Since itās Black History Month, Iām making sure you folks know about Mike Pondsmith.
Mike designed, amongst other things, Cyberpunk 2020 and its wonderful spin-off Cybergeneration. He designed the critically-acclaimed Castle Falkenstein. A black man kicked off interest in two incredibly white-dominated genres in a white-dominated hobby is a remarkable achievement.
Which is why it bugs me that I didnāt know he was black until a couple of years ago. I figure the least I can do is make sure other folks know too.
Iām actually kinda angry at the collective hobby for never communicating this to me before now. I recognized his name and of course immediately recognized the games heās designed ā Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0 and Castle Falkenstein are profoundly important and influential works. I donāt think there was much at all in the way of steampunk in the TTRPG world prior to the latterās introduction (and after it came out I remember arguments over whether or not it ācountedā as steampunk).
Mekton 2 was the first time i remember seeing a black dude on a RPG cover
If anything, the OPās description is underselling Mike Pondsmithās influence.
The guy is single-handedly responsible for creating enormous chunks of the tabletop roleplaying hobby: from Mekton, the first giant robot RPG; to the Urusei Yatsura-inspired Teenagers from Outer Space, the first anime style slice-of-life RPG; tothe above-cited Cyberpunk, the first cyberpunk RPG; and even to Castle Falkenstein,
which is often labeled a steampunk RPG, but is more properly considered as one of the foundational works of the then-nascent gaslamp fantasy genre.
In a just world, the name Pondsmith would be spoken in the same breath as Gygax and Arneson – heās Kind of a Big Deal!
Reminder not to support the Salvation Army who are a bunch of bigots
Itās ironic that they think being pro LGBTQIA is a āThreat to their fundraising effortsā when the fact is I would NEVER donate a single penny of my money to any group, person or organisation that wasnāt 100% pro LGBTQIA and supportive of the rights and freedoms of LGBTQIA people
The Salvation Armyās bullshit makes certain that I will NEVER waste my money donating to their shitty little organisation because I am not going to give my money to worthless filth like them
Also sick, Apparently the Valparaiso, IN Salvation Army had Aryan Brotherhood members (in full attire) bellringing for them on Black Friday.
Hereās your annual reminder not to give to the Salvation Army, and before a single one of you saysĀ ābut they do good workā here is ALSO your reminder that THOUSANDS OF OTHER CHARITIES THAT DONāT THINK GAY PEOPLE SHOULD DIE would also gladly accept your donations, often dozens or hundreds in your local region alone. Your options are neverĀ ābigots or nothingā.Ā