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EDDY:
Greetings, most excellent and patient cats! I have some new updates for you today!
MONARCHIES OF MAU
First drafts are in, and redlines are back out! For those that aren't familiar with Onyx Path publishing lingo, "redlines" are the corrections and comments I send back to the writers. So that means that everyone's got what they need, and we're looking to roll into second drafts pretty soon!
And honestly, the first drafts are already looking pretty great. This group of writers are really taking the ball (of yarn) and running with it, producing some cool stuff. In fact, here's a bit about the forbidden seventh house, Smilodon:
The Fall of Smilodon
Although the official histories only mention six monarchies, in truth, there once existed a seventh.
Smilodon.
Say the name now, and upstanding cats will have one of two reactions: some will hiss softly, and curse the fallen family beneath their breath. The rest will stare at you blankly, as though the name doesn’t register. For some — kittens especially — this is because they haven’t heard of the family. Over the centuries, the name has been erased from the monarchies’ records and teachings. Scholars who have delved deeper into their houses’ archives and learned the truth still might feign ignorance, but it’s the type of blank look given to a cat who has just revealed a secret in public. That polite, vaguely embarrassed stare that says, “Let’s pretend you didn’t say that, and I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it.”
The Smilodon family’s origins are lost to history. If they were once a branch of one of the noble houses, that house has eradicated all mentions of them from their archives. In fact, the best evidence that Smilodon existed is the gaps in the histories. It’s in missing records and pages torn from yellowed diaries. It’s in ink smudged to illegibility from a convenient spill of catnip tea. No house would admit to Smilodon being part of their own. No monarchy would admit to funding their fatal expedition.
No matter who funded it, the cats of Smilodon set off on an expedition over the northern mountains. The last person to see them go was a Cymric kitten, who watched their train of supply carts and people and horses wend its way into the hills. No one knew what lay beyond the mountains, whether monsters ruled the land on the other side, or whether there might be an endless sea, or whether the Old Ones might even be on the other side, awaiting their joyous reunion with the cats they’d served so long ago.
Cats in the monarchies spent months waiting for the expedition to send word of what they’d found. They never came back.
FETCH QUEST
In case you haven't heard, I'm working on a Pugmire cooperative card game tentatively called "Fetch Quest." I sent off the latest set of text for the playtest deck of Fetch Quest. It'll use some existing art assets, but hopefully it'll give a better sense of what we're hoping the final game will look like -- better than my hand-written cards did at the beginning of the year! I'm hoping we can have a PoD deck to show off at Midwinter next year, and a print-and-play deck ready for our third Pugmire-themed Kickstarter in early 2018. And we definitely have some cat-themed stretch goals, so the citizens of Mau won't be left out!
COMMUNITY CONTENT
We're deep in the process of building up a community content program. This is a chance for folks like you to release (and sell!) adventures for the Pugmire game through a digital marketplace, using official Pugmire assets and resources. But "Pugmire Community Content" is kind of a mouthful, so we've settled on "Canis Minor" as the name for the program. Think of it like a fan-only imprint of cool Pugmire stuff. And if all goes well, we can open this program up to Mau-related projects down the road. Once we're ready to get rolling, we'll share as much information as we can, so hang tight!
Hi, Rose here, with an update from Eddy. :)
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Hello, excellent cats! We have some more updates for you!
First drafts are coming in! I've got half of the manuscript already, and more should be coming in shortly. This month will be to comment on what I have so far (what we call "redlining") and get it back to the writers so they can get me a final draft.
One of the questions some folks had during the Kickstarter was the role that Ministers held -- it seemed a little vague at the time. Here's a snippet that talks about Ministers in more detail (subject to revision, of course):
Ministers
“Your loud concerns are well understood, but consider the benefit to society that silence offers.”
— Malcolm Maincoon von Cymric
The ministers consider themselves the monarchies’ heart, and it is a view most cats share. Medics, inspirations, philosophers, and bards, ministers fulfil many roles in cat society, acting both as ministers in a governmental, bureaucratic sense, and a spiritual one. Despite the reverence cats afford ministers, they need not be educated, noble, or possess raw talent: the ranks of ministers support their own, elevating each other to communal greatness.
Ministers guard the hearts and souls of their brethren. They maintain and enforce the Precepts of Mau to varying degrees of orthodoxy. When a minister first accepts the calling, the Precepts become their life’s mission, though some cats give younger peers a little wiggle room from strict judgement. More than law, ministers believe each cat’s personal spirituality is critical to the monarchies’ sustainability and growth. “Cats are independent creatures,” they say, and “we must help all felines find their own spiritual journey.”
Ministers derive power from their faith in society, and the study of their past lives. Many a minister excels at whipping up a crowd into faithful fervor, with recitation of the deeds of their ancestors, who ministers believe still interact with the world through their descendants. The philosophical school of ministers named the Manyborn believe all cats possess a fragment of their ancestors’ essences deep within, with ancient powers just waiting to be unlocked. With this thought exercise, the Manyborn justify many of their spells as being ancestral gifts.
Ministers often appear within bands of traveling cats, for no other calling has the presence of voice to rally a weakened group, tend to wounds so ably, and withstand the slings and arrows of enemies with such fortitude. The corrupted minister faction dubbed as Icons manipulate cats of other callings around them, persuading them of their ministerial importance and holiness, often convincing others to fall in their name. Opposing the Icons, the Friendlies — with their unassuming name — screech about the freedom of cats in wonderful cat-song. Ministers of the Friendlies faction receive deserved acclaim, and hosts regularly seek them out for performances.
None question House Angora’s mastery of the mystical, but the passionate charisma of house Cymric leads several of its cats to take on the calling of minister. Truly egalitarian, ministers may rise from nothing to prominence, based on conviction in their faith and the zeal with which they commit their words.
Six Ministers
1. A quietly philosophical cat, always on hand to offer sage wisdom.
2. An evangelical, crowd-pleasing cat, with a sing-song voice and dedicated following.
3. A vivacious, hard-drinking cat, known for holding court in the tavern.
4. An enthusiastic, scholarly cat, dedicated to recording and cataloguing every weird event she encounters.
5. A manipulative cat, whose words cut sharper than any sword.
6. A jovial cat with time for every party, and an answer to every question.
And now, a quick word from our friends at Earplay!
Hey, Mau backers! This is a message from Earplay - we’re already working on stories you play with your voice for some Onyx Path titles, and we have a small request to make of you, fellow fans of storytelling.
The Earplay Demo, our 5-minute intro narrated by the legendary Dave Grossman, is a finalist in the Future of Storytelling (FoST) People’s Choice Awards, hosted at the FoST Festival in New York this October, Fri 6th-Sun 8th. This is an amazing opportunity for us, so we’d be immensely grateful for your vote. You can read more about the festival at our blog:
https://www.earplay.com/fostprize/
And, if you're willing, please submit your vote BEFORE Oct 8th for the Earplay Demo at the FoST Prize page, here:
https://futureofstorytelling.org/prize
We truly appreciate your support, both in the Monarchies of Mau Kickstarter and the People’s Choice Award. Chapter 1 of the Pugmire Earplay, “Friends and Enemies,” is almost ready for release, but we’d like to let our truest supporters enjoy it first! We have limited invites, and drawings will be random. If you’re interested in being considered as a beta tester for the new Pugmire Earplay, let us know by filling out our form here:
https://info.earplay.com/beta-signup
We hope you (have been) enjoy(ing) the free content available on the Earplay hub, and thanks in advance for your support and vote!
Rose Bailey, long-time White Wolf/Onyx Path developer and a dear friend of mine, is Kickstarting her own creator-owned game. "Cavaliers of Mars" is set on a fantasy version of the red planet, featuring swashbuckling and intrigue. Because if Mars has canals, why can't it have Venice? Go check it out:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/cavaliers-of-mars-a-tabletop-roleplaying-game
Hello, folks! Rose here, with an update from Eddy.
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Hello, excellent cats! It's time for another Mau update!
MONARCHIES OF MAU
The writers are writing for Mau. The deadline for the first draft is in early October, so hopefully next month I'll have a snippet or two I can show everyone. In the meantime, we're having important and useful conversations on Slack, like the following:
Rob Wieland: MY GRANDPA FOUGHT IN THE GREAT YARN WAR, YOU KNOW
Eddy Webb: I'm the veteran of a thousand yarn wars.
Just as a reminder, with parts of the game and the world being reconsidered, I can't start on other stretch goals until we nail things down. I expected this, and we budgeted it into our timeline when we launched the Kickstarter, but for a few months it might seem like not much is happening. I promise you, this is all part of the creative process, and everything will kick into high gear soon enough!
GEN CON 50 WAS PURR-FECT
(Yes, I used that joke last month. But it's still true!)
Gen Con 50 was amazing for Pugmire and Mau. We sold out of the books several times, as well as the Guide screens and Mau Early Access! I ran a couple of demo games (one for Pugmire, and one for Mau), and the Wrecking Crew ran several four-hour sessions as well. It seemed like the biggest complaint was that there weren't enough events and products to go around, which is a great problem to have!
While the focus was on Pugmire, I did have a number of people interested in Monarchies of Mau and wanting to know more. The demo I ran also went very well, and I think some of the changes we're looking at will work well for the game. I also teased some future Mau ideas -- nothing concrete, but I definitely have cat-specific ideas in mind. It's not all just dogs around here!
DRAGONMEET
Now that I'm settled in Ireland, it's time for me to make the rounds of the European conventions. I have to look at my budget and time to see what I can commit to, as well as learning the wrinkles of European travel, but I have already committed to attending Dragonmeet in December. I'll be there just as an attendee, but feel free to catch me between games for an autograph or just to chat.
Hi, Rose here, with a new update from Eddy!
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Eddy:
Hello, excellent cats! It seems updating on both Pugmire and Mau in the same post led to some confusion for folks, so I'll focus on Mau and only lightly touch on Pugmire. Look for more details in the Pugmire Kickstarter update!
I finished up a detailed outline for Monarchies of Mau, and hired six incredible people to help me bring this book together. Some you'll recognize from their work on Pugmire, while others are talented writers ready to put their mark on the monarchies.
I've put together a Slack channel for the team (a first for me), and we're now brainstorming ideas while the writers start tapping on keyboards. One thing I mentioned up front is that very little from Early Access is carved in stone. Some things are staying as they are, but feedback from you, the Kickstarter community, got me thinking about areas where the game could be improved. Further, looking at it with fresh eyes, I saw plenty of areas I wasn't happy with in retrospect. Don't worry -- the core ideas of Mau will remain intact -- but it'll be good to get some fresh voices offering new ideas to refine the ideas in Mau.
This means that, with parts of the game and the world being reconsidered, I can't start on other stretch goals until we nail things down. I expected this, and we budgeted it into our timeline when we launched the Kickstarter, but for a few months it might seem like not much is happening. I promise you, this is all part of the creative process, and everything will kick into high gear soon enough! =
Last month folks were confused by my Pugmire update about Backerkit surveys, thinking they missed a Mau survey. Rest assured, you haven't missed anything! We've been focused on getting the final books to our Pugmire Kickstarter backers before diving into the nitty-gritty of the Mau campaign. We'll set up the Backerkit for Mau sometime this month, and we'll make sure to post an update here to let you know when to expect to see a survey.
Once Backerkit is up, we'll also put up Monarchies of Mau Early Access on DriveThruRPG for sale. But as a backer, you'll still be able to get you PDF copy of Early Access free in the first backer update! If you lost that link, here you go (make sure you're logged into Kickstarter):
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/monarchies-of-mau-fantasy-tabletop-rpg/posts/1886766
I'm flying all the way from Ireland to come to Gen Con 50. At the Onyx Path booth (#501, by the Paizo booth) we'll have plenty for Mau and Pugmire fans to do!
Even if you just swing by to say you backed the Kickstarter, I'd appreciate an opportunity to shake your hand and thank you!
Things are starting to move forward! I know it feels like it'll be forever until Mau is done, but trust me, the months will fly by, and soon you'll have a beautiful book in your hands for all your ancient future cat needs. I hope you enjoy the journey with me!
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RichT:
We're also currently kickstarting a new book of historical Dark Eras, intended for the Chronicles of Darkness, but designed to be fascinating reading regardless of your gaming interests. Each Era features two different game lines.
We started the book with six Dark Eras, and backers have already unlocked a seventh - the Golden Age of Piracy!
Most importantly, backers are currently voting on which one of three other Eras to include in the book when the next Stretch Goal is met.
Come on over and join in the fun: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/chronicles-of-darkness-dark-eras-2