It has been Amazing fun revealing the wonders of Trinity Continuum: Anima to everyone through the course of its Kickstarter campaign! We are now in the last few days, and we have more than 900 backers – so lets see if the last couple of days “push” can take us over the enviable 1000 backers amount!

If you haven’t pledged, here’s a little incentive:

Like all of our current crowd-funding campaigns, we’ve been releasing the completed text to backers during this last month, and tomorrow is the big day where we release the Setting Secrets chapter! Never have there been more better setting secrets than those in this chapter, let me tell you.

But “why this thing?”, I hear you ask. And “who was responsible for that?”, is also a popular question. Tomorrow, Tuesday the 14th, you’ll know the answers to those and other equally insightful questions. Only for backers though, because they get the preview material; the fistful of Anima Secrets!

Seriously, the chapters distributed tomorrow really do contain the setting secrets and we truly do think you’ll enjoy them. So please consider backing if you haven’t already. And if you have: thank you, and can you reach out to friends and see if they’ll give it a shot?

Another thing I wanted to mention along the same lines, is something I’ve heard from some of our long-time Trinity Continuum fans. That’s the fact that we are actually all in on the Continuum aspect of the game line, and actually do design the material so that you can pull elements from one book and add them to your campaign – even if you are playing a different era!

That utility is one of the reasons we went with the continuum concept, and in some ways can best be seen in the various Tasty Bit projects that we’ve done so far. The specific focus of a Tasty Bit often lends itself to being set in one era – one bubble of the continuum – but they are usable in most of the others as well. This applies to all of the Trinity Continuum projects, but because they are so filled with info it’s often harder to realize that you can do that with that one element out of a dozen in a regular-sized book.

And part of the continuum is Trinity Continuum: Assassins, where Weds another couple of chapters will be revealed to pre-orderers, similar to what we’ve done with the chapter reveals talked about above. TC:Assassins is another project that some of our fans have seen as containing elements, or even tonalities, that they’d like to import to their ongoing TC games.

Do it, we say!

We love that!

Let’s Meet Again!

During our weekly meeting today, we were thrilled to get an email letting us know that one of our VTT projects will be ready to go live next week, so keep your peepers peeled for that announcement next week! It will indeed by a nice Xmas present to share!

Dixie visited PAX Unplugged over the weekend, and let us know that there were serious Covid protocols in place. Which is very good to know. She mentioned seeing a bunch of our friends there, and how everything was reduced – attendance, the exhibit hall, the gaming rooms. Which stands to reason.

But those folks who were there seemed to have a pretty good time, and the PAXu staff were great, as far as she could tell.

Dixie also mentioned that a bunch of folks asked where our booth was this year. It’s nice to be missed, and we hope to make it up to folks next year, but we’ve been pretty upfront about not going, so….

Along the same lines, while we aren’t attending the awesome MidWinter convention this year, Eddy Webb and a bunch of our freelancers will be, so if you want a great opportunity to try out various games with a super group of people, check out Midwinter in Milwaukee in mid-January (hence the name).

Which brings up something we talked a lot about today: how information flows. For example, I was recently lambasted on one of our social media venues because Onyx Path isn’t available except as PDFs unless we do a Kickstarter.

We’ve stressed how many venues we’re available in, and the various forms our projects take, every week here on this blog – just look below at our Sales area. And regularly on our social media. Even when we started, ten years ago – the lifetime of this company, DriveThruRPG offered our books as book PDFs AND as PoDs. (Print on Demand).

If you aren’t aware, PoDs are not electronic books.

PoDs are physical books that are printed one at a time, rather than hundreds or thousands of books being printed and bound all together as it is done in traditional printing. PoD books are printed for your order – you order one, and that order goes to their factory and your single book is printed and bound. You would be surprised at how many of the books you order from Amazon are actually PoDs, rather than traditionally printed books.

There are a lot of advantages to PoDs, both for the customer and for us, so they are part of our usual way to offer one of our books to you. For putting books into stores, though, I think traditional printing works best still, so we have done crowd-funding campaigns in order to create a big batch of books and get them into distribution and into stores.

That is where we work with Indie Press Revolution (IPR) and Studio2, who can offer distributors, stores, and individuals the ability to buy our traditionally printed books. Each of them have their own specialties as to which part of that they work with best, but that’s not germane right now.

Not every book we make is traditionally printed, but more and more of the core books are, as those are the ones that work economically with the scale of traditional printing.

So, the next time you hear somebody talking about Onyx Path not putting books in stores, or only selling PDFs, here’s where you can point them to so we can remove the gauze from their eyes and they can see the light of truth!

Finally, I had a lot of fun showing off the steps of how we created the artwork for the covers of Trinity Continuum: Assassins and Trinity Continuum: Anima last week. Currently, I’m pulling together what needs to be part of the cover illustration for Trinity Continuum: Aether, our Victorian-era, maybe steam-punk, setting that explores the world where many of the literary events written about that era actually occurred.

I know there is going to be a Martian invasion as part of the cover, but I’m curious as to what other imagery you folks think should appear there. What just screams Victorian Trinity Continuum to you? Go ahead and put your thoughts in the comments and I’ll talk it through with you. No guarantees your ideas will sway me and show up on the cover, but they could in this best of all possible:

Many Worlds, One Path!

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Blurbs!

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Kickstarter!

The Trinity Continuum: Anima Kickstarter funded in seven hours and has already passed several Stretch Goals, including a Terra Surge specific Reference Screen – A three-panel Storyguide Reference Screen with charts and information for running a game set in the virtual world of Terra Surge will be created and offered as an Add On to any hardcover reward tiers for +$25.

We’ve passed 900 backers so far, so please do help us spread the word and get some more interested folks over to check it out! Only 3 Days To Go!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/trinity-continuum-anima-tabletop-roleplaying-game

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Onyx Path Media!

This week: Gameline Strategy (why we pick the books we do for Kickstarter, pre-orders, etc.)!

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

For anyone new to our media section, you can find us running and playing games over on twitch.tv/theonyxpath 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! 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!

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK: Check out Ekorren’s YouTube channel for all kinds of Exalted videos that go deep in depth on all manner of Exalted topics! Here’s their latest offering: https://youtu.be/sQRZlioTxto

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. Please subscribe and click the bell icon if you want to be notified whenever new news videos and uploads come online! Please check the following videos out:

Storypath Storyguide Roundtable: https://youtu.be/u1A3m__Um8c

Trinity Continuum Anima: Polyhedron Podcast Actual Play – Episode Four: https://youtu.be/BbZNwpWoEEQ

Trinity Continuum Anima: Polyhedron Podcast Actual Play – Episode Five: https://youtu.be/57cPGvlgJwU

Trinity Continuum Anima: Polyhedron Podcast Actual Play – Episode Six: https://youtu.be/UpwLMFf2MWQ

Trinity Continuum Anima: Polyhedron Podcast Actual Play – Episode Seven: https://youtu.be/NMfDcu0QirE

Storypath Showcase – Trinity Continuum: Anima – Session Zero: https://youtu.be/yYeDpud-5m4

Storypath Showcase – Trinity Continuum: Anima – Session One: https://youtu.be/yYeDpud-5m4

Storypath Showcase – Trinity Continuum: Anima – Session Two: https://youtu.be/Bw2Oo6JwXyw

Scarred Lands – Sins of Shelzar – S2E7: https://youtu.be/TXChbYlQn5Y

307 RPG Podcast spent time discussing They Came from Beyond the Grave! in depth recently, and have even created a character! Listen to their show right here: https://307rpg.com/

ExalTwitch: Academy Season Two follows three young Dragon-Bloods in the aftermath of their school’s destruction. The House of Bells’ fall was blamed on Anathema corrupting the student body, but Oresta, Pyres, and Gale Whispered must clear their names and seek out those actually responsible before the Realm collapses. Here’s the latest episode! https://youtu.be/NEYb63Jq1ZY

Watch ExalTwitch: Academy live every Sunday at 18:00 ET on https://www.twitch.tv/rpgclinic.

And here are all the episodes of the new season for you! If you’ve missed any, the videos in their back catalogue are easy to find. All you have to do is subscribe. Here’s their entire playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsZP95-GZNa0ynoCIVyliNF5rypCHvh0M

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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 and appreciate your notes and feedback!

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Virtual Tabletop!

Jump into the Trinity Continuum with 3 NEW Astral Jumpstarts!

The Trinity Continuum is a vast timeline of adventure, speckled with dramatic points across the past, present, and future. Explore parts of the Trinity Continuum timeline with these three Jumpstarts fully enabled for play on Astral TableTop. Each Jumpstart includes ready-to-play characters and all the rules you need to embark on your Astral adventure.

A Quantum Leap (A Trinity Continuum: Jumpstart)

A group of cultists is playing with matter altering explosives beyond their control. Join forces with 3-5 players to track down and stop them before the universe as we know it is changed forever. 

The Adventures of Teen Tomorrow (A Trinity Continuum: Aberrant Jumpstart)

Bring the superhero action to your table with all the rules you need to assume the roles of Teen Tomorrow and jump right into play! This adventure is designed for 3-6 players.

Quantum Entanglement (A Trinity Continuum: Aeon Jumpstart)

The Stars Await! – Launch yourself onto the galactic stage with this high-flying, interstellar romp. Includes everything you need to run this adventure for 3-5 players. 

Also on Astral TableTop is the Secret of Vinsen’s Tomb for Realms of Pugmire!

Play Now on Astral TableTop!

The Secret of Vinsen’s Tomb module comes with all the maps and encounters, ready to play, along with pre-generated characters and character sheets wired up for automated rolling. It also offers the GameMaster some guidance on playing the scenario on Astral for those GMs new to the platform or entirely new to virtual tabletops (VTT).

Create a free account first, then the Quickstarts will be available on the Home page. If you are getting this via DTRPG, after checkout, look for the link to unlock your adventure on Astral.

Also on Astral TableTop, we have two free projects: Scion 2E: A Light Extinguished and Scarred Lands: Gauntlet of Spiragos and this Dagger of Spiragos module for sale: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/336406/Dagger-of-Spiragos-5e–Astral-VTT

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.

https://www.astraltabletop.com/

How to guides and FAQ: https://help.astraltabletop.com/

Here is the main filter for all of our current VTT content on DTRPG:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/4261/Onyx-Path-Publishing?filters=0_0_0_45317_0

A few highlights of our platform agnostic content:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/309127/Scarred-Lands-Creature-Collection-VTT-Token-Pack
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/317690/Trinity-Continuum-Hunt-for-the-Red-Widow-VTT
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/340327/Trinity-Continuum-Aeon-VTT-Tokens
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/311578/Scarred-Lands-VTT-Separation-Anxiety
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/311580/Scion-2e-VTT-Origin-Signature-Tokens
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/311579/Scion-2e-VTT-Hero-Signature-Tokens

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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!

Also this week, the PoD for the Scarred Lands fiction anthology: Champions of the Scarred Lands is live to order on Amazon!

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

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!

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On Sale This Week!

This Wednesday you can get started in the war for reality with Welcome to the Rock! the M20 Technocracy Reloaded Jumpstart in PDF/electronic and PoD versions on DTRPG!

Welcome to the Technocratic Union

The Technocracy Reloaded Jumpstart contains everything you need to tell a story of Enlightened Scientists in the world of Mage 20th Anniversary Edition. This book contains a condensed but complete ruleset, a primer on Enlightened Science and the Paradox a Technocrat risks when pushing the boundaries of consensus too far, as well as an introductory tale centered around a group of Technocratic agents starting a new assignment in a troubled Illinois Construct. The Technocracy Reloaded Jumpstart includes:

• An overview of the Technocratic Union in Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition
• All the rules the Storyteller will need to run a Technocracy Reloaded game
• A complete story: Welcome to the Rock
• Six ready-made characters so you can start playing Technocracy Reloaded right away

The Secret of Vinsen’s Tomb for Pugmire will make its debut on the Amazon PoD store, and Dearly Bleak, the Deviant: The Renegades novella, makes its debut on the Kindle store!

Remember: the Pre-Order page for Trinity Continuum: Assassins is open on DTRPG! https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/379041

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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!

While we won’t be attending as a company, Eddy and a few more of our gang will be at Midwinter Convention in Milwaukee in January. Seek them out if you are attending those cons!

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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)
• Terat Novella (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• Tasty Bit: Polyphemus (Trinity Continuum)

Redlines

• Dragon-Blooded Novella #2 (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Tome of the Pentacle (Mage: the Awakening 2e)
• Scion: God (Scion 2e)
• With Great Power (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• Adventure! Addendum (Trinity Continuum: Adventure!)
• Squeaks in the Deep Jumpstart (Realms of Pugmire)

Second Draft

• The Hedge (Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition)

Development

• Contagion Chronicle: Global Outbreaks (Chronicles of Darkness)
• Wild Hunt (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Bizarre Tales and Unusual Characters (M20 Victorian)
• Weird Wonders and Revolutionary Magick (M20 Victorian)
• No Gods, No Masters (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Scion: Dragon Jumpstart (Scion 2nd Edition)
• W20 Howls of Apocalypse Scenario Book (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)

Manuscript Approval

• Trinity Continuum: Aether core book (Trinity Continuum: Aether)

Post-Approval Development

• Exigents (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Scion: Dragon Companion (Scion 2nd Edition)

Editing

• Lunars Novella (Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• The Book of Lasting Death (Mummy: The Curse 2e)
• M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
• The Clades Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)
• CtL2e Novella Collection: Hollow Courts (Changeling: The Lost 2e)
• Legacies of Earth (Legendlore)
• Exalted Essence Edition (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Proteus Nova Compendium (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• They Came From [Classified]! Jumpstart (They Came From…!)
• Realms of Magic and Mystery (was Terra Incognita) (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Vigil Watch: The Kelder Mountains (Scarred Lands)
• The Paranormal Investigator’s Handbook (WoD 20th)
• Apocalyptic Record (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
• M20 Lore of the Traditions (Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
• Many-Faced Strangers – Lunars Companion (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Panopticon Novella (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)
• TC: Adventure! Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Adventure!)
• W20 Icons of Rage (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
• Squeaks in the Deep Companion (Realms of Pugmire)
• Whispers From Darkness (was Masks of the Mythos Companion) (Scion 2nd Edition)

Post-Editing Development

• Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Squeaks In The Deep (Realms of Pugmire)
• Novas Worldwide (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• Saints and Monsters (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Trinity Continuum: Assassins (Trinity Continuum Core)
• Prometheus Unbound (was Psi Orders) (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
• The Devoted Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)
• Contagion Chronicle Ready-Made Characters (Chronicles of Darkness)
• Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Trinity Continuum: Adventure! core (Trinity Continuum: Adventure!)
• Mission Statements (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
• Tales of Depravity! (They Came From…!)
• Trinity Continuum: Anima
• They Came From [Classified]! (They Came From…!)
• Once and Future (Scion 2nd Edition)
• They Came From the Cyclops’s Cave! core book (They Came From…!)
• Dead Man’s Rust (Scarred Lands)
• Crucible of Legends (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Adversaries of the Righteous (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Tasty Bit: They Came From Animal Distaster Films!

Indexing

• Hunter 2e (Hunter: The Vigil 2e)

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Art Direction from Mike Chaney!

In Art Direction

• Scion: Dragon
• Masks of the Mythos
• TC: Adventure!
• M20 Victorian
• Dead Man’s Rust – Sending to Maria to AD.
• Exalted Essence – Art buy figured.
• TC Mission Statements
• Squeaks In The Deep
• Realms of Magic and Mystery
• TC: Anima (KS) – KS live.
• TC: Assassin – Maria ADing.
• Legendlore: Legacies of the Earth
• Novas Worldwide
• W20 Apocalyptic Record
• Mage20 Lore of the Traditions – KS art AD’d – working on design assets.
• TCFBtG! Monsters From the Crypt
• They Came From [CLASSIFIED]! and They Came From the Cyclops’s Cave – Art is going – checking in on artists this week.
• Kith and Kin – Awaiting art notes.
• EX3 Exigents (KS) – Art notes to Maria to get artists, Gong working on splats.
• EX3 Across the 8 Directions – Awaiting art notes.
• EX3 Adversaries of the Righteous – Awaiting art notes.

In Layout

• Scion: Demigod – Layout proceeding.
• Squeaks in the Deep Screen
• Squeaks in the Deep – Layout proceeding.
• TC Prometheus Unbound – Layout now with me.
• HtV 2e Screen
• Paranormalists Handbook – Layout proceeding with Josh.
• Saints and Monsters – Layout proceeding.
• TCFGtG! Heroes in a World of Horror – Layout with Ron.

Proofing

• Hunter: The Vigil 2e – Indexing.
• Spiragos Collected Adventures
• They Came From Camp Murder Lake! – Prepping PDF and PoD files.
• Hundred Devils Night Parade – Advance PDF errata input.
• M20 Technocracy Dossier/Companion
• Aberrant VTT
• Tasty Bit: They Came From the Bermuda Triangle!

At Press

• M20 Technocracy Reloaded – Deluxe getting ready for press.
• Mummy 2e – Getting ready for press.
• Mummy 2e Screen – Files sent to printer.
• Deviant – Press proofs back to printer.
• Deviant Screen – Files sent to printer.
• Technocracy Reloaded Screen – Files sent to printer.
• TGFBtG! Screen – Files sent to printer.
• WoD Ghost Hunters – Trad printed book files with printer.
• WoD Ghost Hunters Screen – Prepping for printer.
• Legendlore – Trad printed book files with printer.
• Legendlore Screen – Files with printer.
• TC Aeon Novella: Dawn – PoD proof ordered.
• V5 Forbidden Religions – PoD proof ordered.
• M20 Technocracy Jumpstart – PDF and PoD versions go live on Wednesday on DTRPG!
• They Came From Beneath the Sea! Jumpstart – PoD proofs ordered.
• They Came From Beyond the Grave! – Trad printing proofs being reviewed, PoD proofs ordered.
• Trinity Continuum: Assassins pre-order is live on DTRPG.
• They Came From Beyond the Grave! Jumpstart – PoD proofs ordered.
• TC Aberrant N!WE – PoD proofs ordered.
• Ghost Hunters Jumpstart and RMCs – PDF going out to KS backers.
• Dystopia Rising Evolution fiction: Exquisite Corpse – PDF going out to backers.

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Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

Not a good weekend for seminal influences. Let us celebrate the life, career, writings, and influence over the world of horror in general, and the World of Darkness in particular, of Anne Rice, who passed away this weekend. Without her work, starting with Interview with the Vampire, the definition of vampires in popular culture would be very different indeed. She took the cool, sexy, vampire – which was present but not as overt – and ran with it, changing vampires and vampire culture forever. In addition, we lost Mike Nesmith, who was best known as a musician and performer with The Monkees, and who went on to innovate and trailblaze new technology and media. As a Monkee, Mike’s thoughts on creativity and human and creators’ rights often came through his character’s lines, and influenced a generation. Finally, we celebrate the life of Dr. James Gibson, spiritual healer, whose wisdom and advice helped guide me through many decades, and who will be missed be all of us lucky enough to be his friends.