Dwarrowdeep!

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Hmmm...only 2022. I could have sworn that whole thing was several years old.

I guess it just feels like a 2020 lockdown kind of thing.
 
FWIW, I've been running a pretty intense campaign in and around Dwarrowdeep for about 3-4 months now (weekly sessions), and we are having a blast. The several entry ways each represent their own normal-scale dungeon, which can either be looted as per SOP or bypassed to find access to the deep interior, which is truly vast and complicated. I really enjoy the sense of risk and mystery the players are feeling when they move around far underground. It is easy to find yourself days from the surface, quite tangled up with respect to mapping and directions, and sensing you have got a number of quite dangerous enemies in different directions. This is what dungeons are supposed to feel like but often don't deliver on.
 
If this fucker wasn't forcing his students to buy copies of his books for classes he teaches I might look into it harder.

First rule of Fight Club Sceptics club is, is the original assertion even true? To be the Devils Advocate, are what some of these Students asserting even true?

I see many students have posted 'reviews' of him at Rate my Professor https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1109935

But I still find it hard to believe he would get away with forcing students to leave reviews of his Game Books. I could see making it a 'required textbook' which is ok I guess, though a PDF should be fine these days in the modern digital age. I can't imagine any University Administration that would be ok with an employee of theirs 'forcing' students to write positive reviews of a Instructors book. But hell who knows the truth of it.

I also wonder, reading the negative reviews how much of this is down to the change in culture as a whole and what modern students expect from a Uni level course and how they expect to be treated, vs an older Gen X I assume Instructors expectation of what their course will consist of and require.


.
 
For content, here is a RPGGeek thread that delves deeper, and has links to sources. It looks as though the students are, indeed, telling the truth.

 
On one hand, some of the student reviews on RMP push my buttons, e.g.

"Assigns tons of readings each class and not clear on what we should expect for exams/essays. The course was made up of four exams; each timed. Expects you to have a flawless essay written in less than four hours without providing the topic."

Aww diddums! Did nasty man make you sit an exam and not even tell you in advance what the questions were?

However, I consider forcing the students to buy his book new and review it to be shocking practice, and definitely in a different league from setting a prof's own textbook as the course book, which is shady enough.

Sometimes there just isn't somebody to support.

Bottom line for me is I can't see myself being able to enjoy his stuff, no matter how good it is, knowing this is going on.
 
First rule of Fight Club Sceptics club is, is the original assertion even true? To be the Devils Advocate, are what some of these Students asserting even true?

I see many students have posted 'reviews' of him at Rate my Professor https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1109935

But I still find it hard to believe he would get away with forcing students to leave reviews of his Game Books. I could see making it a 'required textbook' which is ok I guess, though a PDF should be fine these days in the modern digital age. I can't imagine any University Administration that would be ok with an employee of theirs 'forcing' students to write positive reviews of a Instructors book. But hell who knows the truth of it.

I also wonder, reading the negative reviews how much of this is down to the change in culture as a whole and what modern students expect from a Uni level course and how they expect to be treated, vs an older Gen X I assume Instructors expectation of what their course will consist of and require.


.
OMG, look at those reviews, though. If those are actual students, wow. Those are amazingly terrible reviews.

Including, yes:

"He forces students to praise him and his poorly written book. The book to which he makes mandatory to have so he makes money off the students he fails"
and
"Absolute bonkers individual. Forces you to buy his poorly written RPG books for the class and gets narcissistic injuries when you don't tell him they're amazing works of fiction and god's gift to mankind. Man's head is far up his rump. Only take this professor if you know how to suck up to an oblivious narcissist. Free credits at that point."
and
"He cares more about the formatting and grammar of the book reviews of his own textbooks (which you must provide a unique receipt for or else you get a 0% on either of his two 40% book review essays."

But how possible is it, that these might be fake reviews from gamers rather than his actual students?
 
But how possible is it, that these might be fake reviews from gamers rather than his actual students?
Definitely worth considering the possibility and part of me wants it all to be made up because his product does seem to be good.

But Gillespie himself posted in that RPGGeek thread and doesn't deny it, which makes me think it's probably true.

Admittedly it might not really be Gillespie posting, but the implication is so damaging that if it was faked, surely somebody would have told him and he would have got the mods to take it down or at least posted his own clarification.

Plus the way he engages with less than glowing reviews on drivethru is sad.
 
I talk some shit about grogs and the OSR. But, there is so much quality content out there that you can pick and choose who you support and still have plenty of options. So there's that, I guess.
 
But how possible is it, that these might be fake reviews from gamers rather than his actual students?
I was wondering that myself, sour 'political' grapes stuff.

Plus the way he engages with less than glowing reviews on drivethru is sad.

I'd forgotten about that, that is his replies on drivethrurpg. Now that I think more about it I emailed him way back about a possibility for a discount to the cost of the revamped Barrowmaze book since I backed his original 2 book version. His reply was haughty and abrupt to say the least.

I do really like his work and the art he uses is top notch old school stuff, but he does seem to have a chip and a big ego on those shoulders.
 
I was wondering that myself, sour 'political' grapes stuff.



I'd forgotten about that, that is his replies on drivethrurpg. Now that I think more about it I emailed him way back about a possibility for a discount to the cost of the revamped Barrowmaze book since I backed his original 2 book version. His reply was haughty and abrupt to say the least.

I do really like his work and the art he uses is top notch old school stuff, but he does seem to have a chip and a big ego on those shoulders.
That's another thing the class reviews say frequently: commenting about his curt/haughty, often one-word, replies to their detailed questions in email, etc.

I'm getting more and more convinced, the more I read.
 
That's another thing the class reviews say frequently: commenting about his curt/haughty, often one-word, replies to their detailed questions in email, etc.

I'm getting more and more convinced, the more I read.
Perhaps his review of the D&D movie will change your mind?
 
Ugh went back and read those student reviews. Mr. Gillespie comes across as an utter scumbag. Now I see why he charges 80$ USD for a PDF.

yeah he’s a jerk. Makes great books, but…
 
Perhaps his review of the D&D movie will change your mind?



I like Greg Gillespie's books and bear no grudge against the man. But this video was utter BS!

- I never liked Tolkien. I appreciate his influence on fantastic literature but his books bored the hell out of me. I remember a $6 TSR novel with better characters.

- I'm the Moorcock guy, so fantastical is what makes me tick.

- The best world for D&D: Dark Sun! Fuck Greyhawk or FR.

- And Star Wars...light is infinite, that makes light sabers a tad unwieldy. And star ships maneuvering as if in drag, sorry.

- And then the axe...yeah, it looks like a $3 prop, but any real axe like this would not be for fighting anyway. What professor are you? I hope not of history!

The point here is: Every fantasy story is fantastical. Some more, some less. The Middle Ages knew no elves or dwarfs (apart from the myths), so arguing how the are supposed to look like is pointless.

The key concept is suspension of disbelieve. Either the story/concept works for you or not. It is pretty obvious, what GG looks for in a fantasy story and he has every right not to like the film. But making his medieval worldview the only viable is not very scientific.

Go back to your Sokrates, Mr. Gillespie.

After 13 min. I was out. My lifetime is to valuable to watch the whole film.
 
I didn't make it past the first few minutes, where he was talking about how Edgin Darvis was feminized because the film showed him knitting or some shit.

Dude was in jail. Ever been to jail? I have. Ain't shit to do.

But, just to take the first few minutes of the video far more seriously than it deserves...

The movie is about -
a ne-'er do well who has abdicated his fatherly duties, who overcomes his own selfishness and irresponsibility to become a protector and provider again.
And quite frankly, I fail to see how "Step up to the plate, dads" is any kind of bad message. The knitting, to my mind, could be symbolic of the difficulties faced by a single man who is trying to be a father to a girl.

Of course, I could just be pulling this all out of my ass, like Greg did.


"The fool sees not the same tree the wise man sees"
-William Blake
 
You guys should’ve watched (or at least skipped) to the end where he gets all righteously indignant and seemingly almost tears up over how this movie doesn’t “have the right” to use Celtic-inspired music and fonts because it’s all about hating and belittling white men, so using elements of “white culture” in support of that is offensive cultural appropriation. I’m sure if called on it he’d say he was being ironic and “just trying to be consistent with what the other side says” but it came off as Jennifer Aniston level bullshit sophistry sufficient to guarantee I will never give this guy any money or give any weight to anything further he has to say on any topic.
 
Well, that was...interesting. While watching this I began to reminisce over the times my DM slipped me ye old Girdle of Femininity/Masculinity. Feminizing male heros has always been a proud D&D tradition. :thumbsup:
 
I didn't make it past the first few minutes, where he was talking about how Edgin Darvis was feminized because the film showed him knitting or some shit.

Dude was in jail. Ever been to jail? I have. Ain't shit to do.

But, just to take the first few minutes of the video far more seriously than it deserves...

The movie is about -
a ne-'er do well who has abdicated his fatherly duties, who overcomes his own selfishness and irresponsibility to become a protector and provider again.
And quite frankly, I fail to see how "Step up to the plate, dads" is any kind of bad message. The knitting, to my mind, could be symbolic of the difficulties faced by a single man who is trying to be a father to a girl.

Of course, I could just be pulling this all out of my ass, like Greg did.


"The fool sees not the same tree the wise man sees"
-William Blake
Hehe, reminds me of the movie Demolition Man.

1683401669490.png

I need to listen to the video, sounds like Greg's kinda a dick. :sad: Also, remember per Demolition Man, Taco Bell wins the restaurant wars! Still one of my favorite campy sort of movies with Wesley Snipes just awesome and over the top. lol
 
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