Far West 12th Anniversary

Best Selling RPGs - Available Now @ DriveThruRPG.com
Well, the generational tangent was about admitting when you are wrong, not apologizing. Inability to admit when you are wrong means that when you dig yourself into a hole, you often keep digging or at least have to keep living in that hole for awhile.

As for apologies, I agree that they are a matter of social etiquette, but that doesn't mean they have no value. Sure, there are times they will be effective and times that they won't or will even make things worse, but they are a powerful social option. People that are incapable of apologies have less social options. And good luck to them if they ever have to spend time in Japan.

It is also important to remember that apologies can be slow acting as well. You can apologize to someone and only get anger back at the time, but after the person has time to cool off, the apology can register. At that point, they can get over their grievance.

They also don't require the offended party to accept them to have value. Looking at it from a Machiavellian perspective, they have value if most people in your social circle believe in your sincerity. If those people buy your apology, the offended party goes from being the object of sympathy to being the annoying person that won't let things go. "Jeez, he apologized. Can't we just get on with things?" It's not a use of apologies that I particularly endorse, but I've seen it used a lot.

There are certainly times an apology won't help, and being someone that always apologizes is a social flaw in itself, but being able to deploy apologies effectively is an enormous benefit both personally and professionally.

I was a manager for a long time and definitely encountered those who use apologies as an escape hatch from actual personal responsibility. It was definitely of the ‘geez, I apologized, what else do you want from me?’ school.

It took me a while to figure out what exactly was going on with their constant apologies until I read someone define what a sincere apology is: first the apology, acknowledging the impact the mistake had on others and then presenting/proposing a solution so it won’t happen again.

Without that last part an apology can just be an excuse to continue to do the same thing they are apologizing for again and again.
 
Last edited:
OK, so he worked on Doctor Who (presumably Cubicle 7's) and Modiphius Star Trek.

I have a fair number of Doctor Who books. For the new Star Trek I only have the core rulebook and the GM screen.

So, can anyone point to something in those that he's written? Does anyone know?

Edit: I'm kind of morbidly curious to see what his writing style is like. The only things I've ever seen that I can identify as his are his postings on messageboards. And, being as charitable as possible, it's difficult to say much about his writing style from that.
There's no way to know. Publishers won't say and he certainly won't.
 
So I was talking to a friend of mine who isn't really super into the RPG scene. I regale him with stories of Far West, because I find it entertaining as fuck.

He likes novelty t-shirts.

He found this.


This is wonderful. I almost wish I swung both ways just so I'd have an excuse to buy this.

Fuck, I need this. It's such a bizarre intersection of interests and lifestyles that is so specific to me that it just makes me laugh.
 
This is exactly the situation in which a narcissist would apologize, to make you, the offended, look bad. Hence it's best to ignore a narcissist's wish to apologize to you, or just hear his apology without reacting to it, staring blankly at a point on the horizon.

It's a move that works best when the person pulling it is already surrounded by a fan club of people who are going to side with them anyway, and narcissists love having hangers-on.
OK, so he worked on Doctor Who (presumably Cubicle 7's) and Modiphius Star Trek.

I have a fair number of Doctor Who books. For the new Star Trek I only have the core rulebook and the GM screen.

So, can anyone point to something in those that he's written? Does anyone know?

Edit: I'm kind of morbidly curious to see what his writing style is like. The only things I've ever seen that I can identify as his are his postings on messageboards. And, being as charitable as possible, it's difficult to say much about his writing style from that.
I think he did one of the Savage Worlds books that he put out on his own was called Two-Fisted Tales. It was pretty good.
 
Once again, glad I dodged that shitstorm. Looks like an unmitigated disasters. At worst, I've only backed somewhat mitigated disasters (the worst being Shadowlands, which is finally delivering on content now that my interest in Pathfinder is almost gone).
 
He has written under a pseudonym for Modiphius which they then removed from PDFs when it was discovered. This was because they promised only to accept work from him if he released Far West but went ahead anyway. Tenkar’s Tavern has all the details in one of its posts.
 
It took me a while to figure out what exactly was going on with their constant apologies until I read someone define what a sincere apology is: first the apology, acknowledging the impact the mistake had on others and then presenting/proposing a solution so it won’t happen again.

My problem is, when I present a sincere apology by these terms, stupid motherfuckers don't realize they've already won-- they think an apology is an admission of weakness and an opportunity to get some free shots in... and then they're surprised when they snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

I do not fucking like people.
 
He has written under a pseudonym for Modiphius which they then removed from PDFs when it was discovered. This was because they promised only to accept work from him if he released Far West but went ahead anyway. Tenkar’s Tavern has all the details in one of its posts.

I'm still trying to work out the thought process on that one. If they promised they weren't going to hire him, couldn't they have just hired literally anyone else? And... if they really wanted to hire him that badly, for personal reasons most people would sympathize with, why would they court this fan backlash by lying about it?

I mean, honestly, if I did not personally dislike the man, I would see his professional situation and I would want to help.
 
He has written under a pseudonym for Modiphius which they then removed from PDFs when it was discovered. This was because they promised only to accept work from him if he released Far West but went ahead anyway. Tenkar’s Tavern has all the details in one of its posts.
I work for a notary and attorney service that does this sort of thing all the time. They will secure the worst candidates for a job simply because they work cheap and agree to ridiculous conditions. I suspect it is probably the same for GMS.
 
I work for a notary and attorney service that does this sort of thing all the time. They will secure the worst candidates for a job simply because they work cheap and agree to ridiculous conditions. I suspect it is probably the same for GMS.
I think most of the industry doesn't really care about his kickstarter shenanigans. Certainly not over his ability to write. This implies there is something else going on with FW that they think wouldn't apply to session work
 
And... if they really wanted to hire him that badly, for personal reasons most people would sympathize with, why would they court this fan backlash by lying about it?

I believe it was for personal reasons in that Modiphius staff felt that they owed GMS something for the work that he had given them in the past. Given my experiences with Modiphius, I expect the promise was made to divert the heat at the time at the decision, in the hope that it would be forgotten.
 
I think most of the industry doesn't really care about his kickstarter shenanigans. Certainly not over his ability to write. This implies there is something else going on with FW that they think wouldn't apply to session work
Doing freelance work for other people is a lot easier than developing and publishing a whole game. Skarka seeks incapable of running his own business these days, but he is still able to small jobs for others. Makes perfect sense to me.
 
Well, the generational tangent was about admitting when you are wrong, not apologizing. Inability to admit when you are wrong means that when you dig yourself into a hole, you often keep digging or at least have to keep living in that hole for awhile.

True, I was conflating them, a formal contrition is a bit different from simply admitting that you are wrong, I think the conflation itself though is sort of the point I was trying to make: if people are going to take an apology as an admission of guilt or wrongdoing, regardless of it's intended that way, then there is a value in simply not apologizing, even in circumstances where it would be the "polite" thing to do.

In regards simply to a refusal to admit wrong-doing, I've seen no evidence that this is a generation issue, I see it entirely as an issue of fragile egos, and Boomers certainly have nothing close to a monopoly on that.

As for apologies, I agree that they are a matter of social etiquette, but that doesn't mean they have no value. Sure, there are times they will be effective and times that they won't or will even make things worse, but they are a powerful social option. People that are incapable of apologies have less social options. And good luck to them if they ever have to spend time in Japan.

Oh, I'm not saying they have no value, just that the value is applied by the apologee instead of the apologer (Japan is a completely different culture with a strict institutionalized form of social etiquette that doesn't really have a comparison in Western society).

On reflection, I will admit that I am jaded by personal experiences in regards to apologies. Spending enough time around alcoholics, liars, and manipulators, I'm incredibly cynical about apologies. There are things that simply can't be apologized for, once they are done they can never be taken back. And even when that's not the case, when an apology isn't concurrent with an actual change in behaviour, it's just a hollow attempt at appeasement.

But more to the original point I was making, this cuts both ways. If the apologee takes it as an admission of guilt, uses it as something to hold over the apologizor's head, or simply refuses to own their own part and allows the fact that one person was willing to accede some degree of "power" in a dynamic, then they devalue the apology just as much.

But like anything, this is really a case-by-cases basis sort of thing, I can speak in generalities about the subject, but it's kinda meaningless.
 
I don't think it's the end of the world if Modiphius wants to hire GMS to do freelance work, but why hide behind a pseudonym? Whoever decided to use it, whether it was Modiphius or GMS or both, just own up to the fact that you are doing it. It makes it look like they are hiding something by doing so.
 
I don't think it's the end of the world if Modiphius wants to hire GMS to do freelance work, but why hide behind a pseudonym? Whoever decided to use it, whether it was Modiphius or GMS or both, just own up to the fact that you are doing it. It makes it look like they are hiding something by doing so.

To me the thing about GMS is less blowing a KS but more his completely unprofessional behaviour online. You'd think people would realize by now that if someone is an asshole online they are an asshole in RL as well. Why invite that kind of person into your workspace? You will regret it.
 
Let's not forget that the Far West fiasco is not the sole responsibility of GMS. He had a co-developer in TS Luikart, who is now employed by Cubicle 7.


I've long since written off that $75. Heck I don't even have that same Kickstarter account anymore. I don't begrudge him the right to make a living and wouldn't want companies to boycott him or anything. It would be nice to get a mea culpa and an admission of responsibility for the numerous lies told over the years, but I'm not holding my breath for that. I will not personally buy any product he's involved in though. Fool me once and all that.
 
To me the thing about GMS is less blowing a KS but more his completely unprofessional behaviour online. You'd think people would realize by now that if someone is an asshole online they are an asshole in RL as well. Why invite that kind of person into your workspace? You will regret it.
Maybe he's never been an asshole to them, only people who really deserved it...
 
This is exactly the situation in which a narcissist would apologize, to make you, the offended, look bad. Hence it's best to ignore a narcissist's wish to apologize to you, or just hear his apology without reacting to it, staring blankly at a point on the horizon.
One thing that I've seen suggested in teacher training is not responding to an apology with "Ok, that's alright don't worry about it", but rather with "Thank you for apologising, I really don't like it when you do X".

Or, in other words, accepting the apology without excusing the behaviour which led to it.
 
I'm amazed he still gets work in games, but I don't begrudge GMS getting work, even if I think they should at least be honest about it. He still has to live, and hasnt done anything that horrible (except art theft, I really wish our legal system had stricter punishments for that). I know I wouldn't hire someone with his tract record and reputation, but maybe he has friends taking pity on him or he's "reliable" in a way too many freelancers are not.

But he's a fun punching bag because he absolutely deserves it, not because his KS is late, but because he's been a slimy weasel about it from the start
 
As for GMS, I've seen it suggested that the reason he keeps stringing this whole thing along is because admitting it's never going to happen might leave him open to legal action - which can be avoided as long as it appears he's still working on it.

Not sure if that's true.
 
Let's not forget that the Far West fiasco is not the sole responsibility of GMS. He had a co-developer in TS Luikart, who is now employed by Cubicle 7.


I've long since written off that $75. Heck I don't even have that same Kickstarter account anymore. I don't begrudge him the right to make a living and wouldn't want companies to boycott him or anything. It would be nice to get a mea culpa and an admission of responsibility for the numerous lies told over the years, but I'm not holding my breath for that. I will not personally buy any product he's involved in though. Fool me once and all that.
Don’t put the mess on Luikart. He left a long time ago before Skarka vanished for the first time.
 
Let's not forget that the Far West fiasco is not the sole responsibility of GMS. He had a co-developer in TS Luikart, who is now employed by Cubicle 7.


I've long since written off that $75. Heck I don't even have that same Kickstarter account anymore. I don't begrudge him the right to make a living and wouldn't want companies to boycott him or anything. It would be nice to get a mea culpa and an admission of responsibility for the numerous lies told over the years, but I'm not holding my breath for that. I will not personally buy any product he's involved in though. Fool me once and all that.

He got me for $50. I've pretty much written it off too. I don't expect anything, but I do want an apology for my $50. We're unlikely to even see that.

The project was funded so long ago that I doubt he can even get them printed. The project was funded in 2011. Printing costs have only gone up since then. It only gets worse as the years go on.
 
He got me for $50. I've pretty much written it off too. I don't expect anything, but I do want an apology for my $50. We're unlikely to even see that.

Maybe it's because I don't have skin in the game, or maybe it's because this isn't even my first grievance against him, but even as much as I loved the idea of Far West-- I would have backed it heavy if I could have-- I would honestly rather see him admit how thoroughly he fucked everything up than to miraculously make it good in the end.

I think it would be a better outcome for everyone, himself included, than a stillborn game that could not possibly be resuscitated at this point.
 
Last edited:
The project was funded so long ago that I doubt he can even get them printed. The project was funded in 2011. Printing costs have only gone up since then. It only gets worse as the years go on.

I'm still waiting for him to make a PoD of ICONS Team Up. He claimed he couldn't as Drivethru didn't do the dimensions for the line. They have for a few years now (as evidenced by the half dozen books Ad Infinitum have out for the game via Drivethru). That book predates Far West. If he ever does finish Far West, he will probably just go PoD and give people at cost coupons. That's his best option, unless he either hits the lottery or finds a schmuck willing to finance a print run
 
I'm still waiting for him to make a PoD of ICONS Team Up. He claimed he couldn't as Drivethru didn't do the dimensions for the line. They have for a few years now (as evidenced by the half dozen books Ad Infinitum have out for the game via Drivethru). That book predates Far West. If he ever does finish Far West, he will probably just go PoD and give people at cost coupons. That's his best option, unless he either hits the lottery or finds a schmuck willing to finance a print run

That would still obligate him to refund the shipping costs that backers paid at the time that the Pledge Managers went out, though
 
That would still obligate him to refund the shipping costs that backers paid at the time that the Pledge Managers went out, though

Or backers can wait years to get copies as he can afford shipping, like what is happening with Cartoon Action Hour S3.
 
Or backers can wait years to get copies as he can afford shipping, like what is happening with Cartoon Action Hour S3.

Yeah, I assume at this point anyone not screaming for a refund is probably going to be happy with whatever they get

I haven't heard the story of Cartoon Action Hour 3? Anything juicy?
 
Yeah, I assume at this point anyone not screaming for a refund is probably going to be happy with whatever they get

I haven't heard the story of Cartoon Action Hour 3? Anything juicy?

Cynthia had issues getting the PoD copy ready. Before she could, she needed surgery on her hands (she showed me a picture of her hands prior to the surgery. Needless to say, not every backer has gotten copies. She sends out copies every month to a group of people she lists in an update. Some who were sent copies claim they never got theirs. I was in the first mailing, and I got mine, so I haven't kept a close eye on it. However, the delays also delayed the Gallery of Evil KS (a supplement for Capes, Cowls & Villains Foul). The print copy of that isn't out (the pdf is), and there's been radio silence on that one. I got a refund down to the digital level on that one.

A lot of backers are irate that Spectrum (the company) has released 3 rpgs since (none were via KS though), and some outright accused Cynthia of using the money from the KS to finance those. Given the first of those came out 3 years after the KS funded, I highly doubt there was any money left. I've known Cynthia for years, and I don't believe she'd do something like that. I get the anger and frustration though; my own frustration is why I downgraded to the digital level on Gallery of Evil. Some people made insinuations that the situation is as bad as Far West, but given both products have a full pdf out, and one is in print (and Far West was 2 or 3 years before Cartoon Action Hour S3), it isn't. It's still a total clusterf*ck.
 
Cynthia had issues getting the PoD copy ready. Before she could, she needed surgery on her hands (she showed me a picture of her hands prior to the surgery. Needless to say, not every backer has gotten copies. She sends out copies every month to a group of people she lists in an update. Some who were sent copies claim they never got theirs. I was in the first mailing, and I got mine, so I haven't kept a close eye on it. However, the delays also delayed the Gallery of Evil KS (a supplement for Capes, Cowls & Villains Foul). The print copy of that isn't out (the pdf is), and there's been radio silence on that one. I got a refund down to the digital level on that one.

A lot of backers are irate that Spectrum (the company) has released 3 rpgs since (none were via KS though), and some outright accused Cynthia of using the money from the KS to finance those. Given the first of those came out 3 years after the KS funded, I highly doubt there was any money left. I've known Cynthia for years, and I don't believe she'd do something like that. I get the anger and frustration though; my own frustration is why I downgraded to the digital level on Gallery of Evil. Some people made insinuations that the situation is as bad as Far West, but given both products have a full pdf out, and one is in print (and Far West was 2 or 3 years before Cartoon Action Hour S3), it isn't. It's still a total clusterf*ck.
I’ve never quite understood why people who have that problem don’t just take out a small loan to fulfill their obligations and move along. It’d help the long term earning potential and maintain their customer base.

John Adamus is doing something similar on the Noir World campaign (trying to put together money to fix the dropped ball) and it’s just... get it taken care of. Move things along, get on with life.

None of these people are in a John Wick position after all.
 
I’ve never quite understood why people who have that problem don’t just take out a small loan to fulfill their obligations and move along. It’d help the long term earning potential and maintain their customer base.

Maybe they have, and were turned down. Or have one for something else, and can't afford the cost of paying back a second one. I know I couldn't take a loan out if I were in that position, given I am all ready paying one for my condo. There's lots of different factors why someone can't/won't go that route. Without actually know their personal situations, it's way too easy to speculate on what they could do to fix things.
 
Maybe they have, and were turned down. Or have one for something else, and can't afford the cost of paying back a second one. I know I couldn't take a loan out if I were in that position, given I am all ready paying one for my condo. There's lots of different factors why someone can't/won't go that route. Without actually know their personal situations, it's way too easy to speculate on what they could do to fix things.
I guess, but I know I’d sure hell try anything to get it moving in that situation. They’re already in debt. But a bank will happily take installment payments. Trickling content out to backers is just going to lose you money in the long run as your reputation suffers.
 
The fact that Far West hasn't been released in PDF yet suggests that its more than just money. It was suggested that he release a PDF so at least it could make some revenue toward print costs.

It is highly likely that its his attempt to avoid facing claims that he has failed to fulfil the KS.
 
Banner: The best cosmic horror & Cthulhu Mythos @ DriveThruRPG.com
Back
Top