When WotC Founder Peter Adkison Wrote To White Wolf Magazine

I had a distinct memory of having seen a particular letter in one of the magazines in my gaming club back in the day, so I decided to do some research and managed to find it in White Wolf Magazine #28. I figure it might be of historical interest to some.

This was written in response to an editorial basically saying "Before you start your own game company to publish your fantasy heartbreaker, do your research and be very certain of what you're getting into." There was also a reply to Peter Adkison's letter, split over two columns, and written by another name that ought to be highly recognized these days:

I don't know how useful this will be to anyone, but I figured it's an interesting, albeit tiny, bit of gaming history.

 

[Alzrius]

What a fascinating find! Thank you for locating that and posting it here!

 

[el-remmen]

Man, I wish I had snatched up Primal Order when I had the chance. Even a full color pamphlet advertising it I got at my gaming store back then inspired stuff that made it way into the homebrew I used for 20 years.

 

[Alzrius]

Man, I wish I had snatched up Primal Order when I had the chance. Even a full color pamphlet advertising it I got at my gaming store back then inspired stuff that made it way into the homebrew I used for 20 years.

There's no reason you can't pick it up now, as it has both PDF and POD options. So do all three of its supplements: Pawns, Knights, and Chessboards. Or if you just want the PDFs, pick up the bundle with all four.

The only thing to keep in mind is that the one on DTRPG is the second printing of the main book, which has a different set of "capsystem" conversions at the end.

Please note my use of affiliate links in this post.

 

[el-remmen]

I had no idea!

 

[Wrathamon]

There's no reason you can't pick it up now, as it has both PDF and POD options. So do all three of its supplements: Pawns, Knights, and Chessboards. Or if you just want the PDFs, pick up the bundle with all four.

The only thing to keep in mind is that the one on DTRPG is the second printing of the main book, which has a different set of "capsystem" conversions at the end.

Please note my use of affiliate links in this post.

I'm confused a but, Since this was an old wotc book why is it published by someone else?

 

[Morrus]

I'm confused a but, Since this was an old wotc book why is it published by someone else?

Adkison kept the rights to it when he sold WotC to Hasbro. Hostile Work Environment is his company.

 

[Wrathamon]

Adkison kept the rights to it when he sold WotC to Hasbro. Hostile Work Environment is his company.

Thank you!

 

[embee]

I am struck and impressed by the polish and professionalism of both letters. It is complementary but not fawning and comes across as genuine. Mr. Adkison is very clearly a believer in the reliable old saw to never send a letter that you wouldn't want your mother to read in The New York Times.

Thank you for publishing this. It is quite fascinating.

 

[Morrus]

Equally fun is that it’s Paizo owner Lisa Stevens who replied.

Later the two would work together and both did very well out of the sale of WotC!