project-image

At The Gates

Created by Onyx Path - At The GAtes

At the Gates is the core rulebook for a high fantasy tabletop roleplaying game inspired by Japanese RPG video games.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

September 2025 Update
11 months ago – Tue, Sep 23, 2025 at 09:39:14 AM

Hello Outlanders,

No major news this month, but before I get to our regular review, I just want to call attention to the latest game in the Earthbane Cycle, which is ending it's Crowdfunding campaign on Thursday.


The third entry in this line of loosely-connected worlds, in Monster Kingdoms, you play a creature of darkness. You may be vampiric magus, or feyborn harlequin. You might be a warrior gauntlet, an orc cultist, a druidic elf, or a flame-spitting dragonkin. You can play a wildly creative goblinoid, a chaotic dwarf, a fierce ice elementor, or a shame-filled fiend.  Your characters can be anything from hulking dreadnauts to disturbing mentalists, and many Mantles in between.


Over the past few updates, I've shared some informative videos from Matthew Dawkins on his Gentleman Gamer youtube channel and a video of some Monster Character Creation in a Session Zero stream on Onyx Path's channel. Beyond that, we've got...


In addition to all of that, the complete draft manuscript is available for backers to read, before any pledges are processed or payments collected.

AND - during the campaign, we've also had some amazing in-game fiction, a travelogue exploring the different realms within the Monster Kingdoms. This is just for the campaign and not part of the manuscript, and it's truly delightful stuff. 

If you're interested and haven't joined up yet, you can check it out <HERE> until Thursday September 25th at 2:00 PM Eastern Time.




Rewards Still Pending


While one part of the Onyx Path team is working with artists to get the illustrations for At The Gates set up for layout, the other part of the team has moved our Jumpstart stretch goal supplement forward; it's now in post-approval development! Step by step.


Rewards Distributed to Backers

  • Trinity Continuum Digital Starter Bundle (July 17 '24 Update)
  • Scion Second Edition Digital Starter Bundle (July 17 '24 Update)
  • They Came From Digital Starter Bundle (July 17 '24 Update)
  • The World Below PDF (Oct 31 '24 Update)

Pledge Manager

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://at-the-gates.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: <August 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.


August 2025 Monthly Update - the Earthbane Cycle continues...
12 months ago – Tue, Aug 26, 2025 at 06:37:58 AM

Hello Outlanders,

While one part of the Onyx Path team is working with artists to get the illustrations for At The Gates set up for layout, the other part of the team is still busy creating new worlds and games. The next chapter in the Earthbane Cycle - comprised, so far, of The World Below and At the Gates - will be introduced soon! Look to the bottom of this update for information on Monster Kingdoms, launching very soon!

Rewards Still Pending


Work continues on the projects, hopefully we'll get some more artwork sneak peeks as the main book enters the layout phase soon!


Rewards Distributed to Backers

  • Trinity Continuum Digital Starter Bundle (July 17 '24 Update)
  • Scion Second Edition Digital Starter Bundle (July 17 '24 Update)
  • They Came From Digital Starter Bundle (July 17 '24 Update)
  • The World Below PDF (Oct 31 '24 Update)

Pledge Manager

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://at-the-gates.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: <July 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.


The Next Chapter in the Earthbane Cycle - Launching Soon!


Sign up here to be notified when we go live!

In Monster Kingdoms, you play a creature of darkness. You may be vampiric magus, or feyborn harlequin. You might be a warrior gauntlet, an orc cultist, a druidic elf, or a flame-spitting dragonkin. You can play a wildly creative goblinoid, a chaotic dwarf, a fierce ice elementor, or a shame-filled fiend.  Your characters can be anything from hulking dreadnauts to disturbing mentalists, and many Mantles in between. 

Name your weapon and make it your sceptre.

Slay a beast and seize its crown.

Build your infamy either as a monster or as a servant of the light. Perform deeds worthy of repute: vanquishing a beast greater than yourself, toppling a lord from his tower and seizing control of his lands and people, or freeing slaves to weaken the Malignant Mind. A character’s infamy is a means of measuring their success in the Monster Kingdoms, whether virtuous or vicious. The only unworthy deeds are the ones no one hears about.

In the chaos of the Monster Kingdoms, now is your time to make a mark and shape the world to your liking.

Monster Kingdoms is a complete tabletop roleplaying game of dark fantasy, where evil is a natural state, adventure boasts horror and violence, and politics are cutthroat. It includes:

  • A massive number of playable monstrous characters.
  • A dangerous setting encompassing 13 unique, competing kingdoms.
  • The entire dynamic Storypath Ultra system.

July 2025 Monthly Update
about 1 year ago – Thu, Jul 31, 2025 at 06:32:21 AM

Hello Outlanders,

It's the final day of July, so I'm sneaking in our monthly update before I flip the calendar. It's also the first day of the GenCon game convention, and a lot of people in the game industry have been focused on that for the past few weeks, so I don't have much news to share this month. Nevertheless, let's dive right in!

Rewards Still Pending


Some movement on our companion PDF, and our main book continues in Art Direction. Any time illustrations steart to sneak out I'll include a preview in our monthly update!


Love seeing artwork appear! That's how you know things are starting to get closer - hopefully we'll see this project move to Layout in the next month or two!


Rewards Distributed to Backers

  • Trinity Continuum Digital Starter Bundle (July 17 '24 Update)
  • Scion Second Edition Digital Starter Bundle (July 17 '24 Update)
  • They Came From Digital Starter Bundle (July 17 '24 Update)
  • The World Below PDF (Oct 31 '24 Update)

Pledge Manager

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://at-the-gates.backerkit.com




Onyx Path Project Tracking

Later today, Onyx Path will be posting their monthly summary, covering all projects and their status up to today. The post isn't live yet, but should be active later today: <July 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.


June 2024 Monthly Update
about 1 year ago – Thu, Jun 19, 2025 at 06:09:12 AM

Hello Outlanders,

The 2025 edition of the Onyx Path Virtual Gaming Convention was a fun time! If you missed it, they're starting to post videos of their panels and Actual Plays on Youtube, and you can now watch the <Onyx Path Con 2025 Earthbane Cycle Panel> where Matthew Dawkins, Kim Godwin, Chris Jones, and Danielle Lauzon discuss the various Earthbane Cycle games!


Meanwhile, work continues on At The Gates. In fact, we're starting to get artwork sneaking out and I can share some with you in this month's update!

Rewards Still Pending


As noted, artwork is being finalized and the team should hopefully be able to start layout before too much longer! I can't wait, and I'm happy to have these little sneak peeks to keep us excited!




Rewards Distributed to Backers

  • Trinity Continuum Digital Starter Bundle (July 17 '24 Update)
  • Scion Second Edition Digital Starter Bundle (July 17 '24 Update)
  • They Came From Digital Starter Bundle (July 17 '24 Update)
  • The World Below 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://at-the-gates.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: <May 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.

Launching Today


Pugmire Unleashed: A Player’s Guide is a supplement for the Realms of Pugmire tabletop RPG. Pugmire Unleashed is primarily a book for players who are interested in new options for their games. Inside you’ll find not only more options for dog player characters, more advice on how to play dogs, and more information about dog communities beyond the kingdom of Pugmire. You’ll also find more species to play: badgers, birds, lagomorphs, and reptiles. 

If you have a yen to be a nautical adventurer, there are rules for sailing and ships presented within, as well as a more detailed writeup of the main coastal city, Waterdog Port. For dogs looking to use strange and exotic weaponry, there are rules for gunpowder weapons, as well as the associated syndrome of Gunpower Panic that goes with using them. Combined with loads of new spells and backgrounds, there’s something for every player in these pages.

We haven’t forgotten the hard-working Guide in all this. Within in this book, we present not only some new enemies for player characters to thwart or befriend, but also three adventures that present a loose chronicle using much of the material presented in this book (and Realms of Pugmire). Players should avoid reading the back of the book, in case of spoilers, but most of the book is here for you to enjoy.

May 2025 Monthly Update
about 1 year ago – Tue, May 27, 2025 at 08:25:35 AM

Hello Outlanders,

Back again for my monthly backer update. No big news from me this month, just incremental progress behind the scenes. 

If you want more information right from the source, the best place to hear about the anticipated World Below and Earthbane Cycle projects is in Onyx Path's annual virtual convention!


Onyx Path Virtual Gaming Convention 2025 is just around the corner! As they enter the final weeks of preparation, the schedule is settling in. Some panels and actual plays needed minor tweaks, which is normal for this stage of the game. People’s availability shifts and schedule issues bubble up, but so far they’ve been able to roll with the punches pretty easily and are on track for a smooth, fun, and informative show!



They’re also getting games for attendees to play ramped up via Startplaying.games. There are already a few games set up, and your encouraged to consider setting one up yourself, if you like running games! It’s a great opportunity to try out games you might not otherwise get the chance to, meet new players, and make a few bucks. Onyx Path's partners at Envoy who run convention games for them will also be running games via Startplaying.games and those entries will be showing up very soon at https://startplaying.games/event/onyx-path-2025!

As noted, all panels will be streaming on Onyx Path's Twitch channel running Friday June 6 - Sunday June 8, and Actual Plays will be streaming at Plastic Age Plays channel. I'd suggest checking out

  • Earthbane Cycle Panel on Saturday June 7 at 11:30 AM EDT
  • What's Up with Onyx Path on Sunday June 8 at 12:30 PM EDT
  • Storypath Ultra Panel on Sunday June 8 at 12:00 PM EDT

Rewards Still Pending



Our Stretch Goal supplements have slid forward. Work continues on our main book.


Rewards Distributed to Backers

  • Trinity Continuum Digital Starter Bundle (July 17 '24 Update)
  • Scion Second Edition Digital Starter Bundle (July 17 '24 Update)
  • They Came From Digital Starter Bundle (July 17 '24 Update)
  • The World Below 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://at-the-gates.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: <April 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.