• The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!

TSR TSR3 Blames Widespread Pushback On WotC

In an unexpected turn of events, the primary individuals behind TSR3 have claimed the pushback they've received on social media and elsewhere was orchestrated by .... D&D publisher Wizards of the Coast (a company which has thus far remained completely silent on recent events). TSR3 is run by Justin LaNasa, Stephen Dinehart, and Ernie Gygax. The controversy has been raging for over a week...

In an unexpected turn of events, the primary individuals behind TSR3 have claimed the pushback they've received on social media and elsewhere was orchestrated by .... D&D publisher Wizards of the Coast (a company which has thus far remained completely silent on recent events).

TSR3 is run by Justin LaNasa, Stephen Dinehart, and Ernie Gygax. The controversy has been raging for over a week, since TSR3 announced itself with a press release.


dineharttweet.png

erniet.jpeg

uROPf5GL_400x400.jpg

Stephen Dinehart and Ernie Gygax have since deactivated their Twitter accounts; Justin LaNasa doesn't appear to have one, but it is believed he is the person operating TSR3's Twitter account. A couple of days ago, Ernie Gygax posted about recent events on Facebook (note that he edited the post, but the original can be seen here).

I wish to state in the strongest terms that I never meant to hurt anyone of any race, creed or color. My video From the Bunker caused some to feel that they would not be welcome or would be looked down upon. That was never the intent, I was reacting to focus of modern role play into a more background and Role Play rather than the wargame that so made so many lives happy over 40 years ago.

As a gamer it meant that most of us were not worthy of any attention from others of our own age. We were Nerds. We were brainy-acks and others would snicker. Older classmen would ask to "borrow" something of ours to then pass back and forth a game of keep away. I used to receive some special attention from about 4 Juniors in my Freshman year. I played the Violin and often I began to wish that I had Super Powers, perhaps become a Giant.. I was far to shy and then embarrassed as attractive ladies would just lower the eyes while the jocks or other socially vibrant fellows had some fun at another geeky nerds expense. Thank goodness I grew 4 inches my junior year.

The only real comfort zone we all could share was a table in the lunch room. At least the fledgling TSR found fertile minds in those who had only those like us - gamers. Rather than have to risk embarrassing myself, since Phy Ed was going to force us to dance with those wonderful and yet scary girls. Well to get my Diploma I had to slave for a month to Mr. Gerber the head of the Phy Ed department. Fortunately I knew all about janitorial work as before D&D and TSR dad only made $5,000 as a Cobbler (five children) and we had food stamps and even free school lunches. Yes you had to go to the councilors office every week to collect your free lunch passes. Obviously you could feel all the eyes on you and the talk about....

Everyone has been welcome at my gaming table and multitudes of new friends have been created by the time spent playing the games we Love. Look at pictures of gaming on my site or anywhere I run games. Everyone is welcome, just like a Boot Hill game leave your guns at the bar until you leave town. If you come to the Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum Jeff R. Leason will show you courtesy and a smile and you will see that gaming with elder gamers is a safe and entertaining environment.


 

log in or register to remove this ad

Kannik

Hero
The response(s) by TSR3 et al is classic DARVO manuever (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender), with an especially heavy emphasis on the RVO part as the days go on. What's more unfortunate is that it seems to me to have been (at least in part) a deliberate ploy to bolster themselves within certain circles.

As someone who has been gaming for 36+ years and cut their D&D teeth on 1e, it saddens me to witness what Ernie and TSR3 are professing. It does not represent me and it inspires me to go out and create and invite an even greater diversity into the hobby.
 

log in or register to remove this ad





Where did you see that?
On Wizards of the Coast, Lorraine Williams, & Original TSR

They just took as all corporate raiders do the treasures and then tried to make them their own. American Indians did the same thing they would, um, wipe out another tribe many times take the women and children and murder off everything else and leave to make your tribe that much better, room to grow.


- Excerpt from the interview Ernie Gygax did on Live from the Bunker, as transcribed by Morrus.

As far as I know, no Indigenous American people is on record having done anything like this as a regular practice; and even if it was possible that they did, an interview about a TTRPG startup is definitely not the time or place to debate that. The fact that the above account is more along the lines of what European colonizers to did the Indigenous peoples, rather than what they did to each other, makes the statement all the more slanderous and offensive.
 
Last edited:

Faolyn

(she/her)
the school shooter thing was definitely in poor taste. But he did change it once he recognized it was.

I assume, at least. It’s easy to say he may have just been browbeaten into making the edit, but if he can’t be browbeaten into acknowledging the validity of trans people, he probably then isn’t fully acting on feeling intimidated/pressured.
Almost everyone can agree murdering kids is bad and some people still have the crazy idea that RPGs and/or video games cause violence. It was probably fairly easy to convince him (if he didn't realize it himself) that saying he dreamed about murdering kids because they made fun of him for being a D&D player doesn't make RPGs look good.

It's a bit different than acknowledging the validity of people he finds gross.
 

Almost everyone can agree murdering kids is bad and some people still have the crazy idea that RPGs and/or video games cause violence. It was probably fairly easy to convince him (if he didn't realize it himself) that saying he dreamed about murdering kids because they made fun of him for being a D&D player doesn't make RPGs look good.

It's a bit different than acknowledging the validity of people he finds gross.
Agreed I was purely speaking to my thoughts on him being browbeaten, I did not intend to conflate those two as being the same and I am sorry if it came off that way.
 

Gradine

The Elephant in the Room (she/her)
Imagine dozens of grinhwizs, all slapping each other in the back to literally zero repercussions, and you start to get an idea about what a lot of the rest of the internet is like for trans folx.

Had they not been quoted i wouldn't have even seen the post, which is a testament to how dedicated the mod team to making this a safe inclusive space, and how good they are at following through on it.
 

Faolyn

(she/her)
This is the stuff that gets me riled.

This person, one of the leaders of TSR3, Dinehart, took the time to type this into Twitter. Then he looked at what he had written, smiled at his own cleverness probably, and thought "yep, that's my message. That's what I want to announce to the world" and clicked send.
I keep imagining that people like this get so angry that they lose control and forget they are effectively skywriting their response for everyone to see.
 

Voidrunner's Codex

Related Articles

Remove ads

Voidrunner's Codex

Remove ads

Top