# Diamond Goes Chapter 11, See Your FLGS For Details tags: #thoughts ![[Diamond Demise.jpg]] I feel like I've said this before, but when it comes to the issue of Diamond Distribution going Chapter 11 and its theoretical impact on Wizards and Catalyst, it *“couldn't happen to a bunch of nicer guys.”* ![Diamond Distribution Files Chapter 11](https://youtu.be/KXZ98-ydWMM) It's certainly not the first time that the bottom has dropped out of comics/RPG distribution because of crappy decisions by a major distributor. It's not even the second time. If anything, I'm a little saddened it won't hurt either *[Wizards of the Coast](https://company.wizards.com/en)* or *[Catalyst](https://store.catalystgamelabs.com/)* more deeply. They both have fairly reasonably deep pockets; Wizards more than Catalyst, and they can take the hit better than the smaller RPG companies getting distributed. > [!info]- Weird Editorial Side Note > > I noticed something strange when I was putting together the links for this particular little thought. And that's when I went to the Wizards of the Coast website, the first thing that showed up on the page was not **[[Dungeons and Dragons]]** nor was it **Magic The Gathering**, which given the chunk of change that it is worth in terms of their earnings you would think would be right there at the top. > > No, it was something I had never heard of before: **[Exodus: Become the Traveler](https://www.exodusgame.com/en-US)**. Their pitch is *"it's a new AAA science fiction action-adventure role-playing game franchise from Archetype Entertainment."* Nothing in that phrase makes me feel really secure, including the way that they're selling it as giving you the *opportunity* to be an opt-in founder which gives you cosmetics. It doesn't fill me with a sense of reassurance. > > By referring three or more friends you can have an in-game friend's Traveler's Cloak, which admittedly looks cool but anything that goes along with referring friends makes me think of the worst kind of MMO exploitative nightmare — and here we are. > > In case you wondered what they were up to instead of actually writing and maintaining a good RPG. > > No points to Wizards for trying to trade on positive association by working "Traveler" into the tagline. Hell, one can make the argument that selling for pennies on the dollar is the best thing that could possibly happen to **D&D 2024**. You certainly don't want to pick it up at the price point it's being sold, but — for $5? In hardback? You might go for that just for the collection. I should really try and get in touch with my FLGS[^1] to see if the Diamond situation is going to impact what they carry of their fairly significant collection of relatively indie games. I love the fact that I can roll up and see an entire rack of *[[Blades in the Dark|Forged in the Dark]]* and smaller RPGs right there on the shelf, bold as anything. I may have to figure out what their distribution channels are purely for the sake of knowing if we're going to see more of that going forward. If you haven't stopped by your FLGS in a while, this would be a good time to be reminded that maybe you should drop by for the next six months on a fairly regular basis. Get into a face-to-face gaming group. Get together and hang out with your friends, drop a few bucks on snacks and run a game right there in the shop. This has always been a good idea, but this year maybe it's time to make that a regular thing for you. I'm sure they will appreciate it. [^1]: **[Level-Up Games](https://levelupgamesatl.com/)** in Duluth, GA is absolutely excellent on every level and earn every bit of praise I can offer them. Huge selection, big gaming space, friendly folk. Truly ideal. Followed by **[Galactic Quest](http://www.galacticquest.com/)** in downtown Lawrenceville which I've been hanging out in since there *was* a GQ to hang out in back in the day. Seriously, support your Friendly Local Game Store.