Green Ronin Crowdfunding Legal Defense Fund In Fight Against Diamond Distrubutors

Green Ronin Publishing has set up a crowdfunding campaign to help cover legal fees fighting to get back their inventory from Diamond Comic Distributors in what it describes as "a dire financial threat to our company, not just today, but well into the future".

Diamond, which filed for Bankruptcy in January, still holds the stock of Green Ronin and over one hundred other companies in its warehouse, and has asked the court for ownership of that inventory so that it can liquidate it and pay its creditors. The distributor, while being mainly comic-book focused, also serves as distributor for some toy and TTRPG companies, including Green Ronin, Paizo, Goodman Games, and Roll For Combat.

The GoFundMe had raised $17K at the time of writing, with over 200 donations.

Paizo Publishing, also affected, has announced that its upcoming releases will not be available at major bookstores or at Amazon because the company has stopped shipping products to Diamond. This includes 12 August releases and 10 September releases, such as Starfinder Player Core, Starfinder GM Core, Pathfinder Battlecry, and more.

The court has scheduled a hearing on July 21 to hear objections from the affected vendors.

My name is Nicole Lindroos, co-owner of Green Ronin Publishing. Diamond Comic Distributors' recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy has impacted over 100 independent publishers, including Green Ronin, putting us in a very precarious position. Diamond is attempting to use a legal technicality to claim ownership of millions of dollars worth of consigned inventory, which amounts to several hundreds of thousands of dollars for Green Ronin Publishing alone. This is stock that we still own and have not been paid for.

This is a dire financial threat to our company, not just today, but well into the future. We must secure legal representation immediately before the deadline to do so passes.

While there is no "good" time for someone to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of your property to sell for the benefit of their biggest creditors, it is especially challenging given that Gen Con is weeks away. Gen Con is not just a convention for us, it's our most important annual event for connecting with TTRPG enthusiasts, our business partners, and our community, and this year is no exception. We're launching new products and have already committed significant funds to cover everything from booth space, travel (flights, rooms), and most critically, the production of new books and merchandise specifically for the show floor.

Diamond’s bankruptcy and this legal action also mean that Green Ronin has lost its book trade distributor. We are looking for a new partner, but that will take some time. Book trade sales of literary licenses, currently The Fifth Season and The Expanse, are a key part of our strategies for those games. This is especially bad timing for The Fifth Season RPG because we recently received final approvals from N.K. Jemisin and the game is ready to go to print.

We simply don't have the cash on hand to do all of this, pay for an attorney, or participate in any collective legal actions with other publishers in our same position.

The banks are stopping at nothing to wring every last dollar out of Diamond - including taking several hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Green Ronin product to sell in order to pay Diamond’s debts - but they can't do that, and we've got a legal agreement that says as much. Now, we just need to secure a law firm to represent us in the courts.

The funds raised through this campaign will be used directly to cover the escalating legal fees associated with fighting Diamond's claim in bankruptcy court. This includes attorney retainers, court filing fees, and the costs of pursuing every possible avenue to recover our inventory and protect Green Ronin's assets.

 

[Parmandur]

And that's fair. The situation isn't the same so the solution is also unlikely to be the same. I just find it a bit unseemly for a for-profit enterprise to ask for donations.

I mean, this is an existential threat to their continued existence as a publisher: maybe it isb"unseemly", but they aren't in a position to be proud or stick to proper etiquitte.

 

[EternalDungeonMaster]

The owners of small TTRPG companies don't have personal money to 'put in'. Nobody will buy their products for their actual value. Because that apparently is also abhorrent. Any situation where the owners of a small TTRPG company aren't working for free and starving is abhorrent.

Really, if people were willing to buy RPG books for what they're worth, Green Ronin could probably absorb this hit. But we seem to have evolved a culture where paying creators fairly is wrong wrong wrong. So, here we are. It is abhorrent, but not for the reasons you said.

Truer words have never been spoken. I've worked for two different RPG publishers and this is one of (many) reasons I have left that life in my rearview mirror. Too many people don't contemplate the consequences of their actions because via the internet they can affect things around the world, but any ill effects of their behavior aren't in their faces. Our reach truly has exceeded our grasp.

My gaming buddies all know my strict stance on creators being paid for their work. Yet it never ceases to amaze me that they will ask me for copies of PDFs that I've purchased, and then have the gall to get irritated when I say no. The sign of the times.

 

[MGibster]

Really, if people were willing to buy RPG books for what they're worth, Green Ronin could probably absorb this hit. But we seem to have evolved a culture where paying creators fairly is wrong wrong wrong. So, here we are. It is abhorrent, but not for the reasons you said.

How much is an RPG book worth? Right now, I think many of the RPGs I purchase cost anywhere between $50-60, and I think they're a bargain at that price. In 1989 I paid $18 for the AD&D 2nd Player's Handbook which comes out to the equivalent of about $41 today. And while the PHB in 1989 was a fairly high quality book for it's day, just about anything I purchase for $50-60 today just blows it out of the water in terms of quality.

I might be an outlier, but for me, the cost of books is almost negligible. I'm more likely to avoid a purchase because I don't want something taking up shelf space than I am the price of the book, so I'm open to paying more, but how much more?

I mean, this is an existential threat to their continued existence as a publisher: maybe it isb"unseemly", but they aren't in a position to be proud or stick to proper etiquitte.

Since the RPG industry is so small, I think those involved have a more direct relationship with their fans than say Coca-Cola. So I suppose what bothers me is what I see as a company trying to take advantage of that parasocial relationship. If Coca-Cola had a bad turn would anyone entertain the idea of donating money to them?

 

[Parmandur]

Since the RPG industry is so small, I think those involved have a more direct relationship with their fans than say Coca-Cola. So I suppose what bothers me is what I see as a company trying to take advantage of that parasocial relationship. If Coca-Cola had a bad turn would anyone entertain the idea of donating money to them?

I mean, it is that or just roll over and die. As it is, frankly their odds are grim.

Yes, nobody would contribute to the Coca-Cola Defense Fund. But because they have an ongoing relawith fans, it is not crazy to ask the fans for help, if they want to see more books in the future. Maybe a PDF fire sale would be a better move, but they don't have good options. Mostly just close up shop and leave the same fans hanging options.

 

[dbolack]

The owners of small TTRPG companies don't have personal money to 'put in'. Nobody will buy their products for their actual value. Because that apparently is also abhorrent. Any situation where the owners of a small TTRPG company aren't working for free and starving is abhorrent.

At least publishers are better about asking for it than they used to be. Back in the GPA days, the fights about raising the prices past other publishers' prices was insane. Thank you, John Nephew.

 

[Jd Smith1]

Why don't they have either insurance for legal issues or something set aside for legal trouble?

Unless you are referring to a retainer, that is not really a thing for businesses. Lawyer fees add up fast, and in a situation like this, if you are not getting a really good lawyer, you are wasting your time, because Chase in-house attorneys are certain to be better than average.

 

[Jd Smith1]

My gaming buddies all know my strict stance on creators being paid for their work. Yet it never ceases to amaze me that they will ask me for copies of PDFs that I've purchased, and then have the gall to get irritated when I say no. The sign of the times.

Less than half the gamers I know pay for pdfs. Its not a money issue, in nearly all cases.

Some just read over a new product, then delete it if they're not interested.

 

[Autumnal]

If Coca-Cola were the size of rpg companies and suffered a hit like this, I might well donate to help.

If Jones Soda Company did, ditto.

 

[Hussar]

This kind of thing is going to be absolutely crushing to the hobby. This is going to have ripples for years.

 

[Staffan]

The owners of small TTRPG companies don't have personal money to 'put in'. Nobody will buy their products for their actual value. Because that apparently is also abhorrent. Any situation where the owners of a small TTRPG company aren't working for free and starving is abhorrent.

Really, if people were willing to buy RPG books for what they're worth, Green Ronin could probably absorb this hit. But we seem to have evolved a culture where paying creators fairly is wrong wrong wrong. So, here we are. It is abhorrent, but not for the reasons you said.

That is part of why I think that from a business POV there are too many RPGs. If there were fewer of them, each would likely have a larger audience and thus make more money (and probably be able to make more supporting material as well).