Dave Johnson – A gentleman with opinions

So Justin LaNasa (LaNasa) has released Orcz: Those Pesky Orcz. also titled as Those Pesky Orcs, full title: Those Pesky Orcs: A Game About Vile, Corrupt, Aberrant Creatures By Justin LaNasa¹ (Those Pesky Orcz) and… it’s not very good. In fact, in the time that has passed since its release and my writing this, it has been confirmed it is not just bad, but it is a wrong thing that should not exist.

The evidence of this is that on 19 June 2024, the official Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) channel on YouTube released a 41+ minute video² that briefly features a depiction of orcs as like, a happy people with mixed personalities, and roles, and the old school gamers community collectively shat themselves in disbelief.³

A screenshot of Wonderfilled reposting an X post by "Drunkards and Dragons" (@The_DrunkDragon) 21 June
"It's time to start the trend #DnDIsDead after seeing the new players handbook artwork for Orcs." — Yes, Stephen Erin Dinehart IV also tried to jump on this bandwagon.

There was a torrent of raging Twitter posts (X was called Twitter back then), YouTube videos and all the rest about how this could not be – if orcs were not cartoonishly and ontologically evil, it was not D&D.

But literally nobody pointed to Those Pesky Orcs as an alternative, as a product that supplied a better and more correct explanation. That’s how bad it is.

Now it was taken off the market but it seems that it’s now in this weird situation where 3rd party retailers will sell and also if I try to buy it through Amazon Australia they will try to offer me a Print On Demand copy from the USA.

The product claims to be family-friendly, but I feel the need to provide content warnings for the following things that I personally would not expect in a regular tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG): piss-play (consensual and non-consensual), sexual assault, ritual murder, rape, slavery, and human trafficking.

Oh yeah. Welcome to the final release of the nuTSR saga.

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Justin LaNasa Orcz: Those Pesky Orcz. A Game About Vile, Corrupt, Aberrant Creatures (Adamantite Games, Wilmington NC, 2024) [“Those Pesky Orcz“]
2
“New 2024 Player’s Handbook Reveal | D&D” (19 June 2024) D&D Beyond YouTube <www.youtube.com>
3
Brian Anderson (21 June 2024) Drunkards and Dragons (@The_DrunkDragon) X née Twitter <currently suspended for a rules violation>

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 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:

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US Trademark #90276506 <https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=90276506&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch>

Tag: Dave Johnson

Orcz: Those Pesky Orcz (2024)

Star Frontiers: New Genesis (Unreleased Beta)