TSR NuTSR Declares Bankruptcy

NuTSR, owned by Justin LaNasa, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which will liquidate the company's assets.

NuTSR's gross revenue so far for 2023 is $621.93 according to the documents filed in North Carolina. This is balanced against total liabilities of just over $384,000.

The company made the news over the last couple of years, emerging in 2020 when then-owners Justin LaNasa and Stephen Dinehart registered the defunct TSR trademarks and launched the new venture with the involvement of Ernie Gygax, one of D&D co-creator Gary Gygax's sons. Over the following months, NuTSR generated controversy after controversy, attempted to sue D&D publishers Wizards of the Coast via a crowdfunding effort, and in March 2022 eventually found itself on the receiving end of a lawsuit from them.

TSR - The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR

Because the Saga of TSR3 has been ongoing for a while, with many landmarks, I thought I'd do a quick timeline for those who haven't had the time (or, frankly, inclination) to keep up with the whole palaver. As multiple entities refer to themselves as TSR, I will use the nomenclature (1), (2)...

www.enworld.org

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As a consequence of the bankruptcy petition the current lawsuit between WotC and NuTSR is on hold, postponed until March 2024. NuTSR's website is still active.

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[Faolyn]

Well, what follows isn't exactly fair.

There's no evidence Duck hangs out with, let alone is friends with, Dave Johnson. And he did publicly say something, to which Justin replied "We need to talk."

The guy who is the abuser in a classic abuse/victim relationship had threatened Duck with homelessness if he doesn't toe the line replied "we need to talk" the minute Duck did express disagreement. I don't think it's fair at all to made accusations that Duck is friend with nazis. Not only is that not necessarily true, but it ignores abuse/victim relationships. Add to that how I've frequently heard from people who know Duck personally, respectable people and not just Justin's circle, all universally say Duck is the nicest person in the world who has never expressed the rampant bigotry Justin has. All these things are important context IMO.

This particular post was about Ernie, not Duck.

But since Duck apparently owns a house, he wouldn't be homeless.

 

[MoonSong]

To be fair, he's associating with--and for all we know, actual friends with--people who are vocal bigots and, in one case, is an actual nazi. And he's not (publically) saying anything about it, not even a half-hearted "that's not cool, guys."

My post is in the context of junior being very obviously a biggot by his own right and actions, but that we have no evidence on he being part of the con/grifting. Not a comment on this "Duck" who I'm not sure who he is.

 

[Faolyn]

My post is in the context of junior being very obviously a biggot by his own right and actions, but that we have no evidence on he being part of the con/grifting.

Yes, but he's also associating with really terrible people. You may not believe in guilt by association, but there's literally no reason for Ernie to hang out with bigots of LaNasa's caliber (and LaNasa, in turn, has said nazis are better than trans people) unless he either doesn't care about his bigotry (because it doesn't affect Ernie) or actively agrees with him. We all know that Ernie only cares about gaming, but he would have had more people to game with if he didn't side with bigots.

Not a comment on this "Duck" who I'm not sure who he is.

Caretaker of Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum.

 

[MoonSong]

Yes, but he's also associating with really terrible people. You may not believe in guilt by association, but there's literally no reason for Ernie to hang out with bigots of LaNasa's caliber (and LaNasa, in turn, has said nazis are better than trans people) unless he either doesn't care about his bigotry (because it doesn't affect Ernie) or actively agrees with him. We all know that Ernie only cares about gaming, but he would have had more people to game with if he didn't side with bigots.

And again, I have enough evidence from the man's own mouth to not need to see who he associates with to know he is very biggoted. But my comments are in the context of he being an active participant in the whole "basically a criminal enterprise".

Caretaker of Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum.

Thank you!

 

[Gradine]

There is "guilt by association" which can be done to draw unfair and inaccurate conclusions about people...

But there is also the fact that if there are five people at a table, and four of them are loud and open bigots and the fifth is absolutely fine with them, then that table has five bigots at it.

I will say that I watched the Duck interview in question and nothing he said particularly rose any red flags or concerns of dog-whistling. He spoke like somebody out of touch and who the culture has left far behind, but that's going to include pretty much any octogenarian. His example of "woke" is not understanding why people might object to fantasy racism, Elves and Dwarves hating each other being a foundation of the fantasy genre he's likely to have consumed for at least half a century. Even his comment about gender seemed relatively benign, with none of the malice or mocking that Ernie had speaking on the same subject. If this interview were given in 2012 instead of saying "woke" he'd probably have blamed "millennials" and meant roughly the same thing: those sensitive youths.

That said, he also doesn't seem like he's under any particular level of duress. Lacking any other evidence to the contrary (evidence which, generally speaking, is rarely subtle), abuse is not the narrative that I would jump immediately to. Not to say it's not possible, and it certainly seems to be a dynamic that Justin would prefer, but Occam's Razor being what it is, he is far more likely to be there by choice. Especially if it is actually true that he owns another home.

Which means that which person he is at that table is immaterial as long as he stays there; the table is full of bigots.

 

[Shakeshift]

Regarding Ernie, one thing to consider is that he has not been making any posts or reference to Lanasa or NuTSR on social media or anywhere public for a long time now. But even though he doesn't talk about it, he still spends a lot of time at the Museum. When you see him post on Facebook about private gaming gigs or people visiting his "Dragonlands" estate, those people often also get a tour of the DHSM. Ernie will not mention is publicly, but those people do sometimes. Here's a photo from someone who got the Dragonlands and DHSM private tour from him last weekend:

View attachment 288093

We know that Ernie's relationship with Lanasa has cost him many personal friendships and an incalculable amount of respect. But the lesson he has learned from all this is not "Don't be a bigot". Rather, he learned the importance of keeping quiet about the bigotry.

I'm sorry, but what is "Dragonlands?"

 

[Cordwainer Fish]

I'm sorry, but what is "Dragonlands?"

Sounds like Graceland, but with dragons instead. Probably a lot more downmarket too.

 

[DLIMedia]

Caretaker of Dungeon Hobby Shop MusMuseum

To give credit where it's due, Jeff "Duck" Leason is the co-author of C1: The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan.

Honestly, its arguably a good thing that he's caretaker... hes considered part of the TSR "old guard", and likely has intimate knowledge of the early products and people.

 

[DLIMedia]

I'm sorry, but what is "Dragonlands?"

"Dragonlands" is what Ernie Jr calls his home.

 

[Umbran]

Mod Note:
Folks,

This thread is not titled, "Who can we justify calling a bigot?" So, please bring it back around to the subject of the bankruptcy. Thanks all.