Bundle of Holding - Worlds of 2000 AD

I was a HUGE Judge Dredd / 2000 AD fan in my college days. There was just something about the comics - over the top, gritty, and far from other comic book fares for the time.

When I saw that ENWorld Publishing had the RPG licenses for 2000 AD and other related IP, I wasn't all that excited. Maybe it was the time between when I collected and now, or the fact that it used the WOIN System, which really didn't do much for me.

All that being said, for 7.95 for the Worlds of 2000 AD Rulebook Collection, including Judge Dredd & 2000 AD, Strontium Dog, Rogue Trooper, and the Judge Dredd GM Screen is a price point I can buy in at, even if only for the setting material and background stuff. The threshold price (about 19 bucks) includes the Adventure Collection with seven more Judge Dredd RPG supplements worth an additional $49, including the Luna-1 Sourcebook, five full-length adventures (The Apocalypse War, The Cursed Earth, The Judge Child, The Day the Law Died, and The Robot Wars), and the Case Files Compendium of short scenarios.

Bang for the buck, I suspect the Rulebook Collection is all I need. YMMV.

21 days left for this offer as I type this.

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When is an Interview Not an Interview? When it's on ENWorld...

"Was hoping for an interview. This reads more like an infomercial. That criticism aside, I do like hearing from the creators of TTRPG products and do want to encourage more of these articles. I would just hope that they are more substantial."

Thus goes the first comment on the ENWorld article titled: Matthew Sprange, Mongoose Publishing, Discusses Traveller and Paranoia. The thing is, he doesn't really. At least, not in the normal sense. There is no interview. There aren't even quotes. It almost feels like a happenstance sit down at a bar, where you try and cobble together some memories of the conversation the next morning while fighting a hangover. Oh, and a quick google search of everything said company published to flesh it out.

"This is really an infomercial piece for Mongoose and not anything else. I am quite disappointed." 

Ah yes, it does read like that. But have no worries, no sir! This article was paid for an supported by the ENWorld Patreon! Your donations at work. You DO donate, right?

"I would love to have seen an actual transcript of the conversation."

As would I. If one existed, I expect we would have been reading that instead.

"While I wouldn't go so far as to call this an infomercial, I agree with the other commenters that this would be a lot more interesting if it was a full transcribed interview (ENWORLD: "Tell me about your games" MATTHEW: "Okay, I will now talk about a game"). Or at least if it had full quotes from Matthew mixed with text, like a newspaper article ("This game is coming out. Matthew says "This game is awesome"). Sorry, it just doesn't read well like this."

Remember when ENWorld WAS publishing paid for advertisements - er, articles? Here's a link from 2016 - How Much Actual "RPG News" is There to Report?

"It reminds me of what you might get in high school when the teacher says "Please submit a 1 to 2 page report on the topic of your choice. Please interview someone as part of your research." Also hard to pin down whether this was a quick review of Mathew or of current and future Mongoose products."

So, the Patreon has been in existence at least since 2016. How successful is it?

Assuming it pays for an article a day, it pays about 4 bucks a published piece. I guess you really do get what you pay for.

I will give credit where credit due. Not only is this article still up (it was published Thursday, July 11th - Today is Sunday, July 14th) but the comments are still up too and no one from ENWorld has tried to defend it. It's almost like they don't care.

The Tavern Chat Podcast - E117 - ENWorld has News & Transdimensional Tavern Thoughts

Strange how Chris Helton left ENWorld nearly two months ago and only now are they announcing it. Oh, I blame Joe D for transdimensional tavern thoughts...

Yep, ENWorld has news. Helton is officially gone and Mike Tresca is now managing editor of the ENWorld Columnist program. I have some thoughts on a Transdimensional Tenkar's Tavern.

Link to Episode 117 - https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/episodes/E117---ENWorld-has-News--Transdimensional-Tavern-Thoughts-e2684h

Link to ENWorld Article - http://www.enworld.org/forum/content.php?5584-The-New-EN-World-Columnist-Program

There's a Small Change with the EN World Logo - Less EN World - More Morrus

So, I noticed a little something when I went to ENWorld this morning. Yep, the logo changed. Not sure how recently but the Wayback Machine had the old logo in March of this year.

Whereas before it was EN World RPG News & Reviews now it is Morrus' Unofficial EN World Tabletop RPG News. Actually, I'm not sure where "EN World" goes in this - maybe you read it at the end?

So, the news is now "unofficial", reviews are no longer stressed and Morrus has priority over "ENWorld" itself. I find it interesting that the name of the site itself is de-emphasized.

What does all this mean? Haven't a bloody clue ;)

Wherein ENWorld Makes the Same Faux Pas I Was (Rightfully ) Accused of Years Ago

The release of the D&D Rules Cyclopedia in Print is a big deal. I covered it yesterday. ENWorld posted about it over night.

A few years back, when WotC started releasing (or re-releasing) the classic TSR titles in PDF on RPGNow, I was excited and started posting their releases here at The Tavern nearly in realtime. As I do with reviews, I included the publisher's boilerplate. I also was including Shannon Appelcline's historical pieces that were attached after the boilerplate. I truly don't recall if I gave Shannon credit or not - but as his credit line is the last paragraph of each of the entries, I probably did. I'm an asshole if I didn't.

I was, however, accused of "stealing content" from OneBookShelf in a thread at ENWorld at the time and they were right. The boilerplate is legit, its the product description, but the historical summary? That's wasn't mine to copy the whole cloth of. Quote a few sentences perhaps, but refer back to the source for the rest.

I guess such social graces don't apply to ENWorld. Funniest part? They use the whole historical piece EXCEPT for the author's credit:

Here's the bottom part of the same article on RPGNow:

Oh, and I guess they no longer worry about mentioning articles with affiliate links have such links:

Notice the line just over the posts here at The Tavern?

Its not hard to do. And I mention it again on posts that have affiliate links.

I am far from perfect. I do, however, admit my mistakes and try to not repeat them. I find it amusing to see others commit the exact same mistakes they rightfully called me out on prior.

Claiming Authorship to Something that Isn't Yours - Oh, and Wyrms Footnotes Returns!

Ever get that feeling of Deja Vu? Where you know you've seen something before but simply can't place it? Well, I'm feeling that now.

Above is an article from the ENWorld homepage. I'll link to it directly, which ENWorld seems to have an issue doing itself. Note, neither of the links in the above article go to the original article.

So, why does that look familiar?

Right. Exactly. Bet you didn't know it was a copy and paste of Michael O'Brien's original post. No link to the original post either. You MIGHT even think it was an interview conducted by ENWorld.

Same happened with +Frank Mentzer original announcement of his forthcoming KS. ENWorld's article lifted it all from Frank's Facebook post with no links or mention that it was from Facebook. (For Frank's FB feed, see here)

I do like ENWorld for the news they post, but perhaps linking to the actual sources instead of making the illusion that an interview took place would serve the community better.

Note, when I source a press release - or ENWorld or any other site, I show it as a quotation and link to the source. Should I fail to do so, please call my ass out on it.

Oh, and awesome news about Wyrms Footnotes! Can't have too much RuneQuest!

There is a Disturbance in the Force - ENWorld Homepage is Down, but Direct Links Work

Yep, www.enworld.org is down but www.enworld.org/forum/content.php works fine. Weird.

I hope if The Tavern goes down someone would tell me. I'd tell Morrus via social media, but I'm blocked on Twitter, FB and various social media.

Should ENWorld be Endorsing Ennie Nominations?

Tip of the hat to Venger Santanis for pointing me in the direction.

Sean Fannon's Picks of the Week for July 8th. Its a regular column that is also posted on Sean's own blog, but of course, ENWorld is what drives the traffic.

and so on for categories such as:

Best Electronic Book
Best Writing
Best Setting
Best Rules

I'm sure I'm going to surprise many when I say I don't fault Sean for his picks nor posting them at his own blog. Heck, I made picks of my own.

The issue here is that by posting this on ENWorld, the company / site that is the force behind the ENnies (as well as lending its name to them) this sure as hell comes of as picking ENWorld favorites for certain categories. This NEVER should have gotten past Morrus or anyone else that might do the editing (if there is such) at ENWorld.

As the organization running the ENnies, ENWorld should be above reproach. Ethically, they should not give the appearance of endorsing any nominations and they sure as hell look like they are doing so.

This is ground ball shit. Simply another reason to hope that there is some transparency to the ENnies process in the near future.

Another Fine Article on ENWorld - Ernie Gygax Shares A Little of Tenser's History

Alright, stop the presses! I have found yet ANOTHER OSR related article on ENWorld that should interest the readers of The Tavern. Ernie Gygax shares shares some of Tenser's history.

The article is a short one and I'm only repeating a single paragraph here - grab the rest over on ENWorld.

"Tenser was the first magic user ever in Greyhawk. No books or previous experience existed. The first spell I took was a Read Magic and I used it to read the glyphs above a stairway leading down (level 1 to 2). It told us (Rob, Terry and I) that as you descend into the depths of the Dungeon the encounters will be more difficult but the rewards far grander. At 3rd level when facing off with an Evil 5th level mage I asked to join him and turn to Evil with him. He laughed stripped me naked and released me on the 3rd level to die. I made it to the surface. Took a rock in hand and set an ambush on another low level wandering mage. This stocked me with a new outfit, but I truly missed my now missing paralyzation wand. "

The Hero's Journey Gets Reviewed on ENWorld

Well well. The Hero's Journey got a nice, if short review over on ENWorld.

The Hero’s Journey is a neat rulebook with a clear layout, offering multiple optional rules for basically everything. What’s missing? Random encounter tables, adventure creation guidelines, and substantial GM advice. You could use the player-facing rules and the bestiary as is in conjunction with your favourite GM-facing procedures, or just steal your favourite bits and merge them with your own old-school frankengame.

It actually says nice things about THJ, but I think looking for adventure guidelines and substantial GM advice from a ruleset that will probably not be anyone's first foot in the OSR is repetitive. Now, of course I love me some random tables so...

There's more to the above review which s linked here.

Did I mention that some of the commenters do not know what a homage is? Sigh.

Using The Tavern's affiliate links keeps the coffers from emptying. 5% of sales via RPGNow's affiliate links go to fill those coffers.

2000 AD / Judge Dredd coming to EN Publishing

My first Judge Dredd RPG was published by Games Workshop. Later, I found the Mongoose version. Soon we will have an EN World version. Colour me very surprised (see what I did there?)

Here's some of the official announcement:

EN Publishing, under license with Rebellion, are developing a range of Tabletop Adventure Games and supplements based on the iconic characters and worlds found in the legendary British comic 2000 AD. 

“2000 AD has forty years of rich history and storytelling and this worldwide license allows us to explore those characters and stories and bring them to the tabletop” Angus Abranson, Business Manager of EN Publishing said. 

The first release will be Judge Dredd & The Worlds of 2000 AD Tabletop Adventure Game, a full colour hardcover book which contains the core ‘Worlds of 2000 AD’ rules as well as setting information enabling the players to not only play Judges, but also civilians and perps, in Mega-City One. 

“The rules system we’re using is our own WOIN (What’s Old Is New) engine that also powers our N.E.W. – The Science Fiction Roleplaying Game which spent some time as the #1 best seller on RPGNow” said system designer and EN Publishing Owner, Russ Morrissey. “The system is incredibly flexible and can cater seamlessly for the Celtic environs of Slaine to spacefaring hijinks of the Ace Trucking Co.” 

Judge Dredd & The Worlds of 2000 AD will be followed by a series of adventure sourcebooks giving players and Game Masters the opportunity to play through the story arcs that made Judge Dredd such an enduring character. 

“We’ll be publishing a series of books, starting with The Robot Wars, which will not only allow players and GMs to play through the events that took place in the comic arc, but also add to the game setting with additional rules or source material relevant to the period or location. So, for instance, Robot characters will be expanded in The Robot Wars whilst in Luna-1 we’ll be providing detailed information on the moon colony and life there” Nick Robinson, Line Developer for the Worlds of 2000 AD Tabletop Adventure Game said. “The idea is to move chronologically through the classic story arcs in the 2000 AD Progs providing adventures for not only Judges, but for those players who may wish to explore the Dredd universe from a different perspective – that of a Civilian or even a Perp. Each book will contain a core adventure, mini-adventures based upon the other story arcs at the time, as well as expanded settingand rules information.” 

In addition to the support material for the Judge Dredd campaign a series of ‘Campaign Guides’ are planned which will cover other 2000 AD settings.

You can read the rest of the announcement here.

I'm not a huge fan of the WOIN system, but many of us buy this still not for the system but for the setting.

ENWorld - It's Confirmed - Sean Fannon has No Intention of Disclosing his Affiliate Links

Before I get into Sean (now doesn't that sound awkward?) I'd like to highlight that ENWorld is indeed continuing to prominently highlight when a post is sponsored. Which is a good thing. Heck, this week's Sponsored Post was posted by none other than Sean Patrick Fannon (SPF) himself. Take a looksie:

So, its obvious that Sean understands the conversation that has been going on about disclosure, advertising and affiliate links. I mean, he is the one that inadvertently got the discussion started for us with this piece of wisdom:

Why is it then, that Sean, obviously under pressure, included such a disclosure on his weekly posting right before ENWorld went down and lost 4 1/2 month of posts (including the one in question) and since resurfacing hasn't disclosed?

Simple. He was trying to get rid of the negative attention he himself had generated. He put himself in a corner and had to find a way out. By posting the above, he figured he had. When ENWorld lost 4 1/2 months of posts, he saw his chance to wish it all away. Because without the above screenshot, it never would have happened.

If it seems that I am insinuating that Sean doesn't appreciate his readers, he most certainly does - as a revenue stream. You see, when ENWorld was offline for those days, Sean's affiliate referral monies nearly disappeared. Now I'm sure in Sean's mind that drop in revenue was due to the disclosure of his affiliate links. Folks simply didn't want to feed his family. Or at least, that's the excuse he's telling himself. ENWorld being offline had nothing to do with it.

My personal experience is that disclosure, disclosure as full as humanly possible, results in a noticeable increase in revenue for The Tavern. Maybe my readers are simply better than Sean's (well, I know they are ;) but I truly believe that folks prefer honesty and openness.

The Tavern existed before there was significant monetary support from the community. It would still exist even if that support were to cease. Your support allows me to devote time to gaming projects, post excessively, be a burr against the skin of those that have taken advantage of the gaming community and, most importantly, justifies devoting my time in retirement to the community and not some time filler of a part time job (yes, you effectively keep Rach happy.) Heck, starting next year you may see us at more than one Convention. Not because I'll be a Guest (thanks Sean for bragging about that today) but because I want to get out and meet more of The Tavern's Community - and game! Your support will make that happen.

Thank you all for your support. Without you, there is no community. Without the community, there would be no reason for The Tavern to exist.

edit: Sean discloses his affiliate link usage at his own site, which makes his failure to do so at ENWord ever more perplexing

ENworld - Back With 4 1/2 Month Data Loss - Dej Vu All Over Again

Yep, ENWorld is back with a 4 1/2 month data loss. Talien seems to have done a good job of backing up his own articles, as they've made a reappearance (and are generally a decent read, glad to see they weren't lost) Others? Not so lucky.

Last week I was praising Sean Fannon for stepping up and doing the right thing by disclosing his affiliate links. This after he said some less than stellar things a few weeks ago about news and advertising. Well, last week's Fannon post is gone, as are the others.

As for yesterday's post? It seems all has been forgotten. No disclosure. I wish I could say I was surprised, but I'm not. It's simple human nature.

I have affiliate disclosures on the top of this very page and try to remember to also include a further disclosure with every post that has affiliate links. I don't always succeed, but I do try.

Now, to answer some very important questions that were posed recently:

Q - Why do you hate ENWorld so much?

A - I don't hate ENWorld. It is the most visible part of our hobby's community, and I'd like to think it should be setting examples, not be used as an example.

Q - You're doing this shit because you hate <insert name>

A - Not really a question, but I don't hate anyone at ENWorld. I may dislike one or two personalities over there, but they haven't come up in any recent ENworld related postings over here

Q - Why don't you pick on someone your own size?

A - ENWorld does roughly 8 times the web traffic that The Tavern does. David, meet Goliath.

Q - You're a fucking asshole, you know that?

A - So I've been told. I've been called worse over 20 years as a cop. By much more intimidating individuals as well as little old ladies.

Q - Why do you even care?

A - I spent the last part of my career supervising detectives in Internal Affairs. I care about honesty and integrity within our community.

Q - Who the fuck made you a "journalist?"

A - No one. Everyone. It's not a label I have attached to myself but its a role I occasionally play due to my investigative background.

Q - You're just causing controversy to increase your own readership to make more advertising dollars. I've seen your type on YouTube. My mother warned me about you.

A - Again, not really a question, but AdSense drives about a dollar a day in ad revenue, and that's on a good day. If I doubled The Tavern's web traffic, maybe that would hit 2 dollars a day? But it ain't going to happen. The Tavern's readership is strongly based in the OSR and the market is what it is

Q - Who made you RPG cop?

A - No one. I do what I do because it is what I do. Before you ask, I'll answer you next question. Who polices The Tavern? The community does. They call me on my shit.

I'm more than willing to disclose The Tavern's financials on a regular basis. They are much less impressive than one would expect.

ENWorld is Currently Offline and Set to Lose Last 3 Months of Content

Yeah, I know. You don't visit ENWorld.

Still, in the world of RPGs, ENWorld and RPG.net are the two big boys.

ENWorld is currently offline and has been for... no idea (see how often I peek?)

I'm not sure if it's three months of everything lost or just forum posts, but the loss of three months of forum posts is a HUGE hit.

It looks like the backup was corrupted, thus the huge loss.

Of course, this reminded me to back up The Tavern, which I rarely do. A hair over 90mb.

Might I suggest we all take this as a shared lesson and back up our stuff.

In Blogger, go to "Settings" - "Other Settings" - "Import & back up" - click "Back up Content" - it may take a minute or two - or five.

Update - Disclosures ARE Good :)

I think we can safely say that the latest mini-tempest in this hobby of ours has been brought to it's positive conclusion.

Over the past weekend, there was pushback over on ENWorld (to the point where a long time poster was blocked) over Sean Fannon's outright refusal to declare his use of affiliate links in his Sean's Pick's posts.

Well, I guess Sean saw things differently after giving it further thought. I applaud him for his decision to disclose his affiliate links in a manner total appropriate.

From this morning's Sean's Picks post:

I tip my hat to Sean in respect.

Changes like this and the prominent labeling of Sponsored Content at ENWorld wouldn't have happened if the community weren't vocal, and you were. Well done.

Sean Digs a Hole and Buries Himself While Stealth Editing His Own Words

I thought this was over and done but apparently commenters over at ENWorld are concerned that Sean Fannon is not disclosing that his use of affiliate links in his ENWorld posts. As for Sean, he's not changing a thing.

BTW, Sean's comment that is being responded to? Deleted. But I guess Sean can't delete the comments of others.

Wanna make a guess? Yep, Sean deleted his comment here too, which is captured in the response. A little snarky, perhaps? Am I the blogger clamoring for attention? No, just pointing out failures in the system. ENworld fixed their poorly marked "sponsored articles." Why not fix this?

Sean is being stubborn for NO legitimate reason. Add a simple "FYI - I make some cash back on sales made through my affiliate links. Thank You in advance."

I'm making an effort to be very open and disclose probably more than is necessary. Sean doesn't need to go that far.

ENworld gets about 8x the page views The Tavern gets on a daily basis (using websiteoutlook.com to get those estimates.) If I average on a yearly basis $1k from OBS referral sales, Sean must be doing significantly more. Why risk getting in trouble? Simply disclose that the links make one referral monies.

Yep. Gotta love that quote above: "He also noted that he doesn't consider himself a journalist and some other stuff that I unfortunately did not write down. I didn't bother to do that because "professional" news services don't actually stealth-modify their own posts, but instead issue corrections...."

This is one of those "learning moments" over at ENWorld. Well, learning moment or head in the sand. Time will tell.

If you go through all 6k+ posts here at The Tavern, you will see me, warts and all. I don't retcon and I don't stealth edit. I went to war with people I now consider friends and the "wars" are still there to be read by all. Own up to your mistakes and move forward. Digging a hole for yourself and then trying to cover it up by filling the hole back up is silly.

As an aside, if anyone ever wondered why I use so many screenshot and not simply a "copy / paste", this is why. Screenshots show what was, before the attempts to rewrite what happened. I can't misquote someone when I go with an actual screenshot of their words.

Disclosure: Sean Fannon was the Community Manager (or some similar title) at OBS when The Tavern was starting to get it's feet. His support was appreciated as he supplied The Tavern with occasional prizes to give away and seemed pleasant to interact with. I am predisposed to like Sean, but not his recent statements regarding news & advertising nor his undisclosed use of affiliate links. The FTC Guidelines were published recently, and while they may appear to be over cautious and to some heavy handed, it is what it is.

Edit - Here is what I believe was removed from the ENWorld posting:

How Much Actual "RPG News" is There to Report?

Lets be honest - there is very little actual "RPG News" to report on and any website that claims there is, is either fooling themselves, their readers or both.

Why do I say that when there is an extremely well trafficked website that bills itself as "The source of RPG News and Reviews?" Because they confuse announcements and sponsored fluff as news or news facsimiles. Some random new gaming Kickstarter from your friend in the industry is now news.

No, it is not. It may be interesting information to your readers, but it's not news.

"News" is WotC announcing an OGL for 5e or The Gygax Trust licensing it's IP. It is not announcing some obscure Swedish RPG Kickstarter or the latest virtual issue of Dragon going live (which it does every month, like clockwork) Those are "announcements." It's information. It's something which you might expect in a trade magazine.

However, this is what they are listed under:

GURPS turning 30? It's a "sponsored" article (and kudos to ENWorld for finally making that fact more prominent after the pushback on the "it's a fine fuzzy line between news, promotion and outright advertising" stupid statement) but it falls under RPG News Updates. So, sponsored articles? "News", of course.

That "red highlight" as well as the "This is a sponsored post" are new.
Yep, you can thank this "abusive personality" 

Press releases? File them under "News" at ENWorld:

Why "pay(s) a bunch of folks to post press releases?" Because the truth is there is little actual news and being the source of RPG Informational Updates, Press Releases and Sponsored Content sounds so... not very sexy.

As for investigative reporting? Never bite the hand that feeds you.

Am I being too dogmatic about what constitutes actual "RPG News?" Perhaps. Maybe my definition is too narrow. I certainly think ENWorld's definition is far too wide and dilutes the value of any true news to be found, lost in the mire of sponsored content and press releases filed under "News".

Once you, the reader and consumer of ENWorld content, realizes what that actual content is, you'll best be able to make your own informed decision as to it's value.

Addendum:

After I wrote this post a Taverner forwarded me the following:

If one is an "abusive personality" for pointing out shortcomings in how a "News Site" flags "sponsored content" and how it pimps the reinvention of the history of someone like Gareth Sharka, I'll gladly take the mantel upon myself. Because if they had done nothing wrong, they never would have changed the way they flagged "sponsored content". The criticism would not have been "legitimate criticism." I stand by my postings.

I would, however, like a link or links to the posts from these "mean spirited personalities." That infers there is more than one. Who else then? Oh, right. Morrus doesn't read them.

Morrus won't read your comments. Your feedback is irrelevant. Critique and criticism have no place in a community that covers it's ears and hums so it can't hear you. Until it does. But it won't acknowledge your criticisms even as it takes actions to correct them.

Down the Rabbit Hole - ENWorld's Sean Fannon Thinks "it's a fine, fuzzy line between news, promotion, and outright advertising" (Rant)

Digger deeper into Sean Fannon's recent postings on ENWorld we get the above lapse in ethical judgement. Apparently Sean hasn't bothered to read the FTC's guidelines on online advertising, but the line isn't fuzzy - it's downright distinct. If you are getting paid by another company to say nice things about their products, you must disclose it. Not doing so puts not only ENWorld in violation but also the company who paid for the nice words.

But the legal stuff isn't even what pisses me off, it's the idea that, as a consumer and reader of ENWorld, you apparently don't care about the difference between news and "outright advertising." Just so long as you are shown all of the new releases and dutifully spend your money on them, everything is awesome.

What a dismissive attitude to have towards your own community.

So, what about the linked article for the Hunters Mark KS for 5E?

Shadows of the Colossus. Dark Souls. Monster Hunter. These games - and the desire to create a specific kind of customized campaign experience for D&D 5E players - lie at the heart of Hunters Mark: Long Live the Hunt. It's a pretty spiffy merger of full roleplay tabletop gaming with the more compelling elements of action computer games. This is a magical, monster-hunting thing that Game Natural has wrought.

HUNTERS MARK is an adventure/sourcebook for D&D 5E. It contains new monsters, crafting, gear, and rules for running a party of hunters! 

The Hunter’s Mark story is an adventure for level one through ten plus characters, serving as a guidebook for players and their characters while also a powerful resource for game masters to develop their craft. In addition to thirty bounties with full-color artwork, the book includes three main features: rules for bounties, crafting, and guild pets. The Hunter’s Mark provides gaming groups with an immersive, customizable experience where gamers can turn any bestiary into a monster hunting campaign.

There are any number of ways to approach a fantasy RPG, but let's face it - there's just something really cool about gathering a bunch of hardcore specialists together, each customized to their own specialties (and, hey, maybe their own special pet!), and going out into the big, dangerous world to hunt down the monsters that threaten the decent, peaceful folk.  

Thrilling heroics! Fun and profit! Who's in!?!

I see this one being a serious stand-out in the crowd of 5E-oriented products, folks, and I look forward to hearing how your campaigns with this go.  

Now where's my repeating crossbow?

I removed some of product description from the quote above. Interesting sounding release. Sean sure sounds psyched!  Does he mention anywhere in the piece that he's a paid shill for this "high level sponsor"? Of course not. Why would he? It would ruin the illusion.

There you have it folks. ENWorld, the RPG "News and Reviews" site. Where paid advertising masks as news and promotion. Sadly, there is no viable alternative for those that are looking one stop shopping for 5e and Pathfinder "news".

As I said before, there are reasons I don't accept paid sponsorships or direct advertising at The Tavern. I avoid becoming the ethical swampland that others have slipped into.

Does ENWorld Publish ANY Sean Fannon "News Articles" That AREN'T Stroke Jobs? (Follow Up Post - Rant)

This article is published under the ENWorld Network News section

(This post is a follow up post to this post)

Really, its a valid question. Does ENWorld publish "News Articles" by Sean Fannon that AREN'T Stroke Jobs? Because when it comes to Sean Fannon, every thing is awesome!

I had hoped to find some critical thinking at the RPG New & Reviews website, but no. Instead, we get Sean telling us how "Gareth Michael Skarka is an icon in the game hobby and industry that is hard to ignore."

Sure he's Iconic in the game hobby and industry - as someone who, 5 years later, still hasn't released his promised work - Far West. Someone who has outright lied about dozens of completion dates. Someone who managed to screw up a deal to save his ass with Cubicle 7. Who finds time to tweet throughout the day but goes silent on his Kickstarter page for days or weeks at a time.

Yeah, he's an icon alright. He sits right up there with serial Kickstarter abuser Ken Whitman. Sean, when can we expect Kenny's stroke job?

Even with this warning, the comments call Gareth on his shit, which Sean is not willing to do 

Even Sean's Picks aren't based upon perceived quality - it's Sean's work, his friends' work, nepotism through and through. Sean does it for the affiliate sales, but why does ENWorld tolerate it?

I'm guessing it's for the advertising. When folks put up ads and pay you money, they don't want critical thinking. They don't want negativity about anyone's products. They want a Happy Happy Joy Joy website, where everyone strokes each other's ego and few, if any, bother to think.

Whenever I think of opening The Tavern's doors to sponsorship, I look at ENWorld and realize it would never work. The Tavern would be neutered and soulless.

Everything is Awesome!

Adamant Entertainment 2.0 - Someone Does Not Know the Definition of Stalwart

and with that I threw up a little in my mouth

ENWorld has this sweet little article about how Gareth is resurrecting Adamant Entertainment. They call the article Adamant Entertainment 2.0 - Rebirth of a Brand, Return of a Stalwart and it's a blatant Sean Patrick Fannon fluff piece.

Holy shit, talk about nepotism in the gaming industry.

Is there controversy* associated with Adamant? Certainly. Gareth is the first to admit it, but he's also had a very difficult road along the way, and many in his position would have thrown in the towel, dumped the whole mess, and moved on to another path.

Does Gareth admit it with his small quote later in the article? Fuck no. Hell, Far West isn't even mentioned until you follow the "asterisk" and get this gem from Sean:

(*) - I know as I type this that the Comment section will contain some vitriol, as there are those who have very strong opinions about how Far West has gone so far. I will not engage, so don't expect me to, and I really would prefer if folks could keep their tone civil, please. You are welcome to your opinions, and reasonable discourse is encouraged... but cruelty and angry, accusatory rhetoric is not helpful. This effort by Gareth to come back from adversity and get things on track is the way to successfully executing all that has been promised, in this columnist's humble opinion.

What exactly is "accusatory rhetoric?" Mentioning a KS over 4 1/2 years late? Broken promises? Outright lies? How about Buckaroo Bonzai?

What a fucking load of bullshit.

My opinion of Mr Fannon has ebbed and flowed since he became a columnist for ENWorld, but this poor excuse of an article isn't news, it's propaganda to white wash his friend's failures and lies. "Stalwart" my ass! Try "unreliable" and you'd be closer to the truth.

Con Crud lingers years later.

Right, why engage those that actually call you on your bullshit...