25 Years of Masquerading [Monday Meeting Notes]

Monday Meeting, News

Yes, that is my original copy of Vampire: the Masquerade first edition. Battered but still functional, like its owner.

This week, I’m flying down to New Orleans to meet up with a whole lot of other people who, I bet, still have their original VtM copies as well. Of course, I’m referring to the 2016 Grand Masquerade being held in celebration of the publication of VtM 25 years ago!

Not to mention everyone who got into Vampire: the Masquerade with the 2nd, Revised, or V20 editions. And those folks who first tasted the darkness with Vampire Dark Ages, the other World of Darkness game lines, the Minds Eye Theatre live action boxed set and books, the VTES card game, the computer games like Bloodlines, or even Kindred the Embraced on TV.

It has been one wild ride, with many beautiful and stirring moments, and quite a few ugly and bestial ones in there as well. For me personally, I mean.

From painting up what was essentially a sequential graphic story in first edition (who put things like that in an RPG back then?), to art directing and designing 2nd edition (some fond memories of how Chris McDonough and I ran alternating shifts outputting the pages 24 hours a day for a week in order to get it to press on time), to approvals and art direction frantically working with Justin during the Revised years (putting out a Clanbook a month, might have been, on reflection, a crazy idea), to the glory of coming back to art directing and laying out RPGs with Vampire: 20th Anniversary Edition (Eddy Webb and his Oxford comma corrections- Grrrr!), to the very satisfying opportunity to take the success of V20 and run with publishing beautiful new Vampire: the Masquerade books after years of torpor.

Hopefully your connection with Vampire has been equally amazing.

If you are at Grand Masquerade this week, please come by the booth and tell me about it!

Let me go back to that last bit in the big paragraph above: “to the very satisfying opportunity to take the success of V20 and run with publishing beautiful new Vampire books after years of torpor.”

I’m going to unpack that a bit, because it is actually a pretty big thing. Of the 25 years of VtM, the last five have been under the aegis of Onyx Path. Which is a very different thing than the previous 20 (or, you know, 20 minus the torpor years when the World of Darkness was “destroyed”).

And it all started with the Vampire 20th Anniversary Edition. The incredibly positive, and, to the higher-ups, unexpected, response to V20 validated the idea that tabletop RPGs are a legitimate way to build (or in this case, restore) a brand and build an audience. It allowed me to pitch the idea of Onyx Path and actually get traction with CCP with the idea that tabletop RPGs could be good for business.

And then convince them that they should license the IPs to this new company, Onyx Path, in order to make that happen.

Hard to believe after five years of enthusiastic response to our shepherding the line, but there you go: that was the atmosphere at the time.

That’s really how we continue to approach V20 and all the 20’s, and Chronicles of Darkness and Exalted as well: as a trust given to Onyx Path to respectfully rejuvenate these lines that were supposedly dead, or broken, or unplayable.

There were challenges, certainly, because of the limits of the license with CCP, but overall I think we have delivered as planned – and we’re on a roll with the books recently that I’m really thrilled with! I’m particularly happy with how we’ve been able to draw deep on the lore of 25 years while adding more layers of complexity and secrets to the mix. The Red List, Black Hand, and upcoming Beckett’s Jyhad Diary books all do this and are just incredibly engrossing to read.

And even more amazing V20/V20 Dark Ages books are yet to come this coming year.

Looking forward to the next 25 years!

Next week, I’ll be on the road returning from NOLA, so Rollickin’ Rose Bailey is going to step in and post the Monday blog with some thoughts of her own.

BLURBS!

KICKSTARTER!

We’re looking at our next KS campaign being for Scion 2nd Edition in September. Neall has delivered his voice-overs for the Kickstarter videos to Impish Ian, who will do his video making magic while we wait for a couple more pieces of art to come in. More news when we have it!

ON SALE!

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Here’s the link to the press release we put out about how Onyx Path is now selling through Indie Press Revolution: http://theonyxpath.com/press-release-onyx-path-limited-editions-now-available-through-indie-press-revolution/

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

In this adventure, you’ll find yourself in the city of Vance at festival time. When revolutionaries strike a visiting prince, you’ll need to explore the city’s dark underbelly, before racing across its towered tombs!

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.

If you weren’t lucky enough to get our gorgeous new Scion 2nd Edition and Pugmire posters at Gen Con, they are now available on DTRPG!

The Scion 2nd Poster: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/191677/Scion-2nd-Edition-Gen-Con-2016-Poster

The new Pugmire “Spike and Friends” Poster: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/191676/Pugmire-Spike-and-Friends-Poster

Behold the Miracles of the Solar Exalted! Originally a backer reward for the EX3 Kickstarter, but now so much more, with additional Charms written by the developers just for this book! For sale now at DTRPG in PDF and PoD versions! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/184596/Miracles-of-the-Solar-Exalted

This book contains over 80 new Solar Charms embodying a range of concepts and stories dreamed up by players of Exalted and meticulously crafted and balanced for inclusion at any and all tables.

Fire an arrow and let it become a waiting judgment upon the wicked. Unleash a sword stroke that can overwhelm the blade of Heaven itself. Train your loyal beast companion into an unstoppable colossus. Effortlessly seed the battlefield with inspiring words alongside arrows and blades. Empower your spirit familiar with the light of your anima. Tame a hurricane with your music. These miracles and more may be found within.

What was once unliving now arises! The Promethean: the Created 2nd Edition Advance PDF is now available at DTRPG! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/189395/Promethean-the-Created-2nd-Edition

You are a pilgrim now, one of the Created. You rose to life from dead flesh or inert matter, under the ministrations of one of your own, or a mad scientist, or perhaps just the power of the Divine Fire. You wander the world, sometimes alone, sometimes in the blessed company of your own kind, driven by memories of events and facts you never knew, all in the service of one Great Work…

…to be human.

This book contains:

The complete guide to playing a Promethean in the Chronicles of Darkness

Reimagined Lineages and Refinements, and a redesigned system for Transmutations

A more detailed approached to the Pilgrimage that presents players with more control over their characters’ path

New challenges on the road to humanity, including deranged, greedy alchemists

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.

The Tales of the Dark Eras , the Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras fiction anthology is now on sale at DriveThruRPG in PDF/electronic and PoD versions! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/187316/Tales-of-the-Dark-Eras

Walk through the ages…

As a companion to Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras this anthology reveals secrets of the mystics, whispers rumors of the dead, and shines a light into the darkest corners of the world. Includes historical stories based within the shadowed past of Vampire: the Requiem, Mage: the Awakening, Werewolf: the Forsaken, Changeling: the Lost, and other Chronicles of Darkness settings.

In the Chronicles of Darkness…

Explore the shadows with tales by Howard Ingham, Malcolm Sheppard, Pete Woodworth, Renee Ritchie, Jess Hartley, Monica Valentinelli, Danielle Harper, Matthew McFarland, Mike Tomasek, Eric Zawadski, Meghan Fitzgerald, and Dennis Detwiller.

Now Available! on DTRPG in PDF and PoD versions: V20 Ready Made Characters. http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/185028/V20-Ready-Made-Characters

Running a one-night game of Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition? Wanting to start up a new chronicle, but your players aren’t sure what to play? Looking for some examples of how to use the material in Lore of the Clans? Thanks to our generous Kickstarter backers, these thirteen ready-made characters cover each of the vampire Clans. Each character is provided with background, roleplay suggestions, art, and some potential coteries and plot hooks — everything you need to start your endless nights as one of the Kindred.

This book includes:

Thirteen pre-generated player character, with both starting and experienced character sheets.

A brief break-down of the character’s history and roleplaying suggestions.

Six possible coteries for these characters, complete with coterie charts.

Seven plot seeds to help the Storyteller jumpstart her chronicle.

Servants of the Damned: the PDF and PoD versions for V20 Ghouls & Revenants are now available at DTRPG! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/184039/V20-Ghouls–Revenants

Ghouls & Revenants includes:

Expanded and revised character creation for ghoul and revenant player-characters

Clan and Sect write-ups for ghouls who serve them

New revenant families including the Rossellini, Kairouan Brotherhood, and more.

New rules for ghouls and revenants including new Merits & Flaws, Backgrounds, Discipline Packages, etc.

A Storyteller chapter for advice on running ghoul-or-revenant focused chronicles.

…and more!

Mage: the Awakening 2nd Edition Advance PDF NOW available at DTRPG.com! 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.

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.

You must have your DTRPG account set to accept messages from Onyx Path Publishing before the link messages are sent out, though, so please adjust your settings if you want that discount.

CONVENTIONS!

RichT, Matthew “Gentleman Gamer” Dawkins, Bill Bodden, and Matt McElroy, with special guest Aaron “The Executioner” Voss, will be at the 2016 Grand Masquerade in New Orleans over the Labor Day Weekend both talking about the early years of White Wolf and representing the tabletop part of the World of Darkness! Come play in games hosted by legendary Dave Martin and the Wrecking Crew and demos at the Onyx Path booth in the dealer area! http://www.masqueradebynight.com/

Meanwhile, Ian Watson and Eddy Webb will be at Fan Expo Canada, a HUGE convention in Toronto September 1-4. I hear tell there might be Pugmire gaming there! http://fanexpocanada.com/

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)

CtL fiction anthology (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)

BtP Building a Legend (Beast: the Primordial)

Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

Trinity Continuum: Aeon Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

M20 Gods and Monsters (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Scion: Origins (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion: Hero (Scion 2nd Edition)

BtP Player’s Guide

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

Redlines