Jamison Stone & Satine Phoenix's Apotheosis Studio To Wind Down [UPDATED]

After being accused of abusive behaviour towards freelancers and co-workers, the game company run by D&D influencer Satine Phoenix and her husband Jamison Stone, is to enter a 'reduced capacity' mode.

After the accusations were made, Jamison Stone resigned as CEO; after a couple of weeks he was added back to the company's staff page, saying that he was never actually removed but merely taking personal time while Apotheosis Studio conducted an investigation.

In a draft of a recent statement obtained by Dicebreaker, Stone indicated that the results of this investigations were that the 'vast majority' of the accusations made were 'factually inaccurate'. He went on to discuss the ramifications of 'cancel culture', although the statement was updated to rephrase that as 'extreme changes'. Other than the initial apology to tattooist Chad Rowe, Stone has indicated that no further apologies will be forthcoming.

“The rest of the team now has completed those investigations and found that while some individuals had legitimate complaints, the vast majority of the allegations to date levelled against Jameson and others on our team have been proven to be factually inaccurate. We believe that people should be shown compassion, given the opportunity to write their wrongs and grow as individuals.”

As for the company itself, it will finish fulfilling existing Kickstarter projects. It will not be accepting requests to cancel and refund pledges for existing funded Kickstarters, and noted that most of the freelancers and contributors have been paid. When asked about the company's future, Stone said "As it stands - and I don’t know what the future will hold - it’s just a company that is there. It just exists and sells books. Some of my books, some books by other people. It will sell The Red Opera and eventually sirens. All of the people who are there are just contracted at this point."

A statement is expected to come soon from Apotheosis.

UPDATE -- Apotheosis Studio's statement has arrived:

Thank you for your patience. We have had a lot of questions about the future of Apotheosis Studios, its team, and our projects. While Jamison Stone did step down as CEO to take personal time while Apotheosis Studios did an internal investigation on the allegations brought forth by numerous individuals, we in no way claimed that we were removing Jamison from the company. Having completed our internal investigation, we have found that while some individuals had legitimate complaints, the vast majority of the allegations to date levied against Jamison and others on our team have been proven to be inaccurate. Jamison will directly address major allegations and misinformation within the month.

We at Apotheosis Studios do not support abuse in any form. We believe in accountability and the ability for everyone to reflect, learn from their mistakes, grow, and be given the opportunity to show what they’ve learned by actively being better through action. We encourage everyone to stand up for themselves in compassionate ways with the hope to make things better so no one has to live in fear. It is in this honesty that we can learn from one another and each be better for ourselves, our families, and our communities while not furthering abuse, bullying, harassment, and other dehumanizing behaviors.

Sirens: Battle of the Bards will be delayed while those who are still working on the project deal with the ramifications of the extreme changes that we have had to make due to this situation. We will be sending out merchandise that we already have in hand for US backers first. Sirens: Battle of the Bards is 90% finished and its contractors have been paid, therefore refunds will not be issued. We will provide additional updates on fulfillment as we know more.

Because there seems to have been some confusion regarding the nature of our operations, we wish to state again that payments to writers started in March 2022 and as new invoices were received, we processed them promptly. All artists and contractors who have completed their work and were authorized for billing have been paid. The only remaining work is rewrites, editing, and layout. This, as stated above, will take longer than originally planned.

For reference: we had the following number of contractors working on this project:

• Writers - 22 writers. Paid 10 cents per word
• Artists - 4. Paid monthly or per image
• Graphic Designer - 1. Paid monthly
• Layout artist - Paid monthly, even when not working on a project
• Musicians - 2. Paid promptly per song
• Sculptor - 1. Paid promptly per sculpt

The Sirens writing Deadline was Oct 31. Approval passes started in November. Unfortunately, the approval passes took longer than expected which pushed out approval for the contractors to bill by 3-4 months. Billing authorization was issued in March of 2022 and we promptly paid all invoices properly submitted to our accountant.

For this project, we provided templates for Adventure Chapters with an 8,450 words max budget. 9 of 22 chapters were over word count

• 4 over by 1000 words
• 1 over by 3700 words
• 2 over by 4750 words
• 1 over by 7000 words

Despite the fact that many chapters were over the word counts outlined the writers were paid for the overages after appropriate approval. Writers whose writing was not used were still authorized to bill us and were paid 10 cents per word.

For those of you who have reached out with constructive feedback, we greatly appreciate your support and patience. We will have further updates as more information becomes available.

Sarah Urfer

 

[Mort]

It should be noted that not even Stone and Phoenix claim that the contract workers weren't under contract.

The main reason, IMO, Stone and Phoenix's actions are SO contemptible is that their entire schtick was based on punching down. They would exploit those that they knew/sensed had the least ability to fight/contest their deplorable behavior.

 

[Umbran]

And I have to wonder if you're just trying to up your post count under the guise of nit-picking.

Mod Note:
You know, I just asked someone else to not make it personal against you.

The least (really, the very least) you could do is follow suit. If you aren't up to that, maybe you should leave the discussion now.

 

[Jd Smith1]

I deal with contracts between my company and independent contractors, and I don't think a single one describes penalties for non-payment or delivery of services. We have that kind of language for contracts with vendors (staffing agencies for example), but nothing of the kind for independent contractors.

Have you had to go to court with a contractor yet?

Most contracts I've seen with individuals don't lay out penalties, but do clearly state when and how much will be paid for specific services rendered.

 

[Jd Smith1]

I mean, if you really want to blame the victims, you can say that, sure.

But, if you do that, I don't think you're going to be persuasive. So, you might want to think about that.

If the 'victim' in question failed to take the usual and accepted precautions involved in commercial transactions, they're not a victim.

If the facts of the matter don't persuade, than the problem isn't with the presenter.

 

[JiffyPopTart]

If the 'victim' in question failed to take the usual and accepted precautions involved in commercial transactions, they're not a victim.

If the facts of the matter don't persuade, than the problem isn't with the presenter.

What's your angle for even posting on this thread? Clearly you have said multiple times it's a non issue for you. Is it just to continually crap on some poor folks who maybe were taken advantage of?

Your assertion that you can't be a victim if you don't follow "the rules" is utterly ridiculous. Is my elderly mom who doesn't understand standard online safety practices not a victim of a scam?

 

[Jd Smith1]

What's your angle for even posting on this thread? Clearly you have said multiple times it's a non issue for you. Is it just to continually crap on some poor folks who maybe were taken advantage of?

I'm pointing out how these things can be prevented: use a contract. This is, as I have pointed out, the only real solution.

Lots of causes I support with money and time are non-issues for me. Just because you know that the subject of a situation was stupid for getting into said situation doesn't mean you don't try to help.

 

[Dioltach]

Legally binding contracts are wonderful, but they don't offer any guarantees. This is where the concept of "breach of contract" comes up. And sure, you can sue for breach of contract, but it takes time, effort and money, and you're still not guaranteed a favourable outcome.

As an aside, I once took a defaulting client to court. I won. They paid my bills, plus interest, and the court fees. It cost them about 30% more than it would have if they'd just paid. Not long after that they went of out of business, for mismanagement (they hadn't remitted their employees' social security and pension contributions, for a start).

 

[Jd Smith1]

.

 

[Umbran]

If the 'victim' in question failed to take the usual and accepted precautions involved in commercial transactions, they're not a victim.

"You didn't preemptively defend yourself hard enough, so you are not a victim"? Is that what you mean?

And people who do not take the simple precaution of wearing bullet-proof vests are not victims if they get shot?

Whether you are a victim is not generally based on how many extra protections you take - it is based on whether the other party did something wrong. J&P violated agreements (verbal or written is immaterial - while one is harder to prove, they are both binding). They wronged their contractors. Ergo, those contractors are their victims. This holds in both the legal and moral/ethical senses.

If the facts of the matter don't persuade, than the problem isn't with the presenter.

As noted above, those "facts" don't hold up to scrutiny. Please try different "facts".

Just because you know that the subject of a situation was stupid for getting into said situation doesn't mean you don't try to help.

Being insulting about it doesn't actually make your case stronger.

You are asserting they were stupid, but have apparently neglected the possibility that they were simply ignorant (these are artists, not business people, after all), or under pressures that you, not being in their position, do not understand.

You might want to reconsider the armchair moralizing aspect of your presentation.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

While I am not entirely sure what all the response are to, here (although I have a sneaking suspicion that it's the "Servers in America don't deserve to be tipped" guy), I can glean enough to make it worthwhile to do a quick reminder on a few of these issues:

1. Contracts do not have to be written. At all. That's Law School 101 (or even the Paper Chase, for those who are really old). The vast majority of contracts, ones that we enter into all the time without thinking, are oral contracts. Other than a very few and limited exceptions (such as for the sale of land) there is never a requirement that a contract be in writing. Written contracts do have advantages- they can be more complicated (with more terms), they are easier in terms of evidence (there is a separate writing), etc. But it's not required. If you think oral contracts, partially written ("napkin deals") contracts, or even contract that are never reduced to writing can't be a big deal, look up the Texaco / Pennzoil case sometime.

2. A contract is never a guarantee that you won't be ripped off. Contracts are just agreements. Enforcing agreements costs money- a lot of money. Which means that contracts often just memorialize power differentials; the party with more power can demand the more favorable terms, and the party with more money can choose to litigate it or breach it. In some industries (such as real estate development) it is frustratingly common for developers to agree to a contract, and then simply refuse to pay the contracted-amount knowing that the cost of litigation will be too high for the people they have screwed.

3. The mislabeling of employees as independent contracts is a frustratingly common way of engaging in wage theft in the United States. The rise of the "gig economy" has also allowed a lot of businesses to incorrectly label their employees as independent contractors in order to save money on wages, benefits, and overtime- not to mention shifting the tax and regulatory burden on their employees.

4. All that said, many artists and creatives who do work for multiple entities are, in fact, independent contractors. It is entirely proper for a business to not pay when, for example, there is a failure to deliver. However, many independent contractors find that businesses will use their power (money) to leverage further concessions- either by delaying payment, or demanding a decrease in payment, simply because they know that the IC has no leverage and will not litigate. This is morally and ethically wrong.


Finally, to sum up (especially with regard to 4)- people exist in a community. The way you know that other people are unethical, slimy, or have dubious business practices is by telling each other about them. If a business is stiffing their ICs, let other people know- that way, they will know better that to deal with that business (and/or the business will be forced to start paying "up front" since they cannot be trusted).

In the end, act ethically and morally; treat others as you would have wanted to be treated. That tends to work out well.