Well I knew it's been too quiet on the Ken "Whit" Whitman front.......
Evidently 'ol Kenny started a new webstore over at consignmentrpg.com. I'll give him credit in the fact that he isn't Whitwashing it (why that isn't yet on Urban Dictionary surprises me) as he's put his name all over it. Thing is, even if he hadn't it'd have been obvious. Still using the same domain host he's used for pretty much everything we know of, which at this point is only referenced because he's tried to not claim ownership of some nefarious (my opinion) stuff in the past.
No, this website has his name all over it literally as well as figuratively. There literally is a copyright banner at the bottom of each page and the figuratively.....well we can show you both.
This is the entirety of his webstore. To paraphrase a famous American Industrialist, "You can buy any RPG item you desire, as long as it's 'The Whitman Method' on PDF."
We got this gem sent to us, which appears to be a paraphrase (publisher email info?) from the website's FAQ page, "
Approved publishers currently receive 85% of eligible product sales and are paid weekly by default. Payout method and onboarding requirements are confirmed with each approved publisher before first payout. Payouts may be delayed, withheld, or adjusted for chargebacks, payment failures, fraud review, rights disputes, policy violations, account issues, or marketplace errors."
This is probably just me, but the "currently" hits me as odd. I have a bit of confidence in this source material since it shares content with Ken's recent Facebook Post. Unfortunately a hyperlink is not available because Kenny likes to bar certain individuals from viewing his posts and even if you had a hyperlink and a non-barred account, the link will not work. This is the link, in case this changes (https://www.facebook.com/20531316728/posts/10154009990506729).
"
I've been publishing tabletop games since 1989. Eight companies, a hundred-plus products, and I've watched every distribution channel this hobby ever had rise and fall.Here's what I see happening right now: some of the most creative RPG work being made today is coming from people using AI tools — and those same people are getting run out of every marketplace and forum they try to sell in. Not for making bad work. For being honest about how they made it.
So I built a storefront where honesty is the point.
Consignment RPG is a digital marketplace for AI-assisted tabletop creators. Every product carries a Creation Disclosure — a plain table showing exactly what was human-made, AI-assisted, or AI-generated, area by area: writing, art, maps, layout, mechanics. Buyers see it before they spend a dime. No hiding, no witch hunts. Just the truth, on the label.
The terms: you keep 85% of eligible sales. Digital products first — PDFs, maps, tokens, VTT assets, zines, supplements, tools. Publishers are reviewed before the seller tools open, so the shelf stays curated.
The shelf is small right now. That's not a bug — founding publishers get visibility that disappears once the catalog fills up.
If you make tabletop work with AI in your toolkit and you're tired of apologizing for it, come look: https://www.consignmentrpg.com/publish-with-us/
Questions welcome. I'll answer anything."
There's just a fair bit to unpack here. Kenny has been getting pushback for, well a lot of stuff, but lately it's been because of all of his AI generated content that he says is "fact checked", but the few I've seen (I have to assume they are representative) have clearly not been fact checked, or fact checked poorly (which isn't much of a difference to me). Kenny tried to keep his attachment to said AI generation projects on the down-low, but was unable to do so.
There hasn't been a witch-hunt. I haven't heard of anyone being "tired of apologizing" for using AI, but let's be fair.....not like I have some inside track on "the pulse" of the industry. What I do have though, is over a decade of documenting Ken "Whit" Whitman's business dealings (where I can) and any kind of business of his where "honesty is the point" concerns me. I wouldn't trust him to keep accurate track of sales and pay out appropriately. With KoDT:LAS he sold all kinds of KenzerCo product and "special items" and never gave an accounting. I wouldn't trust Kenny to not take any "product" and simply use AI to recreate it himself and sell knockoffs while delaying the originals "for review".
Now a 15% royalty is a lot better than what you'd get from the likes of DriveThruRPG, but that site has the reach and the history. I kind of like the way Kenny breaks down the AI usage by category. It's a bit clunky and might need tweaking, but it's a good idea.
In the end though, I think one should look at the totality of looking to enroll in an online store from a man who has done sketchy online store stuff before.
Do I need to share more? Now clearly I cannot tell you, dear reader to do (or not do) anything, but I am reminded of a famous quote from Poor Richard's Almanac, "He that lieth down with Dogs, shall rise up with Fleas" Now I'm not saying Ken "Whit" Whitman is a dog, but instead you should always be careful of who you do business with.....
