Dragon Blood From a Stone [Monday Meeting Notes]

Monday Meeting, News

After last week’s in-depth meeting notes extravaganza, this week is pretty much going to be very focused on our upcoming Dragon Blooded Kickstarter that starts next week on Tuesday the 27th at 12noon EDT in the US!

The reason I want to devote this week’s blog to the DB KS is that it’s no big secret that we once had the biggest Kickstarter in TTRPG history with our Exalted 3rd KS. It was the hardest, most exhausting, the most amazing in the love and energy and devotion of the Exalted community, and at the same time it was the most contentious KS we’ve ever run.

And it’s also no secret that we screwed it up big-time in a bunch of ways, and most obviously in the amount of time it took to get the KS material out to backers, from the books to excerpts to just about everything.

Many of the changes we have made to how we run our Kickstarters came from the brutal and painful lessons we learned during that KS.

And because we dropped the ball (and kicked it over the fence in a lot of cases) during that earlier KS, I think we lost a lot of the Exalted community’s faith and trust. Which is both understandable and entirely on us. We may never get that back, but we’re hoping that this last year’s worth of changes to how the Exalted 3rd line is moving forward is demonstrating how seriously we take working to build new trust with that community.

We have promised projects starting to arrive in a far more timely manner, and we have new projects about to be injected between our “fat splat” books that recognize that a new line needs new books. Plus, we have our monthly EX3 creatures and antagonists providing a regular dose of Exalted goodness!

My hope with this blog today is to put it out there that we are running this upcoming Dragon Blooded Kickstarter in ways to insure that we don’t repeat the same mistakes and that we’re serious about making sure THIS Kickstarter is one folks can enjoy and engage with, without worrying that they’ll see repeats of the issues from the first one.

– First, we committed to having the text completely finished and through editing before putting together Dragon Blooded‘s Kickstarter. A huge part of the wait for first EX3 KS book was rewriting and finishing the text. Not an issue here. Similarly, our page backgrounds and layout are already designed and ready for use.

– Second, backers will receive updates throughout the length of the Kickstarter that by the end will provide the complete Dragon Blooded text so that there will be no surprises with what’s in the book. If you hit a “no-buy” spot in that text, just cancel your pledge. No harm, no foul – it is what we want you to do, and this philosophy has worked great in our last few KSs. We don’t want anybody regretting staying in our KS campaigns.

– Third, while we didn’t get all the art for this Dragon Blooded KS yet, as there are some art rewards that backers can be a part of, we have bought a huge amount already that you’ll see most of during this Kickstarter. In addition, if you have been watching the quality of the art for Miracles, Arms of the Chosen, and the monthly releases, you can see that we have evolved our roster of artists and they are doing great work. Art is still a subjective thing, of course, but having a few books under our belts and directly art directing them has given Mirthful Mike and myself a pretty consistent visual quality to what art we’re getting.

– Fourth, backers will be able to benefit from having our Kickstarter Manager, James Bell, running the Dragon Blooded KS. James has run the last three KSs we’ve run and has encountered most of the snags and bumps a KS campaign can throw at you. He’s funny, loves the projects, and is laser-focused on each KS as he runs it. (In contrast, I was running and building Onyx Path, overseeing the business end by myself, and supervising all our other game worlds when I ran the Exalted 3rd KS early in our first years).

– Fifth, we’ll be using BackerKit as our interface for after the KS, and there’s just no way to describe how much more efficient and accurate their set-up is for us, which means backers will get their PDF sets, their Add-ons, and their Stretch Goals faster and with fewer mistakes. For the first Exalted KS, I had to open an Excel spreadsheet for each and every Reward Tier and go through each backer’s Survey Response in order to count up Add-ons by hand. It took a lot of time and so would often get interrupted. Not even possible the way BackerKit is set up – it’s an amazing difference.

– Sixth, our Ex3 development team of Robert Vance and Eric Minton have been fantastic with answering questions with humor and a clear sense that they really know Exalted and love it on our “Ask the Devs” thread on the EX3 forum, and they’ll be as involved in the Dragon Blooded KS with the same positivity and enthusiasm.

So generally, we’ve got a depth of knowledgeable folks able to set up, support, and run this Kickstarter that we just didn’t have back with the first EX3 Kickstarter. We’re all really excited to get started next week, and I hope this post helps explain how we’ve evolved and improved how all our Kickstarters, and especially Dragon Blooded, will be run.

One more brief note about Exalted 3rd‘s first KS: we just sent the extra Deluxe EX3‘s and EX3 Screens, and such over to our friends at Indie Press Revolution to put up for sale, and I hear that the Exalted 3rd canvas map of Creation has already sold out, and the Ultra-Deluxe EX3 with the First Age glyph-etched golden metal cover has only a few copies left!

Wow, that was fast! Links to IPR are below in the BLURBS! section.

Even though this whole post this week was all Exalted-y, just remember, Onyx Path is still all about:

Many Worlds, One Path!

BLURBS!

KICKSTARTER:

Our next Kickstarter is slated to be EX3‘s Dragon-Blooded starting at 12noon EDT in the US, Tuesday March 27th!

As we try and find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is now 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 both rolling and rocking!

The devs have added a whole bunch of new game lines’ dice and rolling bg’s and got caught by a bug Apple needed to fix, so be sure to update your app and soon that should be fixed.

There’s been tweaks to all elements of the UI, you can now preview every die type in the store, and you can use multiple die types per roll! Here are the links for the Apple and Android versions:

http://theappstore.site/app/1296692067/onyx-dice

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onyxpathpublishing.onyxdice&hl=en

Three different screenshots, above.

(The Solar Anima special Dice above)

ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE:

We’re delighted to announce the opening of our ebook stores 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). Our latest fiction offerings are a classic Scarred Lands fantasy book, and our latest Chronicles of Darkness anthology: the Huntsmen Chronicles for Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition!

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

Our initial selection includes these fiction anthologies:

Vampire: The Masquerade: The Endless Ages Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

(Kindle, Nook) Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Rites of Renown: When Will You Rage II (Kindle, Nook)

(Kindle, Nook) Mage: The Ascension: Truth Beyond Paradox (Kindle, Nook)

(Kindle, Nook) Chronicles of Darkness: The God-Machine Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

(Kindle, Nook) Mummy: The Curse: Curse of the Blue Nile (Kindle, Nook)

(Kindle, Nook) Beast: The Primordial: The Primordial Feast Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

And here are six more fiction books:

Vampire: The Masquerade: Of Predators and Prey: The Hunters Hunted II Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

(Kindle, Nook) Werewolf: The Apocalypse: The Poison Tree (Kindle, Nook)

(Kindle, Nook) Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Songs of the Sun and Moon: Tales of the Changing Breeds (Kindle, Nook)

(Kindle, Nook) Vampire: The Requiem: The Strix Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

(Kindle, Nook) Werewolf: The Forsaken: The Idigam Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

(Kindle, Nook) Mage: The Awakening: The Fallen World Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Andand six more more:

Vampire: The Masquerade: The Beast Within Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

(Kindle, Nook) Werewolf: The Apocalypse: W20 Cookbook (Kindle, Nook)

(Kindle, Nook) Exalted: Tales from the Age of Sorrows (Kindle, Nook)

(Kindle, Nook) Chronicles of Darkness: Tales of the Dark Eras (Kindle, Nook)

(Kindle, Nook) Promethean: The Created: The Firestorm Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

(Kindle, Nook) Demon: The Descent: Demon: Interface (Kindle, Nook)

And even more books are now on Amazon and the Nook store!:

Scarred Lands: Death in the Walled Warren (Kindle, Nook)

(Kindle, Nook) V20 Dark Ages: Cainite Conspiracies (Kindle, Nook)

(Kindle, Nook) Chronicles of Darkness: Strangeness in the Proportion (Kindle, Nook)

(Kindle, Nook) Vampire: The Requiem: Silent Knife (Kindle, Nook)

(Kindle, Nook) Mummy: The Curse: Dawn of Heresies (Kindle, Nook)

OUR SALES PARTNERS:

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!

https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

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/

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! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=296

Wave 3 of our extra Kickstarter projects is now on sale at IPR!

Here are the direct links for the Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras Prestige Edition: http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Chronicles-of-Darkness-Dark-Eras-Prestige-Edition.html

Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras Storytellers’ Screen: http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Chronicles-of-Darkness-Dark-Eras-Storytellers-Screen.html

Deluxe Exalted 3rd Edition: http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Exalted-3rd-Edition-Deluxe-Edition.html

Ultra-Deluxe (Orichalcum) Exalted 3rd Edition: http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Exalted-3rd-Edition-Ultra-Deluxe.html

Exalted 3rd Edition Storytellers’ Screen: http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Exalted-3rd-Edition-Storytellers-Screen.html

EX3 Chibi Bookmarks: http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Exalted-3rd-Edition-Chibi-Bookmarks.html

Deluxe W20 Shattered Dreams: http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/W20-Shattered-Dreams-Deluxe-Edition.html

W20 Shattered Dreams Storytellers’ Screen: http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/W20-Shattered-Dreams-Storytellers-Screen.html

Plus price adjustments on M20, Book of the Wyrm, Anarchs Unbound and a

few other projects!

DRIVETHRURPG.COM:

When you need a Changeling 20th character and a way to get started with C20: here are the C20 Ready Made Characters in PDF and physical book PoD versions! Available starting this Wednesday on DriveThruRPG.com!

Coming NOW as both PDF and physical book PoD on DTRPG, we reveal The Secret of Vinsen’s Tomb, a Jumpstart adventure for Pugmire. www.drivethrurpg.com/product/232337/The-Secrets-of-Vinsens-Tomb–A-Pugmire-Jumpstart

A cat living in Pugmire disappears, but neither the police dogs nor the cats of the Cat Quarter know why. When zombies attack the heroes, however, all signs point to an invasion by the Monarchies of Mau. But how does this intrigue tie into the lost tomb of the first king of Pugmire?

The Secret of Vinsen’s Tomb is a Pugmire story for three to six characters. This jumpstart contains all the rules and characters you need to play — just grab some dice and go! You can also use this adventure with the full version of Pugmire.

The Secret of Vinsen’s Tomb contains:

• An evocative and mysterious setting that’s both family friendly and deep enough to create compelling stories.

• A summary of Pugmire’s traditional fantasy rules system. It’s designed for streamlined play, with an emphasis on cooperation and action over competition and violence.

• A complete adventure for a Guide to run for three to six players. Also useful for Guides running a full Pugmire game of first or second level characters!

• Six ready-to-play characters, so you can jump into the action.

Can your good dogs discover the secret of Vinsen’s Tomb?

Also available NOW, are two physical PoD spell card packs and PDFs for Pugmire: the Artisans‘ and the Shepherds‘ spells.

Ask the darkness, and it shall answer: the Beast: The Primordial Player’s Guide Advance PDF will answer your questions now that it is live on DTRPG.com! http://drivethrurpg.com/product/236135/Beast-Players-Guide

The Beast Player’s Guide expands on the material presented in Beast: The Primordial, with additional information on the Families and Hungers, what it feels like to be a Beast and experience the Devouring, and how to commune with the Dark Mother. You’ll also find two new Families and two new Hungers!

The book also includes a plethora of new Atavisms, Nightmares, Merits, and Birthrights, as well as systems for creating smaller, subservient versions of the Horror, new forms of Inheritance, and details on the mysterious Obcasus Rites.

There are some things that even a Demon fears – Night Horrors: Enemy Action for Demon: The Descent arrives now as an Advance PDF on DTRPG.com! http://drivethrurpg.com/product/236133/Night-Horrors-Enemy-Action

“Fighting the Machine is like fighting the ocean. You literally cannot hurt it. Doesn’t matter how much poison we dump into the ocean. We’ll only kill the things in it. We’ll never kill it. Same with the God-Machine. Kill angels, traitors, stigmatics, cultists, cryptids, whatever, you’ll never hurt the Machine Itself. No, that doesn’t mean we stop trying. You stop trying, you drown. Screw that.” —Mr. Bliss, Guardian Inquisitor Night Horrors: Enemy Action includes: • Dozens of Storyteller characters, including Unchained, angels, exiles, cryptids, and stigmatics, for use as antagonists, allies, or just inspiration • Multiple plot hooks and story seeds for your Demon: The Descent chronicles • A brief look at cults in Demon, including the Ten Thousand Names of God, a secret society fueled by the God-Machine

With a howl of RAGE, the W20 Changing Ways PDF and physical book PoD charges at you now on DTRPG.com! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/229183/W20-Changing-Ways

Changing Ways is an in-depth look at what it means to be a werewolf, both on a personal level and as part of a pack. It digs deep into what it feels like to have bones re-knit after breaking, the range of senses available across all forms, and the sudden heady rush of the Gifts and Rites bestowed by spirits. It also provides a look at what life is like for lupus and metis werewolves, characters who have had experiences alien to any person. It shows the many ways that werewolves organize in packs, and how those packs are designed as groups of warriors, rather than aligned to the behavior of wolves.

Changing Ways contains:

• A detailed look at what it means to grow up as a lupus or metis werewolf, and how that colors a character’s perspective.

• More information on what it feels like to be a werewolf, a creature that changes in both body and mind.

• Frameworks and organizations for packs, along with new tactics and systems for forging the pack as part of play.

Appearing now on DriveThruRPG are the PDF and PoD physical book versions of Arms of the Chosen for Exalted 3rd Edition! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/226224/Arms-of-the-Chosen

Take up the panoply of legendary heroes and lost ages, and awaken the world-shaking might of their Evocations. Before the dawn of time, the Exalted wielded god-metal blades to cast down the makers of the universe. In an ancient epoch of forgotten glories, Creation’s greatest artificers forged unimaginable wonders and miracle-machines.

Now, in the Age of Sorrows, kingdoms go to war over potent artifacts, scavenger princes risk everything to uncover relics of the past, and the Exalted forge great arms and armor on the anvil of legend. These treasures are yours to master.

Discover the mystical power of the five magical materials and the secrets of creating your own Evocations. Wield weapons of fabled might and don the armor of mythic heroes, making their puissance your own. Claim Creation’s wonders: the miraculous tools of the Chosen, living automatons, flying machines, hearthstones, and more. And unleash the mighty warstriders, titanic god-engines of conquest and devastation, to once more shake Creation with their footfalls.