Schedules & Emergencies! [Monday Meeting Notes]

Monday Meeting, News

This week, we continue our trend of unusual Monday Meeting posts. Last week it was because we didn’t have a Monday Meeting, so Rich talked about covers because that’s what you do on Labor Day, I guess? This week we did have a meeting, but Rich isn’t writing the blog.

No, Rich hasn’t decided to start talking about himself in the third person. Instead it is I, “Fast” Eddy Webb, writing the Monday Meeting blog chat up top while Rich and Lisa rush off to handle a family emergency. Further, Matt McElroy is wrapping things up to take a well-deserved break for a week. So I got nominated because the biggest emergency I have right now is that I got a new tattoo on my forearm last week, and it itches like the Dickens. (It’s a Sherlock Holmes-themed tattoo, which is not a surprise to anyone who knows me.)

M20 Book of the Fallen art by Sam Denmark

This seems like a good time to talk about schedules and delays.

One thing we mention a lot around here is that we don’t do release dates for our games. There are a lot of reasons for that, but the big one is that we’re never sure what can cause a project to get delayed. Sometimes, it’s something out of our control, like when we learned this week that the printer had an accident on one of our covers and has to reprint the entire run.

Other times it’s something that impacts one of us, like Rich’s family emergency or finding out that a freelancer has to drop off a project suddenly. And once in a while it’s because we choose to take a bit longer and do something right, like the meeting we had today with the TC:Aberrant team to go over the playtest feedback we got during the Kickstarter.

Obviously, we do our best to take problems into account. It’s why we have really long lead times on our Kickstarters these days, for example — all of my Realms of Pugmire Kickstarters have delivered their main project on or earlier than the anticipated deadlines, but a couple times it got close because of unforeseen problems like me having to move to another country.

Spilled Blood art by Andrea Payne

When I pitch new projects to Rich, I try to estimate how long each phase is going to be, and then add some more time on to account for problems. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t, but we’re always learning. One of the things we’ve learned is that, in addition to our weekly Monday Meetings, it’s good to have quarterly Production meetings as well (which, by sheer coincidence, we’re also having this month).

This is where Rich, Mike, and Matt sit with us in-house developers and we go over every single project. It gives us a chance to think about all the projects as a whole, allowing us to think about which ones need to hustle and which ones we can ease up on for a bit. Ideally, this kind of planning allows us to do things like hold up on greenlighting new books while existing ones are making their way through the process. But it’s not an exact science for us, as you’ll note this week no less than three Scion books have all hit approval simultaneously, leaving poor Rich and Neall to review hundreds of pages of manuscripts. (Sorry guys!)

M20 Book of the Fallen art by Vince Locke

Obviously, we would love to make perfect, beautiful books for all of you as quickly as possible. But we’d rather make good products instead of fast ones where we can, and we’d rather not grind our freelancers down just to meet an arbitrary deadline. So when things happen that are out of our control, we try to help each other out where we can, and put things on the back burner if something more urgent happens.

That’s why I’m writing the blog for Rich today, and why Matt McElroy, our tireless Operations Manager, is taking a well-deserved vacation this week. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll leave you to our usual wonderful updates while I find new ways to ignore the fact that my arm really, really itches. Also:

Many Worlds, One Path!

BLURBS!

Kickstarter!

Starting this week – I’m told on Thursday the 12th at 12noon Eastern US time – is the Kickstarter for the Creature Collection for Scarred Lands 5e! This book was designed with amazing art by our friends at Handiwork Games, and they’ll be running the Kickstarter for us on our brand-new Onyx Path Kickstarter page! Here’s a teaser video:

Scarred Lands Creature Collection Launching this week on Kickstarter! The Scarred Lands Creature Collection for 5th Edition! Posted by Handiwork Games on Monday, September 9, 2019

And, of course, our next Kickstarter is:

Keep an eye out in this space as well as on our social media for the Deviant: The Renegades Kickstarter that will be launching later this month!

Onyx Path Media!

This Friday’s Onyx Pathcast features the Terrific Trio regaling us with stories and ideas of going to conventions solo (since all three of them have actually done that recently)!

Go to https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/ or to your favorite podcast venue!

The Onyx Path News had another live broadcast today, where Matthew spoke about Night Horrors: Shunned by the Moon, Canis Minor, the Slarecian Vault, the Storypath Nexus, all our games on Backerkit, V5 Cults of the Blood Gods, and more, right here: https://youtu.be/mehFIKpd3ts

Now’s the time to follow our Twitch channel if you haven’t already done so! Our schedule is jam-packed with games including Vampire, Scarred Lands, TC: Aberrant, Pugmire, Scion, Mage: The Awakening, and Hunter: The Vigil! Visit www.twitch.tv/theonyxpath and give us a follow, and if you have an Amazon Prime membership and haven’t already subscribed to a Twitch channel for free using it, just type Amazon Prime Twitch into Google and please use it on our channel!

Remember, if you miss any content on our Twitch channel, some of it finds its way to our YouTube channel here: www.youtube.com/user/theonyxpath Don’t forget though, that some of that content is Twitch exclusive or belongs to the Storytellers running their games, so don’t miss out and remember to follow us!

Red Moon Roleplaying have commenced with uploading their actual play of The Sacrifice, from V5 Chicago by Night, and the first part can be found here: https://youtu.be/omRiK6a_Ans If you’re interested in the ENnie award winning Red Moon Roleplaying‘s other shows, please check them out on www.redmoonroleplaying.com

The Botch Pit are definitely worth checking out if you’re interested in Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2E, with their chronicle “Twice Shy” listenable right here: http://thebotchpit.com/

Occultists Anonymous appears on our Twitch channel with their Mage: The Awakening 2E chronicle, but if you’re after a breakdown of episodes, here’s 41 and 42:

Episode 41: A Troupe and Trip Wyrd the Seer continues the construction of her nascent Labyrinth and uses it to develop the run-down Leaf Theater. The cabal travels to Philadelphia in pursuit of the missing Adamantine Arrow grimoire.https://youtu.be/eH3Kvockqv8

Episode 42: Stake Me Out Tonight The cabal works with the largest cabal in Philadelphia, the Founding Fathers led by Benjamin Franklin, to locate the grimoire within Philly and recon the area!https://youtu.be/2HXN4l_3C1E

Caffeinated Conquests continue their bizarre sojourn into The Sacrifice (unlike any other actual play of the chronicle) over here on their YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/MOZpIOFzjos

Finally, Matthew asked the YouTube channel viewers what kinds of games from Onyx Path they’re most looking forward to, and there have been some interesting answers: https://youtu.be/CumFV-XiWMc

Drop Matthew a message via the contact button on matthewdawkins.com if you have actual plays, reviews, or game overviews you want us to profile on the blog!

Please check any of these out and let us know if you find or produce any actual plays of our games!

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.)

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 fiction books:

Our Sales Partners!

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire and Monarchies of Mau 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

We’ve added Prince’s Gambit to our Studio2 catalog: https://studio2publishing.com/products/prince-s-gambit-card-game

Now, we’ve added Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition products to Studio2‘s store! See them here: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/all-products/changeling-the-lost

Scarred Lands (Pathfinder) books are also on sale at Studio2, and they have the 5e version, supplements, and dice as well!:

https://studio2publishing.com/collections/scarred-lands

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

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 are available to order!

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

On Sale This Week!

This Wednesday, the compiled Trinity Continuum: Aberrant webcomic You Are Not Alone will be available in PDF and physical book PoD versions on DTRPG!

Conventions!

Save Against Fear: October 12th – 14th

GameHoleCon: October 31st – November 3rd

PAX Unplugged: December 6th – 8th



2020: Midwinter: January 9th – 12th

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)

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

Exalted Essay Collection (Exalted)

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

Exigents (Exalted 3rd Edition)

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

Contagion Chronicle: Global Outbreaks (Chronicles of Darkness)

Player’s Guide to the Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)

Contagion Chronicle Jumpstart (Chronicles of Darkness)

N!ternational Wrestling Entertainment (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Creating in the Realms of Pugmire (Realms of Pugmire)

Redlines

Tales of Aquatic Terror (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)

Crucible of Legends (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Lunars Novella (Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Yugman’s Guide to Ghelspad (Scarred Lands)

Vigil Watch (Scarred Lands)

Pirates of Pugmire KS-Added Adventure (Realms of Pugmire)

Second Draft

Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)

Dragon-Blooded Novella #1 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)

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

Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)

Trinity Continuum Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum Core)

Terra Firma (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Monsters of the Deep (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Wraith20 Fiction Anthology (Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition)

Development

M20 The Technocracy Reloaded (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Creatures of the World Bestiary (Scion 2nd Edition)

Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

TC: Aeon Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition core rulebook (Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition)

Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)

TC: Aberrant Reference Screen (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Titanomachy (Scion 2nd Edition)

Manuscript Approval

Creatures of the World Bestiary (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion Companion: Mysteries of the World (Scion 2nd Edition)

Legendlore core book (Legendlore)

Post-Approval Development

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

V5 Chicago Screen (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

Scion LARP Rules (Scion)

Cults of the Blood Gods (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Editing

Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Lunars: Fangs at the Gate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

TC: Aeon Ready-Made Characters (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

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

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

Let the Streets Run Red (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

W20 Shattered Dreams Gift Cards (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th)

W20 Art Book (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th)

Geist 2e Fiction Anthology (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)

Oak, Ash, and Thorn: Changeling: The Lost 2nd Companion (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)

Post-Editing Development

Chicago Folio/Dossier (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Indexing

Geist 2e (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)

Dystopia Rising: Evolution core (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)

ART DIRECTION FROM MIKE CHANEY!

In Art Direction

Contagion Chronicle – getting Gaydos, Trabbold, and Vince on this.

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant

Hunter: The Vigil 2e – Sam on the fulls.

Ex3 Lunars – Contracted. Sketches rolling in.

TCfBtS!: Heroic Land Dwellers – LeBlanc on this.

Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed

Ex3 Monthly Stuff

Deviant (KS) – Art in and approved. Putting together KS graphics.

Trinity RMCs – Contracted.

Cults of the Blood God (KS) – Contracted.

Chicago Folio

Mummy 2 (KS) – Characters being worked on, fulls next.

Memento Mori – Notes out this week to artists.

In Layout

They Came from Beneath the Sea!

Dark Eras 2 – Files with Aileen

Trinity Continuum Aeon: Distant Worlds

VtR Spilled Blood – With Josh.

DR:E Threat Guide – Helnau’s Guide to Wasteland Beasties

Aeon Aexpansion – Need to do cover.

Proofing

C20 Cup of Dreams

Signs of Sorcery – Inputting changes.

M20 Book of the Fallen – With Satyr Phil for proofing.

DR:E Jumpstart – Sending Eschaton for proofing.

CoM – Witch Queen of the Shadowed Citadel – Inputting Rose’s comments.

At Press



Trinity Core Screen – At Studio2.

TC Aeon Screen – At Studio2.

Trinity: In Media Res – PoD proofs coming.

Trinity Core – Printing. PoD proofs ordered.

Trinity Aeon – Printing. PoD proofs ordered.

V5: Chicago – Prepping files for press.

You Are Not Alone (TC: Aberrant Comic) – PDF and PoD physical book versions available this Wed. at DTRPG!

Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

Not today, because today has not been such that I feel celebrating is appropriate, but tomorrow. Tomorrow we start a whole series of palindrome dates! 9/10/19 – 9/19/19! Dunno why, but those dates like that make me grin!