News Digest: Controversy Abounds! New Vampire Edition Details, Green Ronin's Talent Search, 7th Sea

Hello everyone! Darryl here with this week’s gaming news! And this week is all about controversy. Vampire: The Masquerade 5^th Edition release information (with a controversial hiring), Green Ronin is looking for female writers for Lost Citadel, International Tabletop Day may not be able to meet demand for promotional items, and more! Even this week’s Kickstarters are loaded with controversy!

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Okay, this is a very simple story with a very complicated background. I’m going to tell the story first this time and, if you’re not sure what’s going on, I’ll explain more in the next paragraph. White Wolf Publishing announced details about the new edition of Vampire: The Masquerade. This new fifth edition of the game will come out in early 2018 and, according to ICv2, “continue the metagame that was shaped in 2004”. This would be the sourcebook Gehenna which presented several options for the “end of the world” of the World of Darkness and the tie-in novel Gehenna: The Final Night be Ari Marmell. If these events will be rolled into the new edition in an “After the End” manner, it’s not yet known. This project began in controversy after White Wolf announced hiring Zak Smith (aka Zak Sabbath or Zak S) back in February, a man who has been accused of harassing behavior, to work on a video game. WW's response can be found here.

So some of you may be wondering where Onyx Path is in all this. They’re still around, but they’re not involved with this new edition of the game. They are, however, still creating new material for World of Darkness. But not for the new edition. Onyx Path still holds the license for the Chronicles of Darkness (which is the official name of what was called the New World of Darkness titles: Vampire: The Requiem, Werewolf: The Forsaken, etc.) and they hold the license for the 20^th Anniversary editions of all the World of Darkness (the official name for Old World of Darkness titles: Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, etc.). So Onyx Path is still publishing new material for both of these lines, but are NOT publishing material for the new 5^th Edition of Vampire: The Masquerade.

So White Wolf was purchased by CCP Games (makers of the Eve Online franchise) who only wanted the IP rights to make a World of Darkness MMO. After many years of development, the title was finally canceled in 2014 and White Wolf plus all its assets were sold to Paradox Interactive in 2015. Late last year, Paradox Interactive spun White Wolf Publishing into its own (but fully owned) company in anticipation of publishing a new edition. At this time, the licensing deals were restructured and, when the dust settled, the licenses for Chronicles of Darkness and the 20^th Anniversary versions of the original World of Darkness games were with Onyx Path and the live-action Mind’s Eye Theater remained with By Night Studios. So this is how White Wolf is coming out with a new edition at a time when Onyx Path is running a Kickstarter for a World of Darkness themed card game.

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Green Ronin launched a talent search for contributors to The Lost Citadel roleplaying game, based on the fiction anthology and world developed by Jaym Gates, C.A. Suleiman, and Ari Marmell about a fantasy world in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. There is a catch, as they’re specifically accepting proposals from women. From the announcement:

In the lead-up to June’s Kickstarter for the LCRPG, we are going to be running a talent search for women who are interested in coming to work on the project. If you identify as female and dark fantasy is your jam, we want to see what you can bring to the table! Not to worry, fellas, we have some other opportunities for you coming up later in the year, as well, but this talent search is just for the ladies.

A statement was issued to further clarify that the talent search was also open to those who identify as non-binary gender. The announcement from Green Ronin General Manager Nicole Lindroos comes following a post from Green Ronin President Chris Pramas [EDIT: This post was from Green Ronin General Manager Nicole Lindroos, not Chris Pramas as original posted] speaking about his [EDIT: her] experience on a panel at the DICE Summit in Las Vegas, noting the gender discrepancy of those in the industry and those looking to break in, noting both how far the industry has come and how far it still has to go.

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7^th Sea promised a platform for user-created content during their wildly successful Kickstarter last year, and now they’ve delivered as Explorer’s Society is live. The online store allows users to create and sell content for the 7^th Sea 2^nd Edition game, including adventures, NPCs, homebrew rules, or more. There is a content guideline that acts as a license for use of the Intellectual Property, laying out exactly what you can and cannot use from published materials and in what way you’re allowed to use them (this is similar to the license for the DM’s Guild). In the week since launch, there’s already two dozen products available for purchase ranging in cost from free to Pay-What-You-Want to a set price of $3.99 for some of the adventures.

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International Tabletop Day has run into a minor issue: The event is so big that they can’t keep up with demand! This is the first year that all promotional items have been released a la carte rather than as a single one-size-fits-all pack. Personally, I preferred the old way, but that’s because I live in a rural area so my local event always had more promotional items than attendees. However, retailers in more populated areas could customize their orders in order to make sure they could meet demand based on previous events. And this year, the demand was higher than ever – so much so that not everyone will be getting their products. Quoted in ICv2, Producer Ivan Van Norman said “We opened up the print sizes significantly as well with publishers, but didn’t know what to expect with the new system. After collecting all the pre-orders we can tell you that you meet and beat the expectations out of the park. Despite opening up numbers significantly, we are at 85-95% fill rate to pre-orders for almost all items for International Tabletop Day.” The only odd one out was the promotional card from Cryptozoic’s Master of Orion, which only had enough product to fill 16% of the orders and cannot be reprinted in time for the event. International Tabletop Day is on Saturday, April 29 and the official website has a locator to find the event closest to you.

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Even the Kickstarters this week haven’t managed to evade controversy this week! Alternity is now on Kickstarter bringing a world of science fiction adventure. Technically speaking, however, this is not a new edition of the original Alternity game. Instead, this game takes the abandoned trademarks from the original Alternity and creates an entire new rules system inspired by the original. Some on social media criticized Sasquatch games for using the abandoned trademarks rather than creating an original property. My response: Yeah, how dare this Richard Baker and Bill Slavicsek rip off the hard work of the original Alternity creators, Richard Baker and Bill Slavicsek! And can you believe they’re letting George RR Martin write the next Song of Ice and Fire novel? But more seriously, this new game captures everything from the original Alternity with the original creators involved as they update and streamline the game system bringing in the knowledge of twenty years of advancement in the industry since the original. You can get the core rulebook in PDF for $25, a print version for $40, or a bundle of all content including stretch goals in PDF for $45 or adding on a print copy of the core rulebook for $65. This project is about halfway to its funding goal, but has until Thursday, May 4 to reach its $35,000 goal.

Now for some controversial nepotism! EN Publishing, the game design and publishing arm of EN World, is creating a book of brand new classes for the 5^th Edition of “the world’s most popular roleplaying game”. Alchemist, Cardcaster, Diabolist, Feywalker, Morph, Noble, and Occultist are each detailed with multiple subclass builds (see the links for previews). In addition, the book includes new subclasses and build options for the core classes and much more. You can get the PDF version immediately at the end of the Kickstarter for a £10 (about US$13) pledge, or a print copy for £17 (about US$21) for a print copy as soon as it’s printed. This Kickstarter is fully funded and runs until Friday, May 5.

Underworld Races & Classes gives you even more options for your 5^th Edition or Pathfinder games from Adventure a Week Games. What’s the controversy with promoting this one? While I’m not directly involved with this project, I am currently working with AAW Games on another project they haven’t announced yet. That said, this book is a collection of new races, classes, spells, and items all themed around the things that dwell beneath the surface of the world, thriving in the darkness. The PDF is available for $25 for your choice of edition or $45 for both with hardcover versions available for $55 or $105 for both. This Kickstarter is fully funded and runs until Friday, April 28.

That’s all from me for this week! Find more gaming news at the EN World News Network website, and don’t forget to support our Patreon to bring you even more gaming news content. If you have any news to submit, email us at news@enworldnews.com. You can follow me on Twitter @Abstruse where I’ve been ranting about the Pepsi controversy (there’s no reason not to bring back Crystal Pepsi permanently!), or you can listen to the archives of the Gamer’s Tavern podcast. Until next time, may all your hits be crits! Note: Links to Amazon and/or DriveThru may contain affiliate links with the proceeds going to the author of this column.

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[Dualazi]

I mean, given the history of the hobby and things like FATAL almost existing?

Yes. It is a moral imperative to get as far, far, far away from the ridiculous past of this hobby

Not sure what you're trying to get at here, its infamous horribleness notwithstanding, FATAL existing is no more an indictment of the industry than any shocking or provocative film is of cinema at large.

Also, the 'ridiculous past' of the hobby is why we're here discussing this genre of game at all, and has given birth to many creative elements independent of the system itself, from novels to artwork to settings and story lines. If there was intentional gatekeeping with regards to female involvement then that's a shame, but it doesn't at all retroactively lessen the works themselves, and I reject the assumption that future works will be magically better by their inclusion. Of course, that's not to say that they can't be, only that treating it as an assured outcome is impossible.

 

[epithet]

Umm, it's TRACY Hickman, and he's a dude. But, you knew that right.

Don't you just hate it when your smug sanctimony blows up in your face?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Hickman

 

[Morrus]

Don't you just hate it when your smug sanctimony blows up in your face?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Hickman

Namecalling. No.

 

[epithet]

Buts is Leonardo DiCaprio is what you would consider "beefcake"? Is that the kind of male image that you want on the PHB? Leo and a hot warrior woman in a chainmail bikini?
... .

Doesn't matter what I consider beefcake. Let the ladies make that determination.

 

[Jester David]

Doesn't matter what I consider beefcake. Let the ladies make that determination.

They have. And their determination was overwhelmingly "no cheescake".

 

[Jester David]

Try again. I’m saying the blind audition would remove any logical hurdles without necessitating the removal of certain categories of applicants.

Agreed. Logically it would. Blind auditions look great on paper.
However, people are not logical. And there are hurdles.

In practice, you will attract more female creatives if you directly target them.

I have no way of conclusively knowing this any more than you do. That said, I do believe it increases the chances of receiving a sub-par piece of work because of arbitrary and unnecessary restrictions on the applicant pool.

I believe that while - theoretically - there's even odds of missing the best writer, the increased diversity and different voices will improve the overall anthology as a whole, and that improving the quantity and presence of female creatives in the industry goes a long way to combating negative stereotypes of gamers.

I also believe that any writer chosen from the talent contest will give it 110%, as it's their big break and they don't want to blow it. The worst stories in the book will likely come from the established authors, who might be busier or have less to prove.

That’s why I find this initiative stupid. It’s a poor moral choice (sexism against men is still sexism) and it’s a bad choice pragmatically, since they are simply walling off talent from coming forward.

Okay. Cool. So Green Ronin drops that idea.
What should they do instead?
Vetoing an idea is Step One. You still need to propose a better, workable alternative. If you have no better idea then the "poor moral choice" is still the best one.

And forty years of gaming publication has demonstrated that blind auditions have not worked, as the number of female creatives in the industry is still well below 50%.

What's your master plan for increasing female participation in the industry and targeting more female creatives for products?

It is a cool story. Almost as cool as the fact that author demographics had nothing to do with me shooting down your tiresome argument that sex doesn’t sell to women and that all muscle-bound men are a male power fantasy.

Sex certainly sells romance covers. And romance books with men on the cover sell three times as well as ones with just women. Buuuut... romance books are inherently sexy. Sex is a big part of that genre. Even if actual intercourse does not occur, being strictly chaste, romantic feelings are essential to the books.

Sex and romance aren't a big part of D&D. Cheese and beefcake on D&D is cheap and obvious, like a bad superbowl ad. The sex works because it is eye catching but literally anything else eye catching would work just as well and wouldn't potentially turn off a segment of the audience.

Let's face it, nobody EVER buys a $50 book because the cover looks cool. Let alone three. People buy D&D because they already know of the game. The books could have a brown cover with some rules summary on the front and it would still sell.

 

[epithet]

Sex doesn't sell. Sex attracts attention but distracts from whatever the product is because men are looking at the pretty lady and not the product logo, while women are looking away entirely from the body-shaming image. Goes the same way for women and beefcake shots. And it crosses sexual orientation as well, so women who are attracted to women will be similarly distracted from whatever the product is advertising.

Also, what women find physically attractive and what men self-identify as a power fantasy aren't the same thing typically.
...

First off, you don't seem to really understand marketing very well. If the man looks at the pretty lady on the cover, he's very likely to also read the title and maybe even pick up the product to see if she has a friend smiling at him from the back cover.

Secondly, your post implies that an alluring woman on the cover is a "body shaming image," while a hunk on the cover is a man's "power fantasy." I think that is not only an unfair double standard, it is an indication that you don't have as much respect for women as you might believe that you do. You're so eager to shelter these hypothetical women who you seem to regard as fragile and vulnerable that you seem unable to conceive of a woman's "power fantasy." I think one of the more interesting things to come from the recent inclusion of Wonder Woman in the pantheon of big-budget live action cinema super heroes is the discussion of the history of the character as a feminist icon, and the way Wonder Woman has empowered women and girls since well before Linda Carter wore the outfit on television.

Anyway, while the anecdotal evidence I have from the women in my life doesn't support some of your assumptions or assertions, it also doesn't make me an expert on women. This discussion has apparently devolved in part into a group of mostly (or entirely, I can't tell) men discussing what women want, which nicely underscores the point that we need more women in the hobby. That's why I was supportive of a talent search for women, until it became (in tone, to my perception) a talent search for anyone who wasn't a man.

See, I'm all in favor of a "rising tides lift all boats" philosophy. More women in the hobby is growth that will lead to more opportunities for authors (including men) and more quality RPG products for all consumers (including men.) In our current highly charged political climate, however, I'm always suspicious of anything that veers toward the "zero-sum game" philosophy, which inevitably creates an "us vs. them" mentality. I'm not suggesting Green Ronin is institutionally of that mindset, I'm just of the opinion that an "anyone but men" standard takes a shuffling little half-step in that direction.

Also, just as an aside regarding your "background radiation" cartoon: no one would be afraid of that Batman, ever. You could draw Bruce Wayne with large, intense eyes and "kissable lips," but the bat costume exists to strike fear into the hearts of Gotham's criminals. Just sayin'.

 

[epithet]

They have. And their determination was overwhelmingly "no cheescake".

You're saying that women, collectively and overwhelmingly, determined that their standard of "beefcake" was "no cheesecake."

That doesn't make sense.

If your suggestion is that "they" determined "overwhelmingly" that the way to make a product appeal visually to women is to make all the character art frumpy, I'm calling BS on that.

 

[Jester David]

You're saying that women, collectively and overwhelmingly, determined that their standard of "beefcake" was "no cheesecake."

No.
They collectively and overwhelmingly determined they'd rather have no cheesecake than beefcake. That the discomfort from the cheesecake is not offset by the presence of the beefcake.

That doesn't make sense.

If you love pork but hate pineapple then it doesn't matter how much ham you add to a pizza, you're not going to like a slice of Hawaiian. Something you dislike being present is always going to bug you more than something you like.

If your suggestion is that "they" determined "overwhelmingly" that the way to make a product appeal visually to women is to make all the character art frumpy, I'm calling BS on that.

Your (repeated) use of the term "frumpy" is rather telling.
Frump*y. (of a woman or her clothes) dowdy and old-fashioned.
or
dressed in an unattractive way; also of clothing : old and unattractive

It's not frumpy they want. It's practical. Reasonable. Armour that actually functions as armour. Women dressed comparable to men. Women adventures who seem competent as adventurers whom they can imagine themselves as.
That's the point of:
http://womenfighters.tumblr.com/
https://gomakemeasandwich.wordpress.com/
and even
https://feministfrequency.com/


The fact is, male adventurers presented in the books should be characters that male players want to imagine being. And that female characters in the books should be characters that female players want to imagine being. (And anyone who wants to play a character of a different gender is also cool.) Art of adventurers is there so you can imagine being that character, not so you can imagine boning that character.

 

[epithet]

...
Sex and romance aren't a big part of D&D.
...
Let's face it, nobody EVER buys a $50 book because the cover looks cool. Let alone three. People buy D&D because they already know of the game. The books could have a brown cover with some rules summary on the front and it would still sell.

Romance is a part of some D&D campaigns, not at all a part of others. Romance has been a part of RPGs since before BioWare let you woo Bastila Shan, and the 5e DMG list romantic entanglements on its carousing table in the downtime activities section.

While no one would by a $50 book for the cover art, they would absolutely pick it up and check it out. Good art, especially good character art inside the book very much helps to sell the fantasy. I'm not saying it would have been impossible for Pathfinder to steal the RPG crown in a brown paper wrapper, but it would have been a lot more difficult. Likewise, it is difficult to imagine the staggering success of D&D 5e without the art on and in the books. The art sells the fantasy, and for some people the fantasy includes cheesecake and/or beefcake, either to be or to be with.