Does TSR3 Have Nazi Connections?

Evidence has been compiled by an anonymous website which suggests that TSR3's Star Frontiers: New Genesis (Star Frontiers being one of the trademarks under legal 'dispute' with WotC right now) is written by an author with extreme Nazi sympathies.

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

I'm not going to directly post the hateful images and tweets here because the content is extreme. It's one of the most focused outpourings of hate that I've personally seen.

But there is a website [CONTENT WARNING -- I need to post the link as evidence but I honestly do not recommend that you click on it] where somebody has anonymously and comprehensively compiled screenshots which indicate that a Twitter feed called 'DaveFilmsUS' (that they allege belongs to New Genesis author Dave Johnson) is filled with hate speech and Nazi imagery. These tweets include racist, homophobic, and transphobic content, along with Nazi and white supremacy memes. There are images of swastikas, and messages about the 'replacement' of white people. The tweets cover a long period of time, going back to at least 2017. They are extreme.

Star Frontiers: New Genesis is a book whose existence many doubt. It shows up as 'sold out' on TSR3's webstore on Dungeon Hobby Shop. Earlier this year, TSR3 posted manipulated images of piles of books (below) made to look like they were Star Frontiers stock. To the best of my knowledge, nobody has seen this book. The game was announced in June 2021.

Meanwhile, Star Frontiers owner Wizards of the Coast continues to sell the game on DriveThruRPG. TSR3 attempted legal action against WotC last year with the goal of claiming ownership of some of WotC's IP; WotC responded with a countersuit which is still ongoing.

Johnson, who runs Dave Johnson Games, also publishes an ezine called Alarms & Journeys, a name presumably 'inspired' by the the well-known zine Alarums and Excursions by the award-winning game designer Lee Gold. Alarums and Excursions has been running since 1975, and is still published to this day.

TSR3 is run by Justin LaNasa (a tattooist, weapon designer, and briefly a politician who refers to himself as Sir Justin LaNasa), who sent (real) TSR alumnus Tim Kask profane messages in January of this year. TSR3 is the third company to bear the name, and is in no way connected to the TSR which published Dungeons & Dragons from the 1970s to the 1990s.

WotC's countersuit against TSR3, which names the company and Justin LaNasa personally, currently remains ongoing.

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[Steampunkette]

Given how awful the stuff on that Twitter feed is, I'm surprised it hasn't been shut down entirely. Surely it violates all sorts of Twitter's TOS?

Twitter Won't Treat White Supremacy Like ISIS Because It'd Have to Ban Some GOP Politicians Too

A Twitter employee who works on machine learning believes that a proactive, algorithmic solution to white supremacy would also catch Republican politicians.

www.vice.com

They don't activate their auto-banhammer on white supremacists 'cause it would ban politicians and members of their party.

 

[DLIMedia]

On the bright side, aside from misappropriating the letters "T", "S" and "R", these guys have nothing to do with anyone's genuine gaming memories.

They're actively trying to convince a court that they are the old TSR "reborn" (their word choice, not mine).

I never thought I'd be rooting for the side of the multi-billion dollar corporation in any lawsuit, but holy crap do I want Hasbro to crush these guys into dust.

Given how awful the stuff on that Twitter feed is, I'm surprised it hasn't been shut down entirely. Surely it violates all sorts of Twitter's TOS?

Yes, but someone has to actively report them. He's been flying under the radar for some time, and seems to enjoy living in his own echo chamber... it's likely the only people listening to his crap are people who agree with it.

 

[hunter1828]

As an historian, I've spent several decades reading and researching some of the worst aspects of human history and I've developed a pretty strong stomach for certain imagery. But the imagery in that link turned my stomach in ways few other things ever have. I had to just stop because I just couldn't finish going through it.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

my god this goes so far beyond the game...this is true evil

 

[TheAlkaizer]

I can understand individuals having certain experiences, or upbringings and ending up have a disdain against a specific group. You don't excuse it, you don't approve it, but you can rationally understand. But I honestly cannot fathom being so full of hate against so many people. The amount of energy and time it takes to post such things, it shows dedication, how can you dedicate yourself to something so vile.

 

[HammerMan]

In case anyone's curious but doesn't want to click on the link: This is not subtle. This is not dogwhistles.

Thank you. I am sure that it would cause issues if I clicked but I would have wondered

 

[vecna00]

I'm not surprised by any of this.

 

[Faolyn]

I'm not surprised by any of this.

I must admit to being surprised it was so blatant. I mean, we knew he was bigoted from earlier tweets he's made. But I don't think most of us knew just how bad he was.

 

[dragoner]

I saw it posted on twitter, how truly awful, I had no idea.

 

[Deset Gled]

It would be good to never hear anything about these people ever again. I fear they're benefiting from the bad publicity. It is keeping them in the news when they deserve to fade away.

Unfortunately, the name "TSR" will keep them alive even if we ignore them. They have already gotten their name (along with the Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum) onto Wikipedia, Forbes' website, and into local travel media in the Lake Geneva area like madison.com and Yelp. Their convention sponged off of GaryCon with minor but measurably real success, and even got at least one website to completely conflate the two conventions. There are lots of people that will be suckered in by the name "TSR" alone. The target market isn't people like us, it's people who will visit their museum and buy their stuff online just based on the trademark and nostalgia. That's why WotC's legal battle against them is so important; ignoring them will not make the problem go away.

That being said, I do try and avoiding typing the name of Dave Johnson's magazine into the internet as much as possible.