Sometimes, things come though. Call them daemons if you will. Sometimes, they don’t come through. What stops them?

Are they simply pinned there by the magic of the gates…that opened the gates…or even something that is part of the gate’s other side?

Damned if I know, but I do know this: our BackerKit crowdfunding campaign for our newest fantasy game in the Earthbane Cycle called At The Gates has only 10 days to go!

Here’s lead dev and creator Danielle with some thoughts:

One last full week and then a smaller last hurrah. If you’ve been on the fence about backing at a higher tier, now is the time to decide. Tomorrow the Arts and Pillars chapter comes out and you can see the design behind these enough to know if you’d like to pitch in to get a whole Advanced Path created for your favorite type of cool character (dragoon anyone?). Also, we unlocked the chibi pins, and are moving along to unlocking the faction pins. So if you have friends who haven’t backed yet, poke them so I can get y’all can order cool pins.

Pins? Why yes!

In fact, we’re now offering as Add-Ons these ultra-fun chibi-style pins of the characters in partnership with NerdyKeppie:

This is the first time we’ve included pins of this high quality in one of our crowdfunding campaigns, and we have only been able to do so because our backers rose to the occasion and we passed the 900 backers social goal as announced last week!

Thanks to all of you who convinced a friend or three to join the rest of our highly discerning backers!

A More Conventional Meeting

Coming up in June, we aren’t running another crowdfunding campaign. But our friends at the Bodhana Group are – and it’s for a fantastic new TTRPG called Branch Riders! We are and have been working with them on the project – really more like advisors up to this point – and will be publishing the project, but they’re running the Kickstarter on Kickstarter!

Just to give a little more advance info: 1) it uses their own system which has been publicly playtested and refined for at least two years now, 2) the player characters are Branch Riders – elite agents from a variety of backgrounds and dimensional realms dedicated to preserving those realms, and 3) there are a variety of genres both present and uniquely mixed in the various realms for the players to enjoy.

More info coming from both us and the Bodhana Group, with a dedicated channel already on our Discord, and more news and panels coming during the Onyx Path Virtual Convention!

To interject with some last minute Sales news: As you read this we are in the last hours for the They Came From Beneath the Sea! Bundle: https://bundleofholding.com/presents/TCFBS

If you’ve ever wanted to explore the game of weird and wild Sci-Fi flicks and shows from the 1950s…this is a great chance to grab up the whole line in PDF, and the core as a traditionally printed hardcover! And if you haven’t, why not give it a chance? It’s as funny or as serious as you want it to be: great for a single session or as episodes of multiple gaming sessions making up a continuing story!

The entire They Came From series of games have proved to be enormous fun, and we’ve lost count of the number of home and convention players who’ve told us about the unbridled jocularity at their tables!

Which leads us to convention news, of course!

It’s just a couple of weeks until this year’s Onyx Path Virtual Gaming Con and the convention link is now live:

https://startplaying.games/event/onyx-path-convention-2024

Info on signing up as a GM and listing a game:

https://intercom.help/startplaying/en/collections/7379816-game-master-faqs

I’ve been adding a roster of games and sessions to this page each week in the Conventions section down below, as we have our own panels and sessions, and then our con partners who are running even more events. In fact, here’s our OPVGC coordinator Travis Legge to tell us more about three of our panels!

Travis:

As we continue our preparations for Onyx Path Virtual Gaming Convention 2024, I wanted to take a moment to discuss more of the excellent panels we’ve got on the schedule this year!

On Saturday, June 15th at 6:30 PM EDT we’re hosting the Trinity Continuum Panel, where emcee Terry Robinson of Mage the Podcast will be leading the discussion! We’ll be talking about recent and upcoming books in the Trinity Continuum.

On Sunday, June 16th at 9:30 AM EDT we’ll be kicking off the day’s panels with They Came From… discussing all the games under this expansive line of cinematic roleplaying games! Stop by to stay up to date on new releases and coming attractions!

And Exalted fans won’t want to miss the Exalted panel on Sunday, June 16th at 2:00 PM EDT where Terry will return to emcee a discussion of all things Exalted! If you’re hungry for news and information on Exalted, you won’t want to miss this!

But that’s not the only convention we’re involved with in these next couple of weeks!

This coming weekend several Onyx Path freelancers will be at the UK Games Expo in Birmingham, England! We have a lot going on, including over 15 games (including but not limited to various They Came Froms, Pugmire, and The World Below), a panel on Friday, and doing lots of meeting and greeting with the fans! If you see Matthew Dawkins, Eddy Webb, Danielle Lauzon, Chris Jones, or Michele Masala around, ask them about what they’re working on and let them know about the games you like!

In terms of our panel, you can sign up for it right here: https://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk/events/1481-onyx-path-publishing-games-news-new-releases-and-how-to-work-for-us/

What will we be discussing at our panel? Expect a deep dive into our Earthbane Cycle, discussion of the Trinity Continuum, They Came From, Scion, and Pugmire, and some tasty Curseborne morsels too! You’ll want to be there live, because this panel isn’t scheduled to be recorded. Who knows – maybe that’ll change – but for now you’ll either see it or you’ll miss it!

Matthew has been attending the UK Games Expo since its inaugural one back when it was held in a Masonic Lodge in Edgbaston. Back then, the Expo was compact, there were a handful of retailers, and not many board games there at all. Now, it’s the biggest gaming convention in the UK, so it’s the one to go to if you love games like we do! Head there if you have a free weekend, and don’t miss the panel on Friday!

Danielle adds:

While not OPP specific, I’ll be running demos of the Gloomhaven RPG at the Cephalofair booth. If you want to come by and chat with me about At the Gates or anything else I’m working on, you can find me there. Maybe sit down and learn how to play something new!

Finally, speaking of conventions (and getting us ready for all the moth-y news at Onyx Path Virtual Con); at the latest GAMA convention a month ago we handed out copies of a brochure that teased Curseborne and now we think it’s time for all of you to get a chance to check it out as well!

Here’s the link to the free brochure PDF on DTRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/474861/curseborne-rpg-teaser

We feel like this is a nice lead-in to all the Curseborne hoopla attendees will get to enjoy at Onyx Path Virtual Con in a couple of weeks, or as I think could be said accurately about Curseborne:

Many Paths, One World!

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Blurbs!

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Crowdfunding!:

NOW LIVE ON BACKERIT!
At The Gates!

Here’s the link to take you through the gate! https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/onyx-path/at-the-gates

We’re working our way through a bunch of Stretch Goals, including the pins detailed above, and the start of the ATG Companion! More coming up fast!

And let’s not forget this awesome Ashcan:

Check it out on DTRPG! https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/475586

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Onyx Path Media!

This week: Dixie conducts an exciting interview with several of the creators of At The Gates!

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!

The Onyx Path News goes out every Monday and in this one, Matthew provides some handy Curseborne pointers! Catch up on everything right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMFnnZ7g7e0

You’ll find a lot of Curseborne content discussed in this here RPGNet thread: https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/onyx-path-curseborne.912035/

And Awkward GM Corbin has somehow got his hands on some Curseborne content ahead of time! Find out what he has right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-4XwVcolnE

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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/

CofD Sale at 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).

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On Sale This Week!

Zooming right in with lots of pew, pew, pews is this month’s Tasty Bit PDF – Æon: Spaceships.

Also offered this Weds are new Community Content tools for the Storypath Nexus with the TC: Assassins Community Content and Art Pack, and TC: Adventure! Community Content and Art Pack: ALL LIVE WEDNESDAY 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 May 31st – June 2nd:

https://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk/

Check out more info above!

We will be repped by Studio 2 (and maybe IPR) at Origins Game Fair in June.

Onyx Path Virtual Con will be June 14-16.

https://startplaying.games/event/onyx-path-convention-2024

Info on signing up as a GM and listing a game:

https://intercom.help/startplaying/en/collections/7379816-game-master-faqs

See the schedules below!

Game Night With Onyx Path Publishing at StartPlaying will be this Friday, May 31st! Come play some of our games 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

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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-2024/

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM EDDY

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

REDLINES

Exalted – Champions of the Divine Flame (was Full Exigent Supplement)

• Danielle: John has gotten the first drafts in for this. Three full Exigent types is a hefty load to go through, but I’m excited by what I’ve been hearing about them.

FINAL DRAFT

Tasty Bit – CLASSIFIED Villain #3 (July)

• Matthew: Welcome to the Rogue States of Atlantis, Castrovia, and the Hamlet, and explore these bizarre and threatening settings in your CLASSIFIED games!

EDITING

Scion – Rock Gods and Side Quests

• Matthew: Woo! Hiromi and Michele have done such fantastic work on this one. As soon as it’s edited, I’ll get some extracts added to the blog for all of you!

DEVELOPMENT

Tasty Bit – Scion Dragon Lair #2 (June)

• Danielle: This tasty bit is a Serpent Lair situated under Chichen Itza. I’m looking forward to y’all seeing all the interesting political stuff Dale packed in here.

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ART DIRECTION FROM MIKE CHANEY!

In Art Direction

• SCION Mythic Shards – BK art buy proceeding. Things managed to work out time wise that we got the artists we wanted. 
• SCION Path to Apotheosis – Maria working with the artist about the finals… 
• TC Player’s Guide – All but one artist’s finals rolling in.
• Pugmire 2e – Went through all the fulls, halfs, splats, and portraits… looking good. Should see the revised monsters this week.
• At The Gates (BK) – Live and funded. 
• Branch Riders (KS) – Working on KS crowdfunding assets.

In Layout

• Ex Essence Charm Cards – Dixie working on it.
• Ex 3 Exigents Screen – wrapping it up and getting it proofing on Tuesday.
• CofD Contagion Chronicles RMCs – Almost done…
• Squeaks in the Deep Companion – with Pauline.
• Scion No Gods, No Masters – going strong with Ron Thompson.

Proofing

• Ex Essence Charm Cards – Adding the correct textures and backs on and then we can send things to Paradox. 
• Ex Essence Jumpstart – At Paradox for approval.

Indexing

• TC Aether – putting in index and page xxs.
• Scion God – putting in index and page xxs.

At Press

• Reprints:
• Scion Origin – Proof has been gone through and back to printer.
• TC Core – Proof has been gone through and back to printer.

• Exalted Essence – On the boat.
• Ex Essence Screen – At Studio 2.
• TC Anima Terra Surge Screen – Sending info to screen printer for quotes.
• TC Anima – Pinging printer about cover specs again.
• M20 Lore of the Traditions – On the boat.
• Ex 3 Exigents –Getting quotes for trad printing.
• TC Aether – Going ahead and getting that quote going too.
• They Came From the Cyclops Cave! – Press files uploaded and processing… should see proofs in a couple of weeks.
• They Came From CLASSIFIED! – Press files uploaded and processing… should see proofs in a couple of weeks.
• They Came From the Cyclops’s Cave Screen – Sending info to screen printer for quotes.
• They Came From CLASSIFIED Screen – Sending info to screen printer for quotes.
• M20 Victorian Jumpstart – Inputting errata.
• Deviant Clade Companion – Inputting errata.
• Ex3 Sidereals – Going out to backers this week.
• Tasty Bit – Æon: Spaceships PDF, TC: Assassins Community Content and Art Pack, TC: Adventure! Community Content and Art Pack – On Sale Weds on DTRPG!

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Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

When White Wolf was publishing entire fiction lines, I was lucky to have worked with a personal hero of mine who would have been 90 today: Harlan Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. His published works include more than 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, comic book scripts, teleplays, essays, and a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media. I don’t even have room to list half of the Hugos, Nebulas, and other awards he won, primarily for specific works, although in later years he received all the “Grandmaster” type awards for genre fiction you can imagine. He was indeed cantankerous, although usually with very good cause, and it was a delight to learn new ways to cuss by talking with him. Many folks today are most familiar with his Pay the Writer rant video, but his exacting commitment to his craft and fellow writers, his far-reaching imagination, and his acerbic unwillingness to accept the awfulness that people can fall to while always showing how high we can soar, makes it well worth it to pick up and dive into his work.