WotC WotC (Mistakenly) Issues DMCA Takedown Against Baldur's Gate-themed Stardew Valley Mod

Wizards of the Coast recently issued a DMCA takedown notice against Baldur's Village, a popular fan-created Stardew Valley mod which was based on Baldur's Gate 3.

Created by a modding team called Nexus Mods, the mod featured BG3 characters such as Astarion and Shadowheart, 20+ NPCs, and various locations and events. The mod, which has had over 4,000 downloads, took over a year to make, according to the team, and garnered praise from Swen Vincke, the CEO of Larion, the company which made Baldur's Gate 3, who also posted about the situation on Twitter:

“Free quality fan mods highlighting your characters in other game genres are proof your work resonates and a unique form of word of mouth. Imho they shouldn’t be treated like commercial ventures that infringe on your property. Protecting your IP can be tricky, but I do hope this gets settled. There are good ways of dealing with this.”

The mod went into "moderation review" on March 29th. However, it seems this was a 'mistake'--WotC has since issued a statement:

"The Baldur's Village DMCA takedown was issued mistakenly—we are sorry about that. We are in the process of fixing that now so fans and the Stardew community can continue to enjoy this great mod!"

So, the mod is back again! To use it you need the have the Stardew Modding API, the Content Patcher, and the Portraiture mod.

This isn't the first time WotC has 'erroneously' issued takedown notices against fans. In August 2024, the company took action against various YouTubers who were previewing the then-upcoming 2024 D&D Player's Handbook. A few days later, after some public outcry, WotC reversed its decision.

 

[Deset Gled]

Most things in the US are, by European context, comparatively recent history. Fun fact, Wyatt Earp of OK Corral fame died less than 100 years ago in 1929... which happens to be just the year before my aunt was born.

We've also been romanticizing the western era for longer than the era actually existed (XKCD 2152):

That fact feels relevant to this discussion, but I'm having trouble verbalizing exactly how.

 

[Steampunkette]

I tried wikipedia and the info there is spare.

Pinkerton (detective agency) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Is it? Is it REALLY spare?

Look, there's them spying on warehouse workers for signs of union activity (contributing to Bezos' union busting activities) just like Faolyn said. There's also them hiring an unlicensed security guard who then committed second degree murder. Oh. And look at that! The Wizards of the Coast scandal where they used intimidation and legal servings to force compliance!

If you follow the reference links off the Wiki Page you can find out that they forcibly held the door to the house open while Dan's wife was trying to close it before going to get her husband, harassed her verbally and repeatedly to the point of tears, and then took the cards from Dan without any reimbursement for his loss (leaving that to WotC to do).

You'll also find out that WotC "Tried to contact him". Not "Talked to him several times". Did they have the wrong number? No one will ever know.

So in the past 5 years we've got Union Busting, Murder, Harassment, and Theft.

The information is not "Spare". It's very clearly outlined and supported with reference links throughout.

"I'm not an American" didn't stop anyone else from learning the facts rather than demanding, over and over, other people spoon feed you everything or they were liars spreading misinformation. That's not arguing in good faith and asking for sources.

 

[Gradine]

I mean, there's a reason Weezer named their worst album after them

 

[Dire Bare]

Is it too difficult to actually give me actual information? If yes, then it rumors.
If not. Please show me. I am nit living in the US and might have not the context.

WotC said they tried to contact the youtuber in question before sending pinkertons.

As said above. I am not living in the US. I tried wikipedia and the info there is spare.
I think using the wild west as recent history is a bit dodgy, but hey.

Yeah. Ok. I always hear the same stories. I just asked for relatable information.


My research found that WotC tried to make contact in a friendly way before.

And as far as I am concerned, there was staged outrage against WotC at the time on youtube.

Partly justified? Probably. But as soon as the outrage machine is going on there is nearly no wqy to tell truth from rumors.

In that time some youtuber actually did spread false or half true rumors.
So asking for relatable facts should be ok.

But it seems that the burden of proof is reversed... so whatever.

And @Faolyn already admitted that breaking legs was no real fact. Which was what I originally asked for. Because my research did not get a match for that.

And that is what I meant with "spreading rumors". So if I took @Faolyn's saying as actual truth, I would have believed Pinkerton's are actually brwaking people's legs.

And @Faolyn said that people threten innoce t people with law. Which I don't think it is that terrible if you did not break any.
What you are forgetting is that bot everyone in this forum is a US citizen and thus used to this kind of law.
I live in Germany where threatening people with law is way less intimidating...

Your tone is getting pushback, not so much your request for more info. It comes across as, "Oh yeah? Prove it!" rather than, "I don't have all the info, can you direct me to some of it?"

For example, "I think using the wild west as recent history is a bit dodgy, but hey." Nobody actually used the wild west as recent history, but hey. Rather, we explained that the Pinkertons have a LONG history of union-busting and semi-legal tactics stretching BACK to the wild west days, but CONTINUING into the modern day. Today, right now.

Generally, some of us try to avoid re-litigating events that were discussed earlier on the forums. We've had multiple LONG conversations about the "Pinkerton Incident" here on ENWorld.

WotC did try to contact the YouTuber by normal means before sending the Pinkertons, and were not able to reach him. And? They had other options than sending a goon squad, especially one with the Pinkerton's reputation.

But we are wasting a lot of digital space on something discussed ad nauseum on these forums when it actually happened. The Pinkerton Incident was just one blunder in a long line of blunders by WotC. Some folks feel more strongly about it than others, for some folks this and the OGL Crisis were the last straws and they stopped patronizing WotC. Others, like myself, have not reached that point as of yet.

 

[Deset Gled]

Generally, some of us try to avoid re-litigating events that were discussed earlier on the forums. We've had multiple LONG conversations about the "Pinkerton Incident" here on ENWorld.

In all seriousness, I think I'm adding "Pinkerton" to my list of keywords that announce when it's time to unwatch a thread. Once they're namedropped, it's effectively impossible to discuss the original topic anymore.

 

[Gradine]

Yeah I mean, I don't think there's any amount of relevant data and historical and modern context that will get people to change their mind about Pinkertons; either the questionably legal and unquestionably unethical "private security" company or the unquestionably terrible album

 

[UngeheuerLich]

That's not arguing in good faith and asking for sources.

So you decide what is good faith?

Edited the rest out because it is not worth it.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Your tone is getting pushback, not so much your request for more info. It comes across as, "Oh yeah? Prove it!" rather than, "I don't have all the info, can you direct me to some of it?"

Sorry. Tone may not be conveyed great here. Maybe try reading what I actually wrote.

For example, "I think using the wild west as recent history is a bit dodgy, but hey." Nobody actually used the wild west as recent history, but hey. Rather, we explained that the Pinkertons have a LONG history of union-busting and semi-legal tactics stretching BACK to the wild west days, but CONTINUING into the modern day. Today, right now.

Yeah. Maybe. I found the same 4 incidents on wikipedia as the poster above. It was amazon in recent history and one murderer that was done by someone employed by the pinkertons. Probably not ordered by them.

Generally, some of us try to avoid re-litigating events that were discussed earlier on the forums. We've had multiple LONG conversations about the "Pinkerton Incident" here on ENWorld.

Yeah. So why was it brought up again here in that post before I engaged?
I just asked if the leg breaking was real or rumor.

WotC did try to contact the YouTuber by normal means before sending the Pinkertons, and were not able to reach him. And? They had other options than sending a goon squad, especially one with the Pinkerton's reputation.

Whatever. That was rehashed enough. What I asked was for sources of them breaking legs.

But we are wasting a lot of digital space on something discussed ad nauseum on these forums when it actually happened. The Pinkerton Incident was just one blunder in a long line of blunders by WotC.

So why add to it then? The leg breaking thing was answered by the person I asked for. It was an overexaggeration for being general threatening due to ancient history of busting unions and one recent incident with amazon. I got that.

Some folks feel more strongly about it than others, for some folks this and the OGL Crisis were the last straws and they stopped patronizing WotC. Others, like myself, have not reached that point as of yet.

Ok.

Edit: I reread my post. I actually asked for what they meant with semi-legal things.
Taking away magic cards. I think murder is not semi legal.
Is getting information about Unions semi-legal? Maybe. I am not a lawyer.

This is what google KI says about Pinkerton methods (probably also not very reloable source).

Pinkerton's methods include behavioral science-based investigation techniques, due diligence, open-source intelligence, and more.

Behavioral science-based investigation techniques

• Listen more than you talk
• Use a straightforward, informational tone
• Ask subjects to tell a story in reverse
• Fill in missing details
• Consider factors like mental illness, developmental disabilities, and emotional stress

Due diligence

• Risk-based research and analysis
• Multi-jurisdictional and scalable
• Focus on regulatory, M&A, litigation, or personnel matters

Open-source intelligence

• Dynamic solutions for assessing and monitoring high-threat matters
• Used as a key tool in ongoing investigations

Other Pinkerton methods

• Surveillance: Gather information on troop strengths and Confederate positions
• Counterintelligence: Use undercover work to root out Confederate spies and conspirators
• Shadows: Use shadows to follow suspects and gather intelligence
• Code names: Use code names to maintain secrecy

Pinkerton Consulting says their agents, analysts, and consultants provide a high level of alertness and attentiveness.

Still nothing about leg breaking

 

[Dire Bare]

Yeah I mean, I don't think there's any amount of relevant data and historical and modern context that will get people to change their mind about Pinkertons; either the questionably legal and unquestionably unethical "private security" company or the unquestionably terrible album

That's true . . . I love Pinkerton! It might not be their best album, but it still rocks!

 

[Faolyn]

Yeah. Because that is their job description. You hire them to get information.
Is it cool? No. Not at all.

By that standard any law firm should not be hired, because they also do things for corporations we don't like.

So now it is not actual leg breaking anymore...

Please give me actual cases.

Right now you are just spreading rumors.

If you don't understand what the term "leg-breakers" mean, that's not my fault.

There is zero reason to hire a security/investigative team to do anything other than security and investigative issues.

Going to a youtuber's house to demand MtG cards is neither a security nor investigative issue. Now, if the Pinkertons had been sent to the factory that made the cards, or to the distributors' warehouses, that would be another thing, because that's where the actual issue lay: they needed to find out how the cards go out.

The only reason to send the Pinkertons was to intimidate Dan Cannon, the youtuber who revealed the cards, into giving them back without a fight.

"In a video explainer published April 22nd, Cannon claims the agents threatened jail time, huge fines and other repercussions if he didn’t relinquish the “stolen product”, which reportedly upset his wife to the point of tears. The creator said that he purchased the boxes from an acquaintance who did not realise March of the Machine: The Aftermath was a substantively different MTG product from the recently released March of the Machine set. The Pinkertons took everything, including tokens and packaging, before giving him the number for a Wizards of the Coast employee."

Because the cards were not stolen goods, and quite probably a lawyer would tell them they didn't have the right to demand the cards if they had been legally purchased. And if they had been stolen goods, then the police should have been involved. I'm sure the internet would have had a different reaction to this if WotC could prove that the cards were literally stolen property. A lot of people, in talking about the DMCA takedown (both here and on reddit), y'know, the one this thread is about, have said "Yeah, this was a dumb PR move because it was basically free advertising for D&D" but nobody is saying that WotC did anything legally wrong. People are actually understanding the why behind this, even if they disagree with the actions.

But WotC didn't get the law involved. They got mercenaries.