Flying high with Lairs of the Rat Kings crowdfunding on BackerKit! Only a few days in and we’re funded at over 200%! Thanks everybody who has backed this super supplement to Realms of Pugmire so far!
In the course of going this far with funding, we’ve achieved two Stretch Goals! The first is one of our classic crowdfunder t-shirt goals, and the other is Map Upgrade 1 – Red Paw Gang’s Burrows. Because of your support, the planned hand-drawn maps to help roughly orient Guides and players will be upgraded to a full detailed and gridded map to aid game play!
These are going to come in super handy when playing this kind of mega-dungeon, plus, we’re closing in on the next map upgrade SG, so tell your friends about this campaign!
And now, here’s a chewy, tasty, cheese of a treat from Eddy Webb, creator of Realms of Pugmire, and this book:
Wow, it’s only been a few days, and already we’re 200% funded! It’s great to see a couple hundred folks who are really excited for this new and expanded take on the Underneath. This week I want to focus on one of those expansion — a more robust look at mouse and rat upbringings. In the first edition they were just a paragraph allowing players to choose a primary attribute, but now they’re fully fleshed-out upbringings like all other characters get. Here’s an example mouse upbringing!
Scurrier
“Can’t talk now, boss. Got places to be, things to do, people to see!”
— Herm SwiftwhiskerAs the couriers, messengers, and scouts of the rodent population, scurriers are rarely seen standing still. The smaller ones scurry not only along the cobbles and paving stones of town roads and the dirt paths between villages, but through tunnels, along rooftops, and over taut ships’ ropes. They get where they need to go fast, and avoid obstacles along the way as needed, though this does mean they are also excellent at getting out of things they don’t want to do.
A scurrier will happily carry a message to all ends for a price; what that price is, however, is up to the scurrier in question. Some deal in secrets, others in maps, while most are happy to do things for a plastic coin or two — at least at first. The more dangerous the mission, the happier a scurrier is to outwit it, though they’d never let their clients see that, as danger can also see them enjoy hazard pay.Views on other upbringings:
• Charmer: If they walked as fast as they talked, we’d be out of a job!
• Porter: Why carry such heavy burdens when you can earn equal status and wealth carrying words that only require air or parchment?
• Scholar: Study, study, study, it’s all they do. I honestly think their heads would clear up if they just took the occasional jog.
• Stalwart: These rodents are tough, no bones about it! Luckily, we’re faster.
• Wisdom: They’re always telling us to slow down and examine our surroundings. Sounds like a good way to get eaten in the Fearful Forest.Character Creation
Attribute bonus: +2 to Agility.
First trick: Wriggle FreeScurrier Tricks
Scurrier tricks relate to them moving quickly and gracefully, as well as gathering information due to their many contacts.Have You Heard?
Since scurriers talk to many rodents and other people over the course of even a single day, they have the ability to gather and spread information others aren’t yet privy to. They get a boon to Notice and Persuade checks when trying to impart knowledge verbally, talking to someone to get information, or overhear conversation.Inherent Grace
Same as the runner trick (Realms of Pugmire, p. 59).Speedy Runner
Same as the runner trick (Realms of Pugmire, p. 59).Wriggle Free
A rodent with this trick can remove nonmagical conditions that restrict their movement, such as being restrained with rope or choked in entangling vines, or while suffering the effects of difficult terrain. They can use this trick twice before needing to nap.
Thanks, Eddy!
Mee Ntes
Yes, it was a really abbreviated Monday Meeting today, so these notes will be reflecting that!
Crazy weather brought a bunch of power outages for our gang, plus a tree down that is making Mirthful Mike not so mirthful as he can’t get out of his driveway nor onto the internet. A couple of us fell down over the weekend and got dinged and wrenched up, and one of us had to miss the meeting.
All in all, though, there was still a lot that we covered, and you’ll see a bunch of that further on in The Blurbs!.
There’s the XMas in July Sale over at DTRPG, and they even sent us this graphic:
There’s also this news from Travis about our Twitch programming this week:
This week on the Onyx Path Twitch we have Curseborne: Accursed in Boston returning to the channel on Wednesday at 7 PM EDT as Awkward GM Corbin continues his tales of terror in Beantown.
On Thursday at 3 PM EDT, Tom Murr will be joined by Travis Legge for a discussion on storytelling with Storypath Ultra on Guiding the Path!
And don’t forget to catch Trinity Continuum: Adventure! Air Circus premiering tonight and running on Mondays at 9 PM EDT!
There’s Matthew’s news about the convention he’s attending in Italy down in our Onyx Path Media section below.
Matthew has also sent over a fantastic snippet from the upcoming Earthbane Cycle fantasy game Jadestorm that provides some cool info on Chains in the game. What are they? Check out the excerpt below in the progress reports section!
There’s us waiting to hear from the shipper about our They Came From the RPG Anthology! traditionally printed books arriving in the US – which is supposed to be this week!
And here’s Travis again with some Scarred Lands news:
Errata on the Scarred Lands Player’s Guide for Savage Worlds ends on Wednesday at NOON EDT! Late pledges are available for a limited time on Kickstarter! Those who pledge late will still have access to the already unlocked stretch goals that accompany your pledge, so it’s a very cost effective way to get into the Scarred Lands for Savage Worlds!
We’re also hard at work on getting stretch goals ready, and should be able to get our Edge and Power cards off to backers in PDF form as soon as final errata from the corebook is sorted, with POD coupons and public release soon to follow! I’ve also started breaking down the text from the Adventure Atlas stretch goal to get writing underway, so I should have more news on that soon!
Finally, we had a few cases of folks complaining to DTRPG because they never received their PoD coupons after backing or buying a PDF of a project. In all cases, the person had not checked the DTRPG box that allows for emails from us.
In a nutshell, we sent out an email, as we do in all these cases, with the coupon included, but they had us blocked and never received it.
Please, save yourself the delay and frustration and make sure you can receive emails from Onyx Path via the DTRPG interface if it is important to you that you get coupons from us.
‘Cause, you know, we don’t want folks having hard feelings over something like this. We’re using the built-in tools and best practices available at DTRPG, and we really want you to get your stuff!
How else can you have fun with (and compliment us for) all the fantastic games that make up our:
Many Worlds… One Path!
Blurbs!
Crowdfunding!
Meep! Meep! Enter, if you dare, the Lair of the Rat Kings! Over 200% funded so far!
You can check it out with this link – so you don’t miss a whisker of the campaign!
Onyx Path Media!
Check out our attached media schedule for the videos on our Twitch channel this week!
In this week’s Onyx Path News, Matthew goes all Pugmire and talks about both Pugmire Unleashed and the new Lair of the Rat Kings crowdfunding campaign on BackerKit. He also covers the Christmas in July Sale on DriveThruRPG!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrTQpfLmf9o
Over on The Gentleman Gamer YouTube channel, Matthew talks about the upcoming FabCon (in Fabriano, Italy) where he’ll be a guest discussing Curseborne, The World Below, and various other Onyx Path Publishing books: https://youtu.be/ZcaWEMsBaaI
Awkward GM Corbin returns with a new Curseborne Update video! Check it out for the latest Curseborne news: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0I1GX6HrEE
Tales of Pantheons continues their fantastic Scion actual play, which we’d love for you to check out right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffCO_X3NMMk&t=3s
Virtual Tabletop!
Check it out now! The Scion Demiplane Nexus! Click here for Early Access:
Campaigns for Scion Nexus went live last week as well. This blog post explains how Campaigns work on Demiplane:
https://www.demiplane.com/blog/campaigns-have-arrived
Scion Demigod Available on Roll20 NOW!
The Scion: Origin and Scion Hero Compendiums are now available on Roll20!
https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/publisher/1716/onyx-path-publishing
The first of our official Scion sheets designed for Foundry VTT are now available! https://foundryvtt.co
They Came From Beneath the Sea! on Roll20 VTT!
https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/bundle/22308/they-came-from-beneath-the-sea
Looking for more virtual tabletop resources? We have a selection of tokens, encounters, and more available now at DriveThruRPG! 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!
Select Chronicles of Darkness Screens and Monarchies of Mau books, screens, and dice 50% off at Studio 2:
https://studio2publishing.com/collections/onx-onyx-path-publishing
Some more deluxe books have popped up on Studio 2, with more on the way.
https://studio2publishing.com/collections/onx-onyx-path-publishing
As always, you can find Onyx Path’s titles in PDF and PoD versions at DriveThruRPG.com!
X-Mas in July is surfing along and we’ll have a lot of our projects on sale across several sites!
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).
On Sale This Week!
Go deeper into the eerie world of Curseborne with Peel Back the Bark, a terrifying Curseborne novella! PDF and PoD versions this Weds on DTRPG!
Also this week, we’ll be making two sets of VTT tokens available on DTRPG to tie into our ongoing Lair of the Rat Kings crowdfunder: Realms of Pugmire VTT Tokens and Curious Cats VTT Tokens for characters, allies, and antagonists!
On Sale Last Week!
Available to non-backers for the first time! Pugmire Unleashed is the Realms of Pugmire Player’s Guide with a slew of new PC types and creatures! PDF and PoD versions only on DTRPG!
Conventions!
Here’s where you can find out more info on physical and virtual conventions we’re going to be involved with!
Gen Con, July 30th – August 2nd (Studio 2 will have our books and more).
Twin Cities Con – November 20th – 22nd (Looking into running panels, and Game Room demos).
PAX Unplugged – December 4th – 6th (Studio 2 will have our books and more).
Project Status Updates!
Our full list of projects will be available monthly on our blog! Check out June’s full list report here: https://theonyxpath.com/release-roundup-june-2026/
DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM EDDY!
Here are the projects that moved to the next stage of production:
Final Draft
Jadestorm (Earthbane Cycle)
- Now we enter final drafts, so it’s time to tease Chains: the first SPU mechanic that allows you to roll fistfuls of dice above the usual ten cap, without breaking the system!
Elemental Tsunami
With but a word, the Jade inside calls outward, finding that with which it resonates and giving it a slither of its infernal power. This fragment of energy, as small as it is, is sufficient to summon great volumes of the elements, causing the ground to shake and spear skyward, flames to roar into life as if summoned from a dragon’s maw, or waves to rush across the ground, washing away everything the Jadebearer considers beneath them. The Jadebearer’s allies are exempt from this rush of nature, proof of their utter dominion over all.
Skill: Esoterica
Prerequisites: Esoterica 3, Shadesinger, Stormbringer, Wordbinder
Action Type: Simple
Difficulty: 2
Duration: 1 scene
Chain Links:
First link: Attacks made by the Jadebearer receive +1 Enhancement and gain one of the following tags: Crushing, Electrified, Flaming, or Freezing. The Storyguide can allow trivial effects of elemental change as well, such as brighter flames, lighting the weight of something, or creating small amounts of water.
Second link (2 hits, Multi-link): Choose one of the following area effects and apply it against all targets of your choice within medium range: Flooding, Fortified, On Fire, Overgrowth, or Quaking. Each purchase of the link raises the level of Complication applied. This effect is centered on the area in which it was cast, but may of course spill out of control naturally.
Chain Breaker (3 hits): Summon an Elemental ally to assist you.
Eruption of the Inner Cinder
While Jadebearers carry within themselves enough of the Malefic’s cinder to manifest its power directly, tiny splinters of these fractured souls are embedded within a great many citizens of Eos. By beseeching the spirit of the unmade infernals, the Jadebearer causes that splinter to grow and seek out more of the same. The eruption is short lived, but deadly.
Skill: Leadership
Prerequisites: Leadership 3, Shadesinger, Soulweaver, Wordbinder
Action Type: Simple
Difficulty: Opponent’s defense
Duration: 1 scene
Chain Links:
First link: The opponent gains the Slowed status effect as their tissue begins to calcify.
Second link (2 hits): Thorns of blood red Jade erupt from their body, inflicting them with the Impaled status effect.
Third link (2 hits, Multi-link): The Jadebearer directs the crystalline vines to spear an additional victim for each purchase of this link. Targets must be within medium range of an already impaled victim, and have either the Nascent or Risen template.
Chain Breaker (3 hits): All victims gain the Petrified status effect. If they’re reduced to 0 injuries orstill impaled by the scene’s end, they become statues of pure Jade.
Development
SPU Tasty Bit – Magic (September 2026)
- Getting another Tasty Bit together! This new modular magic system is coming along nicely.
ART DIRECTION FROM MIKE CHANEY!
In Art Direction
- Ex 3 Sidereals Companion – As Gong should be done with their current assignment soon, I’ll be sending them this.
- TC Danger Skies – Maps in progress with Wilson
- TC Aether Player’s Guide – Getting artnotes sent out to artists.
- Jadestorm (BK) – Splats sketches signed off on last week
- Monster Kingdoms – Finals should be in this week.
- TWB Underworld Adventures – Maps and art contracted.
- Lair of the Rat King – Crowdfunder in progress.
Layout Queue
- Curseborne Compact Edition
- Ex Essence PG – Layout starts this week.
- SPU July and August Tasty Bits – Doing those up this week.
Proofing Queue
- Curseborne Community Content Stuff
- Making of Curseborne – fixed… now I got a bunch of prepress stuff to fix.
- At The Gates – Still inputting fixes and working on some symbology stuff.
At Press
- They Came From the RPG Antho – Shipping from printer to fulfillment shippers – should be in US soon.
- Curseborne – Trying to wrap up some of the peripheral stuff and getting things ready to go.
- Curseborne Tangled Webs – Backer PDF this week.
- Ex3 Alchemicals – Prepping PoD Files.
- Curseborne Jumpstart – PoD proofs ordered.
- TCF Cyclops Cave Jumpstart – PoD files have been uploaded but I still need to upload the updated PDF.
- Izzy Curseborne Novella – PDF and PoD versions on sale Weds on DTRPG!
Today’s Reason to Celebrate!
The year is 1969. As is typical for Philly in July, it was a hot and humid night. The family gathered around the small black and white TV, all they had then, which had been brought into the parents’ bedroom – the only room in the house with air conditioning. The great event was about to occur, and meanwhile, Channel 10 CBS, in Philly was running Jerry Lewis’s The Nutty Professor. The two children were only half awake, when the news began showing Apollo 11’s crew successfully making the first human landing on the Moon in the Sea of Tranquility. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to walk on the Moon, and there I was in my pajamas, only half aware of what I was seeing. I knew it was a big thing because my parents wanted us kids to witness it, and because space was cool.
Happy 25th anniversary of Exalted!
Exalted was the first tabletop RPG I ever learned (about a year after it came out, apparently) and remains tied for my favorite RPG setting. Thank you all for keeping it going!
Officially today! Been a wild ride!
Thanks for mentioning the missing PoD coupons, because I just checked and apparently I’m mssing a few in my Backerkit surveys.
What’s the best way to contact you to get these sorted out?
Thanks for your help, and thanks for all the work on these games.
First try to reach out to James, our crowdfunder concierge, if you need things clarified, or to ask how to do something, or check on your pledge(s). He’ll either help you himself, or find out from further up the line what needs to be done. He’s really, really good at it!
Could you talk a little bit about the timeline of things going forward for Curseborne, including what the plan is after printing is ordered and fulfilled, and how/why the complexity of that project has led to multiple much simpler printing projects being stuck at press for months/years now? It’s understandable that things slowed down with the chaos around tariffs the last couple years but I think a lot of people expected the backlog to start getting cleared much faster after November of last year. It’s been over 6 months now and there are, what, 9 books ready to be printed? Soon it’ll be 11 with Pugmire Unleashed and Alchemicals, although by that time hopefully Curseborne will have been ordered. The backlog is longer now than it was in November of last year, shortly before Curseborne went on sale and when y’all started the specs conversation for Exigents. It would be nice to have some clarity on what y’all are looking at going forward and any general timeline around how you imagine the clearing of the backlog will look like.
I’ll try and address your points in order. The plan is that the various Curseborne projects that need traditional printing or manufacturing will be done together once we have all the parts how the printer needs them to be. This will be the most complex project they have done for us, with some aspects to the job being things we haven’t done with them before, and it takes time to go back and forth with them about technical issues so that we’re all sure the project will turn out as intended. All the rewards from the first CB Kickstarter are being done at once, as well as the trad printed version of the jumpstart for the campaign we ran for just that, and is the next job they are doing for us.
The CB project did not interfere with or delay other projects. If you look at what was printed since we felt like the chaotic tariff situation was resolving enough that we could be reasonably sure that we wouldn’t be tariffed out of existence you see that we did: Exigents – a deluxe project that could have really hurt us if the outer limits of the tariffs actually were applied to it – but relatively simple to create, then the They Came from RPG Anthology – a regular trad printed book that we could handle any tariffs on but which would only be our second project with this printer so it provided proof of process beyond the initial Exigents job. Now, with confidence that the regular trad printed, going-in-stores, version of Curseborne can follow that process and we’re working on the more unusual items from that KS to develop a good process for those sorts of projects. With CB finished, and hopefully our prep work provides excellent results, we’ll be able to accelerate the printing and therefore the shipping to backers for the outstanding trad printed projects.
Pugmire Unleashed and the ongoing Lair of the Rat Kings crowdfunding campaigns were specifically not for trad printing, nor was the two book World Below crowdfunder. We have been experimenting with non-trad printing crowdfunding for specifically the reason of not screwing up our releases because of ongoing tariff concerns. And they are ongoing at this time because there’s no way to tell how or when or why they will be levied. Once CB is printed and shipping, then we’ll be moving on to the rest of the backlog.
The issue with conveying to our community exactly what that means and what projects are next and all that is because if I say I’m looking to put a couple of similar sized books together for printing, and then circumstances change and we can’t move forward that way, folks accuse us of all sorts of heinous things all over social media. So once we are reasonably sure we are going to be prepping a new book or books for printing because things look good, we’ll note that on the Monday Meeting blog schedule. Hope that helps and thanks!
Thanks for the reply, I really appreciate the transparency!