Wizards of the Coast no longer has the ability to produce anything of value, its staff are useless racist parasites. Could Hasbro actually get a much more productive company for a lot less expenditure than it costs to maintain their freakshow? #dnd5e
#dnd       #ttrpg   #osr   

Your opening dig at Shadowdark comes off as petty and spiteful.  Is it they are about to make $1 Million on an rpg product?  Did arcane Library say they created these rules from scratch or that they took inspiration from OSR, B/X, and 5e authors such as yourself?


The rest of the video is valid and establishes that WOTC authors are garbage and only started in the gaming scene recently and would rather shit on white people than write a palpable adventure.

Quote from: THE_Leopold on March 17, 2023, 11:16:22 AM
Your opening dig at Shadowdark comes off as petty and spiteful.  Is it they are about to make $1 Million on an rpg product?  Did arcane Library say they created these rules from scratch or that they took inspiration from OSR, B/X, and 5e authors such as yourself?

I didn't hear a dig at Arcane Library, but at the fawning Youtuber "reviews". And many of the reviews have been overly "Best mechanic ever! What an amazing idea!" and in general pretty fawning and  taking a ride along on the hype train. I have no issues with how Kesley herself is handing things. She's been very open about mechanics, what's worked/hasn't worked in playtesting and how things may need to be modded for your own table. But there's some serious honeymooning going on over the product by a lot of other people.

I see this kind of fawning often time in other circles. The 2nd Black Flag playtest is out and has some truly awful mechanics in it(Luck), but I doubt I'll see any real critical posts about it except on this forum. Most forums, discords, youtubers and so on seems to be more about fanboy-ism and cheerleading, than actual reality.

Quote from: THE_Leopold on March 17, 2023, 11:16:22 AM
Your opening dig at Shadowdark comes off as petty and spiteful.

I thought it was pretty funny, and he even clarified that it was a dig at the people who are busy assuming that since it's the first time they've seen a thing, that it's the first time that thing has ever existed.  There's a shit lot of "WoW was the first MMO" energy in a lot of the reviews.

I had actually just watched that Diversity and Dragons video that Pundit mentioned near the beginning:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zLj1IoqA2s

He got a lot of absurd quote tweets just searching for the word white in their tweet history, but the section at the end, with Sarah Madsen's twitter, was pretty beyond.  When the video was about 12 hours old I went and tried to repeat his search, maybe with some other terms to see if she was, you know, a generalist wokester or to see if she was just a specialized hunter of whites, maybe with some tracking bonuses for white men and a favored terrain of Starbucks, but sadly she had protected her twitter, likely either permanently or to sanitize it.  Sadly we'll never know the full scope of her hate as a result!

Pundit is correct in his assessment.

Hasbro/WotC is now typical of converged corporations.

By placing CRT ideology first, they are rendering themselves incapable of fulfilling their primary purpose: To create quality games.

As Pundit said; the current crop of Designers/writers would have been laughed out of the office even ten years ago. Even on other 5e shill boards some of the die-hards have noted a slip in overall quality of recent D&D material. This effect is evident even in one of their most senior designers like Chris Perkins; What has he done outside of the official D&D banner that sold well or was at least highly thought of?

This gradual slip in quality will continue.

This will be mitigated to a degree with the 50th anniversary release of D&D. I expect WotC to show a solid bump.

But that will be no more than temporarily plastering over a damaged façade.

Quote from: Venka on March 17, 2023, 04:29:50 PM
I thought it was pretty funny, and he even clarified that it was a dig at the people who are busy assuming that since it's the first time they've seen a thing, that it's the first time that thing has ever existed.  There's a shit lot of "WoW was the first MMO" energy in a lot of the reviews.

I had actually just watched that Diversity and Dragons video that Pundit mentioned near the beginning:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zLj1IoqA2s

He got a lot of absurd quote tweets just searching for the word white in their tweet history, but the section at the end, with Sarah Madsen's twitter, was pretty beyond.  When the video was about 12 hours old I went and tried to repeat his search, maybe with some other terms to see if she was, you know, a generalist wokester or to see if she was just a specialized hunter of whites, maybe with some tracking bonuses for white men and a favored terrain of Starbucks, but sadly she had protected her twitter, likely either permanently or to sanitize it.  Sadly we'll never know the full scope of her hate as a result!

I had to see for meself. You're right. She/He/It/Whomever has now made it so only their followers know what a racist piece of trash they are.

good vid pundit.

What I want to see is more youtube OSR peeps going, see, see what WotC and their shills (like bob the shillbuilder) and their diversity hires have done. But don't get angry, really, not worth it. Come check out this much better product in the osrverse.

My life has been so much better leaving the anger behind over WotC/DnD. I've channeled my money and creativity into OSR products.

#BoycottDNDMovie #EmasculateMen

wotc has been slowly infesting Hadbro too.

They deserve eachother as they are both corrupt and have no regard for the customers or fans anymore past the fast buck.
Any long term plans are deader than the dinosaurs at this point.

I think you may have it backwards with WOTC infecting hadbro.   Hadbro is likely owned in a sizeable amount by Blackrock and has to push the DEI bullshit and shit rolls down hill.  I think WOTC is likely just suffering the same issues all corporations being dictated DEI and similar policies by fink and his ilk who own shares of their stock that allow enough leverage to issue some demands.

Quote from: oggsmash on March 19, 2023, 07:36:06 AM
I think you may have it backwards with WOTC infecting hadbro.   Hadbro is likely owned in a sizeable amount by Blackrock and has to push the DEI bullshit and shit rolls down hill.  I think WOTC is likely just suffering the same issues all corporations being dictated DEI and similar policies by fink and his ilk who own shares of their stock that allow enough leverage to issue some demands.

QuoteBlackRock Inc. owned about 8.60% of Hasbro worth $800,919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

https://www.americanbankingnews.com/2023/03/05/blackrock-inc-cuts-stake-in-hasbro-inc-nasdaqhas.html

Not sure what the $800 million figure refers to: Hasbro's total worth or the worth of 8% of it, but in either case is BlackRock's minority share enough to control Hasbro policy?

Quote from: Neoplatonist1 on March 19, 2023, 10:22:19 AM

Quote from: oggsmash on March 19, 2023, 07:36:06 AM
I think you may have it backwards with WOTC infecting hadbro.   Hadbro is likely owned in a sizeable amount by Blackrock and has to push the DEI bullshit and shit rolls down hill.  I think WOTC is likely just suffering the same issues all corporations being dictated DEI and similar policies by fink and his ilk who own shares of their stock that allow enough leverage to issue some demands.

QuoteBlackRock Inc. owned about 8.60% of Hasbro worth $800,919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

https://www.americanbankingnews.com/2023/03/05/blackrock-inc-cuts-stake-in-hasbro-inc-nasdaqhas.html

Not sure what the $800 million figure refers to: Hasbro's total worth or the worth of 8% of it, but in either case is BlackRock's minority share enough to control Hasbro policy?

Indeed, that is a very large amount. If you look at the press releases, you'll see numerous ESG-related articles. All of that is part of the Blackrock ownership. They likely installed board members as well.

Both Hasbro and WotC are infected. Pundit is spot on.

Quote from: FingerRod on March 19, 2023, 10:46:38 AM

Quote from: Neoplatonist1 on March 19, 2023, 10:22:19 AM

Quote from: oggsmash on March 19, 2023, 07:36:06 AM
I think you may have it backwards with WOTC infecting hadbro.   Hadbro is likely owned in a sizeable amount by Blackrock and has to push the DEI bullshit and shit rolls down hill.  I think WOTC is likely just suffering the same issues all corporations being dictated DEI and similar policies by fink and his ilk who own shares of their stock that allow enough leverage to issue some demands.

QuoteBlackRock Inc. owned about 8.60% of Hasbro worth $800,919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

https://www.americanbankingnews.com/2023/03/05/blackrock-inc-cuts-stake-in-hasbro-inc-nasdaqhas.html

Not sure what the $800 million figure refers to: Hasbro's total worth or the worth of 8% of it, but in either case is BlackRock's minority share enough to control Hasbro policy?

Indeed, that is a very large amount. If you look at the press releases, you'll see numerous ESG-related articles. All of that is part of the Blackrock ownership. They likely installed board members as well.

Both Hasbro and WotC are infected. Pundit is spot on.

Also don't forget the shares held by Vanguard (11%; another ESG/DEI pusher), State Street Corporation (4%; has announced position of voting against any board members who refuse to embrace their ESG targets) and a host of other big ESG/DEI pushing firms (Morgan Stanley 3%, Janus and Charles Schwab at just over 2% each, etc.).

It's easily a third of Hasbro they own and while technically every shareholder has a vote, the big boys generally send out proxy vote requests that amount to "if you don't reply then you have given us consent to vote for you" that give them even more outsized say on corporate policy.

I'd say Hasbro is well past "infected" and well into "metastasized rot."

Bring on the Gods of the Copybook Headings... they're overdue.

Quote from: Omega on March 19, 2023, 05:08:11 AM
wotc has been slowly infesting Hadbro too.

They deserve eachother as they are both corrupt and have no regard for the customers or fans anymore past the fast buck.
Any long term plans are deader than the dinosaurs at this point.

I bought my last Transformer, too.  I own an unbelievable amount, too.
One of the comic book Transformers is a TRANSformer, choosing a new gender for itself.  Yet, in the comic book universe, it's been well-established that Transformers are GENDERLESS TO BEGIN WITH; they just have physical traits that look male/female!

Absurdity takes new heights when genderless alien robots in the middle of a galactic war play human woke politics.

Quote from: Cathode Ray on March 19, 2023, 11:34:27 AM
....
I bought my last Transformer, too.  I own an unbelievable amount, too.
One of the comic book Transformers is a TRANSformer, choosing a new gender for itself.  Yet, in the comic book universe, it's been well-established that Transformers are GENDERLESS TO BEGIN WITH; they just have physical traits that look male/female!

Absurdity takes new heights when genderless alien robots in the middle of a galactic war play human woke politics.

Me when reading this.

https://tenor.com/view/dumbfounded-gif-blinking-stare-confused-gif-5503734

Quote from: oggsmash on March 19, 2023, 07:36:06 AM
I think you may have it backwards with WOTC infecting hadbro.   Hadbro is likely owned in a sizeable amount by Blackrock and has to push the DEI bullshit and shit rolls down hill.  I think WOTC is likely just suffering the same issues all corporations being dictated DEI and similar policies by fink and his ilk who own shares of their stock that allow enough leverage to issue some demands.

Wotzi's SJW infection was already a done deal even before the Hasbro buyout...

Quote from: Chris24601 on March 19, 2023, 11:26:52 AM
...
Also don't forget the shares held by Vanguard (11%; another ESG/DEI pusher), State Street Corporation (4%; has announced position of voting against any board members who refuse to embrace their ESG targets) and a host of other big ESG/DEI pushing firms (Morgan Stanley 3%, Janus and Charles Schwab at just over 2% each, etc.).
...

I'd say Hasbro is well past "infected" and well into "metastasized rot."

The ESG/DEI people in Hasbro are just cementing what was already in place...

The rot was firmly in WotC from day one:
https://www.salon.com/2001/03/23/wizards/
https://www.salon.com/2001/03/26/wizards_part2/


In 20/20 hindsight it is obvious that D&D was going down this road the moment it was bought out by WotC, given Tweet's writings on the development of 3e that he has done. Adkison, Tweet and Co. were all proto-wokesters.

IMHO the hobby's professional convergence got underway good and proper when D&D - the market leader - moved from middle America to the left coast. Because leftists with control only hire like minded people. Not that the lake Geneva WI crew were anything resembling a right wing coalition... But the culture at Adkison's WOTC was a different animal entirely! And D&D exerts a huge influence over the RPG hobby as a whole.


I think a lot of what I wrote here a year ago still very much applies:

Quote
https://www.therpgsite.com/pen-paper-roleplaying-games-rpgs-discussion/no-the-ttrpg-hobby-is-not-your-family/msg1206676/#msg1206676

The things we are seeing now are very much a result of a subset of longtime Fandom within the hobby that have managed to place themselves in positions of power and influence.

IMHO, a lot of what the RPG hobby is going through is eerily echoed with what happened to the pulps pre WW2:

"All of this started because of a small cadre of antisocial geeks with no higher purpose in their lives."
https://wastelandandsky.blogspot.com/
https://wastelandandsky.blogspot.com/p/science-fiction-illustra.html

"Fandom changed mainstream perception by bullying and forcing themselves inside the system and lying continuously. It goes without saying that everything they pushed, every term they invented, everything they said, and everything they supported, must be looked at with the highest level of suspicion. They were never your friend."

I've been reading this blog the past week - and although really long winded, the parallels are strong.


I'm going to  express myself very imperfectly here, as most of my thoughts are half formed...

A lot of the problems with the RPG hobby, and specifically current D&D, is due to the subset of Fandom that do not identify with normal people, and have gotten some control over the hobby.

For all his failure as a businessman, Gygax was a normal family man, and insurance salesman with a common wargaming hobby before he went and did D&D.

Most of the early TSR employee's were the same. Just normal guys who moved into this new thing that they thought was really cool.

Even Lorraine Williams, with all her greed, was just a career woman bouncing around between middle manager gigs that saw an opportunity to make some real money when she was invited into TSR.

They were mostly all relatively normal people that viewed RPG's as a recreational activity and fun hobby. Even Williams with her distain of D&D fans, didn't have any interest in changing the game. It was a money making vehicle to her...

But that Changed when TSR was bought out by WoTC - which was wholly driven by Peter Adkison.

Adkison was a lifelong gaming nerd computer geek working for Boeing that got rich when Magic hit. When he got the chance to buy D&D he did, because he wanted it bad. By his own admission; literally a gaming geeks dream.

This is where at least somewhat normal people being in charge of D&D ended. Peter "open marriage" Adkison slept with employee's while Ceo of WotC. He was very much a product of lefty seattle culture and he brought in like minded fellow travelers to run D&D with him. Like Johnathan "My plan was to demonstrate hell to be absurd" Tweet, and other proto-sjw's like Monte Cook. I have posted how they intentionally started to change elements of the game for left-wing sociopolitical reasons in the past.

The People in charge of D&D no longer identified with the normal people that largely saw RPG's as a recreational hobby.

And even though Adkison got handed his walking papers in early 2001; the deed was done. Fanatics were now in charge of D&D. D&D was not just a hobby to these guys, it was an intrinsic part of their lifestyle and personal identity. One in which they feel an overwhelming need to self-insert their own personal sociopolitical beliefs into so that they could feel more comfortable within it. No one would be hired to work on D&D from that point on that did not agree with their internal political beliefs.

Even now that WotC is essentially in the hands of IP Money Merchants - everyone directly in charge of D&D falls into the Fanatic mold that does not identify themselves in any way with at least half of their customer base. (If not secretly despising it). And as long as WotC/Hasbro is otherwise making money off of the IP - the Fanatics will be left in charge of D&D.