Of course, I’m talking about the Realms of Pugmire Lickstarter, sorry, Kickstarter, that went live and funded last week!

Here’s a message from Pugmire creator Eddy Webb, sent at great expense as he flies across the Atlantic Ocean:

A huge thanks to all the good dogs (and excellent cats) who have backed the Kickstarter so far! I’m always glad when we fund, because it means the new edition will be made! That said, we’d love to hit some of the exciting stretch goals we have planned, so it would be a huge help if everyone who has already backed talked about the campaign with a few friends over the next few days. Let’s make this campaign as big as possible!

As usually happens during the first week of a crowdfunding campaign, we get all sorts of questions. If we get enough on a particular topic, we’ll fine-tune the campaign text or add items to the project FAQ – depending on how best we can clarify things.

In this case, we’re pretty sure that some potential backers are concerned or confused or just unsure about the campaign a large part because of all the hullabaloo these last couple of weeks with WOTC and Hasbro’s OGL news. No matter how it resolved or your opinions on the matter, there was a ton of noise in that signal.

Then you see a new Kickstarter, and is it OGL? Is it one of the new non-OGL systems? Is this book going to get shut down and never come out because of lawsuits from Hasbro or WOTC and I’ll never get it? Frankly, it’s natural to question what might have seemed simple in this space a month ago, so we get it!

So, let me answer a few of the questions we’ve received so far, and that James has handled over there in Kickstarter-land. First, yes, this the second edition of Pugmire – that awesome game that was one of the first to feature animals as people in your adventuring party. We call it Realms of Pugmire because during first edition, we kept expanding both the Kingdom of Pugmire, as well as the inhabitants in and around and under Pugmire itself.

This book contains a ton of info for playing the dogs of Pugmire, and some quick and simplified templates for playing cats and rodents – with full rules and abilities coming in later books specifically focused on non-dogs. So already, Realms of Pugmire provides the same ability to start playing dogs as the first edition core book, with the bonus of updated rules and abilities of course, AND also the super-bonus that our cat and rodent fans can also jump right in.

Another thing that is all-new, and can’t be overstated when it comes to enjoying reading and playing Realms of Pugmire, is all-new art! The books are in a larger format, as well, so the visuals really shine. Just like with the expansion that occurred to the lore throughout first edition, our visuals also were played around with and the range of imagery also changed. The wide-open, natural vistas of Pugmire were joined by the darkened halls of the nobility of the Monarchies of Mau, and then by the twisting dungeons and caverns of the rodents beneath Pugmire in Squeaks in the Deep.

(There’s even some Pirates of Pugmire stuff in there! Yip yip yar, mateys!)

Realms allows us to present all of those environments from the start, as part of the full visual range of possibilities when you are playing the game, and we’ll be introducing you to some familiar illustrators and also some artists and styles you may not be familiar with, but we’re sure you’re going to love!

Which brings us to that big question: is it OGl?

Nope. When we decided to create Realms of Pugmire, we also decided to create our own “d20” system – ie: one that uses a variety of polyhedral dice – which we call Onyx20!

Onyx20 simplifies the system we used in Pugmire first edition, but doesn’t contain OGL or SRD stuff. It will, however, be super-easy to play if you are familiar with other d20-based systems, just like first edition Pugmire was. I mean, we thought we achieved that before all the OGL uproar, so Eddy made sure to scrutinize every freakin’ bit of text after it all went weird out there.

Now for the deets about the system, well, over on the KS page, James has arranged a whole bunch of links to Eddy’s design blogs and interviews – plus, if you back the project, you’ll be receiving all of the book’s text before the KS campaign is over! Dive in and enjoy!

We’re really sure it stands up on its own…and as a worthy and easy-to-understand follow-up to first edition Pugmire‘s rules!

More, uh, Triumphs, from Today’s Meeting

As you might have caught up above, some of our meeting today was wishing Eddy Bon Voyage as he was headed to the airport right after the meeting so that he could start the journey to his new life in the UK! Don’t worry, though, Eddy’s still with us at Onyx Path, he’s just going to be doing all the great stuff he does now, but on Greenwich Mean Time!

Folks are still having a ton of fun the last Friday of every month with our Onyx Path Game Nights on start.playing.com (as noted and linked below in the Conventions section) and during the meeting today we discussed some more cool events we might be doing this year. Maybe even the Onyx Path Virtual Con for this year? It is time to start planning that….

When we were talking about the Game Night, though, Matthew brought up something he had mentioned in an interview and maybe on the Onyx Pathcast that got some good and excited responses. He just happened to mention that he has heard from some of the folks running and gaming on Game Night that they thought it was actually a really easy way to learn to run and play games you haven’t tried before.

One primary reason is that a lot of people are doing it, so there’s very little pressure to be an expert in the game you sign up for. The folks playing seem really open to everybody jumping in and learning as they go!

Now that’s a wonderful and open way to spend a gaming evening – good for everybody that have been sitting in on those games and helping folks feel comfortable trying them out!

Which ties in, semi-neatly, to the news from Ian today that today is the 5th Anniversary of Trinity Continuum Core and TC: Aeon‘s KS! Wow, five years since we revealed the new edition of Trinity. It was also the first time we added in a different media to advertise before the KS – in this case, little holo messages featuring the original portrayers of some of the Proxies! That was fun, and we followed those up with a comic book for TC: Aberrant, a radio serial for TC: Adventure!, etc.

So 5 years ago was just the start! In fact, I just approved the final text of the Introduction chapter to Trinity Continuum: Aegis. I think you’re going to like it. A lot!

( As a secret aside: we’re working on the BackerKit Crowdfunding for the Trinity Continuum Talent’s Players Guide in March – which adds a lot of options for those very special lucky people we call Talents. This is one of those books that we sometimes get where we’re looking at two separate projects and realize that what’s in both projects actually dovetails together so well that a single book makes the most sense – and the most fun! So TC: Talents PG meets Brave New Worlds, and two great tastes taste great together!)

(It doesn’t happen a lot, and we’re more likely to sometimes find that we need to divide books, but it’s cool when it all comes together!)

(Why am I still whispering?)

Anyway – yeah, that’s better – that’s pretty much it for this week except for finding a way to segue into our tagline. Hmmm, how to do it, how to do it? How about a classic? Onyx Path:

MANY WORLDS, ONE PATH!

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BLURBS!

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KICKSTARTER/CROWDFUNDING!

REALMS OF PUGMIRE! Funded and already fetched Stretch Goals including a new Screen!

C’mon and back this amazing non-OGL D20-based fantasy game of uplifted dogs in a world they never made! : https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/339646881/realms-of-pugmire-tabletop-rpg

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Onyx Path Media!

This week:

Matthew, Dixie, and Danielle will be enjoying a game of five minute game brainstorms, in which they take separate ideas and make game concepts from them! What new wonders might unfurl as a result of this manic exercise?

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

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Onyx Path Media now has its own blog on Tuesdays! We’ll continue posting our highlight of the week here, but Tuesday will be the day to visit if you want to catch up on actual plays, interviews, deep dives, and other assorted Onyx Path media!

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:

Our spotlight this week shifts to Red Moon Roleplaying’s actual play of Realms of Pugmire: https://youtu.be/SkvSGg7YSEE. This is the premier show of our newest game, as Eddy Webb (the game’s developer!) runs for the talented Kim Godwin, Cat Evans, and Craig Austin!

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://youtube.com/live/g6eAv_qPIvY

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Virtual Tabletop!

Two new Roll20 items of interest for Scion players!

First, a Scion VTT bundle is on sale over at Roll20:

https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/bundle/19378/scion-second-edition-bundle

And there’s also the Scion Jumpstart, all ready for Roll20 VTT fun!

https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/bundle/21165/a-light-extinguished-a-jumpstart-for-scion-second-edition

Here is a new screenshot of the upcoming They Came From Beneath the Sea! Compendium!

More news and links when we have them!

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!

Direct Link: https://foundryvtt.co

Looking for more virtual tabletop resources? We have a selection of
Tokens, Encounters, and more available now at DriveThruRPG!

Get ’em here: 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/

OGL 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).

Check out the Trinity Continuum: Aeon novellas Dawn and Meridian in the Kindle store!

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On Sale This Week!

This Wednesday, TC: Aberrant‘s Proteus Nova Compendium – a book jam-packed with bios and stats of Novas and Aberrants for use in your games – is for sale in PDF and PoD on DTRPG!

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Conventions!

Because dates for physical conventions are subject to change due to the current COVID-19 outbreak, we don’t yet have a list of upcoming physical conventions. Instead, keep an eye out here for more virtual conventions we’re going to be involved with!

Game Night With Onyx Path Publishing at Start.Playing is the last Friday of the month! Come play some Trinity Continuum in celebration of the upcoming Talents Player’s Guide KS! (But any of our game lines are welcome all day long!)

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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And now, the new project status updates!

Our full list of projects will be available monthly on our blog! Check out December’s full list report here: https://theonyxpath.com/release-roundup-december-2022/

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM EDDY

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

First Draft

Scion: God Jumpstart

• Matthew: Hiromi’s team are on the case! Another scenario for our lovely Scion fans, kicking you right into God mode.

Redlines

Exalted – Exalted Essence Adventure Trilogy

• Danielle: H has gotten her initial drafts in and is going through them now. I’m excited to see what adventures our authors have come up with.

Development

Tasty Bit – TC: Assassins: Art Museum

• Eddy: I have stolen the manuscript from the writer and fenced it for a first-class ticket to the UK. But seriously, the final draft is now in my hands for review!

Post-Approval Development

Scion – Community Content Guide

• Matthew: It shouldn’t be long before you have all the advice you need on creating your own Pantheons for your Storypath Nexus products!

Editing

TC: Aether – The Aethernaut Collection

• Eddy: We had some discussion about specifics, including when the outer bounds of the TC: Aether era are, but in the end we had only some minor comments, which Michele turned around quickly. And now it’s ready for editing!

Post-Editing Development

Trinity Continuum – Talents Player’s Guide

• Eddy: The first part of the Talents Player’s Guide is now in Danielle’s hands for review. Soon Brave New Worlds will follow, and these two books will use their Flux to create a new timeline where they’ve always been one book.

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ART DIRECTION FROM MIKE CHANEY!

In Art Direction

• Ex3 Eight Directions – With Maria for ADing
• Pugmire 2e – KS!
• Ex3 Crucible of Legends – Should be getting near the finish line on this one artwise.
• SCION Once and Future – With Maria for ADing
• Legendlore: Legacies of Earth – Sketches in for qtr pagers.
• TC Anima – MMO portion of art back underway
• MtAw Tome of the Pentacle – Trying to find enough grayscale artists to do this one.

In Layout

• DTR  Devoted Companion – I’m gonna do it during the proofing for Essence.
• SL Vigil Watch Kelder Mtns – AD’d. Sketches coming in.

Proofing

• SCION Realms of Magic and Mystery – Making second proof
• Exalted Essence

Indexing

At Press

• TC: Adventure! – Implementing errata and getting ready for indexing.
• M20 Victorian Age – At Trad Press.
• Scion Dragon Screen – Printing started.
• Scion Dragon – At KS fulfiller.
• Scion Masks of the Mythos – At KS fulfiller.
• Scion Masks of the Mythos Screen – Printing started.
• Contagion Chronicles Global Outbreaks – Getting PoD files uploaded.
• Ex3 Lunars Novella – Getting PoD files uploaded.
• Ex3 Adversaries – Incopy files sent.
• TC: Aberrant – Proteus Nova Compendium – PDF and PoD versions on sale Weds at DTRPG!

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Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

Isn’t the weirdness of history worth celebrating? That all these events, the serious and the odd, all took place today throughout history? Obviously we’re not celebrating each individual event as something to be celebrated, because there are bad things listed here, it’s all of them happening on one day, and many, many more. It’s a rich tapestry to be learned from:

1649 – Charles I of England is executed in Whitehall, London.
1661 – Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, is ritually executed more than two years after his death, on the 12th anniversary of the execution of the monarch he himself deposed.
1703 – The Forty-seven ronin, under the command of Oishi Kuranosuke, avenge the death of their master, by killing Kira Yoshinaka.
1847 – Yerba Buena, California is renamed San Francisco, California.
1933 – Adolf Hitler takes office as the Chancellor of Germany.
1948 – British South American Airways’ Tudor IV Star Tiger disappears over the Bermuda Triangle.
1969 – The Beatles’ last public performance, on the roof of Apple Records in London. The impromptu concert is broken up by the police.
2020 – The World Health Organization declares the COVID-19 pandemic to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.