RPG Writer Zak S Accused Of Abusive Behaviour

RPG writer Zak S (aka Zak Smith, Zak Sabbath) has been accused by multiple women of abusive behaviour in a public Facebook post by his ex-partner, and two other women.

Photo from Wikipedia​

Zak Smith appeared in the video series I Hit It With My Axe, and is known for the Playing D&D With Porn Stars blog. He has also written several RPG books, most recently for Lamentations of the Flame Princess, consulted on the D&D 5th Edition Player's Handbook, has won multiple ENnies, and recently worked for White Wolf. As yet, he hasn't made any public response to the accusations.

Since then, another ex-partner of Zak Smith, Vivka Grey, has publicly come forward with a further account of his conduct.

This isn't the first time that Zak Smith has been accused of inappropriate behaviour (language warning in that link). The Facebook post, which was posted overnight, has been shared widely on social media, and takes the form of an open letter (linked above; it makes for unpleasant reading, so please be aware of that if you choose to read it).

The industry has been reacting to the news. Amongst many others:

• DriveThruRPG has stated that it will sell no future works by Zak Smith.
• Veteran author Ken Hite has announced that he will not work with or share credits with Zak Smith again.
• The Gauntlet blog and podcast will no longer cover Zak S or his publications, or attend conventions that he is permitted at.
• WotC's Mike Mearls has noted that they have not engaged with Zak S since he worked for them as a consultant on 5E, although a previous statement from him in 2014 takes a different stance. However, D&D Beyond has now removed all the consultant credits (not just Zak S) from its online version of the book.
• UPDATE - WotC has now made a longer statement and will be removing Zak S from the credits of future printings of the Player's Handbook.
• Gen Con has tweeted a brief statement which says it has investigated, but the results are confidential. It has bene stated by various industry insiders that Zak S has, in fact, been banned from Gen Con, but the convention isn't saying so publicly.

I believe Mandy, Jennifer, Hannah, and Vivka. It must be terrifying to come forward like this. They have been put through horrible ordeals. I will not cover Zak’s work on this site, in my podcast, or elsewhere, and will not provide him with any kind of platform.

 

[Gradine]

I think "our awards are not based on the content of the winner but on our view towards their author" would harm the integrity of an award that is supposed to be about the quality of content, yes.

I think you are confusing "we take our personal biases of the content creators into account for all of our awards" and "we have a very low bar for what ought to be acceptable behavior in order to achieve recognition in our industry, and yet still some men seem incapable of clearing it, so they're out", which are two very different statements.

 

[Yunru]

If Hitler had been given a Nobel Peace Prize prior to WWII, would you be arguing about how, after the war, it shouldn't be stripped from him because, hey, he earned based on his "merit" at the time?

(Hint: yes, there is actually a correct answer to this question.)

And the correct answer is yes.
The trick to your statement is that a Hitler that earned a Nobel Peace Prize wouldn't of caused WWII purposefully in the first place.

Of course, it's also a misleading comparison. The peace price is awarded based on the actions of the person, not the quality of their content.

 

[DM Magic]

His Wiki page has some interesting edits: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zak_Smith

"Zak Smith (born July 16, 1976), also known as Zak Sabbath, is an American artist and rapist."
"Known for Abuse"

 

[Yunru]

I think you are confusing "we take our personal biases of the content creators into account for all of our awards" and "we have a very low bar for what ought to be acceptable behavior in order to achieve recognition in our industry, and yet still some men seem incapable of clearing it, so they're out", which are two very different statements.

Yes, they are. And an Ennie should have nothing to do with acceptable behaviour.
An Ennie should be judged on the merits of the work alone. Hell, if it weren't completely impossible, the authors of the works up for voting shouldn't even be known at the time.

 

[Steve Conan Trustrum]

And the correct answer is yes.

Stop there. The rest of your post is pure speculation and assumption.

The fact that you said yes indicates you agree there are reasons someone can lose an award they earned based on the "merit" they displayed at the time it was earned. Your error remains in the fact that you think the ENnies are granted purely based on what the (fan) voters know of the product and not of the person who created it.

 

[Yunru]

Your error remains in the fact that you think the ENnies are granted purely based on what the (fan) voters know of the product and not of the person who created it.

Of course, to assume otherwise questions both the integrity and the point of having an Ennie award.

Of course, you're also conflating personal merit and the merit of someone's works. A peace prize is award based on personal merits, and should be retracted if those merits turn out to be falsified.

An Ennie is based of off the merits of someone's work, and thus should only be retracted if the merits of that work is falsified.

 

[Steve Conan Trustrum]

An Ennie should be judged on the merits of the work alone.

You are entirely assuming this is how they are judged.

Since Zak won that award, there are people who supported him at the time who may have voted for him to win the award, but now state they will never buy a product from him again. Want to guess how they'd vote now for the exact same product?

This is because fan-based awards are voted on for reasons beyond the merit of the work itself, your belief otherwise to the contrary.

 

[kenmarable]

And the correct answer is yes.
The trick to your statement is that a Hitler that earned a Nobel Peace Prize wouldn't of caused WWII purposefully in the first place.

Of course, it's also a misleading comparison. The peace price is awarded based on the actions of the person, not the quality of their content.

The "trick to your statement..." Seriously?!! Is that some sort of "Ah ha! Gotcha!!"??

This isn't a hypothetical.

This is discussing what should be done as a community concerning someone who harassed people out of the industry and has been accused of being a serial rapist.

This isn't some fun little logic game.

People's actual lives have been messed up because of him. How we respond could be a factor in preventing future situations like this.

 

[Yunru]

You are entirely assuming this is how they are judged.

Since Zak won that award, there are people who supported him at the time who may have voted for him to win the award, but now state they will never buy a product from him again. Want to guess how they'd vote now for the exact same product?

This is because fan-based awards are voted on for reasons beyond the merit of the work itself, your belief otherwise to the contrary.

What's your point?
Unless it's believed that a majority of the votes were because of the author rather than the works (in which case the Ennie shouldn't have been awarded) that changes nothing.

 

[Yunru]

The "trick to your statement..." Seriously?!! Is that some sort of "Ah ha! Gotcha!!"??

This isn't a hypothetical.

This is discussing what should be done as a community concerning someone who harassed people out of the industry and has been accused of being a serial rapist.

This isn't some fun little logic game.

People's actual lives have been messed up because of him. How we respond could be a factor in preventing future situations like this.

And?
None of what I've argued affects how anyone treats him one iota.
I'm not arguing against reprisals, I'm arguing against reprisals against the wrong thing (his works).