Victory Howls Around the Fire! [Monday Meeting Notes]

Of course, first news is about our Kickstarter for W20 Apocalyptic Record – we went live and funded last Tuesday! AWHOOOO!

Thanks to everybody who backed already and also to everybody who spread the word beforehand! Great job folks! You’re the reason we’re going to be able to create this deluxe book!

Thank you all!

If I’m getting a little misty here, it’s just that I’ve had a long association with Werewolf: The Apocalypse. So gather around the fire and listen to my short snippets of larger tales of the olden times (the 1990’s).

The first I heard about WtA was when Stewart Wieck described how we were going “all in” on the World of Darkness and releasing a new game line every year. Committing to a new “monster game” for five years running was not how it was done, but it sure did build interest!

And the first announced game after Vampire: The Masquerade was Werewolf. Stew told me that he had pushed to make them something more than the old Wolfman-style werewolves, and had added the further idea of their ecological awareness and fight to save the natural world.

When I got down to the WW offices to start my position in charge of visuals and production in May, I found out that the book needed to go to press by July 1 at the latest in order to make it to Gen Con and fulfill the first new WoD game after Vampire promise.

But the book was still being edited, and we had very little art.

So, getting the unfinished text, I began to art direct my first core rule book! Fortunately, we had a few plusses going in. Chris McDonough had a rusty slab of metal we could use as the cover texture ala the green marble from VtM. Josh Timbrook had not only done a bunch of gorgeous concept art to illustrate the forms, but had bought a few color and b&w art pieces already.

Josh also pitched me his idea for an illustrated running battle from two page spread to two page spread throughout the combat chapter. Josh was a meticulous artist, so I had to decide to risk whether he could finish in time vs a cool idea that very importantly meant we had a whole chapter that didn’t need other art.

Obviously, the infamous “Flip-book of Doom” chapter, as it was called soon after the book was published, did get made. And Josh did get all the art in – just in time. But it was close.

100 Devils Night Parade art by Yiyhoung Li

Meanwhile, I was reaching out to artists like John Cobb and John Bridges who would become WtA stalwarts, and desperately trying to find a full-page artist as the one we thought we had on the project actually wasn’t able to do it. Somebody put us in contact with a young artist still in art school named Doug Gregory whose b&w ink style worked really well with the style of our other artists and the overall “primal” look we were going for. I heard, and I don’t know if this is true, that he walked out of his art school and never went back after getting the assignment.

At the same time – and you’ll note that ALL of this was happening at the same time in a frenzy of activity – Chris had had that rusty slab photographed and had designed the logo and the bio-hazard symbol and all the cover bits, except we still had a bare cover. We needed something like the rose on the VtM cover. But what? A talisman? A skull?

On an after-lunch break at the comicbook store, Stew showed me the new variant cover treatments they were doing, including a die-cut cover for a Wolverine comic. As he walked away to look at the new releases for that week, I just stared at that die-cut cover. If they could do slashes from Wolvie’s claws, why couldn’t we do a die-cut of Garou claw marks like they clawed through the rusty metal.

And if we had a nature scene on the first page of the book, it’d be like they were trying to get back to that idyllic world! Visuals and themes all coming together! We were on a roll, and the book was really coming together.

As the text came in, entire chapters showed up that we hadn’t seen before. Of course, they needed art and at this point we were running out of time, so I sat down and did the pieces myself. In the office and at home, I filled in the art gaps. Lest you think this was a good thing, it was really the sign of a broken process and a desperate art director, even though I really loved doing that art.

But we were young (ok, younger), and sleep was for the weak. The book and the art all were combined by Chris and Sam Chupp, at his virtual forge of bookmaking, and everybody loved it and there was a huge line to our booth at Gen Con! Hooray!

And we did actually learn a lot about how to do it better the next time!

Now, gettouttahere! Storytime is over, you young pups!

They Came From Beyond the Grave! art by Luis Sanz

A few brief things from our meeting today:

Just a reminder that we released both Mummy: The Curse 2e and Deviant: The Renegades in PDF and PoD versions on DTRPG this month. We tend to move pretty fast to our next weekly releases, but those two core CofD books were a delight to create and are awesome games, and we’d hate to have them lost as new releases come forth.

The situation with the last couple of years has jammed a whole bunch of our releases together, so there are more CofD projects that got caught that way that we’re working through the system, so stay tuned!

I don’t have it in the VTT section below yet, but the new Creature Collection 5e for Scarred Lands is now up as a Fantasy Grounds Virtual TableTop play-aid. The whole book of monsters with their stats and tokens for VTT play and everything! It’s just the tip of the VTT iceberg, folks!

There are lots more VTT projects that will be revealed in the months ahead – for a variety of VTT platforms!

Prometheus Unbound art by Mahendra Sidharta Suryadi

To return to the continuing saga of the woes of manufacturing and shipping that our little publishing industry faces (and the much larger overall game and book publishing industries are facing), here are two more posts:

Here’s the latest update from Inside the Box, a board game/interactive gamebook developer.

“Although almost every industry has been impacted in the last year and a half, causing delays and shortages on normal production levels, the paper industry has had increased demand put on it. This makes sourcing enough paper to print over 10,000 1200+ page books, shall we say, a little spicy.”

Here’s a direct link to the update in question, for context: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/itbboardgames/alba-an-open-world-adventure-book/posts/3312631

And here’s from our old friend Jim Zub’s Skullkickers KS update this morning:

“If you’ve been keeping up with publishing or tabletop games you may
have heard about all kinds of printing and distribution problems,
ripple effects of the pandemic that have been causing major problems
for book and game publishers. It’s true and it’s created quite the
logjam, especially for overseas printing.

When we looked at how backed up things have become and the possibility
of our books getting stuck either at a warehouse or on a boat, we
decided to take on the extra cost of printing domestically instead.
Yes, it’s a lot more expensive, but we felt that the time saved
overall and peace of mind knowing where the books are at throughout
the process is worth it.”

So yeah, sorry to leave this week’s MMN blog on kind of a downer, but I really do think that keeping you folks informed about both the victories and the challenges we face is important. Plus, you did get a bonus storytime feature today! Which is nice to have as we sit around the fire, musing about our:

Many Worlds, One Path!


Blurbs!


Kickstarter!

The Deluxe Apocalyptic Record for Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition went live on Tuesday, September 21st, and was funded!

We’ve already passed the Storyteller Screen Stretch Goal, so there are many more to come, including Ready Made Characters and much more!


Onyx Path Media!

This week: All the three of the gang are reunited through time for a Deep Dive into Mummy: The Curse 2e! There’s a lot to uncover beneath the shifting sands as they ask the fateful question: “Are you my mummy?”

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!

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!

If you’ve been following our Werewolf: The Apocalypse Kickstarter, you may be in the mood for a Werewolf actual play by McStabber Studios! This fantastic team has a great chronicle starting right here: https://youtu.be/qZIj5UwjLtQ

Are you interested in Scion: Dragon? If so, this actual play from Vorpal Tales over on our Onyx Path Publishing YouTube channel is for you! Check it out here: https://youtu.be/2hj0HckLcm0

At Onyx Path Con this year, Matthew Dawkins ran a Vampire: The Masquerade chronicle for Red Moon Roleplaying’s Craig Austin, L.A. by Night’s B. Dave Walters, Paradox’s Outstar, and our Klara Herbøl! Check out part one here: https://youtu.be/-hvbIZN_nYs

Red Moon Roleplaying hosted a chronicle of Mummy: The Curse Second Edition last year, so if you’re interested in the newly released book, please check it out starting with character creation: https://youtu.be/GJIEAEAx2MY 

The Exaltcast talks about the Dead and the Underworld!  Created when the unkillable Primordials were slain by the unstoppable Exalts, the Underworld is a strange show of Creation. Monica, Chazz, and guest Lauren discuss the Dual Monarchy, grief-bees, and endless seas: https://www.exaltcast.com/2021/09/23/elegy-for-the-fallen-the-dead-and-the-underworld/

Simulacra TV‘s amazingAberrant actual play – Atomic Youth – continues! Please check them out and give them some support. This is the newest episode of this chapter, so please get involved. https://youtu.be/TAckzAZTx64

Aberrant: Atomic Youth episodes premiere Wednesdays at 5pm EDT on https://www.twitch.tv/SimulacraTV

Are you interested in Promethean: The Created? If so, we’ve got an excellent series of videos for you. The Domain Gaming channel has a multi-part series already uploaded, so you can start from the beginning or skip to the present episode and find out a little more about the troubled and tragic lives of the Created. https://youtu.be/NOxlcWC0U9I

That’s not all, because The Domain Gaming also have a crossover chronicle on their channel! So if you like The Contagion Chronicle or are interested in seeing various characters of different types conflicting (and working) with each other, check out their latest episode: https://youtu.be/6U3b0GyupfU

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

And here are the first episodes of the new season for you! 

S02E01: https://youtu.be/zx-YTKL3lPQ

S02E02: https://youtu.be/ggLrSDdddZE

S02E03: https://youtu.be/Uwb2ZGjv8XI

S02E04: https://youtu.be/R30uK0manCk

S02E05: https://youtu.be/VIOQkx8XMI8

S02E06: https://youtu.be/pJThYEGvSeo

S02E07: https://youtu.be/k2yIv4oTcpg

S02E08: https://youtu.be/IzZh0mlhKks

S02E09: https://youtu.be/AScafMqH-A8 

S02E10: https://youtu.be/FhMj6MB3-0w


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.)


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


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!

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!

RIGHT NOW, DTRPG is having a “FaeSale, including the PDFs for both Changeling: The Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition, and Changeling: The Lost 2e!

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/sale.php?manufacturers_id=4261


On Sale This Week!

This month’s Tasty Bit: Car Competition asks the very important question: “What do you do with automobiles in the Scion setting besides drive them?” – in PDF and PoD versions on DTRPG this Wednesday!

The competition consists of multiple ways for Scions to play with vehicles when they are together and an opportunity to tell legendary tales of their feats. Powerlift a car in the middle of a battle and use it like a baseball bat? Throw a truck a mile to take out an enemy running away? Did you trick out a motorcycle to make it a Relic? How are those driving skills?

All of these are ways in which Scions try to outdo each other. Some prefer the heat of battle for their moment of glory, some choose to express themselves through nuanced storytelling in their cars’ design, others weave tales of impressive feats or clever uses of vehicles, and still others hone their skills of repairing or modifying the internal machines and external bodywork. Creativity, originality, and innovation are the central ideas of the competition. 


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!

Matthew will be appearing at AlbaCon in the very near future!
https://albacon.co.uk/

Eddy will be running a Pugmire game at NerdBurger Con: https://www.geeknative.com/73852/nerdburger-games-con-online-announced/
And he’ll be on panels and possibly running a game at Save Against Fear Online: https://startplaying.games/event/save-against-fear

And speaking of Save Against Fear Online, we’ll be appearing on three Onyx Path panels:

Turning Old Favorites into New Favorite TTRPGs – Friday, October 8, 2021 – 12:30pm – 2:00pm Eastern US Time

What’s Up With the Onyx Path? – Saturday, October 9, 2021 – 10:30am – 12:00pm Eastern US Time

A Deep Delve into the Crossroads Continent 5e Setting – Saturday, October 9, 2021 – 6:30pm – 8:00pm Eastern US Time


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)
  • Squeaks in the Deep Companion (Realms of Pugmire)
  • Squeaks in the Deep Jumpstart (Realms of Pugmire)
  • Adventure! Addendum (Trinity Continuum: Adventure!)
  • Tasty Bit: Polyphemus (Trinity Continuum Core)

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)
  • Weird Wonders and Revolutionary Magick (M20 Victorian)
  • Scion: Dragon Jumpstart (Scion 2nd Edition)
  • Scion: Dragon Companion (Scion 2nd Edition)
  • Tasty Bit: New Team (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Second Draft

  • No Gods, No Masters (Scion 2nd Edition)
  • The Hedge (Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition)
  • Bizarre Tales and Unusual Characters (M20 Victorian)

Development

  • Contagion Chronicle: Global Outbreaks (Chronicles of Darkness)
  • Adversaries of the Righteous (Exalted 3rd Edition)
  • Wild Hunt (Scion 2nd Edition)
  • Trinity Continuum: Aether core book (Trinity Continuum: Aether)

Manuscript Approval

Post-Approval Development

  • 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)
  • The Clades Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)
  • CtL2e Novella Collection: Hollow Courts (Changeling: The Lost 2e)
  • Dystopia Rising: Evolution Fiction Anthology (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)
  • Legacies of Earth (Legendlore)
  • Scion Fiction Anthology (Scion 2nd Edition)
  • TC: Aeon Novella: Meridian (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
  • Exalted Essence Edition (Exalted 3rd Edition)
  • Crucible of Legends (Exalted 3rd Edition)
  • Proteus Nova Compendium (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
  • TC: Aeon Novella: Dawn (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
  • 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)
  • Vigil Watch: The Kelder Mountains (Scarred Lands)
  • The Paranormal Investigator’s Handbook (WoD 20th)
  • Once and Future (Scion 2nd Edition)
  • 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)
  • They Came From the Cyclops’s Cave! core book (They Came From…!)
  • TC: Adventure! Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Adventure!)

Post-Editing Development

  • Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)
  • Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)
  • Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)
  • N!ternational Wrestling Entertainment (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
  • 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)
  • Trinity Continuum: Assassins (Trinity Continuum Core)
  • They Came From Camp Murder Lake! (They Came From…!)
  • Prometheus Unbound (was Psi Orders) (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
  • Ghost Hunters Jumpstart w/RMCs (WoD 20th)
  • 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!)
  • They Came From Beyond the Grave! Jumpstart (They Came From…!)
  • Heroes in a World of Horror! (They Came From…!)
  • Mission Statements (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
  • Tasty Bit: Dracula’s Tomb (They Came From…)

Indexing


Art Direction from Mike Chaney!

In Art Direction

  • Scion: Dragon – Getting Gong on board for the Flights.
  • Masks of the Mythos – Mirko and crew on pantheon art. Working ideas for border designs.
  • TC: Adventure! (KS)
  • M20 Victorian (KS)
  • Dead Man’s Rust
  • Exalted Essence (KS)
  • TC Mission Statements
  • TC Aberrant N!WE – Sketches coming in.
  • M20 Technocracy Dossier/Companion – Artists working.
  • Squeaks In The Deep (KS)
  • TC Prometheus Unbound – Finals keep coming in gorgeous.
  • Realms of Magic and Mystery
  • Saints and Monsters – Maria ADing this.
  • TC: Anima (KS) – Shields rolling.
  • TC: Assassin – Interior art rolling.
  • Legendlore: Legacies of the Earth
  • Novas Worldwide – Working on it.
  • W20 Apocalyptic Record (KS) – KS rolling!
  • They Came From Beyond the Grave! Jumpstart
  • Mage20 Lore of the Traditions – KS art AD’d
  • TCFBtG! Monsters From the Crypt – LeBlanc’d – NOT!
  • TCFGtG! Heroes in a World of Horror – Leblanc’d. I Leblanc’d the wrong thing last week.
  • They Came From [CLASSIFIED]! and They Came From the Cyclops’s Cave – KS art inquiries being made.
  • Ghosthunters Jumpstart/Ready Made Characters – Ken Meyer Jr. Nuff said.
  • Paranormalist’s Handbook – Rolling along.

In Layout

  • They Came From Beneath the Sea! Jumpstart
  • M20 Technocracy Jumpstart
  • Aberrant VTT
  • Scion: Demigod
  • Squeaks in the Deep Screen
  • WoD Ghost Hunters Screen – Working on it.
  • Legendlore Screen – Text is in for this.
  • Squeaks in the Deep
  • They Came From Camp Murder Lake! – Ron Thompson on it.

Proofing

  • Hunter: The Vigil 2e – Backer errata getting shut down.
  • Spiragos Collected Adventures
  • M20 Rich Bastards Guide – Charles inputting fixes
  • Legendlore – Backer PDF errata being shut down.
  • They Came From Beyond the Grave! – Backer PDF errata being gathered.
  • V5 Forbidden Religions – Going through the proof.
  • Hundred Devils Night Parade

At Press

  • M20 Technocracy Reloaded – Deluxe getting ready for press.
  • Mummy 2e – Getting ready for press. PDF and PoD versions on sale on DTRPG!
  • Mummy 2e Screen – Files sent to printer.
  • Deviant – Maybe press proofs this Tuesday.
  • Deviant Screen – Files sent to printer.
  • Technocracy Reloaded Screen – Files sent to printer.
  • Players Guide to the Contagion Chronicle – PDF and PoD on sale soon.
  • Dearly Bleak – Deviant: The Renegades Novella – PoD proof shipping.
  • WoD Ghost Hunters – PoD proof shipping
  • Tasty Bit: Scion Car Competition PDF on sale this Wednesday!

Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

In keeping with the mood of this MMN blog, how about some anniversaries? 19 years ago, both Victorian Age Vampire and Dark Ages Mage were released! A historical two-fer! And even further back, on Saturday Oct 2nd, 21 years ago the first Creature Collection for Scarred Lands was published – beating the D&D3e Monster Manual out into stores! Our crazed plan worked! And right now the latest Creature Collection (for D&D 5e) is available on Fantasy Grounds as a Virtual Tabletop accessory – some things stay the same and others change!

24 thoughts on “Victory Howls Around the Fire! [Monday Meeting Notes]”

  1. First Edition Werewolf: The Apocalypse set the tone for the rest of that line better — and I’ll (not really) fight you if you disagree — than any of the other World of Darkness First Editions, particularly in terms of visual presentation. Hearing how chaotic that process was makes it even more remarkable!

    Oh, and worth mention that Dark Ages: Mage remains a favorite of mine, as it really DID make the Dark Medieval more than just the World of Darkness by torchlight… but I won’t fight anyone who disagrees with this one. 😀

    Reply
    • Thanks! Part of what we talked about in the Monday Meeting yesterday, and which made me think of writing the WtA retrospective part, was how our set-up of releasing many game lines means that we need to maintain a certain visual process that is driven by the text. So it’s rare we can pull a project out of that process and work up the visual direction with the writing, but it really pays off when we can. I think, at least. Pugmire had over a year of my working up concept art and characters, and being able to run ideas back and forth with Eddy, and I think it is one of our tightest world presentations. WtA had Josh working up pre-writing sketches in his evocative style (as he did with a lot of the core WoD books), Exalted had a whole visual team as did Aeon before it, and they all really set the stage for the many, many, projects in their lines that came after.

      As for the chaos, and it certainly was chaotic, it did lend an energy and immediacy to the visuals! So maybe not how anybody should have to work, but if you can allow some chaos, and also some order to how things are created, it seems like there’s a sweet spot where creative efforts just flow and succeed.

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    • The words I used were about “more” CofD in the pipeline, which you can see in the progress report. I was neither confirming nor denying “new” CofD projects in what I wrote. Which was in reference to what we’ve been saying about making sure all the already announced projects are actually moving along.

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    • We went around on that concept for quite some time, but ultimately the two projects really have nothing substantive to do with each other except for both being in the Continuum. So, looking like no KS for TC: Asassins, but that means it will be available to folks much sooner!

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  2. The only thing that worries me about the Apocalyptic Record is that I feel like Paradox wouldn’t have greenlit it unless they were confident that it would be out *before* WtA 5e. Just makes sense as it’s the “bridge” to 5e. So I don’t think we’re going to see 5e in 2022. I know OP has nothing to do with that, just musing.

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    • Yes, I’ve heard that and it seems a bunch of people did – glad you were one of them! The origin and creation of RAGE is an entirely different story, but has a lot of similarities to the WtA one in the blog! When will we RAGE? We need it all done in a month!

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