D&D General Companies Cut Ties With Judges Guild After Owner's Racist Posts

Several game publishers, including Bat in the Attic, have said that they will no longer do business with Judges Guild after its owner posted a number of racist and anti-semitic statements. They don't need to be repeated here; but there are several examples.

Judges Guild has been around since 1976, producing products compatible with Dungeons & Dragons; the current owner, Bob Bledsaw II, is the son of its co-founder, Bob Bledsaw, and has run the company since 2008. The company is well known for 1976's City State of the Invincible Overlord, amongst other classics. Bat in the Attic and Frog God Games both license Judges' Guild properties.

Rob Conley of Bat in the Attic stated yesterday that the company would no longer do business with Judges Guild, or its properties. "Sunday evening, I called Robert Bledsaw II and discussed the issue. I notified him that I will no longer be doing future Judges’ Guild projects and will only continue to sell what I have currently listed. I stated that I will be calling the other Judges Guild licensee and inform them of the situation and of my decision."

Frog God Games, which has been working with Judges Guild for nearly 20 years, followed suit. "Recently the owner of Judges Guild made a series of racist and anti-semitic posts on Facebook. We will not reproduce them here; they are shown on Rob Conley's Bat in the Attic blog, and we are convinced of their authenticity. Rob wrote his post because, as a licensee of Judges Guild property, he felt he needed to state clearly that he would not be doing business with Judges Guild in the future. We have also licensed property from Judges Guild in the past, and we are seconding Rob's example by cutting off all future business with Judges Guild. The posts made on Facebook were completely unacceptable."

UPDATE — DriveThruRPG has severed ties. “The Judges Guild publisher account has been closed and they are no longer available on DriveThruRPG.”

A few years ago, Judges Guild ran a Kickstarter to bring back City State of the Invincible Overlord, with nearly a thousand backers raising $85K. The Kickstarter has not yet been fulfilled. The latest update was in October 2019.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

The title of this thread is "Companies Cut Ties With Judges Guild After Owner's Racist Posts" and I am (failing at) trying to discuss the consequences and ramifications of small groups being able to influence companies to cut ties.

It's a related discussion.

If someone brings to the attention of a business owner that one of his suppliers‘ actions/words/associations, etc. are in some way going to reflect poorly on the business owner, that’s a good thing for that business owner.

That gives him information with which he can make a more informed decision. He’s not a passive object to be acted upon, he has agency.

This is objectively good whether or not an outside observer would agree with the positions of those involved.

 

[Panda-s1]

I did, in fact, read that entire post. I believe that both Bat and Frog both chose to drop JG because on personal moral beliefs. I then believe the story got traction and "the mob" formed and began to exert influence on DTRPG to follow suit.

I think DTRPG did some quick math and determined the little income they received from the JG material they hosted wasn't worth the backlash of saying they wouldn't stop selling it, so it became a sound business decision to dump JG

I believe that in the next couple days Goodman Games is going to follow suit and find a way out that costs them the least.

I believe that all 4 of these companies are going to be negatively impacted (but maybe only slightly) by the decision to drop JG but that they really don't have much choice.

I also believe that any vendors on Amazon and eBay selling JG product won't be affected because "the mob" angry at this one person isn't large enough to influence those sales channels.

I have little proof for my opinions, they are just my opinions.

so, okay, Bob Bledsaw did something morally reprehensible, and it's entirely possible that DTRPG could have seen it on their own and came to their own decision, but because of the possibility that a number of people got upset over this and told DTRPG about it you're gonna post about "angery mobs" as if this were without a doubt the case?

like nevermind the fact that DTRPG should just come to that conclusion on their own, and quite possibly did after discussing this with publishers who cut ties with JG, but because it might (MIGHT) not have happened that way you're gonna be upset about someone dropping a publisher.

all that aside, why does it matter this much when the conclusion is likely going to be the same? the general gaming public is probably going to be upset about his behavior either way.

 

[JonArkanix]

"Cancelled" isn't really a thing. It's an alt-right buzzword to describe natural social consequences of behaviour.

Yeah, not a thing at all

What It Means to Get 'Canceled'

Show’s over, folks. Time to go home.

www.merriam-webster.com

 

[darjr]

okay I hate to be That Guy™ (except when I do, like right now), but I went through the comments of the original blog post I found this unfortunate gem:
View attachment 118353
I don't Bob Bledsaw Sr. too well, or Judges Guild, but I figured given his age he wasn't perfect, and well it turns out that's the case. maybe he wasn't anywhere near as bad as his son and grandson, but he probably didn't help much either.

EDIT: tagging @darjr since yours was the post I was actually trying to find.

Ugh! Trees and apples I guess. This sucks.

 

[Mistwell]

if someone starts a thread about whether or not wizards are overpowered in 5e it'd be weird of me to come in and just start talking smack about powergamers ruining d&d, and then get upset when people start pointing out the class itself is a problem.

I was with you up until this paragraph. Have you read this message boards threads about such topics? What you described is EXACTLY what happens here if the thread goes on long enough In fact I doubt the thread would get past the first page before someone started talking smack about powergamers ruining D&D.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Celebrim]

In fact I doubt the thread would get past the first page before someone started talking sack about powergamers ruining D&D.

First they came for the powergamers, and I did not speak out - because I wasn't a powergamer.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Dire Bare]

I don't want "the mob" to dictate to sellers what is OK for me to purchase, I want the freedom to make that decision for myself.

There are no mobs with pitchforks here. Only sad and disappointed gamers.

In this thread, and in other corners of the internet, I haven't seen much in the way for call for boycotts of Judges Guild products. There really isn't any mob chanting "Down with Judges Guild!" scaring the poor retailers out of carrying JG products.

I do see a lot of individual gamers expressing their disappointment and deciding not to support Judges Guild anymore. I also see a number of businesses doing the same, not out of fear of the mob, but due to personal disappointment with Bledsoe's beliefs and words and not wanting to do business with or be associated with someone with racist and antisemitic beliefs.

And I'm totally cool with all of that.

Is Bob Bledoe II a horrible person beyond redemption who deserves to have all future opportunity taken away from him? No, hopefully (if unlikely) he will at some point see the error of his beliefs and actions and grow into a better person. And perhaps even find success again in the RPG industry, should he choose. I wish him well. I would respect someone who took the time to engage him positively to help with that transition. But I also respect those who simply wish to wash their hands of a toxic individual and cut them out of their lives, personal and business.

EDIT (to add): Are the Judges Guild products themselves problematic? No one has reporting Bledsoe's beliefs being expressed in the various supplements and modules, so no. It's sad that a company and it's products that are so important to the beginning of our hobby is now going to be much more difficult to find and acquire. But . . . the world's got bigger problems, I'm not overly concerned with the sudden difficulty of picking up a new or digital copy of "City State of the Invincible Overlord" or other JG products.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*