[Fanzine Focus XXXVI] Legends of Uganda Issue #1

On the tail of 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 showcased how 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 be 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 and the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game from Goodman Games. Some of these fanzines provide fantasy support for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game, but others explore other genres for use with Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game. One such fanzine is Legends of Uganda.

Legends of Uganda Issue #1 was published in August 2023 for Gen Con. Published by Sanctum Media, this a collection of lore and legends from the Republic of Uganda. Of course, there have been sourcebooks and supplements dedicated to Africa as a setting, such as Nyambe: African Adventures for the d20 System and Between Sand & Sea: Mythic Africa for Ars Magica—both from Atlas Games, but such titles tend not to be written by authors indigenous to the region. This is not the case with Legends of Uganda Issue #1, which is written by Ugandan game designer Ashraf Braden. This first issue details five legends and their stats, some weapons, and lastly a much needed pronunciation guide. It begins with an introduction from the author, explaining a little bit about his background and how he is drawing upon his country’s history in writing the fanzine, but also highlighting the difficulties in writing the fanzine, let alone bring it to print. Primarily this is due to a lack of access to the means, but he also makes clear that his publishers have been very helpful. Hopefully, this will continue and perhaps even encourage others from different cultures to contribute towards content for use with Dungeon Crawl Classics?

The first entry in Legends of Uganda Issue #1 is the ‘Kakondo’, one of numerous monsters detailed in the in the fanzine. Like many of the monsters detailed in the fanzine, it both hunts and haunts at night and it does so without being seen, but its presence is felt. This is as a supernatural presence, and once close to its victim, it paralyses him, inflicting terror and draining Personality. The ‘Lukwata’ is a sea serpent who took up residence in Lake Victoria, basking by day on an island called Ssese, and becoming the bane of fishermen of all three nations which border the lake. The ‘Lukwata’ can impale, cut, and slash with its gill-ridges and slash with its whiskers. The ‘River Elemental’ is a variant upon the Water Element, but specific to the rivers of Uganda. The ‘River Elemental’ is incredibly fast and can not only engulf and drown its victims, it can also drag debris within itself. This includes branches and scrub and uprooted trees and buildings, but where the creature gets fun is that this debris can include creatures like a swarm of fire ants or a Nile crocodile, and there is a chance that anyone struck by the River Elemental is also attacked or struck by the debris!

The final monster described in Legends of Uganda Issue #1  are the ‘Abasezi – The Night Dancers’. These are cursed cannibals who attend funerals unbidden and mark the graves before coming back to steal the bodies at night and return home to consume them. Because the curse is hereditary and family-based, outsiders have to carefully vet their would-be in-laws to see if they cursed. This is made difficult by the fact that the Abasezi look and act normal during the day. Each band of Abasezi has its own special ability, liking casting Sleeping Stones or Anthropophagus Healing. In comparison, to the entries in the fanzine, the Abasezi are nicely creepy, yet still relatable.

In addition to the actual monster descriptions, the author provides the legend those stats are derived from. For example, ‘Kamila’, meaning ‘swallower’ is a River Elemental sent as punishment by Nalubaale, the ‘mother of gods’, for anyone who annoyed her. The legend relates how Kamila would drown houses and their occupants at the command of Nalubaale, but was defeated by a fisherman by trapping it in house. Stats for ‘Kamila’ are also provided alongside the generic ones as well. 

In between are descriptions of African weapons, complete with associated Mighty Deeds. The ‘Yakoma’ or ‘sickle sword’ which has a sharply curved blade that can be used hook and tear, but primarily to pull an enemy off-balance and trip him. The ‘Panga’ and its larger counterpart, the ‘Ejambiya’, have heavy blades which can dismember limbs, and are much feared, whilst the ‘Fishing Net’ is used to entangle. All of these weapons have their own tables for the results of the Deed die. 

The only Class in Legends of Uganda Issue #1 is the ‘Bachwezi’. They are nomadic cattle keepers, again moving about at night, unseen, but heard as their voices and whistles carry, whilst leaving behind the remains of campfires. Descended from gods, in game terms they have higher attributes, prefer to have others fight for them, are Chaotic in Alignment, and by expending Luck, can turn invisible. Other powers include the ‘Soul-Bind’, the ability to rip a victim’s soul from his body and put this soul-form to work, whilst the victim remains magically asleep, and Telepathy. Use of these powers require the expenditure of Luck, and their effects can be increased by expending further Luck. They also regain Luck each night. However, all of these abilities are negated if a Bachwezi is exposed to sunlight, and even light stronger than moonlight imposes a penalty to actions. Stats are provided for the Bachwezi as NPCs or monsters, but this a much more powerful Class by usual Dungeon Crawl Classics standards. However, it remains to be seen if it is more powerful in comparison to other Classes that could appear in the pages of future issues of Legends of Uganda. 

Physically, Legends of Uganda Issue #1 is a plain, simple affair. The artwork is black and white, consisting of what looks like traditional depictions of the various monsters described in its pages.

If there is an issue with Legends of Uganda Issue #1, it is that in places its content does run into each other with little to delineate between one article and the next. Also, the fanzine is often written in a more personal style than is expected and the switch back and forth between that and a more objective style is slightly disconcerting.

Legends of Uganda Issue #1 really is a fascinating read, an opportunity to read about the monsters and legends of another country and not only that, but have translated into game terms—and all that by an indigenous author. Legends of Uganda Issue #1 brings a different voice and a different culture to Dungeon Crawl Classics and so widens it scope. It is more than welcome and hopefully more issues of Legends of Uganda and more voices will follow.