They Came From…?! [Monday Meeting Notes]

First, it’s They Came From Beyond the Grave! and the Kickstarter that would not die. Or died and came back, if that’s more appropriate to the genre.

We’ve a little more than two weeks to go and it is shambling along having passed another Stretch Goal last week! You can gather more details in the Kickstarter section below!

Then there’s They Came from Beneath the Sea! whose PDF and PoD versions go on sale this Wednesday on DTRPG. Now this isn’t the traditionally printed version that was the main reward for its Kickstarter – that’s getting shipped over to the KS fulfillment gang at Studio2.

We need the other parts of that KS, like the Screen, to get there before Studio2 can start fulfilling the KS, but everything is being worked on at this point, so not too long now!

Finally, just wanted to throw out a little thought exercise to everyone. We’ve chatted in panels and such online about what could be next for They Came From…!, and I think we even have a thread about that topic on our Onyx Path forums, with such titles as They Came from Boot Hill! or They Came From Over Yonder! (Western genre), They Came From Under the Bed! (kid’s scary shows), and They Came From Past the Moon! (spaceship sci-fi).

But what would you be interested in? They Came From Monster Island!, maybe? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below!

From The Monday Meeting-

We reviewed our panel at Gen Con Online today in the Monday Meeting, and here are some interesting thoughts about that and more from Eddy Webb:

Our attendance at the What’s Up panel definitely seemed better than usual for Gen Con, but (understandably) lower than when we did it at Onyx Path Con a couple months back. The chat seemed well behaved, too. I think it’s worth doing again.

Related, one of the panels I did was in Second Life on Saturday. I admit I was skeptical, but the people running it were some old friends of mine, so I gave it a try, and honestly it really scratched an itch that Twitch streams don’t. They built out a large chunk of the Indianapolis convention center, down to the Grand Ballroom and the food trucks, as well as more fantastical settings like a fantasy forest and a post-apocalypse landscape. Many of the people I talked to were very new to tabletop RPGs and just excited to hear about things like Pugmire. And, to be honest, not having a camera on my face all the time made me feel a lot more comfortable, and the chats I was having before and after the event felt more like coming and going to an in-person panel. Yes, it also suffered from some disjointed messaging and the like, but we had a talk about dealing with things like the learning curve, and they have some good ideas for other conventions going forward. The group is called VRazethebar, and it’s something I’m definitely keeping an eye on.

Which is actually pretty cool. A VR space to gather in rather than the stacked head-shots sounds really interesting and immersive. The future of LARPing?

The Dog Days of Summer Sale on our Deluxe X20 books and Screens and even dice is going gangbusters over at IPR. I’m told we are completely out of the very last Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Editions!

We added Changeling: The Dreaming 20th to the sale as well, so that includes the Deluxe book, the Screen, and C20 Dice!

Finally, we realized today that a bunch of us were going to be out all next week, and rather than having folks hang around as a skeleton crew, I just declared next week as a holiday for the whole company!

Frankly, we are beat every way somebody could be. Mentally, psychologically, physically, psychically, emotionally, creatively: BEAT. Our crew needs and deserves a break!

So, no MMN Blog next week, although we’ll probably put up a KS reminder or something like that late Monday.

No Onyx Pathcast next week, although I understand that this Friday the Trio will suggest their favorite ones to listen to while they’re gone.

We will have a project for sale that Weds, the 12th, as we can set that up ahead of time. More details below, but I’m thrilled to say it’s Mysteries of the World: The Scion Companion. I know a lot of folks have been waiting for more official Scion material – so here it is!

After a break to recharge, we’re hoping to come bouncing back all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (and fanged and caped) and get right back into taking you to our:

Many Worlds, One Path!


Blurbs!


Kickstarter!

The They Came From Beyond the Grave! Kickstarter continues to claw its way free, and in the process it reveals treasures hidden in the grave dirt: the Screen and the first section of Monsters from the Crypt: a book containing More Monsters, and also an exclusive KS t-shirt coupon! Next up in Stretch Goals are even More Monsters and electronic Wallpaper!

Thanks to all of you who have pledged to enable this fantastic project and its Stretch Goals!

Hereโ€™s a specially-made special trailer by the brilliant Larry Blamire:

And keep your eyes open for:


Onyx Path Media!

This week: They Came From Beyond the Grave! actual play!

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

First, let’s start with some amazing news: our amazing creators, players, and audiences worked together last week to produce some fantastic content for our Twitch channel, and not only that, they raise a grand total of $2,734.69 for charity! This is a wonderful accomplishment, and our hats go off to Travis Legge and the rest of the team who contributed to the running of this campaign.

If you missed the special streams we ran, do not despair: they are still available over onย twitch.tv/theonyxpath. Give us a follow, and you can find a huge number of videos of all kinds of games, PLUS, our What’s Up with Onyx Path? livestream conducted for Gen Con weekend!
This week on Twitch, expect to see these games and streams running:

  • Scarred Lands
  • Mage 20: Technocracy Reloaded
  • Scion – Behind the Screen
  • They Came from Beyond the Grave!
  • Mage: The Awakening – Occultists Anonymous
  • Scarred Lands – Purge of the Serpentholds
  • Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition
  • Even more Technocracy Reloaded!

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

Over on YouTube, our friends at Red Moon Roleplaying have concluded their They Came from Beyond the Grave!ย story, with their usual excellent editing, quality, and in this case, a lovely cast of players led by Director, Matthew Dawkins! Come join in and listen to the Cult of Abaddon at play: https://youtu.be/RDYzNbk7VkQ

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

Storytellers with Coffee – The Games of Onyx Path –ย https://youtu.be/QxRRq-WQytg

Changeling: The Lost – Littlebrook Reunion Episode 24 – https://youtu.be/huEkMrUcR2Q

Blood City: Chicago by Night Episode 22 – https://youtu.be/eYkgKmDY9-o

https://youtu.be/eYkgKmDY9-o

(Matthew’s favourite) Scarred Lands – Purge of the Serpentholds Episode 9 –ย https://youtu.be/3_mdkDrSezY

Deviant: The Renegades – A Cautionary Tale – Episode One – https://youtu.be/b394NFi0gnU

Realms of Pugmire: Paws & Claws – S2E9 – https://youtu.be/UAGU27vkJ54

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

Systematic Understanding of Everything is a new Exalted Explainer Podcast by Exalted Dev Monica Speca and Exalted Writer Chazz Kellner that is breaking down Creation in 45 minute chunks in preparation for Exalted Essence.

Their most recent episode in on Creation and its history – https://anchor.fm/exaltcast/episodes…reation-eg2g9d

Get past episodes at http://www.exaltcast.com/

The Story Told Podcast have just started a new chapter in their Fall of Jiara Exalted chronicle, and we’d love it if you gave them some support. Here’s episode one!

https://thestorytold.libsyn.com/fall-of-jiara-act-1-summary-recounting-of-the-past

And here’s their character introductions:

https://thestorytold.libsyn.com/fall-of-jiara-character-intros

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


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.)

Weโ€™re told that the App Dev is currently creating an updated version for the latest devices, so keep an eye open for those!


Virtual TableTop!

Introducing a Virtual Tabletop encounter pack for the Trinity Continuum Core: Hunt for the Red Widow on DTRPG!

Hunt for the Red Widow is a short encounter designed starting Talents in the Trinity Continuum Core setting. When a renowned but mysterious thief known as The Red Widow steals an ancient artifact from the ร†on Societyโ€™s vaults, it is up to the party to track her down and recover the device. She is heading to an old ruin said to unlock the artifactโ€™s true power. Can the heroes reach her in time?

Inside youโ€™ll find:

  • A short encounter for use with the Trinity Continuum Corebook
  • Two new antagonists: The Red Widow, and her minions, known simply as โ€œGhosts.โ€ Virtual tabletop tokens are included to represent the antagonists
  • Two maps, ready to be uploaded into your virtual tabletop platform of choice
  • New Anomaly Powers.

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:


Our Sales Partners!

Weโ€™re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire and Monarchies of Mau out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there! https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

Weโ€™ve added Princeโ€™s Gambit to our Studio2 catalog: https://studio2publishing.com/products/prince-s-gambit-card-game

Now, weโ€™ve added Changeling: The Lost Second Edition products to Studio2โ€˜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

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

Itโ€™s the return of the DOG DAYS OF SUMMER SALE!

As always, you can find Onyx Pathโ€™s titles at DriveThruRPG.com!


On Sale This Week!

This Wednesday, the PDF and PoD versions of They Came From Beneath the Sea! arise from the depths and go on sale on DTRPG!

They Came from Beneath the Sea! is a dramatic and farcical tabletop roleplaying game encompassing the wonder, horror, thrills, and humor of 1950s and 1960s science fiction. This game allows you to play with all the great content from the B-movies of decades ago, and promises a dynamic, fun time for all involved!

In They Came from Beneath the Sea! you play humans in a world under attack. The attackers? Aliens from beneath the sea (obviously). Adventures range from the one-shot defense of a small coastal town, to the lengthier liberation of a cruise ship infested with gill-folk, all the way to the story in which characters seize an alien submarine and ride it all the way down to the sea bed to take the fight to the invaders. In this game, your protagonists are strong-jawed war veterans, cunning and resourceful explorers, utterly insane scientists, and blue-collar heroes, just looking to defend their patches of land. 

They Came from Beneath the Sea! contains a mix of serious threat and unbridled farce. While the book plays it straight with no winking at the camera, your game will include ludicrous statements and events taken with all the gravitas of your boat being set on fire. While this game provides rules for funny quips and amusing cinematics for incorporation in a scenario, we leave it to the players and Director to discover the correct level of humor for your game.

They Came from Beneath the Sea! uses the Storypath System, provided in full in the pages of this book!

They Came from Beneath the Sea! includes:

โ€ข Five playable Archetypes โ€” the Everyman, the G-Man, the Mouth, the Scientist, and the Survivor!

โ€ข Rules for character creation and play, using the Storypath System fully detailed in this book!

โ€ข Cinematic powers such as the ability to insert deleted scenes in your game, cut to black when everything is looking a bit too grim, and redirect shots to kill the extras!

โ€ข Quips to throw in at appropriate (and sometimes inappropriate) moments, giving your characters the chance at an award-winning scene!

โ€ข The history and setting of the 1950s world presented in this book!

โ€ข Scores of aliens promising the fall of the human race, presenting a broad array of dangers and objectives for repeat play!

โ€ข Two ready-to-play scenarios, straight out of the book!

And on Wednesday the 12th, we are delving into the Mysteries of the World: The Scion Companion, in PDF and PoD versions on DTRPG!

Though knowledge, wisdom, and the ability to see the unseen are many Scionsโ€™ birthrights, the World holds infinite secrets. Gaze deep into Tezcatlipocaโ€™s mirror or the eyes of an avian bringer of omens, and no matter how sagacious you imagine yourself to be, youโ€™ll learn something new โ€” or something older than time.

Scion: Mysteries of the World presents optional rules and new pantheons, expands upon setting elements and systems, and gives Storyguides and players both a leg up in not only understanding Scionโ€™s particular brand of the Storypath system, but fine-tuning it to meet their tableโ€™s needs. You donโ€™t need this book to play a game of Scion, but if you want to explore the World and its many mysteries in more depth, itโ€™s got you covered.

This book includes:

  • A system and advice for dialing elements of the game setting up and down to uniquely suit your game;
  • An expansion of cults, crafting, and relics;
  • Three new pantheons โ€” the Loa of Haiti, the Nemetondevos of Gaul, and the Yazata of Persia โ€” as well as the optional Atlantean pantheon, as an example that comes with advice and rules for how to create your own custom Purviews and pantheons;
  • A guide for converting Scion First Edition characters and stories to Second Edition.

Conventions!

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

PAX Unplugged: https://unplugged.paxsite.com/


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)
  • The Devoted Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)
  • M20 Technocracy Operativeโ€™s Dossier (Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary)
  • Prometheus Unbound (was Psi Orders) (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
  • No Gods, No Masters (Scion 2nd Edition)

Redlines

  • Dragon-Blooded Novella #2 (Exalted 3rd Edition)
  • Wild Hunt (Scion 2nd Edition)
  • CtL 2e Novella Collection: Hollow Courts (Changeling: The Lost 2e)
  • Adversaries of the Righteous (Exalted 3rd Edition)
  • Squeaks In The Deep (Realms of Pugmire)
  • Trinity Continuum: Anima

Second Draft

  • Many-Faced Strangers โ€“ Lunars Companion (Exalted 3rd Edition)
  • Contagion Chronicle Ready-Made Characters (Chronicles of Darkness)
  • Dead Manโ€™s Rust (Scarred Lands)
  • The Clades Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)
  • M20 Rich Bastardโ€™s Guide To Magick (Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary)
  • Dystopia Rising: Evolution Fiction Anthology (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)
  • Hundred Devilโ€™s Night Parade (Exalted 3rd Edition)
  • Novas Worldwide (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
  • Exalted Essence Edition (Exalted 3rd Edition)
  • Saints and Monsters (Scion 2nd Edition)

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)
  • Assassins (Trinity Continuum Core)
  • Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)
  • V5 Forbidden Religions (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)
  • V5 Children of the Blood (was The Faithful Undead) (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)
  • Trinity Continuum: Adventure! core (Trinity Continuum: Adventure!)

Manuscript Approval

  • Crucible of Legends (Exalted 3rd Edition)
  • M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
  • V5 Trails of Ash and Bone (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)
  • Mission Statements (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Post-Approval Development

Editing

  • Lunars Novella (Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)
  • Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition core rulebook (Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition)
  • Playerโ€™s Guide to the Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)
  • Contagion Chronicle Jumpstart (Chronicles of Darkness)
  • TC: Aberrant Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
  • LARP Rules (Scion 2nd Edition)
  • Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)
  • The Book of Lasting Death (Mummy: The Curse 2e)
  • Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)
  • Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)
  • Dearly Bleak โ€“ Novella (Deviant: The Renegades)
  • N!ternational Wrestling Entertainment (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
  • Under Alien Skies (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Post-Editing Development

  • City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)
  • W20 Shattered Dreams Gift Cards (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th)
  • Cults of the Blood Gods (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)
  • Hunter: The Vigil 2e core (Hunter: The Vigil 2nd Edition)
  • Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
  • Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)
  • Monsters of the Deep (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)
  • Legendlore core book (Legendlore)
  • Pirates of Pugmire KS-Added Adventure (Realms of Pugmire)
  • Tales of Aquatic Terror (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)
  • Terra Firma (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
  • One Foot in the Grave Jumpstart (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2e)
  • Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)
  • Trinity Continuum Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum)
  • They Came From Beyond the Grave! (They Came From!)

Indexing

  • Lunars: Fangs At The Gate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Art Direction from Mike Chaney!

In Art Direction

  • Tales of Aquatic Terror
  • WoD Ghost Hunters (KS)
  • Aberrant
  • Hunter: The Vigil 2e
  • Mummy 2
  • Deviant โ€“ Sam doing fulls for this next. Contracting out all the rest.
  • Legendlore
  • Technocracy Reloaded
  • Cults of the Blood God โ€“ Rolling along.
  • Scion: Dragon (KS) โ€“ Splats contracted.
  • Masks of the Mythos (KS) โ€“ KS art contracted, a couple of finals already in.
  • Scion: Demigod (KS) โ€“ Fulls are almost done… other stuff progressing.
  • They Came From Beyond the Grave! (KS) โ€“ KS running.
  • TC: Adventure! (KS) โ€“ Cover is in.
  • Geist: One Foot In the Grave

In Layout

  • Yugmanโ€™s Guide to Ghelspad
  • Vigil Watch
  • V5 Let the Streets Run Red โ€“ Almost wrapped up, still working on Loresheets.
  • Pugmire Adventure
  • Scion Titanomachy
  • Trinity Core Jumpstart

Proofing

  • Trinity Aeon Jumpstart โ€“ PoD files updated.
  • Lunars: Fangs at the Gate โ€“ Indexing.
  • Cavaliers of Mars: City of the Towered Tombs
  • Magic Item Decks (Scarred Lands)
  • Yugmanโ€™s Guide Support Decks (Scarred Lands)
  • TC Aeon Terra Firma

At Press

  • TCFBTS Heroic Land Dwellers โ€“ PoD proof on the way.
  • TCFBTS Screen and Booklet โ€“ Files at press.
  • They Came from Beneath the Sea! โ€“ Shipping from printer to KS fulfiller, PDF and PoD versions on sale this Weds.
  • Pirates of Pugmire โ€“ Shipping from printer to KS fulfiller.
  • Pirates of Pugmire Screen โ€“ Files at press.
  • Dark Eras 2 โ€“ Files printing.
  • Dark Eras 2 Screen and booklet โ€“ Files at press.
  • Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition Dark Eras Compilation โ€“ PoD proof on the way.
  • Contagion Chronicle โ€“ Press prep.
  • Contagion Chronicle Screen and Booklet โ€“ Files at press.
  • Lunars Wall Scroll Map โ€“ Files at press.
  • Lunars Screen and Booklet โ€“ Files at press.
  • Scarred Lands Creature Collection โ€“ Printing.
  • Scion Companion โ€“ One PoD proof in, other expected this week. PDF and PoD versions on sales next Weds, not this Weds!

Todayโ€™s Reason to Celebrate!

One happy and one sad today. Today is the 49th birthday of our Kickstarter Concierge James Bell! James has been a ray of blinding golden light or a veritable Grond of Kickstarter-running for us and we’re sure glad to have him! Have a great day, eh!

Mike Chaney let us know today of the passing of his mother last night. None of us ever met her, but she managed to raise one of the nicest people, and talented art direction and layout maestro, that Mike is, so we feel like we have in a way. Thank you so much for that, ma’am. RIP.

64 thoughts on “They Came From…?! [Monday Meeting Notes]”

  1. Take the time off. Relax, spend some quality time with loved ones, have a beer (next one I have Iโ€™ll raise the glass to you guys). In a horrible 2020 itโ€™s important you practice some self care.

    Reply
  2. Yโ€™all are doing so, so much, I get winded just looking at the lists!

    Iโ€™m looking forward to They Came from beyond the Grave, by the bye. Those old vampire and monster movies are what first got me interested in vampires, which led eventually to Vampire: The Masquerade, which really led to Onyx Path starting up after the crazy success of V20 and your passion to build on that. So, I can say it feels like coming full circle, the really long way!

    Reply
    • Yep! The Hammer and Corman films were a big influence as a way to do monster horror that wasn’t the old Universal Monsters, and that opened things up for a lot of the direct influences of the early WW creators. Nobody creates in a vacuum, and the input that most impacts a generation of creators then goes on to impact the next. And so on!

      Reply
  3. Definitely a ‘They Came From Beyond the Stars’ Call of Cthulhu type thing would be AMAZING.

    (Or ‘From Outside Time and Space’ or ‘From Below the Universe’ or ‘From Outside Our Dimension’, etc.)

    Reply
  4. They Came From Summer Camp! I’d love to see a tongue-in-cheek game for surviving summer camp slashers. Or any of the 80’s slashers, really.

    Reply
  5. I’m glad you decided to declare a company holiday. It sounds like it is definitely needed. Enjoy!

    This Fall is going to be a goldmine for KS projects landing on my doorstep. So many are printing or about to print that I may have to get a new bookshelf (finally!).

    My thoughts on possible additions to the They Came From line are:

    * They Came From Beyond The Stars / Moon
    * They Came From The Dawn Of Time (Dinosaur / reptilian humanoid invasion)
    * They Came From Beneath The Sands (Mummy / cults / archeology)
    * They came from Beneath The Ice (global warming meets lost ancient civilizations)

    Rest In Peace, Mrs. Chaney, and my condolences to Mike and his family.

    Reply
    • Thanks for the ideas, they all sound like fun! KS delivery is a combination of Covid-19 effects across the industries we work with and our own schedule as some books are coming out faster and catching up to books that are running slower. But great to finally get them all coming out!

      Reply
  6. They Came from Below the Ground! Hollow Earth? Check. Mole Men? Check. A certain journey, perhaps to the center of the Earth? Check. What more could the Society of Ether request for planet-side exploration?

    Condolences to Mr. Cheney, and belated birthday wishes to Mr. Bell.

    Reply
    • I can only say that we have ideas, but nobody has been hired to start writing anything, so nothing has shown up on the Progress Report yet.

      Reply
  7. I would love They Came from Monster Island – a kaiju game based on the Godzilla films, as well as Gamera, Ultraman, King Kong, etc. Mostly because I’d want the game to be from humanity’s point of view… and I don’t even know how a game like that would work, so I’d be interested just to see what it looked like.

    Reply
  8. How is it that the Exalted Adversaries and Night Parade books are taking so long to complete when all the content has already been released? Shouldn’t you just need to redo the layout?

    Reply
  9. My condolences to Mike for the loss, I wish him well!

    Well, it looks like I will be buying a book from you guys tomorrow. After falling in love with Grave! there is no way I will be missing Sea!.

    Seeing Adventure! sort of move up the chain (that is getting bolded in the chart) always brings a smile on my face. I hope it gets Kickstarted sooooon! hehe

    On They Come From the idea for Space or Beyond the Moon is totally something that comes to me.

    Reply
  10. My “They Came from…” suggestions
    * The Came from Within the Conspiracy (X-Files, Millennium, The Lone Gunmen, Men in Black, The Matrix) – paranoid 90s in all their glory! Just in time for all that 90s nostalgia in the upcoming decade!

    * The Came from Before the Editing (The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity, Rec, The Poughkeepsie Tapes, District 9, Cloverfield, The Tapes, Apollo 18, V/H/S, Chronicle) – found footage finally finds its way into RPGs (late 90s, 00s and 10s)!

    Reply
    • Are we getting nostalgic for the 90s? I guess so, I’ve seen a few things that do bring it back. Not sure if the whole WoD isn’t They Came From Within the Conspiracy!, actually. ๐Ÿ˜‰

      Found footage does raise some interesting ideas on both gameplay and using items to relay that gameplay. Especially for online play.

      Reply
  11. So sorry to hear that about Mr. Chaney’s loss.

    If there was one thing I could push for, it would be Trinity:Aberrant. Just a new manuscript for us KS backers to glance through, possibly build a few characters, maybe take it out for a test drive…

    Reply
    • Thank you, I’ll pass it on.

      Glad you’re rarin’ to go with TC: Aberrant! We’re pushing to get the backer PDF out as soon as we can. Putting out multiple iterations of just the text really isn’t viable for us, though, with the way we design books. Layout itself is often where big changes are made – including even dropping out whole sections that might have been in the text. Having many different iterations floating around confusing potential players, and even worse for the final version of the project, confusing editors as to which text they are using, would be bad overall.

      Reply
  12. They Came from Outer Space! – Alien invasion game, could pull a lot of 50s/60s B-movie tropes from that, with options for 90s abduction movies or X-Files.

    They Came at High Noon! – Cowboys/Westerns. If blended with horror themes, makes for a “weird west” game a la Deadlands or Werewolf: the Wild West.

    They Came from the Shadows! – For general 80s slasher film horror.

    They Came from Beyond the Stars! – Lovecraftian horror / “Reanimator” bad horror

    Reply
    • I also thought about High Noon for a Western-themed one, but we really have to be careful that a different meaning could be read into any title. We’d rather let players throw in the innuendo as they play. All good ideas, though- thanks!

      Reply
      • I would also love to see a story path version of westerns. Seems like the system could really work with that particular genre.

        Speaking of WW: Wild West, that was a beautiful book, Rich. I have no idea how you managed to persuade the higher ups to put a bullet hole through the book, but that combined with the yellowed pages made for an extraordinary book. I actually have it on a coffee table and non-gamers check it out all the time and theyโ€™re always impressed with its appearance.

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  13. Y’all deserve that break so much! Have a good time. ๐Ÿ™‚

    As for a They Came, not a fully formed concept yet, but, could there be a sort of monster of the week 90s/early 2000s show concept? Obvious inspiration would be Buffy.

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    • Thanks, Y! So, They Came Each Week!? Dunno, we might be treading into iffy title territory, although Monster of the Week seems valid. Buffy and Angel qualify, but I’m coming up with earlier than that concepts like Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Weirdness of the Week, though, could cover everything from the Twilight Zone and Outer Limits up through Friday the 13th The Series and the X-Files through to Warehouse 13 and Black Mirror. They Came From an Anthology Series!

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      • 100% agreed. On all of those points and especially in avoiding the title. Dare I add Dr Who? It’s frequently a monster of the week type deal although the timey-whimey shenanigans might disqualify it.

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        • Sure, that works! Although decade-wise we might be looking at the Hiatus time period. But, the Pertwee and Unit years were certainly part of the inspiration for They Came From Beneath the Sea!.

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          • You’re right. That’s completely fair. Guess the good Doctor’s off the table.

            The title is surprisingly hard to come up with. Everything I think of cuts out a large part of the shows on the list.

            The two that I keep coming back to are “They came for the chosen one” or “They came from the gates of hell”. Both work for Buffy/Angel, but doesn’t exactly vibe with the others. I suppose one COULD see Mulder as a “chosen one” but that’s a stretch.

          • Yep, staying focused on the theme is a huge part of making the game resonate with folks, and it informs the approach to the writing and such things as character types, quips, and cinematics, but if you go too tight on theme then you lose being able to include a lot of the inspirational media. It’s a balancing act.

          • Well, there’s been some Doctor Who in every decade since the 1960s. The 80s had the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors, the 90s had the Eighth Doctor in the TV Movie, and the 00s saw the relaunch of the show. And that’s not mentioning the officially licensed novels, comics and audio plays that came out during the 90s, mostly starring the Seventh and Eighth Doctors.

    • At least the archetypes and paths from Beyond the Grave work really well for Buffy. You just don’t have Buffy’s supernatural strength and such in the rules.

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  14. One that struck me today (and I posted to the forum thread) was They Came From the Center of the Earth! You could have mole men, Silurians, Lovecraftian horrors sleeping deep in the ground awakened by mining/blasting, and even a journey to the center of the Earth!

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    • I do love some Center of the Earth stories. You might get your fix for them with TC:Adventure! and all its pulp glory once we start delving (get it?) into it.

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  15. I’m just reading this on Friday because I’m a high school registrar and this has been a tougher than usual registration season this year, so I feel that word, BEAT.

    Take your well-deserved rest, you can’t burn out or who would make all the games I love playing!

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  16. Hi guys,

    I noticed there was no mention of Geist Condition Cards in the upcoming products. I’m wondering if that’s because you don’t count them in the list or if you’re no longer doing them?

    Thanks again for everything.

    Reply

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