Multiple sources in the Dungeons & Dragons community have accused Satine Phoenix and her husband Jamison Stone of bullying and emotional abuse.
Satine Phoenix, who has worked for both Wizards of the Coast and Geek & Sundry, and Jamison Stone, who runs Apotheosis Studios that created Sirens: Battle of the Bards, were accused on Twitter of manipulating collaborators, holding money hostage, and using threatening language. Numerous people posted their accounts of harassment by Phoenix and Stone, according to The Fandomentals.
The deluge began when Chad Rowe, a tattoo artist who worked on Post Malone, tweeted on June 8th that he had tattooed Stone over three days without a contract, verbally agreeing on a rate instead. When he got home and asked about payment, Stone and Phoenix said they wanted to establish an agreement. When Rowe sent a document to sign, the couple berated him over the contract’s language, calling him “young and inexperienced” and telling him that “education can be painful when you let your ego get in the way.” Stone threatened, “be happy I am not punishing you for your lack of experience or charging you for my education.”
Rowe invited others who had negative experiences with the couple to share their stories. Multiple writers who worked on Sirens: Battle of the Bards shared their experiences with Stone. Jessica Marcrum, a writer on the campaign, posted screenshots of a Discord conversation where the writers were asking to be paid. Stone mimicked their language while telling them they were incorrect and to “review [their] contract before [they] make accusations.” Marcrum also posted a screenshot of a team writing tracker where she and another writer were listed as “Black List due to behavior” minutes after the Discord conversation. Pat Edwards, the writing lead on the project, said he felt “threatened & berated” by Stone and that he “never felt more taken advantage of in my life.”
A repeat collaborator with Phoenix said she is still not paid for her work on Sirens: Battle of the Bards and that she backed out of another project with them and was subjected to “personal attacks” from Stone. Phoenix has been part of the Dungeons & Dragons celebrity scene for over ten years, appearing in DM instructional videos with famed Critical Role Dungeon Master Matt Mercer for Geek & Sundry. She married Stone in a live stream officiated by Gary Gygax’s son last year. After the accusations hit Twitter, multiple employees quit Apotheosis Studios, and Stone resigned from his CEO position. Several collaborators with the studio and the couple have announced they severed ties with them.
Phoenix and Stone both released statements apologizing for their behavior. Phoenix said, “I am so incredibly sorry for being the cause of your pain” and that she is sorry for enabling “Jamison’s terrible behavior.” Stone stated that he was “condescending and very aggressive” with Rowe and that he struggled with “a hard and traumatic upbringing” that caused him to be diagnosed with Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD). He said he felt “triggered” by the contract that Rowe sent over and that his “trauma and CPTSD caused [him] to lash out.”
These accusations come during a wave of speaking out about underpayment and harassment in the gaming industry. In April, Nintendo was accused of violating labor laws by a former employee, though the company later denied the allegations. The tabletop industry itself has pushed in recent months for a union. United Paizo Workers, a group representing Pathfinder employees, went to the White House in May to speak with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh about forming a union.
Source: The Fandomentals