That’s the first Strata you encounter going down below the surface – thick heavy clay – a deep Strata, and not awesome to stay in, but great to get through. Mud Town is at the lowest reaches (with all those miles of clay above it) and you can follow the trade tunnels to even lower Strata.
If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then you have to check out the The World Below on Crowdfunding By BackerKit!
That’s the game where in order to move forward with your life, those of your friends and families, and the communities you bond with, like Mud Town, you have to go deeper into the Strata in the earth.
Our The World Below crowdfunding campaign funded is just over two days and has steadily moved forward (down through the clay) and achieved a T-Shirt (a classic Stretch Goal reward), a starter adventure PDF, and an alternative reward for backers to pick from: a different messenger bag design to hold all of your TWB rewards! Here’s a pic:
So that’s some substantive SGs right there, and we’ve just gotten started! In fact, the next one is quite cool: ED GREENWOOD’S MONSTROUS ECOLOGY – The intrepid Ed Greenwood delves into some of the common colossal bugs, monstrous entities, and carnivorous beasts dwelling in The World Below with the first part of our ecology book.
Yep, the creator of the Forgotten Realms setting for D&D, Ed Greenwood, has been a phenomenal addition to the writing team, and wrote such interesting and compelling looks at the many subterranean creatures that dwell in The World Below that we want to highlight his work by creating a separate ecology book where we’re not limited to the space constraints of the core book!
Here’s a link to our The World Below panel from this last Onyx Path Virtual Con that Ed sat in on:
And if you like to get your info via vids, here’s a whole mine cart of links to a bunch of the explanatory videos Matthew has made, as well as to a whole lotta Actual Plays:
Matthew Dawkins continues The Gentleman’s Guide to The World Below, on YouTube and via podcast! you can find the most recent episodes right here:
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byXtKKUiFz0
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui4Yccthino
– https://open.spotify.com/show/7KhUQtkobfppw8rDGooBcC?si=c015521208594e47
And lots of actual plays for The World Below from:
– Lore by Night (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br25O6Vyb_U)
– The Old Ways Podcast (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3qJyppugLg)
– Queen’s Court Games (https://www.queenscourt.games/)
– Dork Tales (https://www.youtube.com/c/DorkTales)
– Red Moon Roleplaying (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duf1uVdeb8g)
This Friday on the Onyx Pathcast will be the third episode of our intrepid team of delvers exploring down there hoping to gather new delicious foodstuffs (and do other things too. But mostly the food). You can get all of the episodes on your favorite podcast venue, but here’s a direct link to Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0pyqurmPC6u7MfwAbxpLyu?si=6099d7ec2a4c4247
And then, we also have a couple of The World Below shows on our Twitch this week: At 4pm EDT Wednesday is the charity Roll for Wishes one-shot AP with the ubiquitous Matthew Dawkins, and Saturday at 2pm there’s The World Below Meet Your Makers episode which is an interview show filled with all sorts of useful tidbits about the game!
Plus, there are channels on our Forums and Discord where you can pop in and chat with many of the creators and other interested fans – it’s truly an Onyx Path Age of Information right now! (Although not at all one in TWB timeline!)
Deep Into the GameHole
We had a small team for our small booth at GameHole Con, and they sent this very basic report, which was expanded on at the meeting: “We sold some books, gave out lots of Storypath Ultra brochures, ran some demos of Squeaks in the Deep, The World Below, Changeling: The Lost, Scarred Lands, and Dystopia Rising. We moved a few items like the CofD Core, CtL 2e, HtV2e, and an assortment of other titles.”
Basically, we’re looking at our mix of having books at the booth to sell, vs using the booth and other space to demo. We’ll see how dipping our toes back into booth sales did once all the reports are in.
Speaking of sales, DTRPG‘s Halloween Sale is on now:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/halloween.php?manufacturers_id=4261
https://www.drivethrufiction.com/halloween.php?manufacturers_id=4261
For trad printed physical books, Halfoween is back at Indie Press Revolution:
https://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Deals-and-Specials/
And you just might be able to still pledge to the Bundle of Holding Scarred Lands deal as of this writing, which also sends a portion of earnings to the Bodhana Group as our designated charity:
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/Scarred5E
I wanted to note, especially for you M20 fans who had to wait for the PoD versions of Lore of the Traditions that we have received corrected versions of them and so it’ll be available this Weds! I know it’s a drag to wait so long for a technical snafu to get fixed, and the time frame for PoD proofs is another wait, but it’ll be over on Weds so we can all feel better about it – and have a book where the text isn’t hidden by art!
And not to slight our monthly Tasty Bit that is also going on sale this Weds on DTRPG, since Cabin in the Woods is an excellent little addition for anybody who enjoyed They Came From Camp Murder Lake! (which was a fair number!) Perfect for a Halloween one-shot!
Our Monday Meeting crew spent some time reviewing just which books are going to be crowdfunded in 2024, and it’s looking like a fun assortment. We tend not to absolutely lock them in so that we can swap time frames around if we need to, as well as which crowdfunding venues are doable when, so there is still a bit of room if you’re reading this and have ideas on what you’d like to see us crowdfund.
Feel free to drop your ideas in the Comments below!
Finally, it’s coming down to the last eight days of October – which means only eight more ink drawings for Inktober from me. I can see the inky light at the end of the inky tunnel! I’m going into the light!
If I come back, it’ll be so that you and I, together, can enjoy our:
Many Worlds, One Path!
Blurbs!
Crowdfunding!
Funded in 48 HOURS! We’re crowdfunding The World Below on BackerKit! We’ve already dug up three Stretch Goals including the beginning adventure, and a variant bag design shown above! You can dig it here!
Onyx Path Media!
This week: Episode 3 of the Pathcast‘s actual play of The World Below!
As always, this Friday’s Onyx Pathcast will be on Podbean or your favorite podcast venue!
Please check out our attached media schedule for the videos on our Twitch channel this week! In particular, keep those eyes open for our Storypath Showcase, where we give an excellent profile of our various Storypath games and how to play them!
MEDIA HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK:
Matthew Dawkins continues The Gentleman’s Guide to The World Below, on YouTube and via podcast! you can find the most recent episodes right here:
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byXtKKUiFz0
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui4Yccthino
– https://open.spotify.com/show/7KhUQtkobfppw8rDGooBcC?si=c015521208594e47
And lots of actual plays for The World Below from:
– Lore by Night (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br25O6Vyb_U)
– The Old Ways Podcast (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3qJyppugLg)
– Queen’s Court Games (https://www.queenscourt.games/)
– Dork Tales (https://www.youtube.com/c/DorkTales)
– Red Moon Roleplaying (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duf1uVdeb8g)
– The Onyx Pathcast (https://open.spotify.com/show/0pyqurmPC6u7MfwAbxpLyu?si=6099d7ec2a4c4247)
By gosh that’s a lot of games.
The Onyx Path News discusses recent and upcoming releases! You can find it on our YouTube channel (click the bell to be informed when we go live!) but if you missed the last episode, here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyfjp7XSzn4
Virtual Tabletop!
New on the Roll20 Marketplace, it’s the Scarred Lands Creature Collection and Camp Murder Lake Tokens for Roll20 VTT play!
NEW!
They Came From Beneath the Sea! on Roll20 VTT!
https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/bundle/22308/they-came-from-beneath-the-sea
Here are some more shots from the They Came From Beneath the Sea! Compendium!
And there’s also the Scion Jumpstart, all ready for Roll20 VTT fun!
More news and links when we have them!
The Scion: Origin and Scion Hero Compendiums are now available on Roll20!
https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/publisher/1716/onyx-path-publishing
Scion is just the start! They Came From Beneath the Sea! and other
Onyx Path RPGs are in development for Roll20 virtual tabletop!
The first of our official Scion sheets designed for Foundry VTT are
now available!
Direct Link: https://foundryvtt.co
Looking for more virtual tabletop resources? We have a selection of
Tokens, Encounters, and more available now at DriveThruRPG!
Get ’em here: https://bit.ly/3SnrNJ7
Our Sales Partners!
We’re working with Studio2 to provide our traditionally printed books out into your local game stores. Game stores can order via their usual distributors, and can also contact Studio2 directly. And individuals can check out our projects via the links below!
Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books, dice, and screens? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/
Halfoween is back at Indie Press Revolution. A mix of World of Darkness, Chronicles of Darkness, and Storypath books and screens are 50% Off:
https://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Deals-and-Specials/
As always, you can find Onyx Path’s titles in PDF and PoD versions at DriveThruRPG.com!
DTRPG‘s Halloween Sale is on now:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/halloween.php?manufacturers_id=4261
https://www.drivethrufiction.com/halloween.php?manufacturers_id=4261
Amazon and Barnes & Noble!
You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).
Check out Melody Through the Mirrorshade Lens and Facets of Truth, as well as Trinity Continuum: Terat and The Hollow Courts on Kindle in the Kindle store!
On Sale This Week!
After a bit of a manufacturing delay…hmmm, that was really a delay due to technology, wasn’t it?… The Lore of the Traditions for M20 is now ready to arrive for sale on DTRPG this Weds, with both PDF and PoD versions good to order!
Plus, in time for Halloween, here’s the latest of our delightful Tasty Bit PDFs: The Cabin In the Woods mini-adventure and map suitable for tabletop and VTT play! Based on They Came From Camp Murder Lake!. Wednesday, also on DTRPG!
Conventions!
As we are slowly returning to attending conventions in person after avoiding them during the COVID-19 outbreak, keep an eye out here for more physical and virtual conventions we’re going to be involved with!
We’ll be part of the Studio 2 booth at PAX Unplugged (December 1st – 3rd):
https://unplugged.paxsite.com/
Game Night With Onyx Path Publishing at StartPlaying is this Friday the 27th! Come play some of our games, especially The World Below – you can use the Ashcan! (But any of our game lines are welcome all day long!)
Please spread the word about GMing games as much as
possible. Details on how list a game are at the bottom of the page in
the FAQ:
https://startplaying.games/event/game-night-onyx-path
Project Status Updates!
Our full list of projects will be available monthly on our blog! Check out September’s full list report here:
DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM EDDY
Here are the projects that moved to the next stage of production:
First Draft
Scion – Titans Rising Origin and Hero Adventures
- Matthew: We are a go with adventures for both Origin and Hero tier Titans! The best way to start up a Scion Titans game.
ART DIRECTION FROM MIKE CHANEY!
In Art Direction
- Ex3 Eight Directions – I’m getting an update from Maria on where things are on the maps.
- Ex3 Many Faced Strangers – Half pagers and fulls are in progress.
- The World Below – Ticking along…
- TCF Cyclops Cave and Classified Jumpstarts – looking for artists for these… but it should be a pretty quick turnaround as all the art we should need is some halves and maps for the adventure portion.
In Layout
- SCION Once and Future – I’m working on this when I’m not working on Exigents.
- W20 Icons of Rage – I got teh last of the portraits in….
Proofing
- Scion CC Guide – Getting this over for final proof.
- HtV Jumpstart – Wrapping this up this week.
- TCF Classified – First set of comments being worked on by Ron.
- TCF Cyclops Cave – Wrapping up Ch8 and getting the other half over for proofing.
- Ex3 Across the 8 Directions (sans Maps)
Indexing
At Press
- TC Adventure – Still asea…
- TC Adventure Screen and Booklet
- W20 Apocalyptic Record – Printing.
- W20 Apocalyptic Record Screen & Booklet
- Exalted Essence – Prepping Trad Print files.
- Ex Essence Screen
- M20 Lore of the Traditions – Prepping Trad Print Files. PoD versions getting ready for sale.
- Ex3 Crucible of Legends VTT Tokens
- Scion Dragon Jumpstart – PoD proofs ordered.
- Ex Essence Novella 1 – Prepping PoD files.
- Ex Essence Novella 3 – To backers for errata.
- Ex Essence VTT Assets
- TC Anima – I gotta interactivize the character sheet.
- Ex 3 Crucible of Legends – PoD files uploaded.
- TCPG KS Shirt
- Ex 3 Exigents Shirt
- M20 Lore of the Traditions – PDF and PoD versions NOW TOGETHER on sale this Weds on DTRPG!
Today’s Reason to Celebrate!
Today in 1958 – Belgian artist Peyo’s comic characters, the Smurfs, make their debut in Spirou magazine. Little blue people who may indeed have fled beneath the surface into The World Below!
Comments
4 responses to “Tunneling Through the Clay! [Monday Meeting Notes]”
Have you considered kickstarting Scion: No Gods no Masters?
We have, yes. When we look at projects to KS – and I’m going to just use KS as a generic two letter abbreviation for crowdfunding from here on – the first qualifier is that we use KS to do projects that would take up-front big amounts of money to get started. So, Deluxe books (which started out whole KS thing) and traditionally printed books intended for backers and then into retail stores. There’s room for other reasons to KS something, like only by KSing it can we do X. In the case of the Dark Eras books or They Came From the RPG Anthology!, X was having backers vote on chapters, for example. And remember that there’s a limit to how many KSs we can run a year, so the ones we run have competition.
In terms of getting a project into stores, we look at trying to put in core books and general interest books – things that we think would be intriguing and useful if someone saw them on a shelf. Because we don’t want books sitting there for months on end, we want folks to buy them and give them good homes. Seems to me that NG,NM might have a more limited first-look appeal. But it’s right on the line so I’m not saying it will never happen.
Love the inktober drawing you included in today’s MMN! is there somewhere that all of your inktober drawings are posted?
Well, gosh – thanks! That means a lot! My Facebook page is public, so you should be able to dig them up, or via TwitterX @rich_thomas_op Otherwise, no, I’ve never gathered them all up in a convenient page somewhere…but it’s a good idea!