I am really glad you are taking this step. It is undoubtedly a good one and many people will be happy with it.
There are just two things which I find extremely unfortunate:
1. That it had to come to this in the first place 2. That even in a "you win" statement, the lies don't stop.
Let me clarify point 2: I (as probably most people) do not believe for a second that "protecting the D&D play experience into the future" was a core concern. Just like the "harmful content" or NFT goals weren't. One of the core concerns was securing a monopoly in the VTT space.
There is nothing wrong with aiming for profit. There is nothing wrong with trying to increase profit. But trying to hide that behind a veil of supposed virtue only hurts your credibility further.
I hope that you will prove me wrong over the coming years and if you do, I will probably even resubscribe. But after that whole ordeal I find that severely unlikely.
Thing is a healthy, active community would be "more profit" in the long run. We're nerds, we like to read - I want more product not less. Blows my mind, that in this day and age there's seemingly no proof-reader(s) on the payroll picking the cream of the crop from 3rd party content and monetising it with very little actual cost as digital publishing/print on demand(s) a thing. Works beautifully for vinyl.
Added bonus of a decent proof-reader WOTC aren't even generating hateful content themselves.
Ok, I AM one of the few that misses the 3rd Ed days of endless splatbooks - but damn, they had LORE, advanced the settings and DIGITAL publishing... Some nerd can work from home, get paid and the fans and community win.
That micro-transaction/WoW guy needs to get canned asap though.
I approve wholeheartedly of what you've done. This is huge. I will no longer be telling people to unsubscribe from DNDBeyond or to stop purchasing D&D products. You did well in taking that first step.
But...
You did try this in the first place. Thank you to all the insiders of WOTC that kept us in the loop. We couldn't have countered this without you. Also thank you to one particular investor that did a proper dressing down of Hasbro's leadership. I don't usually think much of investors, but it did a lot to put the company in a conciliatory mood. However, that's where the thanks end. The CC in particular you are using is a good one. The promise never to attempt to revoke or deauthorize the OGL 1.0a is wonderful. But, that was the original promise in the first place, and words are wind. You'll be working to earn our trust again. The campaign I'd been working on recently, I'm still not bringing to 5E as of now. I also won't be advising others to develop campaigns for this system, even if they invest in the books and so on. Trust will take a long time to earn back, and if you keep up from this first step, that can change. Just... not yet.
A word of advice. There ARE ways to heavily monetize D&D you aren't making use of. This move to shut down the entire community in favor of monopolizing whatever your dungeoneering software is going to be? That's not one of them. Whatever you do will need to be done alongside the community, not in opposition to it. We play tabletop specifically because it isn't video games. They're very different experiences. Focus on that. Monetize the heck out of Hasbro printing out toys and figurines and more video games and, yes, movies, series, regular style books, and all that stuff. Introduce weird Skylander style figures that can store data and put it back on the PC for your dungeoneering software. Invent VR headset stuff and so on. Do the streamer thing like with Critical Roll and invite others to do the Dnnnds, the hip new dance that ALLL the kids are trying. I dunno... McD&D? I'm rollin' it? Nothing of these ideas is going to have that "infinite growth potential", but nothing has infinite growth. Much like cancer, if you try for that, you will kill the host you attach it to. Let D&D be the steady moneymaker. A reliable year after year return, not a get-richer-quicker scheme that ultimately destroys the brand, then the employees, then sends the executives above you parachuting to safely untouched.
Think slow and steady. D&D, the board game itself, is never going to be as popular as Marvel movies. Heck Marvel comics aren't even .1 percent of Marvel movies. Let D&D tabletop just be the steady inspiration beyond some other giant multimedia expression. Maybe the movie will do great. Heck I hope it does. But- don't ruin the goose just because the eggs are tempting.
So, the plan is AI DMs? ...because that went really well with Tay?
I get that WOTC/Hasbro's purpose is to profit... and that's fine - integral to "my" nerd-hobby infact.
...but let's look bigger picture. We're nerds. We like reading. There's no shortage of people spewing out content at all AND we live in the age of Digital Publishing (- hell, vinyl print on demand generally works nicely too), so "printing costs are hugely cut back to PROOF READING (remember that?) and Promotional costs. Why Wotc haven't decided to pick the cream of the crop of creatives that are already making this stuff anyway and monetised that is beyond me. Also a "win" with those of us already in the hobby - at least from a "giving back" lip-service perception. ...and MORE content that costs them nothing.*
We're in a position with FR/Dragonlance/Eberron/Strixhaven etc. etc. and an absolute desert of Lore - I can live with FR being sidelined (and it's the only setting I play (because I know enough lore to pull it out my &ss)), but nothing for the other settings? Really disappointing. How's about more niche stuff like Dark Sun? It's going to cost Wotc whatever a freelance PROOF READER costs (small fries comparably) and you know PROOF READING makes HATEFUL CONTENT at least theoretically a thing of the past... oh... unless Wotc are actually in the business of making hateful content.. hmm... There's a couple of birds and one stone there though.
Have two or three settings as the core "onboarding" portal/pathway - which is a good idea with the film coming imminently and have X amount of Official non-core settings and who cares so long as they're good and new DMs (integral) - those of us that realistically spend the actual money can have our hobby in 46+2 different flavours win/win... oh and long term, the hobby is healthier and that = $$$
Aside from endless apologies of "d'uh sorry we faceplanted again" Wotc needs to invest in the future and it's DM's not microtransactions or invetably racist AI. Hell, if they want to go the AI DM route, I'll make sure I spend time each day to corrupt it out of spite at this point... and it would be VERY shortsighted of Hasblow to think the community wouldn't do that.
Support us with GOOD PRODUCT not >9000 skins for my Hadozee Cleric that are all going to require individual Moderisation - you done goofed there Cao. Not only is AI "not there" - it won't be there for a LONG time and even if it was, realistically there's a huge chunk of people that don't have the connection speed to use it. I've got Fibre and remote hosting, that's still not always "winning" the battle for some of my international players, sometimes not for a couple in my own Country (UK). I can do things with Foundry that will tank a players web browser - and that's because I get carried away - and I'm not the one with a history of trying to destroy this hobby ;)
Agreed. The ones who thought this was a good idea are best stuck on an ice floe and sent out to sea. While putting all previous versions of the SRD that were released under the OGL into the CC would be icing on the cake, the latest version being on it is still an amazing and welcome show.
I think the people at WotC probably righted the ship. I'm assuming Hasbro came up with the decision and likely the initial response.
I'm hopeful this turns out to be a good thing in the long run. Ideally, it will give WotC more stake in decisions, especially regarding WotC IP, and the future of D&D and Hasbro will keep their hands off of operations.
It may also change the direction of Hasbro, but that is a long shot and wishful thinking:D
Agreed. The ones who thought this was a good idea are best stuck on an ice floe and sent out to sea. While putting all previous versions of the SRD that were released under the OGL into the CC would be icing on the cake, the latest version being on it is still an amazing and welcome show.
I think the people at WotC probably righted the ship. I'm assuming Hasbro came up with the decision and likely the initial response.
I'm hopeful this turns out to be a good thing in the long run. Ideally, it will give WotC more stake in decisions, especially regarding WotC IP, and the future of D&D and Hasbro will keep their hands off of operations.
It may also change the direction of Hasbro, but that is a long shot and wishful thinking:D
So, some further thoughts... and I'm gonna go into my long post copy/pasted from a Discord...
Yes, this is a righting of the ships direction, it's shifting towards course... Incidentally - I'm running Frostmaiden and have an Ice Floe going spare ;)
Cao needs to go - bare minimum. Here's my "inspiring speech" hopefully.
"like many" I came back to TTRPGs due to Covid/isolation and 5e was the easiest/most accessible - I had a bunch of stuff from when I was in my early 20s I started with a "used" Red box as a kid and had a bunch of stuff through to 3rd ed when I discovered the other gender, drugs, alcohol etc. Covid landed me in what I'm gonna call the "2nd golden age of TTRPGs" high speed internet, Discord and social interaction that I couldn't get irl (because Covid and a profession that mandated healthcare" we really do have The Tools. Damn, it's not trying to get an after school/college game going and you need to bribe/hassle an extra friend (that's not really "into it") because you need a Cleric in the party - people are just waiting for a game on the other side of the planet - sweet ...and now I have a chance to play "weird stuff" like CoC or whatever that I'd never have hoped for irl - just not practical.
- then Wotc tried to take a dump on that.
My fellow nerds, it's a weird form of social interaction, but it's one where I can be a weirdo too (Radiohead "creep".mp3), but I can pursue my niche interests and that's awesome - a community that can "just make stuff" I'm like a pig in filth.
Wotc/Hasbro exists as an entity and cool, make money, but if it takes a bunch of literate + motivated nerds to exercise their spending power to beat that into the Corporation - tough poop to the shareholders and Executives... look at what we're asking/demanding/threatening to withhold (our disposable incomes from) and decide if that fits your business model and short/long term aims...
If the two don't marry, then we have a situation like we've had - as others have said, it's corporate strategy. Do the execs annual bonuses get reflected in this situation? We're dealing with a bunch of people that are already looking at their next position in another company - because that's how it works for them, their "value" (how they perceive their value) is in how they see their position/potential earnings annually and how they can trade that off in "their next job" in the "next corporate entity" - that's just how the job market works micro/macro - no different for you or I - If I do well in my current job role, how does that affect my long term earning potential? - and these people answers to shareholders in the short term It would be "super nice" to see people that viewed their job roles in my favourite "niche hobby" in the long term and also wanted it to be a healthy environment for the people "emotionally invested" in it... I think that's the "best" long term strategy for "the hobby" - that's what I want to see (but I'm not an exec, nor shareholder and I've explained how I see their motivation(s)) and I think I'm right ;) For a healthy hobby - it is gonna require "us" the users to be active in guiding how we want to see it - and if that requires us to beat that into Hasbro with the lead pipes/melee weapons of our wallets and our Keyboard Warrior tool kits, let's do it -
I Roll Persuasion but I also Roll Investigation, Steath and Sleight of Hand too and DM - I'll take "Backstab" as a readied action because "fudgikins" to the Executives - I want a healthy hobby - by guile or force I don't think "passively" is going to be ok. Not into the future and Wotc/Hasbro have proven they're not trustworthy with the future of our hobby. "We want to safeguard against Hateful content" cool, me too, but I wish Wotc (and Hasblow by merit of ownership) would stop actually creating it because too lazy/stupid/misguided to employ a proof reader (I know 2, both unemployed irl and you know - remote work 2020s). Pokerface.jpg
* and I realise - I am ranting on the internet - and all the stupidity that involves
but let's pause, take stock -
a) we have some pretty classy tools for actual PLAY - Discord, Skype, Zoom, Foundry Roll20 (lol) and other VTTs are available.
b) we could be looking at an influx of noobs - that we can shape - they're going to be shaped by how we interact, not only with them, but within "the hobby". We're the damn Guardians of "the hobby" The Warriors, Wizards with the wherewithall the protect the sacred texts. Not them.
- if we got a bunch of noobs that want to be "sneaky thieves" because "cool movie" sweet, that's awesome. but maybe those noobs "grew up on" Harry Potter/Narnia/The Hunger Games... Scott Bakker... etc. etc. and they can be guided towards games and systems that scratch that particular itch - because we're in an age where that IS accessible so long as Wotc or "mega-corp" don't take a dump on it those noobs aren't likely the Jocks/cool kids/sports kids etc. - they're young us and we can give them homes where they can be a Detective that wields magic(Dresden dude) or Harry Potter etc. and that will give our niche hobby healthy longevity - and I WISH I had that as a tween/teen/young adult.
THIS IS THE GAME that fired my imagination as an 8 year old boy. This IS the thing that got me into reading novels and doing better at school and passively learning vocabulary. Amongst all the wonderful things books gave me D&D is the one thing that's had a stunning impact on my personal development because of all the stuff that came with it. I would never have been able to comprehend The Diary of Anne Frank without that starting passion for literacy before I even understood what literacy really was.
Keep the pressure up on Wotc and Hasbro and crappy Executives that don't care - we've got noobs to welcome - they've got homes to find and our weird niche hobby is worth far more than annual bonuses - because we can give lifelong bonuses to the kids that read Hunger Games or Dresden or Narnia etc. Those things are out there and deserve protecting too even if that's secondary to Hasbro policy or Chris CaCao's bonus.
...and we fight, we have not won the war. We have won this battle and we shall not stop until a skinny nerd that can't play sports picks up a book with a group of friends irl or online - until that skinny kid that's lost in the land of imagination picks up their sacred text and shares it with the world and joins forces within another skinny or obese or trans, or gay - or just a kid that needs a home somewhere with some form of imagination sharing that they wouldn't get anywhere else - when all those damn kids are empowered by imagination and the desire to learn and some tools to DO MORE LEARNING, then we rest - and the Execs can have their bonuses along the way too - so long as it aligns with our goals. It's what our Lord Gygax commanded.
I am really glad you are taking this step. It is undoubtedly a good one and many people will be happy with it.
There are just two things which I find extremely unfortunate:
1. That it had to come to this in the first place
2. That even in a "you win" statement, the lies don't stop.
Let me clarify point 2: I (as probably most people) do not believe for a second that "protecting the D&D play experience into the future" was a core concern. Just like the "harmful content" or NFT goals weren't. One of the core concerns was securing a monopoly in the VTT space.
There is nothing wrong with aiming for profit. There is nothing wrong with trying to increase profit. But trying to hide that behind a veil of supposed virtue only hurts your credibility further.
I hope that you will prove me wrong over the coming years and if you do, I will probably even resubscribe. But after that whole ordeal I find that severely unlikely.
Thing is a healthy, active community would be "more profit" in the long run. We're nerds, we like to read - I want more product not less. Blows my mind, that in this day and age there's seemingly no proof-reader(s) on the payroll picking the cream of the crop from 3rd party content and monetising it with very little actual cost as digital publishing/print on demand(s) a thing. Works beautifully for vinyl.
Added bonus of a decent proof-reader WOTC aren't even generating hateful content themselves.
Ok, I AM one of the few that misses the 3rd Ed days of endless splatbooks - but damn, they had LORE, advanced the settings and DIGITAL publishing... Some nerd can work from home, get paid and the fans and community win.
That micro-transaction/WoW guy needs to get canned asap though.
https://wulfgold.substack.com
Blog - nerd stuff
https://deepdreamgenerator.com/u/wulfgold
A.I. art - also nerd stuff - a gallery of NPC portraits - help yourself.
I approve wholeheartedly of what you've done. This is huge. I will no longer be telling people to unsubscribe from DNDBeyond or to stop purchasing D&D products. You did well in taking that first step.
But...
You did try this in the first place. Thank you to all the insiders of WOTC that kept us in the loop. We couldn't have countered this without you. Also thank you to one particular investor that did a proper dressing down of Hasbro's leadership. I don't usually think much of investors, but it did a lot to put the company in a conciliatory mood. However, that's where the thanks end. The CC in particular you are using is a good one. The promise never to attempt to revoke or deauthorize the OGL 1.0a is wonderful. But, that was the original promise in the first place, and words are wind. You'll be working to earn our trust again. The campaign I'd been working on recently, I'm still not bringing to 5E as of now. I also won't be advising others to develop campaigns for this system, even if they invest in the books and so on. Trust will take a long time to earn back, and if you keep up from this first step, that can change. Just... not yet.
A word of advice. There ARE ways to heavily monetize D&D you aren't making use of. This move to shut down the entire community in favor of monopolizing whatever your dungeoneering software is going to be? That's not one of them. Whatever you do will need to be done alongside the community, not in opposition to it. We play tabletop specifically because it isn't video games. They're very different experiences. Focus on that. Monetize the heck out of Hasbro printing out toys and figurines and more video games and, yes, movies, series, regular style books, and all that stuff. Introduce weird Skylander style figures that can store data and put it back on the PC for your dungeoneering software. Invent VR headset stuff and so on. Do the streamer thing like with Critical Roll and invite others to do the Dnnnds, the hip new dance that ALLL the kids are trying. I dunno... McD&D? I'm rollin' it? Nothing of these ideas is going to have that "infinite growth potential", but nothing has infinite growth. Much like cancer, if you try for that, you will kill the host you attach it to. Let D&D be the steady moneymaker. A reliable year after year return, not a get-richer-quicker scheme that ultimately destroys the brand, then the employees, then sends the executives above you parachuting to safely untouched.
Think slow and steady. D&D, the board game itself, is never going to be as popular as Marvel movies. Heck Marvel comics aren't even .1 percent of Marvel movies. Let D&D tabletop just be the steady inspiration beyond some other giant multimedia expression. Maybe the movie will do great. Heck I hope it does. But- don't ruin the goose just because the eggs are tempting.
Next step: Chris Cao needs to go.
https://wulfgold.substack.com
Blog - nerd stuff
https://deepdreamgenerator.com/u/wulfgold
A.I. art - also nerd stuff - a gallery of NPC portraits - help yourself.
I have a gangplank from a Pirate float in my storage locker...
It's not the arrow with my name on it that worries me. It's the arrow that says, "To whom it may concern".
Ahoy there...
So, the plan is AI DMs? ...because that went really well with Tay?
I get that WOTC/Hasbro's purpose is to profit... and that's fine - integral to "my" nerd-hobby infact.
...but let's look bigger picture. We're nerds. We like reading. There's no shortage of people spewing out content at all AND we live in the age of Digital Publishing (- hell, vinyl print on demand generally works nicely too), so "printing costs are hugely cut back to PROOF READING (remember that?) and Promotional costs. Why Wotc haven't decided to pick the cream of the crop of creatives that are already making this stuff anyway and monetised that is beyond me. Also a "win" with those of us already in the hobby - at least from a "giving back" lip-service perception. ...and MORE content that costs them nothing.*
We're in a position with FR/Dragonlance/Eberron/Strixhaven etc. etc. and an absolute desert of Lore - I can live with FR being sidelined (and it's the only setting I play (because I know enough lore to pull it out my &ss)), but nothing for the other settings? Really disappointing. How's about more niche stuff like Dark Sun? It's going to cost Wotc whatever a freelance PROOF READER costs (small fries comparably) and you know PROOF READING makes HATEFUL CONTENT at least theoretically a thing of the past... oh... unless Wotc are actually in the business of making hateful content.. hmm... There's a couple of birds and one stone there though.
Have two or three settings as the core "onboarding" portal/pathway - which is a good idea with the film coming imminently and have X amount of Official non-core settings and who cares so long as they're good and new DMs (integral) - those of us that realistically spend the actual money can have our hobby in 46+2 different flavours win/win... oh and long term, the hobby is healthier and that = $$$
Aside from endless apologies of "d'uh sorry we faceplanted again" Wotc needs to invest in the future and it's DM's not microtransactions or invetably racist AI. Hell, if they want to go the AI DM route, I'll make sure I spend time each day to corrupt it out of spite at this point... and it would be VERY shortsighted of Hasblow to think the community wouldn't do that.
Support us with GOOD PRODUCT not >9000 skins for my Hadozee Cleric that are all going to require individual Moderisation - you done goofed there Cao. Not only is AI "not there" - it won't be there for a LONG time and even if it was, realistically there's a huge chunk of people that don't have the connection speed to use it. I've got Fibre and remote hosting, that's still not always "winning" the battle for some of my international players, sometimes not for a couple in my own Country (UK). I can do things with Foundry that will tank a players web browser - and that's because I get carried away - and I'm not the one with a history of trying to destroy this hobby ;)
https://wulfgold.substack.com
Blog - nerd stuff
https://deepdreamgenerator.com/u/wulfgold
A.I. art - also nerd stuff - a gallery of NPC portraits - help yourself.
Agreed. The ones who thought this was a good idea are best stuck on an ice floe and sent out to sea. While putting all previous versions of the SRD that were released under the OGL into the CC would be icing on the cake, the latest version being on it is still an amazing and welcome show.
I think the people at WotC probably righted the ship. I'm assuming Hasbro came up with the decision and likely the initial response.
I'm hopeful this turns out to be a good thing in the long run. Ideally, it will give WotC more stake in decisions, especially regarding WotC IP, and the future of D&D and Hasbro will keep their hands off of operations.
It may also change the direction of Hasbro, but that is a long shot and wishful thinking:D
So, some further thoughts... and I'm gonna go into my long post copy/pasted from a Discord...
Yes, this is a righting of the ships direction, it's shifting towards course... Incidentally - I'm running Frostmaiden and have an Ice Floe going spare ;)
Cao needs to go - bare minimum. Here's my "inspiring speech" hopefully.
"like many" I came back to TTRPGs due to Covid/isolation and 5e was the easiest/most accessible - I had a bunch of stuff from when I was in my early 20s I started with a "used" Red box as a kid and had a bunch of stuff through to 3rd ed when I discovered the other gender, drugs, alcohol etc. Covid landed me in what I'm gonna call the "2nd golden age of TTRPGs" high speed internet, Discord and social interaction that I couldn't get irl (because Covid and a profession that mandated healthcare" we really do have The Tools. Damn, it's not trying to get an after school/college game going and you need to bribe/hassle an extra friend (that's not really "into it") because you need a Cleric in the party - people are just waiting for a game on the other side of the planet - sweet ...and now I have a chance to play "weird stuff" like CoC or whatever that I'd never have hoped for irl - just not practical.
- then Wotc tried to take a dump on that.
My fellow nerds, it's a weird form of social interaction, but it's one where I can be a weirdo too (Radiohead "creep".mp3), but I can pursue my niche interests and that's awesome - a community that can "just make stuff" I'm like a pig in filth.
Wotc/Hasbro exists as an entity and cool, make money, but if it takes a bunch of literate + motivated nerds to exercise their spending power to beat that into the Corporation - tough poop to the shareholders and Executives... look at what we're asking/demanding/threatening to withhold (our disposable incomes from) and decide if that fits your business model and short/long term aims...
If the two don't marry, then we have a situation like we've had - as others have said, it's corporate strategy. Do the execs annual bonuses get reflected in this situation? We're dealing with a bunch of people that are already looking at their next position in another company - because that's how it works for them, their "value" (how they perceive their value) is in how they see their position/potential earnings annually and how they can trade that off in "their next job" in the "next corporate entity" - that's just how the job market works micro/macro - no different for you or I - If I do well in my current job role, how does that affect my long term earning potential? - and these people answers to shareholders in the short term It would be "super nice" to see people that viewed their job roles in my favourite "niche hobby" in the long term and also wanted it to be a healthy environment for the people "emotionally invested" in it... I think that's the "best" long term strategy for "the hobby" - that's what I want to see (but I'm not an exec, nor shareholder and I've explained how I see their motivation(s)) and I think I'm right ;) For a healthy hobby - it is gonna require "us" the users to be active in guiding how we want to see it - and if that requires us to beat that into Hasbro with the lead pipes/melee weapons of our wallets and our Keyboard Warrior tool kits, let's do it -
I Roll Persuasion but I also Roll Investigation, Steath and Sleight of Hand too and DM - I'll take "Backstab" as a readied action because "fudgikins" to the Executives - I want a healthy hobby - by guile or force I don't think "passively" is going to be ok. Not into the future and Wotc/Hasbro have proven they're not trustworthy with the future of our hobby. "We want to safeguard against Hateful content" cool, me too, but I wish Wotc (and Hasblow by merit of ownership) would stop actually creating it because too lazy/stupid/misguided to employ a proof reader (I know 2, both unemployed irl and you know - remote work 2020s). Pokerface.jpg
* and I realise - I am ranting on the internet - and all the stupidity that involves
but let's pause, take stock -
a) we have some pretty classy tools for actual PLAY - Discord, Skype, Zoom, Foundry Roll20 (lol) and other VTTs are available.
b) we could be looking at an influx of noobs - that we can shape - they're going to be shaped by how we interact, not only with them, but within "the hobby". We're the damn Guardians of "the hobby" The Warriors, Wizards with the wherewithall the protect the sacred texts. Not them.
- if we got a bunch of noobs that want to be "sneaky thieves" because "cool movie" sweet, that's awesome. but maybe those noobs "grew up on" Harry Potter/Narnia/The Hunger Games... Scott Bakker... etc. etc. and they can be guided towards games and systems that scratch that particular itch - because we're in an age where that IS accessible so long as Wotc or "mega-corp" don't take a dump on it those noobs aren't likely the Jocks/cool kids/sports kids etc. - they're young us and we can give them homes where they can be a Detective that wields magic(Dresden dude) or Harry Potter etc. and that will give our niche hobby healthy longevity - and I WISH I had that as a tween/teen/young adult.
THIS IS THE GAME that fired my imagination as an 8 year old boy. This IS the thing that got me into reading novels and doing better at school and passively learning vocabulary. Amongst all the wonderful things books gave me D&D is the one thing that's had a stunning impact on my personal development because of all the stuff that came with it. I would never have been able to comprehend The Diary of Anne Frank without that starting passion for literacy before I even understood what literacy really was.
Keep the pressure up on Wotc and Hasbro and crappy Executives that don't care - we've got noobs to welcome - they've got homes to find and our weird niche hobby is worth far more than annual bonuses - because we can give lifelong bonuses to the kids that read Hunger Games or Dresden or Narnia etc. Those things are out there and deserve protecting too even if that's secondary to Hasbro policy or Chris CaCao's bonus.
...and we fight, we have not won the war. We have won this battle and we shall not stop until a skinny nerd that can't play sports picks up a book with a group of friends irl or online - until that skinny kid that's lost in the land of imagination picks up their sacred text and shares it with the world and joins forces within another skinny or obese or trans, or gay - or just a kid that needs a home somewhere with some form of imagination sharing that they wouldn't get anywhere else - when all those damn kids are empowered by imagination and the desire to learn and some tools to DO MORE LEARNING, then we rest - and the Execs can have their bonuses along the way too - so long as it aligns with our goals. It's what our Lord Gygax commanded.
/rant
https://wulfgold.substack.com
Blog - nerd stuff
https://deepdreamgenerator.com/u/wulfgold
A.I. art - also nerd stuff - a gallery of NPC portraits - help yourself.