Here is the interview with Zak Smith a.k.a. Zak Sabbath, creator of Vornheim, A Red & Pleasant Land, Maze of the Blue Medusa, Frostbitten & Mutilated, 10th Anniversary Death Frost Doom, etc. We talk about his history, art, fantasy novels, TTRPGs, the Satanic Panic, cancel culture, and more at https://youtu.be/Tq7gY06hV-o (https://youtu.be/Tq7gY06hV-o)
Heads up, I do not have a professional sound studio and Zak S. has a bad cold, so please excuse any sound quality issues.
Nice job with the interview, Nik.
It would benefit Zak to continue to do interviews like this and find other ways to push back into the conversation.
I have never met Zak in person, so I cannot say for sure, but I do not imagine we have a lot in common. And I also did not frequent a lot of the places on the web where he rubbed so many people the wrong way, so I also lack that context. But it does not take context or meeting him to recognize the bullshit of his situation.
Thank you. I agree with you. I hope that many others will take the time to interview him as well and help him become uncancelled.
It was a good interview. Worth watching.
Quote from: Mistwell on October 13, 2021, 07:23:08 PM
It was a good interview. Worth watching.
Thank you very much! 👍🏽
Very entertaining.
Also this zak dude is clearly very bright. I might have to check out the red and pleasant land book.
I can see why he and Pundit were consultants for 5e...
I'm glad you enjoyed it. His books are great IMO.
I've moved away from watching videos on YouTube due to their constant unethical behavior. Any chance for Odysee link?
Note: Odysee can automatically mirror all YT content once you set it up.
Quote from: Zelen on October 14, 2021, 01:05:06 AM
I've moved away from watching videos on YouTube due to their constant unethical behavior. Any chance for Odysee link?
Note: Odysee can automatically mirror all YT content once you set it up.
I've never heard of Odyssey, but I'll check it out. 👍🏽
Quote from: Zelen on October 14, 2021, 01:05:06 AM
I've moved away from watching videos on YouTube due to their constant unethical behavior. Any chance for Odysee link?
Note: Odysee can automatically mirror all YT content once you set it up.
Zelen, I signed up for an account, but the sync is going very slow. It is also asking for a code or channel from the person who referred me, so can you share that?
The message says: Did someone invite you to use lbry.tv? Tell us who and you both get a reward! Code or Channel:
Hey, the sync can take awhile. If you are having trouble email hello@lbry.com. Usually the support is pretty quick to respond.
For invite try this (https://odysee.com/$/invite/@zelen:c)
Make sure you share the Odysee channel link here, will be curious to sub & check out the interview.
Cool, well done interview, thanks for doing/sharing this!
Zak's stuff is not my personal style of game, but respect and credit where its due, the guy's efforts and contributions to the hobby are huge.
Great interview. Zak comes across as a reasonable and thoughtful person. I can't decide if my favorite part is when the women in his gaming group said "give me the chain mail bikini and the axe" or when Ettin folded like cheap suit when he faced the judge.
Shitmuffin is an insane, abusive, arrogant, narcissistic assclown, and when he dies, nothing of value will be lost.
Personally I think it would be far better if everyone ignored his pathetic existence, but hey: whatever floats your boat.
Quote from: Zelen on October 14, 2021, 05:13:33 PM
Hey, the sync can take awhile. If you are having trouble email hello@lbry.com. Usually the support is pretty quick to respond.
For invite try this (https://odysee.com/$/invite/@zelen:c)
Make sure you share the Odysee channel link here, will be curious to sub & check out the interview.
Thanks, that worked. It says sync can take up to a week. I'll reach out to support, per your suggestion.
Quote from: shroomster on October 14, 2021, 06:29:45 PM
Cool, well done interview, thanks for doing/sharing this!
Zak's stuff is not my personal style of game, but respect and credit where its due, the guy's efforts and contributions to the hobby are huge.
Thanks. It was my pleasure to be able to do it.
Quote from: Aglondir on October 14, 2021, 08:08:33 PM
Great interview. Zak comes across as a reasonable and thoughtful person. I can't decide if my favorite part is when the women in his gaming group said "give me the chain mail bikini and the axe" or when Ettin folded like cheap suit when he faced the judge.
Thanks. So many quotable quotes from him.
Great interview. I'm definitely a fan of his work. I just wish all that social media drama wasn't thrust in my face every time his name is mentioned.
Quote from: myleftnut on October 14, 2021, 09:52:52 PM
Great interview. I'm definitely a fan of his work. I just wish all that social media drama wasn't thrust in my face every time his name is mentioned.
Thanks. Agreed 💯
I am glad that Zak was allowed to tell his side of the abuse story.
Overall it was an excellent interview.
Quote from: Svenhelgrim on October 15, 2021, 08:39:09 AM
I am glad that Zak was allowed to tell his side of the abuse story.
Overall it was an excellent interview.
Thank you!
I just found the first response video to my interview with Zak Smith at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGlm-75RltE&ab_channel=DmJames (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGlm-75RltE&ab_channel=DmJames)
Quote from: Zelen on October 14, 2021, 01:05:06 AM
I've moved away from watching videos on YouTube due to their constant unethical behavior. Any chance for Odysee link?
Note: Odysee can automatically mirror all YT content once you set it up.
@Zelen, I reached out and the got my account sync'd. Thanks for the suggestion. Here is the link to the same interview with Zak Smith from YouTube now on Odysee:
https://odysee.com/@VhaidraSaga:3/nik-s.-interviews-zak-s.-of-vornheim%2C-a:3?r=2ibDkSwnM6Lbrmtjde33gynYfy6rAzGP (https://odysee.com/@VhaidraSaga:3/nik-s.-interviews-zak-s.-of-vornheim%2C-a:3?r=2ibDkSwnM6Lbrmtjde33gynYfy6rAzGP)If anyone else wants to join Odysee for the reasons Zelen mentioned, you can join them (and possibly sync your videos from YouTube to them) and earn points with this link that gives you points to boost videos:
https://odysee.com/$/invite/@VhaidraSaga:3 (https://odysee.com/$/invite/@VhaidraSaga:3)
It was good to hear that he still gets royalties from his products. I've held off purchasing his stuff because I wasn't sure he'd get the money, but now I know he will, I think it's time for a spending spree.
Did you ask him about his strange cognitive dissonance when it comes to cancel culture? Zak thinks Cancel Culture has gone too far only in as much as he doesn't want it affecting him and people he agrees with. But he's perfectly fine to cancel others to this very day.
(https://kiwifarms.net/attachments/screenshot_20211008-031515_samsung-internet-jpg.2606890/)
I do NOT want people like this at my table or being given any kind of attention.
Quote from: mightybrain on October 16, 2021, 07:21:54 AM
It was good to hear that he still gets royalties from his products. I've held off purchasing his stuff because I wasn't sure he'd get the money, but now I know he will, I think it's time for a spending spree.
Awesome! It is good stuff! 👍🏽
Quote from: King Tyranno on October 16, 2021, 08:24:44 AM
Did you ask him about his strange cognitive dissonance when it comes to cancel culture? Zak thinks Cancel Culture has gone too far only in as much as he doesn't want it affecting him and people he agrees with. But he's perfectly fine to cancel others to this very day.
(https://kiwifarms.net/attachments/screenshot_20211008-031515_samsung-internet-jpg.2606890/)
I do NOT want people like this at my table or being given any kind of attention.
Can you provide your definition of cancel culture?
While I agree his argument is sloppy and conflates two things which have nothing to do with one another, I cannot figure out who is being canceled. It simply looks like a political take I do not agree with.
It is your table, so yes, you get to choose who sits there and I can understand not wanting to share it with someone who might be a political enemy, if you see him that way.
Certainly, you do not feel that other people should use slander, and allegations without evidence, to silence their political enemies? I believe that was one of the main points of the interview.
Quote from: King Tyranno on October 16, 2021, 08:24:44 AM
Did you ask him about his strange cognitive dissonance when it comes to cancel culture?
In the video interview, he brings up others who were cancelled and how we as a community need to stop being so fractured. He also take about his mistakes in the past. But we did not talk politics at all. This was mostly about his amazing at & books, his history, what need to him getting cancelled, and how he is trying to get uncancelled, which could be a roadmap for others who find themselves being cancelled by the Twitter troll mobs that corporations are listening to.
Quote from: FingerRod on October 16, 2021, 08:43:38 AM
Quote from: King Tyranno on October 16, 2021, 08:24:44 AM
I do NOT want people like this at my table or being given any kind of attention.
Certainly, you do not feel that other people should use slander, and allegations without evidence, to silence their political enemies? I believe that was one of the main points of the interview.
Exactly.
Quote from: VhaidraSaga on October 16, 2021, 08:50:41 AM
Quote from: FingerRod on October 16, 2021, 08:43:38 AM
Quote from: King Tyranno on October 16, 2021, 08:24:44 AM
I do NOT want people like this at my table or being given any kind of attention.
Certainly, you do not feel that other people should use slander, and allegations without evidence, to silence their political enemies? I believe that was one of the main points of the interview.
Exactly.
It would be nice. I'm sure Supreme Court Justices Thomas and Kavanaugh appreciate the support. :)
But let's be honest, this tactic works and it works well. And there is no to very little incentive for the people that use it to stop using it when the current system supports their actions. And I'm fine with a fractured gaming community. Like my family, I don't need to get along with everyone or even like em, just coexist. The problem seems to be, some people don't want me or people who think like me to exist at all, let alone my type of gaming. Interesting interview none the less. I hope you do more with others. Pundit maybe...... Bring liquor lol
Quote from: Mind Crime on October 16, 2021, 12:08:40 PM
Quote from: VhaidraSaga on October 16, 2021, 08:50:41 AM
Quote from: FingerRod on October 16, 2021, 08:43:38 AM
Quote from: King Tyranno on October 16, 2021, 08:24:44 AM
I do NOT want people like this at my table or being given any kind of attention.
Certainly, you do not feel that other people should use slander, and allegations without evidence, to silence their political enemies? I believe that was one of the main points of the interview.
Exactly.
It would be nice. I'm sure Supreme Court Justices Thomas and Kavanaugh appreciate the support. :)
But let's be honest, this tactic works and it works well. And there is no to very little incentive for the people that use it to stop using it when the current system supports their actions. And I'm fine with a fractured gaming community. Like my family, I don't need to get along with everyone or even like em, just coexist. The problem seems to be, some people don't want me or people who think like me to exist at all, let alone my type of gaming. Interesting interview none the less. I hope you do more with others. Pundit maybe...... Bring liquor lol
With the positive response that the interview has received, I think I'd like to do more in the future too.
Good to hear. If you do more interviews, would it be themed with rpg people who have been cancelled or faced controversies or would it be people in the rpg world in general?
Quote from: King Tyranno on October 16, 2021, 08:24:44 AM
Did you ask him about his strange cognitive dissonance when it comes to cancel culture? Zak thinks Cancel Culture has gone too far only in as much as he doesn't want it affecting him and people he agrees with. But he's perfectly fine to cancel others to this very day.
(https://kiwifarms.net/attachments/screenshot_20211008-031515_samsung-internet-jpg.2606890/)
I do NOT want people like this at my table or being given any kind of attention.
Good point. This looks more like karma or poetic justice than anything else.
Quote from: Mind Crime on October 16, 2021, 01:07:19 PM
Good to hear. If you do more interviews, would it be themed with rpg people who have been cancelled or faced controversies or would it be people in the rpg world in general?
Probably RPG people in general
Quote from: Mind Crime on October 16, 2021, 01:07:19 PM
Good to hear. If you do more interviews, would it be themed with rpg people who have been cancelled or faced controversies or would it be people in the rpg world in general?
@Mind Crime, I just did a new interview with OSR creator R. Scott Taylor of Art of the Genre who previously worked for TSR and WotC, among other TTRPG companies. You can see it at
https://youtu.be/UaIEG6hDb1g (https://youtu.be/UaIEG6hDb1g)
Quote from: VhaidraSaga on October 21, 2021, 03:26:14 PM
Quote from: Mind Crime on October 16, 2021, 01:07:19 PM
Good to hear. If you do more interviews, would it be themed with rpg people who have been cancelled or faced controversies or would it be people in the rpg world in general?
@Mind Crime, I just did a new interview with OSR creator R. Scott Taylor of Art of the Genre who previously worked for TSR and WotC, among other TTRPG companies. You can see it at https://youtu.be/UaIEG6hDb1g (https://youtu.be/UaIEG6hDb1g)
Watching now. Won't get through it all in one sitting, got an aggravated old lady I am praying I pass my Move Silently and Hide in Shadows rolls. Trust me lads, this is one combat that is better to avoid. Thank you for taking time out of your life to do these.
Edit: Made my morale check instead and was able to go ahead and watch it all. Taylor said something later in the interview about DMing and the week leading up to the game. He didn't expand on it, but it got my wheels turning. I used to enjoy the week leading up to the game, getting ready for it. Now, I barely go beyond preparing a few outlines of possibilities. It's not about time or enjoyment anymore, more along the lines of, the guys I play with are assholes and no matter what you prepare for and how ever many angles, they will make it pointless. Lol. It's become easier to just ad lib and bullshit my way through it.
Also smart that he got his printing done in the states so his products should be on time, unlike printings coming out of China and getting hit by supply chain issues. Enjoyable and lighthearted interview.