Jumping to Mars [Monday Meeting Notes]

Monday Meeting, News

Ooookaaaay!

We’re back from our various vacation moments, which were much-needed and awesome, and while the mega-excitement of Grande Masquerade 2016 in New Orleans over the Labor Day weekend is building, the business of Onyx Path is to get caught up on all the items coming out of this last month.

One of these is the Cavaliers of Mars Jumpstart, which Rollickin’ Rose Bailey pulled together with Mirthful Mike these last few weeks, and which will be available on DriveThruRPG.com this Wednesday as an Advance PDF.

But Rich, I think I hear you ask although really my ears could be playing tricks on me, what IS a Jumpstart anyway?

It’s a booklet designed to enable you to get started quickly playing an abbreviated version of the game. We would have called it a “Quickstart” a few years ago, but that term has become loaded up with some expectations based on the previous years of making them that kind of force these Jumpstarts to be put together a certain way that doesn’t work for all game lines.

We need to be able to allow each line to shine by emphasizing what we think makes the game line special and interesting to play, so we renamed this sort of booklet to give the whole idea a fresh start.

So check it out and get your pulse racing and your blood boiling as you trade bon-mots and flashing blades on Mars!

Besides Rollickin’ Rose catching up on her Cavaliers of Mars and Vampire: the Requiem 2nd projects, I’ll be pulling together the upcoming Scion 2nd Edition Kickstarter (it looks more like early September now, though), getting the Beckett’s Diary KS BackerKit page up and out, and sending out PDFs of Promethean 2nd Edition to our Beast Kickstarter backers who pledged at the right levels for it.

Mirthful Mike will be able to pay undivided attention to the various books that are in various stages that the Mage 2nd Edition errata and Promethean 2nd layout processes (not to mention all the incredible and fun stuff the Mirthful One pulled together for Gen Con) slowed down.

As a group, we’ll be reviewing the many, many emails/resumes that were sent in inquiring about the Extended Media freelance position this week, and hope to reach out to a few folks for further discussion before the month is out.

Beyond those direct projects, there are so many possible tasty items coming out of Gen Con that we’re discussing, and which I hope to be able to reveal in the months to come. Some of those are internal organization and pay rate increases, and some are cool alliances and projects with other companies, and some are new projects for existing lines that just emerged right before our eyes as we talked late into the night.

And some are changes based on the critiques given by ourselves to ourselves at the Onyx Path Summit we held Saturday night at our hotel after a delicious meal at Harry and Izzy’s. The main Onyx team were all there, and we reviewed the past year’s triumphs, tragedies, and frustrations with what I think was a critical yet constructive eye towards the future of Onyx Path.

Because I want our team to always be willing to lay it all on the line and speak their minds without concern that things will be repeated, I’m not going to go into more detail here, but rest assured that you’ll be able to trace many of the upcoming positive changes this whole next year to this year’s Summit.

Any negative changes are all Eddy Webb’s fault.

And with that, I am out of here! (And back to working on the stuff mentioned above).

BLURBS!

KICKSTARTER!

We’re looking at our next KS campaign being for Scion 2nd Edition in late August/early September. Neall and I sat down at Gen Con to discuss the last details, in fact. Neall’s working on his voice-overs for the Kickstarter videos even as I write this. 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 goes on sale on DTRPG this Wednesday!

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

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 Curse of the Blue Nile fiction anthology for Mummy: the Curse is now on sale at DriveThruRPG in PDF/electronic and PoD versions! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/182835/Curse-of-the-Blue-Nile

Welcome to the first anthology of original fiction set in the world of Mummy. With Curse of the Blue Nile, the veil draws back to reveal a host of dark glimpses into the power of a single relic… and of the lengths to which the Deathless of lost Irem will go to secure it.

Each tale is a novella, spooling out the unique nature of the Blue Nile within its encapsulated view of the world’s setting, and each story touches on a different one of the five Arisen guilds: The Alchemists, Laborers, Masons, Priests, and Scribes. Five dark turns at the wheel, helmed by the talented hands of veteran talespinners Lisa Morton, Stefan Petrucha, Malcolm Sheppard, Greg Stolze, and Mercedes M. Yardley.

Come, join us on a tour of the mysteries of the ancient, blood-soaked world.

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 Matt McElroy, Monica Valentinelli, Bill Bodden, and Mike “Hollywood” Tomasek will be at Geek.kon from August 26th to the 28th, with a What’s Up with Onyx Path panel on Sat. the 27th, and they’ll be carrying around assorted swag!

http://www.geekkon.net/

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)

Redlines