There’s just something about Roleplaying games that means they sometimes lead to the most entertaining drama – always over either the most trivial or ridiculously high stakes things.
It’s tricky to talk about the other antics that nuTSR got up to directly afterwards, because I don’t have access to the primary sources. I didn’t get access to a copy of Dungeon Crawl, I didn’t got to TSR Con (I’ve never even been to Wisconsin).
But, they were products of TSR LLC and well, they’re more interesting to talk about that the weird rebinds of classic books that they had made,
These were not a terrible idea but:
Featured the infringing trademark (as well as typos); and
Only available by “making a pilgrimage” to the Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum (and hoping that it happened to be open on that day); and
Were massively overvalued by the shop who wanted $650 US a piece for them1Justin LaNasa as Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum (29 March 2022) Facebook <www.facebook.com/RPGANONYMOUS> 📸
Now, just to be clear – it is perfectly legal to rebind old books and sell them in the USA, it’s called the First Sale Doctrine. Ordinarily, including the trademark of the original publisher would also be mostly viable. It is not, however a good idea to do this while also trying to pass yourself off as the owner of said trademark, and the divine heir to all its good will.
To the best of my knowledge they never sold a single one of these.
I say allegedly because from my observations it seems Jim stopped working on it in 2022 at latest, the product I read didn’t really mesh with the way it was described by Jim (videos now deleted) or the session he did on a video call, supposedly covering the opening of the module.
Much like Tuskaloosa’s Reckoning it seems the primary authors are Stephen Erin Dinehart IV,(Dinehart) and a collection of video cards running a Large Language Model. Almost none of it is connectable to Jim’s video call playthrough, and that which is has been re-written to become unrecognizable for those familiar with Jim’s work.
The product seems to be an attempt to do a soft re-launch of GiantLands, but to make it focused around the co-released Tuskaloosa’s Reckoning with no real connection to the events, characters or ideas in that novel. There are surface level references, but nothing about the core plot of aliens invading, destroying sacred places to steal the Ley energy or even Gaea and her champions.
In fact, it creates a weird alternative version where characters like Dinehart’s own self-insert can only be understood as having just idly sat by and watched it all happen from their ivory tower, and undermines the significance of the Jim Ward insert.
This review is from the hardback copy of GiantLands: The Broken Road (The Broken Road)3 James M. Ward & Stephen Erin Dinehard IV “GiantLands: The Broken Road” (Wonderfilled Games via Amazon Print-On-Demand, Lake Geneva WI, 2025) I ordered on 30 November 2025. It is, hopefully, the final part of the GiantLands Saga.
It was accompanied with an announcement of a book, Tuskaloosa’s Reckoning, full title: Tuskaloosa’s Reckoning: The Sun Sword : Book One… or I suppose:2 Stephen Erin Dinehart IV Tuskaloosa’s Reckoning: The Sun Sword (15 November, Wonderfilled Inc, Amazon Print on Demand) (Tuskaloosa’s Reckoning)
Nothing says close friend and collaboration by changing Jim’s middle initial to match Dinehart’s… or something. Also, mandatory “graphic design is my passion” joke.
Now, predictably after years of Dinehart bragging that his products would never be digitized, and would only be sold via master craftspeople using American products he picks himself etc… it seems they are just being sold via Amazon print-on-demand and the novel is available on Kindle. So, while I wait for The Broken Road to be delivered, I figured I’d read the book.
At the time I purchased it, it has 1 review giving it 5 stars.
I however, am, at this stage—the foremost GiantLands scholar alive. So, let’s get into what is is, and is it worse than the AI slop nuTSR put out. Spoilers ahead.
So, after GiantLands 1st Edition1 James M. Ward & Stephen E. Dinehart GiantLands 1st Edition (Wonderfilled Inc, Wisconsin USA, December 2021) (also known as “GiantLands, the only edition”) was released, it only had 1,000 units (again, 1,000% of the amount promised in the Kickstarter).
What next for this exclusive limited edition?
As a note, this has gotten trickier to report on as in June 2025, Dinehart had another meltdown – this time provoking the far-right audience he’d cultivated and ended up nuking most of his public facing posts and accounts. So I’ll have to be relying on screenshots, notes and memory from here on.
“A project of remarkable vision” according to the project proposer.
Wisconsin receives an average of 40+ inches of snow per year, with higher snowfalls in particular areas – not exactly a place that’d be create for pseudo-Mayan/Aztec/Inca fusion architecture that was designed for the tropics.
But, by far the weirdest thing about this is its not clear what the vision is. This doesn’t seem to be a specific location, so the overall layout etc isn’t really clear if its a proposed layout, or a sort of conceptual depiction. There’s also no way to know what the attractions are supposed to be. Is the arena for shows or do you go to fight?
As part of his quest to try to prove that he was someone who should be listened to and treated as an authority in table top role-playing games (“TTRPGs”), and push the owner’s deplorable politics into the space, TSR LLC and associates (“NuTSR”) tried to create a rating system. They way he did it was a very funny chapter in the TSR Saga.
Game Rating in the USA
Justin is a yankee who cosplays as a southerner, which is to say that he is an American who seems to only really be aware of systems and politics within the USA. To what degree he is aware of these is highly debatable, but he wanted a career in politics and so it seems intuitive that he’d base a rating system off those in the USA.
As much as fans of various TTRPGs love to talk about the Satanic Panic of the 80s, the real impact on media in the US came from the video games scares in the early 90s. In response to see growing pressure for a legal solution, major players in the video game space formed the Entertainment Software Rating Board (“ESRB”) and committed to having their games rated through it.
The ESRB is a non-profit that relies upon fees for doing the rating to continue to sustain itself, and the expectation is they will maintain consistent standards and retailers will promote these and handle the products appropriately. It is legally recognized in Canada, but there’s no real interference. This is in contrast to places like Australia where a government board issues ratings, and can refuse to classify a product – thus barring it from retail sale or requiring it to be altered in ways that are frequently baffling.
Unsurprisingly the approach by nuTSR was to emulate the ESRB’s model, if you can call copy-paste then vandalizing emulating. Quality was not a priority, as showcased by this hilariously janky images for the ratings:1 TSR LLC “The TSR Rating Meter” TSR Hobbies (Wisconsin USA, Archived: 30 May 2023) <https://web.archive.org/web/20230530023350/https://tsr-hobbies.com/tsr-hobbies-rating-meter>
Graphic Design Is My Passion (Yes, he managed to lose the dot in the “i” in one fo them)
Let’s talk about their, now historic, “products”, or at least the ones I have access to. Starting with The Cult of Abaddon (2022) by Vincent “The Evil Dungeon Master” Florio with “input and ideas from” Ernie Gygax (credited as Ernest G. Gygax Jr, a truly baffling representation).3 Vincent Florio The Cult of Abaddon (TSR LLC, Lake Geneva WI, 2022)
It proclaims to be an Old School Renaissance (“OSR”) adventure module published by TSR Hobbies (and “TSR-Hobbies”), suitable for entry level characters. It is one of the few products to few the TSR Rating Meter which specifies it as suitable for ages 10+. 4Vincent Florio The Cult of Abaddon, above n 3, at back cover
As is customary for these kind of products, it doesn’t specify a particular system that it works for – but there is generally an assumption that it’s for Basic Dungeons & Dragons (“BXD&D“), Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (“AD&D“), AD&D Second Edition or some system adapted to replicate this. So you’re not actually saying it’s Dungeons & Dragons (“D&D“) but everyone knows that’s what you mean.
I obtained my copy via Lulu during the brief window when Vincent was selling it as a pdf – making it direct competition with nuTSR’s print only (which never seems to have shippped). So, I guess that makes me one of the foremost scholars on this work, and that’s probably for the best.
While nowhere near as bad a the Star Frontiers: New Genesis “beta”, its extremely amatuer in content and design – reading very much like an early draft by a hobby creator who normally is the only one to read their own work, and assures themselves they’re too genius to need second drafts.
The first paragraph has run on sentences, random use of ampersand (“&”) instead of typing “and”, and random capitalization. It then goes on to explain, with this level of sloppiness and inconsistency, that the title is quite misleading as the party will not have any meaningful interactions with Abaddon or really learn anything meaningful other than they’re bad and doing bad things.
When this was first announced, I noted there it was kind of worrying that they’d decided to use Abaddon, a name from Jewish folklore, in a story about a cult poisoning water supplies, particularly when combined with the less well known “red hand” symbols. Naturally the author denied he was anti-semitic, volunteered his wife was jewish, etc and while I’m personally not convinced but will concede that nothing in the work or his response indicates he was aware of these. Rather he seems just ignorant and too lazy to check anything. Of course, you can be lazy, ignorant and antisemitic so – I encourage you to use your own judgement.
Then it gets worse. Also spoilers ahead, but I sincerely doubt anyone reading this will ever be interested in playing it anyway.
Disclaimer: The unreleased Star Frontiers: New Genesis product written by Justin LaNasa and Dave Johnson is not sanctioned by Wizards of the Coast (“WotC”) or any person involved with the original TSR Inc. It is entirely the product of hate monger grifters with no noteworthy connection to the history of Dungeons & Dragons (“D&D”) and role-playing games in general. The trademark that was registered for it has been cancelled.1 US Trademark #90276506 <https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=90276506&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch> and ownership purchased by WotC through the bankruptcy proceedings. The game itself was not listed as an asset, so theoretically still belongs to someone. However it is, in all likelihood, never going to be released beyond the “playtest” versions.
Also, this is will be heavily cited in all matters relating to the product, specifically because Justin LaNasa initiated at least two legal actions against his critics (including a Harmful Digital Communication Act complaint against me)
Content warnings: This is a deplorable product made by deplorable people, to do the discussion justice requires the discussion of slavery, sexism, anti-black racism, white supremacy, Nazi ideologies such as eugenics and truly terribly bio-essentialism.
Before TSR LLC went into bankruptcy, and the Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum closed, thus essentially guaranteed that WotC would prevail in court – it had a product in the works that was baffling on so, so many levels it defies simply summary.
It was a product that got them noticed and invited into communities for one of TSR Inc’s classic but less well known games. It was a game that initially led people to believe they must have obtained all the proper licensing etc.
That game was Star Frontiers: New Genesis, a game which was announced both as a reboot, and as a spiritual successor, and as a sequel, and so, so many things. Initially it was pitched as being completely legitimate – then as a sort of protest product that seemed to go against everything the original stood for.
It was never released, and as the fate of nuTSR becomes both clearer, and darker – it becomes evident that it never will be – all we have to go off is rumours, and court filings. So, let’s have a look at what (allegedly) might have been:
Throughout out the TSR Saga, there have been many reporting on it – doing varying avenues and degree of investigating. One of those was the proprietor of the Tenkar’s Tavern web presence… who we’ll refer to as Tenkar (who is an old D&D character of his, of course).
Background
Tenkar is a long time player of D&D who has a general interest in role-playing games, which he primarily expresses through his website, Tenkar’s Tavern and the connected YouTube Channel. He is also a former Internal Affairs officer with the New York Police Department and a big advocate for OSR. He also (like everyone) injects his politics and his personal opinions in there, but for the most part here’s what you need to know:
Tenkar did a lot of videos covering the various mistruths and questionable claims of the nuTSR crowd, sometimes with accompanying blog posts writing things up and linking to relevant information.
Tenkar has a lot of opinions on old school games styles, often making videos to discuss the idea of playing now vs then, talking about the principles of OSRIC, etc.
Tenkar also made a consistent effort over the years to expose people trying to grift or otherwise exploit the nostalgia for old school gaming. Ken Whitman, for example, has featured frequently and generally in an unflattering manner since at least as far back as October 2014.1 Tenkar A WTF are They Thinking!?! Kickstarter – Castles & Crusades: Blacktooth Ridge (T.V. Pilot) (3 October 2014) <www.tenkarstavern.com>
Tenkar is wary of the pitfalls of commentary, and takes steps to prepare his receipts and evidence in advance – and to always show the material he’s using to substantiate his opinions.
Tenkar’s long involvement with the hobby, conventions and the history of the hobby have made him quite well networked within the niche hobby.
Naturally this did not bode well for Justin LaNasa, the Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum or the nuTSR crowd in general.
Edit: Apologies to those who struggled through the initial release, and thank you to those who pointed out the many issues in it, will continue to try to tighten them up and cut back on my ellipses addiction.
Touted by Stephen Erin Dinehart IV as his role-playing game based on his unique vision of the world, but also written entirely by James M Ward (“Jim”)1 Wikipedia James M Ward <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_M._Ward> as a kind of Native American themed, spiritual successor to Gamma World2 James M Ward & Gary Jaquet Gamma World (TSR Inc, Lake Geneva WI, 1978) – the original release of GiantLands was also modelled off the White Box3 Wikipedia Dungeons & Dragons (1974) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons_(1974)> release of Dungeons & Dragons.4 Gary Gygax & Dave Arneson Dungeons & Dragons (TSR Inc, Lake Geneva WI, 1974)
Dinehart regularly claims (incorrectly) to be the inventor of Narrative Design and a great master in game design space, but routinely avoids taking responsibility for not working to smooth out any issues in his game.
If you’ve found this via my write up of the GiantLands Saga, or anything connected to that – then you’re most likely already aware that the game is bad – but curious as to all the ways it is and if there’s tiny gems of goodness among the rotting debris. Also, since the game comes in three booklets I’ll be citing them separately.
The basis for the setting is that the upon re-awakening or reaching her breaking point, the spirit of the world as we know it ends the world as we know it – killing everyone as punishment for our misdeeds toward nature and creating a fresh start known as “The Great Reset”. It encourages the Spirit Keeper (who runs the game) to imagine how their world might look after such an event, but also with underground bunkers and alien spacecraft.6 James M Ward & Stephen E Dinehart GiantLands: Keepers Guide (Wonderfilled Inc, Lake Geneva WI, 2021) at 4
This results in the return of giants, not simply big humanoids but beings of immense supernatural power. As well as a new kind of human… and also robots, aliens, star ports… and all kinds of wild nonsense that never really gets explained. It’s also weirdly inconsistent – Sapiens are introduced to the players a new type of humanoid (capable of living 200 years)7 James M Ward & Stephen E Dinehart GiantLands: Spirits Guide (Wonderfilled Inc, Lake Geneva WI, 2021) but in the Keepers Guide says they were created in the 1st Age “to rival the Giants” and appear to have been present as “humans” in every age since.8Keepers Guide, at n 6, at 16 – 17
So Wonderfilled Inc’s 2022 effectively started with the release of their flagship game, GiantLands, a time of celebration and one that sets the standard for any new game publisher.
It didn’t go very well.
Issues seemed to include that overseas and Kickstarter orders go low priority, that there was a some bad weather which jeopardized delivery windows for the first rounds and… well, the reception was not great.
Also yeah… do not expect any consistency in capitalization of Giantlands vs GiantLands from Wonderfilled… the branding experts. It drives me nuts too… but this is just how they are.
