I'm "new" to OSR (maybe been reading about it for the past year or so), and I'm only vagualy familiar with Zak S.

Now that he's being censored, I'm wondering....what is being censored?

I'm just trying to learn more about the "history" of OSR, and also looking for some cool tables or posts when I can find them....not really interested in anyone's personal life.  (If  he did bad things, I don't support those bad things, but I also don't know, just looking for the osr stuff here)

So what are his greatest works?

Zak is persona non grata because he was accused of being a manipulative, abusive a-hole (charges I find quite believable).

His biggest accomplishments are A Red and Pleasant Land and Vornheim. I've personally never found his work interesting and always disliked him personally, but I don't believe he or anyone else should be censored.

Quote from: HappyRogue;1140329So what are his greatest works?

It's not like there are so many books to which he contributed, so:

A Red and Pleasant Land (setting based on a surrealistic variation of Alice in Wonderland with vampires)
Vornheim (weird fantasy city kit)
Frostbitten & Mutilated (setting based on cannibalistic cold-climate Amazons)
Maze of the Blue Medusa ("artpunk" megadungeon with a deep study on how to best use layout to make the book more usable at the table; note that Zak mostly contributed art to this one, as the writing is mostly by Patrick Stuart)
Demon City (modern-day horror RPG; successfully Kickstarted, book has not yet been completed; this is also a book with several people working on it)

In general, Zak's works are of excellent quality but he has a very specific aestethic and you need to grok it, or the books will fall flat for you. I suggest you google his paintings (his "real" work is art), they will give you a good idea of what's going on through his mind.

I've played in a DCC campaign that used both Red And Pleasant Land and Vornheim, lots of fun was had... though being a Player I wasn't clear where the edges were... where we left one setting for another.
As a GM I've only used Vornheim, and no two Vornheims are the same, but I thought it was excellent inspiration for urban adventures.

Maze of the Blue Medusa has a good reputation but I've not seen it in play yet.

Quote from: Simlasa;1140332Maze of the Blue Medusa has a good reputation but I've not seen it in play yet.

Fun but high on the weird factor, and both GMs and players need to embrace the weird.  Being slightly tipsy is not a bad idea.

As a physical object, the hardcover is the single nicest RPG volume I have ever seen.  Solid, well-constructed from quality materials.

I'm into more traditional OSR works.  D&D B/X is my jam.  I do like some of the mechanics found in Lamentations of the Flame Princess, but I've never liked the in your face weird and gross-out horror of the game and its various associated products.  I have zero interest in those aesthetics.

Having said that, I found Vornheim to be awesome.

It seems like his main claim to fame was the "D&D with Porn Stars" series 10 years ago. I feel like that got embraced by the hipster RPG crowd as 'cool' or 'edgy' or something, and then when it turned out that porn stars/stripppers aren't the healthiest role models(who'd of thunk it?) they turned on Zak S hard. I'm not saying he isn't a dirt bag, but I feel like he was purged so hard in part to protect the 'it was a cool scene' vibe.

I have found at the table, with his products and almost all of the LotFP line, you have to be more subtle than the vibe you get from reading it and looking at the art. Horror and weird has always worked best for me when it is wrapped in the mundane.

I separate the art from the artist, and there are some really good ideas and tools to work with.

Quote from: FingerRod;1140360Horror and weird has always worked best for me when it is wrapped in the mundane.

Yeah, that's always the case from what I've seen. I like gonzo, but it needs contrast. Having seen Zak (and Raggi) in games, they're not constantly set to 11 either... but I don't need/want pre-fab adventures focused on the 'normal' stuff that I can easily think of myself... I want that outre inspiration to yank me in new directions.

Quote from: FingerRod;1140360I have found at the table, with his products and almost all of the LotFP line, you have to be more subtle than the vibe you get from reading it and looking at the art. Horror and weird has always worked best for me when it is wrapped in the mundane.

I separate the art from the artist, and there are some really good ideas and tools to work with.

I try to separate the art from the artist but it's difficult for me to do.  I was seriously considering playing Shadow of the Demon Lord, went to Schwalb's website, and saw his self aggrandizing post of the receipt of the donation he made to the bail project and was instantly turned off of playing his game.  I also refuse to use Roll20 because of their woke politics, despite knowing the product itself is good.

Quote from: kidkaos2;1140457I try to separate the art from the artist but it's difficult for me to do.  I was seriously considering playing Shadow of the Demon Lord, went to Schwalb's website, and saw his self aggrandizing post of the receipt of the donation he made to the bail project and was instantly turned off of playing his game.  I also refuse to use Roll20 because of their woke politics, despite knowing the product itself is good.

Greetings!

Welcome to our website!

My salute! Do not feel reticent, or filled with doubt. Your actions concerning not buying from such RPG companies or embracing their corrupt products reflects the fact that you have *CHARACTER* and *PRINCIPLES*--which is awesome! Stand up, and fight back! Resist these wormy fucking Marxists!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Frostbitten & Mutilated is good Hard R dark fantasy with truly vile amazon enemies worthy of fear. Easily portable into Warhammer Fantasy as "Dark Elves in Norsca".  

I haven't run Vornheim as a setting, but I've gleamed much use out of it as a toolkit. It's packed with interesting ideas worthy considering, even if you might not use them. The high value I put on the book is that it's born from actual play, not author musing.

I worked the LA pron industry as an editor in college (3/4 tape baby!), so none of the ZakS drama comes as a surprise to me. His "rise and fall" is very Hollywood, and I'm interested to see what his Act 2 will be, either in the art world or the RPG world.

I ran a great decadent city OD&D campaign using Vornheim for a few years.  I'd recommend it.  It's the kind of book that is useful in play at the table.  If you want a strange countryside/neighboring city states, I'd recommend Yoon Suin by Noisms Games.

Quote from: kidkaos2;1140457I try to separate the art from the artist but it's difficult for me to do.  I was seriously considering playing Shadow of the Demon Lord, went to Schwalb's website, and saw his self aggrandizing post of the receipt of the donation he made to the bail project and was instantly turned off of playing his game.  I also refuse to use Roll20 because of their woke politics, despite knowing the product itself is good.

Roll20 is mostly garbage.  Foundry got released just like a month ago now and is already head and shoulders better than Roll20 as a virtual tabletop and is also a one-time $50 rather than an eternal subscription fee.  I strongly recommend checking them or Fantasy Grounds out over Roll20, as they're both superior products in my opinion.

Quote from: Valatar;1140618Roll20 is mostly garbage.  Foundry got released just like a month ago now and is already head and shoulders better than Roll20 as a virtual tabletop and is also a one-time $50 rather than an eternal subscription fee.  I strongly recommend checking them or Fantasy Grounds out over Roll20, as they're both superior products in my opinion.

Roll20 is awesome if you play 5e.

Foundry is so bloated it's literally not usable with a more simple computer like a chromebook. They tried to do everything with it, making it so that you need a fast PC with a good video card just to use it like it's a video game.