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:

Finalized PDF now available! Discounted PoD option for backers!
over 1 year ago – Wed, Mar 05, 2025 at 05:50:17 AM

Hello Deep Delvers,

Thanks to your feedback and support, Onyx Path has now fine-tuned The World Below PDF, implemented your feedback where appropriate, fixed all of the page numbers, and the finalized PDF is now available in your DriveThruRPG digital library.


You can access your DTRPG Digital Library at any time and download the latest version of the book at your convenience.

Later today, Onyx Path will release the PDF for purchase on DriveThruRPG. When that happens, they'll also make a print-on-demand version of that PDF availble for purchase. As one of your rewards, you may have access to a discount link that will allow you to add the PoD version to your cart at a slightly reduced price, should you wish to buy a hardcopy of the PDF.

DISCOUNTED PRINT-ON-DEMAND ORDER LINKS FOR BACKERS

If you pledged to the Hunter digital reward tier or have a hardcover version as one of the items in your pledge list, one of your rewards is a discounted option to order a print-on-demand version of The World Below PDF. Now that the print files have been finalized, Onyx Path can finalize the PDF at DriveThruRPG and make a PoD version of the PDF available for purchase.

Again, just to ensure it's understood - 

THIS IS NOT YOUR KICKSTARTER HARDCOVER REWARD! 

This is a discount link for a one-off printed version of the PDF that will soon be released for purchase on DriveThruRPG.com (but YOU can order it at a discounted cost if you wish!) With this step completed and the files finalized, Onyx Path can now begin setting up the hardcover editions at the printer and will ship to you later this year.

DIFFERENCES IN PoD FORMATS

So, for those backers who pledged at the PDF reward tier, or those backers who will later be receiving the hardcover book but might be looking for a second copy for the table, there are two different versions of Print-On-Demand options available.



Standard Color uses a thick 70# white paper which has better page opacity. (that's "70 pound" for reference, but does not mean each page weighs 70 lbs!).  Standard Heavyweight Color uses inkjet technology. (These are not the same inkjet printers you have at home - these are often as big or bigger than a car!) This option offers lower cost but the colors won't be as sharp or bright as a Premium Color book.

Premium Color uses the same 70# paper, but uses "Digital Color Print Engine Technology," which sounds super fancy and certainly costs a lot more, but I'll admit to not knowing the exact difference. This option offers superior color quality but is more expensive to produce, and has gotten even more expensive over the past year.

(Remember to login to DriveThruRPG prior to clicking or pasting the discount link in your BackerKit digital rewards locker, if you that was part of your rewards list! That link is your coupon and must be used for your PoD order.)

Please note: This discounted Print-on-Demand ordering link will be valid at this cost for the next six months - it expires on September 1, 2025 - so please, if you choose to order a Print-on-Demand copy, use the provided link prior to autumn 2025 to ensure the best pricing. (That is to say, I can't confirm the price will stay at this same spot past August, so best to order before then.)

REWARD DISTRIBUTION

If this reward is on your rewards list, your link to claim it will be sent out by our BackerKit pledge manager over the day. Since we are using our partners at DriveThruRPG as the host for this, you will need to set up a DriveThru account if you don't have one already. If you encounter any problems with downloading your rewards, please contact DTRPG's customer service to resolve the matter, they've always been top-rated for customer service. http://www.drivethrurpg.com/contact_us.php

Again, you will receive an e-mail from BackerKit with links for this reward over the next 24 hours if it is on your expected list of rewards.

The easiest way to see if you've got digital downloads available is to login to your backerkit account: https://the-world-below.backerkit.com/ and it'll show anything available. Your backerkit account should also confirm all rewards that you should expect from your reward tier selected.


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/



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.



February 2025 Monthly Update
over 1 year ago – Thu, Feb 27, 2025 at 06:48:47 AM

Hello Deep Delvers,

February is the shortest month of the year, so let's see if I can keep this update fairly quick. Let's jump right in!

Rewards Still Pending


Onyx Path's most recent update lists our main reward, The World Below, in the finalizing stage, with "Tweaking Strata Map and Character Sheet..." so a few final fixes to go based on your feedback during the Backer PDF phase. 

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)
  • The World Below Backer PDF (Oct 31 '24 Update)


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/


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: <January 2025 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.

Remember: You can use the links at the bottom of this e-mail to unsubscribe from updates or Manage your notification settings. These status updates are available on the campaign page for you to review at any time.

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.


FINAL HOURS!


Check it out and join in on the fun!

In Trinity Continuum: Steam Wars, your player characters are the crewmembers of a war rig, venturing into battles against people from far off countries, aligned to ideals different than their own, and trying to preserve their peace, their way of life, or their rich deposits of a new, bizarre energy source: condensed coal. Your characters — the crewmembers of these war rigs — are as likely to be enlisted crooks as they are commissioned officers; gung-ho patriots as common as conscripted people from the imperial powers’ colonies. They fight because they have to. But in the fear and fog of battle, bonds form, friendships and rivalries grow, and legends are made.

Trinity Continuum: Steam Wars takes place outside the Trinity Continuum's "Alpha" timeline -- the worlds explored from Aegis to Æon -- taking place in a parallel reality, setting the stage for new adventures and discoveries.

Trinity Continuum: Steam Wars contains:
  • A complete setting based on the acclaimed graphic novel Steam Wars with writing by Larry Blamire and art by David Miller, Steve LeBlanc, and Christoper Ehnot.
  • Detailed rules on piloting, managing, and fighting massive coal-powered giant robots in a parallel 19th century.
  • Six different roles you can perform on a steam rig, along with more than half a dozen Alliances involving in the Second Steam War that you can fight, ally with, or sabotage.
  • Storyguide advice, secrets, hooks, and plots, to enable you to start your game of Trinity Continuum: Steam Wars 

January 2025 Monthly Update
over 1 year ago – Tue, Jan 28, 2025 at 08:39:53 AM

Hello Deep Delvers,

We start off regular monthly updates for 2025 in pretty standard form. We'll review our rewards still pending, we'll confirm which rewards have been distribued, and we'll have links to find more information, to discuss this project and the Earthbane Cycle, notes on how to contact me, and a look ahead at our next project.

Rewards Still Pending


No big changes over the year end. The Onyx Path team is currently "wrapping up" the final version of our book, so hopefully we'll see a finalized PDF available on DriveThruRPG.com soon incorporating your feedback from the Backer PDF. AFter that, the Onyx Path crew can begin locking in the print specs and timing - which will likely be a challenge with all that's going on in the world, but hopefully they'll figure out their path forward quickly. I'll continue to report on the project status in each monthly udpate so we're all on the same page.

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)
  • The World Below Backer PDF (Oct 31 '24 Update)


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/


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: <December 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.

Remember: You can use the links at the bottom of this e-mail to unsubscribe from updates or Manage your notification settings. These status updates are available on the campaign page for you to review at any time.

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.


LAUNCHING TODAY!


Sign up to be notified when this project goes live <here>

In Trinity Continuum: Steam Wars, your player characters are the crewmembers of a war rig, venturing into battles against people from far off countries, aligned to ideals different than their own, and trying to preserve their peace, their way of life, or their rich deposits of a new, bizarre energy source: condensed coal. Your characters — the crewmembers of these war rigs — are as likely to be enlisted crooks as they are commissioned officers; gung-ho patriots as common as conscripted people from the imperial powers’ colonies. They fight because they have to. But in the fear and fog of battle, bonds form, friendships and rivalries grow, and legends are made.

Trinity Continuum: Steam Wars takes place outside the Trinity Continuum's "Alpha" timeline -- the worlds explored from Aegis to Æon -- taking place in a parallel reality, setting the stage for new adventures and discoveries.

Trinity Continuum: Steam Wars contains:
  • A complete setting based on the acclaimed graphic novel Steam Wars with writing by Larry Blamire and art by David Miller, Steve LeBlanc, and Christoper Ehnot.
  • Detailed rules on piloting, managing, and fighting massive coal-powered giant robots in a parallel 19th century.
  • Six different roles you can perform on a steam rig, along with more than half a dozen Alliances involving in the Second Steam War that you can fight, ally with, or sabotage.
  • Storyguide advice, secrets, hooks, and plots, to enable you to start your game of Trinity Continuum: Steam Wars 



December 2024 Monthly Update
almost 2 years ago – Thu, Dec 12, 2024 at 07:40:23 AM

Hello Deep Delvers,

I'm back with our final month end status check-in of 2024! I'm coming to you a bit early this month for a pretty obvious reason - the time crunch and shifting schedule around the year end holidays! I'm buying myself some free time to wind down and enjoy my family. Maybe with a game or two!


So let's get into our Review!


Rewards Still Pending


Right now, the Onyx Path team has your feedback from the Backer PDF that went out at the end of October and are nearly finished finalizing the PDF for wide release and beginning the print prep process. Also, since The World Below was the first game released using Storypath Ultra, we get the benefit of a few tweaks and adjustments that came from subsequent SPU campaigns like At The Gates and Curseborne! So the final version will have all of the corrections in place and we'll be able to download from our DTRPG digital library when it's available.

Beyond that, incremental progress in the background but not enough to fill in a dot yet. I'm hoping we'll see lots more filled in over 2025!



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)
  • The World Below Backer PDF (Oct 31 '24 Update)


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/





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 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.


Remember: You can use the links at the bottom of this e-mail to unsubscribe from updates or Manage your notification settings. These status updates are available on the campaign page for you to review at any time.
 

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.

Final Hours To Pledge





The Alchemical Exalted are the Chosen of the Machine God, biomechanical demigods forged from divine metal and heroic souls. They do not rule the Eight Nations, but serve as Champions of the people, a sacred duty greater than any ambition. The eldest of Alchemicals transcend their human forms to become metropoli, living cities that offer the Eight Nations a stronghold against Autochthonia’s perils.

The Realm of Brass and Shadows is unforgiving, and the Eight Nations find themselves faced with many challenges: cataclysmic upheavals of Autochthon’s world-machinery, incursions of gruesome techno-organic gremlins, and the ever-present threat to their livelihoods. All the while, the slumbering Autochthon grows ever sicker, his corrupting Blight metastasizing throughout his world-body. Despair not. There is work to be done.


Alchemicals: Forged by the Machine God is an expansion for the Exalted Third 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!


November 2024 Update - Adventure Preview
almost 2 years ago – Wed, Nov 20, 2024 at 11:10:07 AM

Hello Deep Delvers,

The World Below is currently in the errata and indexing stage, so we’re going to switch to another of our stretch goals - the upcoming Underworld Adventures - and I’m going to preview the very start of the In The Roots scenario. If you’re looking to start up a game of The World Below yourself, feel free to use this as your jump off (or drop down) point!:


Hooking the Characters

In the Roots’ opening scene, Grand Entrance, offers an easy way to literally drop your characters into the story. Still, Root-Home is a ways off the beaten track, so characters have several reasons to arrive in the area:
  • Unreliable maps send an exploration expedition off course before the characters break through into Root-Home.
  • A friend from their community was among Urdra’s expedition and never returned home. Knowing they began from Root-Home, they set off to discover their fate.
  • Seismic activity and Kaos storms continually reshape the ever-changing World Below, so it could easily be that the characters’ home base has new neighbors.

In this story, where the characters came from and how they prepare doesn’t affect the course of events or how they respond to the unfolding situation in Root-Home, leaving you free to get straight to the exciting part.


Distant Rumbles

The characters survive a traumatic arrival in Root-Home, experience a modicum of comfort, and are plunged into a night of attempted mass murder.


Grand Entrance

The journey begins with the characters finding themselves in a vast, unoccupied cavern. There’s nothing but bulbous brown fungus creeping across the walls, but signs of animal presence exist. With a Survival + Intellect action, characters can discern something recently spooked the animals, with two or more hits indicating it’s likely a reaction to something environmental: perhaps a poisonous gas or earth tremors.


Allow the characters to explore this phenomenon or simply cross the cavern. Before they leave, the earth rumbles and the cavern collapses around them, giving them seconds to react before plummeting into the unknown.


Roll initiative (the cavern has a pool of 6). Characters who beat the collapsing floor receive one action (at difficulty 2) to cling to something before the ground crumbles away. Athletics or Survival — plus an appropriate Attribute — are the most likely Skills, but certain Theses, Syntheses, or Sorceries may also help. Regardless of our outcome here, we want the characters to end up in the cave below, so this is less a chance to avoid it, and more an opportunity to arrive uninjured. All routes to exit the cavern are sealed by the cave-in.


Descent into Root-Home

As the cavern floor collapses, the twinkling lights of a colony pierce through the darkness below. Almighty splashes signal that below them lies water, and once the tumult of the cave-in dies down, the lights of the settlement shimmer across the newly revealed lake.


Characters who failed to react plummet directly into the deep lake around which Root-Home has grown. It’s a long but not lethal drop, and the water breaks much of the fall. The drop (and the falling rubble) inflict 3 injuries; certain Theses and Syntheses may help here, as does an Athletics + Might action to help land safely (reduce injuries by 1 for every 2 hits).


For those who succeed, there’s now no way across the cavern in either direction, and the risk of falling is high — really it would be easiest to descend to the settlement. Climbing down requires an Athletics + Might action (difficulty 2). Characters who fail take 1 injury as they land in the lake.


Since the aim of this scene isn’t to fatally injure characters, they drag themselves out of the lake without an action.


The rockfall significantly damages several of the structures in the settlement, but somewhat surprisingly, the locals’ immediate concern is for the injured strangers (and their own injured people, but the characters are unlikely to see that). Characters immediately notice how the populace of Root-Home is overwhelmingly of the Myceli Dialectic — not unusual to see, but certainly rare in such vast quantities. A group of four myconidal people, led by Snag (a short, stout man with hints of makiru ancestry) wade in to help everyone out of the water, before leading them to away to the safety of D’anandell Gardens. Other denizens of Root-Home stare slack-jawed at the outsiders. Snag keeps them company until Zelandre, the town’s physician, arrives at the gardens.


Characters may feel this is an unusually warm reception for a settlement in the World Below: Suspicion and hostility are more the norm. A Culture + Composure action confirms the folk of Root-Home have no ulterior motive — they’re just kind, concerned people.


Something about Root-Home seems… off. Keen observers (Empathy + Intellect, difficulty 1(1) — unresolved Complications inflict the Confused status effect) catch on to something unusual in the way the people of Root-Home interact.


One hit: It’s like they barely listen to what other Root-Homers are saying. This doesn’t apply to their visitors, to whom they’re solicitous and courteous.


Two hits: They have an unusual degree of empathy and concern for one another: They’re quick to anticipate what another Root-Homer needs and often start fulfilling a request before the other person’s even finished asking. Some locals group themselves tightly together.


Three+ hits: Either they’re phenomenal at interpreting body language or they’ve got an additional way of communicating which outsiders aren’t privy to. The occasional fungal-flecked group can be caught staring blankly at the characters but are quick to resume their cheery demeanor when engaged.


The explanation behind the behavior is the mycelium network — not only does it flow through the very roots of Root-Home, but it lives within the flesh of locals. Any of the people of Root-Home explain the network if asked. It’s not a secret. In fact, they’re rather proud of it. 


Going Your Own Way

The World Below lets you combine any appropriate Skill + Attribute to make a dice pool. This is a great example of when and why to do that. Let players use any Physical Attribute they can justify: Might could represent clinging onto something to slow the drop, Dexterity landing well, and Stamina holding one’s breath and relying on that water landing.


What happens next? We’ll have to see how your group handles their descent into Root-Home or wait for the book to arrive! It’s coming soon!




REWARDS STILL PENDING

 
Thansk to everyone who sent in their feedback for The World Below backer PDF. The team are using your notes to help take the book to the final stages so they can release the PDF and begin prepping the print run. The Storyguide Screen is now in layout.


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)
  • The World Below Backer PDF (Oct 31 '24 Update)



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/





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: <October 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


Now Funding on Crowdfunding by BackerKit

The Alchemical Exalted are the Chosen of the Machine God, biomechanical demigods forged from divine metal and heroic souls. They do not rule the Eight Nations, but serve as Champions of the people, a sacred duty greater than any ambition. The eldest of Alchemicals transcend their human forms to become metropoli, living cities that offer the Eight Nations a stronghold against Autochthonia’s perils.

The Realm of Brass and Shadows is unforgiving, and the Eight Nations find themselves faced with many challenges: cataclysmic upheavals of Autochthon’s world-machinery, incursions of gruesome techno-organic gremlins, and the ever-present threat to their livelihoods. All the while, the slumbering Autochthon grows ever sicker, his corrupting Blight metastasizing throughout his world-body. Despair not. There is work to be done.




Alchemicals: Forged by the Machine God is an expansion for the Exalted Third 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!