The View From The Plateau… I Can See My House! [Monday Meeting Notes]

Yep, sittin’ here atop this plateau and looking around.

Sure it’s a metaphorical plateau for Onyx Path as a whole, but we are also specifically in a plateau state with the Pugmire Kickstarter. We’re at that part of the Kickstarter where pledges come in slow, people change their minds on what they are pledging, and some people actually drop their pledges (crazy, I know!).

The thing is, this happens with every single one of our Kickstarters to one extent or the other. And if what the delightful Fred Hicks posted about what Evil Hat‘s Kickstarters are like is accurate, and I see no reason to second-guess Fred’s conclusions, then they too have seen this same pattern.

Fred even mentioned an idea that I have played with, based on the data that we have a few big days at the beginning where 25-35% of pledges come in, and a couple of days at the end with another 20-30%. So why not do a five day KS and get all the good parts together?

Well, just like Fred posted, it’s my belief that the plateau stage is when you are getting the word out to folks you didn’t reach with the first couple of days of explosive excitement all around. We need the longer, slower period to create the big boom at the end. And for new games like Pugmire we have a couple of methods to take advantage of the plateau period.

As intrinsic as they have become to tabletop RPG Kickstarters, Stretch Goals are actually a method that really isn’t part of the Kickstarter process that the tabletop RPG KS creators added, in part to keep the KS interesting during the plateau period. At Onyx Path, we also use the allocation of the Stretch Goal funds to help build up the game line they are a part of.

Big But Necessary Digression: so folks understand the finances behind a Stretch Goal amount, let’s first look at the fact that the vast majority of pledges after the Funding Goal is met are those of folks pledging for Reward Tiers that feature physical rewards that need to be printed and shipped just like the pledges before the Funding Goal was met. So the money that comes in is not free money for us to use and abuse in any way we feel like. Most of it goes towards fulfilling the backers’ Rewards. 10% of it is gone off the top to Kickstarter fees. And because this is, ya know, a business, we actually have to pay taxes on that money so a portion (a whopping chunk really) goes to the taxman.

If we can repurpose 10% of any given Stretch Goal amount towards those cool rewards that we put with the SGs, we are doing well. Again, not free money.

We also like to put out contests to the backers during the Plateau periods so that we can have a bit of fun together as a community. These can be free-standing like the Pugmire art contest, intrinsic to the project like the voting for the eras in Dark Eras, or Achievements which we’ve run for the full KS for such KSs as Lore of the Clans and Changeling 20th. All there to provide a bit more fun back and forth beyond the monetary Stretch Goals.

And then, there are interviews, actual play videos, blogcasts, and other outreach methods we use to bring in more backers during the “slow” period. Publicity is good to expand the reach and get the word out to folks that might not have heard already, and the plateau is a perfect time to do that for us. You might also note that our encouraging messages about telling your friends ramp up during this time as well. We can reach out OK, but the real reach belongs to our current backers.

Now the bigger Onyx Path plateau could be a cool place to rest a bit in our climb, but it’s really far too busy and noisy here. In this case, I feel like we are more like at a climbing stage camp where we test and try out some new equipment, and get on with this ascent. We’ve had a couple of creative teams waiting here for us, and they are rarin’ to go! (Check out Impish Ian Watson’s recent Trinity Continuum blog posts to see what that team has been up to!)

I’ll just stretch this metaphor a tad bit more. Bear with me.

On a climb like this, we are beholden to all of those whose trails, maps, and even equipment we at Onyx Path were able to use to get to this plateau. I didn’t agree with every decision made at White Wolf back in the day, and certainly did more than my fair share of shouting and stomping out of presidents’ and other managers’ offices, but for good or ill those decisions got us to this point.

And the work, well, the work done by our creative teams of writers and developers and artists and designers and editors and art directors created every bit of these worlds that we’ve all spent such huge parts of our lives deeply immersed in. To the waist, to the neck, and some deeply over the head. Were there missteps? Of course, show me any such massive concentration of talent and egos where that hasn’t happened.

But the glories, the sheer volume of enthralling stories and storytelling that provided the springboard for uncountable Chronicles and adventures, just completely outweigh any such mistakes, at least in my opinion.

So when we speak of such times, and everybody does, let’s try and remember that we couldn’t be here making the 20th Anniversary Editions (or the One World of Darkness) without all the creative efforts through all those editions. That we couldn’t be making Chronicles of Darkness games without all the nWoD work that dared to reimagine darkness. And that EX3 builds on all the ideas in both earlier editions that enthralled and captivated players for years in games around the world.

We’re certainly mindful of the amazing worlds created for Scarred Lands and Trinity and Scion that we are building on and reimagining here at Onyx Path, and we’ve only just gotten started with what we can do with them. Because we surely could not be doing it without them.

Enough plateau introspection.

It must be the thinner air; time to get climbing again!

 

BLURBS!

KICKSTARTER!

 

 

I really just love this illustration by Pat Loboyko, and so I’m leaving it up this week: it’s the Pugmire Kickstarter! Pledge to enable us to create a beautiful full color, hardcover, 180+ page, 7″ x 10″ core rulebook that we can also get into game stores. We’re at over 1000% and doing lots of great stuff with this Kickstarter including both a fiction anthology and turning at least one of those stories into an audio drama.

Backers can download the Pugmire Early Access PDF and get playing right away on the basic version of the game so check it out: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/pugmire-fantasy-tabletop-rpg

And here is a very in-depth interview that Pugmire creator Eddy Webb had with The Gentleman Gamer where Eddy also answers all sorts of questions about Pugmire, Sherlock Holmes, his work with EarPlay, and Vampire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8ePtKD54Bg

And here is a video about how to make a character in Pugmire from super-fan Tercio2002: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXPrldy5sDs&feature=youtu.be&a

 

ON SALE!

 

The Chronicles of Darkness Core Rulebook looms out of the shadows, and is now on sale with PDF and PoD versions on DTRPG: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/168428/Chronicles-of-Darkness

 

We will be offering the Pugmire Early Access book for sale this Wednesday in both PDF and PoD formats! Backers will still get the PDF for free and a discount on the PoD versions until the Kickstarter is over!

 

Gauntlet of Spiragos is a 5E D&D adventure for the Scarred Lands and is now available free as a PDF. Just like the Pathfinder version of Gauntlet of Spiragos, this one will eventually have a physical copy Print on Demand version as well. http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/171523/Gauntlet-of-Spiragos-5E-OGL-adventure

 

Condition Card PDFs for both Chronicles of Darkness http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/171574/Chronicles-of-Darkness-Condition-Numina-and-Dread-Power-Cards and Werewolf: the Forsaken 2nd Edition http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/171573/Werewolf-the-Forsaken-2nd-Edition-Condition-Cards are now up dealt up at DTRPG, with PoD cards soon to come!

 

 

The Demon Storyteller Guide has dropped its cover and is on sale as an Advance PDF on DTRPG! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/170165/Demon-Storytellers-Guide

Keep an eye out on Wednesday to see if the God-Machine has allowed our PoD proofs to get through to us this week!

 

 

 

If you are into the Pugmire KS, here are also six Pugmire posters available as free PDFs or $.99 physical posters, suitable for framing:

• Spike Mutt: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/150845/Spike-Mutt-Pugmire-Poster-6
• Pan Dachshund: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/150844/Pan-Dachshund-Pugmire-Poster-5
• Jack Rat-Terrier: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/150944/Jack-RatTerrier-Pugmire-Poster-4
• Sgt. Leo Bulldog: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/150843/Sgt-Leo-Bulldog-Pugmire-Poster-3
• Princess Yosha Pug: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/149750/Princess-Yosha-Pug-Pugmire-Poster-2
• Sister Picassa Collie: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/148516/Sister-Picassa-Collie-Pugmire-Poster-1

Start spreading the Code of Man!

 

CONVENTIONS!

Gen Con 2016 planning has started.

Here are some cons Fast Eddy Webb will be attending! Talk to him about V20 and Pugmire and Sherlock Holmes and Oxford Commas:

 

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And now, the new project status updates!

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)

• M20 Book of Secrets (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
• Exalted 3rd Novel by Matt Forbeck (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• CtL fiction anthology (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)
• Ring of Spiragos (Scarred Lands)
• VtM Endless Ages fiction anthology (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)
• BtP Building a Legend (Beast: the Primordial)
• Scarred Lands Player’s Guide 5E: Ghelspad (Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)
• Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)
• DA V20 Dark Ages Companion (Vampire 20th Dark Ages)

Redlines

Second Draft

Development

• W20 Changing Ways (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
• V20 Lore of the Bloodlines (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)
• Beast Ready Made Characters (Beast: the Primordial)
• Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition, featuring the Huntsmen Chronicle (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)
• Beckett’s Jyhad Diary (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)
• W20 Pentex Employee Indoctrination Handbook (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
• CofD Hurt Locker (Chronicles of Darkness)
• DA Tome of Secrets (Vampire 20th Dark Ages)
• Scion: Alpha (Scion 2nd Edition)

Post-Editing Development:

• V20 Ghouls (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)
• Scarred Lands Player’s Guide: Ghelspad (Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)
• EX3 Backer Charms (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Indexing:

• Beast: the Primordial Core Book (Beast: the Primordial)

 

ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:

In Art Direction

• V20 Ghouls
• W20 Shattered Dreams 
• Promethean: the Created Second 
  
• Scarred Lands PG
• Dark Eras Companion
• The Pack
• Secrets of the Covenants
• Necropolis Rio
• W20 Kinfolk
• V20 Ready Made Characters

 

In Layout

• Mage: the Awakening Second
• V20 Black Hand
• Dark Eras 

 

Proofing

• Ex 3 core book – From RichT: Maria adding bookmarks to PDF, prepping printer files, and we’re getting an index for it.

 

At Press

• Pugmire Early Access
• M20 Deluxe Edition
• Chronicles of Darkness Cards
• Gauntlet of Spiragos 5e
• Forsaken 2 Condition Cards 
• Demon Storyteller’s Guide
• Beast Screen 
• Truth Beyond Paradox 
• Lore of the Clans LtD Edition
• Lore of the Clans Screen
• Dreams of Avarice

 

Special- projects on hold in the art and production area until an external factor is resolved

• Wraith 20 – Can’t go further until art notes come in, still being developed by Rich Dansky.
• Pentex Employee Indoctrination Manual – Some added and amended text needs to come in.