A Purr-fect Start for Monarchies of Mau [Monday Meeting Notes]

Monday Meeting, News

This little fellow pictured above is Sabian Sphynx von Angora, one of the iconic characters in Monarchies of Mau. He’s a necromancer, because, as Eddy Webb says: “Cats like to play with dead things.”

Sabian is featured prominently on the Monarchies of Mau Kickstarter page, helping to explain just what Monarchies of Mau is and why backing it is a good idea. He must be pretty persuasive, as the MoM KS funded last Tuesday in just a minute under an hour and has been rolling along happily since then.

And besides being something like “The Three Musketeers meets Planet of the Apes, but with cats”, Monarchies of Mau is also a completely standalone game. You don’t need Pugmire to play it, although having both books does mean you have the rules for mixed cat and dog groups. Mass hysteria!

Like I mentioned last week, our Operations Manager, Mighty Matt McElroy, traveled to World of Darkness: Berlin a couple of weeks ago and had a fantastic time connecting with the gang from the new White Wolf, as well as the convention crew, attendees, and fellow licensees of the WW intellectual properties.

That’s right: fellow licensees. Which was absolutely great for us here at Onyx Path, because Mighty Matt got the chance to hobnob, trade stories, and talk with them about the potential projects we could do together that they approached him about. (Hopefully a tenth of the discussed projects actually happen, because even that much would be some amazing opportunities for Onyx Path).

But that whole set-up of licensees visiting each other at a WW convention might sound strange to a bunch of you. Particularly if you are used to a White Wolf that makes most of what you are interested in, with a couple of licenses for things that aren’t tabletop RPGs.

In fact, I wonder if some of the upset that has occurred with each of the new WW‘s announcements is not partly because folks aren’t used to how they are moving forward.

Yes, the new White Wolf is working on Vampire 5th Edition, and revealed staff (Hi, Ken!) and some planned formats, as well as doing some very, very, early playtesting. But rather than being the start an ongoing game line that they create, they are looking at V5 as the hub of a many, many licenses. Onyx Path will be in that line-up, creating new tabletop RPGs, but so will other folks, and with the creation of WW‘s community content plans as talked about at the con, maybe some of those creators will be you.

And then, outside of tabletop RPGs, will be licenses to other media. There’s really no limit here as they move through the expected like bringing back VTES or working with our friends at By Night Studios on LARPing, and then into computer games, other sorts of games, and even TV and movies.

What the new White Wolf is doing is more what, let’s say, is done with Star Wars, with a central core “property” and lots and lots of licenses to media that can feature that property. So when you see a new project announced, it is very likely a new project and a new licensing partner, and if that project doesn’t float your boat, just give WW time and you’ll see another launched that will fit your interests better.

Or as another example, you might see a licensed board game with art pulled from the illustrations we commissioned for one of our books. The new WW can give that art to another licensee, because even though we commissioned it originally, the art ultimately belongs to WW and they can use it as they think best.

Onyx Path is one of these licensing partners, and one of many for V5 and the new iteration of World of Darkness. With the idea of the new WW as a hub with lots of spokes, we don’t get to choose, and often no knowledge of, other licensees until their projects are announced, because they are another spoke over or even on the other side of the hub from us.

Mighty Matt tells me that the WW crew took great pains to talk up in glowing terms our Beckett’s Jyhad Diary project (that we have worked on with them) as a gateway, or even bridge, from Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition to V5. Which was great to hear, and the compliments were very appreciated!

They also talked up, Martin in particular, the idea that Chronicles of Darkness is pretty much going to continue as Onyx Path‘s exclusive playground. They didn’t mention it, as far as I’ve heard, but we are also rolling full steam ahead with Exalted 3rd.

Mighty Matt also took along a hefty box full of our brochures which was scarfed up in a single day, so hopefully a bunch of our community that never even realized all the game lines we are working on now can see the full range of all that Onyx is doing!

So, all in all a very good event for us, and for the WoD community as a whole!

Meanwhile, here at home. Rollickin’ Rose and I talked to Dapper Dave Brookshaw about his outline for Deviant last week, and went over our notes. Dave is making some changes and we’ll be presenting that to WW, and then he’ll finally be able to hire writers. Meanwhile, he is dedicated to getting caught up on Mage2 releases. Dapper Dave has had a bunch of challenges thrown at him this last year or so, but things are looking good moving forward, and we’re glad we could work with him on that.

Similarly, Rollickin’ Rose has been working with our Exalted 3rd team in order to get the new devs acclimated to our procedures, and our monthly projects folks working hand-in-hand with the devs so there’s a consistency of vision as well as teamwork. We’ll be putting the next installments of our monthly EX3 releases on sale this Wednesday, and to tide you over, here’s some of the art as a teaser!

BLURBS!

KICKSTARTER!

We went live with the Monarchies of Mau Kickstarter last Tuesday and funded in 59 minutes – just under an hour! We’ve already shot past Stretch Goals for an exclusive t-shirt, an Intro adventure, and the first three Mau stories in a fiction anthology, with plenty more to come! If you get a chance, here’s the link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/monarchies-of-mau-fantasy-tabletop-rpg

ON SALE!

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 this week, we’re releasing another six fiction books: Songs of Sun and Moon (W20), Poison Tree (W20), Of Predators & Prey (V20), Fallen World Anthology (Mage), Idigam Anthology (WtF2), Strix Anthology (VtR2)!

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/

You can now order wave 2 of our Deluxe and Prestige print overrun books, including Deluxe Mage 20th Anniversary, and Deluxe V20 Dark Ages!

Starting this Wednesday on DTRPG, the EX3 Tomb of Dreams Jumpstart PDF/PoD jumps up for sale!

Plus, we’ll be releasing the next sections of Adversaries of the Righteous and the first section of Hundred Devils Night Parade this week as well!



Sailing out of the dark, the V20 Dark Ages Companion Advance PDF is now on sale on DriveThruRPG.com! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/211504/V20-Dark-Ages-Companion

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.

Bill Bridge’s new W20 novel, The Song of Unmaking, is on sale in PDF/ePub/PoD versions on DriveThruRPG.com: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/208366/W20-The-Song-of-Unmaking and in ebook form on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071VM2S3D/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1494441226&sr=1-1 !

The fabric of reality is cracking. Fissures appear in thin air, glowing with balefire. Something is scratching on the other side, pressing, beginning to break through….

The Wyrm’s corruption finds its way into the hearts of humans and Garou alike. Even an ultra-rational techno-cratic scientist can fall sway to its lies. Channeling his hate and resentment through the most sophisticated machine ever created, Basil Czajka has turned a tool designed to peer deep into the heart of the quantum universe into a nursery for the hatching of a horror — a creature whose birth cry is destined to unmake Gaia’s Song of Creation.

The only ones standing in his way are One-Song, a broken-down old Theurge, and Lord Albrecht, whose heed-less anger might be the very weapon the enemy needs to crack the egg and free the Unmaker.

The Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras Companion has arrived in PDF and PoD physical book versions at DriveThruRPG.com! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/207879/Chronicles-of-Darkness-Dark-Eras-Companion

The Dark Eras Companion presents eleven new Eras for the Chronicles of Darkness. Stretching from Ancient Rome and Egypt through the Black Death, the Thirty Years War, the Reconstruction, and the Russian Revolution, the Companion showcases even more of the secret history of this eldritch world. Included in each era are “snapshots” of the various supernatural creatures, including vampires, changelings, mummies, and demons. Also included are lists of inspirational media to help you put these Eras in context for your troupe.

Open the Dark Eras Companion and take another look back in time.

V20 Lore of the Bloodlines awaits in PDF and physical book PoD versions on DriveThruRPG.com!

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/207392/V20-Lore-of-the-Bloodlines

Lore of the Bloodlines is a single volume (created via Kickstarter) that revisits some of the bloodlines in Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition, providing story hooks, character concepts, history, and bloodline-specific rules. The secrets of the Baali, Daughters of Cacophony, Gargoyles, Harbingers of Skulls, Kiasyd, Salubri, Samedi, and True Brujah are now yours.

Lore of the Bloodlines includes:

• The history, lore, and nightly practices of nine bloodlines, told from the perspective of the Kindred themselves.

• New combo Disciplines, powers, Merits, Flaws, and other rules specific to each bloodline.

• Revisions and updates of more classic Vampire: The Masquerade material to V20.

Night Horrors: Conquering Heroes for Beast: the Primordial, PoD and PDF versions is now on sale on DTRPG.com!

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/202615/Night-Horrors-Conquering-Heroes

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.

From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: Beneath the Skin (Demon and Skinchangers 1486-1502 Aztec Empire). Ahuitzotl sits on the throne at the height of the Aztec Empire, overseeing his sorcerer-priests’ sacrifices and the endless flower wars his jaguar and eagle warriors carry out in his name to keep the altars well-supplied with victims. The gears of the Aztec Empire turn smoothly and inexorably, but not everything is what it pretends to be. Skinchangers take the shapes of animals to run the wilds or bring down human prey, the Unchained cobble together identities from stolen lives, and stranger things still lurk in the deserts and jungles beyond the walls of Tenochtitlan.

On sale in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/206028/Dark-Eras-Beneath-the-Skin-Skinchangers-and-Demon-the-Descent

From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: Into the Cold (Demon: the Descent 1961 Berlin). East Germany erects a wall against its Western counterpart, turning West Berlin into an island within its own country. As the Cold War heats up, demons find themselves the targets of increasing human scrutiny, and begin to realize that the God-Machine’s plans didn’t end with the War.

On sale now in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/206081/Dark-Eras-Into-the-Cold-Demon-the-Descent

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: https://www.gameholecon.com/

Monica Valentinelli will be on four panels, including “Why is Casual Still a Dirty Word in Gaming?” at WisCon http://wiscon.net/ this Thursday through Monday! Stop by and say hi!

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)

Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)

DtD Night Horrors: Enemy Action (Demon: the Descent)



The Realm (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Dragon-Blooded (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Redlines

Kithbook Boggans (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition) Second Draft V20 Dark Ages Jumpstart (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)

GtS Geist 2e core (Geist: the Sin-Eaters Second Edition)

Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

Scion: Origins (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion: Hero (Scion 2nd Edition)

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

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)

Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition, featuring the Huntsmen Chronicle (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)

BtP Beast Player’s Guide (Beast: the Primordial)

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

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

Pugmire Pan’s Guide for New Pioneers (Pugmire)

WW Manuscript Approval:

Book of Freeholds (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)