Quote from: Ratman_tf;1039429I wasn't going to go there, but I was thinking it.

He wants everyone to know how super woke he is.

Quote from: jcfiala;1039417What really astonished me yesterday was that Larry was invited, and then rejected, by Origins in a 4 hour period, and it seemed like nobody much noticed.  No commentary here or on the big purple, not much of a mention anywhere.  I mean, yeah, Larry's big fans were yelping about it, and file770 is contractually obligated to comment on anything to do with the poor sad puppies who insisted on participation trophies, but everyone else just didn't give a shit.

Which, y'know, Origins.  Most people just show up to game and shop, and don't even notice who the guests of honor are.

Actually he announced it a couple of weeks ago:
https://www.facebook.com/larry.correia/posts/2150818234929094

Quote from: Spinachcat;1039344I don't have TEE, but do the relationships play a role in the module?

If they do, then its not extraneous. AKA, Chekhov's Gun.

And I'm not saying it MUST be mandatory to the core of the module, but worth the brain space for the DM.




Holy shit!

a) I didn't know Larry Correia was an active RPGer.

b) WTF is wrong with Origins and GAMA?

I just spent forty minutes writing an answer to your question, but the browser software unexpectedly ate my post, so you are only going to get a fast summary now, Because from today forward, I'm no longer going to be wasting my time with substandard software, like this BBScode that doesn't automatically keep a record of what I'm writing as I write. Hell, even Wordpress will automatically save a draft copy of whatever I'm writing every five minutes.

To answer, I don't know, I don't think there is anything wrong, I'll ask John about the specifics when I see him at Origins in a few weeks.

In short, Larry is a well noted notorious writer, who writes for one of the big publishing houses who became an active RPGer. GAMA was formed because of the unfair working conditions imposed on writers and game designers by the big publishing houses, so there is a long history of bad blood between the two organizations.

While Larry has done nothing "wrong" as far as I can tell, he probably didn't tell John about his past with the organization known as Sad Puppy who pretty much wrecked the Hugo Awards. Nothing is worse than signing a "Guest of Honor" that earns you negative press, and may have offended some of your organization members, and I'm talking about GAMA here, not the Science Fiction Writers Association, although Larry did also manage to offend John Scalzi, as well as the SFWA awhile back.

I think the thing that will tell you the most about Larry Correia is his own post which I have included a link to below. I'll quote a few notable sections though...

"John Ward, head of GAMA, folded like a cheap lawn chair. Only a couple hours after their post went live, a fan told me on Facebook that Origins had put up an announcement that I'd just been disinvited."

"So then I went and checked my email. (and I am perfectly happy to share every single email ever sent between me and Origins). John Ward had emailed me, and his email was nearly identical to the public Facebook announcement (including the spelling errors). He said that he was recently informed of some of my "personal views" which made me a detriment as a guest, and that Origins is a family friendly and inclusive event."

"Since it just went down last night, I don't know how this one will shake out. I'm fine. I'll just do something else this weekend. But I've also got a solid career, a lot of books out, and a rabid fan base. I can weather this kind of slander. The sad thing is, these assholes do this to any author who gets out of line.  You cross them, they'll lie their asses off about you and try to burn you down. So authors who haven't made it big keep quiet, and keep their heads down, to not draw the wrath of the mob, so they don't hurt their career."

So for me, Larry has slammed the door shut on any possible reconciliation, and even though he is probably not guilty of anything at all other than being a politically charged writer with a hot temper, he is making a statement that he is too important to attend Origins and that he has a bunch of other options for venues, doubtless many of which are sponsored by his big-time publisher, and I'm not sure he is aware just how many other authors and game designers who haven't made it big yet are keeping quiet and keeping their heads down, and working hard over at GAMA, with GAMA, to minimize the negative effects the big publishers like Baen have traditionally created for Indy Game Publishers and Writers. By making such a strong statement though, he actually gave John Ward no graceful opportunity to fix the developing situation.

Larry Correia - Statement Concerning My Being Disinvited as the Guest of Honor for Origins Game Fair  
http://monsterhunternation.com/2018/05/15/statement-concerning-my-being-disinvited-as-the-guest-of-honor-for-origins-game-fair/

Quote from: jhkimFor example, the fact that Dala is Dick Rentsch's lover will affect how she acts. If he is captured by the PCs, she might endanger herself to rescue him, for example. If their relationship was left out of the module, and they were just two NPCs at that location, then that wouldn't be likely.

Quote from: Mike the Mage;1039428Unless that relationship was friendship. Like, I dunno, Frodo and Sam or Farhfrd and Mouser or Kirk and Spock etc etc

I think you're clearly misreading the Kirk/Spock relationship.  :-)  

But seriously, sure one could substitute "She is Dick Rentsch's friend." instead of "She is Dick Rentsch's lover."  But what's the point?  It's not like it saves space or is clearer.  I don't get what the problem is.  Would it be OK if they were married or engaged?

Quote from: jcfiala;1039414No Kings and Queens sitting on their thrones?  No romance subplots driving assassination attempts?  My goodness.

Half of all mystery plots seem to be based on lust and romance (the other half being driven by money and inheritance).  You should try it sometime.

Put me in the camp that has never had any of that stuff in 38 years of D&D. Exploration, delving, machinations of evil sorcerors, invasions, etc. But no romantic stories, and maybe one or two mysteries. Really, NPCs don't figure especially prominently in my campaigns, which are much more about places.

Quote from: tenbones;1039420to bring this full circle - this attitude about SJW's is not about women, or gender issues, or race. It's about groupthink infecting a bunch of ideologues trying to deconstruct everything that they decide is their ideological opposite. To which they invent these purity-tests that inevitably blows up in their faces. This is why they often eat themselves when they find themselves invariably contradicting their own positions publicly when reality slaps them in the head. See: Marvel Comics

Every few weeks you supply me with a new signature quote, huh?

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;1039218No, that's what you have to do to sell a commercial product in today's world.

And I have enough LGBTQOMGWTFBBQ friends to have some idea of how it makes them feel to actually see characters like themselves.

And if wanting my non-cis-white-male-heterosexual friends to feel like a game acknowledges their existence makes me a "Social Justice Warrior," I accept the designation with pride.

Adding stuff like that and not standing on the roof and crowing about it is not SJW-ing. That is the big point and why people keep jumping on certain examples. Its just about allways because someone had to virtue signal it.

Quote from: jhkim;1039433I think you're clearly misreading the Kirk/Spock relationship.  :-)  

But seriously, sure one could substitute "She is Dick Rentsch's friend." instead of "She is Dick Rentsch's lover."  But what's the point?  It's not like it saves space or is clearer.  I don't get what the problem is.  Would it be OK if they were married or engaged?

You're staring at the tree and not looking at the forest. It's "okay" because contextually no one cares or thinks twice about hetero-normative relationships. It's there to give a prompt to the GM, if they care, to use it as a possible plot device or actionable item for roleplaying purposes. Can you do this with gay characters? Sure.

The passive issue is setting conceits. *Is* it normal in village life for there to be openly gay, inter-species, relationships? The mere fact those words and their meaning exist *mean* something. The fact that they're open about it or not *means* something. In the context of one's adventure - the designer is implicitly saying something about the setting. That's fine too. But this is the conflation of the non-normative to being something it's not: normal.

And lets be clear here: by saying something is not *normal* isn't a aspersion. It's an observation of fact. SJW's (and those with pathological post-modernist leanings) emotionally have problems making discernment's between different things for fear of offending someone. They are are in fact taking the mere vocal observation of those differences as aspersions.

There is no possible way you're going to get the majority of any norm to pretend that the *not-nornal* is the status-quo without massive thought-control and social conditioning with punitive action as a threat. You're seeing this in action *right now*. This is how we end up pretending everything is equal when in fact nothing is equal. Nothing has ever been equal. Nothing will ever be equal except for when we give people the opportunity to say, do and believe things on their own merit without fear of the outcome. Or better - *despite* the outcome.

SJW's claim they want equality of outcome *regardless* of the factual iniquities that we all know are true. And they're willing to break any social contract, law, even their own for the sake of revenge against those they deem ideological opposed to them.

This is where the groupthink of left starts creating its own secular religion of belief, codes of conduct, and inquisitorial methods of censure to try and insure their ideological views are the only things that are valid despite reality.

Quote from: Azraele;1039444Every few weeks you supply me with a new signature quote, huh?

My mind-dribblings is your gold. Enjoy.

"are"

One gay character that I would love to bring into a game is Paul Smecker from Boondock Saints.

Jesus, that Larry controversy makes my blood boil.

Quote from: Mistwell;1039456Jesus, that Larry controversy makes my blood boil.

How so?

New developments from John Ringo...

Quote from: John RingoSo Larry Correia's invite as GOH to Origins got rescinded because he's 'racist', 'homophobe', 'has sex with manatees' etc.

This is a strong suggestion to any decent author, especially all Baen authors.

If invited to a con, especially as a 'special guest', require the following in your contract:

Pre-paid travel. (Non-refundable, reserved for your use and one guest.)
Pre-paid room. (Non-refundable, reserved for your use and one guest.)
A cash guarantee of non-cancellation on their part.

Show them links to what happened to myself and Larry.

If they cave to the SJW mobs, make it cost them.

If they refuse, they're probably setting you up. (This, very much, looked like a set-up to boost visibility. ConCarolinas is slightly different.) Tell them that based upon recent history you have to assume they're setting you up if they have issues with such basic items and ask them not to contact you again.

Any convention that for any reason plays this game of 'we have to rescind your invitation' (Origins, ConCarolinas, ArchCon) refuse to attend and ask other authors to refuse to attend. Not for any reason. Not because it's 'local', not because it's 'convenient'. Not because 'I've always gone to X con!'

Start choking them off of the revenue stream created by our attendance.

Just. Say. No.

As authors, we really don't need conventions anymore. You get more sales through posts online and engaging in social media (for as long as Twitter and Facebook will allows us to do so) than going to all the conventions in the world. The cons are mostly for your fans and if the cons want to play this game, the fans need to make it clear they're not going.

The exceptions to this are LibertyCon and Dragon Con. They're both professionally run cons run by professional people who don't play the SJW game. They're TRULY apolitical. ( FenCon Convention seems to still be playing it down the middle as well.)

With every other convention, assume you're being set-up at this point and don't be played for a sucker.

Oh, yeah, and as fans and lovers of liberty, never, ever attend Origins again if you ever have. Or ConCarolinas. (Sorry, Jada.) Or ArchCon. Or WorldCon.

We need a list. They never will be missed. No they never will be missed.

This has to stop and it won't until we take a stand. For those of you reading this who are 'liberals', please look at the history of how this is going and wonder how long it will take for YOU to end up against the wall. Think they're going to stop with me and Larry? Think again.

Boycott, divest, sanction.

It's time to strike back. We don't need cons. Cons need us. Time for them to figure that out.

He brings up an interesting point about conventions as a need for authors.

Politics aside I'd be happy to see most cons get much, much smaller.  300 to 500 is the sweet spot; GaryCon at 2000 or so is hitting the limits of what's too big.