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 popular choice of system for fanzines, is Goodman Games’ Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game, such as Crawl! and Crawling Under a Broken Moon. 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 the aforementioned Crawling Under A Broken Moon.
Crawling Under A Broken Moon Fanzine Issue No. 8 was published in in July, 2015 by Shield of Faith Studios. It continued the detailing of post-apocalyptic setting of Umerica and Urth which had begun in Crawling Under A Broken Moon Fanzine Issue No. 1, and would be continued in Crawling Under A Broken Moon Fanzine Issue No. 2, which added further Classes, monsters, and weapons, Crawling Under A Broken Moon Fanzine Issue No. 3, which provided the means to create Player Characters and gave them a Character Funnel to play, Crawling Under A Broken Moon Fanzine Issue No. 4, which detailed several Patrons for the setting, whilst Crawling Under A Broken Moon Fanzine Issue No. 5 explored one of the inspirations for the setting and fanzine, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, whilst Crawling Under A Broken Moon Fanzine Issue No. 6 and Crawling Under A Broken Moon Fanzine Issue No. 7 continued that trend with another inspiration, Mad Max, with a look at vehicles of all types. Crawling Under A Broken Moon Fanzine Issue No. 8 marks a radical shift in content and style, but one that will be familiar to the Old School Renaissance.
The setting has, of course, gone on to be presented in more detail in The Umerican Survival Guide – Core Setting Guide, now distributed by Goodman Games. The setting itself is a world brought about after a rogue object from deep space passed between the Earth and the Moon and ripped apart time and space, leaving behind a planet which would recover, but leave its inhabitants ruled by savagery, cruel sorcery, and twisted science.
Crawling Under A Broken Moon Fanzine Issue No. 8 contains the first part of an A to Z for the post-apocalyptic setting of Umerica and Urth, the second part appearing in Crawling Under A Broken Moon Fanzine Issue No. 9. There was a phase of producing to A to Z guides, such as The Dungeon Alphabet from Goodman Games and The Wilderness Alphabet: A Collection of Random Charts, Tables, and Ideas for use with various Games of Imagination. In each case, the entries in these supplements were not simple guides or descriptions of their subjects, but as the subtitle of the latter book suggests, were instead tables that the Game Master or Judge could roll on—sometimes more than one—to randomly determine elements of the setting such as the description of a door or an altar, the look of an NPC, the contents of a chest, and so on. These tables can be used in play, at the table, the Game Master rolling on them as needed or she can consult them as part of her preparation. This particular issue runs from ‘A is for Aliens’ to ‘M for Mutants with every table being accompanied by a short description and instructions as to what dice to roll.
The entries begin with the most complex of the tables, ‘A is for Aliens’ and ‘B is for Barter Goods’, requiring more than a single roll in each case, but most require only a single roll. Most entries consist of items and locations that can be found and added in the moment, such as “T-shirts with offensive language, pants with ‘Sassy’ written on the backside, and something called “Capri’s”. It’s no wonder the world ended. Moth-eaten clothes. 1d100 buttons, 2d30 zippers, and 2d24 pieces of cloth.” in ‘G is for Garbage’ or “Hunter’s Stew - An old standby of whatever was caught, captured, foraged, or found thrown into a pot with water, ground grain, and maybe a seasoning or two. Only a 1-in-20 chance of choking on a bit of bone, talon, or button. Value: 4cp per bowl the first day, 2cp per bowl after that.” under ‘E is for Edibles’.
Other tables lend themselves to a longer and greater effect upon a campaign. For example, “When the world fell apart, select government officials retreated into underground bunkers to wait out the cataclysm. With no end in sight, life in the bunker broke down into barbarism. After 1000 years, a new force has emerged from the bunkers. Calling themselves the “Shadow Government”, this faction uses ancient technology and robotic soldiers to subjugate the surrounding communities.” from ‘F is for Factions’ and “A former weapons factory, this lab has been converted into a makeshift ammo factory. There are weird and slightly radioactive powders around the place. There is a 20% chance of moving any of the highly valuable firearm parts that a minor radiation hazard will be stirred up. Make a mutation check after 1d10 hours of checking through this location.” for ‘L is for Laboratories’. There are entries where the authors are having some fun with us, as the “A small mainframe computer that is already running. The screen shows obscure coordinate information and an alert box will pop up requesting “CONFIRM TARGET [YES/NO?]”.” entry for ‘C is for Computers’.
Crawling Under A Broken Moon Fanzine Issue No. 8 is by nature bitty and disparate with its numerous different entries and writeups. It is not an issue to read through from end to end, but to consult from time to time in search of something that will make a Judge’s game just that little bit more interesting and more exciting, which all of its entries have the ability to do. Further, because there really is no specific setting detail given in its various tables, the contents of Crawling Under A Broken Moon Fanzine Issue No. 8 will work with a lot of other post apocalyptic roleplaying games and not just the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game or Mutant Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game – Triumph & Technology Won by Mutants & Magic.
No comments:
Post a Comment