Onyx Path: Buried Bones From Beyond the Grave! [Monday Meeting Notes]

[Matt]

That’s right! The Kickstarter for They Came From the Grave! starts at 2pm EDT on Tuesday the 21st, which is tomorrow as I write this.

Grave! focuses on the tropes and themes of horror films and TV shows that came out throughout the 60s and into the 70s – and because so many of them were also based in a sorta-Victorian era, we have rules for that in there too!

Travel back in time through magic or science. Relive the experiences of your ancestors ala past-lives. Play through what you found described in one of their worm-eaten journals. Or just play in that earlier time period – there are a lot of ways to time-slip in They Came From Beyond the Grave!.

If the old Universal Monsters were the first round of film horror, then the advent of Hammer Studios, American International (especially with films helmed by Roger Corman), and Amicus, plus various horror-themed TV shows, gave us a new sort of horror. Often action-packed and more physical, and always bloodier and gorier than those that came before, they also brought in a more overt sexuality.

Sometimes that manifested in kinkier characters and sometimes in (s)exploitative scenes and dialogue (and costuming). It’s said that at one point during his career working on Hammer films that Christopher Lee was receiving more fan letters from women than any other actor in Europe, no doubt helped by his notable physical presence as Dracula.

Just like in They Came From Beyond the Sea!, we take those sorts of cultural mores of the times the films were created to note and use them in ways designed to be fun to play for modern audiences.

That’s part of the core gaming experience we’re aiming at with the They Came From…! game lines. They’re designed so that you can play them “straight from the box” settings, with the option of including as much of the meta-devices as you want. For example, the Quips and Cinematics can be sparse or non-existent, or they are fired in a mile a minute in a paean to the joy of the cinematic standards of the time.

Your characters can be people of the time the game is set in, or the time the films were made, or modern people with our sensibilities and expectations. Players can deconstruct the hell out of the setting, or create an homage to the sorts of films and time periods the game lines focus on.

So, yes, the They Came From…! games provide all the needed material to go from a serious, even dark, setting all the way to a laugh-a-minute cross between riffing on old films ala Mystery Science Theater 3000 and a fill in the blanks card game. We needed to provide as much structure as possible to enable humor at the table.

Because, as they say, dying is easy, comedy is hard.

Just to give you an idea of the range I’m talking about, there are four different links below in our Onyx Path Media section. Three are to very different Actual Play sessions, and one is to the brilliant trailer for They Came From Beyond the Grave! created by filmmaker/artist/writer/cool guy Larry Blamire. Each of them present a totally accurate way to play – any one of which might be the way your table wants to play.

Check us out on Kickstarter tomorrow if ANY of that piques your interest!

Grave! illustration by Durwin Talon

What About the Buried Bones?

Well, not only was that a reference to digging up some of the inside stuff for Grave!, it was also a reference to the two Realms of Pugmire PDFs and PoDs going on sale this week!

Pirates of Pugmire will be available in PDF and PoD versions this Wednesday, even while the traditionally printed version enabled by the Kickstarter campaign is getting ready to ship from our printers to our KS fulfillers.

Then there’s Buried Bones, subtitled Creating in the Realms of Pugmire, which wasn’t attached to a KS, and contains a lot of Eddy’s thoughts on Pugmire (and the Monarchies of Mau) with background info and info on how to create adventures for the setting. It’s also coming out in PDF and physical book PoD versions on Weds.

Seems like this would be super-useful for folks planning on adding projects to the Canis Minor Community Content site!

Pirates of Pugmire illustration by Pat Loboyko

Hey, look at this:

That’s for 100,000 downloads of the Onyx Pathcast! Huge congrats to Dixie, Matthew, and Eddy for years of weekly Pathcasts exploring ours and other company’s game lines every week, taking Deep Dives into specific games (like the They Came From Beyond the Grave! one going live on Friday), their insightful interviews of industry professionals, and all the farty horns, wresting references, and digressions that they are rightly known for!

While the Terribly Terrific Trio, or the Terrifically Terrible Trio depending on your PoV, do foster a light-hearted, irreverent, and quick-witted atmosphere during the Onyx Pathcast, they do also talk about the challenges of creating artful games in the TTRPG business. From the Dreaded Deadline Doom, to the Care and Feeding of Creative Folks, to trying to stay focused on the projects you love while the world goes topsy-turvey, Eddy, Dixie, and Matthew manage to cover some serious topics without loosing that spark of fun that makes this thing of ours so special.

Again, congrats!

Titanomachy illustration by Andrea Payne

Hopefully, I can bring up this next topic as carefully as the Trio do with such things, but that’s actually the point, I guess. As a company, we’ve signed up our Onyx Path Monday Meeting crew to attend Sensitivity Training Workshops starting this Wednesday and into August.

As a group, we talk to many different people in the course of doing our jobs (nevermind non-job time), and we’d like to do that better. We’d like to be able to communicate better, and to be more aware of how we are coming across – especially as we continue to bring more diverse creators into the TTRPG biz.

Finally, if you get a chance, take a look at all those projects at press down there at the end of the project progress section! I think these are the most projects we’ve ever had finishing up printing at the same time. Some of that is, of course, due to the slow-downs in printing and shipping due to Covid-19, and some of it has been Mirthful Mike Chaney gettin’ it done!

Combined, we’re getting the decks cleared so that more projects can get finished up, and therefore more projects can get started. It’s the Circle of Life, or something like that. End of the day, we’re making the games you love set in our:

Many Worlds, One Path!

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Blurbs!

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Kickstarter!

They Came From Beyond the Grave!

Goes live on Tuesday the 21st at 2pm EDT!

Here’s a specially-made special trailer by the brilliant Larry Blamire:

And keep your eyes open for:

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Onyx Path Media!

Congratulations on achieving over 100,000 DOWNLOADS!

This week: They Came from Beyond the Grave! Deep Dive!! (Exclamation Points!!!)

As always, this Friday’s Onyx Pathcast will be on Podbean or your favorite podcast venue! https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/

With They Came from Beyond the Grave! coming to Kickstarter this week, let’s start off with all the actual plays and assorted videos for that game!

Over on twitch.tv/theonyxpath, Vorpal Tales are running their first campaign of They Came from Beyond the Grave! This follows their fantastic They Came from Beneath the Sea! campaign, and I really think you should check it out! Their YouTube channel has episode one right here: https://youtu.be/Q6na0WHTfjo

Meanwhile, over on YouTube, our friends at Red Moon Roleplaying have started their own They Came from Beyond the Grave! story, with their usual excellent editing, quality, and in this case, a lovely cast of players led by Director, Matthew Dawkins! Come join in and listen to the Cult of Abaddon at play: https://youtu.be/RDYzNbk7VkQ

Also on YouTube, Larry Blamire’s hilarious trailer for They Came from Beyond the Grave! has dropped and is there for your viewing pleasure. It’s a testament to the kinds of stories you can tell using this game: https://youtu.be/NP65PlAw7mI

And finally, also on YouTube, in case you missed it we have the actual play of They Came from Beyond the Grave! that Matthew ran for Rich Thomas, Ian Muller, Dixie Cochran, and B. Dave Walters. Dare you enter Karnstein Manor? https://youtu.be/qLEFXntIa3g

This week on Twitch, expect to see:

• Mage 20 – Technocracy Reloaded
• Scion – Behind the Screen
• They Came from Beyond the Grave!
• Mage: The Awakening – Occultists Anonymous
• Realms of Pugmire – Pawsome Junction
• Scarred Lands – Purge of the Serpentholds
• Scarred Lands – Tears of the Weeping Maiden
• Deviant: The Renegades – A Cautionary Tale

Get watching for some fantastic insight into how to run these wonderful games and subscribe to us on Twitch, over at twitch.tv/theonyxpath

Come take a look at our YouTube channel, youtube.com/user/theonyxpath, where you can find a whole load of videos of actual plays, dissections of our games, and more, including:

Realms of Pugmire: Paws & Claws – S2E6 https://youtu.be/oWSUZCVQhpA

Realms of Pugmire: Paws & Claws – S2E7 https://youtu.be/ThgctcL9bTY

Changeling: The Lost: Littlebrook Reunion – E22 https://youtu.be/QJZLhWW6qOs

V5: Blood City: Chicago by Night – E20 https://youtu.be/Ua7ja2F9r80

Scarred Lands: Purge of the Serpentholds – E7 https://youtu.be/ZtnVKzQQAn8

They Came from Beyond the Grave! Trailer https://youtu.be/mWTla3xEmGA

Legendlore: Lost in the Crossing – E1 https://youtu.be/twMAjrCpj3c

Legendlore: Fiction Reading https://youtu.be/Dj5Qp0aagy0

Storytellers with Coffee: Technocracy Reloaded https://youtu.be/hb44inqafmE

Subscribe to our channel and click the bell icon if you want to be notified whenever new news videos and uploads come online!

Systematic Understanding of Everything is a new Exalted Explainer Podcast by Exalted Dev Monica Speca and Exalted Writer Chazz Kellner. Check out their array of episodes (the show’s only just started!) over at http://www.exaltcast.com/

Our very own Chris Allen runs a fantastic session of Werewolf: The Forsaken here and on Twitch: https://youtu.be/XTaTf7sxnLk He’s not being violent enough with people’s eyeballs yet!

Our friends over at Near Dark Studios have just concluded their second season of V5 Chicago by Night, and you can find the entire playlist right here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhENuwZpsO7HXSuQ26MvX5uP-xqbYAwGG

Our good buddies at Vorpal Tales recently concluded their superb actual play of They Came from Beneath the Sea!, which you can find here on YouTube in full playlist form. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9fUj4KdqE4Ayzfw1vrDtFY81E0uaNT2K

And Occultists Anonymous just got their latest episodes to us:

Episode 114: The Devil You Know
Zolius faces a VERY upset cabal, trying to keep his own life and maintain the deal he established with them. The cabal debate the pros and cons of keeping him alive.
https://youtu.be/5NavGFi9_rQ

Episode 115: Going to the Dogs
As the cabal settles and makes plans after Zolius’ intrusion, Atratus takes a trip into the Shadow with Shanna. A little sightseeing on the other side of the Gauntlet.
https://youtu.be/FCcenqJfxMk

Please check these out and let us know if you find or produce any actual plays of our games! We’d love to feature you!

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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.)

We’re told that the App Dev is currently creating an updated version for the latest devices, so keep an eye open for those!

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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 latest fiction books:

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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 Second Edition products to Studio2‘s store! See them here: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/all-products/changeling-the-lost

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 and Trinity Continuum Core and Trinity Continuum: Aeon are available to order!

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

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On Sale This Week!

This Wednesday, the Pirates of Pugmire come sailing in, in PDF and PoD versions, both on DTRPG!

Large portions of the sea remain unexplored and uncharted, denying pirates the assurance of a safe journey home. If treasure is found, there’s always a hostile crew or two out there on the waves, lying in wait to raid returning ships. And twisted corpses of dead sea life animated by Unseen forces haunt the waves. It takes an extra level of grit to brave the Acid Sea. Do you have what it takes? 

Pirates of Pugmire is a chronicle sourcebook for both Pugmire and Monarchies of Mau. It’s usable with either game, or as part of a joint experience.

Some highlights include: 

• Two new species for players to enjoy: lizards and birds 
• Six new callings, including two for dogs and two for cats 
• Rules for building, sailing, and sinking ships 
• A trove of new allies, enemies, and treasures 
• Information on Waterdog Port and Port Matthew 
• “Going on the Account,” a chronicle of three new adventures, taking characters from 1st through 6th level 

For more Realms of Pugmire good-dog-ness, Pugmire Buried Bones, a guide to Creating in the Realms of Pugmire is also available this Weds on DTRPG in PDF and physical book PoD versions!

Collecting a variety of internal documents, email exchanges, blog posts, and community content projects, Buried Bones is the ultimate guide to creating in the Realms of Pugmire. Whether you’re making your own products for the Canis Minor community content program, want to make your personal Pugmire chronicle as accurate as possible, or are just interested in some of the behind-the-scenes details of the world, Buried Bones is the book to read!

Buried Bones includes:

• A number of blogs related to the Realms of Pugmire, rewritten for this edition.
• A handy guide to help people convert material from the 5e OGL to Pugmire or Monarchies of Mau.
• Answers to frequently asked questions about the lore of the world and the mechanics of the RPGs.

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Conventions!

Though dates for physical conventions are subject to change due to the current COVID-19 outbreak, here’s what’s left of our current list of upcoming conventions (and really, we’re just waiting for this last one to be cancelled even though it’s Nov/Dec). Instead, keep an eye out here for more virtual conventions we’re going to be involved with:

PAX Unplugged: https://unplugged.paxsite.com/

Keep an eye out for our games being run at the online version of GenCon at the end of the month, as well as our What’s Up With the Onyx Path? panel currently slated for 1pm, Thursday July 30th!

https://www.gencon.com/online/

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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.)

• Exalted Essay Collection (Exalted)
• The Devoted Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)
• Saints and Monsters (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Trinity Continuum: Anima
• M20 Technocracy Operative’s Dossier (Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary)
• Squeaks In The Deep (Realms of Pugmire)
• Prometheus Unbound (was Psi Orders) (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
• No Gods, No Masters (Scion 2nd Edition)

Redlines

• Dragon-Blooded Novella #2 (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Exalted Essence Edition (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Wild Hunt (Scion 2nd Edition)
• CtL 2e Novella Collection: Hollow Courts (Changeling: The Lost 2e)
• Adversaries of the Righteous (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Second Draft

• Many-Faced Strangers – Lunars Companion (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Contagion Chronicle Ready-Made Characters (Chronicles of Darkness)
• Trinity Continuum: Adventure! core (Trinity Continuum: Adventure!)
• Dead Man’s Rust (Scarred Lands)
• The Clades Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)
• V5 Forbidden Religions (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)
• M20 Rich Bastard’s Guide To Magick (Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary)
• V5 Children of the Blood (was The Faithful Undead) (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)
• Dystopia Rising: Evolution Fiction Anthology (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)
• Hundred Devil’s Night Parade (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Novas Worldwide (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Development

• TC: Aberrant Reference Screen (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Contagion Chronicle: Global Outbreaks (Chronicles of Darkness)
• Exigents (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Assassins (Trinity Continuum Core)
• V5 Trails of Ash and Bone (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)
• Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)
• Mission Statements (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Manuscript Approval

• Crucible of Legends (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
• Under Alien Skies (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Post-Approval Development

Editing

• Lunars Novella (Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition core rulebook (Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition)
• Player’s Guide to the Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)
• Contagion Chronicle Jumpstart (Chronicles of Darkness)
• TC: Aberrant Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• Trinity Continuum Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum)
• LARP Rules (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)
• The Book of Lasting Death (Mummy: The Curse 2e)
• They Came From Beyond the Grave! (They Came From!)
• Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)
• Dearly Bleak – Novella (Deviant: The Renegades)
• N!ternational Wrestling Entertainment (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Post-Editing Development

• City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)
• W20 Shattered Dreams Gift Cards (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th)
• Cults of the Blood Gods (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)
• Hunter: The Vigil 2e core (Hunter: The Vigil 2nd Edition)
• Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)
• Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)
• Monsters of the Deep (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)
• Legendlore core book (Legendlore)
• Pirates of Pugmire KS-Added Adventure (Realms of Pugmire)
• Tales of Aquatic Terror (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)
• Terra Firma (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
• One Foot in the Grave Jumpstart (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2e)
• Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)

Indexing

• Lunars: Fangs At The Gate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

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Art Direction from Mike Chaney!

In Art Direction

• Tales of Aquatic Terror – Off to LeBlanc.
• WoD Ghost Hunters (KS)
• Aberrant – AD’d. Meredith is helping with keeping track of all the artists.
• Hunter: The Vigil 2e – Full art notes are in.
• Mummy 2
• Deviant – Sam doing fulls for this next.
• Legendlore
• Technocracy Reloaded
• Cults of the Blood God – Rolling along.
• Scion: Dragon (KS)
• Masks of the Mythos (KS) – Getting notes over to Cover guy. Pinging a couple of artists about fulls. Talking to Tucker about doing some of the dreamy stuff.
• Scion: Demigod (KS) – KS art in progress. Fulls progressing. Halves progressing. Getting a few more halves rolling on that.
• They Came From Beyond the Grave! (KS) – Ready for KS Tuesday.
• TC: Adventure! (KS) – Cover is in.
• Geist: One Foot In the Grave – AD’d, art is rolling.

In Layout

• Yugman’s Guide to Ghelspad
• Vigil Watch
• TC Aeon Terra Firma – With Josh.
• V5 Let the Streets Run Red – continued working it.
• Pugmire Adventure – small project, knocking the layout together.
• Scion Titanomachy
• Trinity Core Jumpstart

Proofing

• Trinity Aeon Jumpstart – PoD files updated.
• Lunars: Fangs at the Gate – Indexing.
• Cavaliers of Mars: City of the Towered Tombs
• Magic Item Decks (Scarred Lands)
• Yugman’s Guide Support Decks (Scarred Lands)

At Press

• TCFBTS Heroic Land Dwellers – PoD proof on the way.
• TCFBTS Screen and Booklet – Files at press.
• They Came from Beneath the Sea! – Press proofs signed off on, PoD proofs ordered.
• Pirates of Pugmire – Traditionally printed books almost ready to ship to the shipper. PDF and PoD versions on sales this Weds.
• Pirates of Pugmire Screen – Files at press.
• Pugmire Buried Bones – PDF and PoD versions on sales this Weds.
• Dark Eras 2 – Files at press.
• Dark Eras 2 Screen and booklet – Files at press.
• Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition Dark Eras Compilation
• Contagion Chronicle – Press prep.
• Contagion Chronicle Screen and Booklet – Files at press.
• Lunars Wall Scroll Map – Files at press.
• Lunars Screen and Booklet – Files at press.
• Scarred Lands Creature Collection – Press proof signed off on.
• Scion Companion – PoD proofs ordered.

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Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

One small step for a man: in 1969 Apollo 11’s crew successfully makes the first manned landing on the Moon in the Sea of Tranquility. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to walk on the Moon six and a half hours later.

Which we reference in a bunch of our games, but for me, it’s a strong childhood memory of watching the moonwalk on the small, scratchy, b&w TV we moved into my parent’s bedroom. They had the only room AC (it would take years before we could afford to catch up to the other houses in the neighborhood and get full-house AC) and it was a hot and humid Philly July night. Right before the news broke in with the Special Broadcast, Jerry Lewis’s The Nutty Professor was on (I think it was Channel 10, Philly folks), and I was afraid of the transformation scenes.

Our parents tried to impress on us the importance of what we were seeing, but it was near midnight, and it was all we could do to stay awake that far. After the single greatest achievement mankind had achieved in surpassing the bounds of Earth, we just wanted to get to sleep. Yet, I still remember it all as it happened.