TSR Companies & Freelancers Distance Themselves From The New TSR

The new TSR (which I refer to as TSR3 to avoid confusion) has doubled down on its stance--which has been widely condemned online--via an ongoing series of tweets and replies from its TSR Games, Giantlands, and Dungeon Hobby Museum social media accounts (possibly operated by Justin LaNasa) in an astonishing PR campaign which makes the original interview which sparked off the controversy look mild in comparison. Various entities are moving to distance themselves from the company and its activities, including TSR2, the company founded in 2011 by Jayson Elliot, which has now declared that it will not be using the name TSR any longer. Other companies including Gen Con and freelancers such as Jeff Dee have also made statements.

For reference -- TSR1 is the (no longer existing) company which launched D&D in 1974, TSR2 is the company founded by Jayson Elliot in 2011 to create Gygax Magazine and which currently publishes the Top Secret RPG, and TSR3 is the newly launched company.

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Catch up on my previous coverage of this story:

TSR - Ernie Gygax on New TSR, WotC Beefs, Trademarks, Licensees, 5E, & More

A YouTube channel, 'Live From the Bunker', interviewed Ernie Gygax about the new TSR. I've watched and decided to try to transcribe the most relevant parts of it, but the full hour-long video is below if you want to see the whole interview and full context. Ernie Gygax is one of D&D...

www.enworld.org

TSR - TSR (2) Confirms TSR (3)'s Acquisition of Trademark (Updated!)

Jayson Elliot registered the TSR trademark back in 2011 and used it to launch Gygax Magazine along with Ernie and Luke Gygax. The two Gygax's left the company a few years later after Gary Gygax's (co-founder of TSR (1) back in the 1970s) widow, Gail Gygax, forced the closure of Gygax Magazine...

www.enworld.org

A TSR Announces a Star Frontiers Reboot

One of the new TSRs (yes there are now two TSRs!) has announced a reboot of Star Frontiers, the sci-fi game made by the original TSR back in the 1980s. Star Frontiers was a percentile dice roleplaying game set in a galaxy with four races (Human, Dralasite, Vrusk, and Yazirian) which were re-used...

www.enworld.org

TSR - TSR Is Back.... Again!

TSR is back... again! A new company, using the name and logo of the original publisher of Dungeons & Dragons has just been launched, along with a limited edition new game called Giantlands, and a theme park! But first, some history! Because this isn't the first time TSR has been resurrected...

www.enworld.org

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TSR3's social media accounts initially sought to distance the company from Ernie Gygax's statements, but within a few hours had reversed course and doubled down on his stance. Note that there have been dozens of social media posts from the company over the last few days, and still continuing as I type this, and I don't intend to share them all here.

(Thanks to Daniel Fox for sharing screenshots below via Twitter).

TSR2 -- "Update to our earlier tweet - we will NOT be licensing anything from the new company claiming rights to the TSR logos. We are not working with them in any fashion."

Gen Con -- "Gen Con is not associated with TSR Games and we don't support their recent statements. While the foundation of Gen Con is tied with the history of TTRPGs, our goal is to build off the good, acknowledge the bad, and work toward a present free from racism, misogyny, and homophobia."

Gen Con has also indicated that they do not intend to allow TSR3 at the convention.

GAMA (the Game Manufacturers Association) -- "We’re aware of the appalling statements published by TSR Games and their founder - GAMA does not condone nor agree with any part of it. We pride ourselves on supporting and promoting inclusivity always. Our motto is “A game at every table, a table for everyone”. Transphobia, racism, and sexism will not be tolerated. That means that TSR is not welcome at Origins Game Fair, GAMA Expo or any event affiliated with our organization."

Jeff Dee -- "There is a rumor going around that I am part of this new TSR company. That is not accurate. I have done some work for them as a freelance artist. That’s how I make my living, and spreading the misinformation that I’m now employed full-time by one particular client could stop other clients from approaching me and hurt my business. So, please do not spread that rumor. If I ever become a full-time employee anywhere again, I will announce that myself. Thanks. UPDATE: After investigating reports about statements made by representatives of this new TSR, I have determined that I can no longer do business with them in good conscience. I've returned their downpayment on the next piece of art I was scheduled to do for them. And yeah, I could sure use some new commissions to make up for this big hit on my cashflow"

Jim Ward, an original TSR alumnus and who wrote Giantlands, TSR3's flagship product -- "At the present time I know little or nothing about the relaunch of TSR. Right now I don't see how anyone could pick up where the old company left off. Yes it's a name with some logos, that is all I know."

Luke Gygax -- "FYI- I am not involved with any TSR company nor is Gary Con nor anyone else in my family outside of Ernie. Full stop. That is all ... I have reasons for distancing myself. The way TSR treats people online in their public exchanges is rude. The museum is a for profit business and was asking for donations. Using names of people to promote without their knowledge. Going out of the way to talk gender/woke stuff ... Also basically jacking the TSR logo from Jayson Elliot. The bombastic press releases and claims to old IP. Making a quick nostalgia money grab based on my fathers name and not much else. So I’m making it clear I don’t like this style and I have ZERO to do with TSR"

TSR3 responds to Luke Gygax​

Tim Kask, an original TSR alumnus who worked at the company until 1980, spoke at length on this topic in a YouTube video (below). I've transcribed some bits, but he says a whole load more (ellipses represent sections I have not included, for reasons of brevity), so check out the video for the whole thing.

"There has been bandied about in social media over the last several days several claims about what's going on in Lake Geneva right now. Ernie Gygax made a most egregious mistake in an interview he did on a podcast. He basically waved his bare ass in front of everybody that's concerned about pronouns, and woke, and all that right now in the industry and thumbed his nose at them. The transcript of his podcasts are there for everyone to read. That they were men, and they didn't give a sh*t, and la la la.

But right there they alienated three quarters of the gaming industry. Probably more than that, I don't believe that there's a quarter of the gaming industry that still are the neanderthals that he would make us out to be.

That's another thing. This whole thing has brought the OSR (the old school revival) into serious disrepute. Now there are some little Karens going on some of the social media and painting with the same brush all of us that were there back then based on the stupid ass sh*t that Ernie just said. No. We weren't all like that. And we aren't all like that now. He's a troll, a troglodyte, a neanderthal, if he really means that. It's a foolish person that doesn't wet his finger once in a while and feel the wind shift.

Now there've been claims in a couple of posts, one of which is by Ernie, about how the stalwarts, the old TSR are flocking to the banner. Bullsh*t....

... There is no one of the creative side of TSR from the early days involved with the Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum. No one. Not one creative person. No matter who might be claiming what, they simply do not have the credentials. Being named DiMaggio does not mean you can hit a lot of home runs. Or that you even hit any home runs ....

... Just because you say you're TSR doesn't mean you are."

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[Sacrosanct]

Sure, but that only goes to the point: I don't know Leiber from Adam and have only a smattering of the F&GM stories, but Howard was stupendous misogynistic and racist by the standards of rural Texas in the early 20th century. I have his stories and enjoy reading them, but with eyes wide open to what they are.

Well sure, NOW. But in 1972? At the height of sword and sorcery fandom?

 

[Rob Kuntz]

Stratego? I think I remember that or a derivative from an ill-omened Christian retreat (one of my several attempts do do a faith since it seemed to make other people happy...) where the kid that just wanted to play it, it turned out, really just wanted to wargame so we gave them 40k stats instead and, oops... (1990-ish?)

Heh. I had to refresh my memory by referencing the wiki on it: "The game is a slightly modified copy of an early 20th centuryFrench game named L'Attaque [fr] ("The Attack"). It has been in production inEurope since World War II and theUnited States since 1961."

Some earlier versions by Milton Bradley had wooden pieces; the one we played had hard molded plastic pieces. It was the only game that I could best Gary Gygax at for about two years as I had mastered it before meeting him in 1968.

Making others happy is good as long as they do not take you for granted. My wife, who is French, learned that the hard way when she lived abroad in Manchester UK for 16 years.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

So, does 48 hours of quiet mean the cease and desists have gone out, or has everyone just gotten exhausted following the twists and turns?

 

[Parmandur]

Aged horribly is the sort of thing you say about a guy from the 30s or something. Gygax was saying that stuff about women's brains on a dang web forum. His avatar was his Futurama appearance. Let's not even accidentally suggest that stuff is from the dim mists of history, it was 16 years ago. The two things that aged horribly were Gygax's views and Gygax.

It's an important point that people are not racist or misogynistic, ideas are. People have racist and misogynistic ideas in their mind, and it is pretty clear Gygax never broke free of them.

 

[Parmandur]

So, does 48 hours of quiet mean the cease and desists have gone out, or has everyone just gotten exhausted following the twists and turns?

Probably.

 

[Cadence]

I viewed this table as a misguided attempt at a "fun" encounter. A poor result of random brainstorming that found its way into the product.

It pains me to consider, what seems true, that sexism is intentional and part of the roots of D&D.

I find it odd that much of anything in the past is free of some combination of racism, sexism, and bigotry... or that many other people who've thought about it are surprised to learn it was at least one of those. I assume the future will look back on us with shaking heads too.

 

[Parmandur]

Well sure, NOW. But in 1972? At the height of sword and sorcery fandom?

Yea, the racist and misohynist ideas that drench Conan like muscle oil were obvious in 1952, let alone 1972. Doesn't mean they aren't good reads, but you don't exactly need to be a cutting edge scholar to have seen the issues there.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

There's several possible worst-case scenarios for WotC in the whole mess. The worst one I personally can think of is that WotC might step in and squash this whole mess through legal threats regarding IP, but then LaNasa (who did have aspirations to a political career at one stage, remember) decides to set himself up as a free-speech martyr being persecuted by an giant evil 'woke' corporation for his sincerely held beliefs etc etc when that same corporation was less than zealous about making the same legal threats to others who were doing some of the same IP-related maneuvering. It's not impossible LaNasa might turn this into a cause celebre for a while in right-wing media and internet-world, if he has or had any contacts in those circles, and especially if he decides to use this whole thing as a personal brand-promotion exercise.

He doesn't have those skills nor contacts. The best showing he ever got in a Republican primary in North Carolina was 23% of the vote. The campaign before, he got 9% of the vote.

WotC will be very very cautious about stepping in. This is (quite literally) not their business, the Gygaxes haven't owned D&D for longer than the majority of the population have been alive, and so far community pressure seems to be having sufficient effect that TSR3 is likely to get commercially squashed without WotC lifting a finger. WotC will be coolly balancing the pros and cons of sticking their oar in. Big corporations are risk averse and (cynicism alert) tend to only take bold political/ethical/moral stances when there's no potential downside to doing so.

They are attempting to sell a product that WotC owns. Legally, WotC has to step in.

 

[Catulle]

I cannot see how something as involved and complex as the wandering harlots table could be any sort of accident: itsnot just the obvious misogyny, it's the thought and effort that went into actively constructing an elaborate misogynistic joke generation tool.

...well, duh (to coin a phrase). See also strength limitations, and the art, the art, the art.

We know this stuff, and we know to look at it critically. Literally every one of us is a beneficiary of slavery on some level, though the scales are massively skewed, the whole of modernity moving from serfdom through industrialisation to Coupland's microserfs has been built on unfree labour (arguably less so on Coupland, but his point was as much about social conditioning as economic bondage.)

It's differences of degree as much as of type. And there's plenty of information out there about just how messed up our history was until very recently. The US had an (openly titled) Nazi party until 1983. We, in the UK, still and to our shame, still have a National Front.

It's out there, it needs be opposed whenever (and to bring things back around to the point) it touches upon this niche interest we have, and for the same reasons as the journo-in-a-bar story Danny told earlier.

 

[Rob Kuntz]

Ernie Gygax is part of the roots of D&D. He was there playing it while his father was developing it.

His behavior and apparently his worldview force us to look at his father Gary Gygax more closely.

Why wait. You have the essence of those times before you. Ask me, or would you rather do dead scrolls research and wait until I, too, pass? Btw: Who is "us"? Are you a corporation or institution?