When is Enough is Enough (GenCon Rant)?

 

I've mentioned, probably far too often, that in a previous life I served as a tournament/convention organizer for a game company. In that capacity I used to travel to the Origins Game Fair every year and I tried to go to GenCon, but only went 2 or 3 times.

The difference between the two, from an organizer's perspective, was night and day.

Origins would have convention staff come by and make sure the GMs were happy. They'd give us, as a group, convention money that could be doled out as needed for food, drinks (the best bang-for-convention-buck), con badges, and even hotel space (worst bang-for-the-buck). The staff would make sure our tables/room had what was needed and if there was an issue, they made sure we/I knew where to go for assistance. One time, before my tenure, we had a problem player we ejected from our games and the convention just straight-up banned him for a few years. We didn't care if he played elsewhere, just not with us. The convention just figured that if an attendee was an issue with one group, he'd probably be a problem with other groups and didn't want to subject other attendees to the hassle.

GenCon.....ugh. In all the games I organized there I saw the staff away from their designated table once.....ONCE. They clearly didn't care about anything other than getting their paid tickets for events. When I approached the staff table, they literally held out their hand for tickets before I said anything. Our games were scattered all over the place in different buildings, but usually the majority were relatively close and in the same building. I do clearly remember having problems once when they double-booked one of our tables. The other GM showed up early and was rather obstinate about moving.....honestly I think he was bitter because he rarely had players as it was. The convention staff did come by, that one time, to talk to him, but their answer was to have us "work it out" on our own. Really?

I'm sure I've bitched about this before, 'cause these experiences have been seared into my brain. The thing is everybody knows that GenCon is the "big boy" in the room that is gaming conventions, and they have been getting bigger and bigger. I'd argue too big at that, and clearly this growth ....in my opinion... has come at the expense of customer service.....if.

IF you think that the "customer" primarily GenCon attendees. I don't think that GenCon is there to cater to attendees, but to gaming companies/vendors. What I saw seemed to me that it was all about the vendors and I recall far-too-many vendors telling me that they've got resource restrictions, most notably time, and it's getting to the point where they need to pick one summer convention and if they can only do one, it's going to be GenCon.

Now most of my favorite companies do attend both GenCon and Origins, as well as some smaller cons during other times of the year, but in the summer? Well I doubt I'll see any of these guys at NTRPG. 

Photo Courtesy WDW News Today

Now there is a LOT more than just OSR games, hell I'd argue that GenCon is lacking OSR in general, but that's a different argument. I'm just saying there are a lot of non-gaming vendors at the big cons...well non RPG gaming vendors. Cards & cosplay come to mind immediately. So we get a lot of vendors, some/many that only do GenCon in the summer. Because of this they tend to bring out their new and/or limited offers to that dealer room (why not, a huge audience) which just dials up the crush of people trying to get into the dealer's room ASAP to recockulous levels.

Organizational Failures Lead to Dangerous Mob at Opening of Gen Con 2023 and Disney Lorcana Release

GenCon is reporting they've set a new record for attendance at 70,000 unique attendees, and that is a metric shit-ton of people in not that big of an area. That isn't counting vendors and staff! GenCon is saying that their convention is bringing $75M to Indy..........wait, what? That's a bit more than $1K per attendee. That isn't counting money actually spent at the con, getting to the con, or attendance fees.

Now I realize I'm biased, but what I see is a con that is growing to an absurd size and growing away from the core that established it decades ago. It's definitely no longer a RPG con and barely a gaming con these days. If you want to attend you need to get your hotel room in the first 10-15 seconds that the hotel blocks open up (no shit), have a lot of money to burn, and we willing to be crushed to death in the throng of other attendees. Good luck getting assistance if you need any (seriously, you should see those lines!)

Yes, you can literally suffer if you want to get some GenCon dealer's room exclusive (read the WDW News Today article), but you might be too late and doing so undoubtedly will come at the cost of some gaming time.

You're best off supporting a local gaming con, but that's my 2cp. Better bang for the buck. If you want a "big con" experience that has more upside than downside, go to Origins Game Fair.

Too Much RPG Drama

The topic of this post has been sitting in my head all weekend and I've sat down to type this a couple of times now and the first few times I keep thinking that it looks too much like a commentary regarding either Erik's "recent" dealings with the Evil DM, or Satine Phoenix drama....hell maybe even Zak Smith bullshit.

No....this is about my own personal RPG bully and as much as I'd love to put this asshole on full blast, I have to realize that this is clearly a double dumb-ass on me situation. I let this fucker move into my head and set up shop rent-free. I thought that I managed to evict him, but evidently he had a key to the back door.

Now I'm not sure how much to share here, mostly because it's a lot of "who gives a shit" for Tavern Patrons. The TL;DR version is I had someone in my old gaming community bully me online to the point where I had to take the nuclear option and quit. I spent all of my vacations, and a LOT of money, volunteering for this company/community, for friends (I thought) and in the end it didn't matter for shit......

There's a reason I pretty much stick with OSR games now, which is a shame 'cause I did really like that "old" system. It's literally been years since I've even picked up one of those game books, aside from when I reorganize my shelves....

Of course, the natural question is "Why is this even an issue this weekend?"

Well, glad you (didn't) ask. So my own personal dick-head popped up on social media....again probably my fault for even subbing to that group....and lamented the loss of the old gaming community, the same community he shit all over in an attempt to make my life hell while shoring his own ego up as some burgeoning RPG writer. Anyway, in this post he lamented the community's loss and propped up his statement by mentioning the passing of one of its members some years ago.

That add-on got a lot of traction, as one might expect. Thing is this kind of activity was in-line with the asshole's MO. The whole post was like ripping off a scab on a wound I thought had been healed....evidently not.

Now I don't know about everybody else, but I'm into playing RPGs because, well, it's fun. It should be fun!

Aside from those actually trying to make a living from producing RPG products (...and even then), do we really need people trying to make a name for themselves as some kind of RPG Persona? Most of these RPG bullies have this need for attention at the core of, well everything. At least that's my impression. If it was really about the game then they'd be, well gaming.

I'm not the guy for giving advice, but I can pass on something I've been told...and evidently can't remember without being reminded: "Resentment is like swallowing poison and expecting the other person to die." I know, I know....add this to the laundry list of things I need to work on.

Surprisingly enough I feel better getting this topic off my chest and hopefully off of my mind and get back to the only thing that I think might work, just ignoring these fuckers. I didn't engage my bully on social media and while I'm kind of fucking this up by posting here, but I'm taking advantage of the opportunity to vent.  

Spotting Some D&D "Out in the Wild", and I Don't Think it's a Good Thing

 

Now I know that Tenkar's Tavern is very much an OSR-centric blog, even if there is a good peppering of other games, systems, and general RPG news. Going off on a bit of modern/current edition D&D is largely going to be either "Who gives a rat's ass" or "Eff those guys." with our patrons here.

Still, something I saw today "out in the wild" really, really rubbed me the wrong way. Since I'm officially an old fart (turned 50 in June), AND I happened to have a soap-box, Imma going to bitch about it here....

.......and Erik will wonder why his stats show readers fleeing the page in the first 30 seconds.....

Anyway, I came across a couple of current edition D&D hardcovers at Target today. Now the last time I remember seeing D&D on the shelf at a big box retailer is...well never. Bookstores, sure, but a "regular" retailer, maybe I passed by some Magenta boxes on the shelves back in the day, but hell if I remember it. Waldenbooks was my go-to back then, and then it was usually just to rat-f**k the boxes for dice.

So while I think it is really great that there was not just one, but two D&D hardcover books for sale at Target (I didn't get a picture of the other one), the whole thing kind of pissed me off a bit. First off, where's the core books...where's the dice?

Don't get me wrong, I'd really rather see folks going to your FLGS to purchase gaming supplies, but if a retailer is going to sell a couple gaming books, then they should at least sell the bare, basic minimum of gaming supplies that you need to actually utilize these books. GMG, PHB, and basic dice....nothing fancy.

Again, while it seems like a good thing on the surface that these books are available at Target, what I'm thinking is going to happen is that these books aren't going to sell...especially at $35?! Really? Now I used to work retail management and while I'm not full-up on all the intricacies of purchasing at the corporate level, I do know that Target had to pick up a metric butt-load of these titles to get them on the shelves. I just checked and there are 1,909 Targets in the US, not to mention the distribution centers so even at a minimum...a bare minimum stocking level of 2 (one to show and one to go), then Target would need to purchase at least 3,818 copies, but more likely they got an average of six per store (some more, some less, and some still in stock at the distribution centers), so we'll round up to 11,500 copies.

Now I don't know about you, but I just don't see a great sell-through rate on those books, especially considering that you can't actually get anything else to run your game with at Target. For the sake of argument we'll pretend that they have a great sell-through of 50%, which means there are 5,250 books NOT being sold at your FLGS. 5,250 books not generating add-on sales of dice and other books.....

.....and what about the other 5,250 books? Those will probably get dumped onto the secondary market and also pull sales away from the FLGS.

Yeah, so all these reasons to bitch and moan a bit about Target selling D&D books.......that really isn't the reason I bothered to take the picture in the first place. Pretty much everything I've posted up until this point was literally off-the-top-of-my-head thinking as I started typing this out. Didn't even think about in general until I opened up Blogger.

No, what rubbed me the wrong way was the shelf tag. I know, who gives a fuck about the shelf tag? Well, I do a bit....remember I did work retail management for a few years and was a general retail peon for more than that. I actually look at those shelf tags, and this one bothered me. I'll give you a second to check it out.

Yep, the thing that gets me is that this $35 book is not a one-off, but the "May Title", which tells me that there is a distinct possibility that there were a couple more books I didn't see and this is the beginning of essentially another D&D "Book of the month" type-thing.

I did play a bit of D&D 3.5 back in the day and I strongly disliked the frequency of the hardbacks that WotC/Hasbro released and it felt like a book-of-the-month club. It really just got to be too much and honestly I thought that was part of the reason that 3.5 "died". The constant release of titles not only felt like a crash grab, but made it seem obvious that there was a preference for quantity over quality.

Now I could be wrong on the finer details so I'll be a bit vague here, but I recall a specific KenzerCo book that had a lot of potential, but fell short due to Hasbro's money grab.....I'm calling it as I see it. KenzerCo was planning on two versions of their book, one for D&D and one for HackMaster. The D&D version kept getting denied and kicked back by Ha$bro for "reasons" and then months later pretty much cancelled because Ha$bro put out their own version as the book-of-the-month. Now the KenzerCo version, now having had way too many revisions, was hastily finalized/mashed together because it had cost so much to produce (I'm assuming man-hours/resources) and it did end up having some issues. In any case, I've seen the D&D and the KenzerCo book, and even with my own inherent biases, I can comfortably say that the D&D book was quite inferior.

What I feel this hobby definitely doesn't need is a glut of product taking sales away from FLGS and a return to expensive products that emphasize quantity over quality. New people coming into the hobby most likely get the newer/newest version of the game and possibly...hopefully spread out into the hobby. Flooding the market with cheap (but NOT inexpensive) product will harm not just these newer players, but the hobby overall.

Of course maybe I'm wrong and I'm just an old man screaming into the wind......kind of hope I am wrong. 

The Tavern Chat Podcast - E134 - Rant - Beware the OSR Thought Police

Last night on the weekly Tavern Chat hangout over on The Tavern's Discord channel, a topic came up that really struck a chord with me - the whole concept of telling folks who they can and can not follow on social media. It's all about control. Controlling thought, controlling access, controlling conversations and more. What is next? Telling folks which rulesets they can play and enjoy? Maybe they'll be asked to burn books next. Thus, I rant. If four-letter words offend you, you will be very offended ;)

I kinda got worked up on last night's weekly Tavern Chat hangout on The Tavern's Discord Server. Today I rant about the idea of telling people who they can and can not follow on social media and the danger that comes with it. Which gaming books will you burn?

Link to Episode 134 - https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/episodes/E134---Rant---Beware-the-OSR-Thought-Police-e2a4gs

The Tavern Chat - Episode #53 - Voicemails & an Unexpected Rant - Thanks Kenny

I went into this morning's episode with an idea of what I was going to talk about, and I started out on track before getting derailed by fucked up Kickstarters and #ConManKen. I do love to rant though, and Ken makes it so easy ;)

In this episode, I answer some voicemails, get distracted by Kickstarter failures and enter rant mode...

Link to Episode #53 - https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/episodes/Episode-53---Voicemails--an-Unexpected-Rant---Thanks-Kenny-e1p103

Tavern Chat is now available on Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/show/5PrKxXwIrfRm6SXPrEiqBq

The Tavern Chat Podcast - Episode #33 - I Rant, I Curse, I've Warned You!

It takes a lot to get me worked up and to truly rant. It happened this morning. Be warned, I curse like a New York City Police Officer within.

Yes, a classic rant complete with a warning. I don't appreciate bags of shit littering my social media threads overnight and say so. F-bomb carpet-bombing in effect.

Link to Episode #33 - https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/episodes/Episode-33---I-Rant--I-Curse--Ive-Warned-You-e1ls2f

The Tavern Chat Podcast - Episode #30 - Praise and Patience - A Kickstarter Rant

I think I've avoided, for the most part, ranting on The Tavern Chat Podcast. As rants go, this one is mild ;)

Wherein I read a thank you letter and talk about the need for patience when it comes to Kickstarter coverage at The Tavern in its many forms.

Link to today's episode:  https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/episodes/Episode-30---Praise-and-Patience---A-Kickstarter-Rant-e1lbro 

Follow Up to the Feedspot 100 Top RPG Blog List - New Email and ENWorld Denial

So, it looks like someone really wants my 3 bucks a month. This is from earlier today:

If you subscribe to Feedspot Gold, we will feature you in our Top 100 RPG Blogs post - which doesnt have 100 blogs / Reddits / Youtube Channels - whatever. Its sitting at 75.

Now, Morrus over on ENWorld says you don't have to pay to make the list, and in his case, he might be right - but I've had confirmation from others that paying is what got them on the list. ENworld may have made the list legitimately but much (most? all?) of that list is paid for.

Alright, email sent. I'll share the answers I get.

and yes, a damn typo. doh!

edit: lets see the Alexa rankings of some of these top sites.

at #45

at #50

at #60

at #62 

at #63

#64

Now, here's an unlisted number that hasn't paid:

I'm not saying every site on the list has paid, but this fairly random sampling shows some obvious ones that did.

Spring Reminder - The Tavern Pimps What it Will - I'm Not Ignoring You, Just Your Requests

Its mid spring and it seems that not only is it time for spring planting but also a ripe time for the launch of new Kickstarters. As such, I'm getting hit with requests to highlight new Kickstarters daily, often multiple requests per day, via FaceBook IM, Google Hangouts, G+, email - you name it.

So, if this is you - meaning, the one requesting, asking, begging and very rarely demanding that The Tavern cover you latest and greatest Kickstarter, please keep the following in mind:

1 - First and foremost, The Tavern is a gaming community focused on the OSR. Kickstarter coverage is secondary - tertiary if it isn't an OSR related

2 - If your Kickstarter is Pathfinder focused, you probably aren't going to get covered. Same if it is something I generally won't play myself. You see, I back 90% + of the Kickstarters I highlight.

3 - If I don't respond to you, don't take it personally. I also get unsolicited Facebook IMs, Google Hangout and Plus direct messages, emails and the like from people that want to talk gaming. These people are my community. I do my best to respond to them. As for your KS request, wait and see if it makes the page.

4 - There are folks that have cultivated friendships with me months or even years in advance of any Kickstarters or other projects. I don't catch all of their messages either, but I do try.

5 - In the end, I am performing a service for the OSR and the gaming community at large (and The Tavern's Community in particular) It is them that I owe fealty to. I highlight KSs I feel they would be interested in, either to support or show how not to run a Kickstarter. If my fealty were to the Kickstarter creators, I'd be a shill. I am no shill.

There you have it. Alright, time to head out and pick up my son. 23 and is having a tooth pulled. Fucker broke in half. Yes, I'm getting text updates ;)

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.

An Open Letter to Kickstarter Creators - I am Not Here to Blow Smoke Up the Arse of The Tavern's Readers (Rant)

Let me set the record straight.

I get 3 to 4 requests per week from Kickstarter creators asking me to look at their projects. Some ask me to peek at the Not Yet Published page, seeking critique and feedback. These are the wise folks. Others simply want me to pimp their latest crowdsourced offering, whether it be the latest, greatest fantasy heartbreaker or a new litter pan for my cat.

I get them all.

I ignore most requests.

Why?

The Tavern is not here to pimp your shit.

Let me repeat that a little clearer for those that might not understand the directness of that statement. The Tavern's coverage of Kickstarters, the good, the bad and the down right bizarre, is not a vehicle to pimp your project. The purpose is to highlight projects that I believe are worth the time of my readers to check out. That DOES NOT mean that I'm highlighting it for your benefit.

I point out flaws in Kickstarters and their presentation. It's what I do. It's part of the vetting process. You are basically begging for money from the gaming public and your project needs to be vetted. I also point out well presented Kickstarters and creators with good track records... and bad.

What I do not do and what I will never do is blow smoke up the arse of my readers. I will not speak highly of a Kickstarter project that I am not willing to back myself.

Some may ask: "If you don't like a project, why post about it at all?"

The answer is simple.

It's what I do. It's a service that I do for the readers of The Tavern. Again, I do not highlight Kickstarters for the benefit of the project creators, I highlight them for the benefit of my readers. They need to know what to avoid. They need to know the warnings that a project might not be as solid as it seems.

What can you do to avoid "unwanted attention?"

Short answer: Have your Kickstarter page read by multiple eyes before you take it live. First impressions are 90% of your battle and you only get one shot at it.

Long answer: Read through the Kickstarter posts here at The Tavern. You'll see examples of what to do and what not to do. Research. Edit. Edit again. Avoid mugs. Print stretch goals can ruin your budget. Shipping costs can ruin you.

Remember, you are asking the gaming public to part with their money with the promise that you will provide them with a finished product down the line. If you are unable to put your best foot forward out of the box, what can one expect with the finished product?

In Case of Emergency, Break Glass - Wield the Ban Hammer (Rant)

I really pride myself, that, with the exception of a few self identified YDIS trolls, I've yet to ban anyone from The Tavern.

I expect the occasional thread to get heated, and so long as at the end of the day no one is making death threats to others, I'm generally satisfied. I don't take disagreements personally and I expect the community here at The Tavern to call me on my shit on occasion.

Yeah, that sets the bar fairly high to get banned.

However, I've gotten to the point where the negative and generally trollish behavior of a single commenter has gotten me to the point where, if this were a true tavern, I'd have thrown him out on his ass months, if not years ago. Thrown out never to return.

Consider this fair warning. There will not be another. There will be no appeal. You'll need to find some other place to be an endless source of negativity and general miserableness.

This isn't because someone disagrees with me or the community at large. It's because they are being disruptive for the sake of being disruptive and they enjoy the attention that it gets them. I'm done with it. Regular commenter or not, my patience is done.

For the rest of you - carry on. Nothing to see here ;)

Rant - Your Gamebook is NOT a "#1 Amazon Bestseller"

One thing the OSR is usually good about is hype, or lack there of. Even out best selling products do so by word of mouth, not manipulation of truth.

So things like Arena Fighters (Rule Book) from M. R. Mathias really piss me off. Why? Here's the screenshot at DriveThruRPG:

Look Ma! It's a #1 Amazon Bestseller! It must fucking rock!

So, it went up on OBS August 10th, 2016. That's yesterday. When did it go up on Amazon to make the bestseller list?

It went up on August 4th, 2016. Wow, less that a week and it made #1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Humor & Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Science Fiction & Fantasy Gaming > Dungeons & Dragons. Er? Okay.

And it is #1 in that very specific category. 1 of 1 that is.

That's it. Its the only book in the category.

Its 2 of 2 in Changleing. How it dropped there, no f'n idea.

So no, asshole, Arena Fighters is NOT a #1 bestseller. Its in a category unto itself.

Is the author prolific when it comes to Kindle Fantasy Fiction? Yes. 

Is he awesome? Just read what he has to say about himself:

Eh, might be hard to read as a screenshot:

M.R. Mathias rose from unknown to award-winning, best-selling author at a pace most authors can only dream about. He is a prolific writer of epic fantasy novels, novellas, and short stories. Despite his busy writing, publishing, and promotional schedule Mathias continues to aid his fellow indie authors by posting about their books at Twitter and Facebook etc. 

He shared his considerable knowledge of self-promotion in publishing The First Ten Steps. The book has become an important indie guide for navigating the often murky waters of using social media sites to get your eBook in front of avid readers. 

Mathias has taken cross promotion to a new level in his "Indie Kindy" giveaways where he gives away a FREE Kindle Touch and or Kindle Fire loaded with independently published books. These events create a great deal of interest for the authors involved and to independently published books as a whole.

I can't speak for his fiction, but his first gaming release on OBS is a social media fail.

Wherein I Rant About Bad Wrong Fun and Keeping Your Hands to Yourself

I'm sitting here, staring at my screen, not because I don't know what to say, but because I know saying it will bring me the ire of certain members of the gaming community whose mission has turned into an agenda.

I'm going to say it anyway.

Enough with the Bad Wrong Fun. It's tiring. If you don't like it when some of the original members of the gaming community (who happen to be males) run games that are "women only" at certain Old School Gaming Cons, present alternatives. Don't label the games as sexist, offer something qualitatively better. Less whining, more doing.

Folks like Frank, Tim, James, Merle and others aren't running these sessions to hold some kind of power over female gamers, they are doing it to empower female gamers. If it's not your chosen method in which to have female gamers empowered - don't participate. This "my way or the highway" shit has to end at some point. Again, enough with the Bad Wrong Fun. Rach had more fun in Merle's Top Secret "All Ladies" game than any other gaming session she played in (possible exception made for +Tim Snider 's Timemaster session in June of 2014)

Note to any members of the gaming community that prey on female members of our community - you better hope I'm not at the gaming table if your unwanted advances turn into anything resembling criminal activity, because I will hold you for local law enforcement. I'm not talking the stumbling ass that doesn't know how to approach a woman, I'm taking the tard that thinks unwanted physical contact is cool. I've never seen it myself, but I do know it happens, so consider yourself warned.

As an a side, to any that will be at NTRPG Con this year, feel free to say hello, shake hands, share some beers, tell me that The Tavern sucks, why you hate cops - whatever. I like to think I'm approachable. If I don't recognize you, introduce yourself. Part of the reason I became a cop nearly 20 years ago was that everyone in my department wore name tags in uniform and I suck with putting names to faces.

Wow. I may have written this without cursing. That's a first. Wait, I used "shit". Is that technically still a curse these days?

What is With the Bad Wrong Fun Recently?

I've been lucky enough to miss the majority of the most recent drama in the OSR Community. Maybe it's how I've pruned my online social circles, though I suspect it has more to do with how others have trimmed theirs. I appreciate being left out of the latest useless drama.

Why is is that folks would prefer to tell other folks "how they're doing it wrong"instead of shutting their mouths and trying to lead by example? What is right for you might not work for others. If others are truly wrong in their actions, those actions will take care of themselves. Can we leave the Bad Wrong Fun to other gaming communities?

Ah well, I've got more important things to think about, like how the Panthers are crushing the Cardinals, the 2' of snow I have to dig my car out of tomorrow, writing more StarSlinger material and beer. I need to start posting to the Beer Blog again :)

The Tavern is Not a Whore and Other Recent Thoughts (Rant Time)

Earlier today I got a G+ notification that I was mentioned in a comment. I went to peek and it was in a closed community, one I was not a member of. Which meant I could read it but not comment.

"Great stuff man! Maybe your XXXXX XXXX tables will inspire +Erik Tenkar

It gets better. Now apparently I owe this individual free publicity because I like White Star and have posted about it therefore he deserves his own share of free Tavern publicity.

"If Erik put in a third of the effort into XXXXX XXXX that he's already put in for White Star, I wouldn't need any more promotion and advertising."

I pimp what I like. I don't pimp what I have no interest in.

I should be flattered that the perception is that I can make or break a product but that simply isn't true. Quality products speak for themselves. All I do is increase the volume for those that I like.

I owe the readers of The Tavern my truthful opinions on gaming releases, Kickstarters, whatever. I owe creators the same thing if I write about their products - truthful opinions. What I don't owe to anyone is that I WILL write about their latest product. Wow. What a surprise. I can write what I WANT to write about. Shit, that's nearly unheard of!

Am I pissed? More so because this bullshit came up in a community that I can't respond to from an individual that has been relentless in their effort to get me to cover their recent releases. Well, this is as close as we're going to get with "promotion and advertising."

It has, however, inspired me to work on some more White Star this weekend. Maybe not the inspiration they were hoping for, but I'm going to get some creativity done, so all in all, it's working out ok on my end ;)

As Much Fun as a Box of Rocks. No, Really!

I apologize in advance for answering further G+ BS here at The Tavern, but as it is Zak's thread and he has me blocked, I have little choice.

This time, I answer Stacy Dellorforno.

First - I never saw you at NTRPG Con Stacy. If you saw me as often as you did, you should have introduced yourself. Rach was actually looking forward to meeting you (she knows few women in gaming) - perhaps not so much after your insult of Merle Rasmussen,

Yes, I spent much of the Con with my wife. And with Zach Glazer, Doug Kovaks, Matt Finch, Rich LeBanc, Vince Florio and his wife, David P, Mark H, Bad Mike, Doug Rhea, The Wolfes, James Aulds, Glenn Halstrom, Mike and Liz, Tim Kask, Frank Mentzer, Jeff Talanian and many others. Jeff Grubb was kind enough to ensure I'd fail my save against Gaming Greatness. I talked business with a few and bullshitted with all. I think between Wednesday Afternoon and Monday Morning we didn't have company for our meals once.

If I was having as much fun as a rock, rocks must be the life of the party.

As for the offending post that upset Stacy so much, here it is - offending post - my schtick? Women don't NEED to DM to be empowered in gaming but they do need to fly on their own. Not every player wants to be a DM.

Gamers come to gaming through the network that introduces them to gaming. If there is a dearth of women gamers in the OSR right now than the main pathway for them to be introduced to gaming is by men. Same as kids being introduced to gaming by adults. The established network brings in new blood and spouses make ideal conduits for the introduction of shared passions and hobbies. New blood will build their own networks and the face of gaming will change with it.

Back to the slight of Merle Rasmussen, the designer of the Top Secret RPG. Did you know his wife was in the room for the whole game? They introduced themselves to me at dinner after the session. Simply amazing people. I should be surprised by your rush to judgement.

Now, let me parse the logic - Old Guard game designer GM's a game for three women with his wife in the room, and it's insulting.

Zak S GM's for a group exclusively made up of women from the adult entertainment industry, and that's something you support.

I'm confused.

edit - Stacy, feel free to respond here or on G+

Zak S Saved D&D - Don't Believe it? Zak Say So (Rantish)

Now, I'm not sure if Zak is selling this shit or giving it away, but he has it on t-shirts. You too can be a Zak S zombie.

Hell, I'd ask what the fuck this is all about, because if Zak S saved D&D then the RPG Pundit should be offering similar shirts, as they both had the same input on the latest edition of D&D - they were "consultants." But Zak has had me blocked on G+ for years (say what you want about the RPG Pundit, but he doesn't block folks that disagree with him.) Third parties fill me in on stuff like this. I could be wrong. Maybe this isn't on a shirt. Maybe it's how Zak counts sheep when he goes to sleep at night.

Now, I would argue that the OSR saved D&D, not as a multi-media property but as an actual, playable, living RPG system. No, I'm not talking about 5e either.

Now, if Zak had shirts that said A Red & Pleasant Land is the Shit, I'd be forced to agree, It's damn good.

How the Hell is a 7 Year Old PDF Marked Down to $30.70 a Deal of the Day? (Mini Rant)

Corporation was released on RPGNow in May of 2008.

Feel free to charge $47 for a seven year old PDF, but marking it down to 31 bucks does not make it the Deal of the Day. And don't anyone say "It's $47 because of all the pages!" 256 pages is pretty standard for a game book these days and 31 bucks is still overprices by about a factor of three.

This Deal of the Day shit seems to be a way to squeeze some extra cash out of old, overpriced RPGs. Sure, there have been some exceptions, but they have been few and far between. Most of it is "Here's some old shit you didn't want before but maybe you'll want now!"

Still, I guess Corporation is as good a title as any for organized robbery ;)

(edit - they are figuring the sale price from the Hard Cover price, not the PDF)

(edit edit: Sale price $15.33, Deal Price $30.70? - deal for WHO?)

Wherein I Rant about the OGL, Compatibility Logo and Fair Use - If you Don't Understand Them, Don't Use Them

There's been a bit of a kerfuffle over at the White Star G+ Community. I won't bore you with needless details - you can get that and more at the original source.

Here's the meat and potatoes:

- 1 page adventure contest

- one submission omits the OGL, includes the White Star compatibility graphic and uses 2 pieces of art without permission and with the statement / question "I think this counts as fair use, right?"

- submission is pointed out for it's issues

- internet drama blossoms. adventure creator locks down all relevant G+ threads he started after getting his last words in and states "to put an end to the drama I started and kept poking..." (which tells me he enjoyed the drama)

Now, on to the rant...

The OGL - love it or hate it, I really dont give a shit. Use copyright law for all I care. But if you are deriving your work from an OGL product, use the fucking OGL. Mocking the OGL while displaying a compatibility logo isn't just poor taste - it's asinine.

Compatibility logos and licenses. You get to use someone's trademark on your product. It's awesome until you fuck with it. Why are you fucking with it? Sure, this is the internet and we are all to some extent attention whores, but why piss on someone else's work that you are making a claim to appreciate?

Fair use. I wouldn't touch it with a 10' pole. If you're not sure it's fair use, assume it isn't. That sir, is a ground ball.

Oh, and blocking comments on all your threads after getting your final words in? That's just lame.