Still. Still groggy. I’m told it’s jet lag from flying back from LAbyNight. Or maybe I spent just a little too much time in the lovely art deco Observation Room bar like in the image accompanying this post. They had great cocktails, and I think I tried 10 out of fifteen of them (the other five had ingredients I can’t have). That’s Matt McElroy, Dhaunae, and Lorenzo trying to pose while I maul Eddy.
As you can tell, we had a fantastic time. Both the “What’s Up w/WW/OP” and the joint licensees panels went great and were full of laughter and excellent questions about our plans for the next year. The real value of the con for me though, was touching base with all the other companies and groups starting with the delightful and energetic By Night Studios team- our cousins in blood, each looking out for our part of the great White Wolf legacy we helped create, as well as the Mind’s Eye Society and Masquerade By Night folks who let me romp around as a Gangrel Anarch. I also had some talks with some OWbN folks, Garou Nation and Accord (spelling?) members, Dave Martin and his Wrecking Crew, and the Dead Gamers Society. The latter two were running tabletop games. I was able to have fun and funny conversations with the legendary Tim Bradstreet, and CCP’s own Creative Director Reynir Hardarson, both of whom spontaneously came in for the dinner and Succubus Club party on Saturday. And of course, all the fans who played continually through the ship who were clearly immersed in the life-style they love.
So all in all, what Eddy and I (we actually did talk on Monday about this) take away from a gathering like this is how the WoD (both versions) touches and is touched upon by so many sorts of people sharing that common love. That’s not mushy, it’s important. Are nWoD, Exalted, cWoD, Scion, or Trinity games? Absolutely. But they are not just games. The stories I hear at cons like this are always about how being involved with these games have changed people’s lives. That’s art, my friends. YMMV.
Updates Of Our Other Artistic Creations:
– Blood and Smoke: The Strix Chronicle (VtR) In Editing. Art is almost all contracted. Mirthful Mike has contracted several new artists, including a couple from IlluxCon.
– Mummy the Curse – Deluxe and Screen: Books and Screens ARE STILL SHIPPING! The MtC Ready Made Characters Pack needed some tweaks and is now back in layout and then it will be ready for approvals from CCP. Cursed Necropolis DC being red-lined by CAS and then back for second drafts from the writers. KS backers have been approached about their character info needed to go in the book. Please get that to me ASAP, folks!
– Exalted 3rd Edition: While John hunkers down to rewrite the Charms chapter, the rest of the team is working on a couple of EX3 chapters that continue to be finalized for Editing: Awareness Charms are getting wrapped up, Athletics Charms, the Religion and the Finance sections are in editing. Evocations are in progress. Essence pool calculations and Ox-Body Technique arrays are done for all the upcoming hardbacks so they can be implemented into the Antagonists chapter, and that chapter is moving toward completion so it can go to editing too. Both EX3 novels as well as Zub’s EX3 Comic are in progress, and the EX3 Music Suites are being scoped out.
– V20 Hunters Hunted 2: Deluxe is being assembled. PoD and PDF versions on sale at DTRPG. This is another book that really benefited from the PDF reviews that our community had a chance to let us know about. HH2 Fiction Anthology text is in editing.
– V20 Anarchs Unbound is in layout and we are prepping for its Kickstarter. Justin is having a strange “phantom voices” issue with his playback for the KS vid that he’s trying to solve.
– Deluxe Werewolf 20th Anniversary Edition: At binding. Mike Lee is submitting chapters of the W20 “Houses of the Moon” novel to Bill for dev review. The Storyteller Screen files are done and ready for W20. Bill has theW20 Anthology stories done and they are in editing. Jess Hartley is submitting the White Howlers Tribe Book to Stew Wilson for development notes, and the W20 Cookbook is almost done in editing
– Deluxe Mage the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition has Phil Brucato mostly developing now like a maniac and most of the book has been written and we are prepping an editor for this big ol’ thing. Still, still trying to get Mirthful Mike Chaney to start an art blog.
– W20 Changing Breeds Kickstarter expanded material has been put into the new layout and is still waiting for the art and backer names expected this week, and the Changing Breeds Fiction Anthology is being contracted by developer Jess Hartley.
– W20 Rage Across the World: In layout.
– Guildhalls of the Deathless (MtC) being proofed by CAS, and then to CCP approvals.
– Conventionbook: Syndicate (cMtA) PoD and PDF versions are all live. The third book we were able to get community feedback on by releasing the PDF early, and it was much strengthened as a result.
– Conventionbook: Void Engineers (cMtA) is in layout.
– W20 Book of the Wyrm is in editing.
– V20 Rites of the Blood: is in editing, Eddy is preparing art notes.
– Under the Darkening Sky (classic Dark Ages): All text in and in the final Dev pass, and then into editing.
– Trinity Continuum: We now have a whopping big Aeon outline and a Trinity Continuum Core Book outline and writers are writing.
– Scion: Joe’s team is hammering systems- big time. Expecting the first system doc this week.
– Demon: The Descent: In layout. Demon Quickstart PDF is free on DTRPG and the PoD version is Now LIVE.
– Hunter: The Something About Monsters: Writers are writing. Con season has knocked a few of them back and they needed extended deadlines.
– nWoD: Dark Eras: Writers are writing.
-V20 Dark Ages: Scribes are scribing.
– DtD Players Guide: Flowers Of Hell?: Being written in a hall of mirrors,some of which are crack’d.
Reason to Drink: Sad I never saw ol’ Larry or his lawn. Pouring a drop for him.
Is that abbreviation wrong? I believe it’s been in two updates now…
Thanks, Nick! You win a no-prize and an eagle-eyes scout award.
I think I should get the opposite of Nick’s awards, because despite knowing that the Demon book was going to be on the schedule, reading that you folks were working on the “D&D Players Guide” was a confusing and exciting revelation. 😉
Glad you had fun in LA.
It’s your subconscious telling you we need more D:tF books.
Or more D&D books. What?
Great to see you guys had a great time, again I reiterate that Australia isn’t that far away and we can probably keep you guys equally (if not more) liquored up the whole time.
I’ll also share the sentiment that these awesome games you guys work on/have worked on/continue to work on are more than just games. They’ve helped me, and a lot of people I know, to get through some dark times or get out of the house and socialise with new people or old friends we don’t get the time to see anymore.
Thanks for the update.
Only the other side of the world- and filled with ALL the poisonous animals.
Thanks for your voice to the the idea- it’s from each and every individual story that we really start to see how WW’s games have touched so many lives.
LA By Night was so much fun. Thank you Rich for taking the time to chat with me and the DGS team at the Succubus Party. Getting your validation, for our efforts, really meant a lot to us. Thank you.
Also, it was great working with Dave Martin and The Wreaking Crews, good guys all.
Now, back to stalking the postman, awaiting my copy of Mummy.
I was so glad we could finally talk all together for a bit. Hope to b able to sit in on a game of yours someday-
That was a great time – the What’s up with White Wolf preso made me feel excited about the next couple of years for sure. New Scion!!
Woot!
“Justin is having a strange “phantom voices” issue with his playback for the KS vid that he’s trying to solve.”
Don’t worry Justin, it’s just your Shadow talking. Listen to the voices…
Thanks for the update! My wife and I were really looking forward to go, but as is everything else, it became a matter of pounds and pennies (or dollars and cents for you guys!) and unfortunately we had to miss this one too. But we will not miss the next one!
Also I’d like tip my hat to the comments made about, really, what the games mean to people. They really aren’t just games. If it wasn’t for the World of Darkness I wouldn’t have met my wife, had my beautiful daughter or realised my dream of becoming an Author 🙂
Keep it coming! And see you next year!
Looking forward to it! Plus, thanks for adding your perspective on how WoD has affected your life. It really is what I hear again and again- the perspective, like yours, is personal, but the overall weight of testimony is outstanding. I’m proud to have been a part of the creation of the works that led to so many good things.
Oh yeah! Scion system! Go team Joe!
Now, what do fans have to do to get a quick sneak peak at the changes in that document? :p
After we hit it with hammers from our perspectives and really agree that it is what we want to use moving forward with Onyx, then we’ll let you guys have a gander and hear what you think about it.
Excellent! That’s more than we could ask for so, thank you Richt!
What is “Hunter: The Something About Monsters” ? There are already a cWoD and nWoD Hunter games.
It’s a supplement for Hunter: The Vigil, covering the remaining major nWOD splats (Prometheans, changelings, sin-eaters, mummies and demons). Placeholder titles include “The Something About Monsters” and “Monstrous Basterds”.
The World of Darkness games didn’t just change lives, they changed the industry.
Help a (financially) poor fan out; what’s the order for the next few kickstarters? Anarchs is next, followed by Demon, then by Mage 20? Will any of them run concurrently?
Will the prices for Demon and M20 be similar to Mummy and W20 respectively? My funds are quite limited, and I’d love for them all to go to the kickstarters. Thanks.
Anarchs is next. I don’t know what follows that.
Kickstarter doesn’t allow anyone to run Kickstarters concurrently; they can only be run one at a time.
Well that’s a plus for me at least, the longer it takes the more I can spend 🙂 Thanks Ian.
Thanks for meeting and talking to ya, Rich.
Also, the Mummy book arrived in the mail today!