Walking the Onyx Path, the New Incarnation of White Wolf, and the 20th Anniversary Kickstarter Edition of Mage the Ascension...first up, Rich Thomas...

Rich Thomas is one of the prime movers of Onyx Path, the new company where the
table top wing of White Wolf now abides.  He has been the driver of the Kickstarter
driven model of Onyx Path.  He is here on Voice of Stone to give a bit about the new
shape of the biz and how it is working.  Tabletop gaming is alive and well, as is the
World of Darkness, old and new...

First, a bit about Rich, for those who don't know, from Onyx Path's site...

Rich Thomas

Since 1986, when he began illustrating and art directing for White Wolf Magazine,
Rich has been responsible for the look and feel of every White Wolf product ever
created — ranging from RPG books, fiction, board/card games and everything
in between. Assumingthe role of Creative Director in 2006, Rich became responsible
for White Wolf’s writingand development as well. His administration included the
launch of multiple Ennie-award winning product lines: Scion and Changeling: The Lost.
 Last year, Rich was one of the driving forces behind the Vampire: The Masquerade 
20th Anniversary Edition, andhas returned to the world of traditional RPGs
from his stint as the Director of Game Design and Content on the World of Darkness
MMO, with a renewed focus on the continued Classic World of Darkness line and
as the force behind Onyx Path Publishing.

Along the way, Rich contributed to the unique style and presentation of White
Wolf’s products by creating the many clan, tribe, tradition, and other groups’ symbols
and the alphabets of Werewolf and Exalted. But as an illustrator, Rich is best known
for his workon CCGs: VTES, Doomtown, RAGE, Netrunner, Shadowfist, and he
is regarded as aclassic Magic: The Gathering artist where his creation the “Stuffy Doll”
first appearedon the original Black Vise artwork.

http://theonyxpath.com/bios/rich-thomas/

And now, the conversation...

VoS : Just what is Onyx Path? And what happened 
to the White Wolf Game Company?

RT: Well, your second question leads into your first, 
so let me answer
 that and then the other.  Some seven or eight years ago, White Wolf
merged with anIcelandic MMO company called CCP 
with the intention of creating a new WoD-based 
MMO. We found that the Vikings from CCP 
held a lot of the same ideas and game design interests as we did, as 
well as being the only company WW couldn’t drink under the table. 

Eventually, the pressures of trying to create an MMO- those things are 

hard- meant less emphasis could be put on the WW tabletop RPG side of 

things. 

It was a basic scale issue, and CCP tried for the longest time to find a 

solution that would honor WW’s legacy but still allow them to have a 

coherent business. 

While this was happening on a corporate level, I had been working on 
the WoD MMO as Lead Game Designer and trying to continue to help 
guide the course of WW’s product lines with my main-man, Eddy Webb. 
We got approval to createthe Vampire: The Masquerade Twentieth 
Anniversary Edition because it was,you know, 20 years since we put out 
the original VtM, and the communityexcitement that ensued really 
underlined how important our tabletop community is. 

It also led to my proposing to leave CCP, set up a new 

company to create tabletop RPGs (my first love rekindled 

by working on V20), and license the WW tabletop RPG 

properties from CCP. That company is Onyx Path, so 

named because I had no idea what might come from this 

decision- it was all feeling my way alongin the dark with 

just a bare glint of a path at my feet. So, Onyxis publishing 

new game products for cWoD, nWoD, and Exalted via the 

CCP license, and also Scion, the Trinity Continuum, 

and Scarred Lands, as those were beloved game lines I 

purchased outright from CCP.

VoS:  How has the business side of professional game 

publishing changed? Does an outlet like Kickstarter 
enhance prospects for niche game publishers? How?

RT:  Well, the barrier to entry is a lot lower than 
when I started- the onset of PDFs really made it 
a lot easier tocreate RPGs. Not that they are all 
well-written or designed, or look at all like what I’d consider 
acceptable as a professional. But a lot of 
great games and companies have stepped up, so 
like anything, the cream rises.

VoS: What is your background with White Wolf and the 

World of Darkness, both as a game professional and as a 
fan? What is your favorite game or games in the series?

RT: I started with WW founder Stewart Wieck 
back in dinosaur times as an illustrator and art 
director forWhite Wolf Magazine. When WW became 
an actual company and produced VtM, I assumed the 
same role in charge of all the visuals and production, 
and a decade orso later also became responsible for 
the writing and development side as Creative Director. 
So I was thereas the whole thing started, and was one 
of the infamous “inner circle” as we grew and morphed through the years. 

It’s really hard to consider myself a fan as I was completely immersed in makingWhite Wolf and all of its lines as great 
as they could be: it was both my passion and my responsibility 
to make ourgames as cool and as beautiful as we could. 

There are specific books I helped make possible, like the
Book of Nod, that I remainvery proud of, and each line for 
me is really made up of a patchwork of great memories. 
The thrill of getting in the very first hardcover VtM 
2^nd Edition,seeing (not yet Satyros and not yet 
Mage developer) PhilBrucato walking around the offices
 in jeans he had hand-emblazoned with my Werewolf glyphs, 
using my daughter’s purpleflower girl dress as the purple 
silk on the original Mage cover shot…just every line has 
so manygreat memories and enthusiasms connected to it. 

VoS: What sort of advice would you give to game creators
seeking to start up in thisday and age?  Is Kickstarting the 
only way to go or are there multiple paths to consider?

RT: Even with Kickstarter you really need to use any 
andall social media you have at your disposal to get the 
word 

out about your project. It’s the great equalizer in terms of 

letting interested people know what is so awesome about 

your game. Have a steady, full-time job before you try to 

do this for a living. Very few creators can live off of 
tabletop RPGs. You know the joke? “Q: How do you wind 
up with a million dollars in the tabletop RPG biz? A: Start 
with two million.” Be realistic but believe in the coolness 
of yourproject and others will find you. If they don’t, you 
have to be mentally and emotionally able to go right to a 
new idea and develop that.

VoS: Favorite movies...

RT: Wow, tough question. Until starting Onyx Path and 

thus having no time for hobbies, I was a huge consumer of 

films- studied cinema in college and all that. It’d be easier

 to break it into genres! Here are some films I both own and 

still will watch if they appear on TV or highlighted on 

Netflix, so I guess that’s a sign that I like the a bunch: Seven Samurai (pretty much any Kurosawa film), Aliens, Die Hard, Blade Runner, Empire Strikes Back, Pulp Fiction, Grosse 

Point Blank, Big Jake, Fellowship of the Ring, Dodgeball, 

Pacific Rim, any Sergio Leone western, The Avengers. 

Hell, the whole crop of movies that led to The Avengers. 

VoS: What are you watching on TV nowadays?

RT: Just finished loving True Detective- what an amazing 

ride that was. Sherlock. Looking forward to the new 

Doctor Who. Been binge watching Parks & Recreation. 

Person of Interest. Black List. Justified. Trying to like 

Agents of Shield.

VoS: The future of America and the world, hope or fear?

RT: Time is a flat circle.

VoS: Thank you, Mr. Thomas, for taking the time 
here to talk about the bright future for fans of White 
Wolf's worlds and their new home at Onyx Path.  

Up next, Satyr Phil Brucato talks Mage 20th 
Anniversary Kickstarter and oh, 
so much more...

Here's the link to the Mage The Ascension 20th 
Anniversary Kickstarter.  It is already insanely 
successful, but there is always room for more i
n this party...I'm there in a BIG way...

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/deluxe-mage-the-ascension-20th-anniversary-edition