Strange Aeons [Monday Meeting Notes]

Monday Meeting, News

Yep, we’re at that strange part of the Trinity Continuum: Aeon Kickstarter, the part where things kind of plod along with a pledge here and there. (So I’ve included this new art above to kind of be the totem of shaking things up and making some action happen!) Amazingly, it took us until three-quarters of the way through to plateau for a bit. We’ve had KSs that plateaued three days after they started!

So now’s the time to tell all your friends if you’re a backer, and to take another look at the KS if you haven’t backed yet. Please, if you have time, post in social media so word gets out. In particular, if you know somebody that was a fan of Trinity back in the day, they may not be up on who is publishing what, or that this Kickstarter is even happening to bring back the game.

We always have folks coming to us after a KS wanting to know if they could still pledge because they missed hearing about it while it was running. If we can get word out to them now, they can get in on the fun and the extra goodies. Because while we now have BackerKit for post-Kickstarter activities, it’s not exactly really pledging during the KS.

Let me back up a tad.

When we first started doing Kickstarters, which I think was six years ago last week, there was just the bare bones of usability. It was the creators of the Kickstarters that added in “Add-ons” and “Stretch Goals” (and a bunch of other things), so when it came to knowing who had added on what, we all came up with improvised systems. Even Reward Tier rewards were, and continue to be, delivered one Reward Tier at a time by messaging that Tier. And then the next, etc.

Now, if you look at some of our Kickstarters, I put in anywhere between a dozen and two dozen Reward Tiers, because we were having fun and had a lot of wacky ideas we wanted to share with potential backers. It could take me a day to go through all those Reward Tiers, and then go through all the pledges individually to find out those who had added on the reward, and send out the links for just that one reward.

So, obviously, a bunch of folks saw opportunity in my misery, and what they call “Back-End Services for Kickstarter” became a thing. (Of course, I’m certainly not the only KS Creator who was grinding their teeth at the methodology, and a lot of folks had much more complicated reward set-ups).

BackerKit was one of these back-end services that I heard good things about, but I was hesitant to pay someone to do something I could do, albeit with a lot of complaining. While the late Stewart Wieck and I were talking about how he was doing his KSs in preparation for our shared Scarred Lands Kickstarter, he extolled the virtues of BackerKit and convinced me that the time and effort saved was well worth it.

And he was right. Not only does their set-up simplify any given disbursement of reward links or messages to setting up one file and letting BK get the links out to all who have that reward listed, but they have a “pre-order” page where folks who missed the KS can still “pledge” for items from the KS after it is over.

I put those two terms in parentheses because it’s not really a pledge that folks are making in that they don’t get all the stuff from the Reward Tiers, but they do get some, and it’s not a pre-order in the sense we are all used to in this hobby. But the terms are close enough and most importantly, they are a great way for folks to get involved in the KS after it has run, but without waiting for the books in stores, if they are even the type that get there.

As the folks who have contacted me about the Deluxe Wraith 20th Anniversary Edition and wanting to back-end pledge have learned, unfortunately. Wraith 20‘s Kickstarter came before I adopted BackerKit, so we don’t have a method for allowing post-KS pledges of any kind. That is totally my bad for not adopting BK earlier. We live and learn.

We do expect those Deluxes to show up available with our friends at Indie Press Revolution (see below in The Blurbs section) eventually, though, as have previous books from KSs before BackerKit.

To help you out, here are links to our existing BackerKit “pre-order” pages:

Deluxe Changeling: The Dreaming 20th Anniversary: https://deluxe-changeling-the-dreaming-20th-anniversary-ed.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

NOTE: You’ll need to go to the C20 one ASAP, as I’ll be closing it down soon as we prepare to ship the backer rewards.

Deluxe V20 Beckett’s Jyhad Diary : https://deluxe-v20-becketts.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

: https://deluxe-v20-becketts.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders Prince’s Gambit Casual Card Game: https://princes-gambit.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

Casual Card Game: https://princes-gambit.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders Scion 2nd Edition : https://scion-2nd-edition-tabletop-rpg.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

: https://scion-2nd-edition-tabletop-rpg.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras 2 : https://chronicles-of-darkness-dark-eras-2.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

: https://chronicles-of-darkness-dark-eras-2.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders Cavaliers of Mars : https://cavaliers-of-mars.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

: https://cavaliers-of-mars.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition: https://changeling-the-lost-2nd-edition.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

2nd Edition: https://changeling-the-lost-2nd-edition.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders Monarchies of Mau: https://monarchies-of-mau.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

That’s a fair number of ongoing BackerKit “pre-order” sites! We really do have:

Many Worlds, One Path!

BLURBS!

KICKSTARTER:

The Trinity Continuum Kickstarter is three-quarters done and we’ve only just hit a real plateau, so now is the time to let folks know it is happening! There are a lot of fans of the original releases out there who aren’t connected to our current incarnation, so please, if you know a fan from back in the day: LET THEM KNOW THIS KS IS HAPPENING!

So far, we have pledges headed towards 300% of our funding goal, over 1500 backers, and we’ve gone through thirteen Stretch Goals including VARGs, new Noetic Biotech, new Cyberware and new Espionage-Related Hardtech, and Aberrants and their cults that will be added to the AEon AExpansion, a Trinity Continuum: Aeon novella entitled “Dawn“, a scenario called “Caper, Incorporated” has been added to the In Media Res scenario collection PDF for the Trinity Continuum Core, and backers will be able to download the Trinity Core Dice for the Onyx Dice Rolling App.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/trinity-continuum-aeon-rpg

Trinity Continuum: Aeon, is our reboot of the classic Trinity (Aeon) game, and Trinity Continuum: Core is the core book that all of our Trinity Continuum game lines will spin off from. Both books will be a part of this Kickstarter and backers have already received the first two quarters of the Trinity Continuum: Core text, with more to come. James Bell, our Kickstarter Manager, has been keeping this KS hopping, so we hope you’ll check it out!

Our next Kickstarter is slated to be EX3‘s Dragon-Blooded.

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!

Last week the devs are 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 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? 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

DRIVETHRURPG.COM:

With a howl of RAGE, the W20 Changing Ways PDF and physical book PoD charges at you this Wednesday 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 on DriveThruRPG this Wednesday 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.