Fanzines, setting alternative?

     This seems to be the case for the Dungeon Crawl Classics rpg, with Metal Gods of Ur-Hadad and Crawling Under the Broken Moon leading the way. Metal Gods fleshes out the great city of Ur-Hadad, with info on it's gods and a street urchin character funnel. Crawling is a post apocalyptic zine set in Murica and each issue so far (issue two just came out) has a new character class, a weapons article, new creatures and new location/encounter. These two are fairly new to the scene, thankfully I caught an interview with one of the Metal Gods creators on Spellburn (I think this is the one) and I have a copy of CUBM #2.

     Unfortunately I know less about Crawljammer, a pulp sci fi zine (Bat Men of Venus) with new classes and creatures. Along with Crawl! we seem to have the bases covered; fantasy, science fiction, and science fantasy. Since Goodman Games has been concentrating on releasing adventures for DCC, 'zines have been where you can get new additions for your campaign, and from what I have seen and heard, the quality is fantastic. From new and amazing artists to great and groovy writers, you can find them here. It is kind of like a new generation for rpg. I realize there was stuff like Alarums and Excursions back in the day, but unless you were in an active gaming community you would never know about it. The internet and podcasts allow creators and fans to talk about these things and "boost the signal" when it comes to these 'zines.

     So, what if we had a 'zine that was almost like the old gazeteers? Maybe something giving flavor to different creatures, regional goblin tribes? Perhaps the Festering Slit tribe is fond of using poison? The Copperclaws might be open to negotiation. This can be done with so many things in so many ways it is really exciting. That is all I have time for now, I'll get back to this later.

     

    

Upcoming DCC at Ravenstone! Plus my Appendix N

     Next month, I plan to run DCC at Ravenstone games, Wednesday (@ 6:00) and Saturday the 21st (Free RPG Day @ 1:00) I am also hoping to play some DCC at Origins. In addition to that, I have been listening to an excellent podcast focusing on DCC called Spellburn. Give it a shot, their passion lies in DCC but they occasionally bring up other games, usually in a "this is cool." or "how can I use/convert this to DCC" Wonderful stuff.

     Moving onto my next topic, during an episode of Spellburn, a listener sent an e-mail full of questions and the one that stuck out to me was what is each of the hosts Appendix N? That got me thinking about if I ran DCC, what would I draw from to build my campaign world? After some careful consideration I have four main things. The first is Robert Howard's Conan, for the savagery and how dangerous and corrupting magic can be. Then Lucio Fulci's Gates of Hell trilogy, for the mythology that's seems to exist there with creepy ghost kids speaking through photos and disturbing visuals. Clive Barker for the horror fantasy vibe going through his stories, especially looking at my favorite explorers in agony and ecstasy- cenobites! Finally I would pull stuff from Adventure Time, with it's Ice King, talking dog Jake, and a candy kingdom. Sheer poetry, friends.

     So, what is your personal Appendix N/ What do you think of mine? Let's hear some feedback. Take care everyone!

DCC rpg

     So recently I picked up the DCC rpg pdf on sale. I have been waffling about whether to try it or not, and the sale price was the clincher. What originally interested me was style, art wise and adventure wise, though I thought the Emirikol was Framed adventure sounded kind of cheesy. I started listening to the Spellburn podcast to get more of an idea how it plays, and I found more stuff to like. Magic can be a dangerous and corrupting influence, a page from Howard's Conan stories. That right there was a plus, there should be a price to pay for dancing with devils, and oh man what can happen is crazy. Not to be left out, warriors (and dwarves) can do mighty deeds of arms which is essentially a stunt from Exalted. You just need players who feel free to come up with something cool to try and you are golden.

     The rule book is almost a coffee table book, with amazing artwork throughout  by great artists including Erol Otus, Jeff Easley, and more.

     I would definitely play this, now running I feel a little skiddish about since there seems to be a chart for everything. That is a lot of page flipping, though once I have played a bit I may change my mind. So, is anyone out there running or playing a game of this? Give me your take on it, any pros and cons you want to share. As always, later guys and take care!