Phantasm(2010)

Phantasm(2010) is a grindhouse horror TTRPG pastiche of the best good-bad horror movies of the 70s, 80s, and 90s, with the Phantasm series of films in particular acting as its core mythos. It was nominated for the Best Free RPG ENnie in 2013.

The DicePunk system that received far greater attention from being the engine powering ETG's most successful game, Psionics started here with Phantasm(2010).

Here is the story behind Phantasm(2010) being here $0 or donate and hopefully forever. When we first uploaded the game to DriveThruRPG we were very explicit that it was a derivative fan-game based on various licenses we didn't own and we wanted to give it away for free, not make money off of ideas that weren't ours. DriveThruRPG surprised us when they practically begged us to charge at least something for the game, on the basis of its sheer length and the fantastic job that my ex-partner M. Barree did with the layout. "Consider charging at least a dollar for this" they said. We responded: this is a fanwork and a labor of love that is entirely derived from ideas we didn't come up with and licenses we don't own, so it wouldn't feel right to make money off of it.

Eventually, at some point we switched it to Pay What You Want, which was a model I felt better ethically about, since we were not demanding money for something based on ideas other people made up.

In 2013, Phantasm(2010) was nominated for the ENnie award for Best Free RPG, a pretty huge deal for a tiny two-person company that had only been in business a couple of years. I credit the nomination almost entirely to the amazing layout work by M. Barree. The quality really is incredible, even without taking into account that it was only the second or third project she had EVER laid out!

I think it was in 2014 when some asshole (and I have a very good idea which asshole, but I won't name him right now) ratted us out to DriveThruRPG that the game was a derivative work (something they were, as mentioned above, aware of from the get-go, see above). DriveThru immediately took the game down.

Boy was I pissed! I asked if their policy on derivative works had changed since they had asked us to charge money for this derivative work that we wanted to give away for free that now they weren't even willing to give away for free on their site. They said no, that had always been their policy on derivative works, whether free or not. 

I asked them then, if that was the case, did they plan on refunding the cut that they had made from this derivative product while it was in violation of their own derivative works policy? 

They didn't bother to answer that one. : )

"You try so hard to sell us things that are already ours 
Like the bones in my ears
Like the air in my lungs
That delivers songs whistled carefree ...
So Happy Birthday, sue away!
You feel you're being cheated--it's more that you're not needed
(Isn't it bad enough that I'm whistling a car commercial?)
Your cut is nothing cause I gave it away
Tonight today, now! "
- The World/Inferno Friendship Society, "I Am Sick Of People Being Sick Of My Shit"