Here we go into the third week of the BackerKit crowdfunding campaign for The Curious Cats of Mau – in fact as I write this we’re looking at 9 days! Plus, if that new BackerKit feature is running as they say, maybe some last minutes pledges will extend the campaign past our funding limit!

Over the weekend we achieved yet another Stretch Goal – this time for the cat-centric version of the Game Screen! I’m not a “screen person” but folks do really seem to love ’em, so we keep including them. Who says that Onyx Path ain’t the best at giving our fans what they want?!

Gonna continue to ask all you folks to post and retweet and all that stuff about the campaign – heck, shout it from the rooftops if you prefer! Let’s just keep on getting the word out; even one other person being newly informed that Curious Cats is mid-campaign could explode into a lot more backers!

We haven’t been resting on our litter over here either! We’ve been spreading Mau links all over social media. Here’s some specifics from Eddy:

Hey folks! We have a little over a week left before the Curious Cats of Mau crowdfunding campaign is over. I know people are busy, so I thought I’d pull together some of the short (one to five minute) clips everyone’s been pulling together about the book!

Microfictions: I’ve read some of the short fiction pieces from the original Monarchies of Mau core rulebook, as well as two from Curious Cats! Three of the four are up on TikTok right now, so if you want to hear me reading them (as well as the sweet new Pugmire theme song!), each is a nice short burst of audiobook goodness along with some of the new art!

• Sabian’s Story: https://www.tiktok.com/@theonyxpath/video/7340663077219618090
• Vs. The Cult of Labo Tor: https://www.tiktok.com/@theonyxpath/video/7337437824821579054
• Halo’s story: https://www.tiktok.com/@theonyxpath/video/7337437824821579054

Actual Play Clips (Rats in the Tavern): We’ve had a few actual plays for Curious Cats so far. The first is from Travis Legge, who ran the one-shot “Rats in the Tavern.” Here are some great moments from that game!

• Dutchess is on the Case: https://www.tiktok.com/@theonyxpath/video/7340017340576173354
• A Giant Ant!: https://www.tiktok.com/@theonyxpath/video/7341432755319754027
• The Cult of Labo Tor: https://www.tiktok.com/@theonyxpath/video/7342503552465620266

Actual Play Clips (The Paw of Fate): Finally, I’ve run a couple episodes of “The Paw of Fate,” featuring some of the great people who worked on the book as players. And we had some exciting (and hilarious!) moments from that:

• Good News, Bad News: https://www.tiktok.com/@theonyxpath/video/7342942407283199278
• Strangled Squeaker: https://www.tiktok.com/@theonyxpath/video/7343728139903798571
• Mocked to Death: https://www.tiktok.com/@theonyxpath/video/7344414973730278699
• I’ll have a Panic Attack: https://www.tiktok.com/@theonyxpath/video/7344713111884107050

If you have a chance, check them out, and if they get you excited, swing by the crowdfunding campaign and pledge!

Thanks, Eddy! And let me point out, because I know a lot of y’all are pretty busy, that those links don’t go to several hour actual plays, but to short, exciting, moments from the fiction and from playing in the setting of The Curious Cats of Mau and Realms of Pugmire!

March Comes In Like A Widdle Kitty Kat

I mean, not here at Onyx Path Central where the winds have been blustery and blasting for the past week, but in terms of our progress reports this week, everything is sorta just pitter-pattering along with no real big news!

Our meeting was kind of that way too, so here’s hoping that this isn’t a lull before the storm sort of thing, but just a series of lulls and no storms – none at all!

We did spend a fair amount of time going over the reports from the GAMA Convention last week. That’s a con that’s open to members of GAMA, the gaming trade organization, so it’s distributor, retailers, and game companies only. Well, a smattering of the press, too. For us, it’s a chance to reconnect with store owners who we just don’t get enough face-time with – and even less since we had a dearth of new books going into their stores all last year.

With TC: Adventure! now available for stores to order, and Exalted Essence printing and going to them after we fulfill that crowdfunding campaign, we are looking at a fair number of retail books ramping up this year. So it was fantastic to hear what store owners are excited about, and what they don’t like (mostly from other publishers, so that’s pretty useful!).

The interesting thing about those conversations is that no two owners had the same interests and concerns. Which makes a lot of sense – they need to know and service their community of customers. One store has a ravenous Pugmire community anxious for more books, another has a solid and long-time group of Aberrant fans just getting into TC: Aberrant and learning about what this whole Continuum thing is, and another group wants to learn Scion 2e as they’re D&D5e players with one older player who played Scion in another town and thinks they’ll be into the mythic quality of 2e.

Pretty much, pick one of our game lines and there was a question. (Which goes into the whole multi-game challenge we have as a company, which is a topic for another day, but makes me wonder if we give everybody too much fun!)

(Naaaaah! – parenthetical RichT)

We also gave retailers a little something we just really rapidly put together, kind of on the fly, talking about our newest gameline. (If you’ve been following the moths, you might know what I mean). I’m not going to say much more because I don’t want the return of the bad luck from the last couple of months, but our handout to retailers certainly does. If you want to know more, maybe check with your Friendly Local Game Store – was your store there?

Through the last few weeks on the MMN blog, we featured news about our Storypath Nexus Game Jam, and this coming Friday the Onyx Pathcast features a wrap-up and overview of The Jam with community content maniac Travis Legge.

Last Friday’s Pathcast was a very fun interview as Danielle and Dixie ran me through my paces. How did it go? Well, even Dixie said Danielle and I could digress off a topic like nobody’s business, and that’s saying a lot from a veteran Pathcaster!

Here’s the rundown from our PodBean page:

• State of the Path
• Curious Cats of Mau
• Next crowdfunder?
• JRPGs
• OPP Con!
• Onesies
• Strange happenings
• Scion symbols
• Art

That last part, the Art part, actually went pretty in-depth and it was actually neat to get into that aspect of my career – which is the thing I studied and all. Which is a roundabout excuse to give y’all a quick photo peek at this drawing for the Threats and Curs book for Realms of Pugmire of one of the many scary monsters that I’m illustrating for the book:

Part of what we talked about during the interview was just how important it is to keep creating, especially if you can do it while you are involved with a very different sort of thing. Even a different creative thing. That break in your thinking that you force to happen because you need to draw something, or do a handicraft, or write a poem, or play an instrument – it all pays off when you return to the big job you’re doing.

That’s what drawing these Threats and Curs pieces is doing for me in between all the other Creative Director and biz stuff I’m working on.

The same applies to our hobby. If you run games, playing in one can be such a refresher in what you enjoy – and almost always spawns new and twisted ideas for what to add to the game(s) you’re running. And vice versa.

And if you make games, well, don’t just absorb other media like we all do, play different games. Take up a hobby that isn’t games at all; you’ll be surprised at how that pause refreshes. And then it’s really energizing to return to our:

Many Worlds, One Path!

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Blurbs!

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Crowdfunding!:

The Curious Cats of Mau
for Realms of Pugmire

MEOW! We funded in just under 48 hours! And four Stretch Goals (Exclusive Backer T-Shirt, Digital Wallpaper, Redbubble Pet Designs, and Cat-specific Guide Screen) achieved already!

https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/onyx-path/curious-cats-of-mau

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Onyx Path Media!

This week: Matthew and Eddy talk with Travis Legge about the Storypath Game Jam!

As always, this Friday’s Onyx Pathcast will be on Podbean or your favorite podcast venue!

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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:

Danielle Lauzon released a character creation session for At the Gates which is now available on our YouTube channel! Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5c3tKfaHjNw

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=UuElSwzpPZ0

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Virtual Tabletop!

The Monsters of the Deep Compendium with all of the monsters added to the They Came From Beneath the Sea! Compendium core, including Tokens for VTT play, will be on Roll20 and DTRPG this Weds!

They Came From Beneath the Sea! on Roll20 VTT!
https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/bundle/22308/they-came-from-beneath-the-sea

The Scion: Origin and Scion Hero Compendiums are now available on Roll20!
https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/publisher/1716/onyx-path-publishing

Scion is just the start! They Came From Beneath the Sea! and other
Onyx Path RPGs are in development for Roll20 virtual tabletop!

The first of our official Scion sheets designed for Foundry VTT are
now available! https://foundryvtt.co

Looking for more virtual tabletop resources? We have a selection of
Tokens, Encounters, and more available now at DriveThruRPG! https://bit.ly/3SnrNJ7

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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/

We have some CofD Screens on discount on 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!

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 Melody Through the Mirrorshade Lens and Facets of Truth, as well as Trinity Continuum: Terat and The Hollow Courts on Kindle in the Kindle store!

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On Sale This Week!

Stumbling and thrashing, we have now arrived at The Hedge Advance PDF for Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition! Beware what lurks around every barrier/with each turn of a page! Available this Weds on DTRPG!

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Conventions!

As we are slowly returning to attending conventions in person after avoiding them during the COVID-19 outbreak, keep an eye out here for more physical and virtual conventions we’re going to be involved with!

Matthew and Eddy and a few of our other Onyx Path creators will be attending and even running games at UK Games Expo in May.

Game Night With Onyx Path Publishing at StartPlaying will be the last Friday of every month! Come play some of our games, especially any edition of Realms of Pugmire! (But any of our game lines are welcome all day long!)

Here’s a link to give anyone $10 credit to play games on Start.Playing:

https://startplaying.games/referral/clog9y0v10006ju0968iev95m

Please spread the word about GMing games as much as
possible. Details on how list a game are at the bottom of the page in
the FAQ:

https://startplaying.games/event/game-night-onyx-path

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Project Status Updates!

Our full list of projects will be available monthly on our blog! Check out February’s full list report here:

Release Roundup: February 2024

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM EDDY

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

Post-Editing Development

Scion – War Games (Titans Rising Hero and Demigod Adventures)

• Matthew: Expect a preview of this book to come in the next few weeks, here on the blog!

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ART DIRECTION FROM MIKE CHANEY!

In Art Direction

• Ex3 Sidereals – Okay…. now I do have all the revisions, so now i will send those to the devs for approvals.
• M20 Victorian Bizarre Tales and Unusual Characters – Portraits contract… but we got a couple of halfs in there.
• Curious Cats (KS) – Crowdfunding Continueth!

In Layout

• Ex Essence Charm Cards
• DTR Clade Companion
• M20 Victorian Jumpstart 
• Squeaks in the Deep Companion
• Classified and Cyclops Screens – If I get a few minutes this week, I’ll work on the Cyclops one.
• CofD Contagion Chronicles RMCs
• TCF Classified and Cyclops Cards – Doing my prepress pass on the cards and making sure they are ready for PoDing and insertion into the book.
• Ex Essence Jumpstart
• At The Gates Ashcan – With Dixie.

Proofing

• TC Aether – Errata input then onto indexing.

Indexing

• Ex 3 Exigents

At Press

• Reprints:
• Scion Origin – Uploading corrections for prepress items.
• TC Core – Fixing those couple of things i missed and getting it exported out.
• TC Aeon – Working on corrections and tweaking out anything that would get flagged in Pre Press.
  
• Exalted Essence – Printing.
• Ex Essence Screen – At Studio 2.
• Ex3 Exigents – Indexing.
• TC Anima Terra Surge Screen
• TC Anima
• M20 Lore of the Traditions – Printing.
• They Came From CLASSIFIED! – Prepping for PoD.
• They Came From the Cyclops Cave! – PoD files uploaded.
• SCION God 2e – Errata input and then onto indexing.
• Ex3 Many-Faced Strangers – PoD proof ordered.
• CtL 2e The Hedge – PDF available this Weds on DTRPG!

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Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

I hear that today is International GMs’ Day! Congrats and Thanks to all you GMs, DMs, Storytellers, Storyguides, etc. who pull our games together and provide so much fun for so many!