff
In Layout
- Pugmire/Scarred Lands Community Content – working on the logo.
- Book of Freeholds – With Mark
- DtD Enemy Action – With Josh
- Pugmire Fetch Quest – Playtesting samples ordered hopefully in time for MidWinter.
- Pugmire – Vinsen’s Tomb – Notes are out. Need to input the changes on the first proof
- Wraith 20 Screen
Proofing
- Wraith 20 – Making fixes from WW.
- Beast PG
At Press
- Beckett Screen – Shipped to shipper.
- Scarred Land PGs & Wise and the Wicked PF & 5e – To fulfillment shipper. PDF and PoD physical book versions on sale at DTRPG.
- Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition) – Deluxe Edition cover and Screen in the works. Waiting for Deluxe cover and the Screen proofs this week.
- Prince’s Gambit – Setting up files for printer.
- CtL Huntsmen Chronicle Anthology – PoD Files uploaded and processing.
- V20 Beckett’s Jyhad Diary– PoD proofs ordered.
- C20 Ready Made Characters – Errata fixing.
- Ex 3 Arms of the Chosen – Errata fixing.
- Pugmire Artisan Cards – PoD proofs ordered.
- Pugmire Shepherd Cards – PoD proofs ordered.
- Pentex Indoctrination Manual – PoD files uploaded and processing.
- VtR Half Damned – Out and errata gathering.
- W20 Changing Ways – Advance PDF on sale this Wednesday at DTRPG.com.
TODAY’S REASON TO CELEBRATE: With this being our last full day of work this year, we’re gonna raise a toast to the year that was… talk to ya next year.
I’m curious to see that Wraith: the Oblivion’s status has changed slightly. So, what fixes have White Wolf asked for and, (if you can’t go into detail on that) will the fixes be easy and quick?
I’ll put more detailed notes in this month’s Wr20 Backer Update, but right now we’ve done the things we can and await further word.
Once again pleading for a preview of Beast Player’s Guide, as it’s easily one of my favorite CofD games, & we Beast fans hunger for something to tide us over until it releases!
Also, how’s it going to work having the Contagion Chronicle being written before Mummy 2nd Ed is even begun? Just curious, I’m fantastically happy that Contagion Chronicle has already been started, but Mummy is kind of necessary to have the full set of gamelines represented (barring a Companion book for it or somesuch).
Depends what info needs to be included in the Contagion Chronicle to make Mummies fit in, and what changes we expect with Mummy 2nd. Plus, just because it isn’t yet being written, don’t assume that nothing has been discussed, pitched, or thought about for Mummy 2nd.
OOH BAHBY! I am glad to hear that there seems to be a more holistic approach to the campaign book. I really want Contagion Chronicle to be much like the cities book from Vamp 1e except encompassing the movement of all the supernatural communities. When 2 vamps claim the same territory, it’s not hard to figure out what happens but when a Daeva, a Mummy, a Beast & a Changeling all claim the Museum of Fine Arts as territory but in uniquely different ways thats when questions lead to questions and not answers. And further down the rabbit hole we wander
The overall plan for the book is to present a Chronicle where the playable supernatural types are involved in a single world. Specific tweaks to powers or whatever will be provided as needed to enable the Contagion Chronicle to work, and as examples for your own crossover games and Chronicles. So hopefully, you’ll find some answers in how such territorial issues are handled in the specific Contagion Chronicle setting.
I always liked city books, but I get that because of the sheer number of game lines it’s somewhat unfeasible to really lump them into one book and having (non-KS) region books for one game can really limit the appeal. Has anyone thought of dividing the games into groups?
It might just be me, but I’ve noticed there seem to be some thematic and setting similarities in certain games while other games seem to lend themselves to hanging out more. Like you have the “big three” of Vampire, Werewolf, and Mage. And I have no name for it but I’ve thought of Demon, Beast and Promethean as the McFarland games, all heavily invested in souls and becoming something else. Mummy and Geist seem to resonate, with their ties to ghosts and (potentially) an underworld. It leaves Changeling and Hunter the odd ones out, but people seemed to like the former with Geist in Dark Eras, and the latter tends to fit everyone else within it.
I’m glad Onyx Path has more non-licensed settings, and I’m hoping that there will continue to be more. I heard some about older playtests for TCFBTS (is there any shorter name for it? They Came?). But I’m always going to love Forsaken and I’m sure people will have their other favorites and want to see more for them.
I’d be down with this. I love city books too, but I get why they have been backed away from. That said, something like a Beast/Changeling/Vampire/Werewolf book for Vancouver would be AMAZING. So would be fleshing out the Dubai setting from The Pack and Secrets of the Covenants into a full-fledged Vampire/Werewolf/Demon city book. It would be really cool to explore places like Russia, Korea, Morocco, South Africa, Tanzania, Pakistan, Cuba, and Venezuela with city books that CofD hasn’t touched on yet. I think there’s lots of potential for crossover Signature Settting books.
I bought the KS for Scion 2nd Ed because the first one is hands down my favorite game I’ve ever played. I told my at the time fianceé that it was her Christmas present to me because it was a little spendy compared to most games I buy. I wanted to support the game and the company so it seemed worth it at the time. My wife now calls it the game that doesn’t exist because she still hasn’t seen it. I check this page every Monday and show her when it changes and the update emails from KS. I now tell her that it will be my birthday(June) present that she bought a year and a half in advance and she owes me a Christmas present from last year. I’m in it for the long haul and so grateful for all the work and effort you have all put in. I can’t wait for the game! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!
My personal request/Things I’d like to See
All the Changeling 20 please!
Side note: In the realm of tabletop RPGs, there’s always that one game that “clicks” with you. Especially in the case of World of Darkness, with it’s wide variety of different gamelines. That while one can acknowledge that the setting, themes, and mechanics are overall good, that the gameline isn’t one’s absolute favorite.
For me, Changeling was the game that “clicked” with me.
While I generally liked how Vampire, Werewolf, and Mage, they never really hooked me in. Changeling, on the other hand, did. That on reading through the C20 book, I not only instantly understood what the game was going with in its themes, I loved the setting for it, and the numerous other little details and mechanics that make it stand out from the other WoD gamelines.
With C20 there’s a lot of untapped potential that could be explored. Especially since unlike Vampire, Werewolf, and Mage before it, Changeling never got a Revised edition.
-Updates to the kiths. Since there were no Revised Kithbooks, a big update on the kiths itself. And not even necessarily making actual “Revised” Kithbooks, I’d be ok with a Lore of the Clans style book that compiles. I am aware that a C20 Player’s Guide is coming and one of the things in it is a section that expanded more on kiths. I admit that I have no idea to what extent, and for all I know the expansions could be great…but it’s something that I feel is big enough to deserve its’ own book.
-Speaking of kiths, kithbooks for the clurichauns, piskies, and selkies. Since these three are now part of the core commoner kiths, I do think they’d deserve a more expansive and in-depth exploration to help further flesh them out.
-I’d like to see expansions on the Gallain, particularly in giving more advice and guidelines on running games that don’t make them reliant or apart of Kithain/Concordian society. What would probably be the most realistic would be a Book of Gallain (a la W20’s Changing Breeds) but I would ideally like each Gallain group to get their own books (so a Book of Nunnehi, a Book of Inanimae, Book of Hsien, etc).
-Antagonist books would also be awesome, especially since many of the antagonists got vastly reworked in C20 compared to how they were in earlier editions. So further explorations into these different iterations would be awesome.
-I’d also go on a limb and assume that, what with a C20 PG, that a Storyteller’s Guide is coming too. Any additional material on exploring the different themes of Changeling, tips on running chimerical reality, depicting the Dreaming, etc would be ideal.
Is the next Geist 2e going to have to wait until the New Year if the “office” is closed, or could be get it as a Christmas present (early or otherwise)?
I’d love to see another Geist 2E update before Christmas! 🙂
The Geist of Christmas Future!
Exactly! 🙂
Any chance of seeing any preview text for the Golden Age of Piracy? (still sad that mage one, maybe we get lucky and one of the high bidders adds beast to it)
Uhhhh… two things (as a fellow backer):
1) The final list with backer expansions was given in the October updated. Nothing was added to Golden Age of Piracy.
2) DE2 is still pre-first draft. I don’t think writers have even been assigned yet. There’s no first draft text to even preview, and it’s doubtful we’d get any until second drafts/development.
Wr20 being released in the next week would be the best Birthday/Christmas present ever.
Here’s hoping WW gets back to you guys soon.
I would like to see hunter, mummy and demon 20th anniversary editions and more 20th books of all the game lines.
All of the old world of darkness lines of ofcourse.
I really like the deluxe editions.
not gonna lie, seeing Scion origin move forward made me extremely happy.
I’d love to see a 2e for demon and mummy, but lets get geist done first.
im so ready for Scion it hurts.
Mummy 2e was announced at GenCon. Demon is already a 2e game (the first, in fact, since it used the God Machine Chronicles rules, which would later become 2e proper).
Actually, here’s a question that I think could be very worth your while considering. Should James start managing the PR for Kickstarters previous to Changeling 2e that have not been fulfilled yet? The reason I ask is that I see a couple of people asking questions (and one person spamming them about once a week) on the Dark Eras 2 Kickstarter about rewards fulfillment. Now, I diligently track the status of my Kickstarters in these notes, but it seems pretty clear that not everyone does. I thought James did an excellent job of communicating and managing people’s expectations during the CtL 2e Kickstarters, so maybe bringing those expertise to play in some of the other Kickstarters would help relive some tension and cut down on people trying to ask the same question every week?
Just a thought.
No, I would not saddle James with that depth of responsibility for KSs he did not originally manage. If Mr Cartwright wants to know something, there are multiple avenues of communication available to him, as I believe he has previously been made aware of, rather than spamming the comments section.
Fair enough.
So, the thing is, that while I don’t agree with the hectoring I can get the question the guy is asking. I’ve looked back over his run of “when” and he’s not asking about the book, but is pushing for the add ons he’s paid for. That “you’ll get it when you get it” mentality is why I don’t add the extra PDFs on any of the Onyx Path kickstarters I back, and I’ve backed many.
If I thought there was a reasonable expectation of these being provided in a timely manner after the kickstarter ends, then I might be up for it. The recent Changeling campaign is a prime example. I own most of the books offered in the Arcadian Memories bundle on PDF, and would have been interested in throwing in the coin for the ones I don’t have because that would have been cost effective. Understanding that, by the way you work, I wouldn’t have gotten those PDFs any time soon led to me shrugging my shoulders and walking away from the extra funding that would have given your kickstarter, and the extra content it would have given me. Everyone’s a loser.
Sure, but I don’t see the scenario you’ve presented as anyone losing anything. You’ve analyzed the way we send out the old PDFs and decided you want them sooner than we provide them and have decided that doesn’t work for you. Having them quick is more important than filling in your PDF collection at some point. If you pledged anyway, knowing that how we send them out isn’t how you like it, and then sat there simmering or in any other way feeling negative about the process, then that’s where I feel like we’d be losing.
My point with that guy is not that he’s outside the bounds of wanting to know more info, but that he’s spamming the KS general comments – pretty much the least effective way of getting our notice, particularly since we have said before how to use the Contact Creator link to actually send a direct message that will get noticed.
How are we losing? Well you guys are losing on money I might pledge, which is basically what a Kickstarter should be there to get. I’m losing out because I could get those books and I don’t.
I guess I should ask why the need to wait so long after the kickstarter before those additional PDFs become available? Is there something I’m not aware of that drives that inefficiency?
So, if you want them, you can wait for them (which I know you don’t want to do, hence this conversation) or order them either at full price or during a sale from DTRPG. Either way is better than you being upset about us not sending them out when you think we should. As for why we don’t send them out on an earlier time frame, the early KSs were a nightmare logistically with each reward tier having to be sent separately and every backer who added-on PDFs having to be individually found and emailed the link. BackerKit greatly improves the process, and we are actually in a lot better position to send them out efficiently, but there are still odd quirks to the timing depending on what was offered for which Kickstarter, and we’re just getting used to the interface. It’s an area we are looking to improve this coming year.
Hi Rich,
Sometime I’d love to see a comparison of process and speed when it comes to producing a book between your time as White Wolf and with Onyx Path. I know you are usually relying on part-time writers with Onyx Path, for example. I’ve always been curious how long it took to produce a book in White Wolf.
In general, for regular supplements, we aimed at nine months from start of writing to getting into stores. Bigger or core books took longer.
@Summit Discussions
Should their be a conversion guide for the 2e books into the Storypath systems?
I know this may get into the minutiae of the licensing agreement but so far the stuff I have seen has been strong and just as importantly CONSISTENT.
What other avenues for development are there for storypath that are not already attached to either Scion or TC?
As a proven holder of license product for a long time now, are there licenses for other properties that seem worth chasing?
Maybe RPGs for smaller properties like some of the better web comics or novel series
Are there transmedia opportunities that you should be discussing with your licensing partner that not already in play?
What comes immediately to mind is a novelization of the Werewolf videogame the french company is working on either as a literature or as a campaign setting
What are the functional limits of Chronicles of Darkness and where do you look once you start approaching them?
As an entity based in Horror archetypes, at some point, hopefully not anytime soon, you’ll have covered the archetypal pillars so thoroughly, it may feel like you’ve painted yourself into a corner. How do you, as leaders of that ship, steer clear of that choke point and continue to pull from that well or do you recognize that its best to possibly step back while your on top and shift focus to the other properties OPP has
What sections of the horror experience can you tap that are creature agnostic?
I have high hopes for Contagion Chronicle and I thought doing a book not on Combat but on VIOLENCE was a really smart move. Are there other aspects of the horror genre that are worth an indepth look at in the same way?
I think most of OPP’s fans would happily see them do what they are doing now from here to eternity, myself included. But opportunity and growth isn’t about luck. It’s about being prepared when the time is right. I hope some really tough questions get asked at Summit and then some FRIKIN brilliant answers get put forward
Best wishes and happy holidays
Very good questions and thoughts – thank you. Some of them are definitely already on our list to discuss, and a few, like other licenses, you’ll be hearing about through 2018, as those deals are already in the works. 🙂
Scion: Orgin’s is officially in editing? That is awesome news. fingers crossed it doesn’t need much on that front!
It’ll need the usually month, at the least.
Every book needs editing, just like every book needs writing and art! 🙂
Any chance of seeing Scion: Origin’s text go to backers before the layout/art stuff happens?
I’ll talk with Neall about the options for that, but it is not impossible.
So sorry I am typing this on my phone so…
What I would like you guys to talk about at the summit
First topic: Awesomeness
It may seem a bit awkward but pat yourselves in the back for me. The products have been consistently awesome for years now and that us thanks to your hard work.
2nd: kickstarters
Not a topic but a fact I needed to squeeze in. I realled loved the last KS, having someone completely dedicated to running it really stepped up your game. Loved the thorough updates.
3nd topic: technology
One field I beleive could be focused on more is help in various forms of apps. The dice roller is nice but it does not truly help us run a game. It does not give us quick access to all the rules or remember our stats or any such. We have VR, we have augmented reality google, we have QR codes, cells phones, etc. So much technology we could use to augment this amazing hobby of ours and bring it into a future. It is time. What can Onyx Path (and white wolf) do to lead the charge?
Topic 4: Streaming content
Also we now have shows likes crical role on twich that make money just by having people watch others play D&D. Just imagine having something like that for Vampire? Werewolf? Wraight? The mind boggles at the thought of how awesome that would be.
It would not only be fun to watch but also be a revenu stream for you guys. It would raise awareness of the games and even allow you to showcase the kickstarter thats about to start…
In this theme I would LOVE as an ST to have a feature where I can enter the alertness+perception stats for all my players, and just occasionally hit a button to get their results instead of asking them to roll. When I ask them to roll a spot check it immediately resets expectations, but it’s way too difficult to manage that entirely on my own using ‘analog methods’. An ST app that collected a series of functions like that would be amazing.
That’s interesting actually as when I run games on Roll20 (which is the sole place I really run my games due to location), the Character Sheet allows for macros to be set up and custom rolls. You can then click the ‘roll’ button and it rolls what you have set up.
Very good idea! That is exactly what I mean. Tools that allow us to focus and enhance immersion and roleplay while still taking the system/stats into account.
Agreed! Thanks, James!
For rolling actual dice, I would have the players roll throughout the session without telling them why. So if maybe four times they rolled, one of those rolls would actually be for something real like a spot check. But I love your idea and having noted how having that option electronically would be very useful.
That’s an excellent list, almost an agenda, for our Summit. Thanks!
What I’m getting out of this is that the Trinity kickstarter is 2-3 weeks away. SQUEE!!!
That is the plan, we’re really looking forward to it!
I see that Ex3 stuff is coming along well, and I’m excited to see what Robert and Eric do with the Dragon-Blooded and Realm books as I thought Arms of the Chosen was really good.
I do notice though that there’s nothing else for Exalted coming up, other than the monthly stuff and the remaining KS stuff. Does that mean that nothing else has been started yet, or just that it’s in it’s roughest form and therefore not on the list of projects at the moment? I only ask because Exalted has such a long line of other Exalt types and such that I fear I’ll not be able to run, say, a Sidereal game for years and years!
Where are you looking? We’ve been talking about Lunars and Exigents for a while now, and the devs are leaking hints to other projects in their Ask The Devs forum thread. Truly, we have much in store, but we do need to be careful about over-promising when we don’t know how something like the Dragon-Blooded Kickstarter may add to our potential releases.
My wife and I talked a bit about what sort of products we’d like to see in the future. We came up with several ideas, and I’ve listed some of them below. Hopefully they’ll prove useful for the summit.
1. Inferno Second Edition: We’d both love to see what could be done with it in the new edition. Ideally, we’d like to see it developed into its own full game line (calling it Fiend or something like that to distinguish it from Demon). If it couldn’t have its own game line, we’d still like to see it updated to the new rules, and show how they interacted with the various other supernatural entities in the Chronicles of Darkness.
2. A new game line for Chronicles of Darkness set beneath the sea. If we couldn’t have a game line, we’d at least like to see a hefty book dedicated to the world’s oceans and the horrors lurking beneath the waves.
3. Early histories for each of the game lines. We really enjoyed “The Sundered World”, but we’d like to see more like that for each of the other game lines. We want to see Arcadia as it stood before the Gentry, or play characters in Irem before the Arisen were created.
4. For Changeling: The Lost, we’d like to see a book of locations and story hooks for the Hedge and Arcadia. I’m certain that The Hedge will probably hit on this to some extent, but we’d really like to see a supplement in the style of Mysterious Places that was focused on the fae. For that matter, anything along the lines of Mysterious Places for any game line would be quite welcome.
5. Hearts of Darkness: We would like a book that does for love, romance, and interpersonal relationships what Hurt Locker did for violence. We’re definitely not looking for “sexy game mechanics” or smutty story hooks when we suggest this. We want to see a mature and respectful look at how such topics are considered around the world and over the course of history, how these things impact societies and individuals, and how all of that is further complicated when the supernatural gets involved.
6. The Underworld: For Geist: The Sin-Eaters, we’d like to see a big book on the Underworld, with a focus on the numerous realms of the dead that can be found there. We really liked those in The Book of the Dead, and we’d love to see more covered along those lines with the new edition’s mechanics.
7. The Qashmallim: For Promethean: The Created, we’d like to see a book expanding on the qashmallim and how to use them in the story. We’d even like to see optional guidelines for running a game with qashmallim characters, addressing the Promethean struggle from the perspective of an outside source attempting to guide them.
8. A Night Horrors book for Hunter: The Vigil. Such a book could include rogue or extremist hunters, assorted slashers, and various unique monstrosities.
9. Another Night Horrors book for Changeling: The Lost. Obviously this could include hobgoblins, Huntsmen, and True Fae, but we’d also like to see strange entities created from the transformation of other supernatural types or sentient locations with secret agendas of their own.
10. Night Horrors books for Geist: The Sin-Eaters, Mummy: The Curse, and Deviant: The Renegades. We love the Night Horrors series, and we want to see at least one book for each of the game lines.
11. Experiments: A book of strange creatures for Deviant: The Renegades that resulted from early testing on animal subjects prior to Deviant creation.
12. We’d also like to see a book that focuses on the Djinn, whether it was just a source book or an entire game line of its own.
13. The Bright Dream: While I acknowledge that this might be covered in the Beast Players Guide or Beast Storytellers Guide, we’d like to see a book for Beast: The Primordial that looks at the other side of humanity’s dreams. We want to see entities similar to the Begotten associated with dreams of hope and inspiration. As we saw with the Empyreans in Inferno, entities associated with more “positive” concepts can be just as strange and alien as those associated with the “negative”, so these creatures could be just as disturbing as the Beasts themselves. Personally, we’d like Heroes to be just as much a problem for them, as well.
Thanks! Those are some pretty specific ideas, and while the plan is to focus more on strategic issues, these are excellent project ideas and I have no doubt our discussions will get to specific projects too.
I’m a bit late to this party, but when it comes to ideas I wanted to rehash a comment I made a few weeks ago (I think): Beckett-style books for the rest of the WoD lines, bridging and updating canon in preparation for possible new editions from WW. I’m obviously aware that if and when these sorts of things are brought up you wouldn’t be able to talk about them right away, and it’s all up to WW to begin with…but that’s something I’d definitely like to see.