project-image

The World Below

Created by The World Below RPG by Onyx Path

A tabletop roleplaying game of subterranean fantasy, horror, and exploration.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

August 2024 Monthly Update
over 1 year ago – Wed, Aug 21, 2024 at 06:52:26 AM

Hello Deep Delvers,

With The World Below currently being art directed, it feels like a good time to reveal some of what you’ll find in one of its stretch goals - Ed Greenwood’s Monstrous Ecology! Now, I weighed up whether to preview a pure monster or a playable one, and have decided on the playable end of things this time around! So here’s the Vulpa, a new ancestry for The World Below. And don’t worry, the Monstrous Ecology will contain plenty of new Theses so you can make full use of this and the other new Ancestries presented in this book!

Ancestry: Vulpa

My people are expert diggers and trappers, and we will be happy to render our services in exchange for a warm bed and solid roof.

Identifiers: Vulpa (common), Foxbodies (informal), Plaguebearers (derogatory), Kitsune (respectful), Fortuna’s Own (archaic)

Popular Idioms and Idiosyncrasies:

Vulpa are known for their smiles, their ear twitches, and their gentle laughs. Many are affectionate to the point of unexpected handholding, embraces, and even kisses. These traits are unusual in the World Below and often feared from the vulpa, due to their reputation for carrying disease. When a vulpa is worried, they instinctively draw away from the threat (even when they could win in a clash). Many treat bright lights as threatening. If a vulpa swings their tail sharply, it implies their anger or concern. A gentle waggling indicates enthusiasm, while a horizontal tail with a raised tip indicates attraction.

“You need to trust me.” (“I can help you.”/“I feel alone.”)

“Fortuna bless me with a hundred tails!” (“I could really do with some luck right now.”)

“Ignore my tail.” (“I can’t control how my body betrays my feelings.”)

Many folk of the World Below were surprised by the appearance of vulpa in recent seasons. There were always the rumors of furred people with tails and pointed ears, dwelling worryingly skyward, but few could claim to have met one. Vulpa now appear across multiple settlements, some claiming to be the most recent refugees from the surface. This claim is in fact true, though the means by which they survived the surface for so long is a mystery.

Vulpa establish themselves across a wide number of settlements, but have yet to build any of their own, preferring to maintain nomadic communities. They readily adopt non-biological vulpa into their ancestry, mainly out of a sense of curiosity. Worryingly, some communities (Hurreth’s Bones chief among them) are all too keen to capture and skin these people for their warm hides. If they continue, they’re at risk of discovering and catching the various diseases the vulpa carry.

Biological vulpa rarely stand much taller than 150cm/5ft and tend to be of slight build. Red, gray, silver, white, or black fur covers their bodies (with the occasional combination of shades or colors, especially on tail tips and faces) and their face shape, teeth, and ears are more akin to foxes than human. This doesn’t prevent their communicating in common languages, however. Unfortunately for the vulpa, few of them have thick coats or well-tended tails, instead showing signs of illness on their skin through patches and sores. Vulpa have lost the ability to move comfortably on all fours, as their upper limbs (and clavicle) are more humanoid than fox.

Vulpa claim to trace their lineage back to a people known as the kitsune. In those days, vulpa had multiple tails, with each tail capable of granting a wish or resurrection to the person who possessed it. Long ago, these kitsune vulpa would gift their tails to the deserving. But then, people hunted them for their tails. A vulpa’s final tail is as important to their life as a heart is to any other being.

Momentum Generators for vulpa include:
  • Provide a surface secret to one of the guilds.
  • Defend a solitary traveler or refugee from harm.
  • Improve the negative attitude of mourners via storytelling.
  • Receive an invitation to stay within the habitat of a non-vulpa.
  • Use a Thesis, Synthesis, or Sorcery to assist you in finding something hidden.

Story Hook: Antidote in the Blood

Rumors of plague-stricken vulpa are common and often true. They build up resistances to surface illnesses in their systems, but other beings aren’t so fortunate. A handful of vulpa envoys have offered any Holies of Fortuna access to their most squalid settlements (where miasmas of disease float in the air) to retrieve samples of blood and craft cures for all manner of illnesses throughout the World Below. They do this in part to spread good health and build their reputation, but also because they know many of the infections in the World Below came down with them or the surface-touched and, at some point, a powerful leader’s going to demand the vulpa be driven back to the World Above.


REWARDS STILL PENDING




I'll post this chart in each monthly update, and fill in dots as projects move along.

REWARDS DISTRIBUTED TO BACKERS

  • Trinity Continuum Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • Scion Second Edition Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • They Came From Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • Redbubble Backer T-Shirt Link (April 4 '24 Update)

Once a project finishes up on the progress chart and is distributed to backers, I'll move it down to this list and note which update talks about reward distribution for that item in case you want to go back and get more information.




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://the-world-below.backerkit.com/



DRAFT MANUSCRIPT

In addition to redemption links for distibuted digital rewards, all backers have received a link to the compiled draft manuscript. This link can be found in your BackerKit digital rewards page (See the link above for Claiming Your Digital Rewards if you need a refresher). Again, this isn't a new manuscript, it's just all of the pieces we shared during the campaign put together in order. 

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: <July 2024 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 reward has gone out.

ONYX PATH DISCUSSION CHANNELS

You may be able to get further insight and possibly some in-depth conversation at these Onyx Path discussion zones:


TO CONTACT JAMES


  •  Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
  •  Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.

July 2024 Monthly Update
over 1 year ago – Wed, Jul 17, 2024 at 03:56:45 AM

Hello Deep Delvers,

Work continues on our World Below projects, but not quite to the point where any new dots appear on our tracking charts. I'll have a sneak peek at some material from Ed Greenwood's Monstrous Ecology book next month (a new Ancestry!), but I've got two other bits of information to share with you this month.

First up, the Earthbane panel from the recent Onyx Path virtual gaming convention. As you know, Earthbane is the umbrella term for the gameline that includes The World Below, At The Gates, and eventually ... Monster Kingdoms. Learn more by watching this awesome panel <here>

Following that, something I'd mentioned last month. For those who missed out on backing At The Gates during the crowdfunding campaign, it is now available for pre-order. Ordering early gets you the draft manuscript while the team is working on the book.

<PRE-ORDER PAGE LINK>


Now let's get to our regular monthly review.


REWARDS STILL PENDING




I'll post this chart in each monthly update, and fill in dots as projects move along.

REWARDS DISTRIBUTED TO BACKERS

  • Trinity Continuum Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • Scion Second Edition Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • They Came From Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • Redbubble Backer T-Shirt Link (April 4 '24 Update)

Once a project finishes up on the progress chart and is distributed to backers, I'll move it down to this list and note which update talks about reward distribution for that item in case you want to go back and get more information.




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://the-world-below.backerkit.com/



DRAFT MANUSCRIPT

In addition to redemption links for distibuted digital rewards, all backers have received a link to the compiled draft manuscript. This link can be found in your BackerKit digital rewards page (See the link above for Claiming Your Digital Rewards if you need a refresher). Again, this isn't a new manuscript, it's just all of the pieces we shared during the campaign put together in order. 

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: <June 2024 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 everymonth until the final reward has gone out.

ONYX PATH DISCUSSION CHANNELS

You may be able to get further insight and possibly some in-depth conversation at these Onyx Path discussion zones:


TO CONTACT JAMES


  •  Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
  •  Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.


CURRENTLY FUNDING 

Scion: Mythic Shards presents alternate realities for the World of Scion and provides new rules for players and Storyguides to incorporate into their games. Each chapter explores a single shard of reality at varying tiers of Scion gameplay. These chapters are standalone from each other and don’t need to be consumed with the other chapters in order to start playing.

Scion’s setting — the World — is an exciting place where heroes are larger than life, and Fate always lurks in the shadows, pulling strings. It is a place of urban fantasy where the legends and myths of our ancestors live in a world that’s much like our own.

But, there are some tales that belong to another world — stories that need another place to breathe and come alive — places like…

  • After the End: A post apocalyptic desert full of peril and opportunities for new beginnings
  • Cyber-Scion: A cyberpunk dystopia where Scions pilot mecha to fight corporate kaiju
  • Farewell to Heroes: Gritty noir cities where Scions are illegal
  • Four Color: A place of superheroes, alter-egos, and over-the-top excitement
  • Space Odyssey: An entire galaxy of starships and aliens

FUNDED in 12 HOURS and now ready to unlock Stretch Goals! Join in!




June '24 Monthly Update
over 1 year ago – Wed, Jun 19, 2024 at 06:21:28 AM

Hello Deep Delvers,

Whew! The Onyx Path team ran their Fifth Annual online convention over the weekend, and it was great! And exhausting! Thanks to everyone who checked out the Earthbane Cycle panel and heard more about The World Below, At The Gates, and the third entry coming in the future - Monster Kingdoms. I still don't know exactly how these games under the "Earthbane Cycle" are related to one another, but I'm not sure that it matters. Even if it's just an umbrella for cool and interesting ideas, I'm in!

Related to that - I'm currently working on setting up the Pledge Manager and pre-order page for At The Gates. It'll likely take me another 3-4 weeks (I'm gonna squeeze a vacation in there somewhere), but in our next update I'll have a link to pre-order At The Gates and get the backer draft manuscript for those who missed the campaign and want to check it out. Look for a link to that in our July update.

Now let's get to our regular monthly review.


REWARDS STILL PENDING




Our two big Stretch Goal rewards - the Underworld Adventures book and Ed Greewood's Monstrous Ecologies - have both moved forward again into post-editing development, where the books are fine-tuned to ensure they have a consistent voice throughout the book.

I'll post this chart in each monthly update, and fill in dots as projects move along.

REWARDS DISTRIBUTED TO BACKERS

  • Trinity Continuum Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • Scion Second Edition Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • They Came From Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • Redbubble Backer T-Shirt Link (April 4 '24 Update)

Once a project finishes up on the progress chart and is distributed to backers, I'll move it down to this list and note which update talks about reward distribution for that item in case you want to go back and get more information.




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://the-world-below.backerkit.com/



DRAFT MANUSCRIPT

In addition to redemption links for distibuted digital rewards, all backers have received a link to the compiled draft manuscript. This link can be found in your BackerKit digital rewards page (See the link above for Claiming Your Digital Rewards if you need a refresher). Again, this isn't a new manuscript, it's just all of the pieces we shared during the campaign put together in order. 

 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: <May 2024 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 reward has gone out.


ONYX PATH DISCUSSION CHANNELS
You may be able to get further insight and possibly some in-depth conversation at these Onyx Path discussion zones:


TO CONTACT JAMES
  •  Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
  •  Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.


CURRENTLY FUNDING - ONYX PATH ADJACENT

From The Bodhana Group, the Branch Riders tabletop roleplaying game is currently in a campaign on Kickstarter. The Bodhana Group advocates for and utilizes tabletop gaming as a directed therapeutic and clinical practice that can benefit personal growth as well as enhance social and educational services to individuals and families.  Gaming has usefulness in education, skill building and therapeutic applications.  

Branch Riders is an RPG that came out of years of design and development - with the help of some of the Onyx Path team - to be a fun and compelling game first and foremost, but with the right therapeutic and skill-building tools "under the hood" for trained instructors to utilize beyond that.

If you're interested in a multi-genre action-packed easy-to-learn and -teach fun game with different approaches to problem solving and a variety of GM tools and player challenges, come check it out!
As if coordinating a three-day online convention wasn't exhausting enough, Onyx Path's Travis Legge as rolled right into launching his latest Kickstarter! Bizarre Kingdoms is a setting expansion for Odysseys & Overlords, though the lands and creatures introduced herein could be easily adapted to any Savage Worlds Fantasy setting. In this book you'll find four new kingdoms your adventurers can explore or even hail from! This book requires the use of the Savage Worldscore rules and the SWADE Fantasy Companion.



May '24 Update
almost 2 years ago – Wed, May 22, 2024 at 08:33:58 AM

Hello Deep Delvers,

I'm bringing you the monthly update a bit early this month and adjusting the schedule so it isn't *quite* so late in the month. I do want to give you the heads up on the 2024 Onyx Path online gaming convention coming in just over 3 weeks!

Next month, on June 14-16, they'll be streaming panels on their twitch channel (twitch.tv/theonyxpath). Here's the panel schedule


The big info panels are usually the Opening Ceremonies on Friday and the What's Up With Onyx Path? panel and Earthbane Cycle panel on Saturday. As noted last month, the Earthbane Cycle is the overall name for the line containing both The World Below and At the Gates - which is mid-way through our Crowdfunding campaign right now!
 
At the Gates is a high fantasy tabletop roleplaying game about burgeoning heroes struggling to survive, fighting for what’s right, exploring dangerous places, and saving the world.
 
Magic fuels all parts of Gaia, from fields of wheat to the people who sow them. Magic is rooted in the living nature of the world: the elements, the mind, the body, and the soul. The Void stands outside the world, and represents all the esoteric concepts such as order, entropy, and energy. Where the Void meets the world, Outlands grow. These places are warped by the intermingling of two opposite magics, and everything that lives there is tainted and dangerous. Hidden inside these Outlands are gates into the Void, standing as literal tears in reality. 
 
You play as heroes who have chosen to buck the status quo and try to change the course of things. Your characters may attempt to change the course of the war, delve into the secrets of daemons and the Void, fight against tyranny to protect what they love in the world, fight to restore balance to Gaia, or all the above.
 
You can stand at the gates and hold back the tide, changing the course of history. Will you heed the call? 


REWARDS STILL PENDING




Our two big Stretch Goal rewards - the Underworld Adventures book and Ed Greewood's Monstrous Ecologies - have both moved forward into Editing, alongside the World Below manuscript! Lots of goodies coming our way in the future!

I'll post this chart in each monthly update, and fill in dots as projects move along.

REWARDS DISTRIBUTED TO BACKERS

  • Trinity Continuum Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • Scion Second Edition Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • They Came From Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • Redbubble Backer T-Shirt Link (April 4 '24 Update)

Once a project finishes up on the progress chart and is distributed to backers, I'll move it down to this list and note which update talks about reward distribution for that item in case you want to go back and get more information.




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://the-world-below.backerkit.com/



DRAFT MANUSCRIPT

In addition to redemption links for distibuted digital rewards, all backers have received a link to the compiled draft manuscript. This link can be found in your BackerKit digital rewards page (See the link above for Claiming Your Digital Rewards if you need a refresher). Again, this isn't a new manuscript, it's just all of the pieces we shared during the campaign put together in order. 

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: <April 2024 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 reward has gone out.

ONYX PATH DISCUSSION CHANNELS
You may be able to get further insight and possibly some in-depth conversation at these Onyx Path discussion zones:


TO CONTACT JAMES
  •  Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
  •  Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.

 

April 2024 Update
almost 2 years ago – Thu, Apr 25, 2024 at 06:39:16 AM

Hello Deep Delvers,

It's the final Thursday of the month, which means it's time for our regular monthly update. Last month I mentioned a bit about At The Gates, Onyx Path's latest Ashcan release, and a project somehow related to The World Below (like distant cousins, but the connection isn't crucial to either game line. Just a fun easter egg, as far as I understand at this time).

Just in case you're interested in more...

Click here to sign up and get notified when the project goes live!

REWARDS STILL PENDING



One of our Stretch Goal projects has moved forward again - Ed Greenwood's Monstrous Ecology. Once the developers had brought all of the final drafts together and ensured it was clearly a cohesive single project, it went up the chain to Manuscript Review and Approval. At that point, it was deemed worthy of including more content, so some additional writing has been requested before it move to the next stage of development! I am always excited when something catches a vibe and the team decides to further expand the content. More for us!

I'll post this chart in each monthly update, and fill in dots as projects move along.

REWARDS DISTRIBUTED TO BACKERS

  • Trinity Continuum Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • Scion Second Edition Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • They Came From Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • Redbubble Backer T-Shirt Link (April 4 '24 Update)

Once a project finishes up on the progress chart and is distributed to backers, I'll move it down to this list and note which update talks about reward distribution for that item in case you want to go back and get more information.




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://the-world-below.backerkit.com/



DRAFT MANUSCRIPT

In addition to redemption links for distibuted digital rewards, all backers have received a link to the compiled draft manuscript. This link can be found in your BackerKit digital rewards page (See the link above for Claiming Your Digital Rewards if you need a refresher). Again, this isn't a new manuscript, it's just all of the pieces we shared during the campaign put together in order. 

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: <March 2024 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 reward has gone out.


ONYX PATH DISCUSSION CHANNELS

You may be able to get further insight and possibly some in-depth conversation at these Onyx Path discussion zones:


TO CONTACT JAMES
  •  Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
  •  Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.