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.

 

[redrick]

The problem with an extremely liberal attitude towards sex is that it wants two things that aren’t compatible: it wants complete sexual freedom and complete emotional safety. We have norms in sex for a reason. Not many people are emotionally set up to be polyamorous, etc. It turns out that causal sex is problematic and often hurts people, who would have guessed? And stopping every minute to say “I consent” doesn’t change that.

This is victim blaming. The problem here wasn't that the women who came forward were polyamorous or sexually liberal. The problem was an abusive person who took advantage of them and a society that protected him. This same sort of abuse happens within the most traditional of marriages.

 

[timbannock]

I believe Mandy.

I believe Jennifer.

I believe Hannah.

I believe the many, many others who have come forward before this to tell us about Zak S's patterns of severely abusive behaviors.

This. His online conduct suggests all of these allegations are totally in-character.

 

[billd91]

Regardless, some of the allegations have been corroborated by Zak S' former partner, Patrick Stuart, here: http://falsemachine.blogspot.com/2019/02/you-should-read-this.html

Many in the RPG community/hobby/industry have run afoul of Zak S. (myself included), and I think it's extremely easy for some of us to believe that behavior occurred beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Yeah, here's my takeaway:

And then there is this other guy. The one that comes out in text form usually. In arguments about nerd stuff. This guy is condescending, aggressive, clever and manipulative. This guy will say anything to win some f-ing internet argument and never, ever, ever admits wrong, backs down or recognises the humanity in his opponents.

There's a lot of this online and, frankly, I can understand people having a bad day from time to time - but if someone's online persona is consistently an asshat, if they bait and troll all the time, I'm not going to buy any explanation that "oh, he's only like that online." That's a significant part of who he is.

 

[GMless]

This is victim blaming. The problem here wasn't that the women who came forward were polyamorous or sexually liberal. The problem was an abusive person who took advantage of them and a society that protected him. This same sort of abuse happens within the most traditional of marriages.

No it isn’t, you self-righteous jerk. This is a warning to young people, both male and female. Don’t tell me what I’m doing in my comment, jerk. Take your self-satisfied, smug, moral posturing somewhere else.

I said that Zach was making a cult of personality around him. I don’t know him, but it looks like extremely psychopathic behavior. I don’t blame the victims one bit. So shove your black and white thinking up your you know where.

 

[GMless]

This is victim blaming. The problem here wasn't that the women who came forward were polyamorous or sexually liberal. The problem was an abusive person who took advantage of them and a society that protected him. This same sort of abuse happens within the most traditional of marriages.

You completely put words in my mouth.

What if it isn’t the victims fault AT ALL.

AND glamorizing casual sex and acting as though it’s typically harmless ALSO hurts people.

WOW, not everything is unidimensional .

You are a pathetic key-board, virtue warrior. Look at your own moral character before you judge mine.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

As cruel and horrid an account as that is, I can’t say anything in there surprises me. As if I needed any further reasons to be done with Lamentations of the Flame Princess.

 

[Jester David]

This wasn’t news to anyone paying attention. Zap Sabbath has a loooooong and well document history of abusive and trolling online behavior:
https://plus.google.com/114866807979873380367/posts/SbKuHb1thS4

That he is also an abusive partner comes as no surprise.

Okay, for the myriad “accusations =/= conviction” crowd that has already posted or is salivating at the opportunity to rush forward and defend a serial harasser and call the victim of domestic abuse a liar…. THIS ISN’T A COURT OF LAW. We’re not asking that he be sent to prison or suffer any legal penalties.
Even if this did go to trial, there’s precious few laws for being an a-hole. And the penalty for domestic abuse is usually probation and a fine.

We don’t need proof and evidence that proves beyond a reasonable doubt and conviction by a jury of peers to believe someone is a garbage human being.

If one of your friends came to you and told you another mutual friend had punched them in the junk and stolen their PS4, would you demand proof?
If a coworker complains to Human Resources that you sexually harassed them on numerous occasions, do you think they need trial worthy evidence to fire your ass?
And, the big one, if you had two candidates applying for a job and one was less qualified but a good person and the other was award winning but a known spousal abuser, would you really hire the latter?

This isn’t about sending someone to jail. This is about spreading the word that someone in the industry is a anthropomorphic dumpster fire and we should stop giving him accolades and work. That we should find someone else who isn’t a wife beater and hire them instead.

 

[hoshisabi]

No it isn’t, you self-righteous jerk. This is a warning to young people, both male and female. Don’t tell me what I’m doing in my comment, jerk. Take your self-satisfied, smug, moral posturing somewhere else.

I said that Zach was making a cult of personality around him. I don’t know him, but it looks like extremely psychopathic behavior. I don’t blame the victims one bit. So shove your black and white thinking up your you know where.

Wait wait wait guys.

You guys are saying things that aren't conflicting. Calm down and let's not derail the thread.

First off, if you had said "this is the challenge" instead of "this is the problem" then you might not have set people off. It is indeed a challenge for people in these relationships to navigate waters that the rest of us might avoid. But as adults they wish to travel there and we can wish them luck.

BUT. It is irrelevant to this thread. Mandy says "I was young" and part of being young is trying things out, making mistakes, and finding out what you want to keep doing or stop doing.

The problem arises when someone takes advantage of that. And that is the crux of the problem she's talking about.

So while you may not have intended to shift blame onto her, that is a thing that does happen in these discussions and he's not being a "self-righteous jerk" as much as he's trying to avoid the discussion shifting. If that wasn't your intention, then we are all good. No one is blaming Mandy and she is as free as any of us to make decisions about her life, and we can empathize with her problems even when she makes decisions that we wouldn't have.

I mean... Living in Los Angeles. Who does that?!

 

[kenmarable]

No it isn’t, you self-righteous jerk. This is a warning to young people, both male and female. Don’t tell me what I’m doing in my comment, jerk. Take your self-satisfied, smug, moral posturing somewhere else.

I said that Zach was making a cult of personality around him. I don’t know him, but it looks like extremely psychopathic behavior. I don’t blame the victims one bit. So shove your black and white thinking up your you know where.

You completely put words in my mouth.

What if it isn’t the victims fault AT ALL.

AND glamorizing casual sex and acting as though it’s typically harmless ALSO hurts people.

WOW, not everything is unidimensional .

You are a pathetic key-board, virtue warrior. Look at your own moral character before you judge mine.

Hopefully a moderator will weigh in, but seeing as you only have 3 posts, you might want to review the Forum Rules about name-calling and realize you can disagree without attacking.

 

[Doctor Futurity]

A
Didn't read the 1st link as I avoid Spybook as much as possible.

You should, it would help make a more informed comment. I 100% believe Mandy.