D&D General Companies Cut Ties With Judges Guild After Owner's Racist Posts

Several game publishers, including Bat in the Attic, have said that they will no longer do business with Judges Guild after its owner posted a number of racist and anti-semitic statements. They don't need to be repeated here; but there are several examples.

Judges Guild has been around since 1976, producing products compatible with Dungeons & Dragons; the current owner, Bob Bledsaw II, is the son of its co-founder, Bob Bledsaw, and has run the company since 2008. The company is well known for 1976's City State of the Invincible Overlord, amongst other classics. Bat in the Attic and Frog God Games both license Judges' Guild properties.

Rob Conley of Bat in the Attic stated yesterday that the company would no longer do business with Judges Guild, or its properties. "Sunday evening, I called Robert Bledsaw II and discussed the issue. I notified him that I will no longer be doing future Judges’ Guild projects and will only continue to sell what I have currently listed. I stated that I will be calling the other Judges Guild licensee and inform them of the situation and of my decision."

Frog God Games, which has been working with Judges Guild for nearly 20 years, followed suit. "Recently the owner of Judges Guild made a series of racist and anti-semitic posts on Facebook. We will not reproduce them here; they are shown on Rob Conley's Bat in the Attic blog, and we are convinced of their authenticity. Rob wrote his post because, as a licensee of Judges Guild property, he felt he needed to state clearly that he would not be doing business with Judges Guild in the future. We have also licensed property from Judges Guild in the past, and we are seconding Rob's example by cutting off all future business with Judges Guild. The posts made on Facebook were completely unacceptable."

UPDATE — DriveThruRPG has severed ties. “The Judges Guild publisher account has been closed and they are no longer available on DriveThruRPG.”

A few years ago, Judges Guild ran a Kickstarter to bring back City State of the Invincible Overlord, with nearly a thousand backers raising $85K. The Kickstarter has not yet been fulfilled. The latest update was in October 2019.

 

[Neonchameleon]

That is more controversial than you think. A lot depends on whether you're a seller or a buyer. If you do business in public, you can't simply discriminate because you think your customer might have values that do not align with your own - depending on those values.

A lot depends on whether you intend to do business with the general public as a public company. If you want to be a professional cake baker who only takes commissions from personal referrals there is nothing stopping you doing that. It's when you put up a storefront and claim to be open to the general public that you run into the issues that you've claimed to be open to the general public who might walk in off the streets.

 

[Aaron L]

One thing I never understand about things like this. I intellectually understand that there are people who hold strong racist (or other equally objectionable) views; that's clear and apparent. What I don't get is why they post them publicly; surely they know what will happen? Or do they literally just not care about the consequences?

People like that have seriously convinced themselves "everyone really believes this deep down but is just afraid to say it," and that they are being "brave" by speaking it out loud; many are even deluded enough to believe they will get applause for "finally saying what everyone is really thinking." They honestly believe that everyone else is just as reprehensible as they are, and we are all just hypocritically putting on masks when we decry such behavior. It's a key element of the whole "red pill" ideology.

Another major reason is that the current political climate in the US has emboldened these types of people and caused them to start crawling out of their slimy crevices in droves because they see certain high political officeholders saying similar things without suffering any actual repercussions, and so they don't think they need to hide anymore. And things are only going to get worse.

 

[Aaron L]

Maybe I didn't understand what you were saying here, and if that's the case I apologize, but... this seems very simplistic of a statement. When you say the verbal abuse and harassment I feel for not being straight (or in the case discussed here, a jewish person for their religion, or a black person for the color of thir skin) is similar to the kind of abuse everyone gets from some quarter makes me feel reduced.

I think it was meant as commiseration, not belittling your problems.

 

[Morrus]

Maybe I didn't understand what you were saying here, and if that's the case I apologize, but... this seems very simplistic of a statement. When you say the verbal abuse and harassment I feel for not being straight (or in the case discussed here, a jewish person for their religion, or a black person for the color of thir skin) is similar to the kind of abuse everyone gets from some quarter makes me feel reduced.

Yes, you're right. When somebody talks about the challenges they face, the human answer is not to say "other people have problems too"; it's to acknowledge and empathize with that person. When my mum died, if somebody had said, instead of "you have my sympathies" but "well other people die all the time", my opinion of that person would not exactly be high. I haven't followed the exchange, but if that's what somebody has been saying to you, then I'd disengage. Not worth it.

 

[Bolares]

Yes, you're right. When somebody talks about the challenges they face, the human answer is not to say "other people have problems too"; it's to acknowledge and empathize with that person. When my mum died, if somebody had said, instead of "you have my sympathies" but "well other people die all the time", my opinion of that person would not exactly be high. I haven't followed the exchange, but if that's what somebody has been saying to you, then I'd disengage. Not worth it.

yeah, I should've disengaged. The conversation didn't get better after that.

 

[gyor]

No, bigots, Holocaust deniers, and nazi sympathizers deserve to be cancelled hard. Screw them.

I agree that is some horrible things to say, but maybe through wise discussion he can be shown the errors in his opinions and become wiser for it.

 

[Zardnaar]

I agree that is some horrible things to say, but maybe through wise discussion he can be shown the errors in his opinions and become wiser for it.

Want to buy a bridge in Brooklyn?

Some do change their minds due to upbringing and they get exposed to The wider world.

I didn't know Holocaust denial was a thing until I ran into one around 2003/4.

 

[HarbingerX]

I agree that is some horrible things to say, but maybe through wise discussion he can be shown the errors in his opinions and become wiser for it.

It's unlikely as there is many sources of information that will continue to validate his opinion. You'd have to find a way to get them reading lot of other opinions that first refute their opinion, and then provide alternate ways of interpreting the world. Not an easy task.

 

[Maxperson]

In terms of companies customers wish to buy from, keep in mind that call to boycott are forbidden in some countries (the last conviction I have in mind were for call to boycott Israeli companies with huge smells of antisemitism).

Different cultures I guess (Tontine are forbidden in your country yet a common system in others)

Having observed several boycotts here in America, they seem like a really dumb idea. I mean, it's cool if you just want to stop buying, but when you announce a boycott, those that support the idea you are against flock to buy from your target and they frequently end up making more money than if you hadn't initiated the boycott.

 

[BrokenTwin]

Yeah, vocal boycotts can feel better, but I find quiet boycotts (where you only tell someone you're boycotting the company/product/service when it's immediately relevant) are a lot more effective in the long run, because it avoids that loud "@$!# you!" pushback from the diehard supporters.
Like, there's plenty of companies (not RPG-related) that I refuse to do business with. I don't yell about how terrible they are, because that just draws attention (and therefore business) to them. But if somebody asks my opinion of them, then they get an honest answer.