Quote from: Shasarak;1090351Chaosium is so far behind the curve, now you can tell who the real bad guys are if they have a copy of 12 Rules for Life.

Yes, taking stock of your life, and taking on the burden of your own responsibilities is so fascist... it truly beggars belief that anyone could make this leap of illogic.

Quote from: shuddemell;1090379Yes, taking stock of your life, and taking on the burden of your own responsibilities is so fascist... it truly beggars belief that anyone could make this leap of illogic.

That is because in their minds it is everyone else who is at fault and no fault can come from them.  They are perfect angels fighting for the cause to bring about the new world order that would be utopia.  Which by the way Utopia is a lie and the pursuit of it always leads to more harm than good.  If the road to hell is paved in good intentions, then Utopia is the bait that the Devil dangles before these people of good intentions to chase after.  Always with no heed to the slaughter of innocents in their way to self damnation, ruin, and eventual death.

Quote from: jeff37923;1090219I hate to do this, but I'm hitting the heresay barrier pretty hard on this one. While I don't doubt that the authors can take advantage of Lovecraft to virtue signal, I personally need more proof before I condemn.

Are you accusing me of spreading hearsay?  If so you are wrong I am reading the fucking product.   They are beyond virtue signalling since the injection of Cubicle 7 staff they are outright activists. Proof? Have your read any New Chaosium Call of Cthulhu products released in the last couple of years?

Quote from: Gagarth;1090399Are you accusing me of spreading hearsay?  If so you are wrong I am reading the fucking product.   They are beyond virtue signalling since the injection of Cubicle 7 staff they are outright activists. Proof? Have your read any New Chaosium Call of Cthulhu products released in the last couple of years?

  It's certainly plausible and in character for the current management. I'm going to hold on tightly to my Kickstarted copies of Paladin when they arrive, because I doubt this iteration of Chaosium is likely to reprint them. But details and citations are always important when making a case like this.

Here's the first paragraph of the introduction of the bad guys.
(blah blah quoted for review blah blah no challenge blah blah).

QuoteThe League of Forgotten Men is a fictional organization
appearing in Sinclair Lewis' 1935 novel, It Can't Happen
Here, about the transformation of the United States into a
fascist state after the election of amiable populist Berzelius
"Buzz" Windrip in 1936. It becomes the foundation of the
Minute Men, Windrip's private army and police force. The
League is largely inspired (both in reality and in the novel)
by the National Union for Social Justice, organized by radio
preacher Father Coughlin. Buzz Windrip is inspired in part
by Huey Long (the State Senator for Louisiana, assassinated
in September 1935) and cites William Dudley Pelley's
inspirational writings.

I'm not seeing anything particularly problematic with this so far.  I suppose if you look hard enough, you can see anti-Trumpism in the shadows.  Is the SJW stuff further in?

Also I had never heard of "National Union for Social Justice" but I find the name of the outfit just plain hilarious.

Quote from: Gagarth;1090399Are you accusing me of spreading hearsay?  

Not yet.

Quote from: Gagarth;1090399If so you are wrong I am reading the fucking product.   They are beyond virtue signalling since the injection of Cubicle 7 staff they are outright activists. Proof? Have your read any New Chaosium Call of Cthulhu products released in the last couple of years?

Quote from: Gagarth;1090212You will not find any because as far as I can see New Chaosium has been very tight lipped about the actual content of the campaign.  In case you are in any doubt who the bad guys are one of them has a copy of Mein Kampf.

This is the problem for me. I do not doubt that Chaosium staff can use a product to virtue signal. Before I condemn a product, I must have a reason why it should be condemned, like proof that it is just a virtue signal and not a viable campaign worth the money used to purchase it in this case. Since I don't have the product to read, I can't easily judge it (and no, I'm not going to blow my money on a product just to support my stance in a forum argument).

I don't go by posts on message boards as cause to condemn, because then I would be behaving just like the knee-jerk SJWs who flock around Stacy D and her ilk shitting up the hobby. I need proof to substantiate the condemnation.

Quote from: jeff37923;1090422I don't go by posts on message boards as cause to condemn, because then I would be behaving just like the knee-jerk SJWs who flock around Stacy D and her ilk shitting up the hobby. I need proof to substantiate the condemnation.

Then why bother commenting at all and who asked  for your condemnation ?

Quote from: Godfather Punk;1090213So it's Pulp Cthulhu, it's set in the 1930's, and people are surprised the bad guys are nazi's?

From Reading it it is obvious they are using the League of Forgotten Men as an allegory for Trump and his supporters.  As for  1930's baddies do you really think that new Chaosium would put out a campaign were CPUSA  agitators are the bad guys?

Quote from: Gagarth;1090430As for  1930's baddies do you really think that new Chaosium would put out a campaign were CPUSA  agitators are the bad guys?

Despite the fact this is an excellent idea, if I called the shots at Chaosium, I'd have to can it because it would be a poor business decision.

Quote from: Gagarth;1090429Then why bother commenting at all and who asked  for your condemnation ?

Well, if your claim is both true and able to be verified, it is something to be condemned since most people game for fun and not for pursuing a political or social agenda.

Quote from: Gagarth;1090430From Reading it it is obvious they are using the League of Forgotten Men as an allegory for Trump and his supporters.

OK, how do you prove this?

Chaosium spouting SJW idiocy is very believable, but we need proof.

It's like the T-shirt says. I don't believe men or women. I believe facts and evidence.

Quote from: Godfather Punk;1090213So it's Pulp Cthulhu, it's set in the 1930's, and people are surprised the bad guys are nazi's?

I am surprised by the really shitty art.

But 1930s villains = Nazis is a no-brainer.

Quote from: Crawford Tillinghast;1090409I suppose if you look hard enough, you can see anti-Trumpism in the shadows.

No need to look hard. It's obvious if you're familiar with the liberal narrative that the USA 2019 is just like Germany in the 1930s. Its been a popular social media narrative, echoed by celebs and the MSM. Just last week, a "news show" had Jeff Daniels from Dumb and Dumber saying that if Trump wins in 2020, that's end of democracy.

Because winning an election ends democracy in today's liberal parlance. But somehow Obama's election didn't end democracy. Funny that.

Quote from: Crawford Tillinghast;1090409Also I had never heard of "National Union for Social Justice" but I find the name of the outfit just plain hilarious.

That is hilarious!

Hi all -

Creative Director of Chaosium here.

The big influence on this book is Sinclair Lewis rather than the politics of the early 21st century. It is at least in part a mash-up of Lovecraft's (ghost-written for Bishop) story "The Mound" with Sinclair Lewis' "It Can't Happen Here," the strange overlap of groups like the Silver Shirts with occult groups like the I Am movement, plus loads of other historical and literary elements of the 1930s. The National Union for Social Justice was, as you know, a real historical political movement founded by Rev. Coughlin - which was anti-communist AND anti-capitalist. The Forgotten Men actually comes from a speech of FDR (actually the concept is older, but FDR re-popularized the idea).  In short, the adventure is not intended as a parable for 21st century politics any more than Masks of Nyarlahothep is intended to be - it is perhaps easier to say that The Forgotten Men can represent whatever "populist" movement YOU find threatening, since as we know everyone likes "the right kind" of populism (whatever that is) and dislikes the "wrong kind" (again whatever that is).

Quote from: richaje;1090700Hi all -

Creative Director of Chaosium here.

The big influence on this book is Sinclair Lewis rather than the politics of the early 21st century. It is at least in part a mash-up of Lovecraft's (ghost-written for Bishop) story "The Mound" with Sinclair Lewis' "It Can't Happen Here," the strange overlap of groups like the Silver Shirts with occult groups like the I Am movement, plus loads of other historical and literary elements of the 1930s. The National Union for Social Justice was, as you know, a real historical political movement founded by Rev. Coughlin - which was anti-communist AND anti-capitalist. The Forgotten Men actually comes from a speech of FDR (actually the concept is older, but FDR re-popularized the idea).  In short, the adventure is not intended as a parable for 21st century politics any more than Masks of Nyarlahothep is intended to be - it is perhaps easier to say that The Forgotten Men can represent whatever "populist" movement YOU find threatening, since as we know everyone likes "the right kind" of populism (whatever that is) and dislikes the "wrong kind" (again whatever that is).

Very classy of you to show up and discuss the matter, sir. Kudos.

Quote from: richaje;1090700Hi all -

Creative Director of Chaosium here.

The big influence on this book is Sinclair Lewis rather than the politics of the early 21st century. It is at least in part a mash-up of Lovecraft's (ghost-written for Bishop) story "The Mound" with Sinclair Lewis' "It Can't Happen Here," the strange overlap of groups like the Silver Shirts with occult groups like the I Am movement, plus loads of other historical and literary elements of the 1930s. The National Union for Social Justice was, as you know, a real historical political movement founded by Rev. Coughlin - which was anti-communist AND anti-capitalist. The Forgotten Men actually comes from a speech of FDR (actually the concept is older, but FDR re-popularized the idea).  In short, the adventure is not intended as a parable for 21st century politics any more than Masks of Nyarlahothep is intended to be - it is perhaps easier to say that The Forgotten Men can represent whatever "populist" movement YOU find threatening, since as we know everyone likes "the right kind" of populism (whatever that is) and dislikes the "wrong kind" (again whatever that is).

Thank you for dropping in and clarifying that. Dan is right, it is a very classy move and is greatly appreciated.