News Digest: Controversy Abounds! New Vampire Edition Details, Green Ronin's Talent Search, 7th Sea

Hello everyone! Darryl here with this week’s gaming news! And this week is all about controversy. Vampire: The Masquerade 5^th Edition release information (with a controversial hiring), Green Ronin is looking for female writers for Lost Citadel, International Tabletop Day may not be able to meet demand for promotional items, and more! Even this week’s Kickstarters are loaded with controversy!

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Okay, this is a very simple story with a very complicated background. I’m going to tell the story first this time and, if you’re not sure what’s going on, I’ll explain more in the next paragraph. White Wolf Publishing announced details about the new edition of Vampire: The Masquerade. This new fifth edition of the game will come out in early 2018 and, according to ICv2, “continue the metagame that was shaped in 2004”. This would be the sourcebook Gehenna which presented several options for the “end of the world” of the World of Darkness and the tie-in novel Gehenna: The Final Night be Ari Marmell. If these events will be rolled into the new edition in an “After the End” manner, it’s not yet known. This project began in controversy after White Wolf announced hiring Zak Smith (aka Zak Sabbath or Zak S) back in February, a man who has been accused of harassing behavior, to work on a video game. WW's response can be found here.

So some of you may be wondering where Onyx Path is in all this. They’re still around, but they’re not involved with this new edition of the game. They are, however, still creating new material for World of Darkness. But not for the new edition. Onyx Path still holds the license for the Chronicles of Darkness (which is the official name of what was called the New World of Darkness titles: Vampire: The Requiem, Werewolf: The Forsaken, etc.) and they hold the license for the 20^th Anniversary editions of all the World of Darkness (the official name for Old World of Darkness titles: Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, etc.). So Onyx Path is still publishing new material for both of these lines, but are NOT publishing material for the new 5^th Edition of Vampire: The Masquerade.

So White Wolf was purchased by CCP Games (makers of the Eve Online franchise) who only wanted the IP rights to make a World of Darkness MMO. After many years of development, the title was finally canceled in 2014 and White Wolf plus all its assets were sold to Paradox Interactive in 2015. Late last year, Paradox Interactive spun White Wolf Publishing into its own (but fully owned) company in anticipation of publishing a new edition. At this time, the licensing deals were restructured and, when the dust settled, the licenses for Chronicles of Darkness and the 20^th Anniversary versions of the original World of Darkness games were with Onyx Path and the live-action Mind’s Eye Theater remained with By Night Studios. So this is how White Wolf is coming out with a new edition at a time when Onyx Path is running a Kickstarter for a World of Darkness themed card game.

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Green Ronin launched a talent search for contributors to The Lost Citadel roleplaying game, based on the fiction anthology and world developed by Jaym Gates, C.A. Suleiman, and Ari Marmell about a fantasy world in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. There is a catch, as they’re specifically accepting proposals from women. From the announcement:

In the lead-up to June’s Kickstarter for the LCRPG, we are going to be running a talent search for women who are interested in coming to work on the project. If you identify as female and dark fantasy is your jam, we want to see what you can bring to the table! Not to worry, fellas, we have some other opportunities for you coming up later in the year, as well, but this talent search is just for the ladies.

A statement was issued to further clarify that the talent search was also open to those who identify as non-binary gender. The announcement from Green Ronin General Manager Nicole Lindroos comes following a post from Green Ronin President Chris Pramas [EDIT: This post was from Green Ronin General Manager Nicole Lindroos, not Chris Pramas as original posted] speaking about his [EDIT: her] experience on a panel at the DICE Summit in Las Vegas, noting the gender discrepancy of those in the industry and those looking to break in, noting both how far the industry has come and how far it still has to go.

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7^th Sea promised a platform for user-created content during their wildly successful Kickstarter last year, and now they’ve delivered as Explorer’s Society is live. The online store allows users to create and sell content for the 7^th Sea 2^nd Edition game, including adventures, NPCs, homebrew rules, or more. There is a content guideline that acts as a license for use of the Intellectual Property, laying out exactly what you can and cannot use from published materials and in what way you’re allowed to use them (this is similar to the license for the DM’s Guild). In the week since launch, there’s already two dozen products available for purchase ranging in cost from free to Pay-What-You-Want to a set price of $3.99 for some of the adventures.

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International Tabletop Day has run into a minor issue: The event is so big that they can’t keep up with demand! This is the first year that all promotional items have been released a la carte rather than as a single one-size-fits-all pack. Personally, I preferred the old way, but that’s because I live in a rural area so my local event always had more promotional items than attendees. However, retailers in more populated areas could customize their orders in order to make sure they could meet demand based on previous events. And this year, the demand was higher than ever – so much so that not everyone will be getting their products. Quoted in ICv2, Producer Ivan Van Norman said “We opened up the print sizes significantly as well with publishers, but didn’t know what to expect with the new system. After collecting all the pre-orders we can tell you that you meet and beat the expectations out of the park. Despite opening up numbers significantly, we are at 85-95% fill rate to pre-orders for almost all items for International Tabletop Day.” The only odd one out was the promotional card from Cryptozoic’s Master of Orion, which only had enough product to fill 16% of the orders and cannot be reprinted in time for the event. International Tabletop Day is on Saturday, April 29 and the official website has a locator to find the event closest to you.

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Even the Kickstarters this week haven’t managed to evade controversy this week! Alternity is now on Kickstarter bringing a world of science fiction adventure. Technically speaking, however, this is not a new edition of the original Alternity game. Instead, this game takes the abandoned trademarks from the original Alternity and creates an entire new rules system inspired by the original. Some on social media criticized Sasquatch games for using the abandoned trademarks rather than creating an original property. My response: Yeah, how dare this Richard Baker and Bill Slavicsek rip off the hard work of the original Alternity creators, Richard Baker and Bill Slavicsek! And can you believe they’re letting George RR Martin write the next Song of Ice and Fire novel? But more seriously, this new game captures everything from the original Alternity with the original creators involved as they update and streamline the game system bringing in the knowledge of twenty years of advancement in the industry since the original. You can get the core rulebook in PDF for $25, a print version for $40, or a bundle of all content including stretch goals in PDF for $45 or adding on a print copy of the core rulebook for $65. This project is about halfway to its funding goal, but has until Thursday, May 4 to reach its $35,000 goal.

Now for some controversial nepotism! EN Publishing, the game design and publishing arm of EN World, is creating a book of brand new classes for the 5^th Edition of “the world’s most popular roleplaying game”. Alchemist, Cardcaster, Diabolist, Feywalker, Morph, Noble, and Occultist are each detailed with multiple subclass builds (see the links for previews). In addition, the book includes new subclasses and build options for the core classes and much more. You can get the PDF version immediately at the end of the Kickstarter for a £10 (about US$13) pledge, or a print copy for £17 (about US$21) for a print copy as soon as it’s printed. This Kickstarter is fully funded and runs until Friday, May 5.

Underworld Races & Classes gives you even more options for your 5^th Edition or Pathfinder games from Adventure a Week Games. What’s the controversy with promoting this one? While I’m not directly involved with this project, I am currently working with AAW Games on another project they haven’t announced yet. That said, this book is a collection of new races, classes, spells, and items all themed around the things that dwell beneath the surface of the world, thriving in the darkness. The PDF is available for $25 for your choice of edition or $45 for both with hardcover versions available for $55 or $105 for both. This Kickstarter is fully funded and runs until Friday, April 28.

That’s all from me for this week! Find more gaming news at the EN World News Network website, and don’t forget to support our Patreon to bring you even more gaming news content. If you have any news to submit, email us at news@enworldnews.com. You can follow me on Twitter @Abstruse where I’ve been ranting about the Pepsi controversy (there’s no reason not to bring back Crystal Pepsi permanently!), or you can listen to the archives of the Gamer’s Tavern podcast. Until next time, may all your hits be crits! Note: Links to Amazon and/or DriveThru may contain affiliate links with the proceeds going to the author of this column.

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[Abstruse]

Green Ronin is gone.

Yes, I'm sure with licensed content like Dragon Age, A Song of Ice and Fire, and DC Adventures, they are just doing horribly. And the forthcoming Matt Mercer penned Exandria sourcebook from Critical Role that has been demanded for years for a show with tens of thousands of live viewers and hundreds of thousands of archive viewers, and Sentinels of Earth Prime the sequel game to Sentinels of the Multiverse which is one of the best-selling card games of recent years, are both going to horribly flop. And their original properties like Icons, Mutants & Masterminds, Fantasy AGE, Freeport, plus their licensed work with Wizards of the Coast on official Dungeons & Dragons products? Yeah, they're TOTALLY out of business because of the people mad because they want to help women with their cooties get into game writing.

Also, everyone seems so concerned with the business ethics and legality of this talent search...but not one comment has been made about the fact that I, a gaming journalist, promoted not one but two Kickstarters from companies I have financial ties to...odd that, isn't it?

 

[Xethreau]

Just in case it wasn't clear - I was being very sarcastic.

*feels foolish*
I THOUGHT I remembered you fending off the trolls!

 

[Nagol]

Yes, I'm sure with licensed content like Dragon Age, A Song of Ice and Fire, and DC Adventures, they are just doing horribly. And the forthcoming Matt Mercer penned Exandria sourcebook from Critical Role that has been demanded for years for a show with tens of thousands of live viewers and hundreds of thousands of archive viewers, and Sentinels of Earth Prime the sequel game to Sentinels of the Multiverse which is one of the best-selling card games of recent years, are both going to horribly flop. And their original properties like Icons, Mutants & Masterminds, Fantasy AGE, Freeport, plus their licensed work with Wizards of the Coast on official Dungeons & Dragons products? Yeah, they're TOTALLY out of business because of the people mad because they want to help women with their cooties get into game writing.

Also, everyone seems so concerned with the business ethics and legality of this talent search...but not one comment has been made about the fact that I, a gaming journalist, promoted not one but two Kickstarters from companies I have financial ties to...odd that, isn't it?

Where is your disclosure? I missed it in the article.

 

[Abstruse]

Where is your disclosure? I missed it in the article.

In the article.

 

[Nagol]

In the article.

I found them. The ENWorld one is an expected conflict since this is the ENWorld site. The other I missed because I wasn't interested and it is tertiary conflict anyway.

 

[Jester David]

You really need to quit ignoring the very obvious fact that women were instrumental to birthing this industry. I find it *incredibly* offensive that you belittle the work of Margaret Weiss and Laura Hickman among others with your narrative that women have been barred from doing anything in this industry.

????
That's a MASSIVE logical leap. Saying I think it'd be a good idea for there to be *more* women in the industry in no way shape or form says or even implies that I do not appreciate the works of the few women who were around at the start of the industry, nor does it trivialise the number of women currently in the industry.

I got into gaming because of Dragonlance books. They were hugely influential to me.

Never mind all of the women working in the genre like Anne Mccafferty. Drop the political narrative and quit belittling the achievements of women.

I'm not belittling their achievement. Remotely.

Green Ronin is gone. They've just based their future on a political statement and in doing so, just tossed out the majority of their market. Anyone who is conservative is now gone, most males are gone, anyone who is deeply religious is now gone.

Hahahahahahah.
Just because someone is Conservative, doesn't mean they're misogynist. People can be deeply religious and feminist. And there are a large number of males who support this.
Yeah, no, this is not going to affect Green Ronin in the slightest.

For what? A meaningless political statement.

Equity is never meaningless. Fair representation is never meaningless.
And it's far from political. No political party supports female inequality. That's not a platform.
People are making it political.

Women were already key to the creation of the industry. There has never been a module whose cover included "Author is gay!" or "Author is transsexual!" on it, so not a single customer has ever been aware of the sexual orientation of the author and no customer ever will be.

Funny thing, gay writers will write gay characters. Or are more likely to work in elements of the homosexual experience into their writing. Because, surprise, people write what they know. And they're likely to present it in a positive light.
You often can get an inkling of the author's orientation or values very easily.

So they fragmented their customer base to make a completely meaningless political statement and now they have to survive on a fraction of the sales they used to have. Considering that they're an extremely niche producer in a small market, they have perhaps months at best left to them.

Green Ronin, like Wizards of the Coast and Paizo, have a strong reputation as progressive companies that hire and employ people of all sexes, races, and creeds. Anyone fragmented away from Green Ronin by this move likely wasn't a Green Ronin fan to begin with or wasn't paying attention.

 

[Caliban]

Ok, I have to jump in at this point.

Do you? Is it really a "have to", or more of a "want to"?

You really need to quit ignoring the very obvious fact that women were instrumental to birthing this industry. I find it *incredibly* offensive that you belittle the work of Margaret Weiss and Laura Hickman among others with your narrative that women have been barred from doing anything in this industry.

I'm incredibly offended at your lack of reading comprehension. (Whee! We're like twins! Offended over stupid stuff!) They said "far fewer" not "barred". Not at all the same thing.

Never mind all of the women working in the genre like Anne Mccafferty. Drop the political narrative and quit belittling the achievements of women.

No one said there aren't women in gaming. They said they are "under represented". As in "far fewer", or a "minority". It only takes a tiny amount of research to see that this is true.

Having a talent search specifically to find a non-male author doesn't belittle or threaten anyone who isn't actively looking for a reason to be offended.

Green Ronin is gone.

And here is where you really go off the deep end. I think you are making the mistake of thinking that you actually represent the majority of the male gamers out there. I really don't think you do, being one myself. Male gamers are the largest demographic by far, but there is still a lot of diversity within that very broad category. And a lot of us (possibly most of us) aren't threatened by having more women, gay, or transgendered individuals join the player base or by having more content that reflects their ideas and viewpoints. More diverse content is good, it means more stuff for us to try out. And just maybe we'll like some of the new stuff more than the old stuff. You never know.

 

[epithet]

Apparently not when you're still arguing.

Amigo, I was never arguing. I've been discussing the issue, but I have no interest in persuading anyone or "winning" anything in the thread.

 

[Abstruse]

Amigo, I was never arguing. I've been discussing the issue, but I have no interest in persuading anyone or "winning" anything in the thread.

Then why comment at all?

This image is completely unrelated, don't mind it.

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[epithet]

...
Green Ronin is gone. They've just based their future on a political statement and in doing so, just tossed out the majority of their market. Anyone who is conservative is now gone, most males are gone, anyone who is deeply religious is now gone. For what? A meaningless political statement. Women were already key to the creation of the industry. There has never been a module whose cover included "Author is gay!" or "Author is transsexual!" on it, so not a single customer has ever been aware of the sexual orientation of the author and no customer ever will be.
...

Your last sentence there refutes your foregoing statements. I doubt that a large slice of the tabletop RPG demographic is either reactionary in their politics or strongly motivated by sincere zealotry, but even if they were there would be nothing on a Green Ronin product to offend their delicate sensibilities. As for males, well... most of us can't be bothered to give a damn most of the time any way.

As long as Green Ronin produces products with interesting stories, well realized NPCs, appealing art, and good cartography, they will sell those products. People will buy based on production value, not politics, because as you point out the politics aren't on the package.

Furthermore, in the current political climate in the US, I suspect an earnest declaration of progressive values would actually win more customers than it cost them.