[Fanzine Focus XXIX] One of Us #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.

One of Us #1 is a post-apocalyptic fanzine for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game. Published by Starry Wisdom Press in January, 2021, it casts the Player Characters as drifters, grifters, ne’er-do-wells, and desperate cast asunder following the Big Mistake, a war of some kind that was perhaps a decade or two ago. This places it roughly in the desperate, dirty decade of the thirties or even ‘Golden Era’ of the fifties. The Player Characters are specifically carnies, members of a travelling carnival, indentured to the mysterious being known as The Madame. In exchange for wondrous powers and “a more perfect self,” The Madame calls upon the carnies to procure for her, magnificent artifacts, as the carnival crisscrosses the dusty and dangerous remains of a once robust and proud land. Their efforts and their presence do not go unnoticed—cannibal hobos, shadowy cults, and uncouth hecklers will do everything in their power to prevent your caravan from carrying out its mission.

One of Us #1 is primarily about the Classes and Races of the setting—all of which come from the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game. This includes the Dwarves, Elves, and Halflings. The fanzine opens with ‘OCCUPTATIONS Now Hiring!’, a table of Occupations suitable for backgrounds and of course, Zero Level characters, all of them for a modern set period. All Classes can use two Signature Weapons from First Level. These are two weapons a Player Character or NPC can use without a penalty, whereas other weapons suffer a step down in die type as a penalty. The first of the Classes is the Strong-Person, which uses ‘Table G: Giants’ for critical hits, ‘Titan’s Might’ means a thirty-sided die is used for Strength checks, Strength of Will grants a Might Die used for all attacks and Strength checks, and Hidden Reserves allows Personality to be temporarily expended to gain an additional Might Die. The second Class, the Acrobat can ‘Roll with the Punches’ and has a better base Armour Class, Cat’s Grace which means the Acrobat can avoid damage too, and as a ‘Land Sailor’, is fast on land and in the air due to climbing, flipping, and leaping over obstacles. The Acrobat is also Ambidextrous and has a ‘Tumbling Die’ which is used for acrobatics and Mighty Deeds for ranged attacks. The Natural Wonder is the third Class and is one of ‘The Madame’s Perfect Children’ and so has Luck like a Halfling, has mutations due to ‘Atomic Singularities’, but due to ‘Mother’s Milk’, is fortified against radiation. An accompanying table provides the mutations.

The three Classes—Strong-Person, Acrobat, or Natural Wonder are all obvious in their inspiration, being archetypal Carnival types, and all well done in their design. Other Classes from both the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game and the Mutant Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game can be imported with little changes, but the Wizard becomes the Mystic, the Cleric the Revivalist, and the Elf, Dwarf, and Halfling The Stranger From A Strange Land. Backed up with a short selection of equipment, these are thematically interesting Classes which should also be fun to play.

Quite what The Madame is never defined in One of Us #1. She could be a demon, the devil herself, a god, or she something in between. She does serve as a Patron for the Player Characters and so can be invoked and there is the danger of suffering Patron Taint. What she wants is trinkets and gewgaws which together will free her from the bondage which confines her to her magical caravan. And this really is the extent of the setting notes and background given in One of Us #1, and that really is the big issue with the fanzine. It is full of brilliant content that suggests possibilities of a type and style of game or campaign, but does not explore either or suggest scenario ideas. Or indeed, give a Character Funnel or scenario, either of which would have shown the Judge what the designers intended. Hopefully that will be provided in the pages of One of Us #2.

Rounding out One of Us #1 is a half dozen monsters particular to the Dust Bowl. These include the Rag Creep, a thing wrapped in rags soaked in grain alcohol, psychedelic desert flower, and camphor to sooth their radiation-burned skin; the Witherer, the spirit of an old woman who haunts water sources who begs others to help her find her lost children and then feeds on their goodwill and hope; and the Dust Preacher, a preacher in his former life not only failed to protect his flock, but made demands of them in return for his protection. Now it demands a tithe of its own Hit Points to gain one-shot actions such as second attack or a static lightning blast! All six monsters are nicely detailed and fit the setting.

Physically, One of Us #1 is well presented with excellent artwork. One of Us #1 is a superb little read, combining elements of horror and the fantastic against a backdrop of broken Americana. One of Us #1 is incomplete though, and more background and some scenarios and scenario hooks would be very, very welcome.