TSR The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR

Stormonu · Jan 28, 2023

MNblockhead said:
My friends who play in my main campaign gifted me a coffee mug with "beware the smiling dungeon master" printed on it. I brought it with me to work overseas and use it during our online games. But I dare not take it into the office and keep it well hidden from visitors because pretty much none of my co-workers would make the connection to gaming and a fear them misunderstanding it base on another common meaning of "dungeon master".

A scowling dungeon master is probably more anthetical to one's health ... in either case.

Grinton · Jan 28, 2023

Ken Spencer said:
Yeah, one of my players (mid-20s) gifted me a T-shirt that says, “Dungeon Daddy”. Here I thought it was because I am old enough to be the father of some of the younger players (and am the father of the youngest).
Then I found out about the sexualization of the term “Daddy”. I only wear that shirt on game day, and make sure not to leave the house.

Hah! I have that on my GM bucket hat. Also only for game days.

Steampunkette · Jan 29, 2023

Information taken from The People vs TSR blog. there's a -lot- more behind this link! Like pointing out the most likely racist AF part where you can roll up a "Pure White" goblin who is super smart and can do magic but everyone wants to eat you.

nuTSR's dubious goblin game

So, nuTSR is supposedly, for real this time.. truly honest to the gods... going to release this game of unclear name, origins, purpose, quality and future. NAME? Behold... the names as declared... the I have found... since first announcement. * Those Pesky Goblins: A Beer and Pretzels RPG...

cohost.org

Behold... the names as declared... the I have found... since first announcement.

Those Pesky Goblins: A Beer and Pretzels RPG (TSR, Twitter ,30 October 2021)
Those Pesky Goblins! (TSR, Twitter, 17 November 2021)
Those Peskey Goblins by Justin LaNasa and Rev J.R. Norris (TSR Twitter, 21 November 2021) (No, I did not make a typo, that's what it says on the cover)
Those Pesky Goblins (Discord announcement for TSR Con, 2 January 2022)
Those Pesky Goblins (A Tale about a Deep Dark Dismal Place (Google Books - screenshot available on my Twitter - 24 March 2022) (which claims the game was published on 28 February 2022)
GOBLINZ (Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum, Facebook, 6 May 2022)
GOBLINS (The web preview in the above announcement, so what the video must have been titled at the time of the stream)
GOBLINZ (The game indicated in the video's current title)
Those Pesky Goblinz RPG (Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum, Facebook, 19 December 2022)
Those Pesky Goblinz: A Role-playing Game by Justin LaNasa (Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum, Facebook, 30 December 2022)
Those Pesky Goblins 1E (Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum, Facebook, 12 January 2023
Those Pesky Goblinz (Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum, 15 January 2023)
Those Pesky Goblinz (Softcover) (Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum, Website (Store Page))
Those Pesky Goblinz: A Role-Playing Game by Justin LaNasa (the image on the three posts above)
Goblinz: Those Pesky Goblinz (The Character Record sheet on the store page above & Google Books - current... which also claims it was released in June 2022)
Those Pesky Goblins (The ISBN associated with the listing in Google Books)

So clearly nobody knows what it's actually titled... least of all Justin LaNasa... the guy who.. well one of the guys who created it... maybe?

Deset Gled · Jan 30, 2023

Does everyone remember when Vince "TheEvilDM" Florio made a public video claiming to disavow Justin Lanasa and NuTSR, claiming to have "no association with him" and "once the module [Cult of Abaddon] was finally released, I was done"? It happened in July: TSR - The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR

Well, a funny thing happened last week. It seems some unknown, anonymous person emailed Vince an unreleased copy of Those Pesky Goblinz. So Vince decided to share the leak on his Friday live stream:

Friday Night Hangout! RFI REUNION!! TSR's Those Pesky Goblinz leak? Let's chat about gonzo gaming!

DM Nick will here again! I received an anonymous email from someone who claims to have gotten the final of the TSR Pesky Goblinz RPG by Justin LaNasa and TSR...

www.youtube.com

Vince had nothing negative to say about the game. In fact, he seemed to like the concept a lot. And Vince was happily surprised to learn that the game includes a starter module:

Yes, the starter module for Goblinz is a sequel to the Cult of Abaddon module that Vince gave to NuTSR. Featuring the town of @Morrus. And even uses some of Vince's original maps. Vince was completely content with this, and was eager to learn more about the game.

In a surprise visit during the live stream, the Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum youtube account stopped by and asked Vince how he got a copy of this game (and then left immediately). It was a clearly a night of unexpected revelations.

Of course, all of this is a complete facade. I'm calling it out as total BS. Vince is obviously working with Justin again. Vince is clearly promoting NuTSR's work. He even shared a link in the chat to where you can purchase Those Pesky Goblinz on Amazon. Vince is letting Justin use his content, his map, and his name in NuTSR's new game. The info obviously came from Justin himself. The "leak", the video, and the surprise DHSM appearance were all planned. I honestly thought Vince's apology last year was honest, and that he meant it when he said he was done working with NuTSR. I guess not.

As for the "leak" itself, there is some other interesting information here. Most importantly, it looks like the real publishing work (design & layout, printing, selling on Amazon, etc) is all being handled by Mick McArt. That's why the product can be purchased on Amazon but not the DHSM website. The product still maintains the "TSR Hobbies" logo, and features "TSR" on the inside in a couple of places, but contains relatively few references to NuTSR. Justin Lanasa is credited as the sole author. This is pure speculation, but I suspect Lanasa thinks that if he plays his cards right and minimizes references to TSR he will be able to maintain ownership of this product after the lawsuit is settled.

The book has an "Ernie Gygax approved" logo and the same preface Ernie wrote in 2008 that's popped up in a couple of other places. The "Pivot Points" mechanic shown in the video comes from Ernie's GP Adventures company and is featured in his Hobby Shop Dungeon and Marmorial Tomb products. Benoist Poire may be angry to learn that it's showing up hear. Beyond that, it seems Ernie probably didn't have too much input. Also, somehow, Jim Holloway has an artist credit. If someone knows how to contact his estate, they probably need to be informed that his name is being used to promote this (and Star Frontiers New Genesis).

The final thing I will point out is that Those Pesky Goblinz is advertised as a complete RPG, but it clearly isn't. At only 48 pages (including a module), it's obviously assuming that people will be using some other RPG system to run it (ostensibly AD&D, or some variant thereof).

TarionzCousin · Jan 30, 2023

Deset Gled said:
At only 48 pages (including a module), it's obviously assuming that people will be using some other RPG system to run it (ostensibly AD&D, or some variant thereof).

No. You are required to use "NuAD&D."

But it's not out quite yet.

Knorrrssk · Jan 30, 2023

Deset Gled said:
Does everyone remember when Vince "TheEvilDM" Florio made a public video claiming to disavow Justin Lanasa and NuTSR, claiming to have "no association with him" and "once the module [Cult of Abaddon] was finally released, I was done"? It happened in July: TSR - The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR

Well, a funny thing happened last week. It seems some unknown, anonymous person emailed Vince an unreleased copy of Those Pesky Goblinz. So Vince decided to share the leak on his Friday live stream:

Friday Night Hangout! RFI REUNION!! TSR's Those Pesky Goblinz leak? Let's chat about gonzo gaming!

DM Nick will here again! I received an anonymous email from someone who claims to have gotten the final of the TSR Pesky Goblinz RPG by Justin LaNasa and TSR...

www.youtube.com

Vince had nothing negative to say about the game. In fact, he seemed to like the concept a lot. And Vince was happily surprised to learn that the game includes a starter module:

View attachment 274170

View attachment 274171

Yes, the starter module for Goblinz is a sequel to the Cult of Abaddon module that Vince gave to NuTSR. Featuring the town of @Morrus. And even uses some of Vince's original maps. Vince was completely content with this, and was eager to learn more about the game.

In a surprise visit during the live stream, the Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum youtube account stopped by and asked Vince how he got a copy of this game (and then left immediately). It was a clearly a night of unexpected revelations.

Of course, all of this is a complete facade. I'm calling it out as total BS. Vince is obviously working with Justin again. Vince is clearly promoting NuTSR's work. He even shared a link in the chat to where you can purchase Those Pesky Goblinz on Amazon. Vince is letting Justin use his content, his map, and his name in NuTSR's new game. The info obviously came from Justin himself. The "leak", the video, and the surprise DHSM appearance were all planned. I honestly thought Vince's apology last year was honest, and that he meant it when he said he was done working with NuTSR. I guess not.

As for the "leak" itself, there is some other interesting information here. Most importantly, it looks like the real publishing work (design & layout, printing, selling on Amazon, etc) is all being handled by Mick McArt. That's why the product can be purchased on Amazon but not the DHSM website. The product still maintains the "TSR Hobbies" logo, and features "TSR" on the inside in a couple of places, but contains relatively few references to NuTSR. Justin Lanasa is credited as the sole author. This is pure speculation, but I suspect Lanasa thinks that if he plays his cards right and minimizes references to TSR he will be able to maintain ownership of this product after the lawsuit is settled.

The book has an "Ernie Gygax approved" logo and the same preface Ernie wrote in 2008 that's popped up in a couple of other places. The "Pivot Points" mechanic shown in the video comes from Ernie's GP Adventures company and is featured in his Hobby Shop Dungeon and Marmorial Tomb products. Benoist Poire may be angry to learn that it's showing up hear. Beyond that, it seems Ernie probably didn't have too much input. Also, somehow, Jim Holloway has an artist credit. If someone knows how to contact his estate, they probably need to be informed that his name is being used to promote this (and Star Frontiers New Genesis).

The final thing I will point out is that Those Pesky Goblinz is advertised as a complete RPG, but it clearly isn't. At only 48 pages (including a module), it's obviously assuming that people will be using some other RPG system to run it (ostensibly AD&D, or some variant thereof).

The page count isn't really indicative of anything. Many lightweight roleplaying games have low page counts. You can easily fit a playable game onto one side of A4, especially if it's not meant for extended campaign play. I mean, this is Justin LaNasa so it is entirely possible that they are lying about it being a complete RPG. But basing that on the page count alone is jumping the gun.

jdrakeh · Jan 30, 2023

Deset Gled said:
The final thing I will point out is that Those Pesky Goblinz is advertised as a complete RPG, but it clearly isn't. At only 48 pages (including a module), it's obviously assuming that people will be using some other RPG system to run it (ostensibly AD&D, or some variant thereof).

There are literally hundreds of RPGs complete in less than 50 pages on the market right this very moment. Other than that, I agree with your summation of the situation.

DLIMedia · Jan 30, 2023

They're also still crediting Jim Holloway, who's been dead for nearly three years. I'd really like to know what art of his, if any, they're using.

They also apparently fail to do the appropriate accreditations, such as the required notice to use Dean Spencer's art.

It's also worth noting that Vince is reviewing what appears to be an actual PDF, even though the product currently isn't available at all in any digital format.

Deset Gled · Jan 30, 2023

Knorrrssk said:
The page count isn't really indicative of anything. Many lightweight roleplaying games have low page counts.

jdrakeh said:
There are literally hundreds of RPGs complete in less than 50 pages on the market right this very moment.

It is possible for RPGs to have low page counts. Minimalist rules and tight printing can make for some pocket friendly games. But if you watch the video, its clear this isn't the case.

This is a screenshot of one page from the Shaman class:

That's one page. No explanation about how spells or how Befriending Undead works. Lots of space for art and tables, though. This is consistent with multiple classes. The rogue, for example, gets to make poison, pick pockets, pick locks, and move silently. Again, no rules explanations for anything, just tables.

Based on what we know, the game is advertised to include multiple caster classes with 5 levels of spells, THACO style combat, 6 ability scores, 5 types of saves, magic items, undead, poison, wands, petrification, breath weapons, melee and missile weapons, and infravision.

All that in 48 pages? Actually, 36 if you remove the starter module? There ain't no way.