[Fanzine Focus XXVIII] Meanderings #1

On the tail of the Old School Renaissance has come another movement—the rise of the fanzine. Although the fanzine—a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon, got its start in Science Fiction fandom, in the gaming hobby it first started with Chess and Diplomacy fanzines before finding fertile ground in the roleplaying hobby in the 1970s. Here these amateurish publications allowed the hobby a public space for two things. First, they were somewhere that the hobby could voice opinions and ideas that lay outside those of a game’s publisher. Second, in the Golden Age of roleplaying when the Dungeon Masters were expected to create their own settings and adventures, they also provided a rough and ready source of support for the game of your choice. Many also served as vehicles for the fanzine editor’s house campaign and thus they showed another DM and group played said game. This would often change over time if a fanzine accepted submissions. Initially, fanzines were primarily dedicated to the big three RPGs of the 1970s—Dungeons & Dragons, RuneQuest, and Traveller—but fanzines have appeared dedicated to other RPGs since, some of which helped keep a game popular in the face of no official support.

Since 2008 with the publication of Fight On #1, the Old School Renaissance has had its own fanzines. The advantage of the Old School Renaissance is that the various Retroclones draw from the same source and thus one Dungeons & Dragons-style RPG is compatible with another. This means that the contents of one fanzine will compatible with the Retroclone that you already run and play even if not specifically written for it. Labyrinth Lord and Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Roleplay have proved to be popular choices to base fanzines around, as has Swords & Wizardry. Another choice is the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game.

Published in August, 2017, Meanderings Issue #1 is a fanzine for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game. It focuses on ‘Weapons  & Deeds’  and is not to be confused with the later Meandering – Across the Radlands #1, from the same author and focusing on the same subject matter. It is a short affair, presenting just the four article. The big one is ‘The Dungeon Crawl Classics Weapons Project’. This takes the Mighty Deeds of Arms ability of the Warrior and the Dwarf Classes, and expands it greatly by providing a Mighty Deeds table for each and every one of the weapons listed in the equipment table in the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game. These are designed for effects against living creatures rather than the undead or constructs, but all together, some twenty-weapons are described in this fashion, starting with battleaxe and blackjack and running all the way down to two-handed sword and Warhammer. This includes thrown weapons, such as daggers and javelins, and missile weapons, like bows and crossbows, too. The result takes up more than half of the fanzine, but it colours the way a Warrior or a Dwarf fights, expanding the options available when rolling for a Mighty Deed of Arms. On the downside, it does add a degree of extra checking when in the middle of combat, but that is always going to be the case when going beyond the rules in any core book.

Meanderings Issue #1 does not just limit the Mighty Deeds of Arms ability to the Warrior and the Dwarf Classes. In Crawl! No. 12: The Luck Issue, the author suggested that the players burn their characters’ Luck to use Deeds. With ‘Lesser Deeds of Daring’ he suggests allowing characters to exchange their attack bonus with a comparable Deed Die, so an attack of +4 could be swapped for a four-sided Deed Die. What this means is that all Player Characters, whatever their Class have access to Mighty Deeds of Arms, and do so without burning Luck, which for most Classes other than the Halfling and the Thief, is a finite resource. Also, because it is not an inherent ability as the Warrior and Dwarf Classes and because their attack bonus will be lower, they will always be rolling for Lesser Deeds of Daring. That is, when it comes to Mighty Deeds of Arms, the Warrior and the Dwarf are always better, and thus maintain their Classes’ advantage.

‘Lucky Deeds of Daring’ expands upon the earlier ‘Lesser Deeds of Daring’ article and on the earlier suggestion that the players burn their characters’ Luck to use Deeds in Crawl! No. 12: The Luck Issue. This allows for all characters of all Classes to burn Luck to attempt a Mighty Deed and burn more to increase the die type on the dice chain, which also adds to attack and damage rolls. Of course, with their regenerating Luck, the Thief and the Halfling Class have the advantage, but the article allows other Classes to using the Thief’s backstab ability by permanently burning Luck! Almost to counter this, two tables allow for ‘not-Mighty Deeds of Arms’ that the Thief or a more disreputable Warrior might carry out. These are the ‘Dastardly Deeds of Deceit – Hamstring’ and ‘Dastardly Deeds of Deceit – Hindering Strike, or Strap Cutter’, which are some really nasty attacks. Again, this opens up options and makes combat in the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game even deadlier. These tables would really work with a campaign where there are lots of thieves, or where everyone is a thief, such as Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar.

Rounding out Meanderings Issue #1 is ‘Bastion – Campaign Setting Part 1’. It introduces a setting wrought and warped by a long war between Sorcerer Kings who were ultimately assassinated, leaving their magics and warp beasts to ravage the land with Bastion, an enormous city, remaining as the last refuge of society. The city is governed by feuding guilds who had originally served the Sorcerer Kings and arranged their assassinations. The article provides changes to the core Classes of Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game, notably the Dwarf is actually more like the Halfling, but without the Luck and arms them with charged-adamantine guns; Elves are unchanged, but are hedonists; and the Halfling is termed the Git and its Luck ability extends to manipulating their enemies’ rolls too! Lastly, it adds the Ogre as a Class, and are big, dumb, and dangerous. They gain two dice on the dice chain to break or bend things and one die on the damage rolled for the massive weapons they wield, but lose two on the dice chain for initiative rolls. It lists several other Classes, but saves their details for a future issues of Meanderings.

Physically, Meanderings Issue #1 is perfunctorily done at best, but is easy to read and very lightly illustrated. Meanderings Issue #1 is a decent enough little fanzine, but its focus on weapons and deeds will not be for everyone. If a Dungeon Crawl Classics playing group does want to make more of its combat and make much more of Mighty Deeds of Arms, even allowing Classes other the Warrior and the Dwarf have access to them, then Meanderings Issue #1 gives those options.