There's a lot of speculation regarding Games Workshop's seemingly misguided commercial actions and their reasons. I think that a large part of it is due to the company's internal structure at the corporate level, as shown here. This post is not mine, I'm just copypasting it.
---
>If you are the private and sole owner of a company, it's yours to do with as you please. You can extract as much money as you want/can from it, run it into the ground, etc. in accordance with your whims.
>However, a corporation is collectively owned by its shareholders. A publicly traded company has shares that can be bought and sold on the open markets, a privately-held corporation usually has restricted shares - for example, a company might have in its charter that an owner has to sell his or her shares to the other owners under such and such circumstances, and otherwise cannot sell shares to a third party. I'm not too familiar with the various rules there, but it still comes down to this: the shareholders own the company.
>In order to ensure that shareholders' ownership isn't usurped by the company's officers doing whatever they please, most (all?) countries have rules about how a corporation has to be structured and operated. In both the US and the UK, corporations typically have a board of directors. The members of the board of directors are effectively hired by the shareholders (that is, shareholders have the power to vote for who will be a board member and can vote someone out), and work for the shareholders and nobody else. They often do not hold any stock in the company. Being a corporate boardmember is considered somewhat prestigious, and often high-level or retired businesspeople wrangle their way onto multiple companies' boards
>>44004164
>Members of the board hire and fire the company's officers, including (most importantly) the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). They also typically set the officers' compensation, including both salary and (very commonly) stock options, equity (just piles of in-the-money stock), and severance packages that can include lots more money and stock.
>The board of directors by law have what's called a fiduciary duty to the shareholders. That is, they are legally* bound to act in the shareholders' best interests. Scholars often break this duty down into categories, like "Duty of care" and "Duty of loyalty" and sometimes two or three more, but basically what these duties boil down to is that the board is supposed to take actions that are to the maximum possible benefit to the shareholders. That benefit can be fairly broadly defined, though: for example, the board is well within its rights to take an action that could lower the company's immediate earnings (e.g., reduce shareholder value) in anticipation that long-term earnings will be improved. Or vice-versa. A board can vote to sell a company for a certain amount of money per share, ignoring what individual shareholders might think those shares "ought" to be worth, or that most shareholders are holding stock in anticipation of long-term earnings... all they have to do is have a reasonable argument that selling the company now is the "best" option.
>*Common law, actually, at least in the US. Which is supported by a lot of case law. But the legal complexities are beyond my understanding. Suffice it to say that fiduciary duty is encoded in the legal system in such a way as to make it essentially binding, but with some wiggle room so that lawyers can still regularly extract multimillion-dollar paychecks from litigating cases that can take a decade to fully resolve.
>>44004187
>Where things can become very muddied is when the same person is acting as both board member and as an executive officer of a company, or when a board member owns shares in the company. On the one hand, you could argue that simply by virtue of being a shareholder, a board member is even more invested (literally!) in "what's best for the shareholders." On the other hand, when a board member owns shares, he or she might have immediate financial interests that are different from those of the majority of the shareholders. Perhaps he or she needs cash right now, and isn't worried about ten years from now. Or perhaps he or she is perfectly wiling to gamble the stock, taking big risks in the hopes of a long-term payoff. For this reason, most large corporations in the US have a board of directors that are not shareholders.
>Another potential source of problems is when a member of the board of directors is also an executive officer in the company. There is a potential conflict of interest here: the company's officers are supposed to be engaged in the day-to-day running of the company, held to account by the board of directors, hired and fired if they don't do their job well. But if the executive officer has one of the small number of votes of the board, by virtue of being one of those votes, he or she is much harder to fire, gets to vote on his or her own compensation package, can presumably more heavily influence the board's decisions, etc.
>There are common arrangements to help mitigate these problems. In the US, companies sometimes set up things so that if some officers might be taking actions in their own self-interest, specifically designated "noninterested" decision makers must approve the action. These decision makers could be other board members, or the shareholders (by putting the action up for vote), or both. This sort of thing happens a lot when a company is being acquired, sold, is issuing new shares to officers, etc.
>So now we come to Games Workshop.
>>44004199
>http://investor.games-workshop.com/the-board-of-directors/
>Kevin Rountree is Games Workshop's CEO, and a member of its board of directors, and a shareholder.
>His predecessor, Tom Kirby, is "non-executive chairman," meaning he's the chairman of the board but not an executive officer of the company. But he is a large shareholder: the largest individual shareholder and third-largest overall shareholder of the company, with 6.7% ownership.
>http://investor.games-workshop.com/shareholder-statistics/
>The other executive officer is Rachel Tongue, an accountant. The other non-executive officers are Chris Myatt, Nick Donaldson, and Elaine O'Donnell. None of these people, nor Rountree, own enough shares to get onto the shareholder statistics page, which means they each own less than 3%, but they could still have significant holdings.
>Here's a list of insider transactions that shows that O'Donnell and Rountree both own at least some shares, though. (Insider trading rules require that insiders, defined as employees of the company who are in a position to have significant knowledge of the company's finances and major decisions in advance of the company's reports, have to report their stock transactions to the market, and usually have to schedule those transactions well in advance.)
>Now, I'm not that familiar with the details of UK's corporate governance laws. Clearly this arrangement is, at the very least, legal; it may also be very commonplace, especially for a small company like GW. But, in my opinion, it leaves a great deal of room for unethical behavior. I think it's an inherent conflict of interest to have major shareholders running the company's board, for the reasons listed above as well as the one thespaceinvader specifically pointed out... it's possible for the board, as major shareholders, to simply transfer a huge proportion of the company's value (and its future) into their pockets by paying out dividends, granting themselves more stock, etc.
The Game Finder Thread for Finding Games Thread.
>GM/Player
>System Preferred
>Times Available (with timezone!)
>Method of Play (Skype, IRC, roll20, etc)
>Voice or Text
>Contact Info
>Additional Notes
Remember to keep the thread bumped so it doesn't fall off of page 10.
>GM/Player
Player
>System Preferred
Fantasy Craft
>Times Available (with timezone!)
Friday, Sunday. GMT+1 preferrably after 18:00/6PM
>Method of Play (Skype, IRC, roll20, etc)
Anything goes although i would prefer to use something like maptools over roll20
>Voice or Text
Preferrably text for ingame stuff and voice for OOC banter
>Contact Info
Skype:apocalypsebacon
>Additional Notes
I'm very handsome too
For all your Deathwatch, Dark Heresy, Only War, and Rogue Trader needs.
40k:
https://mega.nz/#F!Pl0UgbJa!vDtTXMKnvZ26fUbuw4X9tg
and 40k accessories:
http://www.40krpgtools.com/
To start things off, what's the most insane thing your party has ever done? Survival is optional, but it's a nice bonus.
>>43998572
>To start things off, what's the most insane thing your party has ever done? Survival is optional, but it's a nice bonus.
Use a shit ton of promethium and demopacks to make a fuckhueg IED to blow up a Bloodthirster and its retinue of lesser daemons.
My Rogue Trader party just jumped five years into the future during a standard business visit to the Lathe worlds. Considering the multiple time-sensitive plot hooks and the ancestral treasure they were about to pursue, they are about to arrive into one mighty clusterfuck in their business empire.
Shot a planetary Noble in the middle of a relatively public location, in full view of the Arbites, with no justification, without stating they were Inquisitorial Acolytes, then tried to kill the Arbites when they tried to arrest them.
Rolled 88 (1d100)
>>43933433
Continued from last thread.
>>43995280
Bump. Gonna fill your fans in with a summary/options?
>>43995280
>>43994212
>Go to bed
I think we have done a lot this night. Maybe talk to our companions about helping with undead in the morning.
>http://pastebin.com/QfbhSdid
Notes I have taken, if people want them.
Rolled 4 (1d100)
>>43995346
... dam it forgot the dice to sleep.
>>43995320
That would be nice for new people as well.
New general, since the last one is about to fall off page 10.
Requisite question for the thread: What's the one game you've always wanted to try but have never been able to play?
Hard Mode:No TI3
Also, Pastebin because I forgot to put it in the OP.
http://pastebin.com/V9c2a6wU
>>43992392
You dun goofed
>>43992723
Dang, thought autosage kicked in at 300 replies.
1573% of goal edition
We did it boys! Enjoy you're free shit.
Hawk will be sending out a survey over Kickstarter over the coming week(s), and you should be able to add on (or reduce) to your total pledge amount for bolt-ons; however, you are locked in for whatever tier you're at, and cannot go under it.
>Kickstarter is over, see link related for what you missed and/or more information
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hawkwargames/dropfleet-commander/
>demo videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLDc-iWib48
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5xe3f5hyGg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3e_RNSSST0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaTmNxQ_FM0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92GeJ5uf6Hc
So /tg/, since this is likely to be the final thread (at least until Hawk releases more info), what was your final pledge at? What did you get? Do you have a group to play with, or are you just in it for the models? What color schemes are you thinking of.
>That last surge of backers
http://www.kicktraq.com/projects/hawkwargames/dropfleet-commander/#chart-daily
>>43970577
>OP forgets PHR video
are you even trying?
>>43970664
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6AIfMdJmxk
rip
I could use some advice from other players/DMs:
My group is full of gundam fans and would like me to run a gundam campaign since we've got some experience with GURPS mecha. I've got just about everything settled to run an earth-based mech game, but I can't quite think of a story concept. This is my first time DMing in a while and my group won't really give me any suggestions on what they want to see in the game.
Any ideas about what I could do for this? My ideas seem to revolve around something similar to 08th MS team, taking place involving entirely ground-based mobile suits on earth. If you were in this game, what would you want to see from it?
I apologize for making a thread specifically for this subject but I couldn't find a thread to ask this in.
I'll help you anon as I've run a few gurps gundam inspired mecha games so am probably the most qualified, how long do you think the campaign will run? How many players?
The main thing is to recreate gundams amazing in universe reason for having mechas in the first place, effective radar and telecommunications jamming, this lets you set up good scenarios, for my introduction i had the party have to try and set up an ambush to catch the raider ace pilot who had been jacking convoys, they had to be close with their mechas so they could get signals and the ace was forced to escape with a damaged mech (didn't railroad left to the dice, I had lots of escape things built into most mechs, those infrared jamming smoke screens and shit) leading to a recurring bishounen villan cuz gundam inspired.
>>44033792
I appreciate the help. I'm looking to make this game last around 6-8 sessions lasting ~4 hours each. The game is going to have a standard team of 4 players.
>>44033951
This actually sounds fantastic. I plan on starting the game with some sort of action as the leader PC is introduced to the other 3 members of his team. Thank you for the concept!
This is a thread created for the discussion of Quest threads, as well as sharing of advice and guidance for aspiring or current QMs.
Please do not shitpost, and please report any shit posters attempting to derail discussion or cause strife. This means avoiding tripfag drama or discussion about subjects such as 'make a board for quests'.
Useful links: http://pastebin.com/pV7sdNnv
This link contains numerous writing guides, as well as the addresses of quest related IRC channels.
https://twitter.com/Eisenstern/lists/quest-runner-directory
This is a directory containing the tweets of most current QMs. While a twitter is by no means mandatory, it is a useful tool for both you and your players. If you aren't on the list, post your twitter here and someone will make sure it gets added eventually.
>QM Question:
What is the answer to the player question?
>Player Question:
What is the answer to the QM question?
>Bonus Question:
What should I have asked?
I need to run a House Harkonnen quest one day.
I'm thinking the main character could be a
>Mentat
>Some sort of Harkonnen foreman on Arrakis
>Or Harkonnen bodyguard/troop leader
People on /tg/ could vote on one, and the other choices would work or try to undermine the PC.
>>44029694
This will fail just like those Game of Thrones quests.
>>44029714
What happened with the GoT quests, to make them fail.
D&D: Dexterity makes you better at acrobatics
Fallout: Agility makes you better at lock picking
>2015+almost 1
>not having both
Let's divide strength into arm strength, leg strength, and torso strength while we're at it.
There's no D in SPECIAL. Maybe you can work it into a new spread, RETARDS.
>>44027799
>implying agility isn't leg and core strength anyway
>Adds <>
>>44027521
Well, it's confirmed then. <> is the new symbol for (1), and any mana cost of <> can only be paid with colorless mana.
>>44027521
Well, of course it was the most reasonable thing it could be.
>>44027564
how will this change (2)+ colourless mana costs? should we expect to see (GG) or (UUUU) as singular symbols?
Age: 735
Location: New Hera
Information: With Commander Fesla killed, the rest of the Ascended Empire soon fell to Daikon and the other Saiyans. The Zillians returned to their own empire, and all of their worlds pledged allegiance to you as well. Now, you control several solar systems, and find yourself in the palace of Empress Kogo, leader of the Heran Empire. She has left you and the other Saiyans to eat while she fetches you drinks.
First for Oozaru Rush
First for HAIL VEGETA
Welcome to Saiyan Quest. This takes place shortly after the war against the Tuffles, as the Saiyans look for more foes to battle in the absence of their old enemies.
Voting will operate on a first to five system, at least for the time being.
Dialogue is allowed to be added to votes, as are actions (though I'll ignore what I consider shitposting)
During battles, options will usually have a number assigned to them. After that vote has won, players will roll a d100, and have three chances to match or beat that number.
If a 100 is rolled, it is considered a crit success (unless 100 was the number you had to match).
If a 1 is rolled, it is a crit failure, regardless of whether or not the other two rolls are high enough to succeed.
If, during a battle, players want to attempt a writein action, that is allowed, but I am the one who will assign the number to it, so use caution
You're a young male Saiyan who fought in the war with the Tuffles. You are an average fighter for now, but have the potential of one of the greatest warrior races to roam the universe flowing through your veins. There is no limit to what you can accomplish through blood, sweat, and tears.
Previous threads
>http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?searchall=saiyan+quest
https://twitter.com/QMVegirot
Power Levels (as of the start of this thread)
http://pastebin.com/JvPqwvaU
>>44027487
Are you on /tg/ with "Saiyan" in the search catalog at all times
Hopefully Ritchie Reking Edition
Alternatiively: Getting Rekt by Ritchie Thanks to Dice Edition
Archive: https://archive.foolz.us/_/search/username/Gobble/tripcode/!!5e7vwvXe%2F3r/type/op/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GobbleQM
Pokemon, items, and summary: http://pastebin.com/tSNKt0Wm
FAQ and general concepts: http://pastebin.com/Ht1Q5E1p
All guides, player knowledge, and smutty stories: http://pastebin.com/u/Gobblepokemon
Themes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y-ad_74T08
Quest theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=1422579428&v=YW9QKy6oDkE&x-yt-cl=85114404
Recently: You bonded with fellow trainers by having a fun sudden contest. You
General rules:
There is a 10 minute voting period after each post. Non-contradictory votes will be combined as best as possible.
Write-ins for all votes or always welcome and encouraged. They may not all make it into the post or be altered to fit in, but I'll do my best to at least try to address the spirit of the write-in.
Very important or contentious votes may be redone in a stricter voting system as it comes up.
Combat involves rolls! Once there's a clear winner, we roll for the move accuracy/crit/secondary effect. Usually it's just three 1d100s. Sometimes you can get a modifier from circumstances, so be creative! Add flair, do tricks with moves, mess with terrain, whatever!
Call me out on a mistake and receive an apology butt or suggestive picture.
Badges: 9
Pokemon on you:
Raistlin (Alakazam)
Zappy Dan (Magnezone)
Devon (Houndoom)
Trunks (Trevenant) KO'd
Destiny (Kingdra) Badly damaged.
Oberon (Garchomp)
Not In Party:
Vlad (Crobat)
Nibbles (Tyrantrum)
Leviathan (Gyarados)
Aria (Meloetta)
Fel (Butterfree)
Newest smutbin! http://pastebin.com/mJMDXB67
>>44027157
Yeah son
Destiny stands ready to fight her new opponent, Tyranitar. The jumbo screen says it’s name is Cruise. Like you, Ritchie likes to nickname his Pokemon.
Sand whips across the dusty battle arena. It’s ability, Sandstream, makes sure of that. It cancelled out the rain that Destiny was using to boost her speed and water attacks.
“The blue corner is far from finished. This new upset might be exactly what they need to turn this match around!”
Not if you can help it.
>Hydro Pump! It’ll be weakened by Sandstorm, but still very effective
>Rain Dance, get the rain coming again
>Shell Smash, boost offense and speed at the expense of defenses
>Smokescreen. Bring down it’s accuracy
>Scald, try for a burn
>Outrage. Hit it really, really hard.
>Agility, but fast
>Dragon Pulse, try it out in combat
>Swap Pokemon
>Something else
>>44027325
>>Scald, try for a burn
This is our best shot to cripple him
some battle music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kZm052_p30
Anyone here ever play Mage Knight back in the day?
>>44026999
Oh hell yes. 1.0 was best.0
Still have all my minis, and bought some off my friends as they were getting out of the game when it started to die around the beginning of the 2.0 era.
The plan was to use it as an introduction to wargames for when my kids came of age. My oldest daughter is 3 now, so still a few more years.
Mage-Knight Dungeons was all sorts of legendary and the most fun game mode. For the standard game I loved my Atlantis Guild.
Besides Battletech, it really was my first wargame. Knowing what I know now, however, I would like to see how it plays with different scenarios, with things like objectives. Back in the day we only ever played pitch battles, which is one of the reasons why I think the game started to die. That and the power combos that sort of ruined friendly games.
But all in all I remember good times with it.
>>44027108
OP here, glad I wasn't the only one. Something about opening those boosters was so satisfying.
I played in a couple tournaments way back when that had some cool objectives, like occupying certain parts of the terrain when you won would give you more points towards playing in the winners bracket.
I wish there was a way to play again but I have no idea where you'd find anyone that still carried them. Would be neat if a games shop just picked up a giant lot of them and did something like a cube draft for magic. It would also be cool if they'd just make a proper online game out of the property and see if removing the hassles that miniature games create could re-attract the audience it had
>>44026999
Hell the fuck yes. Mage Knight 1.0 was my very first wargame, introducing me to miniatures. Back in high school, my buddies and I would have a "poker night" and play this. Good times.
Become The Vampire Quest 12
You head upstairs slowly and carefully. For one, you don't actually know the layout of the next floor, and for two, if it's all one big bedroom up there you don't want to just burst in. What you find instead is that the stairs lead up to a large landing area, almost like a common room, with two doors, one with Patrick's name carved on it, and another with Jennifer's name on a little gold plate. Etched onto the plate, likely with a claw, is a little heart. You have to wonder precisely what state their marriage is in that they sleep in different rooms. You knock on Jennifer's door firmly, and Marie opens it, looking a bit surprised.
“Oliver? What are you doing here?”
You smile at her.
“Jennifer told me to come find her when I had time to talk. Well, I've got time. The party is starting soon, I figured this would be a good opportunity to speak with her.”
Marie glances nervously over her shoulder.
“I'm not sure that's such a good idea right now. Maybe later? She's a little busy.”
You can hear Jennifer speaking in a low tone to someone, before raising her voice.
“Let him in, Marie.”
Marie hesitates, before opening the door and letting you in. Jennifer is exactly as you expected her to be, sitting on a chair at the foot of her bed that's almost a throne, forcing others to kneel before her. It's like that trick where you microwave water and it goes above the boiling point. One single wrong move and she'll go off all at once. Fortunately you already know how to approach the situation.
“Good evening, Jennifer. I hope I'm not intruding. You told me to come when I had the time, and now I do.”
Jennifer regards you coolly for a moment, doing her best to keep whatever it is that's eating away at her in check. You can't tell if it's barely-restrained rage, lust or something else altogether. She turns to the other woman, the one you don't recognize, and nods.
“Marie will see you out. I believe our business is complete at this point.”
The woman nods slowly, rising to her feet and bowing low before leaving without a word. Marie follows her out, glancing back at Jennifer before turning to leave. Jennifer clears her throat.
“Lock the door on your way out. I have matters to discuss with this boy.”
Marie looks at you, then at Jennifer, and locks the door before closing it, leaving you and Jennifer alone. You're either about to die or become her confidante about something.
“Now then, Oliver. To business.”
You nod and move towards her, standing near her, a little closer than the woman had been kneeling.
“To business. I think the first order of business should be Sammy, don't you? A point of mutual interest.”
Jennifer's eyes widen ever so slightly at your boldness, but she doesn't say anything. She adjusts her hands, switching so that the other is on top.
“I have evidence of Mark's true nature, how he really sees Sammy. The perfect ammunition against the Collins clan in terms of how one of their members is viewing the agreement you have. But it's also perfect evidence for why you shouldn't give Sammy to Mark. I have a claim on her that I'm looking to make use of. So, business? Because you put on a front like you're a cold-hearted and careless mother when it comes to her, but the wife of the pack leader wouldn't be as simple or as foolish as that.”
You let your words sink in, and they seem to have the desired effect. Jennifer cracks the barest of smiles and rises to her feet slowly. She walks closer to you, taking precise and careful steps, doing her best not to betray her current intoxication or whatever thoughts might be swimming around in her head.
“You're an ignorant boy, so I'll tell you how arctic wolves work. We are cold. There is only so much warmth to go around, and we must be careful who we share it with. The cold shapes us, makes us strong. Our packs are much smaller, maybe two or three families. We favor the power of the individual over the power of a group. And then one day, while still trying to find my place in this pack, I fall pregnant for the second time and end up with a runt.”
The word lacks the venom you were expecting with it. She says it almost sympathetically. Almost.
“She will never be fully human, never be fully wolf. She will be weaker than the weakest of our kind. And in my mind, I wonder, can this child become strong enough to stand on her own? The cold shapes us. It is in her blood to blossom under pressure, but despite my every effort she found warmth among the others. They never forged her spirit, never made her harden her will. And so, thinking myself wise, I made myself colder.”
She walks around you in a slow circle, each step placing her just a fraction closer to you.
“And now I have a runt daughter who believes that I hate her. A clan that believes that I'm little more than a bitch. And perhaps they're right. But that has advantages. We needed to negotiate with the Collins clan and I knew that Mark wasn't stable enough to handle Sammy, so I offered her to him in a way that made me seem ever more cruel, knowing that someone would discover his actions or words and buy us leverage. And something exceeding my expectations occurred.”
She comes to a halt right in front of you, her face only inches from your own, her eyes locked on yours.
“She met someone who made her strong. Someone who made her strong enough that last night she stood up to me for the very first time. At first I thought that you were nothing special, but there's something about you, Oliver Spencer. I'd like to find out what.”
She cups your chin, smiling coyly at you, her eyes predatory.
“Show me.”
She leans in.
>Stand perfectly still, she's unstable right now and any wrong move could set her off.
>She liked it when you were bold enough to stand close, beat her to the punch and kiss her. You're here to exploit emotions anyway, right?
>Back away, maybe it's a test or maybe it's a drunken advance that you'll be smacked for later.
>Other (write-in)
>Character sheet
http://pastebin.com/QUxw5vf9
>Rules
Same system as Become The Dragon Quest. If you don't know what that is, it's best of three d20 rolls. I name a stat that sums up what you're trying to do, and if I don't name a relevant skill, you try to fill in the blank based on what you're trying to accomplish. “Break open the door” might be Strength based, but if you've been playing baseball after school and there's a lead pipe nearby, you could apply your Baseball skill to the roll. A 20 on the die is a crit threat, and if either of the other two rolls is 20 or higher after mods, it's a critical. A crit fail is when you have two or more 1s. So far this system has worked out well enough. We'll get into combat rules as needed, but in basic terms you have wounds, not HP, and the worse the wounds, the more penalties you accrue while doing other things.
Most Important Rule:
Have fun.
Quest Twitter: @BecomeQM
Character art thread, male, female, medevial, post-apocalyptic, any kinds of characters
![photo-original[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/fVRje7K.jpg "photo-original[1]")
