Quote from: Aos"Randy Richards" sounds like the name of a 60's marvel charaecter. Really, it's no wonder he has more than one identity.

I thought it sounded like a 70s porn star, myself.  

Apparently Clark has weighed in on this.

Quote from: Clark PetersonMy name is Clark Peterson. I am the president and founder of Necromancer Games, Inc. I was thrilled to see a Wiki entry for Necro (as we are called). I was equally disheartened to see a disgruntled prior writer who we terminated our relationship with for clear copyright violations and a stated intent to continue such copyright violations nominate the entry for deletion. I, frankly, don't know whether or not Necromancer Games is relevant enough for an entry. That is not up to me. That is up to you. I respect your decision. But there is a good deal of misinformation posted here that I would like to clear up so that the powers that be can make an informed decision.

First, to understand the relevance of Necro, you have to understand roleplaying and open gaming. Dungeons and Dragons is the leading roleplaying game of all time. It was created years ago by Gary Gygax, among others, and published by TSR hobbies. For years, TSR was incredibly strict with their license of D&D. In fact, TSR very notoriously sued several other companies who tried to make compatible products to D&D. For years, no third parties were allowed to make D&D compatible products. That all changed in 2001 when TSR sold the D&D brand to Wizards of the Coast ("WotC") who then developed the Third Edition of the D&D rules. The brand manager of D&D, Ryan Dancey, made a very bold move. He convinced the powers at WotC to open the D&D rules up and to create "open gaming," creating an open game content license similar to the various software open licenses. This was a HUGE move in the RPG industry. Because of the name of the open license (which also included a logo called the "d20 logo") companies created using the open game license came to be known as "d20 companies."

This is where Necro and I come in. I was one of the early contributors to the creation of the d20 license. I worked with others in the formative stages of the license to get it in a form publishers would work with. In fact, the draft version of the license--which many publishers worked under for some time until the license was finalized--was written by Ryan Dancey directly to me. As a result, I created Necromancer Games. Necromancer Games was one of the first companies to be created to take advantage of this revolutionary idea known as open gaming. In fact, Necromancer Games has the distinction of being the very first company to release any open gaming content under the license--namely, an adventure called the Wizard's Amulet. So, if open gaming is relevant, it cant get any more relevant than Necromancer Games. But there is more.

Necromancer Games, despite comments above, has released approximately 40 products, many being hardback books. We are not just an imprint. The vast majority of our products are written in house. Even materials that we "update" for the new open gaming rules involve extensive rules creation and additional writing by us. Our products have featured writing by none other than Gary Gygax, the creator of D&D and Rob Kuntz, one of the original founders of D&D. Necromancer Games has the distinction of being probably the biggest supporter of open gaming, releasing the Tome of Horrors, a book that not only is all open content, but includes instruction on how to use the content--a first in open gaming.

We have also recieved unmatched industry praise. I personally, and Necromancer Games specificially, was selected as an "expert" by Dungeon Magazine--one of two official monthly magazines specifically for Dungeons and Dragons--to judge the best adventures of all time for D&D. Our opinions were published in Dungeon Magazine Issue 116. The bio ascribed to me and Necro reads (written by Dungeon Mag, not by me): "Clark Peterson, an attorney by trade, Clark doubles as the president of Necromancer Games, perhaps the most prolific adventure publisher in the d20 industry. Necromancer's products boast a 'First Edition feel' that hearkens back to the quality of many of the classic adventures listed in the panel's top 30. Peterson's professional credits (all through Necromancer) include Rappan Athuk: The Dungeon of Graves, The Crucible of Freya and The Player's Guide to the Wilderlands."

In addition, as mentioned by others, we have recieved numerous industry awards. Much comment has been made that the ENNie awards are relatively recent. That is true. The reason, however, is that open gaming is a very new and revolutionary idea. These awards couldnt have existed previously because open gaming and the d20 logo didnt exist previously. Necromancer Games is one of only two companies to be nominated every year the awards have been in existence for consideration as the Best Overall Publisher. We have won numerous industry awards.

I recognize that d20 publishers are indeed a small niche in the world and perhaps that niche industry is too small for a Wiki entry. If that is the case, then that is the case. I have no quarrel with that. However, in my view, Open Gaming is a significant revolution in roleplaying and if any company in d20 is relevant, it is Necromancer Games. As demonstrated above, the industry clearly agrees.

I hope this helps clear up any misconceptions about Necromancer Games, our role in d20, the industry and the status of our publications.

Quote from: Aos"Randy Richards" sounds like the name of a 60's marvel charaecter. Really, it's no wonder he has more than one identity.

I think Randy Richards used to play guitar for Ozzy Osbourne. True Story.

I think he's an elastic super-scientist!

Finally found the whole sordid story, if anyone's interested.

http://p105.ezboard.com/fnecromancergamesfrm17.showMessageRange?topicID=145.topic&start=1&stop=20

Holy fuck.  This guy is a nutcase.  

Damn, now I really wish he would come over here so I could tear him a new one.  The NG guys were being altogether too kind to him. Definitely not enough fucking with his little brain.
:evillaugh:

RPGPundit

I like the bit where he claims that Spellbinder Games, a gaming company that nobody can produce any evidence of, which has a website, paypal account, and several AOL e-mail accounts all maintained by Randy Richards, and conveniently had all physical evidence of its existence erased completely by Hurricane Katrina down to a concrete slab...

...isn't an elaborate ruse concocted entirely by himself.

It supposedly produced three children's fantasy novels in the 80's which likewise were apparently catalogued nowhere and were wiped out by Katrina.

It also had its brick and mortar component in the same building as a dance studio Randy photographed for, and conveniently signed him up the very day Necromancer Games showed him the door.

Amazing.

Near as I can tell, he only really sells this book at cons and via the website. The copies available on Amazon are from the "new and used" dealer program, and are probably just excess stock he has.

Quote from: Elliot WilenI'm going to take a whack at some light editing to get rid of the nonsense. The "powergaming" thing is also non-sequitur IMO.

And apparently that same idiot fucker who wrote it went and reverted all the edits.  And just as it was starting to make some sort of sense.

Doesn't surprise me. Anyone who'd think to put that stuff in in the first place is a doofus, and the "explanation" that reporting unattributed criticisms is "neutral" (because the thing being reported is something someone else said, not an opinion presented by the author) is a hypocritical dodge.

But has anyone, ever, who is confirmably not an alt of this guy actually seen the book?

RPGPundit

Quote from: BagpussYou know the author of Dungeons and Dragons according to a current Spellbinder Games discription.

Here's a quote from that article:
Per Mark Williams, Spellbinder Books was a store in Gulfport, Mississippi till it was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

While I'm not a coastal resident (I live further north toward Jackson, MS), I can assure you that I've never, ever heard of Spellbinder Books in Gulfport. I'm not saying it didn't exit, but I am saying that I am both a lifelong gamer and Mississippian with plenty of gamer buddies who either lived or live on the coast (Gulfport, Biloxi, etc.) and not a damn one of them has ever mentioned "Spellbinder Books." I'm pretty familiar with the area myself, and have never seen nor heard of the place.

Quote from: mattormegHere's a quote from that article:
Per Mark Williams, Spellbinder Books was a store in Gulfport, Mississippi till it was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

While I'm not a coastal resident (I live further north toward Jackson, MS), I can assure you that I've never, ever heard of Spellbinder Books in Gulfport. I'm not saying it didn't exit, but I am saying that I am both a lifelong gamer and Mississippian with plenty of gamer buddies who either lived or live on the coast (Gulfport, Biloxi, etc.) and not a damn one of them has ever mentioned "Spellbinder Books." I'm pretty familiar with the area myself, and have never seen nor heard of the place.

Is there some way you could actually go and confirm this? Would you be willing to rise (or stoop?) to that level of actual gumshoe detective work to actually PROVE that a shitfaced internet liar is definitely delusional?

RPGPundit

If it was destroyed by Katrina, then I won't be able to prove it.

However, I have friends that live down there. My buddy owns a comic store down there, and I have several gamer friends who grew up down there. I'll ask them.

Also, I guess I can check the city tax records. I have to admit I LOVE this kind of shit.:cool:

Quote from: RPGPunditIs there some way you could actually go and confirm this? Would you be willing to rise (or stoop?) to that level of actual gumshoe detective work to actually PROVE that a shitfaced internet liar is definitely delusional?

RPGPundit

It wouldn't do any good.  Wikipedia does not recognize "original research".  If you can't link to some damn website somewhere that proves it, they won't believe it.

Quote from: J ArcaneIt wouldn't do any good.  Wikipedia does not recognize "original research".  If you can't link to some damn website somewhere that proves it, they won't believe it.

Actually, the burden of proof is on the article. If the article is not verifiable by reliable sources, then by default it can't be included. In this case, this works against Randy Richards rather than against sane thinking people.