Help us create a traditionally printed version and a deluxe version of Exalted: Essence.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
January '22 Update - Layout finishing up, Regular Update, Lots of Art Previews
over 1 year ago
– Thu, Jan 26, 2023 at 09:09:25 AM
Hello Exalted Essentials,
Welcome to 2023 and our first update of this year. While I don't have any big announcement for this update - and I don't have an ETA when the PDF will be ready for distribution - I have been paying attention to the weekly updates from Onyx Path and it looks like there should be a rough PDF for Exalted Essence by the end of the month.
Now, that's just one of the big stages before it's ready to come to us. There are multiple rounds of reviews, approvals, and proofing that happen before we get our digital download codes, but I'm always so excited when something *exists* even if it's not yet ready for our eyes.
If nothing else, it means we get to see all of this Essence artwork that keeps sneaking out while the book is finishing up! I'll continue to keep tabs on the project, and the moment I have something to share, you can be an update will go out. Can't wait for this one!
DRAFT MANUSCRIPT LINK
I'm gonna start posting a link back to the draft manuscript in these updates because it's been a while and folks are starting to misplace any downloaded copies. I'll keep this bit here in future updates until our backer PDF goes out.
After breaking under the strain of awesome threads, the Onyx Path team have re-vamped, repaired, and re-organized their forums. They work again! Feel free to drop by the Onyx Path Forums or any of the Exalted-specific forums (and note that each type now has their own sub-forum as well!)
REWARDS STILL PENDING
Even as our main book works through the first steps of production, many of our Stretch Goal rewards are also advancing. Pillars of Creation, the Essence Companion, is now in editing. There's also been a ton of progress on the novellas. "Damned Lies" has been retitlted Scoundrelsong as the final draft of the manuscript was turned in, and has now moved into development. We also have a title on the third novella now, Murder in Whitehall. Anyway, progress continues, though the focus is absolutely on getting the back PDF ready for us.
If you need to review your information or pledge status, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://exalted-essence.backerkit.com
You can read Onyx Path's most recent monthly summary, covering all projects and their status up to that point here: <December Project Status Summary>
You can find the weekly Monday Meeting blog updates <here>, which note any projects with status changes since the previous Month End summary. The project statuses listed are current as of last Monday, so do check it out each Monday night to see if anything may have progressed!
I will continue to post regular updates every month until the final Stretch Goal reward has gone out.
ONYX PATH DISCUSSION CHANNELS
If you've got questions about the rules or setting, or just want to discuss this game with other fans (as well as the Onyx Path writers and developers!), you can check out these Onyx Path discussion zones:
If you've got a question about your pledge or BackerKit page or any part of the process, you can contact me with any of these methods
Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
Via Kickstarter: Click RichardThomas under the "Created By" heading on the main page, and then press the "Contact Me" button - the message will come to me!
Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.
Dec '22 Update: Layout Starting Up, Sidereals Finishing Off, Let's Peek at some Art
over 1 year ago
– Tue, Dec 20, 2022 at 11:55:31 PM
Hello Exalted Essentials,
All of the preliminary layout bits have mostly been sorted, and the layout phase can begin in earnest as we enter the new year. That means I'll hopefully have some artwork to share with you as we move through the process.
Artwork by Gong Studios
DRAFT MANUSCRIPT LINK
I'm gonna start posting a link back to the draft manuscript in these updates because it's been a while and folks are starting to misplace any downloaded copies. I'll keep this bit here in future updates until our backer PDF goes out.
We had snuck a peek at some of the artwork from the upcoming Exalted Essence book, and I'm happy to share more this month! There are still some stages to go, but it's nice to see the book moving along. And I love the pieces we've seen so far. This is going to be a very pretty book.
REWARDS STILL PENDING
Layout on our main book will truly be underway as we start the new year, the companion book has also advanced and is now in post-editing development.
If you need to review your information or pledge status, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://exalted-essence.backerkit.com
Similar to Dragon-Blooded: What Fire has Wrought and Lunars: Fangs at the Gate, this book uses the Exalted Third Edition mechanics and systems so differs from the ExEss ruleset, but the lore is the same and delves deeply into the world of the Sidereal Exalted and their realms.so may be of interest if you want to dig into that area of your game.
Similar to what we did with Exalted Essence, we've shared the complete draft manuscript with the backers, so you can actually check it out right now by joining up! We're in the Final 48 hours, so you'll have to hurry if you want to see it, but if you do, you'll be able to read the entire draft manuscript before any pledges are processed or payments collected. And a hint: the lore and setting information are all in the first download; that's probably the stuff that's most relevant to an Essence game.
The Sidereal Exalted are many things: Starry-eyed seers gifted with insight into the nature of fate. Elite agents of Heaven, troubleshooting threats to destiny in Creation and beyond. Legendary martial artists, whose secret techniques strike the soul and shatter reality. Celestial powerbrokers and intriguers who treat with gods as equals. Puppetmasters who steer the course of nations with a word in a queen’s ear.
And yet it is their their curse to be forgotten by the world.
Sidereals: Charting Fate’s Course is an expansion for the ExaltedThird Edition tabletop roleplaying game. It’s set in a mythic world where spirits walk openly among humanity, warring demigods topple kingdoms, and the restless dead roam on moonless nights. Heroes granted divine power contend against one another for the future of Creation. These are the Exalted!
Final days on Kickstarter! Click to Join In!
ONYX PATH PROJECT TRACKING
You can read Onyx Path's most recent monthly summary, covering all projects and their status up to that point here: <November Project Status Summary>
You can find the weekly Monday Meeting blog updates <here>, which note any projects with status changes since the previous Month End summary. The project statuses listed are current as of last Monday, so do check it out each Monday night to see if anything may have progressed!
I will continue to post regular updates every other month until the final Stretch Goal reward has gone out.
ONYX PATH DISCUSSION CHANNELS
If you've got questions about the rules or setting, or just want to discuss this game with other fans (as well as the Onyx Path writers and developers!), you can check out these Onyx Path discussion zones:
If you've got a question about your pledge or BackerKit page or any part of the process, you can contact me with any of these methods
Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
Via Kickstarter: Click RichardThomas under the "Created By" heading on the main page, and then press the "Contact Me" button - the message will come to me!
Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.
Nov '22: Monthly Update, Art Sneak Peek, and Charting Fate's Course with the Sidereals
over 1 year ago
– Mon, Nov 21, 2022 at 08:22:30 PM
Hello Exalted Essentials,
Before we get into this month's update, I've got an quick illustration sneak peek from our in-progress Exalted Essence book.
Some ExEss artwork by Melissa Uran
BACKER NAME COLLECTION
As laid out in last month's update, Backer Names were collected on Nov 15th and passed along to the layout team for inclusion in the ExaltedEssence deluxe book. Once the PDF is finished proofing and approved for release to backers, we'll have an Advance PDF go out to all supporters of this project. At that point, we'll have a feedback form to note any issues, errors, or errata that needs to be corrected before the PDF can be finalized and the print files built. If there are any issues with your Backer Name, we'll work to correct them at this time. I'll make sure to call that out and ask everyone to review their information when the Advance PDFs go out.
That's still a bit of time away, but I can already thank you in advance for your help! The process hasn't always worked smoothly, but I'll continue to work towards improving it and really appreciate your ongoing support!
DRAFT MANUSCRIPT LINK
I'm gonna start posting a link back to the draft manuscript in these updates because it's been a while and folks are starting to misplace any downloaded copies. I'll keep this bit here in future updates until our backer PDF goes out.
Before we have our regular project Exalted Essence project review to make sure we're all on the same page, I want to take a brief digression to look at the next book coming out for Exalted Third Edition. Similar to Dragon-Blooded: What Fire has Wrought and Lunars: Fangs at the Gate, this book uses the Exalted Third Edition mechanics and systems so differs from the ExEss ruleset, but the lore is the same and delves deeply into the world of the Sidereal Exalted and their realms.so may be of interest if you want to dig into that area of your game.
Similar to what we did with Exalted Essence, we'll be sharing the manuscript in weekly preview posts with backers, so if you join in you'll be able to read the entire draft manuscript before any pledges are processed or payments collected.
The Sidereal Exalted are many things: Starry-eyed seers gifted with insight into the nature of fate. Elite agents of Heaven, troubleshooting threats to destiny in Creation and beyond. Legendary martial artists, whose secret techniques strike the soul and shatter reality. Celestial powerbrokers and intriguers who treat with gods as equals. Puppetmasters who steer the course of nations with a word in a queen’s ear.
And yet it is their their curse to be forgotten by the world.
Burdened by their arcane fate, the Sidereal Exalted are heroes unremembered, serving Creation and bending the arc of history from behind the scenes. Now, with Creation fallen into a Time of Tumult, all that the Sidereals have worked for stands on the brink of annihilation once more. Their choices and deeds will shape the future, whether it be one of glory or tragedy.
Sidereals: Charting Fate’s Course is an expansion for the ExaltedThird Edition tabletop roleplaying game. It’s set in a mythic world where spirits walk openly among humanity, warring demigods topple kingdoms, and the restless dead roam on moonless nights. Heroes granted divine power contend against one another for the future of Creation. These are the Exalted!
While preliminary layout is underway for our main book, the Companion has moved forward to manuscript approval, and our first novella is with the developers for redlines before next drafts can be undertaken by the author.
If you need to review your information or pledge status, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://exalted-essence.backerkit.com
You can read Onyx Path's most recent monthly summary, covering all projects and their status up to that point here: <October Project Status Summary>
You can find the weekly Monday Meeting blog updates <here>, which note any projects with status changes since the previous Month End summary. The project statuses listed are current as of last Monday, so do check it out each Monday night to see if anything may have progressed!
I will continue to post regular updates every other month until the final Stretch Goal reward has gone out.
ONYX PATH DISCUSSION CHANNELS
If you've got questions about the rules or setting, or just want to discuss this game with other fans (as well as the Onyx Path writers and developers!), you can check out these Onyx Path discussion zones:
If you've got a question about your pledge or BackerKit page or any part of the process, you can contact me with any of these methods
Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
Via Kickstarter: Click RichardThomas under the "Created By" heading on the main page, and then press the "Contact Me" button - the message will come to me!
Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.
Oct '22: Backer Names Reminder, Monthly Update
over 1 year ago
– Thu, Oct 27, 2022 at 03:42:29 PM
Hello Exalted Essentials,
As noted last month, I'll be harvesting the Backer Name submissions from BackerKit in just over two weeks. Check out last month's update <link> if you need a quick review of the instructions for checking your submission.
We've actually got a pretty good percentage of answers for this survey. There are a few bits and pieces that popped up, though - a handful of backers who noted they didn't want to be listed and then provided a name to list. Similarly, about 75 backers didn't want their name listed but did provide an Exalt type to list it under.
When the team builds the book, we'll work with what we have on November 15, and any issues after that will have to be sorted when the Advance PDF goes out and we collect feedback and errata. So, no worries! We'll be able to take another crack at everything before the book is finalized. At this stage, I'm just trying to keep any issues to a minimum.
Also, just for fun, it's interesting to note that nearly a third of backers are being listed as Solars, followed by Lunars and Sidereals tied at around 16% each. The other third of names are spread pretty evenly across all other Exalted types, with Liminals coming in the minority with only 2%.
None of those figures mean anything, but just interesting to see. Also, Sidereal fans should be prepared because the Sidereals book is next up for a Kickstarter campaign, I believe!
OK, enough random talk. Let's get to the update.
DRAFT MANUSCRIPT LINK
I'm gonna start posting a link back to the draft manuscript in these updates because it's been a while and folks are starting to misplace any downloaded copies. I'll keep this bit here in future updates until our backer PDF goes out.
Our main book has finished in editing and not with the developers for a final round before layout. Our companion supplement, the Pillars of Creation, is now finished with the writers and in the first development stage.
If you need to review your information or pledge status, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://exalted-essence.backerkit.com
You can read Onyx Path's last completed monthly summary, covering all projects and their status up to that point here: <September Project Status Summary>
I will continue to post regular updates every month until the final Stretch Goal reward has gone out.
ONYX PATH DISCUSSION CHANNELS
If you've got questions about the rules or setting, or just want to discuss this game with other fans (as well as the Onyx Path writers and developers!), you can check out these Onyx Path discussion zones:
If you've got a question about your pledge or BackerKit page or any part of the process, you can contact me with any of these methods
Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
Via Kickstarter: Click RichardThomas under the "Created By" heading on the main page, and then press the "Contact Me" button - the message will come to me!
Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.
Welcome to the final stage of your journey. After all this time, your hero becomes a God. Scion: God brings Scion stories to their final chapter with all-new rules for players and guidance for Storyguides. This completes the journey begun in Scion: Origin and Scion: Hero and continued through Scion: Demigod. Gods face the impossible balance between a desire to interfere with The World and their duty to protect the Overworlds. It presents all the rules and lore Storyguides and players need to craft the thrilling finales of their Scion chronicles.
Sept '22: Call for Backer Name Submissions, Monthly Update
over 1 year ago
– Tue, Sep 27, 2022 at 11:01:11 AM
Hello Exalted Essentials,
We're still a few months away from layout beginning in earnest on this book, but that gives everyone time to lock down the last little bits of text and prep some of the design elements as the work begins in earnest. One of the things that I want to have ready for the team are the Backer Names which will be listed in the deluxe edition of the book.
BACKER NAME COLLECTION
As I continue to refine and, hopefully, improve the process of collecting Backer Names for the book, I want to call out our deadline for submitting your name to be listed in the deluxe hardcover reward via BackerKit.
The manuscript is currently finishing up in editing and the first stages of art direction are underway, so it'll still take some months before the Backer PDFs are ready to go out. That said, I will be collecting Backer Names from BackerKit on NOV15, 2022.
On Nov15, 2022 I will be pulling all submissions in BackerKit and passing that along to the layout team for the PDF.
Pretty much everyone responded to this question in their BackerKit survey, but as a quick review/overview, accessing your BackerKit page will allow you to EDIT/REVIEW your order.
The initial page may be the Community page, but you can flip to your Order page (and back) with the link at the top.
If you need to Edit Your Pledge Questions, you can select that option under your Pledge Item listing.
If you choose to Edit Your Pledge Questions, you'll get taken back into the Survey portion of your page. You can see your submitted answer to the second and third questions here.
If you want to change that, you can work through the questions again or click to change just that response.
That's right! We had the initial cut-off for name submissions as Dec 31, 2021 - super early in the process. But it's always better to build in a buffer, I say.
Whatever name and Exalt type you've submitted in Backerkit by November 15, 2022 will be submitted to the Exalted: Essence layout team as they begin the layout for this book.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Once the PDF is finished layout, reviewed, and approved for release to backers, we'll have an Advance PDF go out to all supporters of this project. At that point, we'll have a feedback form to note any issues, errors, or errata that needs to be corrected before the PDF can be finalized and the print files built. If there are any issues with your Backer Name, we'll work to correct them at this time. I'll make sure to call that out and ask everyone to review their information when the Advance PDFs go out.
That's still some time away, but I can already thank you in advance for your help! The process hasn't always worked smoothly, but I'll continue to work towards improving it and really appreciate your ongoing support!
I'll have another reminder in next month's update, just to ensure that everyone gets listed on the first pass through the book. That'll speed up the process down the road.
DRAFT MANUSCRIPT LINK
I'm gonna start posting a link back to the draft manuscript in these updates because it's been a while and folks are starting to misplace any downloaded copies. I'll keep this bit here in future updates until our backer PDF goes out.
As noted, our main book is finishing editing and in the preliminary art direction stages, the Companion is in final drafts. Not surprisingly, the Ready-Made Characters have been folded into the Jumpstart supplement, which is being outlined.
If you need to review your information or pledge status, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://exalted-essence.backerkit.com
I will continue to post regular updates every month until the final Stretch Goal reward has gone out.
ONYX PATH DISCUSSION CHANNELS
If you've got questions about the rules or setting, or just want to discuss this game with other fans (as well as the Onyx Path writers and developers!), you can check out these Onyx Path discussion zones:
If you've got a question about your pledge or BackerKit page or any part of the process, you can contact me with any of these methods
Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
Via Kickstarter: Click RichardThomas under the "Created By" heading on the main page, and then press the "Contact Me" button - the message will come to me!
Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.
