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, since TSR3 announced itself with a press release.

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...

www.enworld.org

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.

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

 

[Essafah]

And if that's not enough, how about the part where, when Ernie's partners were called for clarification, trans women were called out as being "disgusting".

Shall I share the death threats I've received for speaking out about this?

So yes, go ahead and explain how you, presumably a cis person, feel enlightened enough to downplay the glaring transphobia.

That was done if my understanding is correct by the financier and new head of TSR3 LaNasa. Have you heard me defend LaNasa. I can answer for you. No I have not. This is the kind of BS argument I am talking about.

 

[Essafah]

Who is "acting like Ernie's story is so rare"?

EDIT: I see that you addressed this in a different comment, but people are not really acting as if Ernie being bullied as a young nerd was "rare" or that gaming was always cool. To the extent anyone is sneering, it's at Ernie's attempt to point to having been bullied decades ago as an excuse for bullying fellow nerds now.



Who has said that you can't hold up your experiences in gaming?

You are attacking a lot of arguments nobody has made. I'm not sure why.

"Attacking arguments that have not been made" You said this in reference to me stating people acting like Ernie's story is rare. Go see the damn response to his backstory of his gaming youth. I am not saying you have to accept his apology but in the very first page of this thread you have people saying things like so he was an incel growing up. I am saying his experience of DnD not being for the popular kids until very recently is highly accurate.

You implied that I can't hold up my experience but other experiences (from what I gather mainly only of those who have faced persecution) should be held up.

 

[Gradine]

That was done if my understanding is correct by the financier and new head of TSR3 LaNasa. Have you heard me defend LaNasa. I can answer for you. No I have not. This is the kind of BS argument I am talking about.

You missed the part where I said "Ernie's partners." You also missed all the times Ernie himself doubled down:
*The "My mother raised me with 'Christian values'" tweet
*The "apology" that conspicuously did not include any mention of his dismissive comments regarding gender identity
*The repeated accounts shared by Rob Kuntz in this and other threads of Ernie slapping away literally every lifeline that has been extended to him

You are out of your depth and should defer to those who understand and who are most impacted by these situations.

 

[Essafah]

You know you seem like a good soul who would like to ferret out the truth and see peace on both sides. It's an honorable position. When I communicated with Ernie I stated that whatever the result, good or bad, he had to apologize. He accepted my view and then a day later got back to me that he considered he had made an apology already and would do no more, said that Justin was no longer going to comment (not sure where) and that they would only be making announcements of company biz and gaming stuff, the latter which later proved to be false. My response was short and reminded him that his fellows were following a known race-hater, neo-nazi named Varg, and if he was really enforcing his Christian principals he'd do something about that. Otherwise I sensed a complete change in attitude from the phone call, like he consulted with some one and then concocted a response. His final e-mail to me was weird, as it did not address the issue of Varg and only stated rather offhandedly that they were trying to make their community safe for everyone. Then he reminded me of some past childhood experiences between us and stated that he wished we could go back to those times, then ended that I was the 2nd best DM (his dad being first) that he'd played with. A trailing ending totally unrelated to the issues if one thinks about it only in the moment, but if you study the nuance, well, it was goodbye. And I don't mean goodbye as in the ending of the e-mail. Ernie has decided to side with other than what he was raised to believe in. I know this. I think I know why. But it's not because he is misunderstood. He's always avoided facing problems, some real, some imagined. In his mind that way he never has any... PAX.

Mr. Kuntz first of all. I am a fan of your work. Thank you for taking time to communicate with people on this forum (myself included).

To your point. Yes. I am trying to understand both sides. To be clear, I have absolutely no love for bigots and those who deride other folks due to their creed, religion, sexual orientation, race and all that. I also do not like though people forcing their views on others and interjecting real world politics into a game that I play for fantasy escapism. I also don't like the dogpiling that is going on towards Ernie because he SEEMS like a good person though I have never met the man. The contempt displayed for LaNasa is a different matter. Ernie whom you know far better than me seems like a genuinely good man albeit a bit unlearned of real world issues. He put his foot in his mouth. I would hope that he comes around to fully admitting it but I don't like people calling him an incel acting like D&D was always cool and the hip thing like Critical Role is now. I am sure you know that his story of the growing up and D&D being for the outcast is far more accurate a depiction of what DnD was like (in all honesty up until the aughts and not even the early aughts). I am not saying everyone experience bullies but D&D was more like the Breakfast Club in that it was comprised of very differing people brought together by a love of dice over the table.

I am not one to tolerate someone showing me disrespect or being racist to me. I will confront that without pause but in all honesty I will reiterate I never experienced that at the gaming tables and while living in and being from the South I have lived from the SE U.S. to the West Coast and back again. In that time I may have been the only person of color at the gaming table or maybe one other person besides myself but I was always welcome. Now, that I look back as a child I can recall one person whose house we gamed at in the basement (something that people make fun of now ...gaming in the basement but that was a norm back then) and this person's parents now doing things that I think today were suspect BUT my actual friend that I game with and the people at the actual table I never had an issue with. Ever and no Black person that gamed that I know personally ever did either.

I am very sorry to hear that you and Ernie seemed to have parted ways (on his part). I had someone that I considered a friend that got sucked into conspiracy cult beliefs and we parted ways also. I know that can be painful. I hope Ernie finds his way. I also hope he reaches back out to you and you and he can settle things. Other than that thank you sir for helping to provide me with years of fun and being able to escape to a place where for a few hours of the day (and even longer during the bygone marathon game weekends of my youth) I didn't have to think about race, or politics, or escalating world tensions but could simply lose myself in a fun game of fantasy adventure.

 

[Charlaquin]

To be clear, I have absolutely no love for bigots and those who deride other folks due to their creed, religion, sexual orientation, race and all that.

I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt that you didn’t leave gender out of this list on purpose, but I do find it ironic that you left it out when that’s precisely one of the things Ernie’s (non-)apology is being critiqued for.

I also do not like though people forcing their views on others and interjecting real world politics into a game that I play for fantasy escapism.

The existence of trans people is not politics. It is Ernie who is “injecting politics into the game” by pointedly “enforcing gender” in the game because of his “Christian values.”

 

[Rikka66]

"Attacking arguments that have not been made" You said this in reference to me stating people acting like Ernie's story is rare. Go see the damn response to his backstory of his gaming youth. I am not saying you have to accept his apology but in the very first page of this thread you have people saying things like so he was an incel growing up. I am saying his experience of DnD not being for the popular kids until very recently is highly accurate.

The response of most people is sympathy to the bullying, but noting that is no excuse for transphobia. The post by Reynard at the beginning of the thread is, though derogatory, basically the latter without the former.

So you going on about how everyone is trying to deny that D&D used to be a much less socially acceptable hobby does seem a lot like "attacking arguments that have not been made".

 

[ECMO3]

I don't think WOTC really cares enough to mount a campaign against TSR3, but Ernie and company are blind if they did not see how the gaming world has changed in the last 20 ... or even in the last 2 years.

Just because he did not intend to hurt someone does not mean he didn't and that he did not even realize it could is a testament to how out of touch he is.

 

[Bradjalon]

To your point. Yes. I am trying to understand both sides. To be clear, I have absolutely no love for bigots and those who deride other folks due to their creed, religion, sexual orientation, race and all that. I also do not like though people forcing their views on others and interjecting real world politics into a game that I play for fantasy escapism.

Invalidating people's identity is not real world politics, that is being a horrible human being and has no place in gaming. Also you missed mentioning gender, which is an odd omission considering it is the topic everything here is focused on

You're skewing towards TSR3's own "keep gaming fantasy", which is a very problematic position. No one should have to be made uncomfortable to maintain your idea of escapism

Here are two good takes on that and said way better than I could:

 

[Essafah]

You missed the part where I said "Ernie's partners." You also missed all the times Ernie himself doubled down:
*The "My mother raised me with 'Christian values'" tweet
*The "apology" that conspicuously did not include any mention of his dismissive comments regarding gender identity
*The repeated accounts shared by Rob Kuntz in this and other threads of Ernie slapping away literally every lifeline that has been extended to him

You are out of your depth and should defer to those who understand and who are most impacted by these situations.

His Christian value tweet I saw a screen shot of. If I recall correctly, was he not saying he was raised with Christian values and thus he was taught not to discriminate against anyone for various reasons?

If someone says they don't discriminate against people why do they have to list every possible demographic. If I say, I don't discriminate against people due to race, gender, religion, etc. and someone says, "Well you didn't say you you don't discriminate against married people or against people with X disease" I would honestly think that person is either a) stupid or b) looking for confrontation for whatever reason.

On his thing with Rob Kuntz yeah it seems like he (Ernie) got sucked into a political conspiracy group....one that has become more common. I am saying Ernie said something wrong but I think he could redeem himself and that what he said in the interview wasn't the issue so much as what his partner and associate said after on social media that keep fueling the issue. To be clear, I think it is his partner more than him.

On the being out of my depth. Yeah let me address that #$ statement right here and now. Out of my depth on what? Discrimination? Yeah PLEASE tell me about that. I'll wait. Actually no I won't. Listen whomever you are I was probably studying social issues before you were conceived. There is a Black gay writer by the name of James Earl Hardy. He writes gay fiction specifically Black gay fiction. I read his book in undergrad for a study. Mr. Hardy in an interview talked about the discrimination he has faced in society as both a Black man and a Gay Man. He said unequivocally, that most of his discrimination however came from being Black. The cops never stopped him for being Gay. Never one ever refused him service for him being a homosexual it was for his race. I do not have the option of being an invisible minority.

I say that not to try to out victim someone (I don't feel like a victim or play the victim card) BUT what I am saying matters in terms of transgender in gaming because: 1. there is no way that is going to come up during a game of DnD unless someone brings it up to make it an issue. Yes you (for example) can play a character who is a transgendered woman or whatever but there is no way for a DM to know that unless YOU tell them. Unless YOU make it an issue. Even back in previous editions were sex was listed if Transwomen are women (and they are) and you put female or woman down on that character sheet the only way trans is going to come up is if YOU try to push some point to interject something into the game. Now, I may make a character that is Black, Asian, or whatever but I am not DEMANDING that the DM say, "Hey! SEE MY CHARACTER IS BLACK" . The race of the PC other than whether they are non-human is inconsequential to the my character, the DM, and the game. Gender (Whether Cis or whatever) is the same way. Period. I am all for WOTC's direction of showing different sexual orientation in the game (like in Ravenloft), showing more women in the game, increasing diversity in hiring in gaming but there is a difference in saying something exist and should be acknowledged and then demanding a social issue be addressed in the game.

 

[Morrus]

I also do not like though people forcing their views on others and interjecting real world politics into a game that I play for fantasy escapism.

We're working on the phrasing, but everybody please assume that attempts to suppress stances against bigotry or inclusion of diverse voices by falsely referring to them as 'politics' is not welcome here. We'll be amending the rules to make that explicitly clear soon, as 'keep politics out of gaming' is basically a dogwhistle at this point.