[Fanzine Focus XLII] 13 This Week – 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 showed how another Dungeon Master and her 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. That said, not all fanzines support or are written for the Old School Renaissance. That said, not all fanzines support or are written for the Old School Renaissance. Some are written for more modern roleplaying games. 13 This Week from Savage AfterWorld is written for use with Weird Heroes of Public Access: The Roleplaying Game, a roleplaying game in which the hosts of public access television shows investigate odd happenings in the town of Fairhaven and try to prevent the town from getting too weird, It is no surprise though, that the simple roleplaying game has a fanzine of its own, since its designer has written for the Old School Renaissance with fanzines such as Ninja City, written for use with the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game.

13 This Week – Issue 1 was published in December, 2024 by Savage AfterWorld. It is a short affair at just eighteen pages in length, but essentially designed as the channels listings for the station, WHPA TV13. In keeping with that, the issue includes public announcements, local programmes, and special features. The first of these is ‘WHPA JOB POSTINGS’ which offers up two new programme hosts. One is the children’s clown entertainer, who as a ‘Clown School Graduate’ can dodge or tumble out of the way of any body damage, all the children of Fairhaven love him and will tell him everything, and as a ‘Birthday Party Maven’, knows lots of families and people in the town. The Infomercial Salesperson is the Master of the ‘Hard Sell’ and has a high Mouth Skill, with ‘I Just Happen To Have One With Me’, has a carload of slightly rubbish goods to sell that have appeared on his programme, and starts off with extra income. These are both entertaining and lend themselves to roleplaying the cliches.

‘13 This Week: WHPA Public Access for the week beginning January 10’ lists the programmes for the week. These include ‘Bowling Is Good For Your Soul!’, ‘Safecracking For Fun And Profit’, and the headlining quiz, ‘Name That Squatch!’. All of the entries have a short description, and most are accompanied by a scenario hook in the footnotes. For example, ‘Morton Douglas Reems’ Brusque Conversations’ is a bombastic and confrontational talk show in which host Morton Douglas host deals with the topics other talk shows are afraid to address, such as ‘Gun Licences for Toddlers’ and ‘What’s With All These Mouthy Broads?’ The footnote explains that Reems is actually a chaos demon, practicing Discordian, and minion of Eris who sows discord and unrest wherever he materialises! There are lots and lots of ideas here that the Game Master can develop with a bit of an effort.

The issue includes one, but not two ‘WHPA TV13 Special Feature Presentations’. The first of these is ‘Wiseguys On Wheels’ in which the Hosts are asked by the Station Manager to investigate the change in behaviour of the team members of Fairhaven’s beloved roller derby team, the Reamin’ Demons. The scenario is an entertaining mix of roller-skating action, mafia crime spree, and ghosts, hopefully culminating in a confrontation in the rink. This is followed by ‘Hello World’ in which the Station Manager asks the Hosts to investigate a cry for help. The message is sent via fax—how modern?—from a woman called Eliza who explains that she is being held prisoner by cultists of ‘The Church of GOTO 10’ somewhere in Fairhaven. The Hosts get to do a raid on the cultist hideout and rescue Eliza. Both scenarios are short, but entertaining. Easy to drop into a campaign or run as one-shots.

Physically, 13 This Week – Issue 1 is presented in cheesy fashion and tone. The artwork is fittingly cheap and cheerful.

13 This Week – Issue 1 successfully emulates entertainment pages in entertaining fashion. Two ready-to-play scenarios and lots and lots of hooks. Hopefully, this issue and others will collected into a single volume.