I’m not sure it makes sense to make a call on whether this is the right/wrong decision when we know next to nothing about the specific reasons leading to the removal.

Could be legal reasons, could be something in BWF’s contract, or maybe it’s purely for the personal comfort for Ashley (which if so, overrides anything else imo). We do not know.

I’m sad to lose the content too. Especially all the insight from the cast, and the BTS interviews. But I also cannot blame them for removing it, it’s totally within their rights to do so.

Just to chime in with a different perspective, I don’t use ChatGPT and have no plans to. Although I totally understand why some may find it useful, and don’t have judgements towards those that use it for personal purposes.

For me, one of the many reasons I enjoy DMing is specifically to push myself to improvise and creative. I wasn’t encouraged to be imaginative or creative as a child, and so as an adult I often find myself trying to make up for that. As well as letting go of the fear of not being in control, and having fun with making ideas on the spot. It also feels much more fulfilling when something I make up ends up going down well.

Also I tend to like coming up with new concepts that go against the grain, or at least attempt to. And while ChatGPT is good at scraping and spitting out what has been done before, I ambitiously want something that is more surprising or unique than what it offers.

We’re at the start of our campaign (they’ve just gone though Death House) so I’ve yet to dig deep into it but I have been taking a close look at both MandyMod and DragnaCarta.

At first I was preparing to follow MandyMod closely with the Fanes and stuff but it ended up getting a bit overwhelming for me and I realised I didn’t actually need or want all of it. So I’ve dialled back a bit and am just taking bits and pieces of inspiration wherever fits. I’ve liked stuff from both supplements so I’ll probably continue to do so, although I have to be careful with MandyMod because there’s so much homebrew lore in it that I need to remind myself what is module lore and what is fan lore. Nevertheless, there’s a treasure trove of stuff to add which is a really nice change for running a module.

I haven’t actually heard of the interactive tome, marvel missed that but I’ll have to check it out!

DM here, mine is a bit vague and cheesy but whatever. Favourite part is seeing how excited my friends get when something cool happens! Whether it’s pulling out a spicy combat encounter, or they connect the clues of some big plot point, or they pull off something heroic and/or disastrous in game and we all know it’s unforgettable.

Being a DM feels a bit like hosting a party (except less overwhelming). It feels like giving gifts to my friends in the form of a fantasy world. It’s highly fulfilling, and we end up weaving many joyful memories together.

(Also hello from a fellow Curse of Strahd DM!)