Notably, he also drew a number of RPG industry folk up to and including Mike Mearls into closing ranks around him several years ago when he was being called out for his noxious behavior, and in doing so openly doxxed and sicced his fanbase on people who were in some cases straight up driven out of the scene and off the internet altogether to make it stop.
There are a lot of comments from 2014 that have aged extremely poorly in this light. (Many of those, to be fair, had at least disowned Zak before this story came to light - even if too late and too quietly to help anyone but themselves.)
In response to the recent news, Mearls put out this statement: https://twitter.com/mikemearls/status/1095486649977384960
Understandably, some people are upset about this non-apology.
A summary of the issue:
Zak Sabbath has long been controversial for being a consistently shitty person online for years. Now it turns out he's also abusive in his personal life.
https://www.reddit.com/r/osr/comments/apcutf/all_those_lies_told_about_zak_sabbath_zak_smith/ (which links to...)
https://bogeymanscave.blogspot.com/2019/02/sharing-mandy-morbids-statement-on-zak-s.html (per the post: Trigger Warning For Sexual And Emotional Abuse)
The relevance to 5e is that he's listed as providing "additional consultation" for the PHB, and Mike Mearls has previously defended him regarding accusations of Zak's shitty behavior (examples with some direct Mearls quotes here: http://archive.is/pi55s).
In response to the recent news above, Mearls put out this statement (non-mobile link of the tweet the submission links to): https://twitter.com/mikemearls/status/1095486649977384960
Understandably, some people are upset about this non-apology.
The allegations which appear very sincere from multiple people are that Mike Mearls essentially aided in Zak Harrassing people. He would ask for receipts of Zak's behavior, and when his victims got in touch with Mike, Mike would send the info over to Zak so that Zak would know exactly which of his victims aren't being good and quiet. Mike also lied about exchanges "I ask for proof and suddenly everyone shuts up" is something he actually said (paraphrasing slightly, don't want to go to twitter and find the exact quote), despite the fact that multiple people definitely got in contact with him. People were not shutting up when he asked for proof.
when his victims got in touch with Mike, Mike would send the info over to Zak so that Zak would know exactly which of his victims aren't being good and quiet.
To clarify, I wouldn't say this was Mearls' motivation in doing so, but it was essentially the ultimate outcome. Hanlon's razor and all.
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Sounds like you both went into it lying to eachother, and now it's falling apart because the truth about his campaign/your character is coming out.
Sounds like you both went into it lying to eachother
Eh?
OP started by telling the truth:
I told him that I don't enjoy playing evil characters
And the DM explicitly lied, and even admitted he did:
He told me that he lied to me (and only me btw) because he knew I didn't like evil campaigns
Only one of the two seems to be lying, and it ain't OP.
I set about making my character, an adorable Chaotic Neutral (though in reality she's more chaotic good) Kobold Ranger called Meepo.
In a campaign described as evil-adjacent sounds like an attempt at deception for self-satisfaction at the cost of DM and party enjoyment to me.
...Did you read the sentence before that?
He said the campaign would be mostlyy revolving around heists and other such daring criminally ambiguous activities. I set about making my character, an adorable Chaotic Neutral (though in reality she's more chaotic good) Kobold Ranger called Meepo. Meepo's only real motivation in terms of the main plot is to get lots of shinies and make a little hoard for herself.
OP's Meepo sounds like a perfect character for a heist-based campaign that is explicitly stated to not be evil. The DM presumably knew what sort of character OP was making, given that he deliberately misled OP about it. The DM also said, after revealing he lied:
we had a conversation in which he said he's going to try and make Meepo turn evil one way or another, or kill her off for dramatic effect since most of my other party members really like her.
This is just extraordinarily shitty behavior by the DM, not just as a DM, but as a person - it's an attitude of "you like this thing so I want to ruin it for you, and I will lie to you to make it happen". At no point during this post would I blame the OP... Except maybe OP's decision to go back to playing with this awful person despite the DM's previous actions.
Then why did Mearls invest so much media coverage into it?
He... didn't? Besides the UA years ago, he's been tinkering with it in his Happy Fun Hour streams - but as Jeremy Crawford has repeatedly stated, HFH is just "design exploration", and to show off "what the spitballing phase of game design can be like". It doesn't imply any of it will ever be officially published, though some ideas that first appear there might later see UA and be published, like the Order Domain cleric.
https://twitter.com/JeremyECrawford/status/1024813436377522176
https://twitter.com/JeremyECrawford/status/1043149630488236032
https://twitter.com/JeremyECrawford/status/1089301307830071301
I get the feeling this means they’ve decided to dedicate more to psion stuff. I bet the source book that has it will be like a Xanathars with the new class plus psion sub classes for almost every class.
I imagine that if they do release something Dark Sun-related, the psion will likely be related to that. Though they could just as easily release it as part of something else.
Hmm, but I come to the table to play a game, not to watch an improv show.
I think that players should be encouraged to use their brain to play the game, and if you go into it with a "yeah, just say whatever and it'll work out" mindset, you've drained both the stakes of the situation, as well as any reason for the players to engage on an analytical level with the challenge you've presented to them.
If you want to play freeform improv games, then by all means do so. I'm just a bit annoyed when your players then come to the table I play at with the preconception that the game should be infinitely permissive.
That's... the point OP is making.
(I mostly say this because you start your comment with "but" as if you're disagreeing with OP.)
Somebody hasn't watched 'Another', it seems.
The best unintentional comedy.
| EPISODE | DIRECTED BY | TELEPLAY BY | ORIGINAL AIRDATE |
|---|---|---|---|
| S02E14 - "calaMity" | TBA | TBA | Tuesday, February 12, 2018 9:00/8:00c on Fox |
Episode Synopsis: When one of the Inner Circle goes missing, Reeva intensifies security in their compound, but realizes that her plans may have already been exposed. Furious and paranoid, Reeva resorts to violence. Caitlin and Reed consider using the serum to restrict Lauren's use of her powers, hoping it will help her as she wrestles with nightmares about the Inner Circle and her ancestors. And it's the battle of two extreme ideologies when the Morlocks and the Purifiers come face-to-face in battle.
| EPISODE | DIRECTED BY | TELEPLAY BY | ORIGINAL AIRDATE |
|---|---|---|---|
| S02E14 - "calaMity" | TBA | TBA | Tuesday, February 12, 2018 9:00/8:00c on Fox |
Episode Synopsis: When one of the Inner Circle goes missing, Reeva intensifies security in their compound, but realizes that her plans may have already been exposed. Furious and paranoid, Reeva resorts to violence. Caitlin and Reed consider using the serum to restrict Lauren's use of her powers, hoping it will help her as she wrestles with nightmares about the Inner Circle and her ancestors. And it's the battle of two extreme ideologies when the Morlocks and the Purifiers come face-to-face in battle.
Eight-Year Club
Spared
