Frank Mentzer Shares on Facebook: Truth, for the Record

The following was shared around 9 AM Eastern this morning. I'm sharing this without comment. You can read the original on Facebook here:
https://www.facebook.com/frank.mentzer/posts/2166010183478721

Frank Mentzer
2 hrs ·
Truth, for the Record

A. Dragonsfoot

In 2005, my friend and co-author Gary Gygax invited me to join him at Dragonsfoot.org. I posted often, freely interacted in several forums, and donated money when I could.

In 2015, I had a security problem (unauthorized use of my desktop computer), the only one in 10 years. But Dragonsfoot simply closed my account and never responded to my emails. They never handled the matter properly or fairly.

I did not write or send the nasty private message being quoted publicly. The recipient joined Dragonsfoot moderators Silvey, Marshall, and Gonnerman (the latter two having written OSRIC and BFRP, respectively) to make their accusations public at another website (Knights & Knaves Alehouse, now a locked NSFW thread). Their tales have been widely circulated in place of the facts. In falsely painting me as a bad guy, their actions crushed my former admiration for these two pioneers of 21st century roleplaying. Two of my idols had suddenly fallen.

B. Price

I was a Guest of Honor at Paizocon 2014. During that period I made many new acquaintances, including Lisa Stevens, Mona, Bulmahn, Alvarez, Radney-Macfarland, and others. More than one pointed out another employee, Jessica Price, and suggested that I include her in my new acquaintances, as she had notable potential. Price and I did not interact at the convention, but both of us attended a larger dinner at some point. She used feline analogies to describe herself, and spoke of her pet.

Over the next year I sent various FB friend invites to Paizo personnel, including Price. Her only response was “you’re sweet.” From that I realized that my words were misinterpreted, and I immediately pointed out that I was old and married, and left it there. However, she quickly attacked me during our subsequent Facebook interactions, so a few weeks later I unfriended her. She Blocked me immediately in her anger, and we had no further contact. As she requested, I never again had any effect on her or her life. (She has made other false claims referring to conversations that do not exist. Any claim that I meddled in her life is untrue.)

My words obviously affected and insulted her. She incorrectly treated my words as a threat, imagining nuances I did not intend. I was wrong to use the phrasing I did. I apologize once again for anything my words caused. I have tried to learn from my many errors, and I will keep trying.

Price left Paizo. Soon the “me too” movement occurred. Price dug up our brief interaction from two years earlier and repackaged it, adding paranoid fictions about my (nonexistent) meddling in her life. The careful timing of her attacks was a major factor in the destruction of my Empyrea kickstarter campaign and more than 30 jobs. I publicly apologized to her for whatever I had done, and asked for a formal investigation to clear up the falsehoods. That never happened; nobody cared. (I personally made sure everyone who worked for me got paid, whatever it took. I am poor and that hurt a lot, but I keep my word. I did not publicize that fact.)

Price was very publicly fired in July 2018 for irrational attacks on men, and became the personification of a vulgar internet meme. (https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Rando-Asshat)

I respectfully ask that the reader consider the fact that this infamous and discredited person is the primary character witness against me.
.

Personal Notes

Those who attack me know nothing about me, so it’s time to fill in some details (also see wiki/Frank_Mentzer)

I’m 68, a suburban kid who moved to the rural Midwest in 1980. I was active in the tabletop gaming industry from 1980-1988, and have only dabbled in it since, though it has been my primary hobby. Tens of millions of my works were sold, but that was long ago, and I am not a Public Figure.

My many published works and unpublished tournament adventures contain Zero controversial or objectionable elements. I’ve run more than 1100 online games, also entirely G-rated and uncontroversial, and I have text logs of most of them (perhaps a future publication).

I was hired by TSR in 1980, and they sent me to game conventions. Over 38 years, in meeting thousands of fans at hundreds of cons, there have been Zero complaints about me or my events. This of course includes Gary Cons 2008-2018. The total is now too large for me to count… several GenCon South, East, and SoCal, and 38 main GenCons (WI & Indy)… several at both TotalCon and NTRPG… dozens of small cons coast-to-coast, two in Canada, two major international cons (Finland and Italy), and many more (sorry, no room). I have a perfect record of perfect attendance and behavior.

I avoid profanity, vulgarity, and obscenity. I’m pacifist, and avoid attacking anyone or anything. I’m very private, and tend not to respond when attacked. I practice what I learned in 35 years as a game auctioneer: There are too many critics already, spreading hatred and conflict. Find something good to say about every game and every gamer, and strive to be a positive influence.

I make lots of mistakes, as do all humans. I am averse to malevolence, hatred, and other negative emotions. I mention this because attackers prefer to portray me as a highly motivated Old White Evil Power. That is another of their fictions, created so they can pretend to be good guys. In reality I’ve always been poor, have marched with and fought for minority groups, and now stand firmly with my gay and trans friends.

(Brief Downer) I survive on a Fixed (government) income and Medicare coverage. I don’t drink alcohol, not even beer. I can’t walk much, and need a scooter to navigate game conventions. I take a dozen pills a day (plus more to deal with recent stress), and suffer from emphysema, hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease, gout, cataracts, and other maladies. But retirement is wonderful.

Gaming style

At my gaming table, everyone is both welcome and equal, but you must leave your problems (and issues) at the door, for everyone’s comfort and benefit. I strongly feel that Gaming time is limited, and is for gaming and not Reality (whence we must all return afterward).

I removed the rules’ obvious white-male bias (limits on non-humans and females) decades ago. In games I include very little combat, and prefer interaction, dialogue, role-playing, and problem-solving… solutions other than ‘kill them all’. Race and gender are generally irrelevant peripheral details. In convention games and my ‘home’ (chatroom-based) games, I avoid mention of ingestion, excretion, reproduction, and other body functions, details that make some players uncomfortable. I’ve created a new roleplaying game (Fairy Tale Games/tm) that avoids the combat and bookkeeping so prevalent in modern games. I’m giving it away free.

Some Comments on the overall Situation

I do take full responsibility for my mistakes, and sincerely apologize for my errors of ignorance. Much of the fault is in not fighting back against the lies when they were created. But my internet expertise pales next to these formidable opponents, and I have no assets to balance their many accounts, platforms, and acolytes. Their machines are built to destroy, and I do not play that game.

Words & Deeds
100% of the valid complaints about me are about words. All complaints alleging real actions are false exaggerations and assumptions.

Internet Assassination
I keep getting Pearl Harbored. Dragonsfoot sought no fair resolution of our problems; they simply attacked without warning. Price sought no resolution, an ambush once again. Each attack also bears a hallmark: privacy violations. In business and law, Private generally means confidential and exclusive. To these amateur assassins, ‘confidential’ means ‘file for later public use.’ When compared to ethical professionals, their character seems markedly aberrant.

Segregationists
One extremist group promotes division, exclusion, and segregation, running convention tabletop games designed for that and advocating bans & boycotts. They publicly named me as a liability to Gary Con, basing their opinion on internet rumors alone. Despite their destructive mission objectives, their few good attributes do attract lots of forgiving fans, and that has influenced this situation.

No Resolution
I have publicly begged for someone, or some oversight body, to review the charges made in these controversial incidents and come to a fair conclusion. I believe that most of the accusations are invalid, and will be proven false. I am fully willing to be held accountable for anything I have actually done.

But in all of Hobby Gaming, including every aspect of game creation and manufacturing, organized play, and all of global fandom, there is no Oversight, no control. Anyone can claim anything, and nothing is ever resolved. Rumor and innuendo dominate the climate of the hobby, and the negativity has reached into local events. This situation is unsustainable, and is rapidly degenerating. Please fix this.

(end Part 1)

Luke Gygax follows up on Frank Mentzer's removal as Guest of Honor at Gary Con

Luke posted the following on Facebook earlier this morning. I think it sheds some light (though not a lot) on what led to Frank's removal as a guest of honor at Gary Con.

Link to Luke Gygax's FB Post:

It’s been a very busy and long day between the Army and GC but I feel this is important. 

I want to share some more information to stop the rumors and give those of you that care to know some insight as to why I made the decision to remove Frank as a Guest of Honor. I believe that it was Frank himself who emphasized the importance of communication in our community way back in Polyhedron number one. That is sage advice that I want to heed. The way things get better is through communication and that is what I was trying to do with Frank. I called him several times over the past months. Sunday was the first time he called me back and we had a chance to talk. 

I needed to talk to him about something that had become clear to me; making Frank a Guest of Honor gave the perception that Gary Con condoned some behavior that was against our policies. I feel I am taking better actions now than I have in the past. The gaming community is in the midst of change and it is change for the better. Gamers are speaking up and demanding that we provide safe and inclusive environments for all of us to gather, play games and have fun. In the past we have had to talk to Guests about their behavior at Gary Con and even tell some not to come back the following year. Sometimes an attendee has crossed the line with a volunteer, and we addressed that with them and got resolution. I believe that due to Frank’s status and friendship with my Dad, I treated him differently in the past. 

However, I want to make some things clear. No one strong-armed me into making a decision. Sure people talked to me and gave me their opinions, but no one demanded that I remove Frank as a Guest of Honor. In fact when I talked to Frank I left the door open for him to attend Gary Con as he did last year. At the end of our communication it was Frank that closed that door. I respect Frank’s contributions to our hobby and all that he did to help Gary Con over the years. I hold no animosity towards him, he is a practically an uncle to me along with Tim, Jim, Tom and Mike. Quite the opposite is true; I wish Frank well. I am saddened by this entire situation. 

This is our hobby and in my mind it is about friends sharing good games and going on great adventurers together. Someone messaged me saying that a GM or GMs were considering canceling their plans to attend in protest. I hope that isn’t true, but if anyone is thinking about it they should realize that the people you are punishing is your fellow gamers who signed up to play in your game. As I said above, communication is critical, it is what will help us be better. I am willing to listen and I have read and replied to the messages that I received. If you have a concern or a suggestion please contact me. I hope that we can focus on what things unite us and get back to enjoying ourselves by rolling dice, creating new stories and forging strong bonds of friendship.

Frank Mentzer Removed as a Guest of Honor from Gary Con

Sometimes it seems like we are in a time of un-personing the main influencers in the OSR. The removal of Zak S from the community over the last week was huge. I'm guessing Contessa is feeling its oats because now Gary Con has removed Frank Mentzer as a Guest of Honor from Gary Con.

Heres the announcement (you can read in full here:  https://garycon.com/blog/2019/02/18/harbinger-unheeded/)

Note that I am highlighting certain text that I will be commenting on below.

Harbinger Unheeded

          February 18, 2019  

By MELF

After much deliberation, I made the decision to remove Frank Mentzer as a Guest of Honor from Gary Con. His past misconduct and threatening behavior violate the ethics and harassment policies established by Gary Con. This was a difficult decision for me because Frank was a long-time friend and employee of my Dad, he has been to every Gary Con and had the honorarium of Old Guard attached to his name. He made significant contributions to the gaming industry in the 1980s with Basic D&D and the RPGA. However, Frank’s harassing behavior, threatening communications, tone-deaf and unapologetic responses are unacceptable to say the least and not the kind of behavior that represents what Gary Con is about. This form of toxic aggression is detrimental to the safe space we as a gaming community strive for.

I want to make something crystal clear, Gary Con is about celebrating the love of gaming, making friends, having fun and sharing camaraderie. All while we honor the memory of my father, one of the most important figures in RPG history. In order for Gary Con to continue to be the premiere gaming convention that it is, we must ensure that everyone feels welcome, safe, and believes that they are a valued member of our community regardless of their gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or what edition that they play. I want everyone to understand that if someone acts inappropriately, the staff will take action swiftly to correct it.  It is my reasoned judgment that having Frank as a Guest of Honor was counter to these principles.  That is the bottom line.

Luke Gygax
Founder, Gary Con

Wow. So, nothing new. Its the same drama that was attached to Frank at last year's Gary Con and he didn't get uninvited. It is also especially harsh wording. After Frank was removed as a Guest of Honor from Gamehole in fall of 2017 he was left, primarily, with two of the three Old School Cons a year. This past fall, citing health issues, Frank was limiting his convention appearances to one on a year - Gary Con. It's looking like Frank is done on the convention circuit.

Frank's comment on the situation:

The PM that got Frank Mentzer Banned from Dragonsfoot

I'm posting this with minimal comment. It was originally posted at the Knights and Knaves forum. Thread link is here: http://knights-n-knaves.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=14851

I have verified the contents of the PM with multiple sources with knowledge of the situation that wish to remain anonymous. I do believe this screenshot to be true (the redaction is contributor names)

Frank Mentzer Follows Up With The Tavernkeeper

Frank Mentzer Facebooked me via personal messages earlier today about his upcoming Kickstarter and other recent events. It was a personal conversation, but one piece in particular was pointed out by Frank to be something I could share with The Tavern's Community. It is screen shotted for authenticity below:

"A common characteristic of most Old-School sites is adherence to one specific point in the Past, generally out-of-print game systems. Very cool. Nothing wrong with that, most systems have value to many. But of all the tabletop RPG fans, the OSR buys the fewest New Products. This is fine I want to give things away... strongly preferred in these circles of course. Culturally the OSR is unique and priceless, and I applaud it. But they have chosen to be irrelevant to the current market." -FM 

I'm withholding comment until I can spend more time thinking on this, but it may very well be relevant to the recent issues over at Dragonsfoot.

Here's the source:

As I said, the rest of the conversation is private so I've only shared the piece that Frank specifically mentioned I could quote.

TSR luminary Frank Mentzer Booted from Dragonsfoot

Its been a weird couple of days over on the Dragonsfoot Forum. I wish I could explain it, but in all seriousness, I can't. I strongly suspect there were some very strongly worded PMs going back and fourth between Frank and the admin of Dragonsfoot.

We'll start with the end because sometimes stories make more sense that way. Not that this makes much sense as written:

Wow! Like, damn Wow!

So, lets follow what we can, shall we?

Not quite goodbye yet but damn close to it.

I have no words after reading the above. Or rather, I have words but I'm not sure how to put them into coherent sentences. I will say this - in June the launch date was late July. Now we'll know "by October" which doesn't mean an October launch. I'm curious as all hell but it looks like Dragonsfoot won't be a source for the info.

Obviously I should have been spending more time on Dragonsfoot.

Which leads to Frank's removal at the front of this post. Its obvious that there's more going on than meets the eye, but this is what we have. I'm withholding my opinion until there's more info to form one.

Can someone shed light on the harassment of the game designers over on Dragonsfoot? Links would be useful.

Here's another link to the thread.

edit - I left this out by mistake - not sure exactly how it fits but included for completeness:

Some Relevant Facebook Quotes from Frank Mentzer re: Empyrea Campaign Setting Kickstarter

There are bits and pieces of Frank's Facebook comments quoted on ENWorld (without sourcing it as FB comments / quotes, but I'm sure that is an oversight due to excitement) regarding the announcement of his forthcoming Kickstarter. Below I've gathered the relevant comments (edited slightly where needed for clarity)

Frank's Facebook posts and comments can be found at this link.

-Gonna be quite an Art project, as well as a full campaign set.

-We're talking to everybody listed, all old friends of mine... Caldwell, Dee, Diesel, Easley, Elmore, Holloway, Jaquays, and Otus

-Most artists are responding favorably. All are VERY busy, so we're gonna build around their schedules; a win/win.

-I plan to double-stat throughout (won't take much room) and issue free Stat Supplements for other systems, including DCC, S&W, C&C, and even Runequest.

-Shouldn't have omitted THAT one (Pathfinder), sheesh. ;> I have close friends at Paizo.

-We'll mention Greyhawk in the historical section (just the facts ma'am) but it will not be used in promotion or actual play. Gary wanted it that way.

-Deities are just masks. ;> See my Immortal set for details (and also for hints on the multiverse that applies to my campaign).

-Aquaria is a continent, Oerid is a continent. Greyhawk is a city in the latter, Empyrea in the former. WotC will receive advance copy of the historical section long before publication, and we anticipate no serious issues. We give them all due credit of ownership, we will not promote use or infract upon Gary's original. This was created before and after my TSR employment, and all I wrote 1980-86 belongs to them. So we'll work around that. But I do have Gary's original handwritten note of approval, and that's a zinger.

-Very fair questions, and I'm a cards-face-up kind of guy. We don't bend rules.

-We plan zero Stretch Goals. There may be a Deluxe version with special maps & overlays.

-Straightforward production project, no stretch. Possibly another 10-50 supplemental products if it's successful, tho (adjacent territories, Colonial play, Post-War play, and a pile of my adventures & others)

-Upcoming: I also want non-English editions; want to work with gamer/fan translators and place it with Euro publishers (avoids all kinds of taxes and stuff). I'll be in touch. :)

-it's (the project) taken 3 years to set up (along with the other stuff I'm up to)

-PR is our worst skill rating; we put all the points into Creativity. :/

-JG is not involved with production, in part because of the delays in existing projects. (All that is working out nicely, btw, just late.) This is a Loxley product. And I can't risk screwing up my very first ever Kickstarter, y'know? So I'm getting good advice on all that.

-Allan T. Grohe Jr. Frank: how will the initial release compare to what you published in a limited edition nine years ago at NTX#1?
-Frank Mentzer That was a mere hint, but it contains the core. I've retooled a few bits of campaign history to avoid legal issues, but that's the premise.

-Jennell Jaquays TBH that part of Oerth is really all Frank. I won't be hurt if any my modifications or changes to his RPGA adventures don't make it into canon.
-I want Jennell's art in the work. Alas, the Jaquays elements in ur Egg of the Phoenix compilation must be left alone, for copyright reasons.

-I'm going to describe a campaign world, in extreme detail. It doesn't hinge on any special monsters, combats, or other one-shot tricks. It's been in constant use for 40 years exactly, on a weekly basis. I'm gonna try to bottle that lightning.

-In fairness, the epic whole may suit oldschoolers more than the new, in the long run. But some folks play 5e oldschool style.

 Frank's G+ thread and comments can be found here

-I started my campaign in 1977 using a far corner of the Wilderlands set, and developed extensively from there. Many of the original names appear in both R-4 and I-12 from TSR, proving the JG connection.

-A lot of outstanding artists (but now independent, no longer TSR Staff) have a lot of work to do, and that'll take a while to schedule in. Rough guess, ship Spring 2018. With this many people on the job I can't dally. This isn't a part-time or basement job, it just got very Real

Comments from me:

-Glad Judges Guild is not involved. Frank doesn't need the attached drama.
-No stretch goals - wise.
-Not going to link to Greyhawk in promotion, but was referenced in the press release
-Frank mentioned to me at NTRPG that where Greyhawk was created for wargaming and then used for D&D, Emprea was built for for D&D right from the start.

Press Release - Historic Dungeons & Dragons® Campaign Returns - Frank Mentzer

I've been waiting for the announcement for a while. I spoke with Frank about this in June at NTRPG and I'm avidly looking forward to launch.

Historic Dungeons & Dragons® Campaign Returns 

Loxley, Madison WI, August 11 2017 

Legendary game designer Frank Mentzer, famed for his worldwide version of the Dungeons & Dragons® game, has teamed with fiction author Ted Fauster to revisit one of the earliest known D&D® fantasy worlds. The game continues to be one of the most popular of all time, and Mentzer’s version is still available in fourteen languages, on every continent. 

In 1981, Mentzer was given written permission from E. Gary Gygax (co-author of the original game in 1974) to establish and develop this little-known portion of Oerth, one of the game’s original settings. This new realm of Empyrea has a 40-year history (starting with simple materials from Judges Guild) and is still actively used. The artist Darlene, who painted Gary’s maps in his 1980 product, will create similar maps for this one. Other famous artists of that era -- including Caldwell, Dee, Diesel, Easley, Elmore, Holloway, Jaquays, and Otus -- are being invited to join the project. 

Empyrea is on the mysterious and isolated continent of Aquaria, east of Gygax’s World of Greyhawk™ setting. Until now, knowledge of this portion of the world has remained largely a mystery, as the broad and dangerous Solnor ocean separates the two. The continent is briefly described in the Advanced D&D® adventure “Egg of the Phoenix” (Mentzer & Jaquays, TSR Inc., 1987). 

“It’s time to share this Dungeons & Dragons® world with hobby gamers,” Mentzer says. “Unlike others, Gary approved this personally. Empyrea combines both traditional fantasy and science fiction elements. Magic is dominant, but technology lurks. And it’s one Realm… this isn’t a cluster of medieval city-states like Greyhawk.” 

Author Ted Fauster has accepted the role of Creative Aide, which was Mentzer’s original title when he worked with Gygax at TSR in the 1980s.Mentzer and Darlene will finance the set through crowdfunding, with support from Judges Guild. It will be compatible with the most recent Fifth Edition D&D® game (D&D 5E) as well as Mentzer’s own world-famous "Red Box" edition of the game. 

An official start date for the Kickstarter will be announced shortly after the GenCon® 50 Game Convention in August.  

For More Information, contact:
Loxley LLC
Mentzer: LoxleyKey@gmail.com
Fauster : ted@tedfauster.com
(Ownership of trademarks indicated is not disputed)

There are some more tidbits over at ENWorld.

Press release tread from Frank on G Plus.