“Dead Man’s Rust is the most blood-spraying, face-melting, ass-kicking, heart-wrenching, undead-filled, heavy-metal pile of awesomeness ever conceived of for the fifth edition of the world’s most popular role-playing game!”

These are the wise words of Travis Legge, developer for Dead Man’s Rust – which just went live on Kickstarter today! Just look at that wrap-around cover art by Aaron Riley! EPIC!

Check out last week’s MMN blog for a far more in-depth rundown of the project details, and check out all the many links in our Media section below for video detailed looks into the Scarred Lands, including those from the Gentleman Gamer himself, Matthew Dawkins!

There are also a ton of Actual Plays of Dead Man’s Rust listed, with different sections of the adventures being played, and many more to come!

As I write this we’re past the halfway point to successfully fund, and there are still a few really cool rewards in the upper tiers left! Remember, this is one of our Kickstarters where the backers receive the complete manuscript by the time the KS is over, so you know what you’re getting!

This is our last Kickstarter of 2020, and we are really looking forward to starting off 2021 with a bang- in fact, we have a wide range of amazing projects that will start off on Kickstarter for 2021.

In 2020, we had several projects where there Kickstarter campaigns were really their jumpstarts, as well as a couple of KSs for games with established audiences. I don’t know if we’ll have totally new games for 2021, although we will have new spins or big additions to existing game lines.

Possible 2021 KSs include Trinity Continuum: Adventure! as well as Trinity Continuum: Anima. Victorian Age Mage 20 is still on the docket, as is Squeaks In The Deep for Realms of Pugmire. Exalted Essence and also Exalted Exigents. Scion: Dragon and Scion: Masks of the Mythos. What about TC: Assassins or They Came From [Classified]!?

Look at that, we pretty much filled up the year already! That isn’t even counting our super secret projects we’re always working on!

Pfew!

So, At the Meeting: What Didya Talk About?

We talked about everybody’s projects and their status, and we talked about the sales (Wolfenoot is running still and the DTRPG and IPR holiday sales are right around the corner!), plus we talked a bit about our customer Survey.

That’s still getting collated, but here’s a factlet:

Lots of room to grow in the under 24 bracket, which is actually really good news in terms of our growth potential. We have an excellently solid audience majority from 25-44, so things look good there too!

Finally, here in the US we celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday, and as is our little tradition here at Onyx Path, I asked our Monday Meeting crew what they were thankful for. Here are their printable responses:

Matthew Dawkins:

I’m thankful for the warm reception our fans and customers gave They Came from Beyond the Grave! earlier this year, galvanising the production of a major sourcebook with new playable options, antagonists, settings, and a new era too, in the form of They Came from Camp Murder Lake! It’s always wonderful to see roleplayers stretch themselves and play new games. I’m also thankful for my health, and that of my family and friends, during this rather tumultuous time in which we’re living.

Ian Watson:

In the past year, we’ve released to the public the Trinity Continuum core rules, Trinity Continuum: Æon, In Media Res, the Æon Æxpansion, Æon Ready Made Characters, Distant Worlds, the Æon Jumpstart, Aberrant: Swine and Cheese Party et. al, Æon: Terra Firma, and the Trinity Continuum Jumpstart.

I’m endlessly thankful to Rich for giving me the opportunity, the rest of Team Trinity, and the fans both new and old who are letting me play in the best damn playground.

Lisa Thomas:

So very thankful for the fans who have continued to play and buy our games during these pandemic times.

Mirthful Mike Chaney:

I am thankful for:

OPP managing to navigate through all the gloom and doom of 2020 and still manage to come out the tail end still intact (I envision us as the version of the Enterprise pulling into stardock at the beginning of Star Trek 3).

Meredith and her tenacious harassment of artists and project mgmt skills that kept things on course while I was dealing with family stuff during the summer.

Maria for all of her assistance in connecting me with comic artists for Aberrant.

Josh for wrangling two of the big KS books this year… thus allowing me time to get Aberrant and Lunars looking just right.

Aileen for handling the layout for Dark Eras 2 as there was no way I could’ve wedged it into my Q1 layout queue.

Sonny’s BBQ still doing whole smoked turkeys for thanksgiving (which I have to pick up on Wednesday along with a gallon of bbq baked beans).

Eddy Webb:

This year I’m thankful that people are finding new and creative ways to connect in the industry during what has been a very difficult year all around. The rise of actual plays, virtual conventions, and digital gaming resources have really changed how we view gaming, and also allowed folks to keep playing their favorite games!

I’m also thankful that copies of Pirates of Pugmire are reaching out to people, and that folks are excited to see more Pugmire products in the wild!

Dixie Cochran:

I’m thankful for all of our wonderful and creative colleagues, who kept going and producing excellent work and ideas even as this year proved to be extremely difficult. I’m especially proud of the Exalted Essence team, who moved their playtesting online and continue to stride forward. I’m also thankful for the team over at Gehenna Gaming, who not only helped us run our first ever online Onyx Path Con, but also helped run SAVE Against Fear online for our friends at The Bodhana Group. The Gehenna Gaming folks do a lot of behind-the-scenes work that needs to be appreciated, so thank you!

And my own:

Thanks to all of you who battled through everything that occurred this year and are standing (or at least leaning) as we start to approach the end of 2020. Some folks were impacted in terrible and life-changing ways, and the situation was way off of normal for pretty much everyone, yet our community found ways to play, to read, to create, and to support other people.

Every section of our business was affected, and is still affected, by the upheavals in the US and around the world. Our printers and shippers have had huge challenges as they have tried to conduct business as usual, as have our sales partners – and our licensing partners, too!

Most directly affecting us was the extreme difficulty in staying on-task and focused that so many of our freelance creators faced. I am supremely thankful to all of them and to our in-house developers who all pulled together – sometimes painfully – to put forth their best efforts in making game worlds while our real world pulsated chaotically.

We’re not out of it yet, but by keeping on keeping on, you’ve all enabled us to provide a helluva lot of excellent enjoyment with our many worlds during a time that a lot of people needed just that.

That’s what I’m thankful for this 2020 Thanksgiving.

In fact, I’m so thankful that I’m not even going to sneak in a segue to:

Many Worlds, One Path!

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Blurbs!

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Kickstarter!

Dead Man’s Rust for Scarred Lands is LIVE!

Dead Man’s Rust is the most blood-spraying, face-melting, ass-kicking, heart-wrenching, undead-filled, heavy-metal pile of awesomeness ever conceived of for the fifth edition of the world’s most popular role-playing game!

As of this writing we are already more than halfway to goal after a couple of hours, and I write this section of the blog first!

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Onyx Path Media!

This week: Dixie, Matthew, and Eddy ask What Can Games Do For You?!

As always, this Friday’s Onyx Pathcast will be on Podbean or your favorite podcast venue! https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/

This week we want to draw your attention to a lot of fantastic Scarred Lands media!

Let’s start with interviews, deep dives, and teasers regarding Scarred Lands and Dead Man’s Rust.

Podcasts
Pathcast:
Travis Legge: https://theonyxpath.com/episode-119-dead-mans-rust-scarred-lands-mage-and-dd-discussions-with-travis-legge/

Hiromi Cota and Jessica Ross: https://theonyxpath.com/episode-130-dead-mans-rust-interview-with-hiromi-cota-and-jessica-ross/

Darker Days Radio:https://link.chtbl.com/Ru4obNri

307 RPG https://anchor.fm/307rpg/episodes/Podcast-111—Where-We-Talk-About-Dead-Mans-Rust-for-Scarred-Lands-emrev0/a-a3tvkr9

A Bunch of Gamershttps://abunchofgamers.podbean.com/e/gm-talks-episode-14-scarred-lands-ft-travis-legge/

Videos:
Deep Dives by Wanderer’s Haven Productions (The Lore You Know):
A Brief History of the Scarred Lands: https://youtu.be/8PF5MHbK3II

Dragons of Scarn: https://youtu.be/8iow878zsvQ

Slarecians: https://youtu.be/Nvp_1KJjbmE

The Divine War: https://youtu.be/EvnU-ra2vg8

The Divine Pantheon: https://youtu.be/jIB0k4aM-7Q

The Demigods: https://youtu.be/fXB5E7T6h5Q

The Planes: https://youtu.be/sczFXwgVYRo

Mithril – City of the Golem: https://youtu.be/wE122vXyCIA

And many, many more: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpK1DZP4y9yt3h4HAhLtGunwcvzkZtoUx

Overviews by Jorphdan (Forgotten Realms Explained):
Scarred Lands Campaign Setting Part 1:https://youtu.be/GdAkE6xhpPE

Scarred Lands Campaign Setting Part 2:https://youtu.be/hjKPVfaE-F0

The Gentleman’s Guide to Scarred Lands:https://youtu.be/nVzPWEiTLYA

The Gentleman Gamer: Scarred Lands Clerics and Druids:https://youtu.be/hm_Lw_oBehQ

The Gentleman’s Guide to Scarred Lands: The Destruction of Mormo: https://youtu.be/sEnmw-EQLgo

Dropping today (I think)
Really Dicey Dead Man’s Rust roundtable: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd4Z_SM4RuY85XeWY8AdYYA

Actual plays for this week:
Today at 3PM EST Scarred Lands: A Family Affair on https://www.twitch.tv/theonyxpath/ and https://www.twitch.tv/plasticageplays

Tuesday at 11 AM EST: Scarred Lands – Dead Man’s Rust – Foul Ingredients, starring Dixie Cochran, Eddy Webb, Matthew Dawkins, and Jessica Ross https://www.twitch.tv/theonyxpath/

Tuesday at 9 PM EST: Scarred Lands: Dead Man’s Rust: from Vorpal Tales at https://www.twitch.tv/theonyxpath/

For anyone new to our media section, you can find us running and playing games over on twitch.tv/theonyxpath pretty much every day of the week! Plus, if you’d like your games hosted there, just get in touch with Matthew Dawkins using the contact link on matthewdawkins.com. 

This week on Twitch, expect to see these games and streams running:

• Scarred Lands – A Family Affair
• Scarred Lands – Frostlands of Fenrilik – Nerdsmith
• Frostlands of Fenrilik – Behind the Screen
• Scarred Lands – Dead Man’s Rust – Pathcast Players
• Scarred Lands – Dead Man’s Rust – Vorpal Tales
• Pugmire – How the Pirates Stole Yuletyme
• They Came from Beneath the Sea! – They Came from the Skies!
• Mage: The Awakening – Occultists Anonymous
  
• Scion – Heroes for the Holidays – Dork Tales
• Scarred Lands – Purge of the Serpentholds
• V5 – Cults of the Blood Gods – Thy Kindred Come
• Hunter: Unbound Anomalies – Devil’s Luck Gaming

Get watching for some fantastic insight into how to run these wonderful games and subscribe to us on Twitch, over at twitch.tv/theonyxpath

Come take a look at our YouTube channel, youtube.com/user/theonyxpath, where you can find a whole load of videos of actual plays, dissections of our games, and more, including:

Changeling: The Dreaming – The Last Faerie Tale – E22 – https://youtu.be/8t5qb6JYeGo

Vampire: The Masquerade – Boston by Night – Game 6 – https://youtu.be/fEXaivaemJU

They Came from Beyond the Grave! – Vorpal Tales – FINALE – https://youtu.be/9HGKSj1jtkw

OnyxPathCon – What’s Up with Onyx Path? – https://youtu.be/tdWs-bccwlY

They Came from Beneath the Sea! – They Came from Devil’s Reef – FINALE – https://youtu.be/tfTavsxdwJw

Hunter: The Vigil – Cold Cases, Forsaken Spaces – Ep. 2 – https://youtu.be/MKOUdV6gjU0

Subscribe to our channel and click the bell icon if you want to be notified whenever new news videos and uploads come online!

Occultists Anonymous continue their wonderful Mage: The Awakening chronicle right here:

Episode 145: When, Where, How?  
Armed with new information about the Tetrarch, the cabal make some initial plans for infiltration, and then make a call to Todd Larsen, an ordinary businessman in Seattle. 
https://youtu.be/LqehQGKLNus

Episode 146: An Ordinary Warehouse
The cabal realizes that no manner of preparation will aid them more than actually getting eyes on their target. After a quick call, they find their way into a quiet Rust Belt down in the midst of the US, looking at an ordinary warehouse.
https://youtu.be/u6v5PMAPQG4

Ekorren is back with more excellent Exalted content! Do check out the latest edition of their Exalted roleplaying journal here: https://youtu.be/5raSjfrirF4

Plus, Ekorren made an excellent video about creating your first Lunar for Exalted: https://youtu.be/0HF0-8wbfnk

Please like and subscribe!

Please check these out and let us know if you find or produce any actual plays of our games! We’d love to feature you!

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Electronic Gaming!

As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is 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 awesome! (Seriously, you need to roll 100 dice for Exalted? This app has you covered.)

We’re told that the App Dev is currently creating an updated version for the latest devices, so keep an eye open for those! The App was also pulled down from the Apple store in order to make some required updates – it’ll be back there soon!

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Virtual TableTop!

Two Virtual Tabletop adventures: the Gauntlet of Spiragos and the Dagger of Spiragos for Scarred Lands on Astral TableTop and DriveThruRPG!

Scars of the Divine War, which ended less than 200 years ago, have still not healed. One such scar is the Chasm of Flies, a rent in the earth created when the titan Spiragos the Ambusher was smote down by one of the young gods, Vangal the Ravager. Now, the Chasm is inhabited by spider-eye goblins and their spider allies, but it is also thought to be the resting place of powerful artifacts from that elder age.

Astral TableTop is the easiest way to play any tabletop RPG online, free. Astral already supports popular systems like D&D and Pathfinder, and Astral can support virtually any tabletop roleplaying game. Get started quickly with built-in support for most popular game systems. Whether you’re brand new to TTRPGs or a veteran tabletop gamer, Astral‘s ease-of-use and built in automation is designed to streamline gameplay.

Astral is browser-based and uses the latest technology to streamline your storytelling experience. Connect with your party online and run your campaigns however you like. Astral offers tools optimized for phone, tablet, and desktop devices, no installation required.

Build epic battlemaps using Astral‘s enormous collection of scenery, props, and tokens or upload your own. Pro users gain access to over 12,000+ assets and fresh new packs every month. Add weather, visual effects, triggers, and so much more with easy-to-use tools

Build your own adventure, or choose from pre-generated game kits like Gauntlet of Spiragos and Dagger of Spiragos. Create character sheets, craft maps, or just jump right in to connect with your friends and start your adventures!

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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).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue from which you bought it. Reviews really, really help us get folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these latest fiction books:

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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!

You can pick up the traditionally printed Pugmire and Monarchies of Mau main books, screens, and the official dice through our friends there! https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

Now, we’ve added Chronicles of Darkness books such as Changeling: The Lost Second Edition products to Studio2‘s store! See them here: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/all-products/changeling-the-lost

Scion 2e books and other products are available now at Studio2: https://studio2publishing.com/blogs/new-releases/scion-second-edition-book-one-origin-now-available-at-your-local-retailer-or-online

Our Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition books are also available from Studio2 in the US: https://studio2publishing.com/products/vampire-the-masquerade-chicago-by-night-sourcebook

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

And you can order Pugmire, Monarchies of Mau, Cavaliers of Mars, and Changeling: The Lost 2e at the same link! And now Scion Origin and Scion Hero and Trinity Continuum Core and Trinity Continuum: Aeon are available to order

Later this month, IPR is having Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sales with a special focus on Storypath System games!

As always, you can find Onyx Path’s titles at DriveThruRPG.com!

Wolfenoot Sale is LIVE on DriveThruRPG. We’ll have all of the Realms of Pugmire and Werewolf corebook PDFs 50% Off and everything else in those lines 20% off for 11/19 – 11/26!

And then, later this week, the Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sales are coming our way with a special focus on Storypath System games!

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On Sale This Week!

This Wednesday the 6th and final installment in the Yugman’s Guide to Ghelspad PDF monthly serieswill be available on DTRPG!

Yugman’s Guide to Ghelspad Part Six includes two new Ranger subclasses, including the Hornsaw Sentinel, as well as new spell and new magic items.

Also this Wednesday, the Virtual Tabletop Tools for the Creature Collection 5e for Scarred Lands 5e goes live on DTRPG!

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Conventions!

Though dates for physical conventions are subject to change due to the current COVID-19 outbreak, here’s what’s left of our current list of upcoming conventions (and really, we’re just waiting for this last one to be cancelled even though it’s Nov/Dec). Instead, keep an eye out here for more virtual conventions we’re going to be involved with!

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And now, the new project status updates!

Development Status from Eddy Webb! (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.)

• Exalted Essay Collection (Exalted)
• No Gods, No Masters (Scion 2nd Edition)
• TC: Aeon Novella: Dawn (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
• Once and Future (Scion 2nd Edition)
• They Came From Beneath the Sea! Jumpstart (They Came From…!)
• Tome of the Pentacle (Mage: the Awakening 2e)
• They Came From Camp Murder Lake! (They Came From…!)
• They Came From [Classified]! (They Came From…!)
• They Came From [Classified]! Jumpstart (They Came From…!)
• Realms of Magic and Mystery (was Terra Incognita) (Scion 2nd Edition)
• The Hedge (Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition)
• Proteus Nova Compendium (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Redlines

• Dragon-Blooded Novella #2 (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Tales of Depravity! (They Came From…!)
• Monsters From the Crypt! (They Came From…!)
• They Came From Beyond the Grave! Jumpstart (They Came From…!)
• TC: Aeon Novella: Meridian (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Second Draft

• Many-Faced Strangers – Lunars Companion (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Wild Hunt (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Trinity Continuum: Anima

Development

• TC: Aberrant Reference Screen (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Contagion Chronicle: Global Outbreaks (Chronicles of Darkness)
• Exigents (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)
• M20 Rich Bastard’s Guide To Magick (Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary)
• Adversaries of the Righteous (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• The Devoted Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)
• Exalted Essence Edition (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Saints and Monsters (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Scion Fiction Anthology (Scion 2nd Edition)

Manuscript Approval

• Crucible of Legends (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Prometheus Unbound (was Psi Orders) (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
• Legacies of Earth (Legendlore)
• Trinity Continuum: Adventure! core (Trinity Continuum: Adventure!)
• Assassins (Trinity Continuum Core)
• Novas Worldwide (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Post-Approval Development

• Contagion Chronicle Ready-Made Characters (Chronicles of Darkness)
• Hundred Devil’s Night Parade (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Editing

• Lunars Novella (Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition core rulebook (Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition)
• Player’s Guide to the Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)
• LARP Rules (Scion 2nd Edition)
• The Book of Lasting Death (Mummy: The Curse 2e)
• Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Dearly Bleak – Novella (Deviant: The Renegades)
• N!ternational Wrestling Entertainment (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• Under Alien Skies (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
• Dead Man’s Rust (Scarred Lands)
• V5 Trails of Ash and Bone (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)
• M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
• Mission Statements (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
• The Clades Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)
• V5 Children of the Blood (was The Faithful Undead) (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)
• Peoples of the Crossroads Continent
• M20 Technocracy Operative’s Dossier (Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary)
• Yugman’s Appendix: People of Ghelspad (Scarred Lands)
• V5 Forbidden Religions (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)
• CtL2e Novella Collection: Hollow Courts (Changeling: The Lost 2e)
• Heroes in a World of Horror! (They Came From…!)
• Dystopia Rising: Evolution Fiction Anthology (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)
• Squeaks In The Deep (Realms of Pugmire)

Post-Editing Development

• Cults of the Blood Gods (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)
• Hunter: The Vigil 2e core (Hunter: The Vigil 2nd Edition)
• Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)
• Legendlore core book (Legendlore)
• Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)
• They Came From Beyond the Grave! (They Came From!)
• Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)
• TC: Aberrant Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Indexing

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Art Direction from Mike Chaney!

In Art Direction

• WoD Ghost Hunters (KS)
• Hunter: The Vigil 2e
• Mummy 2 – AD’d.
• Legendlore
• Scion: Dragon (KS) – Art for KS in progress, getting 8 halfs.
• Masks of the Mythos (KS) – Ready for the KS.
• Scion: Demigod (KS)
• They Came From Beyond the Grave! – ADing rest of the fulls.
• TC: Adventure! (KS)
• Contagion Chronicle Jumpstart (Chronicles of Darkness) – Awaiting artnotes.
• Monsters of the Deep – Art still in progress, pinging Meredith.
• M20 Victorian (KS) – ADing rolling. Some splats and scenes contracted already. Looking at logo design.
• TC: Under Alien Skies – Art in progress.
• Heirs to the Shogunate – ADed. Already getting sketches in.
• Dead Man’s Rust (SL KS) – KS rolling.
• Children of the Blood – ADed.
• M20 Technocracy Jumpstart – Working on this.

In Layout

• Yugman’s Guide to Ghelspad
• Vigil Watch
• M20 Technocracy Reloaded – Over to Josh.

Proofing

• Cavaliers of Mars: City of the Towered Tombs – Prepping PoD files.
• Yugman’s Guide Support Decks (Scarred Lands)
• Aberrant – Backer PDF in dev errata compilation.
• Geist: One Foot In the Grave – First proof to dev.
• Tales of Aquatic Terror – Second proof with Matthew.
• Deviant – First proof with dev.

At Press

• TCFBTS Screen and Booklet – KS shipping.
• They Came from Beneath the Sea! – KS shipping.
• Pirates of Pugmire – KS shipping.
• Pirates of Pugmire Screen – KS shipping.
• Dark Eras 2 – KS shipping.
• Dark Eras 2 Screen and booklet – KS shipping.
• Contagion Chronicle – Finished printing, getting ready to ship to fulfiller.
• Lunars Wall Scroll Map – At KS fulfiller.
• Lunars Screen and Booklet – At KS fulfiller.
• Lunars: Fangs at the Gate – Deluxe printing. PDF and PoD on sale at DTRPG.
• V5 Cults of the Blood Gods – Backer PDF getting errata.

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Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

Thanksgiving here in the US on Thursday. Also known as Turkey Day (and the day for the MST3K Marathon)!