Jaded Gamer Diary - GMS is a dick

I used to be a fan of Gareth Skarka, really I did.  Hong Kong Action Theater was inspired and got me into thinking more towards genre emulation with the game mechanics than just throwing in a generic system for just about everything.  Underworld, while neat, wasn't my thing but it was very well done.  Really enjoyed the MARS stuff he was doing. 

But following him on social media and forums over the years one thing became very clear.  He loathes the people who make up his customer base.  Constantly making fun of nerds and fanboys over and over.  Then his treatment of the backers for his Far West Kickstarter. 

Now he just stepped up a bit more and showed how much he hates the fact that some companies are letting them release material for their systems.

Now besides him trying to wrap it up as 'it hurts you for doing this' it boils down to 'it MAY hurt me making money using your system'.  What is especially ironic is that he seemed to do rather well using the D20 OGL for his stuff for years.  You know that system that anybody could release stuff for.  Which is just like what he is describing as bad.  That movement that helped rejuvenate the hobby that was slumping pretty badly. 

But now, oh no, that is a terrible idea. 

The more I see coming out of him the happier I am that I stopped supporting his products.  Not like it would be hard nowdays looking at how much his company has released lately.  I'm just surprised that more folks aren't throwing up their hands and turning their backs on him.  Especially because no matter how good his stuff is there are others out there releasing material that is just as good AND they aren't being dicks.   


Lost Artifacts of Greyghast A 5e Magic Item Compendium now available in pdf and print at DrivethruRPG.

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