#actually getting really close to sorting out a kickstarter to get the first chapter printed!
Link
Here we are in almost the last week of the Deluxe M20 Technocracy Reloaded Kickstarter, and like all KSs, we’re at that time where pledges start to slow. So we’re thinking about this KS, and our previous ones, and the roster that’s coming up.
What works, what doesn’t, and what just makes us wonder. Like, should we continue to portion out sections of the complete text during the KS, so at the end backers have pretty much the text as it’s going to be before being formatted during layout. (Which makes it a lot easier to read in most cases!)
We like that model, as it shows prospective backers just what they’re getting so situations where folks expected one set of information but got something else don’t occur any longer. And it shows that the text being finished won’t be a factor in the final project delivery to KS backers.
Those are two pretty good things, in our estimation!
But, does that kill the fun for folks? Like, is there value in being, well, surprised by your new book when it arrives? So far, we’ve been betting that the surety of information is more important to more backers than those who might miss a surprise, but we could be wrong.
Similarly, if we say this is the text and if you don’t like it then you can drop your pledge before we finish, we see that as a valuable option for backers. We want folks who back to enjoy the Kickstarter and the material we’re releasing. We hope they enjoy the chance to help create one of these books by backing, or going further and taking one of those fancy, upper-tier rewards that let them add characters or be part of the art.
Lunars art by Gunship Revolution
Yet, we can only hope we’re pleasing folks as it is often hard to tell if our methods are not delivering our intention since the vast majority of backers don’t interact with KSs Comments section. Whether because of a general, well-earned, fear of Comments sections throughout the internet, or of KS Comments specifically, my impression from talking to backers is that they don’t need the stress.
Who can blame them? It’s why I always try and suggest other ways for folks to communicate with us – even here, I’ll suggest adding to the Comments for this blog, but whenever I do I also get direct emails. And they usually start off with a variant of: “Hope you don’t mind my contacting you this way, but I didn’t want to get involved with any drama in the Comments.”
Like I said, we tend to think a lot about how we do things, and particularly Kickstarters since they are one of our most public display of our processes.
In some states, public display of your processes can get you arrested!
To get back to the M20 Technocracy Reloaded KS, here’s some links to fun and informative programming that will be reposted in the Onyx Path Media section below:
Tune in to hear words of wisdom from the Technocratic Union live on Twitch, Tuesday, May 19th at 9 PM EDT on the Onyx Path Publishing Twitch Channel. twitch.tv/theonyxpath
Plus, Red Moon Roleplaying continue their actual play of Technocracy Reloaded right here: https://youtu.be/RtdW0znt7GU Please give them your support!
And also, Travis Legge’s M20 Technocracy Reloaded actual play, featuring a stellar cast including the one and only Satyr Phil Brucato: https://youtu.be/ALnD1nwuTis
TC: Aeon Jumpstart art by Aaron Riley
Our Next Kickstarter:
Of course, as we’ve been thinking about Kickstarters, we’ve been thinking about the best time to bring back the Legendlore Kickstarter. This was the KS we cancelled as we launched it right before the Covid-19 lock-downs, and we just didn’t think it could get the sort of attention it deserved.
But as we have considered the situation now, it seems like our lines of communication are, if not perfect, working far more closely to expectations. I’m getting regular notices from backers of our previous KSs again, for example.
So, without further ado, and not wanting to sit to long on Legendlore, we are going to Kickstart it next after M20 Technocracy Reloaded!
Expect most of our approach to be similar, but knowing that we already have a wonderful group of backers from the first go, we’ll be aiming at putting the KS together in a way that doesn’t just make them go through the same things again, and that appeals to folks who didn’t back the first time.
More on that as we have some actual examples!
Lunars art by Yiyhoung Li
Things We’re Doing To Try and Help During All This
On Wednesday, we’re opening up Dystopia Rising: Evolution Community Content on the Storypath Nexus. This is a chance for anyone to work with the templates and art packs we provide to create new projects for DR:E. As a creator, it’s a way to both publish your ideas, and to get a little extra cash during these difficult times.
That’s pretty much our feelings for any Community Content site right now. Plus, for players, the projects posted on these sites are PDFs that usually aren’t that big or expensive, and they very often are focused on useful additions to our official stuff. Adventures, deep dives into specific topics we’re not really set up to put together – just great ideas to add to your playing enjoyment.
Just wanted to chime in here to remind folks that we released Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras 2 on DTRPG last week, and besides the big book itself in PDF and PoD versions, we released each chapter as an individual PDF. If you’re into a particular line and/or historical period, but can’t indulge in buying the full book, these individual chapters are a lot easier on the budget with the job situation being what it is.
Also on DTRPG right now is the Shelter in Play Bundle containing about $180 worth of PDFs, including the Vinsen’s Tomb Jumpstart for Pugmire and A Light Extinguished, the Jumpstart for Scion 2e, plus a ton of other delightful games for playing while we’re all stuck in together – all for $10, and the proceeds go to two worthy charities! https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/312564/Shelter-In-Play-BUNDLE
Our friends at IPR, Indie Press Revolution, are running sales of our books over on their site (link below in the sales partners area) and are planning to continue to do so for the foreseeable future. If you’re looking for our traditionally printed hardcover books and screens, Deluxe and otherwise, now’s a great chance!
We made the decision last week that we wouldn’t be attending gaming conventions until we feel like our folks would be safe from Covid-19 if they attended. Considering that “con crud” is a thing that we expect to get after major conventions during a normal period, we just can’t send our people into a convention right now. Unfortunately, that includes our industry biggie Gen Con, which still has not announced whether it is postponed or cancelled. Regardless of their decision, ours is: we’re not going.
Finally, speaking of conventions: Thanks for the support and interest in an online Onyx Path Convention I received in the blog Comments and elsewhere all last week. It was heartening, and a little scary, how many of you would enjoy virtually playing our games and meeting with us. Actually, all kidding aside, it was great to hear!
No news yet, but you gave us even more to think about. In this case, expect that we’ll be acting pretty quickly on running something like a virtual convention. We want to commit, if we’re going to, before the enormity of it has a chance to sink in!
So, thanks to your feedback, we’re a few steps closer to arranging a virtual venue where we can talk about and play in our:
Many Worlds, One Path!
Blurbs!
Kickstarter!
The M20 Technocracy Reloaded Kickstarter funded in 43 minutes and at with just over a week to go has passed 1800 backer operatives, is over 400% funded, and has achieved Stretch Goals consisting of a Storytellers Screen unlock, an unlock of more original Mage PDFs, Backers’ Exclusive T-Shirt, Wallpaper, and building the Technocracy Reloaded Player’s Companion PDF: sections on Constructs and Symposiums (and then expanded by a later SG), Digital Web 3.0, Technomancers’ Toybox 20 and the Q-Division bonus section, Unlikely Allies 1, 2, & 3, Mission Statement short scenarios, and the expanded Digital Web 3.0.2. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/m20-technocracy-reloaded
Highlights of M20 Technocracy Reloaded include:
An Operative’s Handbook that provides a detailed overview of life in the Technocratic Union, describing the organization of the Union, the Conventions, and the roles that sympathizers, extraordinary citizens, and Enlightened Operatives play in the overall structure of the Technocracy.
An examination of Technocratic initiatives on a global scale.
Devices, procedures, and hypertech used by the Technocratic Union that explores the Enlightened Science, allowing operatives to apply similar effects in the field, if they have sufficient understanding of the principles that allow these gadgets to function.
A comprehensive list of citizens, cyborgs, operatives, progenitor creations, and allies to use as NPCs.
Storyteller support that explores story seeds and metaplot to shape a chronicle for their needs.
Next Kickstarter: We return to The Realm of Legendlore!
Onyx Path Media!
This week Impish Ian Watson returns to delve into the Trinity Continuum, specifically the recently announced Trinity Continuum: Anima, VtM Bloodlines, and the happy wonders of managing Onyx Path social media with the Terrific Trio!
As always, this Friday’s Onyx Pathcast will be on Podbean or your favorite podcast venue! https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/
Tune in to hear words of wisdom from the Technocratic Union live on Twitch, Tuesday, May 19th at 9 PM EDT on the Onyx Path Publishing Twitch Channel. twitch.tv/theonyxpath
Join the Consensus and watch the stream.
Plus, Red Moon Roleplaying continue their actual play of Technocracy Reloaded right here: https://youtu.be/RtdW0znt7GU Please give them your support!
Come tune in to our Twitch channel for a schedule including:
Vampire: The Masquerade – Blood on the Tamesis
Vampire: The Masquerade – Chicago by Night Noir
Pugmire – Paws & Claws
Storytellers with Coffee
Scarred Lands: Chronicles of Calastia
Changeling: The Lost – Littlebrook Reunion
Changeling: The Dreaming – The Last Faerie Tale
Mage: The Awakening – Occultists Anonymous
Scarred Lands – Purge of the Serpentholds
Dark Eras Werewolf: The Forsaken
Chronicles of Darkness – Tooth & Claw
Deviant: The Renegades – A Cautionary Tale
Good heavens, that’s a lot of games for you to watch!
You can subscribe to our channel over on twitch.tv/theonyxpath to catch up with any episodes you missed!
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, including:
Changeling: The Dreaming – The Last Faerie Tale: https://youtu.be/fx_UEKY6moE
Scarred Lands: Purge of the Serpentholds: https://youtu.be/9YC0qb29vjk
Mage: The Ascension – Technocracy Reloaded: https://youtu.be/ALnD1nwuTis
Hunter: The Vigil – Hometown Heroes: https://youtu.be/LJs8Q6KVu1o
Changeling: The Lost – Littlebrook Reunion: https://youtu.be/SXYLA9rCjKk
Vampire: The Masquerade – Blood City Chicago by Night: https://youtu.be/NmDv9Sq_wKA
Chronicles of Darkness – Seattle by Streetlight: https://youtu.be/6CwozhRpUNo
Do subscribe to our channel and click the bell icon if you want to be notified whenever new news videos and uploads come online!
Did you miss 307 RPG interviewing Matthew Dawkins regarding everything from They Came from Beneath the Sea! and They Came from Beyond the Grave! to upcoming Vampire: The Masquerade books? Give them a listen here: https://307rpg.com/?p=265
Further to that interview, the 307 RPG Podcast released an episode all to do with the Archetypes in They Came from Beneath the Sea!: https://307rpg.com/?p=282
That’s not all! Vorpal Tales commence an actual play of They Came from Beneath the Sea! tonight over on their Twitch channel! Find them here: https://twitch.tv/vorpaltales
Utility Muffin Labs, home of the 25 Years of Vampire: The Masquerade podcast, have released a glowing review of The Chicago Folios right here: https://utilitymuffinlabs.com/25-years-of-vampire-the-masquerade?author=51a88e2ee4b035d1810e13fe
Occultists Anonymous are here with a new special Mage: The Awakening series:
RV Mage 07: Reversion
With Orphean mages no longer on the field of battle, the Pentacle mages work to undo the warping of the Gauntlet. The werewolves threatening the Supernal Being is going to make negotiations a little difficult.
https://youtu.be/iUZKuh0G5sI
RV Mage 08: Excursion
Following the Supernal shenanigans in downtown Richmond, Vicar, Drifter, and Amanita begin the search for further Orphean agents. An attempt to restore relationships with the werewolves goes as well as you might expect…
https://youtu.be/YUcXnQwB-vM
Please check these out and let us know if you find or produce any actual plays of our games! We’d love to feature you!
Electronic Gaming!
As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is awesome! (Seriously, you need to roll 100 dice for Exalted? This app has you covered.)
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 get Pugmire and Monarchies of Mau out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there! https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire
We’ve added Prince’s Gambit to our Studio2 catalog: https://studio2publishing.com/products/prince-s-gambit-card-game
Now, we’ve added 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!
On Sale This Week!
This week, the PDF and PoD versions of Oak, Ash, and Thorn the Changeling: The Lost 2e Companion bolts from the freakish Hedge on DriveThruRPG on Wednesday!
Oak, Ash, and Thorn as a companion book to Changeling: The Lost Second Edition, expands on what’s in the core book. It contains:
Expanded rules for freeholds and a selection of seeds for sample freeholds in four international locations.
Rules for creating new court Bargains and an introduction to non-traditional Mantles, including free companies, traveling bands, and Lost dynasties, with a playable example of each.
Entitlements, the titles of nobility that changelings assume to inherit mystical legacies from the Lost who came before them, including three full examples with accompanying tokens and Merits.
Expanded rules for tokens, including two new types with examples, guidelines for creating your own, and a system for ripping out one’s heart to become unkillable.
Also on Wednesday, we open the Dystopia Rising: Evolution Community Content section of the Storypath Nexus! Expect template and art packs you can use to create your own supplements to the DR:E tabletop RPG (and even get a royalty for your work!) Check it out for community-created supplements to further expand your fun with DR:E!
Conventions!
Though dates are subject to change due to the current COVID-19 outbreak, here’s our current list of upcoming conventions:
UKGames Expo: https://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk/
GenCon: https://www.gencon.com/
Tabletop Scotland: https://tabletopscotland.co.uk/
Gamehole Con: https://www.gameholecon.com/
PAX Unplugged: https://unplugged.paxsite.com/
And now, the new project status updates!
Development Status from Eddy Webb! (Projects in bold have changed status since last week.):
First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep.)
Exalted Essay Collection (Exalted)
Under Alien Suns (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
Adversaries of the Righteous (Exalted 3rd Edition)
The Clades Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)
The Devoted Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)
Saints and Monsters (Scion 2nd Edition)
Wild Hunt (Scion 2nd Edition)
Dead Man’s Rust (Scarred Lands)
V5 The Faithful Undead (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)
V5 Trails of Ash and Bone (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)
V5 Forbidden Religions (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)
Trinity Continuum: Anima
Redlines
Dragon-Blooded Novella #2 (Exalted 3rd Edition)
Hundred Devil’s Night Parade (Exalted 3rd Edition)
Trinity Continuum: Adventure! core (Trinity Continuum: Adventure!)
Contagion Chronicle Ready-Made Characters (Chronicles of Darkness)
Novas Worldwide (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
Exalted Essence Edition (Exalted 3rd Edition)
M20 Rich Bastard’s Guide To Magick (Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary)
Second Draft
Many-Faced Strangers – Lunars Companion (Exalted 3rd Edition)
Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)
Assassins (Trinity Continuum Core)
Dearly Bleak – Novella (Deviant: The Renegades)
Mission Statements (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
Development
TC: Aberrant Reference Screen (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)
Contagion Chronicle: Global Outbreaks (Chronicles of Darkness)
M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
Crucible of Legends (Exalted 3rd Edition)
Exigents (Exalted 3rd Edition)
N!ternational Wrestling Entertainment (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
Manuscript Approval
They Came From Beyond the Grave! (They Came From!)
Post-Approval Development
Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)
Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)
Editing
Lunars Novella (Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)
Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition core rulebook (Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition)
Player’s Guide to the Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)
Contagion Chronicle Jumpstart (Chronicles of Darkness)
TC: Aberrant Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
Trinity Continuum Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum)
Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)
LARP Rules (Scion 2nd Edition)
Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)
The Book of Lasting Death (Mummy: The Curse 2e)
Post-Editing Development
City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)
W20 Shattered Dreams Gift Cards (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th)
Cults of the Blood Gods (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)
Hunter: The Vigil 2e core (Hunter: The Vigil 2nd Edition)
Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)
Monsters of the Deep (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)
Legendlore core book (Legendlore)
Pirates of Pugmire KS-Added Adventure (Realms of Pugmire)
Tales of Aquatic Terror (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)
Terra Firma (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
One Foot in the Grave Jumpstart (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2e)
Indexing
Art Direction from Mike Chaney!
In Art Direction
Scion Titanomachy
Tales of Aquatic Terror
WoD Ghost Hunters – KS final art: One more piece coming in.
Aberrant – Contacting and contracting. Signing off on sketches.
Pugmire Adventure – All sketches in.
Hunter: The Vigil 2e
Mummy 2
Deviant – Dividing up among current artists.
Legendlore – Back to KS prep.
Technocracy Reloaded (KS) – Happening.
Cults of the Blood God – Rolling along.
Scion: Dragon – Waiting on art notes.
Masks of the Mythos – Waiting on art notes.
Scion: Demigod – Waiting on art notes.
They Came From Beyond the Grave! (KS) – Sent out notes for fulls and splats for KS.
In Layout
Yugman’s Guide to Ghelspad
Vigil Watch
TC Aeon Terra Firma – Over to Josh.
V5 Let the Streets Run Red – Working on it.
Pirates of Pugmire Screen – Getting charts from dev.
Proofing
Trinity Aeon Jumpstart – New artist taking care of finishing missing art.
Pirates of Pugmire – Errata input.
TCFBTS Heroic Land Dwellers – Inputting backer errata.
Lunars: Fangs at the Gate – Gathering Backer PDF errata.
Scion Companion – Just waiting for two tweaked pieces, expected today.
Contagion Chronicle – Corrections going over to Josh.
Cavaliers of Mars: City of the Towered Tombs
Duke Rollo Book – Finishing gathering backer errata.
Buried Bones: Creating in the Realms of Pugmire (Realms of Pugmire)
Magic Item Decks (Scarred Lands)
Yugman’s Guide Support Decks (Scarred Lands)
At Press
Night Horrors : Nameless and Accursed – PoD proof on the way.
Dystopia Rising: Evolution Community Content site – Opening on the Storypath Nexus this Weds!
TCFBTS Screen and Booklet
They Came from Beneath the Sea!
C:tL 2e Oak, Ash, & Thorn – PDF and PoD versions on sale at DTRPG this Weds!
Today’s Reason to Celebrate!
Please welcome Aaron Voss to Onyx Path! Aaron is old White Wolf and was my print buyer in the years before the merger with CCP, and has expertise in every stage of the game book creation process, and is specifically going to oversee getting our projects printed and shipped (and help Mirthful Mike Chaney out where he is needed).
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Webcomic Whimsy: Nextuus!
Welcome to the Woohooligan Weekly Webcomic Whimsy! If you're a webcomic author and would like a review, you can see my announcement and review rules here.
Title: Nextuus: the Search for the Ocean Shard
Author: "Undoubting" Thomas Hotka • Facebook • Twitter • DeviantArt • YouTube
Site: Nextuus.com
Genres: Action, Adventure, SciFi, Space Opera, Cyberpunk, Espionage, Illuminati, Treasure Hunting, Psychic, Square-eyed minecraft people
Rating: PG13, T for Teen(?) - some language and violence
Updates: Tues, Thurs, Sat
My Starting Point (requested by artist): Chapter 8.
Synopsis: Space opera treasure hunters in a world with aliens and psychics. (I couldn't find an official synopsis on the site.)
Nextuus is the name of an Earth-like planet in some other part of our galaxy that's been settled by humans (the Confederation), and subsequently conquered by another alien race called Donts. (Rhymes with font.) According to geologist Alec Dougan, the crew of the hoverplane (not starship) the Truemark are treasure hunters. Their green-haired boss and pilot, Randall Lockheed, prefers "entrepreneur". Once famous for his exploits, Randall will find anything for the right price, although he's fallen on hard times and disbanded his crew for many months. The story opens on a new job and Randall getting the band crew back together. Add in an illuminati-like cabal of psychics and it makes for an interesting setting.
I see a lot of influences in this work: Star Wars, cyberpunk, a little Star Trek, etc. but what it reminds me of most (despite the inclusion of Aliens), is Joss Whedon's sci-fi TV series, Firefly. To be fair, Tom Hotka and I have been friends for several years, though I never got around to reading his comic work until now. He actually waited in queue like everyone else for this review and has been real patient with me while I've been struggling with some health issues in recent months. In any event, when I say it reminds me of Firefly more than of Star Wars or anything else, I mean that what I've read of the story focuses a lot on the personal relationships of the crew, who resemble the Firefly crew quite a bit. The crew's hoverplane is described as an "ancient" junker (Serenity), their mechanic is a wide-eyed girl named Elle (Kaylee), who came aboard to escape the utter boredom of her one-horse town and who doesn't seem to notice that Aareck (Simon) has a massive crush on her. Randall (Mal+Wash) claims to be all-business, but it's implied that it's all really about getting back together with his ex, Liz (Inara).
Admittedly, I'm playing a bit loose here, since Aareck isn't a doctor, he's not looking after a psychic sibling with a tragic history, the psychics are an illuminati-like cabal called the Waywachrie, and I assume Liz' profession is not companion. The major players in the political climate do however include the Confederation (probably more like Firefly's Alliance than Star Trek's Federation), and while weapons look to me like conventional firearms (Firefly) and there are no Star-Wars style lightsabers (that I can tell), swords appear to still be common (okay, Mr Universe made the point that the sword was weird in the movie, so maybe this isn't a Firefly thing).
As an aside, I have to give Tom props for some decent disguise humor. ;)
Also, my first impression while looking for some kind of synopsis was that it seemed a little Seussical when I started reading about Ways and Donts on the About page. You see, there was a Dont War, but not with Ways, because Ways don't war, Dont's war. Let's all be grateful where aren't any Whos... yet. It's a bit less comical once you realize Dont rhymes with font, but you'd have to read their description for the pronunciation guide. It occurs to me also that there's no page to describe the Confederation, which is described as the human government in the descriptions for the Nix (think CIA) and the Nextuus Planetary Defense Force (NPDF), and I'd like to see the crew of the Truemark separated from non-crew characters on the About page. And in general, I think a synopsis of the story would be helpful on that About page as well.
Tom asked me to start reading at the beginning of Chapter 8.
I dunno... is it normal to go through all that procedure when your engine is belching thick black smoke and you're crashing or damn near? "This is your captain speaking, at this time we're going to initiate crash-landing procedures, but first we're going to let the flight attendants finish taking your drink orders."
Two comments on the art here. First, although it's a bit hard to look at, that double-vision effect does a really nice job of simulating the shaking camera effect. Nice job, Tom. Second, and I'll expand on this a little more later, but I think this page could have had two of these panels, and possibly a panel or two from the following page could have been included here. The dialogue from the tower could have been presented in the same panel with Randall's dialogue, and in general, I don't see the visuals in the middle two panels adding any information to the scene.
No, we're not screwed! We're option-challenged!
To be honest, I think "you're coming in a little too steep" would have been a great punchline at the end of that first page.
Wait... is she fixing her hair during a plane crash?! <looks back> Oh, her hair was on fire, she's putting it out. I thought you were supposed to stop drop and barrel roll...
Also... you're allowed to just hang-up on air-traffic?!
I think I would have made the latter 3 panels here a single panel and daisy-chained the dialogue balloons together, using just the art from panel 3, or possibly a profile shot like panel 2 from the first page.
I think this is the moment where I really started thinking about Firefly. That line from Elle about parts falling off the plane just feels so close to the opening of the Serenity movie.
This is also the point at which I start feeling like there's a pacing issue. I realize I'm sounding like a broken record, and maybe people will just write it off when I say this from now on, I'm certainly not any kind of authority, but most of the comics I've reviewed so far seem to me to be slow getting important info to the reader. It's not always the same kind of info, for example, when I read Modest Medusa I interpreted it as primarily being a slice-of-life comedy (surreal though it was), and there the missing info seemed to be details about the main character's life (family, job, etc). In Next Town Over, which is a steampunk action/adventure, there's obviously a backstory that Erin was trying to keep in the dark and let readers piece together, although I felt like the brief glimpses of backstory were infrequent and often too short to be meaningful for me as a reader.
Nextuus gives me a wholly different kind of "sluggishness" for lack of a better term. I feel like the story is moving and things are being revealed, but that Tom is giving me too many visuals, which bumps the page count up. It's not too noticeable at first, I'm just reading along, but then over time, those creeping page counts seem to add up and I end up feeling like a whole chapter went by without revealing much information. At present, Nextuus is 34 chapters and a total of 1053 pages, and while I'm sure there are fans out there who enjoyed every page, for my part, I'm thinking about the printed volumes. What's that? At least 10 trade paperbacks? I know Tom's had four successful Kickstarters for volumes of Nextuus so far, and in his video for the last one he said the first three volumes were fifteen chapters, so if a chapter averages around 20-25 pages, you're looking at five chapters per volume being 100-125 pages? That can't be right... not with over 1k pages so far...
Okay, I'm getting into the weeds here, I apologize. What I'm getting at is that any extra panels or extra pages are going to drive up the price of the books. You could still get Volume 4 for $25 on his last Kickstarter, which is a reasonable price for a trade paperback, but I wonder if the size didn't eat into Tom's margin and make it harder for him to make ends meet in the long run. So... long story short, Tom, I think if you could cut a few of those panels in future chapters, it might help you bring costs down and may even help bring sales up if the readers feel like it's more "action packed" that way.
And that's where we get the two page landing sequence that I feel like really could have been one page.
That picture of Elle at the top grabbing the co-pilot seat, I feel like really would have worked better as the last panel on the previous page, also because then you get to see her standing behind the chair and then grabbing it without the page-break as an interruption.
So if you put the first panel from the previous page onto this page with these three panels, I think that would have worked out nicely.
The big dude on the right is One-15, who joined the crew in response to an ad. He's said to be from the planet Carthe and while the details of his anatomy are left ambiguous (I think intentionally), he certainly feels to me like a robot with an air of Star Wars (you can't say "droid", or the big silly mouse will sue your ass into the last century).
While I'm on the subject of pacing, it feels to me like Tom is kind of married to individual pages being 3 or 4 panels. This page in particular, although it is four panels, certainly feels like it has plenty of empty space that could have been used for another panel or two. Shift the first panel over to the left, slide panel 2 up on its right side, repeat with panels 3+4 and you've got a whole third row that could be the top two panels from the following page.
Aww, Elle, don't you want a puppy?!
I think that second panel is meant to be a joke? I dunno... it feels either like it needed a little more work as a joke or it's sort of unnecessary in the page.
Fine, I'll get him, just stop looking at me like that! Seriously, what is that look in the first panel?
No place that's described as "south central" has ever been a good thing. It could be south-central Candy Land and you'd still take a gun just in case of a peppermint stickup... shoot them in the candy heart, wrap them in a trash-bag and drop their body in the ice-cream floats.
Also, dude! You totally had room for the first panel of the next page up there. Look at all that empty space!
Randall, look out! There's a zombie behind you!
Aww, One-15, don't you want a puppy?!
Mustn't... look... at... empty space!
Auuugh! The empty space! It was right there at the end of the previous page! Begging for this first silent panel.
I don't think I've read enough to know for sure, but I do feel like Tom is emphasizing Aareck's interest in Elle here while writing Elle as oblivious. That's not exactly the relationship between Kaylee and Simon in Firefly, as Kaylee always showed interest in Simon, she just wasn't sure if he felt the same way until they made the movie.
Following this, I don't feel like a whole page of Aareck's commute was really needed. Maybe just the last panel where he checks the address in front of the building.
Aareck and Alec... what are they Hobbits? Biffer, Boffer, Bofer, Ron, Don, John, Kurt, Burt, Bart, Evan, Devin, Kevin...
The "ding!" sound effect at the top I think could use a little more contrast, maybe a wider white border around the text and maybe lay it on top of the company logo, becuase when I first saw it, I saw "6 Ding!"
Man, I've heard of hostile work environments, but this is ridiculous! Dude quits and the boss thinks the best way to get him to come back is to berate him as he's walking out the door? That's like domestic abuse. Chill out. Try some meditation, or Xanax, or maybe Hair Club would help take the edge off.
Randall needs to lighten up? Your last boss is apoplectic, looks like his head's gonna explode and shower the room in bald-juice.
I really need more contrast on those dialogue balloons. Several of the tails for balloons in these office pages are virtually invisible, like the middle two panels on this page. I know you're not putting borders on your dialogue balloons in general, but I think you probably should have broke with tradition for these pages.
Cynthia doesn't know what she's lost, man... a guy like you, who can appreciate the finer things in life. Like the rush of addrenaline when you see a high PH balance in a soil sample!
In retrospect, I would be fine with this entire scene starting on this page (above). You could cut Aareck's commute, walking into the building, asking for Alec and all that stuff with him quitting his job. I get that there's a bit of comic relief with the boss, I'm just not convinced it's worth three whole pages for that one joke about the bald guy who desperately needs to switch to decaf.
And then in other places I feel like the dialogue could be an easy way to shave some pages. At the end of the page where Alex says "I've always been a little jealous of you", there's plenty of room to add "because you got to stay with Randall when he disbanded the crew." It would have saved you a panel and it wouldn't have changed the meaning of the dialogue in any significant way. I'm also iffy on the need for this whole page to point out that Tim is the kind of guy who holds grudges -- that's better explained via the character interaction in the subsequent pages where Randall talks to Tim (a good case of show, don't tell). Speaking of which, this whole page where Randall presses a doorbell also seems unnecessary. I could maybe use the opening shot of the side of the building, although I honestly think the next page (below) is fine on its own.
Yes, hatred has a hard use-by date. After two years it immediately molds and that's when you start doing crazy shit like scrap-booking newspaper clippings and writing cryptic letters in haiku under assumed names.
Anyway, Tim lets Randall in and they dispense with the small talk. (I really think those could have been one page.)
Ack! A minute ago when I called those newspaper clippings and haiku letters crazy... you know I was kidding, right? Tim? Buddy?
Man, I'd have thought they'd have much better reconstructive surgery this far in the future!
On the other hand, it's nice to see Baron Underbheit is keeping busy.
I said no small talk!
Anyway, Randall says he's all business, but Tim's convinced it's still about Liz.
One Way or the other, I can never really tell them apart... Are you sure it wasn't One Direction?
Now this is getting interesting though, because I'm like 24 pages into the chapter and so far I've mostly heard talk of broken hearts, broken airplanes, and soil samples. Now we're talking about psychics and anti-psychic devices, that's cool!
Oh, uh, hi Liz. Oh me? Emotionally scarring children with my horryfing visage, but let's not talk about me. How have you been?
Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly repurpose the cheapest random objects we can find as props. It's the best we could do with the budget the network gave us.
It looks like Randall's gonna keep psychics out of his head with a giant slinky. :P
Fashionating!
Anyway, that being the end of Chapter 8, I think this fairly makes my point about the pacing of the story. Yes, there was some information in this chapter about the character relationships, but the only movements in the plot were that Alec returned to the team and Randall replaced his slinky-helmet.
Chapter 9.
The bags under your eyes alone should be a dead giveaway!
Also, it's the elusive comb! The rarest relic in all the galaxy! All these characters seem to have that Dragonball-hair syndrome.
Oh, I forgot to mention, the continents on Nextuus are named Primaris, Secundus and Tertiann. I suppose it could be worse, they could be A-ko, B-ko and C-ko.
Is it common for war orphans to enlist? Oh wait... there was that one guy...
Trust me kid, the Clone Wars were overrated.
Oh, for Pete's sake!
Your uncle sounds like A. Square.
Not sure his reaction to the haircut needed a whole page, but they did need to make him unrecognizable.
Wait... didn't she have a comb a minute ago? Maybe she was distracted by all his impure thoughts. But what's a little non-consensual probing between friends? Incidentally, Katja felt the probe was necessary because Jon was given adrenaline-activated powers by a corporate experiment...
On our world, robot technology has only reached three feet. We could only dream of having robots like you, tall enough to dunk! We have to settle for robots that are tall enough to reach the kitchen counter... with help.
The text balloon in panel 2 is a good example of why I'm not a big fan of the square dialogue balloons. Here it's created a parallel and/or bump-up tangent, and possibly a "fake panel". If you're not familiar with tangents, Chris Schweizer has a good article about them that's tailored for cartoonists like us. On the whole though, the square dialogue balloons in Nextuus seem to create these kinds of issues quite often.
A good handshake involves bone fractures, check.
That was really two panels worth of content, max.
Aww, Elle, don't you want a puppy?!
Elle twerks the engines and Randall returns without Tim. (Maybe this page isn't unnecessary, but it feels like a lot of room to say "it's good to see you again, Tim's not coming.")
Challenge Accepted!
The last panel there wasn't really necessary -- One-15 is carrying a bag at the top of the following page, where Aareck stays to help Elle. Oh wait! That page had five panels. :P I'm not sure it needed a second page though to show Aareck getting ... rejected? Dude, if you ask to stay and help the mechanic, she's going to put you to work... whether you're hitting on her or not.
I'm dying to know!
Oooh, psychics 101! You'll never have to ask anyone to pass the salt again. Does it work on pepper? What about buffets?
Okay, but if you're going to teach me, maybe you should wash that oil off your face first. I smoke a lot, I don't want to catch your face on fire.
Luke, you can destroy the Emperor. He has forseen this. It is your destiny.
Oh, for Pete's sake!
Why do villains always put spotlights over their valuables? Why?!
Oh, that's not makeup, it's a scar. Anyway, that's the end of Katja's backstory for the moment and they rinse Jon's hair.
Given the context and the fact that Katja laughs, I'm thinking gray hair is supposed to be a joke? But without knowing why Jon is unhappy about it, I'm not sure I get the full effect. Have people joked about him being "old", like Aareck's objection to "pup"? Does it make him look like something or someone he wants to avoid? Even if it's just not liking looking old (eye-bags and all), I think it would make a snappier joke with a little additional response from Jon. Maybe, "Great, now if I can just remember where I left my cane/walker/Geritol/dentures."
Overall, I think all the elements of a really cool scifi story are here, I just think the script and page layouts could be a little tighter. In particular, I love the visual design of One-15, his ambiguous physiology (robot or armored organism?), and the use of him for comic effect. I also love the Waywachrie's Illuminati-like structure and I think their masks are pretty cool. They're described as "skull masks", but they look to me more like grinning ghosts because of their round shape. That's totally fine by me, if anything I think they would be a lot less cool if they looked like more realistic skulls. So a+ on design there, at least from me.
So there's my pitch. If you enjoy scifi stories with intrigue, psychic cabals, and a lot of personal relationships, check out Nextuus!
If you are a webcomic author and are interested in a review from me, you can check out my announcement and my review-request rules here.
If you enjoyed this and want to help me make more reviews, you can contribute on our Patreon or if you're short on funds you can also help by checking out and sharing my own comedy and laughtivist webcomic, Woohooligan!
Thanks to Tom, and to all of you reading, for sharing yourselves with us!
Sam
#Action#Adventure#SciFi#Space Opera#Cyberpunk#Espionage#Treasure Hunting#Psychic#Illuminati#Aliens#Review
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Yes, everything you’ve heard about my being a mean, nasty, horrible boss is true: we did have our weekly meeting today, even though it’s supposed to be a holiday in the US.
Well, mostly supposed to be, but lots of businesses don’t close, and the long weekend isn’t even the true demarcation line between Summer vacation and back to school/work anymore.
And we kept the meeting realllly short.
I double-dog swear.
W20 Changing Ways art by Enzo
Also, we really did have “start the week” topics to cover, including the launch of the traditionally printed and PDF versions of Pugmire last week and how awesome that is going. The PDF was #1 on DTRPG.com for a satisfyingly long time over the last few days.
We thought it would be worth it to underline a couple of things about this release, because it really is a fair bit different than how Onyx Path has been releasing our projects these past six years.
First, there’s the Kickstarter. It wasn’t for a Prestige or Deluxe edition; it was for the traditionally printed edition and we specifically intended to use the backer reward numbers as the springboard for figuring out a larger print run so that we’d have books to get into game stores.
We were originally looking at Studio2 as our way to get Pugmire into the distribution network for game stores in a way that works within our current business model, but it wound up that they also fulfill Kickstarters, and it made a lot of sense to ship all of the various items all to them and have them first fulfill the KS, and then move the books into distribution. Assuming they did a good job with the Kickstarter.
They did not. They did a great job!
The Pugmire Kickstarter reward packages shipped a month earlier than estimated, and were mostly in backers’ hands before GenCon50. This enabled us to sell them (out) at the con, as reported last week, since I didn’t want to put them on sale until the backer rewards were all out of our hands.
Then, last week, we put the Pugmire PDF on sale on DriveThruRPG.com, while Studio2 and IPR began to offer the physical book on their sites.
Spread for V20 Beckett’s Jyhad Diary
We deliberately have not yet put the PoD on sale on DTRPG, because we want to give the physical copies time to get ordered and be available in game stores, but we will after that happens. Which is very different from our long-held custom of putting out a PDF, getting feedback, and creating and releasing the PoD basically with the final PDF.
Sorry if that caused any confusion, we’re still working out the kinks of adding Studio2‘s distribution reach into our business model.
Including them, we now can deliver our projects to you in PDF and PoD on DTRPG, traditionally printed books and screens through the Kickstarter process, and through the distribution network to retailers. Studio2 and IPR also allow individuals to order the physical products from their websites, so you can order directly from them.
It’s a 4th way to get our projects to you, really, that works with our PDF/PoD/KS methods that have done so well for us these past six years, rather than replacing them.
One more thing about Pugmire that we also discussed underlining, is that folks should know that the main book does contain an adventure to get everyone started playing. It’s called “The Great Cat Conspiracy” and contain NPCs, Guide advice, and a great starting adventure with hints of deeper mysteries and conflicts to come.
Arms of the Chosen for Exalted 3rd full-page art by Gunship Revolution
Now, I did say last week that I would list some of the new projects we mentioned that were coming during the panels at GenCon50, yet this blog is getting long already. So let me take one section, the Chronicles of Darkness part of our “What’s Up With The WW IPs?” panel, and lay just the previously unannounced projects on you here:
CofD:
Vampire: The Requiem:
Spilled Blood: Fallen clans, alternate bloodlines, other kinds of vampires.
Shattered Masks: A Shards (alternative) World Setting where the Masquerade comes down. What effect does this have on a world of darkness where vampires are suddenly real, and among us?
Werewolf: The Forsaken:
Night Horrors: Shunned By The Moon: The Ghost Wolves, The Pure, the Bale Hounds. All enemies of the Tribes with their own myths and legends and Hunting Grounds that will be detailed in this book.
Mage: The Awakening:
Fallen Worlds: Fallen Worlds is about all the Mysteries that lead mages out of the material realm into the other planes within the Fallen World and beyond. Fallen Worlds would expand on the short descriptions of the Shadow, Underworld, and Depths, along with compressed rules for their inhabitants that are in M2nd with a chapter fully detailing mages in the Shadow, the Underworld, and stranger places that defy classification. Plus expanded rules for the inhabitants of these weird places, as antagonists and allies, and we’ll address some of the crossover questions that pop up from time to time regarding mages and the otherworlds described in other gamelines.
Changeling: The Lost:
Kith and Kin: This book greatly expands the number of new Kiths, powers focused on Kiths, and detailed tools for designing your own Kiths. This might become a KS reward during the CtL2 KS.
Hunter: The Vigil:
Possible Kickstarter projects, and,
Eternal Flame: Hunters, their societies, mysteries, and prey through the ages of mankind.
Geist: The Sin-Eaters:
Possible Kickstarter projects.
Mummy: The Curse:
Mummy 2nd*
Deviant: The Renegades*
CofD: Contagion Chronicle
CofD: Innocents 2nd Edition
CofD: Dark Shards
*Previously announced or in the new brochure but worth including as big upcoming projects.
Truly: Many Worlds. One Path.
Spread from the M20: Art of Mage: The Ascension PDF released to backers last week.
BLURBS!
ON SALE!
Haaawooooo! The W20 Bundle of Holding is raging today all the way through until September 18th! http://ift.tt/2wd0Ron
You can get all sorts of W20 PDFs at great discounts and better still you can help our chosen charity for this bundle: the International Wolf Center.
ON AMAZON:
We’re delighted to announce the opening of our ebook store on Amazon! You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle. Our initial selection includes these fiction anthologies: Vampire: the Masquerade‘s Endless Ages, Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition‘s Rites of Renown: When Will You Rage 2, Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition‘s Truth Beyond Paradox, Chronicles of Darkness‘ God Machine Chronicle, Mummy: The Curse‘s Curse of the Blue Nile, and Beast: The Primordial‘s The Primordial Feast!
And now you can get these books in the Barnes and Noble Nook store too!
Vampire: The Masquerade: The Endless Ages Anthology
Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Rites of Renown: When Will You Rage II
Mage: The Ascension: Truth Beyond Paradox
Chronicles of Darkness: The God-Machine Chronicle Anthology
Mummy: The Curse: Curse of the Blue Nile
Beast: The Primordial: The Primordial Feast Anthology
And here are six more fiction books:
Vampire: The Masquerade: Of Predators and Prey: The Hunters Hunted II Anthology
Werewolf: The Apocalypse: The Poison Tree
Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Songs of the Sun and Moon: Tales of the Changing Breeds
Vampire: The Requiem: The Strix Chronicle Anthology
Werewolf: The Forsaken: The Idigam Chronicle Anthology
Mage: The Awakening: The Fallen World Chronicle Anthology
Andand six more more:
Vampire: The Masquerade: The Beast Within Anthology (Kindle, Nook)
Werewolf: The Apocalypse: W20 Cookbook (Kindle, Nook)
Exalted: Tales from the Age of Sorrows (Kindle, Nook)
Chronicles of Darkness: Tales of the Dark Eras (Kindle, Nook)
Promethean: The Created: The Firestorm Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)
Demon: The Descent: Demon: Interface (Kindle, Nook)
We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the Screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there!
Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Here’s the link to the press release we put out about how Onyx Path is now selling through Indie Press Revolution: http://ift.tt/1ZlTT6z
You can now order wave 2 of our Deluxe and Prestige print overrun books, including Deluxe Mage 20th Anniversary, and Deluxe V20 Dark Ages! And Screens…so many Screens!
And you can now order Pugmire: the book, the screen, and the dice!
ON DRIVETHRURPG.COM:
Available Wednesday, this all-new Trinity Continuum: Aeon poster, featuring the art we used for the cover of the StoryPath Booklet at this year’s GenCon!
From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: After the Fall (Demon: The Descent Constantinople 1453-1458). The Ottoman conquest shatters Constantinople…and also the God-Machine’s grip on it. Unchained flock from all over the world to seek their fortunes in rebuilding the city. But is the Machine really gone, and if it is, can the Unchained face the horrors it drove into the shadows?
On sale Wednesday in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG!
Calling all Good Dogs! The Pugmire Core Rulebook PDF is now available on DTRPG.com!
http://ift.tt/2wAaAp3
And the actual physical book, screen, and dice, are available to order on the IPR and Studio2 websites!
Studio2: http://ift.tt/2w0aaEW
From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: A Grimm Dark Era (Changeling: The Lost Grimm’s Tales). With the publication of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, the Lost find themselves subject to the strength of stories, to a degree never before seen. As numerous stories reach greater audiences, the power of tales redefine what it means to be a changeling. Here, we explore a shift in the veil between fiction and reality, and find changelings who escaped by embracing the odd rules of the fantastic.
http://ift.tt/2iD3wTu
On sale in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG!
From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: Lily, Sabre, and Thorn (Changeling: The Lost Swashbuckling France 1600s – early 1700s). In the Age of Reason under the reign of Louis XIV, enlightenment went hand-in-hand with court intrigues. The Sun King’s court influenced a time when changeling freeholds gained increasing unity and communication. It is a time of adventure, deception, betrayal, and passion — the roar of cannon, the rustle of silk, the ring of steel. The joys and sorrows and outrageous fortunes of the swashbuckler — these are all too well-known to the Lost.
On sale in PDF and PoD versions at DTRPG.com this Weds!
Satyr Phil Brucato beckons you once more into the Annex of Mage: The Ascension with this 300 page follow-up to M20. The M20 Book of Secrets is NOW on sale in PDF and PoD versions at DTRPG.com! http://ift.tt/2tKyJtb
More Than Magick
For mages who think they have everything, this trove of treasures expands upon the wealth of material presented throughout Mage: The Ascension’s 20th Anniversary Edition. New Traits, new rules, essays, answers, information… the Secrets are revealed within.
Enter the Annex
Building upon the M20 core rulebook, this Book of Secrets features updated rules and setting material, such as…
An M20 FAQ Genres & Resources
Matters of Focus Justice & Influence
New Abilities, Archetypes, Merits & Flaws
Expanded Rules for Combat, Resonance, Wonders, Computer Systems, and More
This Ascension Continues…
Chomping it’s way to you comes the Dagger of Spiragos adventure PDF for Scarred Lands! This second in the Spiragos trilogy for levels 4-6 is now in both 5e and Pathfinder PDF versions on DriveThruRPG.com!
PF: http://ift.tt/2uvy38a
5e: http://ift.tt/2uS6FDT
The Titans’ Relics Must Be Destroyed!
Artifacts from the fallen titan Spiragos have been recovered, and forces are at work that would see them used for ill. The Dagger of Spiragos and the Ring of Spiragos are now in the player characters’ hands — and they must do what they can to rid Scarn of the foul relics of the titans, whatever the cost!
What Came Before
Dagger of Spiragos is a sequel to the 2014 Gen Con Scarred Lands Special Preview adventure, Gauntlet of Spiragos (available as a free download on DriveThruRPG. com and RPGnow.com). It is also the second adventure in the Spiragos Saga, with Ring of Spiragos, the dramatic finale, as the third and culminating title.
In Gauntlet of Spiragos, the PCs traveled to the legendary Chasm of Flies, where they discovered a tribe of spider-eye goblins who possessed relics of their fallen master, Spiragos. Now, with those items in hand, the PCs travel to the city of Fangsfall, where they must seek aid in destroying the foul objects.
But others wish to possess these items, too,
Sailing out of the dark, the V20 Dark Ages Companion PDF and physical book PoD versions are going on sale Wednesday on DriveThruRPG.com! http://ift.tt/2pX42dq
Travel the long roads and deep seas in search of power and experience danger, or tackle the wilderness to hunt monsters and face death. Settlements large and small dot the black expanse with the promise of sanctuary, life, and community. These bastions of civilization present cold comfort, when playing host to vampire warlords and sadistic Cainite faiths. Whether led by a Prince, a coordinated belief, or hounded by monsters from without and within — no domain is truly the same as another.
Dark Ages Companion includes:
• Domains scattered across the world, from small fiefdoms to massive cities. Bath, Bjarkarey, Constantinople, Rome, Mogadishu, and Mangaluru each receive coverage.
• Apocrypha including plot hooks, new Paths, and mysteries to explore in your games.
• A how-to guide on building a domain within your chronicle, including events and servants necessary to make a domain as functional or dysfunctional as you wish.
• A study on warfare in the Dark Ages period, so combat in your chronicles can gain authenticity and lethality.
From the Primordial to your Chronicles, Beast‘s Building a Legend has risen in PDF and PoD formats on DTRPG.com!
http://ift.tt/2u1BBkU
CREATING A CHRONICLE IS REWARDING…
…so why should the Storyteller have all the fun?
The whole troupe should get in on the action, making for a chronicle that reflects the preferences and predilections of all the players.
Building a Legend is a guide for doing exactly that — making a cohesive chronicle, starting with character creation, for Beast: The Primordial. It includes advice on creating Storyteller characters, folding in real world history, and populating the Primordial Dream.
From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: Requiem for Regina (Vampire: The Requiem Elizabethan London 1593). We have shared the world with monsters for millennia. In Elizabeth’s London, vampires built their own empire brick by bloody brick while Elizabeth I cemented her grip on newly Protestant England. Carefully balancing demands from those with Catholic and Lutheran sympathies, she forged a police state. Yet London emerged as a thriving cultural center, and from the crucible emerged a Kindred society forever changed.
http://ift.tt/2sl0Zh4
On sale in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG!
What dark secrets do the eldest vampires hold? Find out in Thousand Years of Night for Vampire: The Requiem! Advance PDF version available now on DriveThruRPG.com. http://ift.tt/2sV8lZR
You may think that with a multitude of people coming, going, dying and running away, we’d be tired, done, or ready to give up.
Instead, I find myself restless, looking for the next thing.
There’s always a next thing, and I for one am not yet ready to die.
– Elder Kincaid, Daeva Crone
This book includes:
• Detailed instructions on creating elder vampires, including how to base chronicles around them
• A look into the lives of elders, how they spend their nights, who they work with, and why including their roles in both their clans and covenants
• New Devotions, Merits, and Rituals for elder vampires
• The kinds of creatures that pose a threat to elder vampires, including Inamorata, Lamia, Sons of Phobos, a new elder conspiracy, and more!
CONVENTIONS!
Fast Eddy Webb will be running Pugmire during the online convention Gauntlet Con: http://ift.tt/2sSctbs which runs from Oct. 20 – 22.
In November, we’ll be at Game Hole Con in Madison, WI. More news as we have it, and here’s their website: http://ift.tt/RIm6qP
And now, the new project status updates!
DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM ROLLICKING ROSE (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)
Trinity Continuum: Aeon Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)
M20 Gods and Monsters (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
C20 Novel (Jackie Cassada) (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)
Monarchies of Mau (Monarchies of Mau)
Night Horrors: The Tormented (Promethean: The Created 2nd Edition)
Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)
They Came From Beneath the Sea! Rulebook (TCFBtS!)
Redlines
Kithbook Boggans (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)
Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)
Exalted 3rd Novel by Matt Forbeck (Exalted 3rd Edition)
Second Draft
WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)
Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)
Development
Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)
SL Ring of Spiragos (Pathfinder – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)
Ring of Spiragos (5e – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)
Pugmire Pan’s Guide for New Pioneers (Pugmire)
Scion: Origin (Scion 2nd Edition)
Scion: Hero (Scion 2nd Edition)
Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)
GtS Geist 2e core (Geist: the Sin-Eaters Second Edition)
DtD Night Horrors: Enemy Action (Demon: the Descent)
Dragon-Blooded (Exalted 3rd Edition)
The Realm (Exalted 3rd Edition)
WW Manuscript Approval:
Editing:
C20 Ready Made Characters (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)
Ex Novel 2 (Aaron Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)
Post-Editing Development:
W20 Changing Ways (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition, featuring the Huntsmen Chronicle (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)
M20 Cookbook (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
Indexing:
ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:
In Art Direction
W20 Pentex Employee Indoctrination Handbook – Have to double check, but I think all the art is in.
Cavaliers of Mars – Prepping KS.
W20 Changing Ways – Some of the halfs are in and at WW for approval.
Ex3 Monthly Stuff
Scion Origins – Art almost all in.
Ring of Spiragos
Beast PG – Art is in and at WW for approvals.
VtR Half Damned – Art coming in.
Book of Freeholds – AD’d.
DtD Enemy Action – Sending out Artnotes and Contracts.
C20 RMCs – Should see sketches in the next week or so.
Marketing Stuff
In Layout
Prince’s Gambit – Remaining art is arting.
Beckett’s Jyhad Diary – Ten chapters done… about 20 to go.
Wraith 20
Ex 3 Arms of the Chosen – Art at WW for approval. Getting files over to Josh so he can begin layout.
Proofing
VDA Jumpstart – Interior anyway… working out the cover…
At Press
Beckett Screen – Shipped to shipper.
Scarred Land PGs & Wise and the Wicked PF & 5e – On a boat to the US.
Dark Eras: God’s Own Country – PoD proof ordered.
Dark Eras: After the Fall – PDF and PoD on sale Wednesday on DTRPG.
VTR: Thousand Years of Night – Errors discovered at GenCon, getting fixed.
Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition) – PoD proof ordered…
C20 Jumpstart PDF – Inputting Errata this week and getting PoD files uploaded.
CtL Huntsmen Chronicle Anthology PDF
Art of Mage – Out to Backers last week.
TODAY’S REASON TO CELEBRATE: If a meeting is labor, then we labored today. Time to celebrate the last of Summer.
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Parting the Waters from the Ex3 Jumpstart by Gunship Revolution
First, for those of you following what I never intended to be a saga: it turns out I have not just a cold or the flu, but bronchitis. The doctor has me on antibiotics, and I am actually feeling better. So, hopefully I only have to ride this bucking broncho for a while longer. Thanks to everybody who sent in “get well” messages!
The other bronco the gang here at Onyx Path have been riding for a couple of days, and was the subject of much of our meeting today.
(The official one. My meeting with Eddy was mostly talking about how David Tennant’s Doctor parsed with his Purple Man on Jessica Jones.)
I’m referring to the upset in our community after the Vampire and Mage interactive fiction Preludes were released last week by Asmodee under license from the new White Wolf Publishing. If you want to look it all up, the details are out there. For us, Matt McElroy and I have been talking with WWP about this issue since last week and expect to keep doing so for a while.
It has become clear, though, that some confusion and misapprehensions still exist as to Onyx Path’s relationship with the new White Wolf Publishing, as well as how we both relate to the original White Wolf that so many of you started out with.
So: we have the original White Wolf, founded by Stew Wieck and Mark Rein*Hagen. We worked hard and we played hard, and created a huge amount of games and supplements and elbowed ourselves into 2nd place in the RPG biz, but 1st place in dark hearts everywhere. I say “we” as I was there, with Stew for years before the partnership was created, and was part of the management team throughout.
Things got rough though as game and book stores start closing, and at the same time, the time our community would have spent on tabletop gaming gets chopped by the time folks are discovering computer MMOs. WW decides it needs to evolve into electronic gaming, which is hard to do when your revenue is dropping like a rock off a cliff, so WW gets a bunch of vikings drunk and we all wind up married the next morning.
In other, more sensible words, White Wolf made a deal to “merge” with CCP, an Icelandic computer game company with a successful space MMO called EVE. They begin work on the WoD MMO. Meanwhile, a bunch of us keep the tabletop gaming part of WW rolling.
But, eventually, the sucking black hole of need that was the WoD MMO demands every WWer be part of it, and until a bunch of us convince CCP that a 20th Anniversary Edition of Vampire: the Masquerade is a good idea, and they see the community reaction, there’s a very good chance that WW, as a publisher would not have lasted. But actually, the reaction is so strong that Eddy and I can convince CCP to let us do even more books!
The euphoria of which lasts the several weeks that end up with a huge bunch of layoffs of people I care about, and, fed up with the situation, I leave CCP and then start Onyx Path with a license agreement from CCP so that Onyx can do tabletop versions of the WW Intellectual Properties (WoD, nWoD called now Chronicles of Darkness, and Exalted). In effect, I’ve licensed the game lines I helped create.
So that’s nice. (I mean, it really is). But please note that we do not own nor control the WW IPs.
(I wanted to point out the timing up there, though, because it’s important to note that Onyx Path was not a junior company to CCP, and not spun off from CCP. Onyx Path has always been solely owned by me and our relationship with CCP was solely as licensee. We own Scion and the Trinity game lines outright as I bought them from them, and we are co-owners of the Scarred Lands, another purchase but this time with Nocturnal Media. We also are in creative partnerships that are effectively licenses with Pugmire and Cavaliers of Mars, two totally new games totally unconnected to any iteration of WW.)
Pugmire Dog Dice illo by Pat Loboyko
(CCP really only wanted us to shepherd the WW IPs and good name and keep the community engaged until they could pull back the curtain and bring everybody to the WoD MMO. They didn’t actually want a lot of licenses because they wanted everyone to be working on the WoD MMO, not a bunch of difficult to manage tabletop RPGs. We did that for them, for a while at least.)
But, as Onyx Path rolls along for about four years of reviving, rejuvenating, and renovating, the WW IPs, CCP decides that they must pull back their efforts to focus on EVE, cancel the WoD MMO (and fire a bunch more people I care about), and finally they sell the WW IPs to a Swedish game company called Paradox.
Paradox revives the White Wolf Publishing name, and paw print, and through some level of corporate structuring, stick a company behind the name. (You’ll have to ask the new WWP some time how they are structured; I don’t know nor want to, honestly). They bring over a couple of their employees and those guys hire in a couple more folks. None of them is a creator or executive from the original White Wolf so it was not anyone at the new WWP who greenlit the previous computer games or books or, well anything, from the original WW days.
Their intention is licensing. Their intention is to get the WW IPs out there so that there is some sort of WW IP project in every medium.
Onyx Path has the license from the new WWP to create tabletop RPGs and accessories related to, and which assist in playing, tabletop RPGs for WoD, Chronicles of Darkness, and Exalted. We are one of their rapidly growing cadre of licensees. We make the sorts of things their license allows us to, and we go through an approval process with them. I can not ethically talk the numbers or details of the contracts, but our deal is a pretty typical license agreement.
What we, as a licensee, are not involved with, is how the new WWP grows their license portfolio. I mean, some of these deals are bound up in their own NDAs, and the rest WWP has no obligation to inform us about until they want to, or we hear about it like all of you. In the current situation, we had no idea of who was writing the Asmodee projects until they were released and all hell broke loose.
Changeling 20th illustration by Melissa Uran
Our reality, and our community’s, is that the new WWP is actively working towards building media awareness of the WW IPs, currently focused on the World of Darkness. They are going to be as careful as they can to work with the sorts of licensees that can accurately bring the WoD setting to their medium, but ultimately the sheer potential size of what they intend has a really good chance to mean that there will be decisions made that will run the gamut of our community’s personal reactions from thrilled beyond belief to appalled beyond measure.
Our community will need to decide how to respond, or not, based on individual personal standards and conscience. If a project comes out bad, or amazing, how far do you go to support the next one? If the content offends you, do you avoid that writer, or that developer, or that company, or that IP in the future? If people are hired that you have issues with, do you skip that project, boycott anything connected to the new White Wolf, or send emails of protest? Any, or all, it’s your personal call.
So, to recap: Onyx Path is one of a growing set of licensees of the White Wolf IPs that are owned and controlled by the new White Wolf Publishing based in Sweden. Onyx Path does not have any say over projects created by other licensees or how the new WWP conducts its business.
Hope that clears a few things up, and as always if you have questions, please feel free to post them in the comments.
BLURBS!
KICKSTARTER!
I’m working on the KS pages this week for sure as the antibiotics kick in. Things look good, and we are all for starting the KS in Feb/early March so long as the process of pulling the KS together cooperates. If so, then Monarchies of Mau KS would be next, after Gambit.
ON SALE!
Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Here’s the link to the press release we put out about how Onyx Path is now selling through Indie Press Revolution: http://ift.tt/1ZlTT6z
You can now order wave 2 of our Deluxe and Prestige print overrun books, including Deluxe Mage 20th Anniversary, and Deluxe V20 Dark Ages!
From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: Doubting Souls (Hunter 1690-1695 Salem). Immigrants and tribes struggled to co-exist on the Eastern Seaboard in the ever-expanding Colonies. Violent clashes, supernatural beliefs, and demonic influences spelled disaster for Salem Village and its surrounding towns, while others fought werewolves and vampires on the frontier. With so much at risk, only god-fearing men and women were deemed innocent — and those were few indeed.
Available in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG: http://ift.tt/2kKOrfm
From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: The Bowery Dogs (Werewolf 1969-1979 NYC). New York City in the 1970s. Crime. Drugs. Gang violence. Vast economic disparity. And werewolves. It’s a lean, ugly time to be alive, and the lone wolf doesn’t stand a chance out there. In the end, all you really have is family.
Available in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG: http://ift.tt/2lM0Tzv
The Locker is open; the Chronicles of Darkness: Hurt Locker, that is! PDF and physical copy PoDs are now available on DTRPG! http://ift.tt/2gbM9me
Hurt Locker features:
Treatment of violence in the Chronicles of Darkness. Lasting trauma, scene framing, and other tools for making your stories hurt.
Many new player options, including Merits, supernatural knacks, and even new character types like psychic vampires and sleeper cell soldiers.
Expanded equipment and equipment rules.
Hurt Locker requires the Chronicles of Darkness Rulebook or any other standalone Chronicles of Darkness rulebook such as Vampire: The Requiem, Werewolf: The Forsaken, or Beast: The Primordial to use.
Both the Beast: the Primordial http://ift.tt/2fEMsdO & Promethean: the Created 2nd Edition Condition Cards http://ift.tt/2iSein1 are now on sale on DTRPG in PDF and physical card PoD versions! Great for keeping track of the Conditions that are on your characters!
From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: Ruins of Empire (Mummy 1893-1924). Perhaps the quintessential era of the mummy in the minds of Westerners, this period saw the decline of the two greatest empires of the age: British and Ottoman. Walk with the Arisen as they bear witness to the death of the Victorian age, to pivotal mortal discoveries in Egypt, and to the horrors of the Great War.
Available in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG. http://ift.tt/2k0XDhX
From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: The Sundered World (Werewolf and Mage 5500-5000 BCE). At the birth of civilization, in the shadow of the Fall, the Awakened stand as champions and protectors of the agricultural villages spread across the Balkans. In a world without a Gauntlet, where Shadow and flesh mingle, the steady taming of the world by humanity conflicts with the half-spirit children of Father Wolf.
Available in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG. http://ift.tt/2k16mRj
Night Horrors: Conquering Heroes for Beast: the Primordial is available now as an Advance PDF: http://ift.tt/2j7p7lO
This book includes:
An in-depth look at how Heroes hunt and what makes a Hero, with eleven new Heroes to drop into any chronicle.
A brief look at why Beasts may antagonize one another, with seven new Beasts to drop into any chronicle.
Rules for Insatiables, ancient creatures born of the Primordial Dream intent on hunting down Beasts to fill a hunger without end, featuring six examples ready to use in any chronicle.
The PDF and physical book PoD versions of Reap the Whirlwind, the Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition Jumpstart swirls into being on DTRPG! http://ift.tt/2i1WPpD
You are a vampire, a junkie. Every night, you beg and you borrow and you steal just a little more life, just a few more sweet moments. But there’s a guy at the top. The Prince. He’s got everything. The money, the secrets, the blood.
Tonight, you’re going to take it from him. Tomorrow, there’ll be hell to pay.
This updated edition of Reap the Whirlwind features revisions to match the core rulebook for Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition. Text edits and rules clarifications have also been updated.
Reap the Whirlwind Revised includes:
Rules for creating and playing vampires in the Chronicles of Darkness
The first two levels of every clan Discipline, the dark powers of the dead
A complete adventure by noted horror author Chuck Wendig
This new revised Reap the Whirlwind Revised includes an updated booklet, 7 condition cards, and the interactive Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition character sheet.
It is now the preordained time for Dawn of Heresies, the Mummy: the Curse novel written by internationally renowned author Brian Hodge to arise! Both PDF/electronic and physical book PoD versions are now available on DTRPG! http://ift.tt/2iEP9dW
Rawhead and bloody bones
Steals naughty children from their homes,
Takes them to his dirty den
And they are never seen again.
So says the nursery rhyme that gives birth to Rawhead, the most fearsome entity to imperil the living since the infamous Roller. Once an obedient mummy by name of Benefre, a desperate bid by his cult fails in tragic fashion, and in so doing, sends him to the Devourerís waiting, corruptive maw. What remains of Benefreís ambitious soul rises again, impure and unholy, set to the execution of a scheme so baleful, it constitutes a heresy even among his own misbegotten kind.
All that stands between Rawhead and his terrible aim are a lone mummy, Kemsiyet, and what little remains of her cult following its destruction at Rawhead’s hands. Declan, her prized security aide, and Fiona, an Irish researcher only just recently inducted into the cult and its blood-soaked world, must fight both the odds and the clock in order to prevent a calamity the likes of which the world hasnít seen since the days of the mummies’ creation.
About the Author:
BRIAN HODGE is the acclaimed author of 11 novels, almost 125 short stories, and four full-length collections. His first collection, The Convulsion Factory, was ranked by critic Stanley Wiater among the 113 best books of modern horror. Heís currently wrapping up his fifth, The Immaculate Void. Among gamers, he is perhaps best known as the author of the first official Hellboy novel, On Earth as It Is in Hell.
Recent works include “The Weight of the Dead,” from Tor, and novelettes of cosmic horror in The Mammoth Book of Cthulhu and Children of Lovecraft. His oft-reprinted 2013 novella, “The Same Deep Waters as You” has recently been optioned by a London-based production studio for development for television. Brian lives in Colorado.
Open the V20 Dark Ages: Tome of Secrets now on DTRPG! Both PDF and physical book PoD versions are now available! http://ift.tt/2i1XOXd
The Tome of Secrets is a treatment of numerous topics about Cainites and stranger things in the Dark Medieval World. It’s about peeling back the curtain, and digging a little deeper. Inside, you’ll find:
• Expanded treatment of Assamite Sorcery, Koldunic Sorcery, Necromancy, and Setite Sorcery
• A look at Cainite knightly orders, faith movements, and even human witchcraft
• Letters and diaries from all over the Dark Medieval World
Travel with us all the way to the Red Planet for the Cavaliers of Mars Jumpstart: A Festival of Blades, available in PDF and PoD on DTRPG! http://ift.tt/2biWBpR
Live, fight, and love on Mars, a world of red death and strange mystery, a world of savagery and romance.
Includes:
A complete adventure set in one of dying Mars’ greatest remaining cities.
The innovative DEIMOS rules, for high-flying, swashbuckling adventure.
Four pre-generated player characters, ready to get into the heart of the action.
CONVENTIONS!
Discussing GenCon plans. August 17th – 20th, Indianapolis. Every chance the booth will actually be 20? x 30? this year that we’ll be sharing with friends. We’re looking at new displays this year, like a back drop and magazine racks for the brochure(s).
In November, we’ll be at Game Hole Con in Madison, WI. More news as we have it, and here’s their website: http://ift.tt/RIm6qP
And now, the new project status updates!
DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM ROLLICKING ROSE (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 3rd Novel by Matt Forbeck (Exalted 3rd Edition)
Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)
Trinity Continuum: Aeon Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)
M20 Gods and Monsters (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
M20 Cookbook (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
CtD C20 Jumpstart (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)
Ex Novel 2 (Aaron Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)
C20 Novel (Jackie Cassada) (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)
Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)
Pugmire Pan’s Guide for New Pioneers (Pugmire)
Monarchies of Mau Early Access (Pugmire)
Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)
Redlines
Scion: Origins (Scion 2nd Edition)
Scion: Hero (Scion 2nd Edition)
Kithbook Boggans (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)
VtR Half-Damned (Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition)
WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)
Second Draft
The Realm (Exalted 3rd Edition)
Dragon-Blooded (Exalted 3rd Edition)
BtP Beast Player’s Guide (Beast: the Primordial)
Book of Freeholds (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)
V20 Dark Ages Jumpstart (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)
GtS Geist 2e core (Geist: the Sin-Eaters Second Edition)
Development
W20 Changing Ways (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)
SL Ring of Spiragos (Pathfinder – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)
Ring of Spiragos (5e – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)
SL Dagger of Spiragos (Pathfinder – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)
Dagger of Spiragos (5e– Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)
Arms of the Chosen (Exalted 3rd Edition)
Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition, featuring the Huntsmen Chronicle (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)
BtP Building a Legend (Beast: the Primordial)
Editing:
V20 Beckett’s Jyhad Diary (Stretch Goal Content)
W20 Song of Unmaking novel (Bridges) (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
CtD C20 Anthology (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)
Wraith: the Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition
Post-Editing Development:
CtL fiction anthology (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)
VtR A Thousand Years of Night (Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition)
Indexing:
ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:
In Art Direction
Beckett’s Jyhad Diary – new stuff AD’d
M20 Book of Secrets – AD’d
W20 Pentex Employee Indoctrination Handbook
V20 Dark Ages Companion – Gaydos finals rolling in… sketches from others rolling in.
Dagger of Spiragos – AD’d
VTR: Thousand Years of Night
Cavaliers of Mars – Contracting.
Marketing Stuff
In Layout
V20 Lore of the Bloodlines
Prince’s Gambit – Kickstarter Prep.
Dark Eras Companion – artist shenanigans.
C20 – With Aileen
Proofing
Necropolis Rio – backer PDF out to Mummy KS backers last week, gathering errata.
EX3 Tomb of Dreams Jumpstart – first proof.
At Press
Ex 3 Screen – Shipping to fulfillment shippers.
Ex 3 core book – Shipping to fulfillment shippers. Addresses being gathered from KS and assembled for shippers.
Secrets of the Covenants – Updated and processing.
Beckett Screen – Printer shipping to shipper.
W20 Shattered Dreams – Shipping to fulfillment shippers.
Shattered Dreams Screen – Printer shipping to shipper.
Beast Conquering Heroes – Inputting errata and prepping for press.
Mortal Remains: Beast- Red In Tooth and Claw – Gathered errata.
Pugmire – Backer PDF out to backers.
Wise and the Wicked PF & 5e – Out to backers.
Dark Eras : Fallen Blossoms – Files uploaded and processing.
Dark Eras: Beneath the Skin – Wrapping up the PoD prep.
TODAY’S REASON TO CELEBRATE: Happy Birthday, Joel Hodgson! MST3K Maestro and another creator who discovered the amazing reach of Kickstarter. Gamera is a friend to all children.
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Yes, we are actually closing in on the Kickstarter for Justin Achilli’s casual vampire card game, Prince’s Gambit. This is the first time Onyx Path will be offering a card game on Kickstarter, so it is a very new thing for us. And as we have heard it said: Anything done for the first time unleashes a demon!
Hopefully, in this case, we’re unleashing a demonic whirlwind of fun. But, I guess we’ll see. Certainly the playtesters who have had several iterations of the game to play through have seemed to really like it – especially this latest version!
As I always am before a Kickstarter, I’m nervous as to whether we’ve presented the game right and enough backers will get engaged with the project. So, I’m still fine-tuning the writing and presentation. It’s not a particularly complicated Kickstarter set-up, in fact, it’s our simplest. And the project is not at all expensive to back. In fact, a single deck of cards provides endless gameplay for you and 5-7 friends.
But still, I fret.
Shapeshifter for M20 Book of Secrets by Ken Meyer, Jr
It’s funny, Prince’s Gambit is actually an example of serendipity. I had been at Nashville By Night along with our friends at By Night Studios, and noticed how the live action roleplayers sat in the lobby of the hotel, or out on the patio, and played non-World of Darkness card games between LARP sessions.
Which made me wonder if we could create a Vampire; the Masquerade card game that would be simpler than the Vampire: the Eternal Struggle collectable card game (or even Magic: the Gathering) so that players could jump in and play relatively quickly. I threw some thoughts around with the gang at the con, and then filed the idea away under “things we should try”.
Fast forward to almost a year later, and during one of our usual conversations, Justin Achilli mentions that he has been working on a rough idea, really a prototype at that point, of a casual vampire card game. And would Onyx Path be interested in publishing it for Vampire: the Masquerade?
Lore of the Bloodlines Salubri by Mark Kelly
Ding, ding, ding, ding!
A “casual” card game. The very word to describe the sort of game I was thinking about in Nashville. And designed by my old friend and long, long-time Vampire developer Justin Achilli.
Yes, please!
So, hopefully, you’ll be able to see it yourself on Kickstarter next week. Not only do we have a great opening Kickstarter video featuring Justin describing the project, but we have an example of play video that is a compelling Prince’s Gambit session featuring representatives of the Clans (some of whom you might know from the Atlanta gaming crowd).
We’ll have the link to that, and the rules, in the Kickstarter, and also on our YouTube channel for ya’ll to check out.
Pugmire illustration by Pat Loboyko
Finally, I used to post a lot more about the conversations Eddy and I have in the first meeting of the day, the actual 12 noon Monday Lunch Meeting that is truly descended from the Monday lunch meetings we had at White Wolf from the time I started.
Subba-Wubba? Yummmmm!
Mostly, that’s because most of what Eddy and I have been talking about for months are Pugmire, Mau, or other projects that we really can’t reveal, or the intricacies of the care and management of licensing partners.
But today, we actually sat back and talked a little more of the working theories based on media that we’ve enjoyed putting forth over the years. Today, I just happened to mention conspiracy theorists, like you do, and Eddy was off on a theory of how our human brain is so built for pattern recognition that we have no choice but to look for patterns in everything.
Which means that we have no choice but to detect conspiracy theories, because we have to try and make disparate items fit together. Which, led us to wondering if Science, or at least scientific proofs, came about as a deep need to prove or debunk the general human impulse to jam things together crazily.
Naturally, this led to a discussion of Edition Wars, and whether they happen because our brains link the pattern (the gameplay, rules, art, well everything) of our preferred edition to our view of what is “correct” in the patterns of reality, and that gives us pleasure. Change, then, breaks that pattern and ruins our pleasure.
If any of that makes sense, or is interesting, to you, then you clearly suffer from the same issues as Eddy and myself. Welcome to the party, pal!
As a reward for sitting through our meandering, here’s a cute knitted doll of Princess Yosha from Pugmire, and a link to the site where you can get yourself a copy: http://ift.tt/2lQo87j
BLURBS!
KICKSTARTER!
I’m finishing up the KS pages for the Prince’s Gambit casual card game this week. Things look good, and we are all for starting the KS in March so long as the process of pulling the KS together cooperates. If so, then Monarchies of Mau KS would be next, after Gambit.
ON SALE!
DTRPG’s GM’s Day Sale starts March 2nd and runs for about a week! Check out all sorts of sales and bargains on Onyx Path and White Wolf PDFs at DriveThruRPG.com!
Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Here’s the link to the press release we put out about how Onyx Path is now selling through Indie Press Revolution: http://ift.tt/1ZlTT6z
You can now order wave 2 of our Deluxe and Prestige print overrun books, including Deluxe Mage 20th Anniversary, and Deluxe V20 Dark Ages!
The Secrets of the Covenants for Vampire: the Requiem 2nd REVEALED this Wednesday on DTRPG! Physical copy PoD version coming to DTRPG: http://ift.tt/2gbQjus
Vampires gather under many banners. But five have endured the tumult of Western history better than any other. The Carthian Movement. The Circle of the Crone. The Invictus. The Lancea et Sanctum. The Ordo Dracul. Each has its fierce devotees, its jealous rivals, and its relentless enemies. Now,for the first time, the covenants speak for themselves.
This book includes:
A variety of stories from each of the covenants, all told in their own words.
Never-before revealed secrets, like the fate of the Prince of New Orleans.
New blood sorcery, oaths, and other hidden powers of the covenants.
From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: Fallen Blossoms (Hunter 1640-1660 Japan). Japan is moving into the Edo Period. New laws and new ways of thinking wash over the land, and with a new order come new threats to humanity. Take a look at the Vigil in a time where samurai transition from warlords to bureaucrats, Japan massively and lethally rejects outside influence, and when Edo rapidly grows into a world power.
Continuing our individual Dark Eras chapters, we offer you Dark Eras: Fallen Blossoms on in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG! http://ift.tt/2mfc1F1
From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: Doubting Souls (Hunter 1690-1695 Salem). Immigrants and tribes struggled to co-exist on the Eastern Seaboard in the ever-expanding Colonies. Violent clashes, supernatural beliefs, and demonic influences spelled disaster for Salem Village and its surrounding towns, while others fought werewolves and vampires on the frontier. With so much at risk, only god-fearing men and women were deemed innocent — and those were few indeed.
Available in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG: http://ift.tt/2kKOrfm
From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: The Bowery Dogs (Werewolf 1969-1979 NYC). New York City in the 1970s. Crime. Drugs. Gang violence. Vast economic disparity. And werewolves. It’s a lean, ugly time to be alive, and the lone wolf doesn’t stand a chance out there. In the end, all you really have is family.
Available in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG: http://ift.tt/2lM0Tzv
The Locker is open; the Chronicles of Darkness: Hurt Locker, that is! PDF and physical copy PoDs are now available on DTRPG! http://ift.tt/2gbM9me
Hurt Locker features:
Treatment of violence in the Chronicles of Darkness. Lasting trauma, scene framing, and other tools for making your stories hurt.
Many new player options, including Merits, supernatural knacks, and even new character types like psychic vampires and sleeper cell soldiers.
Expanded equipment and equipment rules.
Hurt Locker requires the Chronicles of Darkness Rulebook or any other standalone Chronicles of Darkness rulebook such as Vampire: The Requiem, Werewolf: The Forsaken, or Beast: The Primordial to use.
Both the Beast: the Primordial http://ift.tt/2fEMsdO & Promethean: the Created 2nd Edition Condition Cards http://ift.tt/2iSein1 are now on sale on DTRPG in PDF and physical card PoD versions! Great for keeping track of the Conditions that are on your characters!
From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: Ruins of Empire (Mummy 1893-1924). Perhaps the quintessential era of the mummy in the minds of Westerners, this period saw the decline of the two greatest empires of the age: British and Ottoman. Walk with the Arisen as they bear witness to the death of the Victorian age, to pivotal mortal discoveries in Egypt, and to the horrors of the Great War.
Available in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG. http://ift.tt/2k0XDhX
From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: The Sundered World (Werewolf and Mage 5500-5000 BCE). At the birth of civilization, in the shadow of the Fall, the Awakened stand as champions and protectors of the agricultural villages spread across the Balkans. In a world without a Gauntlet, where Shadow and flesh mingle, the steady taming of the world by humanity conflicts with the half-spirit children of Father Wolf.
Available in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG. http://ift.tt/2k16mRj
Night Horrors: Conquering Heroes for Beast: the Primordial is available now as an Advance PDF: http://ift.tt/2j7p7lO
This book includes:
An in-depth look at how Heroes hunt and what makes a Hero, with eleven new Heroes to drop into any chronicle.
A brief look at why Beasts may antagonize one another, with seven new Beasts to drop into any chronicle.
Rules for Insatiables, ancient creatures born of the Primordial Dream intent on hunting down Beasts to fill a hunger without end, featuring six examples ready to use in any chronicle.
The PDF and physical book PoD versions of Reap the Whirlwind, the Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition Jumpstart swirls into being on DTRPG! http://ift.tt/2i1WPpD
You are a vampire, a junkie. Every night, you beg and you borrow and you steal just a little more life, just a few more sweet moments. But there’s a guy at the top. The Prince. He’s got everything. The money, the secrets, the blood.
Tonight, you’re going to take it from him. Tomorrow, there’ll be hell to pay.
This updated edition of Reap the Whirlwind features revisions to match the core rulebook for Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition. Text edits and rules clarifications have also been updated.
Reap the Whirlwind Revised includes:
Rules for creating and playing vampires in the Chronicles of Darkness
The first two levels of every clan Discipline, the dark powers of the dead
A complete adventure by noted horror author Chuck Wendig
This new revised Reap the Whirlwind Revised includes an updated booklet, 7 condition cards, and the interactive Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition character sheet.
Open the V20 Dark Ages: Tome of Secrets now on DTRPG! Both PDF and physical book PoD versions are now available! http://ift.tt/2i1XOXd
The Tome of Secrets is a treatment of numerous topics about Cainites and stranger things in the Dark Medieval World. It’s about peeling back the curtain, and digging a little deeper. Inside, you’ll find:
• Expanded treatment of Assamite Sorcery, Koldunic Sorcery, Necromancy, and Setite Sorcery
• A look at Cainite knightly orders, faith movements, and even human witchcraft
• Letters and diaries from all over the Dark Medieval World
CONVENTIONS!
Impish Ian Watson will be on a Q&A panel at CAiNE http://ift.tt/2m5ejGC being hosted in Hamilton Ontario March 16 to 19th 2017!
Discussing GenCon plans. August 17th – 20th, Indianapolis. Every chance the booth will actually be 20? x 30? this year that we’ll be sharing with friends. We’re looking at new displays this year, like a back drop and magazine racks for the brochure(s).
In November, we’ll be at Game Hole Con in Madison, WI. More news as we have it, and here’s their website: http://ift.tt/RIm6qP
And now, the new project status updates!
DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM ROLLICKING ROSE (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 3rd Novel by Matt Forbeck (Exalted 3rd Edition)
Trinity Continuum: Aeon Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)
M20 Gods and Monsters (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
Ex Novel 2 (Aaron Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)
C20 Novel (Jackie Cassada) (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)
Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)
Monarchies of Mau Early Access (Pugmire)
Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)
Redlines
Scion: Origins (Scion 2nd Edition)
Scion: Hero (Scion 2nd Edition)
Kithbook Boggans (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)
VtR Half-Damned (Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition)
WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)
Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)
Pugmire Pan’s Guide for New Pioneers (Pugmire)
Second Draft
The Realm (Exalted 3rd Edition)
Dragon-Blooded (Exalted 3rd Edition)
BtP Beast Player’s Guide (Beast: the Primordial)
V20 Dark Ages Jumpstart (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)
GtS Geist 2e core (Geist: the Sin-Eaters Second Edition)
CtD C20 Jumpstart (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)
Development
W20 Changing Ways (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)
SL Ring of Spiragos (Pathfinder – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)
Ring of Spiragos (5e – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)
SL Dagger of Spiragos (Pathfinder – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)
Dagger of Spiragos (5e– Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)
Arms of the Chosen (Exalted 3rd Edition)
Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition, featuring the Huntsmen Chronicle (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)
BtP Building a Legend (Beast: the Primordial)
Book of Freeholds (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)
Editing:
W20 Song of Unmaking novel (Bridges) (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
CtD C20 Anthology (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)
Wraith: the Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition
M20 Cookbook (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
Post-Editing Development:
CtL fiction anthology (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)
VtR A Thousand Years of Night (Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition)
Indexing:
Pugmire
ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:
In Art Direction
Beckett’s Jyhad Diary – new stuff AD’d
W20 Pentex Employee Indoctrination Handbook
V20 Dark Ages Companion – Finals in from McEvoy, Gaydos, and Leblanc… still have three artists who owe me.
Dagger of Spiragos – Finals in progress… and maps.
VTR: Thousand Years of Night
Cavaliers of Mars – AD’d
Monarchies of Mau Early Access – Prepping notes for artists
BtP Building a Legend – Contracting…
April Fool’s thing – I will get Leblanc on it
Marketing Stuff
In Layout
Prince’s Gambit – Final tweaks to preview cards and some design stuff on the tuckboxes.
C20 – With Aileen
M20 Book of Secrets – Layout should start rolling this week.
Dark Eras Companion – Adding in corrections… and trying to wrap up artist shenanigans.
Proofing
EX3 Tomb of Dreams Jumpstart – first proof.
V20 Lore of the Bloodlines
At Press
Ex 3 Screen – Ready to ship, shipping starting this week.
Ex 3 core book – Ready to ship, shipping starting this week, along with map and bookmarks.
Secrets of the Covenants – Going on sale this Wednesday in PDF and PoD versions.
Beckett Screen – Shipped to shipper.
W20 Shattered Dreams – Ready to Ship.
Shattered Dreams Screen – Ready to ship.
Beast Conquering Heroes – Uploaded and processing.
Mortal Remains: Beast- Red In Tooth and Claw – Uploaded and processing.
Dark Eras: Beneath the Skin – Uploaded and Processing.
Dark Eras: Out of the Cold – Uploaded and Processing.
Necropolis Rio – Uploaded and processing.
TODAY’S REASON TO CELEBRATE: Today marks the 17th anniversary of the death of John Colicos, a Canadian actor many of us know for his excellently villainous roles including Klingon Commander Kor in the original Star Trek (and returned to magnificently decades later on STDS9), Mikkos Cassadine, a demented scientist bent on freezing the world on General Hospital (the only reason I watched that one), and of course, he was the original Baltar on the original Battlestar Galactica. We celebrate his fine body of work and excellent portrayal of villainy! By your command!
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