Unpacking a Content Community, and Other Stuff [Monday Meeting Notes]

Monday Meeting, News

But before I talk a bit about a bunch of the Scion 2e KS Stretch Goals and why they are important to you, even if you’re not into Scion, I’m gonna mention that today starts the excerpts from The Endless Ages Anthology for Vampire: the Masquerade. http://theonyxpath.com/endless-ages-excerpt-1-tiger/

Like I mentioned last week, we will be running excerpts from this book of all-new, all-original, fiction stories that span all four editions of Vampire: the Masquerade all the way to Halloween, and the book itself will go on sale this Wednesday. Whenever you first got into VtM, there’s a story in here to evoke that time period and edition!

Now, let’s talk about the Scion Kickstarter, and specifically the Stretch Goal rewards we included that explore several types of media.

Long-time readers of this blog know that while I love making books, I’m also very aware that the audience who might enjoy our worlds gets their entertainment in a lot of different forms. Scion 2e‘s Kickstarter campaign’s Stretch Goals included our usual goals to create sections of an RPG book project or four, and then it also had Goals that were to create stories for the Scion 2e Fiction Anthology.

In general, I see fiction based on our games as a great way to stay connected to the game world when you can’t be playing, and in a way that often sets the tone or illuminates aspects of the setting that the game books themselves are not designed to do.

With Scion 2e‘s KS, we are adding a new spin to that thinking about fiction by including a Goal that enables us to work with Interactive Audio pioneers Earplay to create an interactive Scion story that will play not unlike a choose your own adventure book, but with music, and sound effects, and voice acting, responding to your choices as you listen and react.

We had another of these as a Stretch Goal for Pugmire, and I really think they are kind of unique in filling a niche that is not handheld gaming and not just audio drama, but something more interactive in a solo gameplay sort of way. So our interest in these Interactive Audio dramas springs from the same place, and with much the same intentions, as creating fiction anthologies for our settings.

Incidentally, towards the subject of why this is useful to know if you are not a Scion or Pugmire fan, classic WoD fans should keep their eyes open this week for an announcement from Earplay about a very cool project. ‘Nuff said!

Next, we at Onyx Path are interested in providing our community with useful or just fun gaming accessories, like say the various game Screens we include with our Kickstarters or recently we have started building dice into our business model, and here again we recognize that a lot of gamers keep their info on the tablets and smart phones. I’ve tried to pull together a couple of projects that would enter that space for us, and with Scion 2e I had a couple of talented app designers step up with some pretty fully realized programming and UI for a character sheet/character generator app.

For us, working on this sort of project is a question of using bandwidth we don’t have, but these designers are all kinds of self motivated, so the KS Stretch Goal amount enables us to justify the time we will spend on “managing” their process. I actually have a bigger-picture solution for this sort of management bandwidth issue that I hope to announce next week that should mean all the pieces are in place to bring the “Blacksheets” project to fruition for Scion, and then, maybe, other game lines too. And for any other app licenses we might get going.

Similarly, the idea of creating Live Action Roleplaying (LARP) rules for Scion 2e was never something I even considered as a project folks would be excited about. Yet I fielded the first pitch for LARP Scion a year ago last GenCon, and at last year’s MidWinter convention Neall had something like eight different companies talk about the possibilities. By then, I already had early agreements going with Damocles Thread design group for a pitch for the rules, but again, that bandwidth demon raised its ugly head. Now, thanks to the Kickstarter, we can afford to devote time to working with Damocles Thread and see how to realize rules so you can play a Live Action range from man in the street to Thor. And once we have those rules, who knows…

Finally, we come to the big one.

I saved it for last with the Kickstarter, because it’s the game-changer, the never been done before by us, never by old WW, the opening up of Scion to Community Created Content. And yet it is something that is so right for Onyx Path, and Scion 2e; a logical extension of our Open Dev Process, transparency, and accessibility on all our social media.

We just need to figure out how to do it right – how to open the door for all the amazingly creative folk out there to dazzle all of us, the whole community, with their ideas and talent, and yet to keep everyone focused on what makes Scion, Scion.

We have valuable models with WOTC’s DM’s Guild, and several other programs like the one for Monte Cook’s Cypher System. So we’ll be looking at those, and a few of the other community content programs other companies are using. It is going to be a lot of work, but we think Scion has such diverse and, dare I say it, huge, potential for community created pantheons, gods, system tweaks, setting modes and shards, and more, and deserves to have that potential realized.

We have a lot, I mean A LOT, of idea for developing Scion 2e beyond the Big Four books and The World setting, so we need to figure just how your efforts as one of our community content creators can fit alongside our own. We need to figure out how to have some sort of quality control, and just what are the liability issues in terms of questionable material on both the moral and legal levels. (And no, I don’t think claiming everything is a parody is good for us as a company or even the legal loophole some folks think it is).

But now, with the Scion 2e KS Stretch Goal, we have some justification in spending that time now in order to have Community Created Content pay off big time for all of us in the future. And again (I hope you are seeing the pattern here) because we are trying this out with Scion, we can see how well it works and look at The Trinity Continuum, or Scarred Lands for adopting something similar. We can speak to our Creator Owned folks like Fast Eddy Webb about where they might be comfortable with such initiatives. We might even be able to speak to our Swedish overlords at the new White Wolf Publishing about their licensed properties.

Like I said: it’s the big one, and has so much potential and could have massive impact on how we create and do business. All from a Stretch Goal during a Kickstarter you may or may not have been involved with.

For us though, it’s all connected. We learn valuable stuff regardless of the project and apply what we’ve learned to the next ones. That’s how we find our way down the Onyx Path.

BLURBS!

KICKSTARTER!

The KS campaign for Scion 2nd Edition is OVAH! At finish, we had 4,085 backers and were funded at 1338% with $334,714 in pledges. Scion‘s Stretch Goals created a fiction anthology, a Jumpstart, Ready Made Characters, the Scion 2e Companion, and portions of the Scion Bestiary. They also enabled us working with companies to create Scion LARP rules, a Character Generator App, and an Interactive Audio Drama solo experience with EarPlay. They also enable us to create a Community Content initiative – the importance of these Stretch Goal rewards is something I go into a lot more detail on in the blog above.

All in all, this was a record-breaker of a Kickstarter made all the more sweet because Scion 2e is the first Onyx Path owned RPG game line we have put out into the cold, cruel world, and folks welcomed it with open arms!

Now we calm down a bit, get our project sheets together and make sure everybody knows what obligations we took on with the KS, and start exploring card game Kickstarters for Prince’s Gambit.

ON SALE!

DriveThruRPG.com is having a spooky Halloween Sale! The savings are scaaaaary! And they come in a variety of offerings to the dark ones:

White Wolf titles:

Onyx Path titles:

Moonstone comics:

Watch out for the pumpkins!

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://theonyxpath.com/press-release-onyx-path-limited-editions-now-available-through-indie-press-revolution/

On sale on Wednesday at DTRPG.com: The Endless Ages fiction anthology! Vampire: the Masquerade fiction featuring all-new, original, stories written to evoke the distinct feeling of each of VtM‘s four editions!

Tilt Cards to go with the Chronicles of Darkness Condition Cards are now for sale at DriveThruCards! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/194464/Chronicles-of-Darkness-Tilt-Cards

Tilts are a unified way of applying circumstances to both characters and scenes during violent encounters. Tilts are mechanically similar to Conditions, but they affect characters and scenes in combat only. Outside combat, use Conditions instead.

Tilts do not give players Beats when they end, but the effects of a Tilt can easily cause a Condition. For instance, a character in a fight gets a handful of road salt flung into his eyes and receives the Blinded Tilt. When combat ends, this shifts to the Blind Condition.

These Tilt Cards are a handy and elegant way to keep track of and incorporate Tilts into your Chronicle with each of the 21 cards featuring a single Tilt.

With a howl, W20 Kinfolk: A Breed Apart‘s Advance PDF is now on sale on DTRPG! Awooooo! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/194952/W20-Kinfolk-A-Breed-Apart

Born to Run

The Garou are born of two kinds: humans and wolves. These are their Kinfolk — those “of the blood.” These special people — whether of two legs or four — carry in them the hope of the Garou: the promise of future generations. Although Garou are born to Kinfolk, nobody knows they’re different until they undergo their First Change. Until such a blessed (or cursed) time, they are just like their more mundane Kin. Most live as humans, suffering the foibles of humanity, all the while hoping they’re secretly special, that they harbor the wolf within. Even though that wolf will never howl for the majority of Kin, they’ve still got a vital role in the war, aiding the effort from behind the lines.

Kinfolk: A Breed Apart contains:

Overview of the Kinfolk, both kenning and callow, including some of the Fellowships founded by Kinfolk to aid the Garou cause — and to protect themselves from their cousins’ Rage.

Character creation for playing Kinfolk, including new Skills, Backgrounds, Merits and Flaws, as well as special Kin rites, Gifts, and fetishes.

Guidelines for running Kinfolk chronicles, as well as in-depth information on the Kin-Fetches, the unique spirits used by Garou to watch over their distant cousins and warn the tribes if one of them should undergo the First Change.

NOTE: This is the Advance PDF version. A final PDF version and PoD versions will be available at a later date. If you have purchased this Advance PDF, you will be automatically updated to the final PDF and receive a link to enable you to purchase the PoD at a discount designed so that your total price matches our usual PDF and Print combo offer.

NOW the long awaited opportunity to own Mage: the Awakening 2nd Edition as a physical book is at last at hand! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/181754/Mage-the-Awakening-2nd-Edition

You are a mage, one of the Wise. You see, know, and explore what others can’t imagine, from the depths of the human soul to the hidden corners of reality. Armed with your spells, driven by an addiction to Mysteries, you delve into the secrets of the world. Knowledge has a price, and the dangers are many.

This book contains:

The complete guide to playing a mage in the Chronicles of Darkness .

. Reimagined Paths, Orders, and powers to create your Awakened characters and their allies, including an updated version of the most comprehensive free-form magic system in gaming.

Five example settings across the world, from Los Angeles to Salamanca, each with a central Mystery.

A brand-new look at all the strange places of the Fallen World, from the Lower Depths to the Emanation Realms, and what mages might find within.

Now available from DriveThruRPG in PDF: Mage: The Awakening Condition and Numina Cards.

Part of the new Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition rules, Conditions add an additional layer of consequence and reward to certain actions in the Chronicles of Darkness.

Various things within the course of a game can cause Conditions. These include exceptional successes, supernatural abilities, and really any situation where the Storyteller thinks they can be used to heighten the drama of a game.

Also available in this deck are brand new Numina cards featuring these rules from the Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition rulebook for ease of reference at the table.

On sale NOW from DTRPG: the Promethean Dark Eras chapter A Handful of Dust in PDF and PoD versions! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/178800/Dark-Eras-A-Handful-of-Dust-Promethean-the-Created

The Great Depression and the black blizzards of the 1930s turned the American Midwest into a wasteland. For the better part of a decade, thousands of people experienced deprivation and alienation right alongside the Created. They also clung to the faint promise of hope, that the rains would come and restore the land.

This is a single chapter from the larger work, Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras.

A Festival of Blades, the swashbuckling new Jumpstart advance PDF for Rose Bailey’s Cavaliers of Mars available on DTRPG! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/191678/A-Festival-of-Blades-A-Cavaliers-of-Mars-Jumpstart

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!

Onyx Path will be at Mid Winter Con 2017 in January in the lovely city of Milwaukee. Come brave the cold wastes to game and cavort with us! Please keep an eye out on the MidWinter site for announcements as to our very special beta test and Play With The Creator special events! http://www.midwintergamingconvention.com/

On 29 October, 14 cities in Brazil will host the Chronicles of Darkness Day, a national event aiming to promote and play the CofD games. If you’re not familiar with the game lines (or even with RPG itself) this is the perfect opportunity to try and tell some horror stories. This event is promoted by the Cronistas das Trevas blog with the kind permission from Onyx Path and the support from many regional partners. For more info head over to: http://cronistasdastrevasbr. com/cofdday2016/ Their facebook page: https://www.facebook. com/cronistasdastrevas/

And poster (don’t know if this is readable, but it looks cool:

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)

V20 Dark Ages Jumpstart (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)

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

M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

VtM Beckett’s Jyhad Diary (Stretch Goal Content)

GtS Geist 2e core

VtR Half-Damned (Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition)

Redlines