I applaud those speaking outright, but my general nature is one of compartmentalization, so I post under an additional layer of anonymity. There is very little in life that is apolitical, and I resist dirtying my neutral persona here by stepping into the deep muck of the Internet.
I fundamentally disagree with the action taken on both ethical & business standings.
I had not known 'Vox Day' as anything but a minor self-published author until now, and having gone through his blog and other associated research, I would rather have kept my original impression. This is less an issue of 'free speech' than it is 'purchased speech', and this action taken by Autarch sullies their creative output. It doesn't matter that the eventual output will be, to use a term Theodore may approve of, whitewashed, to remove overt political references. The 'speech' portion of his action has already occured, and with the cooperation of and implied approval of Autarch. Theodore may now go back to his feckless band of internet tough guys, point to this product, and say "See? I matter. I can be heard. I deserve attention." This is a distinct difference from other venues that have, correctly, ignored or marginalized his participation. The fact it ss in something so technically minor as a game supplement from a small publisher is irrelevant to his cause. In point of fact, his odious worldviews fully restrict him to such minor efforts as hijacking the Hugos or infesting a Kickstarter - there is no larger market for his type.
At best, this is a distraction. At worst, it risks Autarch becoming embroiled in the same social arguments that burn across the internet daily, and permanently affecting its reputation. It cannot be spun as apolitical - Autarch ceded control of the narrative when the deal was struck, and now must rely on Theodore's restraint and good judgement, what supply there is of it, to emerge a neutral party. One cannot crowd fund a project without the consent of the crowd, and catering to a noxious fringe, only seemingly vociferous due to the structure of the 'Net, is not a well-considered decision. This is far beyond discussion about how much skin our barbarian princesses reveal, or the inherent rights of fictional orcs, and any comparison to that in this matter is myopic at best. Autarch has catered to the views of a person who disagrees with the base genetic makeup of actual living humans, allowing him to purchase (outside the normal interactions of a Kickstarter) a soapbox to stand upon. He does not do this out of the respect he holds for the product, the genre, yourself, or Autarch. The Dark Lord name is one tied strongly to his political activities. This is not an apolitical event.
I can only assume it was deemed worth the business risk. The 'libertarian free market' response is not additional monies pledged as protest, it is the retraction of pledges, for those who take these things seriously. Money is speech, and backers names will be listed alongside Theodore's, as complicit as he was in the production of the final draft, and implicitly linked in his future efforts at promotion of himself and his ideologies.
Sadly, there seems no way to independently support Omer's Kanahu.
I'd like you to contrast this with the quantifiable good done as part of ACKS' Bundle Of Holding - thousands of dollars gifted to the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation - for a sense of my disappointment in Autarch as an entity.