In 1993, Backstage Press published the rules for Theatrix, a role-playing game that was unusual at the time for using storytelling instead of dice to determine successes or failures during the role-playing adventure.
The following year, Backstage published Ironwood, the first setting for the Theatrix rules. The 288-page softcover book, designed by David Berkman, Travis Eneix, Andrew Finch, and Anthony J. Gallela, was based on the erotic/pornographic comic series Ironwood written and drawn by Bill Willingham, who provided all the illustrations and cover art for this book, some of which included nudity.[2]: 113
When Backstage tried to sell the book at Gen Con that year, they were banned from the convention due to the adult nature of Ironwood's content.
In the 2014 book Designers & Dragons, game historian Shannon Appelcline explained why TSR, who owned Gen Con at that time, did this: "In the early '90s, TSR was running scared from angry mothers who thought that D&D was evil. Demons and devils disappeared from AD&D and guidelines for what could be shown at Gen Con grew stringent, surpassing the early years when there was no code of product standards. This was the atmosphere when Theatrix Presents Ironwood (1994) got banned from the convention." Appelcline also noted that "Backstage Press co-founder Andrew Finch made a lot of hay on the internet about the banning."[2]: 83
