[Fanzine Focus XLIV] Visitors to Fairhaven 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 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 and some of them can be for quite small roleplaying games such as Weird Heroes of Public Access: The Roleplaying Game. This is 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. What is truly weird is that Weird Heroes of Public Access: The Roleplaying Game has not one fanzine devoted to it, but two! One is 13 This Week from Savage AfterWorld, whilst the other is Visitors to Fairhaven from Dragon Peak Publishing.

Visitors to Fairhaven No. 1: The Yellow Truth of Fellowship Farm was published in September, 2024 by Dragon Peak Publishing. From the outset, Visitors to Fairhaven No. 1 has an identity problem. Is its title ‘Children of the Yellow Moon’ or ‘The Yellow Truth of Fellowship Farm’? Is it a fanzine or not a fanzine? The former is unclear, whilst the latter is certain. It is not a fanzine. Rather, it is a scenario inspired by R.W. Chambers’ The King in Yellow. As Hosts of their own public access television series the Station Manager is offering them a great prize—having a commercial for their programme played between features at the town’s Film Palace! All a Host has to do get an interview on his programme with Eric Garcia! The Hollywood star of popular television series Mi Mama and Me—recently cancelled on a cliff-hanger—has returned to his hometown after the death of his estranged mother, Victoria, in the decrepit manner where she raised him.

There are complications of course. Victoria Garcia died under mysterious circumstances (randomly determined) and whilst Eric wants the house rezoned for commercial use, but the council wants to make it a historical site. It is also cluttered and Eric wants a photographic album found, but it is possible that the Hosts will find a strange comic, Tales of Mystery, which has characters almost like the Hosts on the cover and inside the story tells the events of the scenario so far… Plus, one of the Hosts is holding an ancient dagger and stabbing at a yellow orb that bears a killer’s face. There are further complications, including Eric’s pregnant daughter, a religious therapy camp for troubled teens which probably takes its fundamentalism too far, and a set of tunnels that seem to run everywhere under Fairhaven.

And that really is it to Visitors to Fairhaven No. 1—and it is only the first ten pages. So, what of the remaining eighteen? Well, they consist of three tables—‘d66 Visitors to Fairhaven’, ‘d66 Weird Places’, and ‘d66 Strange Complications’. They are there for if the Game Master needs an additional weird element, whether that is a visitor, location, or complication. The author has some fun with these, such as FBI Agent Clarisse Foster, “Young and confident. Looking for a serial killer. Constantly on the phone, calling a convicted cannibal for advice.” Or an encounter with man who says, “Have you seen it? I have.” and then his face as if it were a mask, before disappearing from existence, leaving behind only the ‘mask’ that was his face!

Which all begs the question, “And?” What happens next? How do the NPCs respond to the Hosts’ actions and questions? Well, they are left up to the Game Master to decide and improvise during play, but the Game Master is never told this. Consequently, ‘The Yellow Truth of Fellowship Farm’ is neither a scenario nor an adventure, because it is all set-up and nothing else. It is a perfectly good set-up, but it is not complete. Plus, almost two thirds of Visitors to Fairhaven No. 1 is something else entirely and those tables are good, but necessarily ones that need consulting during the scenario. Lastly, it is not really a fanzine. It is professionally produced rather than fan produced and really does not feel like a fanzine.

Physically, Visitors to Fairhaven No. 1 is solidly produced and presented. It is a quick and easy read. The cover is eye-catching in a pulpy style.

Visitors to Fairhaven No. 1 is going to leaving the Game Master wanting more. ‘The Yellow Truth of Fellowship Farm’ is a solid set-up even if it does leave the Game Master with all of the work to do, whilst the three sets of tables are going to be useful in the long term. Overall fine, but if the Game Master who wants something ready-to-play, then she should look elsewhere.