The reasons I left CKP - taken down from that blog by Endalyon

For those who may be interested, here is a repost of the reasons why I left Crits Kill People.  Endalyon took down my original farewell post and locked me out of the CKP account.

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Hey, this is Penemue.  I'm the fellow that brought you such articles as a rundown on the Bane band, a criticism of the alleged "uselessness" of certain weapons, and a laundry list of roles that players misunderstand when they play Infinity.  I've been part of Crits Kill People since the start, when Tevesh suggested we start a blog that would become an authority on Batman and rival all the other blogs on Infinity. The dream was to release daily content to build our cache with readers, and I'd like to think we've succeeded pretty well with that.

It's sad, then, for me to announce that I'm leaving CKP. There are a number of reasons I can't continue to work with this blog, but I promised Tevesh that I would keep this short and sweet.  Here goes.

Although I've been at Crits Kill People since the very start, I do not feel like I am a partner here. I do not feel like I have been treated professionally, or even as a friend, by Endalyon, the third member of the blog.  Back when we started CKP, we wrote just to promote the games and to generate content for players both new and old, everything seemed to be going well. We had fun. But when Endalyon bought in with Knight Models and invested in several local gaming stores, CKP seemed to shift from a hobby interest to a business interest - and I was left behind without knowing it. I was consulted on very little, if anything, and information was outright denied me. Endalyon had spoilers and did not tell me; he had information that was shared with Tevesh and never even thought of being brought up with me. I didn't know that CKP had a store until the day it was posted, and I didn't know that Endalyon had started to make money using Crits Kill People as a free advertising medium. I haven't received much recompense, either: to date, Endalyon has handed me one blister - "because the store is doing so well" - and that's it. I was never asked nor consulted about getting in on the business aspect of things, and I am only really aware that there is such a thing because in casual conversations with Tevesh, he has expressed the sentiment that he thought I'd been already told by Endalyon. I cannot believe that this consistent level of oversight is accidental.

I have also been lied to and chastised about content, from being told that my criticisms were unfair (Bane's "Antidote" is not at all bad, for example, but the League of Shadow's gear that grants "Hidden" is subpar and circumstantially useful at best) and that I need to play more games, to out-and-out being told that no free agents were going to be released in the next month and that I should cash in my free blister prize from Tevesh's tournament right away (Asylum Inmates and Killer Frost were the next month's releases, and even if Endalyon didn't know that, he told me definitively that there would be none). I understand that working closely with a company requires certain secrets to be kept, but I feel like Endalyon hasn't even done me the courtesy due a friend, never mind a partner in the same creative endeavour - which has apparently, for him, become a business endeavour without my knowing about it.

Now, I can stomach most of that. I signed on to help Tevesh achieve his vision, and although my content has sometimes wavered in quantity, I think that the quality has always been good. When I see, however, that Endalyon continues to take advantage of Tevesh's hard work promoting the game both in CKP and in real-life, I start to get angry. Tevesh is always talking to store owners about carrying BMG, and I know for a fact that he is making a fraction of what Endalyon rakes in for the effort. I know that Tevesh comes home from twelve hour shifts to crank out articles for Crits Kill, and that Endalyon continues to benefit from this free advertising to publicize a game that he has invested heavily in and continues to profit from. Honestly, the only reason I've stuck around with CKP this long, despite Endalyon's inability or lack of desire to treat me as a serious partner, is to help a good friend. But when I see said good friend being taken advantage of by someone claiming to have all the connections and the quick way to fame, though, I have to step back and say something.

I had a long conversation with Tevesh and told him that I was leaving, and why. I also promised him that I would keep this short, and so I will: there is a lot more to say, but I don't think it's necessary or useful to air those issues out here. More importantly, I also told Tevesh that he can continue to call on me as an on-spec contributor if he'd like, and I hope he takes me up on that. In the meanwhile, I cannot and will not continue to be part of an enterprise where one partner is exploiting the others because money and fame is more important than friendship and all that should entail.

Thanks very much for reading, and I really do hope you continue to read this blog. Tevesh has poured his heart and soul into it, and I think it's one of the best tabletop gaming reads out there.

Until next time.