#might make a basil exclusive edition

[airy-was-heree]

Part 2 to my homemade omori memes collection (Here's Part 1 btw)

[allgirlsareprincesses]

Hi. Not sure if you've answered this before, but do you have a list of books to recommend on fairytale/mythic analysis?

So I finally have a real response to this question, but it's LONG, be warned:

First, it depends what you want to get out of your folklore study, what lens you'd like to use for analysis. And second, it's important to know that the practice of folktale analysis has changed over time, especially in the last ~15 years or so as the scholarly consensus has evolved toward decolonization.

For example, the common historical starting place was Bruno Bettleheim's The Uses of Enchantment. Candidly, I haven't read it yet for a few reasons: 1) It focuses fairly exclusively on Western European fairy tales like those of Grimm, Basile, and Perrault. 2) It assumes the primary audience for such tales are children. 3) It's a white man's perspective, and there are already enough of those to go around. That said, it's considered a foundational text for folklore study, so I'll probably get to it eventually. There are some modern authors who might be considered scholarly successors of Bettleheim, like Maria Tatar. I haven't read her books yet but I know she's also a powerhouse of Western fairy tale analysis.

Some other popular perspectives include the works of Carl Jung and his protégés in psychoanalysis, Marie-Louise von Franz and Erich Neumann. These are wonderful sources for learning about depth psychology and the universal unconscious which causes certain motifs to recur in storytelling across the globe and over centuries. Another popular author in this field is Robert Bly, who dove deeply into the concept of the Shadow as it appears in folk tales.

But for me, my favorite sources have been a collection of feminist authors who were active in the late 80s and early 90s, notably Barbara Fass Leavy and the incomparable Clarissa Pinkola Estes. While their work is pretty firmly grounded in second-wave feminism and therefore not very intersectional as we understand it today, they were the first to begin exploring interpretations of folk tales outside of a patriarchal context. I personally refer to Leavy's In Search of the Swan Maiden and Estes' Women Who Run With the Wolves more than any other books.

A lot of the most current perspectives are only accessible via blogs, like Jeana Jorgensen AKA The Foxy Folklorist, who often explores fairy tales through a Queer lens. Another brilliant voice working today is Helen Nde of Mythological Africans, who is doing the long-overdue work of decolonizing African folklore.

And while all these sources will help you develop a framework for analysis, still one of the best things you can do is read the tales for yourself. One of my favorite series is that of Heidi Anne Heiner of Sur La Lune Fairy Tales, who has amassed impressive collections of folk tales of the same type from around the world, making comparison easy. She also provides excellent footnotes that offer context to the versions and translations she's selected, and every tale has a source.

Outside of that, I like to read regional collections from indigenous scholars and native speakers: some editors will even include a copy in the original language along with the English translation, thus allowing others to "check their work." One of my favorite folkorists like this is Inea Bushnaq, who collects Arab folktales and again provides accessible cultural context. It's important to remember that most oral folktales which are now available in English were first recorded by colonizers, so the versions we have may be edited, mistranslated, or even maliciously altered to suit Western tastes. This is why seeking out versions from actual members of indigenous communities is critical.

Right now, I'm reading The Japanese Psyche: Major Motifs in the Fairy Tales of Japan by Hayao Kawai, and I'm next going to try Oral World and Written Word by Susan Niditch. I tend to just go where the spirit moves me, journal a bit, go down a research rabbit hole about a particular topic... it's fun. But whatever you're looking to get out of your folk tale study, rest assured you will never run out of material!

[you-remind-me-of-the-babe]

Another lovely year in this wonderful fandom. Here’s a little recap of how my year went:

My Writing:

Depth of Reason - Mature - 70k

How to Avoid a Scandal - Teen - 43k

Episode 3: The Diplomat, A Star Trek Redemption story - Teen - 13.5k

This list is much shorter than my list of fics written in 2022, but my fics last year were much shorter. Also, this word count is deceptive, because I wrote about 22k of Depth of Reason last year and about 20k of How to Avoid a Scandal last year as well. But! My writing goals this year were to finish these two WIPs and not take on any other projects until they were finished and I very nearly did that! Took on two projects (and more below), but I still finished these before the year finished, so pretty good!

Total words:

About 83k. Last year was more like 120k.

Other works:

Podfic of Petrichor - Teen - 34 minutes

Themes:

Finishing long works apparently! One was for my 2022 COBB and the other for my 2022 CORB. Even though these were started last year, they are the longest things I wrote since my first fic (49k) back in the second half of 2021.

Also, trying new things! Writing sci-if and recording a podfic felt very outside my wheelhouse at the time, but ultimately, I’m glad I went for it.

Top 10 fics I read in 2023:

Someone Wicked - Explicit - 60k by @artsyunderstudy

Three Months or 3,000 Miles - Gen - 3k by @larkral and art by @theimpossibledemon

Blood, Salt and Hummingbirds - Teen - 32k by @hushed-chorus

Restoration Ecology - The REmix (Baz’s version) - Explicit - 62k by @royalasstronaut

Good at Something - Explicit - 19k by @larkral

A Gift From the Propheseals - Mature - 6.5k by @skeedelvee with art by @letraspal

What Remains After the Storm - Mature - 86k by @hushed-chorus art by @erzbethluna

To Do, to Know, to Want - Mature - 8.5k by @facewithoutheart

Mishaps on Zoom - Explicit - 10k by @eelwinks

Swords Into Plowshares - Teen - 6.5k by @ileadacharmedlife

WIPs I’m excited to keep reading in 2024:

I Knew A Boy, I Knew A Man - Teen, by @shrekgogurt

Hiding Out In The Open - Mature, by @cutestkilla

A Little Bit Deadly- Explicit, by @emeryhall

Basil Pitch’s Diary - Teen, by @bookish-bogwitch

Other notable fandom things:

I helped to run @carryon-reverse-bang again with @angelsfalling16 as well as helped to put on a new event this year, @caught-on-tape-fest with @cutestkilla and @sillyunicorn

I met up with fandom friends while on a trip this past summer. Making personalized friendship bracelets as gifts, doing fic readings and crafts, and putting on our own Lady Ruth style tea party were some of my fave moments <3

I did a book club style reread of some of my fave fics with friends. I hope we do a few more in 2024!

It’s safe to say I engaged with this fandom everyday of 2023. I might get quiet on the main Discord server or Tumblr, but I’m certain I read, reblogged, wrote, DMd or otherwise participated in some way, shape or form throughout the entirety of the year.

Goals for 2024:

Read more fic! This fandom has such a wealth of works, my TBR list is a mile long and isn’t organized. I’d like to formally rework my AO3 bookmarks to exclusively show recs and either utilize the Marked for Later function or make a spreadsheet or something to better organize a proper TBR list so i don’t lose track of what I want to read next. Currently, having a dozen tabs open on my phone and another dozen on my iPad doesn’t really work well. If anyone has a brilliant system you’d suggest, please enlighten me!

I also want to read all of my physical canon books this year. I’ve only ever listened to the audiobooks! I’m currently reading my anniversary edition of Fangirl. (I think this is the prettiest book I’ve ever owned.) Up next, the Fangirl Manga, followed by the trilogy and Snow for Christmas.

More fandom meet ups! Already planning for June…

I don’t have any writing plans currently, so we shall see if/what I decide to create. I have a few ideas rolling around in my head, but nothing I’ve felt urged to put down in words. I’m sure I’ll write something, I just don’t know what it’ll be yet.

[elizabethsharmon]

Hello and welcome to the second episode of the Clowneries! Today we will focus on Arthur’s home and school life and on one of the themes of season 5 and how we think it might be played out.

According to this article, Arthur’s season will deal with “powerlessness [of teenagers] when confronted with adults toxicity and invisible disability.” Now, Skam has always been a show that limited the presence of adult characters to two settings: school and home. Which means that our culprit will most likely be present in one of those two. When the teachers make your life a misery, at least you can take a break at home. When your parents are absolute pain in the ass, the school and friends become your refuge. But what if none of those places is safe because the person who is ruining your life is always there, whenever you look around? Well, then you have a problem. Which leads us to our two theories for today:

1. The Principal will be the cause of Arthur’s problem throughout the whole season

2. The Principal is Arthur’s father

MAJOR PLOT SPOILERS UNDER CUT

1. “Watch your language”

Well, well, well, who do we have here? Our good ol’ Monsieur Vallès, a man with no taste when it comes to art, a man finally giving in because he’s afraid of students’ protests, a man who undoubtedly believes that a firm hand is what the teenagers need the most. Definitely an intriguing charater, with a pleasant voice, played by a man who still uses instagram filters from 2013. If you are a fan of the principal, then good news for you - he’s about to stay with us for the whole season!!!

As you can see, he was filming a scene for s05e09 clip 4 which means that he will mess things up again, on a long-term basis. What will happen between Arthur and the principal? Well, our guess is this:

(scene on the rooftop was filmed on the 13th day of filming, same as the clip 9 of s05e03 which means it might be the one)

The boys are back and they’re more wild than ever... Love that for us.

So, the principal busts le gang smoking joint at the rooftop and Arthur, being the mom friend he is, takes the blame. Why? This leads us to our next theory...

2. “Arthur, I’m your father,” Monsieur Vallès said.

It started innocent, as always with us. I saw the bts above and didn’t recognize that it’s the principal and thought that maybe Arthur lives in a posh neighbourhood or something and he has access to his building’s rooftop and invited guys there only to be busted by his father. But then we started to think about it... and if they really want Arthur to suffer in season 5 (and they constantly keep on repeating that season 5 = tears), then why not mess up his life even more and make the principal his father??? Exclusive sneak peak from The Clown Doc, p. 14:

From then on, it goes like this:

Now you may say “but the principal’s last name is Vallès and Arthur’s is Broussard, how can he be his father then?” But think of it - if you were a respectable principal of high school and an asshole and your son goes to your school, would you risk your position and reputation and wait for your students and teachers to accuse you of special treatment of your son? That’s why, he insists Arthur is registered at school by his mother’s last name, Broussard. Another possibility is that Arthur chooses to use her last name instead of his father’s because he doesn’t want to have anything to do with him.

If the principal is so heavy-handed at school... imagine how bossy he must be at home and how much he must think he’s entitled to make decisions regarding Arthur’s future for him, forcing him to follow a certain path that seems to be the most profitable, signing him up for extracurricular activities, organizing meetings for him... like this one:

Now, we can see the blurred man in the middle, hands on the left, and there’s most likely someone sitting on the right - probably Arthur. Why is the man on the left hidden behing the camera and not just blurred? Because we already know him and they don’t want to show us his face. And, if you remember what Hippo said there’s only “1,5 new characters” in season 5. Now, about the man in the middle - what if he’s a dean of some university or an enterpreneur who is asked to hire Arthur for an internship in the summer? What if the dinner like that is just one of many Arthur had to sit through in his life?

Of course, the principal being Arthur’s father would cause a lot of drama in the season. But think of the comedy gold scenes we might get as well! For example, he calls Arthur to his office to yell at him, Arthur talks back, because of course he does, and then he asks “so, is that it? Can I go now?”, only for his father to say “just one more thing. What do you want for dinner tonight? Chicken or fish?”

Now, you may ask “where’s Arthur’s mother in all of this?” And well... We have bad news for you, guys.

***SPOILERS***

Remember this cute bts video David posted? Take a look at the caption

Season 5, 4th day of filming

Well, guess what else they were filming on that day.

A FUNERAL

If you look closely, there’s a coffin standing in the middle of the altar. Editing this photo doesn’t really help much but

it does look like Basile on the left and Eliott or Lucas on the right (hair and cheekbones man, it’s hard to tell which one of them it is)

So anyway, I guess they really put FUN in the FUNeral, huh? (*ba dum tsss*)

Now, we know that it was day 4 of filming. We know they were filming a scene for season 5. We know that everyone was on set (including Maxence, so it seems). So would they all attend a funeral if some distant family member of Arthur has died? They probably wouldn’t. They would just say they’re really sorry, hug him, and be supportive friends. They would attend the funeral though if someone close to him passed away... For example his mother...

tl;dr 1. the principal will be the source of adults toxicity in Arthur’s season // 2. the principal is Arthur’s father and he will make him suffer both at school and at home // 3. someone will die and we think that might be Arthur’s mother oops

That would be all for today BUT that’s not everything we know about Arthur’s family!!! We will continue exploring his family in the next episode which will be posted by @arthurbrousard​ on Thursday (19.12). Class dismissed!

[raiseveganus]

5 Awesome Vegan Gifts for the Culinary Genius in Your Life

Someone special’s birthday coming around the corner? Don’t worry, I’ll make it easy. Here are five awesome vegan gifts that the self-proclaimed Top Chef in your life would be sure to love.

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Awesome Vegan Gifts

Thug Kitchen Cookbook

As a number one NY Times best-seller, Thug Kitchen will show you the ropes on “eating like you give a f***” and it will easily become a go-to recipe book for those days lacking creativity in the kitchen. This vegan cookbook has recipes for everything from roasted beer and lime cauliflower tacos to peachy almond tapioca pudding. Your recipient already has the book? No problem, Thug Kitchen also sells a “Party Grub” edition with recipes intended for larger crowds as well as “Thug Kitchen 101” showcasing easy comfort food meals.

Vegetable Spiralizer

[credit: Africa Studio/shutterstock]

This handy kitchen tool is an absolute essential for all plant-based cooks out there. Not only is it easy to use, easy to clean and fun, but it’s efficient. Zucchini noodles aren’t the only thing you can make using a vegetable spiralizer; you can also use it for curly sweet potato fries or even on fruit. The possibilities are endless.

Air Fryer

[credit: lidiasilva/shutterstock]

This is one of the awesome vegan gifts that has ended up on many Christmas lists this year, I even got one for my mother. An air fryer is intended to do the same as a deep-fryer would but in a much healthier way. This is great for any French fry lover out there.

Food Huggers

For those who are trying to reduce their plastic use, this is a great alternative to using a whole tupperware to store a quarter of an onion in the fridge. Food huggers are reusable silicone sleeves that you put over unfinished produce in order to keep the freshness. They can be used on any fruit or vegetable of your choosing and there are actually food huggers designed specifically for avocados. You might want to grab a set for yourself as well!

Herbs

[credit: ktkusmtku/shutterstock]

Fresh herbs are what can really elevate a dish from amazing to perfect. Think about gifting a basil or mint plant, for example. Not only will the plant remind the recipient of you every time they go to use it, but you might be able to enjoy the benefits of it next time you come over for dinner. For those with a green-thumb, you can alternatively gift a “grow-your-own” basil kit.

Which of these awesome vegan gifts would you love to receive? Let me know in the comments below.

SIGN UP TO THE EXCLUSIVE GROUP WITH REGISTERED DIETITIANS JUST ASK THE DIETITIAN

The post 5 Awesome Vegan Gifts for the Culinary Genius in Your Life appeared first on Raise Vegan.

source https://raisevegan.com/5-awesome-vegan-gifts-for-the-culinary-genius-in-your-life/

[theonyxpath]

Only the Cats Had Meetings Today- No Notes.

But we still have these, and I’ll be back next week with our usual tomfoolery:

  BLURBS!

  KICKSTARTER!

We’re headed to the half-way point, and are at that stage where we’re doing a lot of talking to bloggers and games sites! Please help us out by talking Monarchies of Mau up on social media and to your friends, especially your cat-loving friends. Don’t be shy, every mention helps!

We’ve already shot past Stretch Goals for an exclusive t-shirt, an Intro adventure, the first three Mau stories in a fiction anthology, a book of character write-ups featuring the characters submitted by backers, and our second adventure goal – this time by Dennis Detwiller – is headed toward happening with plenty more to come! If you get a chance, here’s the link: http://ift.tt/2rmHhAG

  ON SALE!

ON AMAZON:

We’re delighted to announce the opening of our ebook store on Amazon! You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle. Our initial selection includes these fiction anthologies: Vampire: the Masquerade‘s Endless Ages, Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition‘s Rites of Renown: When Will You Rage 2, Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition‘s Truth Beyond Paradox, Chronicles of Darkness‘ God Machine Chronicle, Mummy: The Curse‘s Curse of the Blue Nile, and Beast: The Primordial‘s The Primordial Feast!

And this week, we’re releasing another six fiction books:

Vampire: The Masquerade: Of Predators and Prey: The Hunters Hunted II Anthology

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: The Poison Tree

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Songs of the Sun and Moon: Tales of the Changing Breeds

Vampire: The Requiem: The Strix Chronicle Anthology

Werewolf: The Forsaken: The Idigam Chronicle Anthology

Mage: The Awakening: The Fallen World Chronicle Anthology

        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://ift.tt/1ZlTT6z

You can now order wave 2 of our Deluxe and Prestige print overrun books, including Deluxe Mage 20th Anniversary, and Deluxe V20 Dark Ages!

    ON DRIVETHRURPG.COM:

Curated by Matthew McFarland, developer of Changeling: the Dreaming Twentieth Anniversary Edition and featuring authors such as Myranda Kalis, Wren Handman, and Peter Woodworth, this C20 Anthology of Dreams will go on sale in electronic/PDF and physical copy PoD formats this Wednesday on DTRPG.com!

        Now on DTRPG, the EX3 Tomb of Dreams Jumpstart PDF/PoD jumps up for sale!

http://ift.tt/2qdriZU

Once, in the time before the gods forgot their names, when the world was flat and floated on a sea of chaos, there was an age of gleaming cities, untamed wilderness, enlightened devils, greedy spirits, and mighty heroes. This was the age of the Exalted, champions empowered by the highest of gods.

Tomb of Dreams will jumpstart your group’s Exalted game—all you need to start playing Exalted Third Edition is this book, pencils, and 10-sided dice. Included here are the game’s core rules, five pregenerated characters, and a self-contained scenario that can start a new campaign or that Storytellers can use in an ongoing chronicle. And for groups that already have the Exalted Third Edition main rulebook, Tomb of Dreams will serve as an introduction for new players and a quick reference during play—anyone intimidated by that prodigious volume need only read Part 1 of this book to get started.

What legends will they tell of your deeds?

        Sailing out of the dark, the V20 Dark Ages Companion Advance PDF is now on sale on DriveThruRPG.com! http://ift.tt/2pX42dq

Travel the long roads and deep seas in search of power and experience danger, or tackle the wilderness to hunt monsters and face death. Settlements large and small dot the black expanse with the promise of sanctuary, life, and community. These bastions of civilization present cold comfort, when playing host to vampire warlords and sadistic Cainite faiths. Whether led by a Prince, a coordinated belief, or hounded by monsters from without and within — no domain is truly the same as another.

Dark Ages Companion includes:

• Domains scattered across the world, from small fiefdoms to massive cities. Bath, Bjarkarey, Constantinople, Rome, Mogadishu, and Mangaluru each receive coverage.

• Apocrypha including plot hooks, new Paths, and mysteries to explore in your games.

• A how-to guide on building a domain within your chronicle, including events and servants necessary to make a domain as functional or dysfunctional as you wish.

• A study on warfare in the Dark Ages period, so combat in your chronicles can gain authenticity and lethality.

        Bill Bridge’s new W20 novel, The Song of Unmaking, is on sale in PDF/ePub/PoD versions on DriveThruRPG.com: http://ift.tt/2qXQH9f and in ebook form on Amazon: http://ift.tt/2qpQM2V !

The fabric of reality is cracking. Fissures appear in thin air, glowing with balefire. Something is scratching on the other side, pressing, beginning to break through….

The Wyrm’s corruption finds its way into the hearts of humans and Garou alike. Even an ultra-rational techno-cratic scientist can fall sway to its lies. Channeling his hate and resentment through the most sophisticated machine ever created, Basil Czajka has turned a tool designed to peer deep into the heart of the quantum universe into a nursery for the hatching of a horror — a creature whose birth cry is destined to unmake Gaia’s Song of Creation.

The only ones standing in his way are One-Song, a broken-down old Theurge, and Lord Albrecht, whose heed-less anger might be the very weapon the enemy needs to crack the egg and free the Unmaker.

    The Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras Companion has arrived in PDF and PoD physical book versions at DriveThruRPG.com! http://ift.tt/2pygIL7

The Dark Eras Companion presents eleven new Eras for the Chronicles of Darkness. Stretching from Ancient Rome and Egypt through the Black Death, the Thirty Years War, the Reconstruction, and the Russian Revolution, the Companion showcases even more of the secret history of this eldritch world. Included in each era are “snapshots” of the various supernatural creatures, including vampires, changelings, mummies, and demons. Also included are lists of inspirational media to help you put these Eras in context for your troupe.

Open the Dark Eras Companion and take another look back in time.

    V20 Lore of the Bloodlines awaits in PDF and physical book PoD versions on DriveThruRPG.com!

http://ift.tt/2pj8UuA

Lore of the Bloodlines is a single volume (created via Kickstarter) that revisits some of the bloodlines in Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition, providing story hooks, character concepts, history, and bloodline-specific rules. The secrets of the Baali, Daughters of Cacophony, Gargoyles, Harbingers of Skulls, Kiasyd, Salubri, Samedi, and True Brujah are now yours.

Lore of the Bloodlines includes:

• The history, lore, and nightly practices of nine bloodlines, told from the perspective of the Kindred themselves.

• New combo Disciplines, powers, Merits, Flaws, and other rules specific to each bloodline.

• Revisions and updates of more classic Vampire: The Masquerade material to V20.

      Night Horrors: Conquering Heroes for Beast: the Primordial, PoD and PDF versions is now on sale on DTRPG.com!

http://ift.tt/2j7p7lO

This book includes: 

An in-depth look at how Heroes hunt and what makes a Hero, with eleven new Heroes to drop into any chronicle.

A brief look at why Beasts may antagonize one another, with seven new Beasts to drop into any chronicle.

Rules for Insatiables, ancient creatures born of the Primordial Dream intent on hunting down Beasts to fill a hunger without end, featuring six examples ready to use in any chronicle.

    From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: Beneath the Skin (Demon and Skinchangers 1486-1502 Aztec Empire). Ahuitzotl sits on the throne at the height of the Aztec Empire, overseeing his sorcerer-priests’ sacrifices and the endless flower wars his jaguar and eagle warriors carry out in his name to keep the altars well-supplied with victims. The gears of the Aztec Empire turn smoothly and inexorably, but not everything is what it pretends to be. Skinchangers take the shapes of animals to run the wilds or bring down human prey, the Unchained cobble together identities from stolen lives, and stranger things still lurk in the deserts and jungles beyond the walls of Tenochtitlan.

On sale in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG! http://ift.tt/2p79i1O

  From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: Into the Cold (Demon: the Descent 1961 Berlin). East Germany erects a wall against its Western counterpart, turning West Berlin into an island within its own country. As the Cold War heats up, demons find themselves the targets of increasing human scrutiny, and begin to realize that the God-Machine’s plans didn’t end with the War.

On sale now in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG! http://ift.tt/2p70sBl

      CONVENTIONS!

Discussing GenCon plans. August 17th – 20th, Indianapolis. Every chance the booth will actually be 20? x 30? this year that we’ll be sharing with friends. We’re looking at new displays this year, like a back drop and magazine racks for the brochure(s).

In November, we’ll be at Game Hole Con in Madison, WI. More news as we have it, and here’s their website: http://ift.tt/RIm6qP

      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)

Trinity Continuum: Aeon Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

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

M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

C20 Novel (Jackie Cassada) (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

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

DtD Night Horrors: Enemy Action (Demon: the Descent)

The Realm (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Dragon-Blooded (Exalted 3rd Edition)

  Redlines

Kithbook Boggans (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

Ex Novel 2 (Aaron Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)

  Second Draft

V20 Dark Ages Jumpstart (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)

GtS Geist 2e core (Geist: the Sin-Eaters Second Edition)

Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

Scion: Origins (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion: Hero (Scion 2nd Edition)

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)

  Development

Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

SL Ring of Spiragos (Pathfinder – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)

Ring of Spiragos (5e – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)

Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition, featuring the Huntsmen Chronicle (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)

BtP Beast Player’s Guide (Beast: the Primordial)

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

VtR Half-Damned (Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition)

Pugmire Pan’s Guide for New Pioneers (Pugmire)

  WW Manuscript Approval:

Book of Freeholds (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

    Editing:

Wraith: the Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition

Arms of the Chosen (Exalted 3rd Edition)

  Post-Editing Development:

      Indexing:

      ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:

In Art Direction

Beckett’s Jyhad Diary 

W20 Pentex Employee Indoctrination Handbook – AD’d

Cavaliers of Mars

Wraith 20

W20Changing Ways

Ex3 Monthly Stuff

Storypath Brochure

VDA Jumpstart

Scion Origins

C20 Jumpstart – AD’d

Ring of Spiragos – AD’d

Ex 3 Arms of the Chosen – AD’d & Contracted

  Marketing Stuff

  In Layout

M20 Art Book – In progress…

Prince’s Gambit – New Cards out for playtesting

Gen Con Stuff

Proofing

CtL Huntsmen Chronicle Anthology

M20 Book of Secrets – Josh inputting final corrections and page xx’s.

VTR: Thousand Years of Night

  At Press

Beckett Screen – Shipped to shipper.

Dark Eras: To the Strongest – PoD proof on the way.

EX3 Tomb of Dreams Jumpstart – Going on sale on DTRPG.com this week.

C20 Anthology – On sale this Wednesday.

C20 – Wrapping up errata and prepping for indexing.

Pugmire – Printing.

Pugmire Screen – Printing.

Pugmire Cards & Dice – Printing/manufacturing.

Wise and the Wicked PF & 5e – At Press

Dark Eras: The Wolf & Raven– Reviewing PoD proof.

Dark Eras: Three Kingdoms of Darkness – Reviewing PoD proof.

Dagger of Spiragos (5e) – Out to backers.

Dagger of Spiragos (PF) – Out to backers.

V20 Dark Ages Companion – Awaiting errata so I can wrap this up.

BtP Building a Legend – Out to backers last week, gathering errata.

      TODAY’S REASON TO CELEBRATE: Not so much “celebrate”, but certainly we commemorate today all of those who gave their lives in service to their countries.

[hermanwatts]

Sensor Sweep: Legion of Time, Creepy Asimov, Fletcher Pratt, Lost Worlds

Gaming (Modiphius): Today we’re delighted to announce the release of Conan the Adventurer in PDF a major new sourcebook for the acclaimed Robert E. Howard’s Conan Adventures in an Age Undreamed of RPG. Conan the Adventurer is the definitive guide to the lands south of the Styx River, including serpent-haunted Stygia, Kush, Darfar, Keshan, Punt, Zembabwei, and that vast region known to the folk of the Dreaming West as “the Black Kingdoms”. Rife with mystery and ancient, long forgotten cultures and ruins, this region is brimming with potential for adventure and intrigue.

Science Fiction (John C. Wright): LEGION OF TIME was first serialized from May to July of 1938 in Astounding Magazine. It concerns one Dennis Lanning, who, as fate would have it, is the lynch pin on whose actions the existence of two mutually-exclusive future worlds hinge. The visions reveal that some future act of his will grant one of the two futures certainty, and abolish the other into impossibility. The impact of this tale on the science fiction readership of the day is easy to underestimate, and that for several reasons. Foremost, because it is hard to remember or imagine how new the central conceit of the story had been.

  Asimov (lithub): By 1969, Asimov himself reported, he was being described by longtime friend Frederick Pohl as someone who “turned into a dirty old man at the age of fifteen.” Asimov, by his own account, was “perfectly willing to embrace the title; I even use it on myself without qualms.” He wasn’t kidding. Two years later, he published The Sensuous Dirty Old Man.

Review (Eldritch Paths): I never know what to expect from author Brian Niemeier. His works always seem to subvert my expectations while exceeding them. Strange Matter, his collection of short stories is no different. All the stories are just weird and different, and they range from fantasy to sci-fi to weird fusions of genres. In short, it’s awesome. Here are my thoughts on each story.

Culture  War (Walker’s Retreat): Independent author Misha Burton had a good Twitter thread (starting here) that identifies why contemporary fiction sucks harder than a Hoover on overdrive. Reproduced below; emphasis mine.  There is a significant difference between fantastic fiction of the form “what if I fought a dragon” and “what if I were a dragon”. For this discussion I don’t mean “dragon” literally–it could be magic spells or handwavium mutant superpowers.

Comic Books (13th Dimension): Marvel has been producing high-end omnibi collecting this classic run but in June, the publisher is scheduled to start making the stories available in the more affordable Epic Collection paperback format. Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith’s Red Sonja debut might be the main selling point — but check out the other artists represented in this volume: Gil Kane and John Buscema. Beauteous.

Fiction (DMR Books): The last ninety-plus years have seen Haggard’s star slowly fade. There was a massive shift, in many ways, immediately after World War Two. A large percentage of the authors writing for the pulps and Men’s Adventure Magazines after WWII were influenced by HRH either directly or indirectly. However, there was a zeitgeist in the air which said that all those titans from the time before the Bomb were somehow wrong, and that a “better way” could be found…or just hadn’t been tried.  Thus, the gradual memory-holing of H. Rider Haggard.

Gaming (Monsters and Manuals): In adventurer-dense settings, you get an adventurer-friendly infrastructure developing. Institutions arise to facilitate what adventurers do, from your bustling inn brimming with hirelings and rumour, to your adventurer’s guild, your market in ancient treasures and exotic weapons, your sages willing to shell out fortunes for rare collectibles, and so on. (Arguably, the true potential of adventurer-dense settings has never come close to being fully explored; would a system of adventurer insurance come into being? How about hireling labour exchanges?

Tolkien (Tor.com): We’ve come now to the end of Fëanor’s story: to the infamous Oath and the havoc it wreaks on Valinor, Middle-earth, and especially the Noldor. In the title of this series of articles, I’ve called Fëanor the “Doomsman of the Noldor” for this reason. Mandos is known as the Doomsman of the Valar because he is the one who pronounces fates, sees the future, and is especially good at seeing through difficult situations to their cores. I’ve named Fëanor similarly because it is his Oath, his set of ritualized words, that bind the Noldor in a doom they can’t escape.

Fiction (Goodman Games): The Appendix N is a list of prolific authors of science fiction and fantasy. But Fletcher Pratt is not one of them, at least not in comparison to most of the authors on the list. He primarily wrote historical nonfiction about the Civil War, Napoleon, naval history, rockets, and World War II. So why is Fletcher Pratt listed in the Appendix N and why does he have the coveted “et al” listed after The Blue Star?

Sherlock Holmes (Pulp.Net): I’ve posted several times about Solar Pons, a popular character inspired by Sherlock Holmes that was created by August Derleth, continued by Basil Copper and more recently by David Marcum. (I think calling him a pastiche doesn’t do him justice.) We’ve gotten reprints of the original works and collections of new stories, and recently we got the return of the scholarly journal on Solar Pons: The Pontine Dossier.

Video Games (Rawle Nyanzi): No one plays video games anymore. It can sure feel that way when no one purchases the indie game you worked so hard on. All those sleepless nights, all that time, effort, and money — all of it is ignored. You feel like you did nothing of value. But I’m not here to talk about video games, I’m here to talk about books. It’s easy to think that no one buys your book because “no one reads anymore,” but I believe that perspective is very mistaken.

Manga/T.V. (RMWC Reviews): In June of 1972, Nagai’s Devilman manga began, and in July an anime based on it began airing. A horror-action series that would become one of his flagship franchises, the anime was significantly toned down for television. The same year, on October second, Mazinger Z debuted in Weekly Shōnen Jump and a subsequent anime series from Toei Animation would begin airing on December third.

Publishing (DVS Press): Tradpub is a facade, but perception matters. You have to think about who you are facing, in what arena you are facing them, and what victory means. Yes, traditional publishing is in trouble right now due to store closures and paper supply problems, but that doesn’t mean they are dead. Most normal people don’t spend a second thought on the entire industry, and they certainly aren’t looking at any numbers to see what the problems within the industry are.

Biography (Interstellar Intersection): Mark Finn penned what has become the definitive biography on Robert E. Howard in the 21st century, titled “Blood & Thunder: The Life and Art of Robert E. Howard.” Published by MonkeyBrain Books in 2006, a second edition with revisions was later furnished by the Robert E. Howard Foundation Press in 2012. Finn, a scholar from Texas, was nominated for a World Fantasy Award in the Special Award — Professional category in 2007 for his biography and scholarship of Howard, highlighting how desperately the genre fiction community needed new scholarship of Howard, as his creations outshined him.

Fiction (Paul McNamee): Hugh “Bulldog” Drummond is ex-SAS with a problem–he’s easily bored. Civilian life holds nothing interesting for him. He places ads for excitement. Once he’s sifted through the dross, he finds himself pulled into an international plot set on destroying Great Britain as a world power. Only Bulldog and his team of former comrades-in-arms can save the day, weaving between the law and the villains. I.A. Watson brings us a modern Drummond. This novel is as high-octane as any action movie out there today. The novel is wall-to-wall action, does not let up, and leaves you breathless.

Art (DMR Books): The three stories in “Castaways” were all good to varying degrees, but the Frazetta art, every single plate of it, is what really sticks in my mind decades after I laid eyes on it. What I didn’t know until much later was that Frank had just finished up his first ever paperback gig doing ERB covers for Don Wollheim at Ace books. The Canaveral Press edition of Tarzan and the Castaways was Frazetta’s first chance at illustrating a book in the more prestigious hardcover format. Like the major league ballplayer he very nearly became, Frank swung for the fences.

Fiction (Legends of Men): The lost world genre centers around exploration. The land that comprises the setting has been lost or is legendary to the European characters in the stories. They often have something valuable like diamonds or gold. Those valuables compel the characters to search for the land, which is always hard to find and traverse many dangers in the process. The protagonists are usually forced into the role of explorer, even though it might not be their primary skill. For example, in King Solomon’s Mines, the protagonist is an expert elephant hunter who undertakes an exploratory quest.

Gaming (Old Skulling): Due to their importance and influence on the sword and sorcery adventures, Factions can effectively be treated as characters and, as such, can influence the events of the campaign in a myriad of ways. But how do we resolve the outcome of their actions in a fair and neutral way? This system proposes assigning them scores in 4 main Attributes similar to those of the PCs: Warfare, Subterfuge, Machinations, and Influence.

Sensor Sweep: Legion of Time, Creepy Asimov, Fletcher Pratt, Lost Worlds published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/

[zhangsan111111]

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[eichy815]

Horn O’ NotEnough

Last month, my annual Halloween-themed edition of “Eichy Says” focused on how the U.S. economy could generate our own independent source of cocoa production – in the face of climate change and future trade wars (where limited resources drive up costs).

So, on this Thanksgiving Day, I’m going to apply a similar recipe to the futuristic production of pumpkins and gourds.  After all, depending on how erratic our planet’s weather patterns become, maintaining a constant supply of these decorative (and edible!) members of the squash family might also prove to be a tall order.

Pumpkins are especially unique in that they require tons of water, sunlight, and space for their lengthy vines to grow.  When pilgrims first arrived in North America and observed the growing techniques of native tribes, there was obviously plentiful soil and acreage for those various pumpkins and gourds to receive their wiggle room leading up to each harvest.

But the reality is that Earth has warmed in the centuries since then.  Human activity (e.g. pollution) has been the major driver of these.  Even if we begin to gradually reverse the effects of climate change – or mitigate them, to slow down global warming – our reality is that such sizable crops may present greater challenges for farmers as the relevant outdoor growing conditions weaken.

Of course, naysayers will always be out in full force whenever new growing techniques are proposed.  Their concerns are understandable: seeing how a good 95% of America’s farmers grow their crops through traditional outdoor farming, it isn’t a seamless process to transition away from that.  So it means any such transition would need to be facilitated based on what we already know...and what we need to make happen, if this transition is going to play out over the next few decades.

Chris Bond of Maximum Yield magazine currently prefers lettuce and herbs for achieving one’s greatest hydroponic yield.  On the other hand, he doesn’t recommend greenhouse usage for growing plants with deep roots – such as rutabaga, turnips, onions, garlic, and carrots.  Obviously, pumpkins and squash would definitely fall into this category (for exclusion).

Bond says that the modern economic benefits simply aren’t there for squash, nut trees, corn, melons, oranges, apples, and lemons since the space requirements to effectively mass-produce them won’t create significant yield (and, he adds, radishes are a niche market, in terms of produce sales).  He points to how tomatoes, peas, hops, pole beans, and watercress all need trellises for their vines...yet another circumstance which requires a lot of space, even though they are hydroponically-feasible (in theory) to harvest.

Robin Nichols of Garden & Greenhouse magazine recommends strawberries, potatoes, lettuce, cabbage, bush-style green beans, and fresh herbs (i.e. mint and basil) for greenhouse production.  Yet, she disagrees with Bond’s skepticism when it comes to growing tomatoes in this type environment.  Tomatoes, she maintains, can grow quite productively in a greenhouse if the grower knows what they are doing in terms of the science behind it.

Nichols agrees that the inevitable larger space considerations make it challenging to grow pumpkins and other flowering plants indoors.  Those crops normally require bees to pollinate them, and hand-pollinating them within a greenhouse can be labor-intensive.  She encourages experimentation with different types of greenhouse crops amongst individual harvesters; but she cautions growers against getting one’s hopes up for miracles – keep your expectations realistic!

Canada’s Northern Farm Training Institute (NFTI) is perhaps one of the harshest critics of greenhouse-style indoor crop production.   The NFTI defines “food security” in terms of survival and basic health; it criticizes many growers’ obsessions with hydroponics, aquaponics, and year-round greenhouses by maintaining:

The vast majority of these systems produce only vegetables, and especially low-calorie vegetables like lettuce, kale, chard, spinach, herbs, etc.  Human beings cannot survive on these types of foods, which is why these projects do NOT provide food security.

Here, the NFTI is making a “false dilemma” straw man argument.  NFTI leaders are saying that people benefit from a diverse diet:  grains, tree crops, dairy products, and animal proteins (from meat) in addition to fruits and vegetables.

True.

They go on to cite how, throughout agricultural history, root crops have worked best when cultivated with outdoor soil.  Growing root crops indoors presently comes at high commercial expense, is energy-inefficient, and requires large infrastructural space.

Also true.

So, says the NFTI, sticking with traditional outdoor growing methods for root vegetables and tree fruits is cheaper, easier, widely-scalable, and energy independent.  Their website also proceeds to recommend animal foods sources for a hearty North Canadian diet (even though many environmentalists will allege that vegetarianism and/or veganism are among the best human actions that can improve global environmental conditions).  Yet, on this same webpage, the NFTI also acknowledges how indoor growing techniques “can be profitable farm business and create jobs” but they “must have access to a market of customers who want leafy greens and who can afford to buy them on a regular basis.”

Thus, the NFTI is creating a dichotomy that doesn’t necessarily exist.  They are claiming that, since costs have been so high and space-consuming for indoor agriculture up to this point, we shouldn’t be exploring it on a wider scale.  What they are ignoring is the reality that we can still continue to support traditional outdoor farming in the interim – while moving toward new future innovations

This will most certainly involve a great deal of time, money, and investments.  We must be willing to devote energy to refining those innovations.  But if we never begin that process in the first place, we’ll be left with an environmentally-UNfriendly scenario where our access to wide varieties of fruits/vegetables becomes severely limited (or nonexistent, altogether).

If we put tremendous energy into actual diverse agrarian innovations – how long before it might be profitable to grow Indian corn within a greenhouse enclosure?

Let’s look at some examples where autumn root vegetables have been successfully grown under very unconventional circumstances.

Back in 2014, Graeff Phillips of Manchester, Maryland grew a 641-pumpkin hydroponically.  He initially grew their roots in water to make the nutrients evenly benefit his pumpkin’s growth, since the pH can be controlled when growth is self-contained.  In order to sprout these roots, he used Dill’s Atlantic Giant as his seed selection.

By the summer of that year, Phillips found that his experimental pumpkin was growing as much as thirty pounds per day while consuming 20-30 gallons of water, daily, at peak hotness.  Because he transferred the hydroponically-grown roots outdoors, Phillips also had to monitor it closely to check for pestilence, water pump fissures, and new measurements of the pumpkin’s surface itself.  Additionally, he acknowledges that luck was certainly a factor during that particular harvest season.

Yet, he made it happen.

Three years later, Dave Iles of North Pole, Alaska (a suburb of Fairbanks) grew a 1,232-pound pumpkin.  He agrees with the assessment made by Phillips regarding luck as a factor.  Aside from that, Iles recognizes how individual crops have differing genetics – as only one of his pumpkins and one of his squash survived during that 2017 harvest season, when each had started off from just one seed.  However, he likes the fact that hydroponics gives a farmer more control over the hydration and nutrients applied.

Mark Clementz of Michigan uses the Advanced Nutrients line of fertilizers and supplements to grow giant vegetables hydroponically.  Clementz is a member of an entire farming subculture that strives to harvest gigantic variations of fruits and vegetables.  His biggest pumpkin has weighed in at 1,479 pounds; but he has also grown a 222-pound watermelon and a four-pound tomato.

Eventually, Clementz got his friend, Chris Kent, similarly hooked on this farming technique.  Kent has found that Advanced Nutrients products help him overcome the geographic barriers of noticeable cooler temperatures, limited sunlight, and excessive rainfall.  He even beat Clementz’s record for watermelon-growing, as Kent spawned one that ballooned to 291 pounds...and he received an invitation to appear with it on The Late Show with David Letterman.

Although these incidents may seem anecdotal (and, to an extent, they are), they still beg the question:  why isn’t there a greater legislative push to explore agri-science in a manner that could make it feasible to “scale up” these sorts of techniques for mass production?  It would require a spacious and controlled environment, of course.  But if we don’t aim for a bigger goal, we’ll never achieve those smaller transitional changes.

Chris Jefferson of Rosebud magazine advocates for the harvesting of squash indoors via greenhouse technology.  He cites a warm temperature (approximately 75 degrees) and an abundant light source (14 hours daily) in order to facilitate these indoor harvests.

Jefferson stresses the need for structural supports to accommodate the growth of squash vines.  Every two days, the roots (planted in a peat-vermiculite mixture) will need to be irrigated to maintain their moistness.  He also recommends horizontal wiring to anchor each individual plant (which can be finished off with something as simple as twist-ties).  This wiring technique will maximize one’s usage of greenhouse space and allow leaves to receive a more even exposure to light.

Jeff Sanders of HomeHydroSystems.com is a proponent of greenhouse atmospheres for growing cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, peppers, and melons.  However, he still emphasizes the importance of scientifically-proven conditions.

For example, when growing root crops, the facility’s temperature should never drop below 65 degrees or rise above 80 degrees during a 24-hour period.  An optimal water temperature would be within the 68-72 degree range.  When the water temperature rises above 80 degrees, heat stress sets in; at 85 degrees, the flowering process ceases as a plant goes into survival mode.  The humidity range, on the other hand, should fall within the 70% to 90% range (ideally 80%-85%).  

Additionally, adequate air circulation (to avoid a buildup of moisture) is essential to protect one’s plant from diseases and fungal spores.  Your water supply should be estimated at 2.5-5.0 gallons per plant, fed to them in short-and-frequent cycles.  The water itself should be replenished, from time to time, so that its freshness and nutrient levels remain consistent.

A final environmental reality is how letting pumpkins rot in landfills contributes to methane gas emissions.  This year, City Farm of Chicago has raised awareness of this reality by offering special composting sites for residents to dispose of their post-Halloween or post-Thanksgiving pumpkins.  Some of the gimmicks employed to grab people’s attention include the novelty experiences of allowing disposers to “smash” or “catapault” the pumpkins themselves into a designated site – making the resource more “fun” or festive.

Illinois also happens to be the top pumpkin-producing state.  A pumpkin’s nutrients are beneficial to the soil when composted properly.  And, regardless of where one lives (or farms), you don’t even need a special event to utilize this opportunity.  People can compost their pumpkins and squash right in their own backyards...alongside other organic “throwaway” substances such as eggshells and coffee grounds.

Pumpkins, squash, gourds, and even Indian corn are ornamental crops that can easily be taken for granted by any of us.  But there’s no reason we have to continue to take them for granted.  By supporting stronger economic incentives and infrastructural advancements for agricultural sustainability – we can continue to enjoy this seasonal crop diversity, as part of the American experience, for many centuries to come.

[theonyxpath]

This little fellow pictured above is Sabian Sphynx von Angora, one of the iconic characters in Monarchies of Mau. He’s a necromancer, because, as Eddy Webb says: “Cats like to play with dead things.”

Sabian is featured prominently on the Monarchies of Mau Kickstarter page, helping to explain just what Monarchies of Mau is and why backing it is a good idea. He must be pretty persuasive, as the MoM KS funded last Tuesday in just a minute under an hour and has been rolling along happily since then.

And besides being something like “The Three Musketeers meets Planet of the Apes, but with cats”, Monarchies of Mau is also a completely standalone game. You don’t need Pugmire to play it, although having both books does mean you have the rules for mixed cat and dog groups. Mass hysteria!

    New art for Beckett’s Jyhad Diary by Michael Gaydos

    Like I mentioned last week, our Operations Manager, Mighty Matt McElroy, traveled to World of Darkness: Berlin a couple of weeks ago and had a fantastic time connecting with the gang from the new White Wolf, as well as the convention crew, attendees, and fellow licensees of the WW intellectual properties.

That’s right: fellow licensees. Which was absolutely great for us here at Onyx Path, because Mighty Matt got the chance to hobnob, trade stories, and talk with them about the potential projects we could do together that they approached him about. (Hopefully a tenth of the discussed projects actually happen, because even that much would be some amazing opportunities for Onyx Path).

But that whole set-up of licensees visiting each other at a WW convention might sound strange to a bunch of you. Particularly if you are used to a White Wolf that makes most of what you are interested in, with a couple of licenses for things that aren’t tabletop RPGs.

In fact, I wonder if some of the upset that has occurred with each of the new WW‘s announcements is not partly because folks aren’t used to how they are moving forward.

Yes, the new White Wolf is working on Vampire 5th Edition, and revealed staff (Hi, Ken!) and some planned formats, as well as doing some very, very, early playtesting. But rather than being the start an ongoing game line that they create, they are looking at V5 as the hub of a many, many licenses. Onyx Path will be in that line-up, creating new tabletop RPGs, but so will other folks, and with the creation of WW‘s community content plans as talked about at the con, maybe some of those creators will be you.

And then, outside of tabletop RPGs, will be licenses to other media. There’s really no limit here as they move through the expected like bringing back VTES or working with our friends at By Night Studios on LARPing, and then into computer games, other sorts of games, and even TV and movies.

What the new White Wolf is doing is more what, let’s say, is done with Star Wars, with a central core “property” and lots and lots of licenses to media that can feature that property. So when you see a new project announced, it is very likely a new project and a new licensing partner, and if that project doesn’t float your boat, just give WW time and you’ll see another launched that will fit your interests better.

      Mage20 Book of Shadows illustration by Andrew Trabbold

    Or as another example, you might see a licensed board game with art pulled from the illustrations we commissioned for one of our books. The new WW can give that art to another licensee, because even though we commissioned it originally, the art ultimately belongs to WW and they can use it as they think best.

Onyx Path is one of these licensing partners, and one of many for V5 and the new iteration of World of Darkness. With the idea of the new WW as a hub with lots of spokes, we don’t get to choose, and often no knowledge of, other licensees until their projects are announced, because they are another spoke over or even on the other side of the hub from us.

Mighty Matt tells me that the WW crew took great pains to talk up in glowing terms our Beckett’s Jyhad Diary project (that we have worked on with them) as a gateway, or even bridge, from Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition to V5. Which was great to hear, and the compliments were very appreciated!

      Beast: Building A Legend illustration by Andrew Trabbold

      They also talked up, Martin in particular, the idea that Chronicles of Darkness is pretty much going to continue as Onyx Path‘s exclusive playground. They didn’t mention it, as far as I’ve heard, but we are also rolling full steam ahead with Exalted 3rd.

Mighty Matt also took along a hefty box full of our brochures which was scarfed up in a single day, so hopefully a bunch of our community that never even realized all the game lines we are working on now can see the full range of all that Onyx is doing!

So, all in all a very good event for us, and for the WoD community as a whole!

      Thousand Years of Night art by Sam Araya

      Meanwhile, here at home. Rollickin’ Rose and I talked to Dapper Dave Brookshaw about his outline for Deviant last week, and went over our notes. Dave is making some changes and we’ll be presenting that to WW, and then he’ll finally be able to hire writers. Meanwhile, he is dedicated to getting caught up on Mage2 releases. Dapper Dave has had a bunch of challenges thrown at him this last year or so, but things are looking good moving forward, and we’re glad we could work with him on that.

Similarly, Rollickin’ Rose has been working with our Exalted 3rd team in order to get the new devs acclimated to our procedures, and our monthly projects folks working hand-in-hand with the devs so there’s a consistency of vision as well as teamwork. We’ll be putting the next installments of our monthly EX3 releases on sale this Wednesday, and to tide you over, here’s some of the art as a teaser!

  BLURBS!

  KICKSTARTER!

We went live with the Monarchies of Mau Kickstarter last Tuesday and funded in 59 minutes – just under an hour! We’ve already shot past Stretch Goals for an exclusive t-shirt, an Intro adventure, and the first three Mau stories in a fiction anthology, with plenty more to come! If you get a chance, here’s the link: http://ift.tt/2rmHhAG

  ON SALE!

ON AMAZON:

We’re delighted to announce the opening of our ebook store on Amazon! You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle. Our initial selection includes these fiction anthologies: Vampire: the Masquerade‘s Endless Ages, Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition‘s Rites of Renown: When Will You Rage 2, Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition‘s Truth Beyond Paradox, Chronicles of Darkness‘ God Machine Chronicle, Mummy: The Curse‘s Curse of the Blue Nile, and Beast: The Primordial‘s The Primordial Feast!

And this week, we’re releasing another six fiction books: Songs of Sun and Moon (W20), Poison Tree (W20), Of Predators & Prey (V20), Fallen World Anthology (Mage), Idigam Anthology (WtF2), Strix Anthology (VtR2)!

        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://ift.tt/1ZlTT6z

You can now order wave 2 of our Deluxe and Prestige print overrun books, including Deluxe Mage 20th Anniversary, and Deluxe V20 Dark Ages!

        Starting this Wednesday on DTRPG, the EX3 Tomb of Dreams Jumpstart PDF/PoD jumps up for sale!

Plus, we’ll be releasing the next sections of Adversaries of the Righteous and the first section of Hundred Devils Night Parade this week as well!

    Sailing out of the dark, the V20 Dark Ages Companion Advance PDF is now on sale on DriveThruRPG.com! http://ift.tt/2pX42dq

Travel the long roads and deep seas in search of power and experience danger, or tackle the wilderness to hunt monsters and face death. Settlements large and small dot the black expanse with the promise of sanctuary, life, and community. These bastions of civilization present cold comfort, when playing host to vampire warlords and sadistic Cainite faiths. Whether led by a Prince, a coordinated belief, or hounded by monsters from without and within — no domain is truly the same as another.

Dark Ages Companion includes:

• Domains scattered across the world, from small fiefdoms to massive cities. Bath, Bjarkarey, Constantinople, Rome, Mogadishu, and Mangaluru each receive coverage.

• Apocrypha including plot hooks, new Paths, and mysteries to explore in your games.

• A how-to guide on building a domain within your chronicle, including events and servants necessary to make a domain as functional or dysfunctional as you wish.

• A study on warfare in the Dark Ages period, so combat in your chronicles can gain authenticity and lethality.

        Bill Bridge’s new W20 novel, The Song of Unmaking, is on sale in PDF/ePub/PoD versions on DriveThruRPG.com: http://ift.tt/2qXQH9f and in ebook form on Amazon: http://ift.tt/2qpQM2V !

The fabric of reality is cracking. Fissures appear in thin air, glowing with balefire. Something is scratching on the other side, pressing, beginning to break through….

The Wyrm’s corruption finds its way into the hearts of humans and Garou alike. Even an ultra-rational techno-cratic scientist can fall sway to its lies. Channeling his hate and resentment through the most sophisticated machine ever created, Basil Czajka has turned a tool designed to peer deep into the heart of the quantum universe into a nursery for the hatching of a horror — a creature whose birth cry is destined to unmake Gaia’s Song of Creation.

The only ones standing in his way are One-Song, a broken-down old Theurge, and Lord Albrecht, whose heed-less anger might be the very weapon the enemy needs to crack the egg and free the Unmaker.

    The Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras Companion has arrived in PDF and PoD physical book versions at DriveThruRPG.com! http://ift.tt/2pygIL7

The Dark Eras Companion presents eleven new Eras for the Chronicles of Darkness. Stretching from Ancient Rome and Egypt through the Black Death, the Thirty Years War, the Reconstruction, and the Russian Revolution, the Companion showcases even more of the secret history of this eldritch world. Included in each era are “snapshots” of the various supernatural creatures, including vampires, changelings, mummies, and demons. Also included are lists of inspirational media to help you put these Eras in context for your troupe.

Open the Dark Eras Companion and take another look back in time.

    V20 Lore of the Bloodlines awaits in PDF and physical book PoD versions on DriveThruRPG.com!

http://ift.tt/2pj8UuA

Lore of the Bloodlines is a single volume (created via Kickstarter) that revisits some of the bloodlines in Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition, providing story hooks, character concepts, history, and bloodline-specific rules. The secrets of the Baali, Daughters of Cacophony, Gargoyles, Harbingers of Skulls, Kiasyd, Salubri, Samedi, and True Brujah are now yours.

Lore of the Bloodlines includes:

• The history, lore, and nightly practices of nine bloodlines, told from the perspective of the Kindred themselves.

• New combo Disciplines, powers, Merits, Flaws, and other rules specific to each bloodline.

• Revisions and updates of more classic Vampire: The Masquerade material to V20.

      Night Horrors: Conquering Heroes for Beast: the Primordial, PoD and PDF versions is now on sale on DTRPG.com!

http://ift.tt/2j7p7lO

This book includes: 

An in-depth look at how Heroes hunt and what makes a Hero, with eleven new Heroes to drop into any chronicle.

A brief look at why Beasts may antagonize one another, with seven new Beasts to drop into any chronicle.

Rules for Insatiables, ancient creatures born of the Primordial Dream intent on hunting down Beasts to fill a hunger without end, featuring six examples ready to use in any chronicle.

    From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: Beneath the Skin (Demon and Skinchangers 1486-1502 Aztec Empire). Ahuitzotl sits on the throne at the height of the Aztec Empire, overseeing his sorcerer-priests’ sacrifices and the endless flower wars his jaguar and eagle warriors carry out in his name to keep the altars well-supplied with victims. The gears of the Aztec Empire turn smoothly and inexorably, but not everything is what it pretends to be. Skinchangers take the shapes of animals to run the wilds or bring down human prey, the Unchained cobble together identities from stolen lives, and stranger things still lurk in the deserts and jungles beyond the walls of Tenochtitlan.

On sale in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG! http://ift.tt/2p79i1O

  From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: Into the Cold (Demon: the Descent 1961 Berlin). East Germany erects a wall against its Western counterpart, turning West Berlin into an island within its own country. As the Cold War heats up, demons find themselves the targets of increasing human scrutiny, and begin to realize that the God-Machine’s plans didn’t end with the War.

On sale now in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG! http://ift.tt/2p70sBl

      CONVENTIONS!

Discussing GenCon plans. August 17th – 20th, Indianapolis. Every chance the booth will actually be 20? x 30? this year that we’ll be sharing with friends. We’re looking at new displays this year, like a back drop and magazine racks for the brochure(s).

In November, we’ll be at Game Hole Con in Madison, WI. More news as we have it, and here’s their website: http://ift.tt/RIm6qP

Monica Valentinelli will be on four panels, including “Why is Casual Still a Dirty Word in Gaming?” at WisCon http://wiscon.net/ this Thursday through Monday! Stop by and say hi!

    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)

Trinity Continuum: Aeon Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

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

M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Ex Novel 2 (Aaron Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)

C20 Novel (Jackie Cassada) (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

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

DtD Night Horrors: Enemy Action (Demon: the Descent)

The Realm (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Dragon-Blooded (Exalted 3rd Edition)

  Redlines

Kithbook Boggans (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

  Second Draft

V20 Dark Ages Jumpstart (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)

GtS Geist 2e core (Geist: the Sin-Eaters Second Edition)

Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

Scion: Origins (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion: Hero (Scion 2nd Edition)

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)

  Development

Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

SL Ring of Spiragos (Pathfinder – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)

Ring of Spiragos (5e – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)

Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition, featuring the Huntsmen Chronicle (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)

BtP Beast Player’s Guide (Beast: the Primordial)

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

VtR Half-Damned (Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition)

Pugmire Pan’s Guide for New Pioneers (Pugmire)

  WW Manuscript Approval:

Book of Freeholds (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

    Editing:

Wraith: the Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition

Arms of the Chosen (Exalted 3rd Edition)

  Post-Editing Development:

      Indexing:

      ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:

In Art Direction

Beckett’s Jyhad Diary 

W20 Pentex Employee Indoctrination Handbook – AD’d

Cavaliers of Mars

Wraith 20

W20Changing Ways

Ex3 Monthly Stuff

Storypath Brochure

VDA Jumpstart

Scion Origins

C20 Jumpstart

Ring of Spiragos 

Ex 3 Arms of the Chosen – Sorting through the artnotes and getting them out this week.

  Marketing Stuff

  In Layout

M20 Art Book – In progress…

Prince’s Gambit

Gen Con Stuff

Proofing

CtL Huntsmen Chronicle Anthology

M20 Book of Secrets – 2nd Proof.

VTR: Thousand Years of Night

  At Press

Beckett Screen – Shipped to shipper.

Dark Eras: To the Strongest – PoD proof on the way.

EX3 Tomb of Dreams Jumpstart – Going on sale on DTRPG.com this week.

C20 Anthology – PoD proof on the way.

C20 – McF getting errata together.

Pugmire – At Press… looking at cover corrections Monday.

Pugmire Screen – At Press

Pugmire Cards & Dice – At Press… looking at proofs of those this week.

Wise and the Wicked PF & 5e – At Press

Dark Eras: The Wolf & Raven– PoD proof on the way.

Dark Eras: Three Kingdoms of Darkness – PoD proof on the way.

Dagger of Spiragos (5e) – Out to backers.

Dagger of Spiragos (PF) – Out to backers.

V20 Dark Ages Companion – Advance PDF is out, gathering errata.

BtP Building a Legend – Going out to backers this week.

      TODAY’S REASON TO CELEBRATE: Memorial Day Weekend is coming this week, and that means the start of Summer! Also, my oldest finishes medical school and she’s officially a doctor this weekend. Very proud Dad, here!