Hello Green Sun Princes,
Behold: Our vengeance is loosed upon Creation!Â
We did it! Thanks to the support of over 2,125 backers, Onyx Path will be developing the PDF and deluxe hardcover edition for
Infernals: Crowned by Hellfire!
We funded fast and furious, but we didn't stop there! We had an awesome backer train at the end, and thanks to all of you, we unlocked an unbelievable 17 Stretch Goals!
New Add On: Infernals Storyteller Screen
- Backers pledging to a tier that offers the deluxe edition hardcover are able to add a Storyteller Screen to their list of rewards as a new Add On option!
BONUS REWARDS
All backers supporting this project will automatically have the following Bonus Rewards added to their rewards list in the Pledge Manager!
- Notification when the Infernal Shirt is available on RedbubbleÂ
- Infernal Digital Wallpaper
- Infernals Streaming Overlay
- Infernals VTT Token Pack
INFERNALS COMPANION SUPPLEMENT
Backers receiving the Infernals PDF will receive the Infernals Companion PDF as a bonus reward. Backers receiving the Infernals Deluxe hardcover will also receive links to purchase a discounted Print-on-Demand version of the Infernals Companion book.
Working together, we unlocked TWELVE expansions for this book, including
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CHARMS - New signature Charms for the Infernal Exalted
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GAZETTEER OF THE DEMON REALMS - An array of new locales in Malfeas, full of adventure, opportunity, and danger
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TREASURE-HOUSES OF HELL - A selection of Infernal artifacts and their wicked Evocations
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CHARMS 2 - Further Charms for the Infernal Exalted
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INFERNAL STORYTELLING - More guidance and suggestions for S Storyteller in crafting Infernal chronicles
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SECRETS OF THE THREE CIRCLES - Additional spells, including more Adamant Circle Sorcery
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THE LORDS OF HELL - Write-ups for more high-level demons, including one of the Third Circle
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CHARMS 3 - Further Charms for the Infernal Exalted
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HELL ON EARTH - New locales and plot hooks for Infernals in Creation
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GREEN SUN PRINCES - Quick Character traits for a variety of Infernal Exalted
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THE FACE OF THE TITANS - An in-depth look at the nature of the relationship between the Yozis and their demonic souls, with storytelling advice on how to use it in your games
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THE PRICE OF DAMNATION - An in-depth look at the forbidden pacts and unholy power of warlocks, including the temptation of new Eclipse Charms
I truly thought those last two were longshots. What a great ending! LOL, who saw me throw a random "Charms 4" section on the end as we kept going. Full scramble mode. And we almost unlocked that one as well!! Ha, backers still grumbly about that Warstriders goal from 8 years ago! I thought we had it!! I've learned lessons about Stretch Goal ordering since then!
So a huge congratulations to Vance, Elliott and the team on this project, and to all of the backers who've joined in to make this possible. I'm happy about the goals we hit and rewards we introduced, but I'm also always amazed and excited about having 2,126 backers join in to support this epic game - and that epic Backer Train at the end! We lasted almost an extra hour!!
COMMUNICATION
So, as noted in
today's earlier update, starting around the end of January I'll be sending out updates once a month and whenever we've got a new goal, survey, or other item to cover. If you have any questions or need clarification on something related to the campaign, feel free to get in touch. I may not respond until the new year, but after I've recovered from this campaign, that outrageous backer train,
and all of 2025, I'll be in touch!
FEEDBACK FORM
You can use this
Feedback Form to share your thoughts with the developers until the end of the year.
The form closes on December 31st, so make sure any notes you have are submitted before we head into 2026, and help guide the manuscript through the next stages of development and editing.
TO CONTACT ME
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Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
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Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your forthcoming survey page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.
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:
Backers make it better! Now, get ready to march into the demonic realm with the Infernal Exalted!
CROWNED BY HELLFIRE
-Previously-
Outro
Four years passed swiftly. What once was Shumad became the Tassam Empire. Nerim remained the capital. Its walls were rebuilt within the year, and new sections depicted the night the Circle liberated the city: Six Wicked Strings smashing the gate, Nehramus Cast-Down-the-Heavens unlocking prison cells, Ajad radiant before a cowering king. Marvelous Cinnabar appeared twice: a striking figure at the helm of his ship and the towering monster rising out of the ocean ahead of it. Swift Hart Qu was depicted receiving the surrender of the Shumad generals, though in truth he’d spent most of that night working from the shadows. The artists had insisted on representing them all in some form, though, so accepting surrender it was.Â
Tassam had prospered. With Nerim stabilized, they’d looked outward. Cinnabar’s fleet controlled shipping lanes throughout the Sayfar Domain, bringing several ports into the empire. Under Six’s command, the empire’s influence spread inland as well. Ajad had discovered a warstrider deep within a First Age ruin, and brought in sorcerer-engineers to repair it. The Circle had even tamed a clutch of flying behemoths, as much as any such beasts could be tamed. The shadow of their leathery wings blotted out the sun when they passed overhead, stoking enemies’ fears.Â
But every year the Bronze Tide grew closer, swallowing up more and more of the Cinder Isles. At last, they’d arrived at Nerim. Their ships blockaded the harbor. Their army sat outside the gates, eager to begin the attack.Â
The Circle met in the council room. The siege had lasted weeks now, and unrest was taking its toll on the city. The Tide had been preceded by a wave of refugees, driven from their homes by the advancing forces. Nehramus had ordered them to be welcomed, clothed, and fed, given shelter and work. As it was, the Ascendant spent half her waking hours conjuring locusts to feed the city and fend off starvation.
Ajad and Six hovered over battle plans, arguing over their options.
“They’ll burn everything if they take the city,” said Six. “I’ve seen what they leave behind and it isn’t much. Kill the defenders, enslave anyone they deem useful, destroy the rest.” The Tide’s advance was only part of what had kept him busy in the outlying territories these last few years. Behind them would come Spear-Empress Bhadri and her Fair Folk.
“They won’t take it.” Ajad shuffled through dispatches, frowning at what she read therein. “Has there been any other word from our envoys?”
“The message is the same every time: Surrender.” Cinnabar paced back and forth. He wanted to be on the Pandemonium, cutting through the waves toward the Bronze Tide’s fleet, not here talking about it.
Qu consulted a sheaf of letters, some from his spies within Nerim, others from his contacts in neighboring city-states. “My informants say that Jural Three-Trees, one of Lukha’s advisors, meets with would-be rebels on the outskirts of Burr. And that there’s a rift between the two on the matter of what to do with Bhadri should they capture her. There’s an opportunity.”
“He’s right.” Six tapped the map where Burr was located, a small port less than a day’s ride from Nerim. “And even if this Jural wishes to remain loyal, we’ll have the chance to sow dissent.”
“We?” asked Nehramus.
Cinnabar finally stopped pacing, standing beside Qu. “If there are rebels plotting, we can root them out while we’re there.”Â
He said this to Ajad, who leveled a glare at him. “None of you need to go in person to shut down a handful of malcontents.”
“Burr has taken in hundreds of refugees,” said Nehramus. “They’re the ones who’ll suffer if you end up fighting one of Luna’s Chosen in the streets.”
Ajad nodded. She and Nehramus butted heads often, but in this they were united. “It puts our resources at unnecessary risk. When the siege lifts, we have shipments of food and supplies waiting in its harbor.”
Qu peered between the two of them. “What if the rebels set fire to the supply ships? Or the Bronze Tide seizes them for itself and razes the town? If we go, at least we’ll have tried something.”
Before they could argue further, a resonant clattering filled the air. Blood-ape guards threw the council room’s doors open to admit a rolling, rumbling oldrasek. The messenger-demon rolled toward Nehramus, and said in a chiming voice, “The generals report movement among the troops. Lukha Palash stands outside the gates, demanding an audience.”
Lukha Palash, the cobalt-haired leader of the Bronze Tide, hadn’t come alone. His entourage consisted of the keen-eyed Jural Three-Trees; a white-haired Yensei strategist named Parav; and several demon servitors including Astogal, his shape covered in flowers perpetually blooming and rotting.Â
Lukha had brought refreshments, delicacies from across the Cinder Isles: Mygdon wine, pomegranates from fallen Argidos, Issyk honey spread on flatbread. Such foods were both enticement and warning — see what riches we’ve taken from the people we’ve conquered. Six and Cinnabar partook with pleasure despite the tension. Qu and Ajad were more subdued, eating and drinking as much as etiquette required and nothing more. Nehramus declined all that was offered, insisting she couldn’t eat while her people went hungry within the city.
“That could all end now,” said Lukha. “Open the gates. Let us into the harbor. Nerim’s people can flee — those that we don’t need — and we’ll allow you to leave alive. You’ve conquered one empire. Surely you can find another somewhere suitable. You can even have your pick of treasures to take with you.”
Parav cleared her throat. “Within reason,” she said. She craned her neck to peer at the city’s warstrider, whose form towered above the gates. “We’ll be keeping that.”
“Or you could go back to your fleet and sail on,” said Ajad. “You can afford some losses, but how many ships smashed to flinders is too many? The waves will be red with your people’s blood before this is over, and when Bhadri and her Twelve Companions catch up to you, you’ll wish you hadn’t broken yourselves on the empire of Tassam.”
“You could join us,” said Lukha. “Add your fleet to ours and we’ll stand against the Fair Folk together.”
“Under your rule?” asked Qu.
Lukha spread his hands as if to say just so. “You’d be my advisors. The Tide has founded cities of its own. You could do the same, as part of us.”
“This is the city we chose,” said Six. “We’re not about to cede it to your rabble.”
Lukha smiled, but it had a dangerous, feral edge.
The talks broke down before sunset. The Bronze Tide insisted they’d be taking Nerim, and the Circle refused to yield.
“I should at least have bargained for more of that wine,” said Cinnabar to Qu. They were aboard the Sunrise Pandemonium, moving swiftly over the waves. The Bronze Tide’s fleet vastly outnumbered Tassam’s navy, but that hadn’t lessened Cinnabar’s eagerness to fight. It was just before dawn; the last stars were fading as the sky lightened. In the distance, the Tide’s lookouts would be getting their first glimpses of the navy approaching.
Dark shapes kept pace with the Pandemonium underwater. Every so often, something massive broke the surface in a spray of salt and seafoam, then submerged once more. Qu had lost track of which shapes were demons and which were behemoths beckoned by the Lintha among Cinnabar’s crew.
“I suppose you can try to salvage some from the ships we board today,” said Qu.
“My list of desired spoils is as long as your arm.” Cinnabar grinned. “I’ll present Lukha’s head to Ajad, but I’m keeping a lock of his hair.”
Six Wicked Strings hefted a chunk of stone from a pile of debris. Ajad would be furious at the prospect of having to repair the walls again, should they survive this. The enemy battalion had a Prince of the Earth among them, and moments ago the gates shook with the force of the Earth Aspect’s strikes before they gave way and the Bronze Tide’s warriors streamed through.
As he turned the stone over in his hands, he noticed it was part of the mural where the former rulers surrendered to the Circle. There was poetry in this, he was sure, but it would have to wait. The Dragon-Blooded monk slammed her fists into the ground. The ripples threw a dozen fighters off balance, but Six stood tall and unwavering.
The monk spotted him and leapt, her arc carrying her over the fallen and landing her before Six. He held the stone high and brought it smashing down, but she rolled away. She regained her feet quickly and charged, grabbing his arm.
Six let her get a hold of him. He waited until they were pressed close together, clasping her wrists and locking his leg around hers. Mouths opened all over his skin, teeth snapping eagerly. He laughed as she recoiled, but it was too late: his tail traced a line across the back of her neck, its barb dribbling with venom.
Nehramus chased Astagol into the palace garden. The demon had cavorted through Nerim, terrorizing all in his path with the searing rain that swirled around his body. He was bound to another, and Nehramus was unable to wrest control away from whoever that might be.Â
He fled from her at every turn — what she’d done to him last time wasn’t easily forgotten. But at last she had him cornered. He didn’t beg for mercy, didn’t attempt to bargain or wheedle. When her fists pummeled his abstract flesh, he gibbered with pain as pieces of his material form sloughed away.
But Nehramus suffered, too, her skin sizzling as each strike passed through the poison rain surrounding him. At last, Astagol dissipated, and she clutched her hands to her chest and wept.
She didn’t see the invader approaching her, dagger raised high.
Not, that was, until a blade glowing with Ligier’s green fire sang through the air and severed his hand. Flames licked at the stump, then engulfed the man entirely. Ajad stepped in close and drove her sword into his heart. She let the body fall. “I might have let him scream awhile,” she said, “but I didn’t think you’d like that.”
Nehramus smiled wearily. “After the day we’ve all had, I might not be opposed.”
“Well, we’re not dead yet.” Ajad sheathed the sword and crouched beside Nehramus, reaching for her hands. “First, let me see to those.”
Debris and bodies bobbed on the waves, the seafoam and water beneath churning with crimson. Siaka circled, eager to feast on the dead and nearly-dead. Qu was bloody and exhausted, but rest was a distant dream. The Bronze Tide was relentless, its numbers beyond even what they’d imagined. Cinnabar and his crew seemed energized by it all, roaring as they clambered aboard another vessel.Â
Qu was among the last to go across, hanging back to provide cover. Like now, when a raider dropped down from the rigging, dagger ready to strike the boy — Atash — from behind.
Only, Qu flung a poison needle into the woman’s neck. Before blood could flow, she disappeared, banished to some other space for a time. Qu had a moment to glance back toward Nerim. Smoke curled from several districts, and even from so far away, people were fighting everywhere he looked. Should we have surrendered? Should we have made a deal, no matter how bitter a pill for all of us?
Then came the bone-chilling roar of the warstrider. On the other side of the city, it rose to its full height and stepped over Nerim’s gates. Terrified shouts — thin at this distance, but distinct — reached Qu’s ears. Six must have been at the helm, or maybe Ajad. From the other side of the gangplank, Cinnabar whooped with glee.
“Come on,” he called to Qu. “We have work to do.”
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