If you’ve been following these last weeks of MMNs, you know that the current tariff situation here in the US has impacted TTRPGs hugely, and we at Onyx Path are no exception. As of today, the word is that the Chinese/US tariffs are now being held back for 90 days, although we’re still looking at +30%, so it’s not like they are back to last year’s amounts.
Will the currently being printed books get done and shipped and land in port before this reduction is over? How long will this reduction actually last, anyway? Will any tariffs actually apply to our books? Anything can happen between now and then, the situation can flip-flop, it can grow better or worse – there’s no way of telling.
A lot of Maybe’s in the whole situation…
So while that’s happening, we’re looking at all sorts of alternatives, including running crowdfunding events for projects that won’t be traditionally printed. And still, projects must roll forward, and show up in PDF and PoD form on DTRPG at least! We can’t just sit around hoping for clarity on the tariffs, we’re still getting out projects we know y’all are waiting for.
BUNNIES
Just a nice fluffy animal that comes out in Springtime and was mentioned in our MM today.
Also today in the Monday Meeting, we ran through the status on a bunch of our ongoing projects, including:
Pugmire and Beyond is getting prepped to be our next crowdfunded project, and we’re pulling the pieces together for that: finished text, enough art and graphics for the campaign page and cover treatments, and all that sort of stuff we need to create in order to get a campaign ready.
But what is Pugmire and Beyond I imagine I hear you asking? Well, here’s Realms of Pugmire creator and developer, Eddy Webb, with some info for ya:
The next Pugmire book is on the horizon! Called Pugmire and Beyond (previously Expansion of the Realms), this is a big player’s guide plus (the “plus” here being an additional chapter of adventures and enemies for the Guide). I’ve just written up the back cover text for the book, so here’s a sneak peek!
Welcome to Realms of Pugmire: Pugmire and Beyond. It’s primarily a book for players who are interested in new options for their games. Inside you’ll find not only more options for dog player characters, but you’ll also find more species to play, allowing even everyone to find something compelling to play within Realms of Pugmire.
Some highlights Pugmire and Beyond include
• four new callings for dogs, including new tricks and spells;
• complete setting and character creation information for four new species: badgers, birds, lagomorphs, and reptiles;
• new rules for sailing and gunpowder weapons;
• more information on iconic locations like Houndton, Mutt Town, and Waterdog Port; and
• three exciting adventures for Guides to use at their tables.
And that’s just some of the great new material in there – Eddy just stuffed this book full of all sorts of useful stuff for players and Guides to enjoy!
With less than a month to go, our team is fine-tuning our offerings for June’s Onyx Path Virtual Gaming Con, so a lot of our talk in today’s meeting was making sure our announced games and panels had the people in them we thought were in them when we looked at the slots last week.
It was noted by some folks in our community that they didn’t know what was going to be in some of the panels, so we’re looking at getting that info out more clearly. In the case of the three Curseborne panels, you can expect that Friday’s will be mostly about the lead-up to the Kickstarter, Saturday’s will be about Curseborne as it stands – game, setting, rules – and Sunday will focus on where it’s going. But since not everybody can attend every panel, we’ll have plenty of Q&A time to answer any and all questions about the game.
And we’ll be fine-tuning our materials to make those, and other, concentrations of subject matter more obvious.
Which we are also elaborating on with in our social media: Continuing his break from deep-dive videos about the Curseborne Families, Matthew has put out a mechanical look at the Hungry – Curseborne‘s vampires – which you can find below in the Onyx Path Media section below.
But there’s even more delightful CB news to share! This past weekend the premium tier Curseborne Kickstarter backers finally agreed on a time to play a game of Curseborne run by our very own Matthew Dawkins, and from all reports, it was a fantastic game! Here’s what Matthew had to say:
We played a wonderfully tragic, moody game of Curseborne very much unlike any of the other chronicles I have going of the game (I’m currently running three Curseborne campaigns!). This one was helped immeasurably by the session zero, where our players created an extremely reluctant Heir – who being punished for an illicit (beneath the family) relationship, was forced to feast on her chauffeur’s heart; a parasitic Battleground Angel private investigator – who was hunting down a serial killer with an attachment to the Outside, and a predilection for decorating places with guts; and a betrayed Fury chef, whose lover’s father had him murdered (and his lobsters stolen), and posed his death to resemble a suicide. These three formed our crew, who came together to participate in an exclusive rooftop art event run by the game’s signature Heir: Esther Iverson. Our Heir was to play host, the Battleground Angel the security, and our Fury was lead caterer.
Of course, nothing went to plan, which was exactly the plan. Our Fury’s lover befriended our Heir, without knowing her or her connection to his departed love. Our Outsider serial killer charmed our Fury, without knowing him or his connection to the Battleground Angel investigating him. And our Battleground Angel detected a liminality seeping into the rooftop gallery, ensnaring guests in ethereal barbed wire, and had to fight to stop it from ruining the event!
This comedy of errors was a social sparring match, where Accursed and Storyguide characters were verbally sparring, trying to outdo each other, and find the solutions to their individual problems. Our Fury ground up glass and put it into his murderer’s bespoke dessert! Our Battleground Angel finally came face to face to the serial killer he’s been chasing! Our Heir desperately tried to impress her family by preventing the event’s insanity from getting out of hand!
But in between people choking on glass, being spiritually shredded, and ritual, public humiliations, each of the characters was exhausted and beaten (but satisfied, at least in one case) by the conclusion. The players loved the tragedy of it all – the mixture of drama, investigation, action, and petty politicking – and there was a lot of joy between them even if their characters ended their tales poorly (except for the Fury, whose killer went tumbling off the rooftop garden).
I’m always impressed by how versatile Curseborne can be, how different players bring different expectations, moods, and stories to the game. I’ve now run Curseborne as screwball comedy, a musical, a slasher, a supernatural thriller, and a social combat murder mystery. It’s such a flexible game, and I hope people who backed the Kickstarter have played with the manuscript!
Wow, it sure sounds like those backers contributed some great stories and roleplaying to the session! Always great to hear about!
(Certainly more fun to read about than trade issues).
But, y’know, part of why I’ve noted the situation “out there” is so that you can see the issues we wrestle with in order to create and publish all of the game books that we do. The weekly Wednesday project on sale might only be from a game line you’re into once a month, but for us, every line is what we’re into, and every week we’re proud to offer another awesome project. So when something impacts our ability to create and publish, I try to share that with you so you’re at least aware of what your pals here are up to.
I mean, I’d rather talk about how Matthew and I had several meetings to go over the Monster Kingdoms text and refined things like what fiends are in the Kingdom of Xin, or detailing the ruling vampire Houses in the Kingdom of Creuore. But if I did that without addressing an issue that faces our whole TTRPG industry, and impacts what we’re doing in the release cycle rather than the front-end of upcoming game design, I think you’d have a right to be a bit miffed.
Or not. I can only write up what I think is timely and right to address so the most info is available to our community, and maybe come at it differently next week. After all, each week is a new opportunity to get you the info you need so you can keep on enjoying our:
Many Worlds, One Path!
Blurbs!
Crowdfunding!
Coming Soon: Pugmire and Beyond!…
Onyx Path Media!
Check out our attached media schedule for the videos on our Twitch channel this week!
On this week’s Onyx Path News Matthew discusses Lost City of the Oracle’s Amulet, Changeling: The Lost, and Exalted: Exigents! Check it out right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqXm4BRQgrk
On The Gentleman Gamer’s YouTube channel, we have a guide to the Hungry abilities and Damnation in Curseborne, right here:
Virtual Tabletop!
Scion Demigod Available on Roll20 NOW!
The Scion: Origin and Scion Hero Compendiums are now available on Roll20!
https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/publisher/1716/onyx-path-publishing
The first of our official Scion sheets designed for Foundry VTT are
now available! https://foundryvtt.co
They Came From Beneath the Sea! on Roll20 VTT!
https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/bundle/22308/they-came-from-beneath-the-sea
Looking for more virtual tabletop resources? We have a selection of
Tokens, Encounters, and more available now at DriveThruRPG! https://bit.ly/3SnrNJ7
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/
As always, you can find Onyx Path’s titles in PDF and PoD versions at DriveThruRPG.com!
The first part of the print shopping experiment is live on DTRPG:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/browse?format=1000240-book-printed-publisher-fulfilled
This is limited to the USA only at first, but will expand later after
data crunching and review.
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).
On Sale This Week!
The legendary Scion: Wild Hunt crashes through the undergrowth with a blaring of horns and the baying of hounds! Or not, but it is definitely ready for everyone to pick up in Advance PDF format on DTRPG Weds!
Conventions!
Here’s where you can find out more info on physical and virtual conventions we’re going to be involved with!
This year’s Onyx Path Virtual Game Con will be happening on June 6-8! Mark your calendars! Here’s the signup link for gaming:
https://startplaying.games/event/onyx-path-2025
Envoy will be running multiple demos of Curseborne at Gen Con, Thu, Jul 31, 2025 – Sun, Aug 3, 2025 in Indy, so sign up and get to actually play the game if you’re curious (but do it as soon as you can because Curseborn has been getting a lot of attention and is sure to sell out like happened at PAXunplugged), and we’ll have books and screens for sale at the Studio 2 booth. Here’s the signup link:
https://www.gencon.com/events?c=indy2025&host=Onyx%20Path%20Publishing
Game Night With Onyx Path Publishing at StartPlaying is the last Friday of each month! Come play some Scion that night! (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
Project Status Updates!
Our full list of projects will be available monthly on our blog! Check out April’s full list report here: https://theonyxpath.com/release-roundup-april-2025/
DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM EDDY!
Here are the projects that moved to the next stage of production:
FIRST DRAFT
The World Below – The World Below Delver’s Guide
- It’s time to expand the player options for The World Below! Expect new Dawns, Dialectics, and Callings, and that’s just the start…
FINAL DRAFT
TC Steam Wars – Steam Wars Leviathan Companion
- The leviathans have been herded out of the Redline Ocean and onto Final Draft Island!
MANUSCRIPT APPROVAL
Curseborne – Curseborne Antagonist – Harrowed (Jun 2025 Tasty Bit)
- What happens when a Sorcerer loses their way and refused to feed their Damned need for sacrifice? Welcome to the Harrowed.
POST-APPROVAL DEVELOPMENT
Earthbane – Monster Kingdoms
- Rich and I are currently going through the manuscript and adding all kinds of fun material! Will this be my new favourite Earthbane game…?
POST-EDITING DEVELOPMENT
Exalted – Sidereals Companion
- The Sidereals Companion is back from editing! The developers are going to take a bit of time to make sure it’s absolutely the best it can be before getting it ready for approvals.
Trinity Continuum: Gear and Gadgets
- Meanwhile, Gear and Gadgets is also back from editing! This is a much shorter book, so it should be a fast turnaround to get these new treats one step closer to being in your hands.
ART DIRECTION FROM MIKE CHANEY!
In Art Direction
- Curseborne – Still have a few more halfs to contract, so I’m hunting down some new artists.
- SCION Rock Gods – Wrustling up some artists.
- SPU Core Manual – Time to start thinking about the art buy on this one….as its coming up soon
- Pugmire 2e Beyond Pugmire – With HIVE and arting – for crowdfunder.
Layout
- Scion Tasty Bit Combo
- TC Aether Screen
- SCION God Storyguide Screen
- Pugmire 2e Screen
- World Below Screen
- Ex3 Abyssals – It’s a workin’…. damn charm chapter was the size of a mid size supplement… so took longer than I planned. Should be proofing shortly.
- SCION Mythic Shards – First proof to devs this week, probably.
- Essence Novella Omnibus – Sending this Travis’s way
- TC Aether Jumpstart
- TC Anima AR – Poking thre artist to find out what’s going on.
Proofing
Indexing
At Press
- Ex 3 Exigents – Quoting.
- Ex 3 Exigents Screen – At Studio 2
- Ex 3 Sidereals – Quoting.
- TC Aether – Printing.
- Scion: God – Printing.
- Ex3 Exigents Jumpstart – Going out to backers soon.
- SCION Demigod Companion – Prepping PoD files.
- TC Anima DLC – Prepping PoD files.
- SCION Wild Hunt – Advance PDF on sale Weds on DTRPG!
Today’s Reason to Celebrate!
In the “It Could Be Worse” category, today in 1846, the Donner Party of pioneers departs Independence, Missouri for California, on what will become a year-long journey of hardship and cannibalism. Despite popular culture, it doesn’t seem that any of the party died of dysentery.