Tag: #largerproblems

“Old White Guys” in Dungeons & Dragons.

A bunch of us tuned into the 3 Black Halflings interview in the wake of the OGL crisis to see what WotC’s pet manure spreader was going to say. It was interesting to hear what Kyle would say when PR wasn’t whispering in his ear or telling him what to type. Wow, it’s obvious WotC execs really are a bunch of clueless twonks who probably should be about as unemployed as yours truly right now. Sh🦆t floats to the top at WotC. For real.

D&D Exec Kyle Brink sticks his foot in his mouth. Repeatedly…

Here’s the link to the interview: 3 Black Halflings interview Kyle Brink.

Polygon also did a very good job with this issue: Polygon.

For those who don’t know yet, Wizards of the Coast Executive Producer of Dungeons & Dragons Kyle Brink was the face of the Open Game License debacle. He came on the scene after Wizards’ first failed attempt to address the fans. Kyle was slightly more personable with the fans and has allegedly actually played the game. He’s definitely been coached thoroughly by whatever PR experts WotC/Hasbro hired to contain the damage of thousands of fans cancelling their D&D Beyond subscriptions.

WotC was literally hemorrhaging money in the wake of the OGL debacle. Hasbro stocks are down to where they’re laying off as much as 15% of their workforce. Kyle Brink should have been part of the team that brought fans back to D&D.

That would have been cool until he went on 3 Black Halflings and gave some pretty uncoached comments that are very likely going to cheese off a bunch of fans. Just what WotC needed, right? I can’t figure out what this guy was thinking, but if you listen to the whole interview, he sounds about as ignorant about the TTRPG fandom as CEO Cynthia Williams or VP of Digital Development Chris Cao. WotC is sorely in need of an executive purge.

(*Hey, I know this guy– me- who’d be happy to work there once all the stooges have been cleaned out. I promise I’m the most laid back boss ever. LOL!)

I’ve been talking about this on and off for two years and then THIS GUY comes along.

Transcript from 3 Black Halflings Interview.
Kyle Brink’s exact comments.

If you have read this blog for a while, you know I’m not a big fan of naming and shaming specific individuals. Believe me, there have been a few I would have loved to have called out on their bullsh🦆t in the past, even recently. I don’t have a problem calling Kyle Brink out. If this clown thinks I’m leaving the hobby that I’ve been involved with for 40 years? They’re going to be burying me with my dice some day.

I hate to tell Kyle Brink and WotC this, but they’re barking up the wrong tree again! For crying out loud, he’s their spokesman! WTAF made him think that comment was going to fly?!? “…guys like me can’t leave soon enough.” WHAT?

Kyle Brink’s LinkedIn photo

Honestly, I’ve talked about this so much. Kyle can leave the TTRPG hobby or WotC. That’s on him. His context is a little blurry from his quote, but I’m pretty sure he meant TTRPGs and he did say it was his opinion. Good for him. I wish him the best of luck wherever he ends up or whatever he ends up doing.

That having been said? If you’re not passionate about D&D and/or tabletop gaming in general, Kyle- GET OUT OF D&D NOW! For God’s sake, do us all a favor and get the sam-sh🦆ttin-Hell out of the hobby before you do any more damage. It’s bad enough WotC has two other clueless clowns running around posing as management. Kyle, do the whole industry a favor and walk away! No one will think less of you after that bullsh🦆t comment.

Hey dude, I resemble that remark. I ain’t happy.

Your humble narrator.

News flash: I’m NOT going anywhere. I’m in the TTRPG hobby to say. I’m really, truly, in the depths of my heart getting sick of WotC and their paid goons like Kyle “Jar-Jar” Brink trying to get rid of anyone and anything older than they are. WotC took over before the 3rd Ed years. For some reason, they seem to have an attitude malfunction toward anything and everything older than that. That tends to piss off a LOT of us older white guys. Yeah, Kyle- ya done stepped in something.

I’ve tangled with the #OSR. I’ve also sided with the OSR. Like it or not, I’m a part of the Old School Renaissance crowd. FYI, it’s about to become the Old School RESISTANCE or Old School REBELLION, Kyle. That’s right, brother. I’m still gonna be doin this when I’m a hundred and two years old and there ain’t nothin you’re gonna do to stop me, WotC. Oh Yeah.

We can step into the squared circle, Kyle Brink. Oh yeah. I’m callin you out, brother. I’ll show ya what an old man with a bad back and chronic pain can still do to your clown 🤡ss. I will hurt your feelings. You better bring your A game, brother. Oh yeah. I still got mad skillz. Falls count anywhere. Somebody ring the bell. (* I was a fan of the Hulkster and the Macho Man Randy Savage. Oh Yeah.)

Pro wrestling analogy aside, I’ve already been here.

Seriously. All joking aside. Let’s talk about inclusivity.

First off, at no point in time am I dissing on 3 Black Halflings. Their efforts made this interview possible. Big THANK YOU to them!

Next, I’m really a fan of both diversity and inclusivity. We all have a seat at the gaming table. Brink is right about one thing. It’s not just a bunch of old white guys sitting around their parents’ basement any more. It hasn’t been since around the 1990s. You’d know that if you were really into D&D, Kyle.

WotC is propagandizing their struggle with the likes of NuTSR, aka Justin LaNasa and Dave Johnson. They tried to make a very racist revised edition of an old original T$R property owned by WotC. It was going to be called “Star Frontiers New Genesis.” Unfortunately Cynthia, Chris Cao, WotC’s lawyers, and apparently our friend Kyle all heard about it. The judge basically laughed LaNasa and NuTSR right out of his courtroom. Suddenly WotC got bit by the inclusion bug.

#Hadozee comes up a lot in this discussion, too. The old 2nd Ed Spelljammer included some pretty messed up racist sh🦆t. Then WotC came along with their schlocky version of it, without editing whatsoever, and reprinted it line by line. Don’t they feel smart now.

Last, a bunch of us tuned into the 3 Black Halflings interview in the wake of the OGL crisis to see what WotC’s pet manure spreader was going to say. It was interesting to hear what Kyle would say when PR wasn’t whispering in his ear or telling him what to type. Wow, it’s obvious WotC execs really are a bunch of clueless twonks who probably should be about as unemployed as yours truly right now. Sh🦆t floats to the top at WotC. For real.

In conclusion.

Again, Kyle- now’s a good time to get out of D&D if that’s how you feel. WotC employees are ready to flee like rats off a sinking ship last we heard. That’s cool because I also imagine Paizo and other real game companies are going to need that extra help soon. I bet there’s even a place for Kyle Brink scrubbing toilets and mopping floors at one of them.

Thanks for stopping by, #ttrpgfamily. I love you all so much. We wouldn’t get this upset about a hobby if we didn’t care. That passion showed all during the month of January battling for #OpenDnD. We’ll weather this storm, too. Back tomorrow with more #FrighteningFebruary.

Freedom Day, Oct 2022 Edition.

I’ve made a lot of gay and trans friends in my forays onto social media as of late. I have to say, homophobes and transphobes are really missing out. I have met some of the most warm, considerate, understanding, and caring folx in the LGTBQIA++ community online.

Here we are again.

I’m just gonna fumble my way through this post by the seat of my pants. It’s been 15 months since I brought home a paycheck. Before anyone rolls their eyes, please understand some of this has been self-imposed.

I’m not entitled to anything. I’m very aware there are people out there in far more need than I. I would love nothing more than to be able to help folx out. I believe in local, grassroots improvements.

I’d probably make a third-rate billionaire, but could we at least slap an “M” on the front of “illionaire?”

I’ve said before I have plans if I can ever get to that million dollar mark. My own family aside, I’d love to be able to help friends out. I’ve met some pretty remarkable people on Twitter, Instagram and out in public who could really use a monetary boost and probably deserve all I could do to help.

Twitter friends are the first people who really come to mind. But it goes farther than donations and small product buys on Ko-Fi, Patreon and Kickstarter. Those avenues are all great, but what if we could do better? What if we could round up a bunch of community members in one place and form a charitable organization?

At the rate we’re going in the US, it might be an underground railroad.

I’ve made a lot of gay and trans friends in my forays onto social media as of late. I have to say, homophobes and transphobes are really missing out. I have met some of the most warm, considerate, understanding, and caring folx in the LGTBQIA++ community online. I almost feel guilty for all the years I wandered around with my proverbial head up my butt.

I thought the #TTRPG crowd on Twitter was pretty cool. Yeah, there are some shmucks out there, but the friends I’ve made far outnumber them. Then, through the very active gaming community, I met a lot of gay and trans folx. I am more than happy to stand up to the bigots, bullies and assholes of the world on their behalf. I feel like I’ve got more family and friends online than here at home in BFN IA. (*Bum Fork Nowhere Iowa.)

The sociopolitical and cultural climate is turning hostile to some of my friends and family. Entire states are threatening to cut medical services and even blatantly discriminate against members of the LGTBQIA++ community. Heck, some states are threatening women’s’ health outright with their abortion ban psychosis. It’s like a big chunk of our politicians have plum lost their damn minds.

Back to my own situation for a few moments.

Race, gender, sexual preference, age, and ability play into everything right now. I regularly get my butt handed to me when it comes to age and physical ability. I would love to rub the noses of some former employers in that particular smelly mess, but I can’t.

What can I say? Big shmucky McCorporate values just don’t match up to helping people and building communities. As long as they’re growing their bottom line, who gives a shit, right?

Lookin at you, Wizards of the Coast. Lookin at you, Paizo. Lookin at you large convenience store chains. I could name companies all day. It boils down to the same old shenanigans. Kick the slightly less “functional” employees to the curb in order to hire younger, more capable ones? Oh, they won’t call it that, of course.

They’re “optimizing.” They’re “economizing.” They’re “maximizing their opportunities” by outsourcing entire departments and firing anyone who doesn’t walk lock-step with their corporate culture. Sorry, my McIdiot doublespeak skills just aren’t in tune with their bullshit corporate culture. At the end of the day, it boils down to a bunch of older, usually white, healthy, cishet, wealthy men making decisions that affect (screw) the rest of us.

Prove me wrong. I’ll wait. What? Oh, that’s right. I’m basically correct.

That 1% (rich people) of the population is pretty monochrome, cishet, and ableist from what I can see. What really blows my mind is that more of the mighty 1% seem to have very little regard or compassion for anyone but their own kind.

I’m happy for you if you’ve got piles of money, honest.

I don’t begrudge anyone who “makes it” in this world. That’s a pretty big statement, all considered. One of the people I admire most in this world, Laura DiBenedetto, totally broke the mold more than once. That’s amazing!

I’ve never asked my friend how much money she’s sitting on. Not my concern. I know it’s likely not chump change. And the major difference is- she’s helping people. She’s making a difference in the lives of other women and even guys like me. There’s one exception among thousands, maybe millions of people.

I was talking to another friend on Twitter about the infamous JK Rowling. The comment about how well she deals with the pain of alienating a portion of her audience with her transphobic views. Rowling replied, “I read my recent royalty cheques and find the pain goes away pretty quickly.”

Needless to say, that comment makes me a bit queasy. I love money. Money can do a lot of wonderful things for people. I think it turned JK Rowling into kind of a bitch. It’s sad but when some people hit the big time, they forget that so many others are struggling with the day-to=day. It sucks.

I’d rather see my next royalty check (*if I had one) as a way to feed my family and maybe help some friends out. Why couldn’t Rowling say something like that? Maybe she could have even gone so far as to say she hates losing fans and she’s grateful for all they’ve done to support her? I know, I’m an idealist at heart.

I’m happy for celebrities that went from living out of their car (Lizzo) or being otherwise homeless (Rowling) to making heaps of money. God/Source/Universe bless each and every one. Awesome. But I’ve come to realize I relate more closely to the person they were before that first big break came along. I love them now (Universally speaking,) but I’m rooting for who they were when that first check rolled in. The gratitude, the love, the joy and the excitement were all there! That’s what I think many of us are aspiring-to.

That’s my rant for now.

I had way more I wanted to discuss, but this is getting kinda long. There’s a lot going on in the RolePlaying Game industry worth discussing. I see a lot going on in the world, or at least in my world that is worthy of comment. There’s more to come.

Thank you for being here. I appreciate you stopping by. Carry on.

This Article is…

A lot of things, but maybe not the one I wanted to be writing at the present moment.

I came away from a meditation just now where I asked the angels, my spirit guides, the Ascended Masters, and even the Source of all Creation to go help those in need tonight. There are so many hurt, desperate, frightened people in this county (The U.S.) who need help right now, in this now moment. Not to diminish my own sovereignty, but my problems don’t amount to a hill of sh*t by comparison right now.

I think there are some folks in this country that have plum lost they damn minds, and that’s putting it mildly. If we thought 2020 had issues with race riots, look out, here comes election controversy round two? three? What round are we on again? This is ridiculous, family, seriously. PEACEFUL changes in leadership is why this country holds elections.

I’m not disclosing my voting record here, but I will say, I’ve voted for my share of winners, losers and guys who had no hope or prayer whatsoever of winning in this country. I’ve gone from raging social liberal to hardened conservative and now I’m extremely concerned for what is best for people well beyond any stereotype or label. I look back on the stuff I wrote many, many years ago when I thought social welfare was all that and capitalism was bad and I’m just thinking, “Dude, we need to talk.” I can’t really go back in time and slap myself unfortunately.

In a different example, my wife went to Urgent Care with a staph infection from this little blemish on her leg that blew up huge over the weekend. She’s got some pretty hardcore antibiotics and we’re keeping an eye on it, but… just damn. Ya know? Like, who’d have seen that coming? She’s gonna be okay, but in terms of perspective, it really is pause for me to think.

Now, I will say, I’m sitting on more than one article about UFOlogy and extraterrestrials that I am going to put out soon, maybe. I will ask who’d want to land on this planet or even this country with all the dumb stuff going on? Think about it. We’ve got half of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse already running amok and well on our way to the other two. (You get to figure out which are which. One could make a strong case with locusts and murder hornets for that third one.) Government Disclosure is one thing. Our Star Family coming to visit this planet right now? Heck, I’m not sure I want to live on this rock and this body was born on it. Yeesh.

I’m also sitting on an article revolving around my work situation right now. Long story short, it’s not looking too hot. I’m three drafts in on my two weeks notice and probably going to make it an open letter before it’s all said and done. I find myself working for the kind of people that my younger, very anti-McCorporate self would have been losing his damn mind over. I don’t want to embrace an old paradigm, but for once, old Jeff is right. Then again, that version of me didn’t have a family to look out for. There’s another issue we should stop and look at in all this.

All my life and especially now, I’ve had this war going between ideals and practicality. Ever notice what you should do and what you need to do maybe don’t always match up? Now that I’m more in tune with my spiritual self having a physical experience, it seems like a never-ending war of duality and separation. It’s maddening, sheer bedlam, the things humans do and say to each other. The “Matrix” that we have constructed for ourselves around money, job, and family for so long no one can remember anything else is just so confining.

How many times have I heard the following:
Don’t do something you want to do because you need to be responsible and feed your family.
Don’t quit that job you hate because you’ll starve in the street.
Don’t pursue theatre, art, writing, or role playing games because there’s no money in it.
Just keep suffering through this job until you go find another one (that will suck just as bad if not worse…)
Don’t follow your dream of working for yourself. That’s bound to fail.
If you were going to be a millionaire, you’d have done it by now.
Get a good education so you can get a good job, even though there are plenty of folks who have done better with less. Oh, and continue struggling with that student debt after you find out your degrees are absolutely useless…

Too close to home on a few of those? Yeah, probably. I’m grateful I have a car, a home, and a job so my family can eat. That’s true. This lifetime, at least I’ve had some good circumstances. And I don’t begrudge anyone for doing better. That’s not the point. The point is, there are multiple sides to every issue. It’s not just A or B or even Z.

What really gets me right now is that after thousands of years of alleged evolution and supposed enlightenment, the human race is still a cosmic trainwreck. Peace, prosperity and joy really should be our top priority. We don’t need to stomp all over someone else to get that done. Thousands of years of learning what ideals look like and we’re still literally hitting one another over the head to solve differences in opinion, screwing each other over for profit, and living in miserable squalor because one person refuses to help another out.

As a final side note, I don’t know if something astrological happened, but everything and it’s karmic dog has been coming up for me to clear these last two weeks. Ever feel like the Universe has just taken to smacking you around for funsies? Every aspect of my life has literally come into focus at some point. It’s almost depressing how many things I thought I had overcome and still need to work out again. Again? I don’t know about you all, but I really want to see a light at the end of this particular tunnel. Even saying, “I don’t know,” is considered to be giving away one’s own sovereignty. But what happens if you really don’t know?

Onward and upward, I suppose.

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