[Fanzine Focus XXXVI] Silam No. 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 Silam.

Silam No. 1: The Spike of Dosku and Silam No. 2: The Trials of Riao were published by Wizards With Laser Rifles following a successful Kickstarter campaign. It presents a whole new setting for Dungeons Crawl Classics, including a Character Funnel adventure, three new Classes, and a brief introduction to the setting. All of which is preceded by an excellent map of the setting. ‘A Brief History of Silam’ provides the overview of the setting, one which is divided by attitudes towards magic. In the wake of the Glass Wars, The Three Powers arose in Silam to prevent the country sliding into civil war between the Lawful and Chaotic use of magic by Clerics and Wizards, an alliance between Neutral Wizards and Druids providing a balancing force between the two. The Three Powers built Spikes, subterranean bunkers where members could train, live, and protect themselves. After almost five hundred years, the young Queen Budhi initiated The Shattering which destroyed The Three Powers and then execute any magic-using member of her court and those that had participated in The Shattering. Over two decades later, a powerful cleric rose to usurp the queen—and almost succeeded. Great walls were erected between the lands of Queen Budhi and those held by the supporters of the cleric. Since then, a cold war between the Crown of Nicsa and the Tribe of Lliram has divided Silam as much as the walls.

The background has a particular effect upon the role of spellcasting Classes. Wizards cannot be Neutral and the background requires the use of the Druid as a Class. Unfortunately, one of the problems in Silam No. 1: The Spike of Dosku is that it does not include a version of the Druid Class. Instead, it refers to other sources, ones that the Judge may not easily have access to. The Cleric worships not gods, as such but personifications of impulses such as ‘Protect’, ‘Change’, ‘Sleep’, and so on.

The Silam setting also does not use the Dwarf, Elf, and Halfling Race as per Dungeon Crawl Classics, although it does use as ‘Race as Class’ in introducing three new Races. These are the ‘Slate’, the ‘Icaron’, and the ‘Lorph’. The Slate is a tall, long-limbed humanoid with slate-like skin that gives an Armour Class bonus when not wearing armour and with ‘Metasig’s Touch’, grants them a Charge Die in combat. This can be rolled to create a ‘Defensive Field’ that gives a bonus to Armour Class or a ‘Melee Modifier’ that gives an attack modifier. The Slate can switch between the two from one round to the next and if the Charge Die rolls high enough, the defendant will also be stunned. A Slate’s Luck modifier applies to a single weapon also. The ‘Icaron’ is short and has bat-like features and vestigial wings. They have Echolocation with enclosed spaces and various Thief-like abilities, such as ‘Backstab’, ‘Climb Sheer Surfaces’, ‘Hide’, and ‘Sneak Silently’. Like the Halfling, the Icaron can also pass points of Luck to his allies, but the generosity of the Icaron means that he expects nothing in return. However, the universe gives back, actually returning some points of Luck afterwards! Lastly, the ‘Lorph’ are green-haired, brown-bearded, have wood-like finger and toenails, and are particularly indulgent. Their connection with the god of consumption, Haus, gives them the Forest Walk spell and they have the Charm Person spell which they can use on woodland creatures. Innately magical, Lorph can use both Cleric and Wizard spells, their use is subject to mercurial magic. However, their connection to both magic and Haus means that gaining too much magical power is dangerous and his ‘heart-seed’ can burst, causing him to transform into a tree and take root! A full list of the spells known by the Lorph is also included.

The second half of Silam No. 1: The Spike of Dosku is dedicated to the Character Funnel, ‘The Spike of Dosku’. The Character Funnel is the signature scenario of the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game, one in which the players take control of four Zero Level Player Characters and attempt to have them survive an adventure or dungeon. Any Player Characters that do, gain sufficient Experience Points for them to be able to pick a Class and become First Level. To that end, Silam No. 1: The Spike of Dosku does include a table of occupations appropriate to the Silam setting. ‘The Spike of Dosku’ begins in the village of Hearth, in the lands of the Tribe of Lliram. Forces from the Crown of Nicsa are putting the village to the sward and the flame and whilst the Player Characters are led to a possible route out of the immediate conflict, it is through an abandoned Spike. The adventure is thus through a small training Druidic School of Magic. The Player Characters could rush through to the end, the route being relatively direct, but it pays for them to explore as they will need to gain every advantage if they are get past the very tough—especially for Zero Level Player Characters—guardian protecting the other exit from the Spike. In between, there are some entertaining encounters, like a drunken gargoyle barkeeper who is furious at having been bound to work behind the bar, a Soup Construct with a chip on its shoulder, and a giant Moss Spider that will either eat the Player Characters or leave the Spike as their lifelong companion! ‘The Spike of Dosku’ is a sold Funnel, playable in a session or two, and very nicely detailed.

Physically, Silam No. 1: The Spike of Dosku is very well produced. The maps are nicely done and the artwork is excellent.

The problem with Silam No. 1: The Spike of Dosku is that the setting itself feels slightly muddled. It is not quite clear what the relationships between the different factions are and what some of them want. This then makes it difficult to impart the conflict and tensions present in the setting to the players and thus provide some basic motivations for their characters. However, get past that and Silam No. 1: The Spike of Dosku provides a well presented set of Player Character options and a very enjoyable Character Funnel. Overall, Silam No. 1: The Spike of Dosku is a good introduction to the setting that hopefully Silam No. 2: The Trials of Riao will build upon.