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Tibalt
May 14, 2017

What, drawn, and talk of peace! I hate the word, As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee

Just a reminder that Wizard of the Coast has publicly removed all mentions of Zak Smith from their products because he's a serial abuser and rapist, and also because his contributions sucked so much rear end that the PHB in turn got sick and poo poo their pants at a Chick-Fil-A.

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Arivia
Mar 17, 2011

That Old Tree posted:

I assume "you must post this on SA" was part of the settlement, which is a perfect representation of how loving dumb and pathetic Zak S is.

I expect that there’s a similar statement and mod resignation from Ettin on rpg.net too. Zak went far enough to make Ettin post it to an OSR Discord server Ettin was never part of - but coincidentally is a place Zak is banned from for being a shitlord that the mod staff criticized.

Squizzle
Apr 24, 2008




Arivia posted:

I expect that there’s a similar statement and mod resignation from Ettin on rpg.net too. Zak went far enough to make Ettin post it to an OSR Discord server Ettin was never part of - but coincidentally is a place Zak is banned from for being a shitlord that the mod staff criticized.

invite people from everywhere ettin had to post it, to come join the forums here and participate itt

alnilam
Nov 10, 2009

The guy zak from the op, allegedly, seems like he could be bad. But maybe he's not. Who can say if he really poo poo his pants in a conservative christian fast food retail outlet. It's certainly worth thinking about.

Liquid Communism
Mar 9, 2004


Out here, everything hurts.




Tibalt posted:

Just a reminder that Wizard of the Coast has publicly removed all mentions of Zak Smith from their products because he's a serial abuser and rapist, and also because his contributions sucked so much rear end that the PHB in turn got sick and poo poo their pants at a Chick-Fil-A.

The internet never forgets.

https://www.polygon.com/2019/2/20/18232181/dungeons-dragons-zak-smith-sabbath-abuse-accusations-players-handbook

Slimnoid
Sep 6, 2012

Does that mean I don't get the job?

Tibalt posted:

Just a reminder that Wizard of the Coast has publicly removed all mentions of Zak Smith from their products because he's a serial abuser and rapist, and also because his contributions sucked so much rear end that the PHB in turn got sick and poo poo their pants at a Chick-Fil-A.

Which makes the inclusion of his contribution to 5e in that apology letter all the more bizarre. Wouldn't WotC not want him associated with their products in any way, shape, or form?

Kurieg
Jul 19, 2012

RIP Lutri: 5/19/20-4/2/20
:blizz::gamefreak:

Slimnoid posted:

Which makes the inclusion of his contribution to 5e in that apology letter all the more bizarre. Wouldn't WotC not want him associated with their products in any way, shape, or form?

WOTC doesn't, but he definitely does. Because he believes he's innocent and hates that his name was removed from it.

Arivia
Mar 17, 2011

Slimnoid posted:

Which makes the inclusion of his contribution to 5e in that apology letter all the more bizarre. Wouldn't WotC not want him associated with their products in any way, shape, or form?

He’s the kind of person who thinks that winning lawsuits to prove he’s legally “right” is enough to win people back over to his side. It might work on Wizards of the Coast, MAYBE, if Mearls is still in charge.

Nessus
Dec 22, 2003

After a Speaker vote, you may be entitled to a valuable coupon or voucher!



Slimnoid posted:

Which makes the inclusion of his contribution to 5e in that apology letter all the more bizarre. Wouldn't WotC not want him associated with their products in any way, shape, or form?
Would not this lawsuit have been filed before WotC threw him overboard? This Zak guy seems to be pretty busy being angry online and eating at Chick-fil-A so I suspect he did not update his demands.

Slimnoid
Sep 6, 2012

Does that mean I don't get the job?

Kurieg posted:

WOTC doesn't, but he definitely does. Because he believes he's innocent and hates that his name was removed from it.

I guess that brings into question of whether or not this will result in WotC telling him to stop.

Squizzle
Apr 24, 2008




alnilam posted:

The guy zak from the op, allegedly, seems like he could be bad. But maybe he's not. Who can say if he really poo poo his pants in a conservative christian fast food retail outlet. It's certainly worth thinking about.

i can say it op

zak pooped his pants, at the chicken cathedral, because he was so scared of ettin telling everyone the truth about zak being abusive and sexually predatory. he thought about how cool and good ettin is and how everyone would know that ettin speaks the truth when not legally compelled to post bullshit by an extortionist. he thought about how handsome and true and strong ettin is, and the thought made him scared, and he filled his own pants w poop, which was also his own (mostly)

Dragonmaw
Mar 3, 2010

Dr. Funk's
House o' Love
i just found out he had to make an onlyfans account to sell his rpg because nobody else will publish him and looooool

Slimnoid
Sep 6, 2012

Does that mean I don't get the job?

Nessus posted:

Would not this lawsuit have been filed before WotC threw him overboard? This Zak guy seems to be pretty busy being angry online and eating at Chick-fil-A so I suspect he did not update his demands.

Accusations came out in February 2019. Zak "poo poo his pants" Smith filed his lawsuit in July, if Liquid Communism's timeline is correct. WotC removed his credentials before July.

Squizzle
Apr 24, 2008




admins plz edit out the doxxing in the op, for real, but also edit out the inclusion of the cv of zak smith (zak sabbath, a sex criminal)

Lumbermouth
Mar 6, 2008

GREG IS BIG NOW


Dragonmaw posted:

i just found out he had to make an onlyfans account to sell his rpg because nobody else will publish him and looooool

Holy poo poo.

Nessus
Dec 22, 2003

After a Speaker vote, you may be entitled to a valuable coupon or voucher!



Slimnoid posted:

Accusations came out in February 2019. Zak "poo poo his pants" Smith filed his lawsuit in July, if Liquid Communism's timeline is correct. WotC removed his credentials before July.
Sounds like a real mess of a situation!

That Old Tree
Jun 24, 2012

nah


Arivia posted:

I expect that there’s a similar statement and mod resignation from Ettin on rpg.net too. Zak went far enough to make Ettin post it to an OSR Discord server Ettin was never part of - but coincidentally is a place Zak is banned from for being a shitlord that the mod staff criticized.

I could definitely get the basic legal argument that someone must disseminate their forced apology in relevant places of relatively high traffic, but :laffo: at Zak telling on himself this hard.

Len
Jan 21, 2008

Pouches, bandages, shoulderpad, cyber-eye...

Bitchin'!


Is Zak Smith the pants making GBS threads rapist, the same person that harassed Mikan out of the hobby?

Tsilkani
Jul 28, 2013

Len posted:

Is Zak Smith the pants making GBS threads rapist, the same person that harassed Mikan out of the hobby?

Yes, that was the fault of notorious rapist Zak S and his legion of fanboys.

Slimnoid
Sep 6, 2012

Does that mean I don't get the job?

Nessus posted:

Sounds like a real mess of a situation!

A real poo poo-squirter, if you will.

Nessus
Dec 22, 2003

After a Speaker vote, you may be entitled to a valuable coupon or voucher!



Slimnoid posted:

A real poo poo-squirter, if you will.
Well I don't want to talk poo poo but I'm hearing a lot of credible allegations, so who can say? Except about the sex crimes - those seem pretty darn factual!

Arivia
Mar 17, 2011

That Old Tree posted:

I could definitely get the basic legal argument that someone must disseminate their forced apology in relevant places of relatively high traffic, but :laffo: at Zak telling on himself this hard.

I mean you could maybe argue that it’s a high traffic place because the OSR balkanized HARD after g+ shut down but no it’s just really loving petty.

Lumbermouth
Mar 6, 2008

GREG IS BIG NOW


Oh my god he made Ettin post the apology on the OSR reddit, look at this dude’s whole rear end.

Saguaro PI
Mar 11, 2013

Totally legit tree
It makes sense that Zak, a rapist and abuser, would not be able to distinguish between a coerced apology and a genuine admission of wrongdoing and guilt.

Len
Jan 21, 2008

Pouches, bandages, shoulderpad, cyber-eye...

Bitchin'!


Tsilkani posted:

Yes, that was the fault of notorious rapist Zak S and his legion of fanboys.

I only kind of remember Mikans posting but they seemed like good people. It's a shame a pants making GBS threads abusive rapist had to chase them off.

Asimo
Sep 23, 2007


The most hilarious thing about this is that Zak "Alleged Rapist" Smith thinks suing his victims and forcing legally-mandated apologies will actually make people like him again or something, rather than just making it even more blatantly clear that he is by all appearances nothing more than a brittle little troll of a man. It's kind of hilarious how desperately pathetic he is really.

Dragonmaw
Mar 3, 2010

Dr. Funk's
House o' Love

Dragonmaw posted:

i just found out he had to make an onlyfans account to sell his rpg because nobody else will publish him and looooool

for the curious
https://onlyfans.com/u25656753

Reene
Aug 26, 2005

:justpost:

Squizzle posted:

admins plz edit out the doxxing in the op, for real, but also edit out the inclusion of the cv of zak smith (zak sabbath, a sex criminal)

I honestly kind of love that his CV is included because they are all incredibly bad games which have also mostly washed their hands of him (because he is a serial abuser and a rapist)

Ettin's real name is attached to literally all of his work also so eh

Arivia
Mar 17, 2011

Len posted:

I only kind of remember Mikans posting but they seemed like good people. It's a shame a pants making GBS threads abusive rapist had to chase them off.

Mikan is a great person and a great designer and we are all much much worse off for not having her around any more.

Squizzle
Apr 24, 2008




Reene posted:

I honestly kind of love that his CV is included because they are all incredibly bad games which have also mostly washed their hands of him (because he is a serial abuser and a rapist)

Ettin's real name is attached to literally all of his work also so eh

edit out the dnd one only, then :q:

Liquid Communism
Mar 9, 2004


Out here, everything hurts.




Slimnoid posted:

Accusations came out in February 2019. Zak "poo poo his pants" Smith filed his lawsuit in July, if Liquid Communism's timeline is correct. WotC removed his credentials before July.

WOTC removed him in Feb 2019, along with RPGPundit's credit as well.

As opposed to in 2017, when WOTC first declared accusations were groundless, then had to apologize for having hired him anyway after content he was involved in caused an uproar due to its treatment of transgender characters.

blog.whitewolf.com via Internet Archive posted:

A howl for our bloody writer-artists!

February 17, 2017

White Wolf Entertainment is proud to have Zak S and Sarah Horrocks join the pack as the artists and main authors of Vampire The Masquerade: We Eat Blood.

<photo of an alleged pants shitter with terrible tattoos>

A Yale graduate, Zak Smith (aka. Sabbath) is an American artist known for his portrait, drawings, abstract art, comic books, and roleplaying games. His art has been featured in the MOMA, Whitney, Heller, and other world-class galleries. Zak is one of the foremost creative minds in the roleplaying game community, with multiple published books for some of the biggest publishers in the in the genre including Dungeons & Dragons and his own award-winning independent works based off his D&D campaign, including Red and Pleasant Land and Maze of the Blue Medusa. He recently illustrated The Worst Breakfast by award-winning novelist China Mieville.

<photo of Sarah Horrocks>

Sarah Horrocks is an artist, writer, cartoonist and critic currently residing in Oklahoma. Her comics include Hecate Snake Diaries and The Leopard. She has done cover work for various Image Comics, and Boom Studios comics. She has done critical writing about comics for Fantagraphics, ComicsAlliance, Study Group Magazine, and The Comics Journal. and she forms one-half of the Trash Twins podcast.


Regarding the recent accusations made against our freelancers: White Wolf was aware of and investigated the previous accusations against Zak before contracting him to write and illustrate the game script. Fortunately, these accusations all pertained to alleged online behavior: each accusation is connected to an online discussion, and the digital records of these discussions can be located and reviewed. White Wolf’s investigation concluded that the accusations are false, and that Zak did not engage in the alleged behavior. We have full faith in Zak and Sarah and are excited to see their great work with the World of Darkness spread!

blog.whitewolf.com via Internet Archive posted:

Breathing the Same Shadow

We have received many questioning or critical emails and comments over the last few days about Vampire: The Masquerade – We Eat Blood. Some of these are in relation to game writer and artist Zak Sabbath, others are about the content of the game. We continue to read them all; we welcome all feedback, and value this ongoing dialogue.

First, we recognize that we need to clarify the wording of our blog post from last week. We realise now that it could be interpreted as a dismissal of people’s experiences, and that was never our intention. Nor did we intend to imply that we think anyone was being actively dishonest, and we are very sorry if that’s how it seemed. We understand how hurtful that could seem, and we regret it.

Naturally we are aware that Zak Sabbath is a controversial figure. Before deciding to work with Sarah Horrocks and Zak Sabbath on We Eat Blood, we read as deeply as we could about the historical conflicts around him. These issues seemed to be several years old, were debated exhaustively online, and were very complex.

Our reading and the conversations we had with people in the industry who have interacted with him in the past did not unearth any new or factual evidence in regards to the more serious allegations periodically made against him. It is however clear that Zak Sabbath is often abrasive, and sometimes his behavior has been perceived as hurtful or offensive. Going forward, we expect him not to engage in any such behaviors, and he has agreed.

The collaboration between Sarah Horrocks and Zak Sabbath brings a unique aesthetic to this work, and we felt Zak Sabbath’s participation would contribute more to the game than allegations about his past private behavior would detract from it.

This brings us to the second point of criticism. Both We Eat Blood and Karin Tidbeck’s Mage: The Ascension – Refuge feature personal experiences and social commentary as the authors explore themes of class, gender, and rising intolerance. Our choice to focus on these themes has led to some critical voices. This is criticism we are proud to receive. Relevant works in any medium are part of a global discourse and we welcome healthy and well-informed debate on these issues. We have said repeatedly that our games will examine contemporary issues through the lens of the World of Darkness, and we do not plan to shy away from this vision.

In addition to this blanket criticism of engagement with contemporary issues, there has been some concern about the inclusion of two transgender vampire characters in We Eat Blood. Given the history of transgender representation in popular culture, we are sensitive to these concerns. So is the game’s co-writer Sarah Horrocks, a noted comic artist and horror blogger, who is also a transgender woman. She writes about her views on her blog: http://mercurialblonde.tumblr.com/post/157431573538.

The criticized character, Avery, is perhaps the most helpful and kick-rear end vampire in the game. She saves your rear end and is (spoiler alert!) one of two main allies at the conclusion. Like Horrocks and Sabbath, we believe this character positively broadens the range of transgender portrayal in games. Naturally, she will not be the last transgender character in a White Wolf game, as we continue work with designers, writers and artists from a wide range of backgrounds.

White Wolf are dedicated to making games that feature mature, contemporary storytelling. We are already engaged with a network of partners from all over the world, of all genders and backgrounds, and we are working every day to increase that reach and diversity. We do that because we strongly believe that diversity results in the best stories, and that without representation across intersections those stories will not reflect the world we live in.

White Wolf was, as we all recall, later dissolved and re-absorbed into the parent company Paradox after causing an international incident by using the anti-LGBTQ purges in Chechnya as a plot point in the Vampire RPG.

alnilam
Nov 10, 2009

I personally have never poo poo my own pants. Especially not in a conservative christian chicken fast food restaurant. But also just in general i have never poo poo my pants. Anyone who has done such a thing, that sounds like a real shame. If you have done a thing like this i hope at the very least you are not a rapist, if so that would really be the icing on the cake

M_Gargantua
Oct 16, 2006

STOMP'N ON INTO THE POWERLINES

Exciting Lemon

Squizzle posted:

admins plz edit out the doxxing in the op, for real, but also edit out the inclusion of the cv of zak smith (zak sabbath, a sex criminal)

He might have been required to post the self doxxing etc as part of the court order though?

Dawgstar
Jul 15, 2017

I had a sudden urge to complete my Breakfast Cult collection. I hope you all might do the same.

Polaron
Oct 13, 2010

The Oncoming Storm
I was at GenCon 2017. However, as I'm not a terrible person, I did not set foot in the Circle Center Chik-Fil-A. This unfortunately means I cannot verify whether or not alleged rapist and serial abuser Zak Smith shat his pants there.

I really, really believe he did, though.

Squizzle
Apr 24, 2008




M_Gargantua posted:

He might have been required to post the self doxxing etc as part of the court order though?

yeah and he did. so now its here and the admins can edit it however they want

Serf
May 5, 2011


lmao that graham linehan and china mieville are big-name zak fans

neongrey
Feb 28, 2007

Plaguing your posts with incidental music.

M_Gargantua posted:

The Law doesn't care what you Believe, the law cares about the truth

And I believe the truth that Zak Smith is an abusive pants making GBS threads garbage flesh golem who relies on financial strong arming to cover up for his awfulness

well it's true that he's an alleged rapist, so hey

Agent Rush
Aug 30, 2008

You looked, Junker!

Fuego Fish posted:

The only thing I'll be apologising for in this thread is for not calling Zak S out as a rapist every goddamn day.

Sympathies to Ettin and everyone else being legally targeted by Zak S, serial abuser and rapist.

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neongrey
Feb 28, 2007

Plaguing your posts with incidental music.

Serf posted:

china mieville

also an alleged domestic abuser

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