…leads to the palace of wisdom? Actually, this week it leads to the 2nd Onyx Path Virtual Gaming Convention!

And our lead-in to the con is the awesomely amazing Kickstarter for Exalted: Essence (one of the abbreviations that are used for it is ExEss, hence this week’s MMN blog title) which we’re not even two full weeks into yet!

Right now we are 700% funded and soooo close to 3,000 backers and we’ve achieved eighteen Stretch Goals, so far. So. Far. And here comes even more fun:

Our next Stretch Goal opens up us working with NerdyKeppie.com to give them the assets to create an EX:Essence bag, and maybe a lot more. I’ve seen some gorgeous Scion prototypes and am really looking forward to see what they can do!

(Disclaimer, because these sorts of SGs need them: we will do what we can to work with any outside company we bring in on these things, but we can’t make stuff like this ourselves and no SG relationship like this guarantees a final product).

And as for more fun stuff coming these next few weeks, this week backers will be getting the Systems section and then the Storytelling section, I believe. Next week, oh boy, it’s Charms spread out over the week – and I know a lot of folks are anxious to see how these are handled!

When I say that these sections are being released to backers, I’m referring to how we release the complete text of the book to backers during the course of all of our recent Kickstarters. Pledge and you get links to these sections. You’ll pretty much have all the words for the book before the KS is over, so you can read through and not be surprised when you get the PDF.

And if you don’t like it, you can drop your pledge and walk away. No harm, no foul. We want you to if you don’t like it, we really do. Better a lost pledge than a disappointed fan. (I know a lot of you reading this have heard this before from us, but it is worth making sure that as many people as can be told how we do this, are told).

Another big topic we’ve been spouting off about lately – well, for the last month really – is the 2nd Onyx Path Virtual Gaming Convention that starts this Friday! Yes, it starts this week! How did it get here so fast?

We’ll have gaming and a panel or two all day Friday, and our Opening Ceremony will be at 4pm Eastern US time. I’ll be there with as many of our Onyx Path Monday Meeting crew as possible, and we’ll lay out what we’re up to and answer questions about, well, anything. A mini-AMA if you will. There’s a good chance it’ll be recorded as a Onyx Pathcast, too!

We’ll also be running the ever-popular What’s Up With the Onyx Path? panel Saturday at Noon Eastern US time, and you’ll also be encouraged to ask questions there. We’re going to have a few guests, tell you what They Came From [CLASSIFIED!] is all about, announce the newest Trinity Continuum project – all sorts of stuff! Do join us!

Just like last year, there will be lots of panels that pretty much cover all of our game lines in some form or another, Actual Plays that do the same – including Eddy Webb running the first-ever AP playtest of Trinity Continuum: Anima, which I’m thrilled to say I’ll be playing in, and a huge number of games that are being run all over the place and feature a wide variety of really fun sessions.

For example, I think there’s a Scion game that is only using Scion: Mythos and Scion: Dragon characters. Which sounds like a blast!

As the first of the special sales and events to celebrate our 2nd Onyx Path Virtual Con, I’m thrilled to announce a Con Special Release!

This Wednesday, we are releasing all of the versions of Trinity Continuum: Aberrant for sale! That’s the traditionally printed versions of both the TC: Aberrant main book and the TC: Ab Screen going on sale in stores and also available online from our friends at IPR and Studio2! Plus, both the physical book PoD version and PDF version of TC: Aberrant, and the PDF version of the TC: Ab Screen, will be live on DTRPG!

Keep your eyes open all this week and during the Con for more deals, sales, and surprises!

My only unfortunate surprise is that unlike what I mentioned last week, I won’t be attending the Artist Panel. I’m disappointed, but my TC:Anima game runs during that time and I was caught in a gaming convention Tetris snafu! I love talking art with Mirthful Mike, Maria, and Priscilla, but they’ll do great without me, I am positive. So do check it out at 6pm on Sat!

…A Not Terribly Wise Meeting:

Yep, we spent most of our time on the stuff I mentioned up above. Which is fair, as we had a big Production meeting last week where we went in-depth through all our game lines. We did have some highlights though:

The first is pretty big news about PoD pricing! Last week, we were informed by DTRPG that the prices for Premium Color PoDs would be going up 30-40% on July 1st. This increase is by necessity going to be automatic throughout One Book Shelf (the overall company that DTRPG is a part of) as it comes from the PoD printer and DTRPG has no real option.

I believe they are looking for different solutions, but with this narrow time-frame that’s something that might happen in the future. The price increase is happening now.

What that means for you is that the prices of all of our Premium Color PoDs will be going up dramatically in July. We’ll be tweaking some of those where we can, but we have no way of cutting them all the way back to where they are now as we’d be losing money on every order.

Our B&W and Standard Color PoDs aren’t affected by this, but I do suggest that if there are any Premium Color PoDs you’ve been thinking of getting, this is the month to do so!

I mentioned a lot about the convention in the stuff above, but here’s just a reminder that a portion of all the proceeds go to the Bodhana Group to aid in their mission of using table-top gaming to assist in therapeutic efforts. If you want to know what that means, how it’s done, or how Onyx Path got involved with Bodhana years ago, please do check out last Friday’s Onyx Pathcast where Matthew and Eddy chat with Jack Berkenstock, the public face of the Group.

Both Matthew and Eddy were surprised and fascinated with Jack’s descriptions of the work Bodhana does and is trying to do, as well as his extremely deep knowledge of TTRPGs. This guy is a Ghostbusters RPG fanboy bar-none!

The whole interview has a lotta depth and a lotta surprises, and Jack is well-suited to fit in with our wacky Pathcast crew!

One more thing about the Convention: We are trying very hard to make sure that our newest Onyx Path Brochure will be available for download. If you can, please give Mirthful Mike a shout-out for pulling it all together in time!

We all want the new Brochure to be ready for the Con, as it’s our best one yet for showcasing our:

Many Worlds, One Path!

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BLURBS!

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Kickstarter!

The Exalted: Essence KS is not even half-way through, it funded in 13 minutes and is currently over 700% funded! We are within hours of passing 3000 backers so far – and as we approach that mark we’ll be unlocking more special Reward Tiers like characters in art and special charms!

Eighteen Stretch Goal rewards have been achieved so far, including unlocking the Exalted: Essence Screen, an Exalted: Essence Novella, the start of an epic scenario Adventure Book, a Jumpstart and Ready-Made Characters to get started with Essence, and the Exalted: Essence Companion already has nine sections that will be combined into one PDF free for backers, and more great Stretch goal rewards to come!

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Onyx Path Media!

This week: Eddy, Dixie, and Matthew are consumed by Onyx Path Con Hype! We talk about the things we’re excited for about the con, as well as a short retrospective on last year’s con!

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

Check out Vorpal Tales‘ Exalted: Essence actual play on our Twitch and on our YouTube! Here’s episode one: https://youtu.be/XZioOSDJnrc

Our very own Matthew Dawkins was interviewed about world building, They Came from Beneath the Sea! and Vampire on the Andy’s Board Game Thing podcast! Check it out here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/43chfbn4OV3wleCBQPfMQ3?si=a-cTCPrpTT6g7sppZ2rDdQ&utm_source=copy-link

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. 

Please check out our attached media schedule for the impressive number of videos on our Twitch channel this week!

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:

Exalted: Essence – Vorpal Tales – Episode 1 – https://youtu.be/XZioOSDJnrc

Scarred Lands – Dead Man’s Rust – Red Scar Players – Episode 10 – https://youtu.be/qL1SHgOQWLA

Deviant: The Renegades – A Cautionary Tale – Episode 18: Essential NPCs – https://youtu.be/oVrVP_pvtmo

Deviant: The Renegades – A Cautionary Tale – Episode 19: Olympic Glory – https://youtu.be/Wyj7Z7n0HW0

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant – Jumpstart – Ep. 2/2 – https://youtu.be/EJxuoyRGH3A

Vampire: The Masquerade – Styx and Bones – Table Goth – Ep. 3 – https://youtu.be/rcSaH13EitM

https://youtu.be/rcSaH13EitM

Chronicles of Darkness – The Wyrd West – Ep. 3 – https://youtu.be/l6okotsw98k

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

Vorpal Tales have a whole raft of Onyx Path content coming soon!

On Fridays at 5pm EDT experience Contagion Chronicle: No Time for Reality season 2. Chicago is still flooded with the reality warping Contagion from strange spaces beyond the Supernal realms. The original team is still lost in Arcadia, but Macintosh alerted a new team to be ready to step in should he and his team disappear. It’s up to this new group now to leverage their vectors and contain this threat.

On Tuesdays at 5pm EDT experience their new overarching Chronicle of Darkness, Insurgence. They weave an ambitious tale connecting 7 Chronicles of Darkness game lines in one overarching story of rebellion and the cost of self-awareness. Book 1: Defiance begins our tale with Mage: The Awakening 2e.

Beginning on June 14th, immediately after Onyx Path Con, join them every Monday at 9pm EDT for They Came from Beyond the Grave! Enjoy this tale of derring do against the minions of evil in a 6 part summer tale!

Beginning June 19th, join them for a story of a pack’s Rite of Passage as we tell a terrifying tale of Werewolf: The Apocalypse every Saturday at 9pm EDT

The Story Told Podcast are back with the new season of The Fall of Jiara for Exalted!  This episode is Episode 44 – The Dragon-Blooded react to their conference with Saffron Veil and begin to prepare for the threats they all face. https://thestorytold.libsyn.com/fall-of-jiara-44

A Bunch of Gamers continue their Werewolf: The Apocalypse chronicle here.  The packs begin their investigation into the strange behavior and possible possession of Howling-King, the Silver Fang who helped raise Cora and Kyle after their first change. Suspicions flair that it is the mad ancestor spirit of Carson Faces-the-Storm while Zeb Speaks-in-Sweet-Whispers remains convinced that it is a Wraith from beyond the veil of death. The groups split up as Zeb and Mark pursue avenues of information with the spirits while the rest of the group head to the Sept of the Five Mirrors to ask the Theurges there about possession without revealing who they’re talking about or that it is happening in their Caern: https://abunchofgamers.podbean.com/e/werewolf-the-apocalypse-episode-71-crumbling-peace/ This is episode 71!

The Exaltcast continues its fantastic show introducing you to all ten of the Exalt types! https://www.exaltcast.com/2021/06/02/the-essence-of-exalted-essence-pt-i-the-ten-exalt-types/, delving into Exalted: Essence!    

Over on ExalTwitch they’ve been running some amazing games of Exalted, and even have a show wiki for viewers to follow along! ExalTwitch: Academy is set in The House of Bells, a prestigious school for Dragon-Blooded Exalted of the Realm to train in the ways of war. The chronicle follows three young Dragon-Bloods as they try to prove their worth to their fellow students, their Houses, and themselves.

Their most recent VOD, Episode 20 (“Say Something”), is here:  ExalTwitch: Academy Episode 20 – “Say Something” – YouTube

The playlist for the series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zb3M2x8PJk&list=PLsZP95-GZNa0ynoCIVyliNF5rypCHvh0M

The show wiki, with synopses, character descriptions, etc: RPGClinic Wiki | Fandom

Wards & Witchcraft reach Session 24 of their amazing Mage: The Awakening chronicle right here: https://youtu.be/eP1bFb-8TsI
With death hot on their heals the cabal defy time and fate inside the Ouroboros. The next room is a white space populated by pure notion. What is this place and what secrets does it have in store for errant adventurers?

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! The 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.)

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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.

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!

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

The Post-Apocalypse Sale is on DriveThruRPG!
Dystopia Rising: Evolution featured bundle deal:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/featured.php?promotion_id=2021-May-postapoc
Select Pugmire, Monarchies and DR:E titles are also on sale:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/sale.php?manufacturers_id=4261

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On Sale This Week!

POW!!!

WOULD YOU DO WITH THE POWER OF A GOD? You’d enjoy this Wednesday when we offer Trinity Continuum: Aberrant for all and sundry! The traditionally printed versions of the book and the screen will be available in stores and through Studio2 and IPR, and the PoD and PDF versions of the book, and the PDF of the screen, will all be available on DTRPG!

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant is a game of superpowered adventure in the near-future of the Trinity Continuum. In 2018, novas — people with superhuman powers — first appeared following the explosion of a space station high above Earth. Now, 10 years later, thousands of novas have transformed the world, using their extraordinary powers to fight crime, clean up the environment, invent new technologies, and create wonders.

The presence of novas has also caused problems, and some fear the powerful individuals — first called “aberrants” — due to their unpredictable powers and impact they have on the world around them. Still, love them or hate them, people can’t get enough of novas, and being one is a ticket to instant celebrity, fame, and fortune.

Some highlights of Trinity Continuum: Aberrantinclude:

• Details on the super-powered novas and how they fit into the Trinity Continuum
• Updated Storypath rules and character creation information for novas
• Dozens of character biographies to quickly populate the world of 2028
• Storyguide advice on how to run Aberrant in a wide variety of tones and sub-genres

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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!

2nd Onyx Path Virtual Gaming Convention This Weekend!

As announced, the 2nd Onyx Path Virtual Gaming Convention will be coming to you live starting Friday, June 11th and running until Sunday, June 13th (including a special post-con Jackbox gamefest Sunday night hosted by Dixie)!

The GM Sign-up Page & Code of Conduct for OPP Con are now live:

Code of Conduct:https://intercom.help/startplayinggames/en/articles/5208570-onyx-path-code-of-conduct

GM Sign-up:https://intercom.help/startplayinggames/en/articles/5217651-onyx-path-virtual-gaming-convention-2021-faq

Here are some listings for our planned panels and Actual Play sessions:

And to help out more, here are some links to a whole bunch of the streaming content for our 2nd Onyx Path Virtual Con:

Panels:
https://www.twitch.tv/theonyxpath/

World of Darkness and Exalted Games:
https://www.twitch.tv/dorktales

Storypath Games:
https://www.twitch.tv/vorpaltales

5E OGL Games:
https://www.twitch.tv/plasticageplays

Chronicles of Darkness Games:
https://www.twitch.tv/occultistsanonymous

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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)
• Tasty Bit: Car Lifting Competition (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Panopticon Novella (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• Scion: God (Scion 2e)
• With Great Power (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Redlines

• Dragon-Blooded Novella #2 (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Tome of the Pentacle (Mage: the Awakening 2e)
• The Hedge (Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition)

Second Draft

• No Gods, No Masters (Scion 2nd Edition)
• TC: Adventure! Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Adventure!)
• Apocalyptic Record (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)

Development

• Contagion Chronicle: Global Outbreaks (Chronicles of Darkness)
• Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)
• Adversaries of the Righteous (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Wild Hunt (Scion 2nd Edition)

Manuscript Approval

• M20 Lore of the Traditions (Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Post-Approval Development

• Many-Faced Strangers – Lunars Companion (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Exigents (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Editing

• Lunars Novella (Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• The Book of Lasting Death (Mummy: The Curse 2e)
• Dead Man’s Rust (Scarred Lands)
• M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
• Mission Statements (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
• The Clades Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)
• 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)
• Prometheus Unbound (was Psi Orders) (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
• Legacies of Earth (Legendlore)
• Scion Fiction Anthology (Scion 2nd Edition)
• They Came From Beyond the Grave! Jumpstart (They Came From…!)
• Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Monsters From the Crypt! (They Came From…!)
• TC: Aeon Novella: Meridian (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
• Exalted Essence Edition (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Crucible of Legends (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• The Devoted Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)
• Proteus Nova Compendium (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• TC: Aeon Novella: Dawn (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
• Tasty Bit: Pets (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
• Trinity Continuum: Assassins (Trinity Continuum Core)
• They Came From Camp Murder Lake! (They Came From…!)
• Contagion Chronicle Ready-Made Characters (Chronicles of Darkness)
• Trinity Continuum: Anima
• Tales of Depravity! (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)
• Trinity Continuum: Adventure! core (Trinity Continuum: Adventure!)
• Vigil Watch: The Kelder Mountains (Scarred Lands)
• Ghost Hunters Jumpstart w/RMCs (WoD 20th)
• The Paranormal Investigator’s Handbook (WoD 20th)
• Once and Future (Scion 2nd Edition)

Post-Editing Development

• Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)
• They Came From Beyond the Grave! (They Came From!)
• Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)
• N!ternational Wrestling Entertainment (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• Dearly Bleak – Novella (Deviant: The Renegades)
• V5 Trails of Ash and Bone (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)
• Squeaks In The Deep (Realms of Pugmire)
• Novas Worldwide (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• They Came From Beneath the Sea! Jumpstart (They Came From…!)
• Saints and Monsters (Scion 2nd Edition)

Indexing

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Art Direction from Mike Chaney!

In Art Direction

• Scion: Dragon
• Masks of the Mythos
• Scion: Demigod – Got Maria helping me finish out the pantheons and we are all good.
• TC: Adventure! (KS)
• M20 Victorian (KS)
• Dead Man’s Rust
• Exalted Essence (KS) – On KS.
• V5 Forbidden Religions – AD’d.
• TC Mission Statements
• TC Aberrant N!WE
• M20 Technocracy Dossier/Companion
• Hundred Devils Night Parade – Yeah, Maria is on this.
• Squeaks In The Deep (KS) – Prepping KS.
• TC Prometheus Unbound – Maria ADing.
• They Came From Camp Murder Lake!
• Realms of Magic and Mystery
• Saints and Monsters
• TC: Anima (KS) – Art progressing.
• TC: Assassin

In Layout

• Spiragos Collected Adventures
• WoD Ghost Hunters (KS)
• Legendlore
• M20 Rich Bastards Guide – Over to Charles, art is all in.
• They Came From Beneath the Sea! Jumpstart – Over to Andrea.
• They Came From Beyond the Grave! – Final art coming in.
• June Tasty Bit – Les Fantômes
• Technocracy Reloaded Screen
• M20 Technocracy Jumpstart

Proofing

• TC: Under Alien Skies
• Heirs to the Shogunate – Backer PDF with backers, gathering errata.
• TC Aberrant Jumpstart
• Hunter: The Vigil 2e – Next proof to dev.
• Players Guide to the Contagion Chronicle – Proof to dev.
• V5 Trail of Ash and Bone – At Paradox.
• 21-22 Onyx Brochure – Working on proofing for the OP Con.

At Press

• TC: Aberrant – Traditionally printed, Pod, and PDF versions all on sale this Weds!
• TC: Aberrant Screen – Traditionally printed and PDF versions on sale this Weds!
• M20 Technocracy Reloaded – PoD proofs shipping from DTRPG.
• Vigil Watch Compiled – PoD proofs arrived.
• Mummy 2 – Getting ready for press.
• Mummy 2e Screen – Getting ready for press.
• Deviant – Waiting on printer specs.
• Deviant Screen – Getting ready for press.

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Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

Today in 2015, Christopher Lee, “patron saint” of They Came From Beyond the Grave!, passed away. Or did he? Google his life and career and then decide…