#really cool with lots of street art! inside there are a bunch of workshops? the ferry goes there from the main train station also for free

[doppelnatur]

Accidentally hit on a cis guy but it's ok he's cool💕

[brucewillisghost]

THE DAVINCI CODE

t was a hot summer morning, 500 years ago in Italy and Leonardo Da Vinci was busy at work, inventing the modern helicopter. He stood in his workshop with the sun beating down on his various ancient looking parchments and took a sip from a historically accurate beverage out of a historically accurate cup. Suddenly, a long dead bird came flying into his workshop half a century ago! Leonardo Da Vinci laughed anciently, like a great man from the past might. He went out onto his balcony and looked out over all the brick coloured houses made by dead Italian people, stacked to the tits with frescoes and ivies and little brown dogs running everywhere and people carrying loaves of bread around in their arms, like soft gluten purses, like vigilante mayors of breadtown. I love ancient Italy! It’s my home, he thought, while simultaneously inventing a complicated water device with lots of intricate levers and screws that is too hard to explain to normal level intelligence people but rest assured it was good. He leapt hugely off his balcony and went for a tall walk down the street, becoming constantly inspired by observing the world and all the momentous inventions he was going to do for it. If electricity had been invented he might have waited for a traffic light, but he didn’t have time to invent electricity today, or traffic either, or even to play the lyre beautifully with his long homosexual fingers. He was late for the first day of the Italian renaissance!!! When he got to the first day of the Italian renaissance, Michelangelo and Botticelli and Italian Shakespeare were there plus a lot of other famous dead guys listed on the Wikipedia page they had all taken the day off from their jobs which was painting fucked up giant winged babies for art and doing heaps of other famous as shit enlightened men things like making up classical philosophies and growing massive beards out of chin modesty. I have invented the helicopter!!!!!! Leonardo Da Vinci shouted, striding into the official renaissance headquarters, knocking several large tables over and absentmindedly punching a grandfather clock in its big ticking face before stopping all of time for a few minutes, and then inventing time again but even more accurate than the first version. Damn I love being an inventor, he said, and kissed several handsome young nearby men who all loved it, mouthwise. What is a helicopter? Michelangelo asked, like a little bitch. Michelangelo was jealous because the only thing he ever invented was painting on ceilings which is a dumb place to put art because you have to lie down to look at it and get the back of your head all dirty But Leonardo laughed, because that was the kind of guy he WAS, the kind of guy who knew what helicopters were before they even existed, before even the kinds of metals that could make them fly were dug out of the earth, but he wasn’t laughing in a mean way, but in a joyful and ahead of his time kind of way. Scientists have analysed his laugh in later years and found it contained many important particles from the future. It is a laugh which has been preserved in amber and is kept under lock and key at the white house, although even the greatest scholars still cannot work out what joke was being told, because the joke is so far beyond the limits of the human understanding that we will perhaps never understand what was so funny about it, but if you hold it up to your ear, you can still hear his strange bountiful laugh echoing through time and space like Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! A helicopter is a machine for flying, he explained and showed them his drawings which were museum quality, and rare looking, and Botticelli was like ���well what does a helicopter do’ and Leonardo was all like ‘shut up you enormous pervert go draw a hot naked woman emerging from a shell’ but in a friendly way and then he recounted the entire plot of Mission Impossible which he also invented on the spot and did all the noises for especially the part where Tom Cruise is climbing along the top of a moving train with his skin getting wrinkled because the train is going so fast and then he sees a train tunnel coming up so he ties the helicopter to the train and the helicopter has to fly through the tunnel and tom cruise climbs backwards along the train and jumps onto the helicopter and blows it up still inside the tunnel coming towards him and nearly gets decapitated by the helicopter blade but doesn’t and divorces Katie Holmes and the train driver looks up horrified through the window at him as if to say did you really just tie a helicopter to my train inside a train tunnel and then blow it up that is really dangerous katie holmes is too good for you and then Tom Cruise takes off his sunglasses and says Mission impossible, more like mission........accomplished, and everyone from the Italian renaissance just bursts into tears because they’ve never heard of Tom Cruise before, nobody had, Da Vinci invented him too, as a private joke, and then Leonardo Da Vinci drank two huge glasses of water and slammed his fist down on the table a whole bunch of times for emphasis. You are really good at this renaissance thing, Italian Shakespeare said to him, stunned and overwhelmed, but Da Vinci was so humble he was just like ‘thanks, your friendship means a lot to me,’ and then suggested they all move on to lay the foundations for capitalism and banking. At the end of the first day of the Italian renaissance, Leonardo Da Vinci  walked home through the picturesque streets of his historical birthplace and at the fading sunlight which looked like an enormous fire burning somewhere very far away which of course he knew astronomically it was and all the black cats yawing hugely with their long dead mouths and the flowers on the windowsills super abundant with bees and thought with a happy tear in his eye I wish I was still alive, because of course he knew himself to be already dead in the future, he was that brilliant, and went straight back to bed to put a cold compress on his head, because it hurt him to be so smart and invent things all the time, his mind was constantly churning his thick unsalted cerebral butter. It was a blessing and a curse. He couldn’t see flowers without inventing a vase to put them in, he couldn’t see the stars without spontaneously inventing a telescope, he couldn’t stare directly into the sun without inventing tinted aviators, he couldn’t see a beautiful man without inventing a kiss directly onto his mouth, and as Leonardo slept he invented a dream in which he was flying sans machinery, soaring high above the world without the need for physics or levers, collecting many frequent flyer miles along the way. Leonardo spent the rest of his life inventing cool things and drawing famous paintings and even a picture of a guy with four arms and four legs rolling around inside a huge circle for medical students to put on their pencil cases in the future. He looked up at the sky and knew scientifically why it was blue, but that didn’t stop him from thinking it was beautiful and in later years when he died and went to heaven  God was like ‘don’t tell the others but you’re my favourite of all my children’ which made Jesus super mad, but if Jesus didn’t invent anything except for eternal life and who wants that, da vinci didn’t, he wanted to be a big pile of sad homosexual forever bones so he said thanks but no thanks, stole a mousepad from heaven’s giftshop and came back to us here on earth, where we still visit his bones to this day and say these were the bones of a great man, he wore them inside his body like a meat clotheshanger, he wore them like a wild horse wears the skeleton of the wind, he wore them towards the possibility of the future which he was inventing as he rode the horse of his own mind onward, whispering the name of beautiful things to come and in doing so, calling them forward into existence, he wore them like patience and was kind to all who knew him, goodbye Leonardo DV you extraordinary son of a bitch goodbye goodbye we love and miss you every day

by Hera Lindsay BIrd

http://www.heralindsaybird.com/leonardo-da-vinci.html

[187days]

Reflections On My Spain Trip

They say that after traveling one should sit with the experience for a bit before writing anything down, so- aside from tweeting about it a couple times- that’s what I’ve done. Now, though, it’s time to write...

I think it was a fantastic trip, overall. For me, it was a chance to return to a country I'd visited when I was in high school, to share my favorite things with my students, and also to see new things with them. For Mr. W, I think it was largely the same. And, for the students, it was just a massive experience. They’re small town kids. Most of them had ever been to foreign countries before, and none of them were really used to traveling in cities. But they all embraced the adventure wholeheartedly; they took in all the opportunities to learn, they tried everything, they spoke in Spanish... I’m very proud of them for that.

We flew into Malaga, a beautiful beach town on the Mediterranean with perfect weather (at least while we were there). It’s a slow-paced place, and we were free to wander around, hang out at the beach, listen to live music, etc... until dinner that evening. That’s when we met our tour guide, Laura, and the other two groups we would be traveling with. Unfortunately, our students didn’t really gel with the others (ours were a little older, more capable of speaking Spanish, and- how do I put this?- markedly less privileged), but they didn’t really mind. And Mr. W and I did get on well with two of the other teachers, which was nice. 

In the morning we traveled from Malaga to Granada to see La Alhambra, which I was super excited about because I’d never seen it before. I think that was one of our students’ favorite sites, too, because it’s so stunning. We had a great tour guide, as well. She was really good at explaining things in an engaging way. Lunch in Granada was also amazing; we were seated on the rooftop of this cool little restaurant that made awesome tortilla espanola (I assume they made awesome everything, but that’s what I ate). 

That evening we headed to Sevilla, which is one of my favorite cities. The other two groups opted to do a river cruise thing after dinner, but we decided to stay on land and have a wander. One of our boys, amusingly, found a Dunkin Donuts and ran in to see if it was any different from the ones here, but otherwise we stayed away from American things. The only bad bit: I discovered that in the summer (I’d only ever been there in the winter), Sevilla is full of horse-drawn carriages. For those of you who haven’t been following along at home, I have a severe allergy to horses (the kind I need an epi pen for), so I had to be pretty ninja in avoiding them. Bless my students for their patience, and for looking out for “los caballos” every time we went somewhere new.

I got really nervous the next day when we went to La Catedral de Sevilla and ALL the carriages were lined up right outside. Buuuut I had an allergy mask, Benadryl, and a guide who convinced the ticket folks to let me cut the line and get inside quickly. So, y’know, I managed. And I got to climb La Giralda again. That’s the old minaret that’s now the cathedral tower. In high school, me and one of my idiot friends actually ran to the top. It was too crowded- and I’m too old- for that this time, but the view was as amazing as I’d remembered it being.

After we climbed down, our group decided that we wanted to get away from the super touristy area around the cathedral (and away from los caballos!), so Laura took us on a search for awesome tapas. She asked random locals on the streets to give directions to their favorite places, and we did our best to hit all of them. The hands down best place, according to our students, was called La Gitana Loca. But there was also this gorgeous restaurant on some random side street- low lighting, artwork everywhere, and a flamenco stage that they let us climb on for pictures- that served us fabulous oxtail stew. That may not sound good, but IT IS. And the waiters were so nice! One of my students said that if we’d been at home, she’d have figured they were being nice to get a good tip, but there is no tipping in Spain, so they were genuinely being that nice to us. I said it’s because good travel manners go along way; we were speaking the language, appreciating the food (and the rest of the culture), behaving politely... All of that is important, and it has a big impact on one’s interactions. 

So that was a great lesson. 

From Sevilla, we travelled to Madrid, with a stop along the way in Cordoba to visit La Mezquita. Cordoba is a fun place to wander around- all narrow streets, white walled buildings, and little shops- and I think we all bought a lot of souvenirs there. I got my oldest nephew a chess set similar to one I’d gotten my brother back in high school; he gave his away to another friend of ours years ago- with my blessing- so I figured it would be a cool thing to get. 

After few hours on the bus- during which Mr. W and I chatted with Laura and our James Bond-y (so our students said) driver, Alfonso- we reached Madrid. This is my favorite city in the world; it’s a treasure trove of history and culture, the site of some of my best high school adventures, the home of my favorite soccer team (Real Madrid)... It’s always going to have part of my heart, you know? 

We arrived during Pride, and there was a metro strike (if you want a fun teaching moment, take kids who have never ridden a subway ever onto a jam-packed one in a foreign country), so it was crowded, chaotic, and totally awesome. The structured tour time was pretty cool; we went to the museums (I loved that way more than Mr. W because I love art and got to geek out about it to our students), the monuments, the palace- and it’s all beautiful. There was one day when we were exhausted because we’d stayed up super late eating junk food and playing games, so that made the pace feel a little rough. No regrets, though. And that night we had a really cool dinner at this place on the outskirts of the city that teaches Spanish cooking- the chefs had the students cook and serve all of us teachers- and we all perked up.

Our free time was the best because, with Pride going on, there were all these cool events everywhere. Our group actually got one whole day free (the other two groups went to Segovia), so went to Santiago Bernabeu so Mr. W and I could get our Real Madrid fix. Then we went into Plaza Mayor, and Mr. W and I found a table where would could sit, drink some tinto, and people watch while the students explored (with boundaries and using the buddy system) on their own. I think we all loved that.

We spent our final day in Toledo, which I only had vague memories of from my high school visit. I don’t know why it didn’t stick with me more because it’s amazing. Nothing else looks quite like the old city. I love, too, that inside the Cathedral’s sacristy there are a bunch of Greco paintings just kind of there. I think the students’ favorite part was the damascene workshop (I think it was Mr. W’s favorite, too, because he could buy knives there). I did remember that from my previous visit; I still have the damascene jewelry I bought back then. I bought some new bracelets, and an icon of La Virgen for my friend who is a priest. Then we had lunch near Puente de San Martin. The restaurant served us lamb and potatoes, and it was delicious. I think that’s my favorite meal. 

I did have some killer gazpacho back in Madrid that night, though, after a final wander around the city. There were mounted police out (there were lots of police in general, but, y’know, I’m not allergic to them if they’re not on horses), so I was a bit twitchy and irritable- and I’m sure I annoyed our students- at first. But we found a concert in Puerto de Acala, we danced, we laughed, and then we had that awesome dinner. So it was a good way to end our trip.

Wv flew home the next day, and went back to our little lives. I’ll close by saying again how proud I am of our students, and how happy I was that I was able communicate in Spanish myself. I hadn’t studied it since AP class my senior year of high school; the other chaperons had all studied the language in college- and Mr. W is a native speaker- so I was worried about my ability to keep up. It was difficult to follow conversations, at first, but after about half a day I acclimated. I probably said a few things incorrectly, and I know I spoke more slowly than anyone else did, but I did it. Woot.

[theonyxpath]

At this writing, the Scion: Demigod 2e Kickstarter is almost at the half-way point and we’re over 300% funded and have over 1700 backers. Not bad at all for half-way! Of course, we’re also in the slow-down period for a bit coming up, so keep an eye out for the previews, actual plays, and interviews we have scheduled to keep everyone entertained until pledging picks up again!

Fun fact: the joint Kickstarter for Scion: Origin and Scion: Hero launched in September, 2016 – four years ago!

Also, as of this writing, we have attained Stretch Goals including unlocking the Reference Screen, KS backer exclusive T Shirt discount, and are building up the Scion: Demigod Companion with sections on new Boons, creatures, Guides, and followers – and are headed towards the next goal of a section on Solo Play!

Stretch Goals are something we continue to tinker with, and we’ve found that doing an overflow book like many of the Companions is really ideal. Backers get access to even more info about the game they pledged for, and we can create goal thresholds that are chapter-sized and therefore priced to such amounts that are achievable more quickly. Which makes the fun of surpassing an amount and achieving a Stretch Goal regular things backers can look forward to.

But we still also look at other possible goals if the KS can support them with the pledges. Pay bumps for creators is a personal favorite of mine, and some of our crew like Jumpstarts or Fiction, too. And sometimes ideas for Stretch Goal rewards come at us from backers or other sources. We’re always open to hearing ideas.

Terra Firma art by Sam Denmark

What we do try to stay away from these days are Stretch Goal rewards that involve adding new material to the book being KS’d, as we’ve seen that derail getting that main reward out to backers by months and months. I’m also extremely leery of rewards that involve working with another company, at this point. It’s a question of expectation by our backers.

We pretty much always phrase the reward to say that the reward means that we’ll work with the other company to create whatever it is they are creating. Then we do that, and after we do, the company, for all sorts of reasons, doesn’t deliver. We did our part, but folks feel like they simply didn’t get the reward that they were looking forward to. We don’t want that to be anybody’s takeaway from one of our KSs, so I’m avoiding those sorts of rewards for now.

Just today, we received word that Paradox is good with the preview of the WoD Ghost Hunters Kickstarter we sent over, so that’ll be our next one! This is for the 20th Anniversary WoD books, so expect a cool Deluxe book all about investigating the paranormal in the World of Darkness. This book would go with the V20, W20, M20, C20, and especially the Wraith20 game lines.

TC: Aberrant art by Jeff Rebner

Some Things We Discussed at the Meeting Today:

(For what it’s worth as an inside look at the meeting, most of the topics I usually put here as having been discussed during the meeting come from the first part of the meeting where general company issues are brought up and discussed. After that we review the status of the projects that fall under each in-house developer’s supervision and note any concerns based on how the in-house devs have seen things happen with their projects all last week.)

We discussed some Covid-19 repercussions, which are ongoing, including our relationship with Paradox and the WW IPs as Paradox was also slammed by the situations around Covid. Approvals seem to be back on track, at least.

We are still trying to help our printers deliver the various projects that need to get shipped out to KS backers, but we are seeing several of our KS ship outs being dragged out. Don’t worry, James will certainly let backers know if any of these challenges causes us to miss any estimated dates.

In terms of our creators, we have been trying to help everyone keep working on our projects and get through all these upheavals, We had thankfully very few freelances diagnosed with Covid-19, but even if an individual wasn’t themselves affected, we have folks whose friends and relatives were, and people just ground down by it all.

It’s very hard to put all that aside and work out compelling writing and get it on the page. Very few writers write in an iron tower that shuts out the real world. In fact, I’d say that creators need input to have creative output, and if all the input is fraught with existential despair and peril then they are going to have a really hard time turning that into some words about a made-up game world.

Some folks can do just that – their creative output is what they use to block the nastiness of the real world out. Most others, though, and I mean most, have needed a helping hand here and there during all this. Some bailed on assignments, some worked with their devs, and some devs also had issues and worked with our in-house devs.

Let the Streets Run Red art by Ken Meyer, Jr

We did big meetings to talk through things like our “Town Halls” – we have another scheduled for early October – and we had design and productivity meetings and courses by folks like Eddy and Danielle. We hoped these helped, and we’ve seen a lot of our freelancers respond positively to these efforts, so….

Finally, we talked about the latest sale over at Indie Press Revolution – IPR – our sales partners that handle our Deluxe Kickstarter press overruns. And much, much, more, actually! This month we have a sale on Exalted 3rd Edition. The big book itself!

The EX3 sale is now live at IPR:https://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Deals-and-Specials/

And tomorrow morning around 9am CST the Scarred Lands Players Guide PDF will be free for 24 hrs:https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/197803/Scarred-Lands-Players-Guide-OGL-5e

That’s it for this week – have a great one, and I’ll be back next week talkin’ atcha about our:

Many Worlds, One Path!

Blurbs!

Kickstarter!

Scion: Demigod Second Edition blew through 300% funding last week, and is devouring all sorts of Stretch Goals! Currently headed for the inclusion of a solo-play set of rules in the Demigod Companion book! Check it out if you haven’t already:

Our Next Kickstarter:

World of Darkness: Ghost Hunters for the 20 Anniversary Editions!

Onyx Path Media!

This week: The folks at Bonus Experience podcast join the Trio for discussion and digression(s)! Bonus Experience consists of Monica and Rai, two queer freelancers who talk with authority about the RPG industry. They looking behind the screen, at the play experience, and the finer details of running and writing games. The podcast updates every other Monday.

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

A Bunch of Gamers gets top billing this week due to their new, fantastic interview with developer Neall Raemonn Price regarding the currently on Kickstarter Scion: Demigod! Check it out and enjoy: https://youtu.be/8TzYDKYQzXw

Two Scion: Demigod videos coming this week, including Vorpal Tales running Scion: Demigod and a Behind the Screen video on Scion too! Tune in on Twitch to watch live!

For anyone new to our media section, you can find us running and playing games over on twitch.tv/theonyxpath pretty much every day of the week! Plus, if you’d like your games hosted there, just get in touch with Matthew Dawkins using the contact link on matthewdawkins.com. 

Please give our Twitch channel a follow, as you can find a huge number of videos of all kinds of games being run!

This week on Twitch, expect to see these games and streams running:

Scarred Lands – A Family Affair

Technocracy Reloaded – Vorpal Tales

Scion – Behind the Screen

Scion: Demigod – Vorpal Tales

Danielle’s RPG Development Workshop

Hunter: The Vigil – Cold Cases Forsaken Spaces

Changeling: The Dreaming – The Last Faerie Tale

Mage: The Awakening – Occultists Anonymous

Vampire: The Masquerade – Boston by Night

Hunter: Unbound Anomalies – Devil’s Luck Gaming

Get watching for some fantastic insight into how to run these wonderful games and subscribe to us on Twitch, over at twitch.tv/theonyxpath

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 – E12 – https://youtu.be/NYI_zgcQqEw

Scarred Lands – Purge of the Serpentholds – S1E15 – https://youtu.be/YdE0czNeYGE

Hunter: The Vigil – Uptown Shadows Episode 4 – https://youtu.be/2qdLBpMu0lE

Realms of Pugmire – Paws and Claws S2E15 – https://youtu.be/7bc5HZxAkFg

Hunter: The Vigil – Uptown Shadows FINALE – https://youtu.be/8yKW18X1m9k

Subscribe to our channel and click the bell icon if you want to be notified whenever new news videos and uploads come online!

Tom Murr continues with his amazing They Came from Beneath the Sea! audio drama over on his YouTube channel! If you’ve not checked out his playlist, here it is: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDwUZRXJBlcnfjjsQE88RkZ6q5M5v9cGv

Systematic Understanding of Everything is a new Exalted Explainer Podcast by Exalted Dev Monica Speca and Exalted Writer Chazz Kellner that is breaking down Creation in 45 minute chunks in preparation for Exalted Essence.

Their most recent episodes are available over on https://www.exaltcast.com/, with their newest covering the stunning terrifying Abyssals!

The Story Told Podcast continues their Fall of Jiara Exalted chronicle, and you can find their newest episode right here: https://thestorytold.libsyn.com/fall-of-jiara-26

Here’s the Keeper of the Archive covering Scion: Origin and Scion: Hero over on YouTube for your viewing pleasure! https://youtu.be/q2qUE0pJID4

Vorpal Tales assembled their playlist of They Came from Beyond the Grave! actual play episodes, and you can find all six of the episodes of this series right here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9fUj4KdqE4BTnVZv9pZUkSk7GpwnyKXG

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.)

We’re told that the App Dev is currently creating an updated version for the latest devices, so keep an eye open for those!

Virtual TableTop!

Introducing a Virtual Tabletop adventure: the Gauntlet of Spiragos for Scarred Lands on Astral TableTop!

Scars of the Divine War, which ended less than 200 years ago, have still not healed. One such scar is the Chasm of Flies, a rent in the earth created when the titan Spiragos the Ambusher was smote down by one of the young gods, Vangal the Ravager. Now, the Chasm is inhabited by spider-eye goblins and their spider allies, but it is also thought to be the resting place of powerful artifacts from that elder age.

Gauntlet of Spiragos is a Scarred Lands adventure designed for 1st level characters, although it can be easily modified for characters of up to 5th level.

Astral TableTop is the easiest way to play any tabletop RPG online, free. Astral already supports popular systems like D&D and Pathfinder, and Astral can support virtually any tabletop roleplaying game. Get started quickly with built-in support for most popular game systems. Whether you’re brand new to TTRPGs or a veteran tabletop gamer, Astral‘s ease-of-use and built in automation is designed to streamline gameplay.

Astral is browser-based and uses the latest technology to streamline your storytelling experience. Connect with your party online and run your campaigns however you like. Astral offers tools optimized for phone, tablet, and desktop devices, no installation required.

Build epic battlemaps using Astral‘s enormous collection of scenery, props, and tokens or upload your own. Pro users gain access to over 12,000+ assets and fresh new packs every month. Add weather, visual effects, triggers, and so much more with easy-to-use tools

Build your own adventure, or choose from pre-generated game kits like Gauntlet of Spiragos. Create character sheets, craft maps, or just jump right in to connect with your friends and start your adventures!

On Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue from which you bought it. Reviews really, really help us get folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these latest fiction books:

Our Sales Partners!

We’re working with Studio2 to provide our traditionally printed books out into your local game stores. Game stores can order via their usual distributors, and can also contact Studio2 directly. And individuals can check out our projects via the links below!

You can pick up the traditionally printed Pugmire and Monarchies of Mau main books, screens, and the official dice through our friends there! https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

Now, we’ve added Chronicles of Darkness books such as Changeling: The Lost Second Edition products to Studio2‘s store! See them here: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/all-products/changeling-the-lost

Scion 2e books and other products are available now at Studio2: https://studio2publishing.com/blogs/new-releases/scion-second-edition-book-one-origin-now-available-at-your-local-retailer-or-online

Our Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition books are also available from Studio2 in the US: https://studio2publishing.com/products/vampire-the-masquerade-chicago-by-night-sourcebook

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

The EX3 sale is now live at IPR: https://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Deals-and-Specials/

As always, you can find Onyx Path’s titles at DriveThruRPG.com!

Tomorrow morning around 9am CST the Scarred Lands Players Guide PDF will be free for 24 hrs:https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/197803/Scarred-Lands-Players-Guide-OGL-5e

On Sale This Week!

This Wednesday we are blasting off and landing back on good old Terra Firma for Trinity Continuum: Aeon! Check out the Advance PDF on DTRPG!

Terra Firma expands the setting of Trinity Continuum: Æon by revealing some of the many wonders and secrets found on Earth and Luna, while also providing Storytellers with the material they require to set exciting campaigns on either of these two worlds. 

Terra Firma requires both the Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook and Trinity Continuum: Æon to play. Inside, you will find:

• Further information about 10 nations previously discussed in Trinity Continuum: Æon, including a detailed look at an important city in each nations. 

• Details on threats facing Earth, including revolutionary movements, dangerous cults, and criminal gangs.

• An exploration of some of the strange, and often deadly, mysteries found on Earth and Luna — from the ancient and terrible Gorgon Karst caves beneath eastern Europe to the bizarre Hadley Rille Anomaly on Luna. 

• New technologies used on Earth, examples of the many strange and powerful relics of the Nova Age, as well as new Edges and Paths specifically for the inhabitants of Earth and Luna.

Conventions!

Though dates for physical conventions are subject to change due to the current COVID-19 outbreak, here’s what’s left of our current list of upcoming conventions (and really, we’re just waiting for this last one to be cancelled even though it’s Nov/Dec). Instead, keep an eye out here for more virtual conventions we’re going to be involved with:

PAX Unplugged: https://unplugged.paxsite.com/

We’re still waiting on word for this one, as a TTRPG publisher we weren’t included in the companies contacted for PAX‘s virtual con replacing their usual electronic gaming con(s).

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)

No Gods, No Masters (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion Fiction Anthology (Scion 2nd Edition)

TC: Aeon Novella: Dawn (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

TC: Aeon Novella: Meridian (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Legacies of Earth (Legendlore)

Once and Future (Scion 2nd Edition)

They Came From Beneath the Sea! Jumpstart (They Came From…!)

They Came From Beyond the Grave! Jumpstart (They Came From…!)

Tales of Depravity! (They Came From…!)

Heroes in a World of Horror! (They Came From…!)

Tome of the Pentacle (Mage: the Awakening 2e)

Redlines

Dragon-Blooded Novella #2 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Squeaks In The Deep (Realms of Pugmire)

Trinity Continuum: Anima

Prometheus Unbound (was Psi Orders) (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Second Draft

Many-Faced Strangers – Lunars Companion (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Hundred Devil’s Night Parade (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Exalted Essence Edition (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Saints and Monsters (Scion 2nd Edition)

M20 Technocracy Operative’s Dossier (Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary)

Wild Hunt (Scion 2nd Edition)

The Devoted Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)

Development

TC: Aberrant Reference Screen (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Contagion Chronicle: Global Outbreaks (Chronicles of Darkness)

Exigents (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Assassins (Trinity Continuum Core)

Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)

V5 Forbidden Religions (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Trinity Continuum: Adventure! core (Trinity Continuum: Adventure!)

M20 Rich Bastard’s Guide To Magick (Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary)

CtL 2e Novella Collection: Hollow Courts (Changeling: The Lost 2e)

Adversaries of the Righteous (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Novas Worldwide (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Manuscript Approval

Crucible of Legends (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Dystopia Rising: Evolution Fiction Anthology (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)

Post-Approval Development

M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Mission Statements (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Contagion Chronicle Ready-Made Characters (Chronicles of Darkness)

The Clades Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)

V5 Children of the Blood (was The Faithful Undead) (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th 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)

TC: Aberrant Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

LARP Rules (Scion 2nd Edition)

The Book of Lasting Death (Mummy: The Curse 2e)

Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)

Dearly Bleak – Novella (Deviant: The Renegades)

N!ternational Wrestling Entertainment (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Under Alien Skies (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Dead Man’s Rust (Scarred Lands)

V5 Trails of Ash and Bone (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Post-Editing Development

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)

Legendlore core book (Legendlore)

One Foot in the Grave Jumpstart (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2e)

Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)

They Came From Beyond the Grave! (They Came From!)

Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Indexing

Art Direction from Mike Chaney!

In Art Direction

Tales of Aquatic Terror – AD’d.

WoD Ghost Hunters (KS) – KS page to Paradox for approval.

Hunter: The Vigil 2e

Mummy 2

Deviant – AD’d.

Legendlore

Technocracy Reloaded – AD’d.

Cults of the Blood God – Artists chugging along.

Scion: Dragon (KS)

Masks of the Mythos (KS)

Scion: Demigod (KS)

They Came From Beyond the Grave! (KS)

TC: Adventure! (KS)

Geist: One Foot In the Grave – Artists are working.

Contagion Chronicle Jumpstart (Chronicles of Darkness) – Breakdown brokedown.

Monsters of the Deep

In Layout

Yugman’s Guide to Ghelspad

Vigil Watch

Trinity Core Jumpstart

Aberrant – 7 out of 12 sections laid out. Art still coming in.

Proofing

Cavaliers of Mars: City of the Towered Tombs

Yugman’s Guide Support Decks (Scarred Lands)

TC Aeon Terra Firma – Sent back to Josh, looking good.

V5 Let the Streets Run Red – Hopefully going to WW this week.

At Press

TCFBTS Screen and Booklet – Files at press.

They Came from Beneath the Sea! – Shipping from printer to KS fulfiller.

Pirates of Pugmire – Shipping from printer to KS fulfiller.

Pirates of Pugmire Screen – Files at press.

Dark Eras 2 – Files printing.

Dark Eras 2 Screen and booklet – Files at press.

Contagion Chronicle – Press prep, PoD files uploaded and ordered.

Contagion Chronicle Screen and Booklet – Files at press.

Lunars Wall Scroll Map – Shipping to KS fulfiller from printer.

Lunars Screen and Booklet – Files at press.

Lunars: Fangs at the Gate – Prepping files for PoD and press.

Scarred Lands Creature Collection – Shipping from printer to KS fulfiller.

Sunken Bones – Pugmire pirate adventure – Closing errata.

Titanomachy – Errata collecting from Advance PDF.

Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

In two days it will be the 9th anniversary of the release of Vampire: 20th Anniversary Edition at the Grand Masquerade in New Orleans! Soooo much has happened since then! V20 led to renewed interest in TTRPGs at WW, which led to Eddy and I doing those in-house, which led to me thinking I could be happy with my own TTRPG company, which led to Onyx Path Publishing!

[jeremystrele]

Introducing ‘The Apartment’ by Sisällä Interior Design, and our new Interiors Columnist!

Introducing ‘The Apartment’ by Sisällä Interior Design, and our new Interiors Columnist!

Creative People

by Ashley Simonetto

Inside the studio of Lauren Li, founder of Melbourne-based interior design firm Sisalla AND TDF’s latest contributor!  Photo – Caitlin Mills. Styling – Lauren Li.

Lauren at her desk surrounded by materials and inspiration. Please take note of that corkboard wall! Photo – Caitlin Mills.

Textures and colours from Lauren’s workspace. Photo – Caitlin Mills.

Okay. We officially have office envy. ‘Formakami’ Pendant Light from Great Dane, Sisalla Green Marble side table, ‘Sunrays’ weaving by Tammy Kanat, Afteroom lounge chair in burgundy leather, oval marble coffee table, Sisalla oval marble coffee table, Sisalla Rose Quartz side table all available from Apartment. Leather Roundie cushion from Ni-Ni Creative, Togo Sofa from Domo, cork stool from Living Edge, Bollo armchair from Fred International, Arancini floor lamp by Moda Piera, magazine stand from IKEA,  floor rug from Cadrys, Photo – Caitlin Mills.

A look inside Sisalla’s ‘Apartment’, a space that functions both as a showroom for product and a workspace for styling workshops. Photo – Caitlin Mills. The fireplace – the perfect spot for knick knacks! Artwork by Eleanor Louise Butt, Phold container and Still Round all available from Apartment. Photo – Caitlin Mills.

The bold entry. ‘Shaker Bar’ by Yos Studio, JWDA table lamp, Double Cone by LAAL and artwork all available from Apartment. Photo – Caitlin Mills.

‘I founded Sisällä Interior Design in 2010 and the business quickly grew, to the point that my husband Phil joined the studio in 2016 taking over the daily business functions of Sisalla,’ Lauren explains. Photo – Caitlin Mills.

Alongside interior design projects, Sisällä also offers Studio Sessions and a curated collection of items at their space called Apartment on Chapel Street (and online!). Photo – Caitlin Mills.

‘Apartment is an extension of our interior design work, as we want to share our favourites with everyone so that these special pieces become their new favourites too.’ Photo – Caitlin Mills.

Lauren and Phil Li of Sisalla, alongside a stunning woven piece from Tammy Kanat! Photo – Caitlin Mills.

‪I first met interior designer Lauren Li in mid 2016, when we photographed her super cute, super tiny family apartment in Parkdale. At the time, her design studio, Sisällä Interior Design, was growing, and her husband, Phillip, was just about to join the business.

Fast forward 18 months, and Lauren is kicking some serious goals! With Phillip at the helm of the ‘business side’ of things, and Lauren freed up to focus on creative direction, Sisällä has flourished – and launched some inspiring new ventures.

Lauren’s biggest project has been ‘Apartment’ – an appointment-only showroom, which includes a living room, dining, kitchen and entry hall to evoke the feeling of home. Here, in a lux, carefully considered space, furnishings and homewares handpicked by Lauren can be tried out, touched and experienced. The space also serves as a venue for Lauren’s new ‘Studio Sessions’ – informal gatherings designed for skills sharing and learning over a glass of wine.

We are SUPER excited to announce that Lauren will be joining us soon as a monthly interiors columnist! We especially love Lauren’s practical, accessible approach to interior design – regardless of space or budget limitations, Lauren’s observations and ideas are always on point!

Sisällä Interior Design and the  ‘Apartment’ Level 1 409 Chapel Street South Yarra (enter via Snowball Lane)

Lauren and her team are holding an open day for ‘The Apartment’ on Saturday 17th March – at other times, it is open by appointment.

Hey Lauren! Can you tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do?

I founded Sisällä Interior Design in 2010 and the business quickly grew. My husband Phil joined the studio in 2016, taking over the daily business operations.  This afforded us the opportunity to explore other ways in expanding our studio, and gave me back much needed time to focus on my design work, as well as other projects.

Beautiful spaces that are full of atmosphere and evoke emotion are still at the core of what we do, but now we have a few things on the go, with our residential interior design projects, Studio Sessions and now the Apartment.

‪What did you study, and how did that lead you to what you’re doing today?

I studied Interior Design & Decoration at RMIT, which was a fantastic foundation course. I was a real square (still am) and loved all of the classes, especially Soft Furnishings, Colour Theory and History of Architecture.

After gaining experience at a small decorating practice, I decided to return to study the Diploma of Arts, Interior Design with honours at Swinburne.  This took me along a more interior architectural path, and I worked for some of the large architectural practices in Melbourne.  After a stint in London working on luxury residential projects, I returned with the ambition of starting my own practice.  I’m back to where my passion for interiors began, privileged to work on beautiful residential projects with a focus on using gorgeous colour, materials, amazing furniture pieces and soft furnishings.

What’s the concept behind Apartment?

Last year we visited the Milan Furniture Fair and were inspired by ‘The Visit’, which was a Milanese apartment setting, designed by my design crush Studio Pepe. I was in heaven!  We loved it so much, so we researched other international precedents and decided we wanted to give it a try in our new studio space on Chapel Street.

Apartment is an extension of our interior design work. We want to share our favourites with everyone, so that these special pieces become their new favourites too.  Our selections in the Apartment are available to purchase – they include emerging local designers and artists, as well as iconic international pieces.

We welcome visitors to the Apartment, but also offer consultations where we bring the pieces directly out to homes, and style the space so that the homeowner can literally see how they look in their space.  It takes all of the guesswork out of it and is a lot of fun for us, and the client! And, if you can’t experience the Apartment in person, a selection is available online too.

What is the most rewarding aspect of what you do – the thing that makes you think, ‘Yes! This is what it’s about!’?

It’s not always the pretty pictures that are the most satisfying. It’s when I actually see the spaces lived in, with kid’s school bags on the hooks and shoes in the cubby I designed.  Or seeing the pantry fully stocked and organised, or the laundry functioning seamlessly for a busy family, that stuff feels good.  I put a lot of thought into how the client lives, so if we can make the spaces look beautiful, as well as make their everyday lives run a little smoother, then I’ve done my job.

What are you excited about this year?

Of course I’m thrilled to be writing for The Design Files having been a huge fan, avid reader and never missing an TDF Open House since forever!

We are really excited to launch Apartment, and meet a bunch of cool people in our Studio Sessions. We’ll be holding art exhibitions and open days at the Apartment – it will be fun!

We also have a number of projects that we completed in 2017 that we can’t wait to share.  So, bring on 2018!

[onewheelneil]

Spain day 3

Today I got up at 9:30 again to do my morning routine. Afterwards I headed out to do some more exploring. I wanted to check out the beaches of Barcelona and the castle at the top of the hill. First, though, I started at the Picasso museum. Donacio Pablo Picasso was a Spanish painter born in Malaga. He did a lot of his early works in Spain until he moved to France for his adult life where I saw his museum in Antibes. The collection in this museum followed his childhood in Spain all the way to his move to France in 1900. There his painting style changed to his more modern known works. They had an excellent variety of his works including sculptures and ceramics as well. Unfortunately I was not allowed to take any photos at all but I still managed some stealth pictures. There were also school trips here with a few groups of kids with museum guides talking about specific paintings. The temporary exhibits followed Picasso's love for bull fighting, boxing, the ballet, and his engravings. There were works from his close friends as well. The first exhibit had a bunch of black and white photographs that pocasso's friend took of him throughout his life. It was really cool to see the behind the scenes of this famous painters life. The boxing exhibit focused specifically on Arthur Cravan and Jack Johnson. The Ballet focused on a tribute to Picasso that he directed himself. The final exhibit was on the engravings of the famous artist with his friends. There was even a workshop where you could make your own engraving but I didn't bother due to the long line. After I was done I exited the museum and headed to the beach! The famous La Barceloneta beach was really nice today. There were many surfers in the water and many tourists with rental bikes on the bike path that follows the beaches. I would definitely come back with my unicycle. The beach sand was really fine but not deep at all so it was easy to walk on. I sat on a bench and people watched for a bit. There was one lady on the beach with a super playful yellow lab that was really fun to watch. The sun was really hot today as well so I decided to keep walking before I got sunburnt. The next destination was castle Montjuïc. On the way I got hungry so I stopped at a small take out place and bought two empanadas. One beef and one chicken. They were made in front of my eyes and then wrapped in a beautiful pattern of dough. They were delicious and helped give me enough energy to keep going. The walk to the top of the hill where the castle was long and steep. At first it was a bunch of steps. Then i hiked on the road which was just straight up. I saw some viewpoints to the right so I enjoyed a great panoramic view of the city as well as the harbor. At the top I found the castle and paid only 3 euros to walk around inside. It was an old building from the 1770s rebuilt by an engineer. The earliest part of the castle was the watch tower from 1073. It was amazing to be walking on such an old piece of history. The view from the top was amazing as well and you could see everywhere. I helped a fellow New Yorker take some pictures and then walked around the building learning about the different parts of the castle. Once I was finished I made my way down but a different way so I could see the old 1992 Olympic Park. I passed by the soccer stadium and a great square with a TV tower. There were a bunch of children with chaperones there as well playing in the square. It was a fun sight to see. I kept walking and passed an art museum and the magic fountain. They are doing construction on the fountain so it was not turned on. The art museum was built in an old building as well. Once I had seen everything it was time for me to buy my ticket to Madrid for tomorrow. I got it and then took the subway back to my hostel. I had to pick up my unicycle so I could unicycle along the beach. I Unicycle's all the way down to the beach and then along the bike path where people were taking a stroll. I got to a point where I wanted to head back and decided to go through the park by the Arc de Triomf that I had seen on the first night. There were beautiful gardens and a huge majestic fountain that I hadn't seen in the dark on the first night. It was quite the sight to see. Then I went along the log walk way to the Arc where street performers were blowing bubbles or rolling on their roller blades. Afterwards I made my way back to the hostel to relax for the rest of the day. I also got dinner of stroganoff. The hostel had made an excellent stew of beef and mushrooms mainly with rice and chips on the side. It was a tasty dinner and I enjoyed every bit of it. After I filled my belly I relaxed a bit more before heading to bed. Thanks for reading!