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Fanzine Thoughts
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Nicole Massey
Aug 24, 2012, 3:01:44 PM8/24/12
to
Since I'm working on the big fanzine index project I've had the chance to
check out a decent number of them, and to look at issue totals for even
more. And I've noticed some interesting trends.
Fanzines tend to stop production at common points. The first one is at the
four issue mark. This makes sense, as most of these start out as quarterly
publications. One year is a good amount of time to learn things, and it's
not an easy thing to do, publishing something with no compensation and only
volunteer help.
The next point is seven issues. This one happens almost as often as four
issue runs. That's one issue shy of two years for a quarterly publication,
one past two years for three issues a year, and just past a year for
bimonthly publications. Again, I think burnout is to blame there.
The next marker point is in the 13-17 range. I've run into a lot of things
that died in this range, including some published for profit mags. Again
these were based on reader submissions.
Of course, the big dogs in the pack, like The Dragon, Dungeon, Polyhedron,
White Dwarf, and Alzarims & Excursions, (That last one is a really big
dog -- it's moving toward about 40 years of issues now) don't count in this,
and I plan to look at what they did to get their totals up and keep things
going. White Dwarf is sort of odd in this pack, as it turned into a
Warhammer magazine around issue 100, so it's been purely a house organ since
then.
Topic is an interesting thing too. I have yet to find any consistent long
term publication past four issues dealing with Gamma World. (If you know of
one, let me know) I've found nothing for any of the spy/espionage games,
either. The Journal of the Traveller's Aid Society is the only one I've
found for Traveller, though Pegasus and Dragon have done Traveller articles,
and one issue of Pegasus was very traveller heavy. I've also not run into
any zines dealing with any of the Supers games. The overwhelming number deal
with FRP's, especially D&D and its variants. (And I'd love to find a World
of Darkness zine, too, one that focuses on the original and revised
editions, not this current one)
The project is coming along, with all of Footprints and Pegasus indexed, and
White Dwarf is my current project. (I also have the first two issues of & in
the mix, of course) I'm looking for a source for Dungeoneer and Judges'
Guild Journal past issue 6 of Dungeoneer, as I want to index those. I'm also
going ot ask for help from some of the pay zines to get them to do their own
index, as I can't afford to buy every issue of one like Fight On.
What have I found the most in topics? A lot of adventures, a lot of rules
and add-ons, some monsters and a few more magic items. Footprints has some
interesting recipes for game night, which was a nice addition. I can't
comment on artwork, but there are a lot of tables. Character classes also
seem to be rather popular.
I've also gotten a much clearer feeling for the differences between the
different versions of D&D. I was hoping to get a feel for the difference
between Top Secret and Top Secret/S.I., but I haven't had any chance to go
through any of that system's stuff.
I welcome suggestions of other zines to look for. I have the following in my
list:
&
Alzarims & Excursions
The Apocalyptic Post
The Candlekeep Compendium
Domesday
Dragon
Dungeon
Dungeoneer
Dyson's Dodecahedron
Encounter
Fight On!
Footprints
Grey Worlds
The Guild Companion
The Guildsman
Imagine
Iridia
Iron Crown Quarterly
Judges Guild Journal
Knock Spell
Kobold Quarterly
The Newsletter of the Lincoln Middle School D&D Club
OD&Dities
The Oerth Journal
Pegasus
Polyhedron
Portal - Legendary Worlds
Project Stone Jambalaya
Rolemaster Quarterly
Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer
White Dwarf
check out a decent number of them, and to look at issue totals for even
more. And I've noticed some interesting trends.
Fanzines tend to stop production at common points. The first one is at the
four issue mark. This makes sense, as most of these start out as quarterly
publications. One year is a good amount of time to learn things, and it's
not an easy thing to do, publishing something with no compensation and only
volunteer help.
The next point is seven issues. This one happens almost as often as four
issue runs. That's one issue shy of two years for a quarterly publication,
one past two years for three issues a year, and just past a year for
bimonthly publications. Again, I think burnout is to blame there.
The next marker point is in the 13-17 range. I've run into a lot of things
that died in this range, including some published for profit mags. Again
these were based on reader submissions.
Of course, the big dogs in the pack, like The Dragon, Dungeon, Polyhedron,
White Dwarf, and Alzarims & Excursions, (That last one is a really big
dog -- it's moving toward about 40 years of issues now) don't count in this,
and I plan to look at what they did to get their totals up and keep things
going. White Dwarf is sort of odd in this pack, as it turned into a
Warhammer magazine around issue 100, so it's been purely a house organ since
then.
Topic is an interesting thing too. I have yet to find any consistent long
term publication past four issues dealing with Gamma World. (If you know of
one, let me know) I've found nothing for any of the spy/espionage games,
either. The Journal of the Traveller's Aid Society is the only one I've
found for Traveller, though Pegasus and Dragon have done Traveller articles,
and one issue of Pegasus was very traveller heavy. I've also not run into
any zines dealing with any of the Supers games. The overwhelming number deal
with FRP's, especially D&D and its variants. (And I'd love to find a World
of Darkness zine, too, one that focuses on the original and revised
editions, not this current one)
The project is coming along, with all of Footprints and Pegasus indexed, and
White Dwarf is my current project. (I also have the first two issues of & in
the mix, of course) I'm looking for a source for Dungeoneer and Judges'
Guild Journal past issue 6 of Dungeoneer, as I want to index those. I'm also
going ot ask for help from some of the pay zines to get them to do their own
index, as I can't afford to buy every issue of one like Fight On.
What have I found the most in topics? A lot of adventures, a lot of rules
and add-ons, some monsters and a few more magic items. Footprints has some
interesting recipes for game night, which was a nice addition. I can't
comment on artwork, but there are a lot of tables. Character classes also
seem to be rather popular.
I've also gotten a much clearer feeling for the differences between the
different versions of D&D. I was hoping to get a feel for the difference
between Top Secret and Top Secret/S.I., but I haven't had any chance to go
through any of that system's stuff.
I welcome suggestions of other zines to look for. I have the following in my
list:
&
Alzarims & Excursions
The Apocalyptic Post
The Candlekeep Compendium
Domesday
Dragon
Dungeon
Dungeoneer
Dyson's Dodecahedron
Encounter
Fight On!
Footprints
Grey Worlds
The Guild Companion
The Guildsman
Imagine
Iridia
Iron Crown Quarterly
Judges Guild Journal
Knock Spell
Kobold Quarterly
The Newsletter of the Lincoln Middle School D&D Club
OD&Dities
The Oerth Journal
Pegasus
Polyhedron
Portal - Legendary Worlds
Project Stone Jambalaya
Rolemaster Quarterly
Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer
White Dwarf
Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)
Aug 24, 2012, 4:58:55 PM8/24/12
to
On 8/24/12 3:01 PM, Nicole Massey wrote:
> Of course, the big dogs in the pack, like The Dragon, Dungeon, Polyhedron,
> White Dwarf, and Alzarims & Excursions,
Don't you mean "Alarums & Excursions"?
> Of course, the big dogs in the pack, like The Dragon, Dungeon, Polyhedron,
> White Dwarf, and Alzarims & Excursions,
--
Sea Wasp
/^\
;;;
Website: http://www.grandcentralarena.com Blog:
http://seawasp.livejournal.com
Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)
Aug 24, 2012, 5:55:04 PM8/24/12
to
On 8/24/12 4:58 PM, Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor) wrote:
> On 8/24/12 3:01 PM, Nicole Massey wrote:
>
>> Of course, the big dogs in the pack, like The Dragon, Dungeon,
>> Polyhedron,
>> White Dwarf, and Alzarims & Excursions,
>
>
> Don't you mean "Alarums & Excursions"?
>
>
Also, none of those belong in a list of fanzines. Those are prozines,
> On 8/24/12 3:01 PM, Nicole Massey wrote:
>
>> Of course, the big dogs in the pack, like The Dragon, Dungeon,
>> Polyhedron,
>> White Dwarf, and Alzarims & Excursions,
>
>
> Don't you mean "Alarums & Excursions"?
>
>
very much so and well established. Fanzines are fan-published, nonprofit
ventures.
Will in New Haven
Aug 24, 2012, 9:31:00 PM8/24/12
to
On Aug 24, 5:55 pm, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
--
Will in New Haven
Sunspear, who walked the length of Shadows Dance
<seaw...@sgeinc.invalid.com> wrote:
> On 8/24/12 4:58 PM, Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor) wrote:
>
> > On 8/24/12 3:01 PM, Nicole Massey wrote:
>
> >> Of course, the big dogs in the pack, like The Dragon, Dungeon,
> >> Polyhedron,
> >> White Dwarf, and Alzarims & Excursions,
>
> > Don't you mean "Alarums & Excursions"?
>
> Also, none of those belong in a list of fanzines. Those are prozines,
> very much so and well established. Fanzines are fan-published, nonprofit
> ventures.
>
Alarums & Excursions was a fanzine when I used to read it.
> On 8/24/12 4:58 PM, Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor) wrote:
>
> > On 8/24/12 3:01 PM, Nicole Massey wrote:
>
> >> Of course, the big dogs in the pack, like The Dragon, Dungeon,
> >> Polyhedron,
> >> White Dwarf, and Alzarims & Excursions,
>
> > Don't you mean "Alarums & Excursions"?
>
> Also, none of those belong in a list of fanzines. Those are prozines,
> very much so and well established. Fanzines are fan-published, nonprofit
> ventures.
>
--
Will in New Haven
Sunspear, who walked the length of Shadows Dance
Nicole Massey
Aug 24, 2012, 10:25:00 PM8/24/12
to
"Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)" <sea...@sgeinc.invalid.com> wrote in message
news:k18puf$sbe$1...@dont-email.me...
> On 8/24/12 3:01 PM, Nicole Massey wrote:
>
>> Of course, the big dogs in the pack, like The Dragon, Dungeon,
>> Polyhedron,
>> White Dwarf, and Alzarims & Excursions,
>
>
> Don't you mean "Alarums & Excursions"?
Yep. Stupid spell checker and my persistent inability to remember that
>
>> Of course, the big dogs in the pack, like The Dragon, Dungeon,
>> Polyhedron,
>> White Dwarf, and Alzarims & Excursions,
>
>
> Don't you mean "Alarums & Excursions"?
particular name make me mis-write it constantly.
Nicole Massey
Aug 24, 2012, 10:28:42 PM8/24/12
to
news:k18t7o$e1p$1...@dont-email.me...
looking at all RPG magazines, not just fanzines, as the project includes the
gamut. We will eventually have an index for every magazine of any level of
publication that we can find. So if a person wants to look at hero system
articles that take place in airports, for example, the database will return
that info. And if someone playing Top Secret, Gamma World, or any other
system and is looking for an airport, they can get all of them too. And
yes, this is going to take a while.
> On 8/24/12 4:58 PM, Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor) wrote:
>> On 8/24/12 3:01 PM, Nicole Massey wrote:
>>
>>> Of course, the big dogs in the pack, like The Dragon, Dungeon,
>>> Polyhedron,
>>> White Dwarf, and Alzarims & Excursions,
>>
>>
>> Don't you mean "Alarums & Excursions"?
>>
>>
>
>
> Also, none of those belong in a list of fanzines. Those are prozines, very
> much so and well established. Fanzines are fan-published, nonprofit
> ventures.
The boundaries of pro, semi-pro, and amateur are blurry these days. And I'm
>> On 8/24/12 3:01 PM, Nicole Massey wrote:
>>
>>> Of course, the big dogs in the pack, like The Dragon, Dungeon,
>>> Polyhedron,
>>> White Dwarf, and Alzarims & Excursions,
>>
>>
>> Don't you mean "Alarums & Excursions"?
>>
>>
>
>
> Also, none of those belong in a list of fanzines. Those are prozines, very
> much so and well established. Fanzines are fan-published, nonprofit
> ventures.
looking at all RPG magazines, not just fanzines, as the project includes the
gamut. We will eventually have an index for every magazine of any level of
publication that we can find. So if a person wants to look at hero system
articles that take place in airports, for example, the database will return
that info. And if someone playing Top Secret, Gamma World, or any other
system and is looking for an airport, they can get all of them too. And
yes, this is going to take a while.
Nicole Massey
Aug 24, 2012, 10:33:00 PM8/24/12
to
"Will in New Haven" <bill....@taylorandfrancis.com> wrote in message
news:0a76c59a-a8e4-4337...@q22g2000vbx.googlegroups.com...
On Aug 24, 5:55 pm, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
<seaw...@sgeinc.invalid.com> wrote:
> On 8/24/12 4:58 PM, Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor) wrote:
>
> > On 8/24/12 3:01 PM, Nicole Massey wrote:
>
> >> Of course, the big dogs in the pack, like The Dragon, Dungeon,
> >> Polyhedron,
> >> White Dwarf, and Alzarims & Excursions,
>
> > Don't you mean "Alarums & Excursions"?
>
> Also, none of those belong in a list of fanzines. Those are prozines,
> very much so and well established. Fanzines are fan-published, nonprofit
> ventures.
>
Alarums & Excursions was a fanzine when I used to read it.
---
<seaw...@sgeinc.invalid.com> wrote:
> On 8/24/12 4:58 PM, Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor) wrote:
>
> > On 8/24/12 3:01 PM, Nicole Massey wrote:
>
> >> Of course, the big dogs in the pack, like The Dragon, Dungeon,
> >> Polyhedron,
> >> White Dwarf, and Alzarims & Excursions,
>
> > Don't you mean "Alarums & Excursions"?
>
> Also, none of those belong in a list of fanzines. Those are prozines,
> very much so and well established. Fanzines are fan-published, nonprofit
> ventures.
>
Alarums & Excursions was a fanzine when I used to read it.
Yeah, it's one of those grey (or is it gray) areas -- there are amateur
publications that charge for issues, like Fight On, so where do they
actually fall? I tend to differentiate this way:
Production values
Advertizing in the publication
Cost for the issue
Semi-pro zines tend to be the ones that have no ads, solid production
values, and are either free or low cost. Amateur zines can charge or not,
but they look amatteur. Professional zines (remember that zine is also
short for magazine, not just fanzine) are the ones with high quality
production values, advertizing in the mag, and a charge per issue, often
with subscription possibilities.
Ben Finney
Aug 25, 2012, 1:18:20 AM8/25/12
to
"Nicole Massey" <ny...@gypsyheir.com> writes:
> The boundaries of pro, semi-pro, and amateur are blurry these days.
> And I'm looking at all RPG magazines, not just fanzines, as the
> project includes the gamut.
Can you change the name so that it is clear you're looking at not just
> The boundaries of pro, semi-pro, and amateur are blurry these days.
> And I'm looking at all RPG magazines, not just fanzines, as the
> project includes the gamut.
fanzines, then?
--
\ “Nature hath given men one tongue but two ears, that we may |
`\ hear from others twice as much as we speak.” —Epictetus, |
_o__) _Fragments_ |
Ben Finney
Nicole Massey
Aug 25, 2012, 7:51:31 AM8/25/12
to
"Ben Finney" <bignose+h...@benfinney.id.au> wrote in message
news:871uivf...@benfinney.id.au...
> "Nicole Massey" <ny...@gypsyheir.com> writes:
>
>> The boundaries of pro, semi-pro, and amateur are blurry these days.
>> And I'm looking at all RPG magazines, not just fanzines, as the
>> project includes the gamut.
>
> Can you change the name so that it is clear you're looking at not just
> fanzines, then?
The name of the project is the RPG Magazine Index. So it's not saying it's
>
>> The boundaries of pro, semi-pro, and amateur are blurry these days.
>> And I'm looking at all RPG magazines, not just fanzines, as the
>> project includes the gamut.
>
> Can you change the name so that it is clear you're looking at not just
> fanzines, then?
just a fanzine index, though Fanzines will make up a greater share simply
because there are more fanzines than professional publications.
At this point I'm trying to decide if I'm going to include The General,
STrategy & Tactics, and other similar wargaming publications. I'm also
trying to decide if The Duelist and CCG magazines should also be included.
I'll deal with that more as I get further into the magazines and discover if
they have any real RPG content in their pages.
Jim Davies
Aug 25, 2012, 9:56:21 PM8/25/12
to
On the grave of "Nicole Massey" <ny...@gypsyheir.com> is inscribed:
>I welcome suggestions of other zines to look for. I have the following in my
>list:
snip
There was a UK prozine called Adventurer in the mid 80s. Probably
lasted about a dozen issues; I have about 3 of them buried somewhere.
Roleplayer and Pyramid were Steve Jackson house magazines, though now
it's just Pyramid on the net. I have a couple of each.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roleplayer_%28magazine%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_%28magazine%29
Shadis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadis springs to mind, though
I've never read it.
For some obscure old UK ones, see this:
http://www.ukroleplayers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=8951
I picked up a couple here and there, but I wasn't impressed and don't
have them any more.
There are/were various wargaming magazines with some RPG content, but
that's probably a matter for another time.
--
Jim
http://www.aaargh.org
>I welcome suggestions of other zines to look for. I have the following in my
>list:
There was a UK prozine called Adventurer in the mid 80s. Probably
lasted about a dozen issues; I have about 3 of them buried somewhere.
Roleplayer and Pyramid were Steve Jackson house magazines, though now
it's just Pyramid on the net. I have a couple of each.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roleplayer_%28magazine%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_%28magazine%29
Shadis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadis springs to mind, though
I've never read it.
For some obscure old UK ones, see this:
http://www.ukroleplayers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=8951
I picked up a couple here and there, but I wasn't impressed and don't
have them any more.
There are/were various wargaming magazines with some RPG content, but
that's probably a matter for another time.
--
Jim
http://www.aaargh.org
Nicole Massey
Aug 25, 2012, 11:03:54 PM8/25/12
to
"Jim Davies" <j...@aaargh.NoBleedinSpam.org> wrote in message
news:omvi38lnktmqrr3qv...@4ax.com...
through. The second problem is getting good results out of the OCR
program -- I have a high powered one optimized for blind folks, but it still
has a problem when someone uses lots of different fonts or didn't change the
ribbon on the typewriter.
Joe Claffey Jr.
Aug 26, 2012, 6:39:03 AM8/26/12
to
In article <k18j69$lf1$1...@news.albasani.net>,
_Champions_ (and the Hero System). Its successor, _Haymaker!_
<http://preview.tinyurl.com/9zxecmu>, is in limited publication as an
e-zine.
> I welcome suggestions of other zines to look for.
_Autoduel Quarterly_ <http://www.sjgames.com/car-wars/adq/> was
primarily devoted to _Car Wars_, but _GURPS Autoduel_ used the same
background and much of the material was compatible.
--
Joe Claffey
india...@gmail.com
"Nicole Massey" <ny...@gypsyheir.com> wrote:
> I've also not run into any zines dealing with any of the Supers games.
_Adventurer's Club_ <http://preview.tinyurl.com/cprgcev> was devoted to
> I've also not run into any zines dealing with any of the Supers games.
_Champions_ (and the Hero System). Its successor, _Haymaker!_
<http://preview.tinyurl.com/9zxecmu>, is in limited publication as an
e-zine.
> I welcome suggestions of other zines to look for.
primarily devoted to _Car Wars_, but _GURPS Autoduel_ used the same
background and much of the material was compatible.
--
Joe Claffey
india...@gmail.com
Nicole Massey
Aug 26, 2012, 8:25:37 AM8/26/12
to
"Joe Claffey Jr." <india...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:indianajoe3-EE76...@news.giganews.com...
then. Thanks for the info on the Hero system stuff, too.
John Geoffrey
Sep 4, 2012, 2:54:30 PM9/4/12
to
On Fri, 24 Aug 2012 14:01:44 -0500
"Nicole Massey" <ny...@gypsyheir.com> wrote:
> The Journal of the Traveller's Aid
> Society is the only one I've found for Traveller, though Pegasus and
> Dragon have done Traveller articles, and one issue of Pegasus was
> very traveller heavy. I've also not run into any zines dealing with
> any of the Supers games. The overwhelming number deal with FRP's,
> especially D&D and its variants.
>
JTAS was the only one you found for Traveller? Hmmm...
"Nicole Massey" <ny...@gypsyheir.com> wrote:
> The Journal of the Traveller's Aid
> Society is the only one I've found for Traveller, though Pegasus and
> Dragon have done Traveller articles, and one issue of Pegasus was
> very traveller heavy. I've also not run into any zines dealing with
> any of the Supers games. The overwhelming number deal with FRP's,
> especially D&D and its variants.
>
There were so many more.
Third Imperium (that one is free online)
Far Traveller
High Passage
Alien Realms
Challenge Magazine (that one was actually the continuation of JTAS,
broadening the spectrum to include other GDW games)
Distant Worlds (that one was the Chaosium magazine, it had some
Traveller articles though)
Freelance Traveller (is a current ezine)
Stellar Reaches (also current ezine)
Signal GK
Imperium Staple
Jumpspace
Security Leak
Traveller Digest
Imperial Lines
MegaTraveller Journal
Traveller Chronicle
Mershan Saga (don't have a clue about that one, just saw it referenced)
Well those are the ones I found in my notes or memories right now,
completely out of order.
Pegasus Magazine by the way also has some Traveller things in it. And
some for even weirder games like the Morrow project.
--
J.E.Geoffrey
Stuffed Crocodile Weblog
http://gmkeros.wordpress.com
Nicole Massey
Sep 4, 2012, 6:02:53 PM9/4/12
to
"John Geoffrey" <gmk...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:20120904205430....@gmail.com...
Yes, Pegasus did a lot of Traveller stuff, including an entire sector in
their science fiction issue. I already indexed the entire run of Pegasus,
and found some fun stuff. There's even a Bunnies and Burrows scenario in it
and three for Skulls and Crossbones.
I'll add these to my list.
tussock
Sep 5, 2012, 10:06:56 AM9/5/12
to
Nicole Massey wrote:
> The next marker point is in the 13-17 [issue] range. I've run into a lot
have died after about that many.
> I welcome suggestions of other zines to look for.
But there's hundreds of them. Bigger ones I see off your list would be
Sorcerer's Apprentice (Independant, early)
Different Worlds (Chaosium, 80's)
Shadis (Independant, 90's)
The Unspeakable Oath (Call of Cthulhu)
Challenge (Traveller and other SF, replaced JTAS)
Knights of the Dinner Table (now Hackmaster)
More traveller or MT stuff via 3rd parties
The Travellers' Digest
The Megatraveller Journal
There's some variously complete text indices up at
http://www.erzo.org/shannon/gaming/indices/
Which include the author's email, may be of use to you.
--
tussock
> The next marker point is in the 13-17 [issue] range. I've run into a lot
> of things that died in this range, including some published for profit
> mags.
That looks familiar. I'm sure most of the things I've ever subscribed to
> mags.
have died after about that many.
> I welcome suggestions of other zines to look for.
Sorcerer's Apprentice (Independant, early)
Different Worlds (Chaosium, 80's)
Shadis (Independant, 90's)
The Unspeakable Oath (Call of Cthulhu)
Challenge (Traveller and other SF, replaced JTAS)
Knights of the Dinner Table (now Hackmaster)
More traveller or MT stuff via 3rd parties
The Travellers' Digest
The Megatraveller Journal
There's some variously complete text indices up at
http://www.erzo.org/shannon/gaming/indices/
Which include the author's email, may be of use to you.
--
tussock
John Geoffrey
Sep 5, 2012, 4:22:10 PM9/5/12
to
On Tue, 4 Sep 2012 17:02:53 -0500
Ah, and the Terra Traveller Times I just remembered. Altough that one
is available for free online as well it's a bit bad as 1) the whole
thing was xeroxed badly and then scanned in, and 2) did not have too
much content anyway. So what is there is not really readable.
But hey, at least it's freely available. A lot of other fanzines can't
really be tracked down anymore.
is available for free online as well it's a bit bad as 1) the whole
thing was xeroxed badly and then scanned in, and 2) did not have too
much content anyway. So what is there is not really readable.
But hey, at least it's freely available. A lot of other fanzines can't
really be tracked down anymore.
Nicole Massey
Sep 5, 2012, 11:47:15 PM9/5/12
to
Thanks. I'll check those out. This is a huge project.
"tussock" <sc...@clear.net.nz> wrote in message
news:0t2kh9x...@scrub2.WOOLEY...
"tussock" <sc...@clear.net.nz> wrote in message
news:0t2kh9x...@scrub2.WOOLEY...
Nicole Massey
Sep 5, 2012, 11:48:45 PM9/5/12
to
news:20120905222210....@gmail.com...
Yeah, even though I have a very good OCR program, if the source material is
too rough for sighted folks to read chances are good the OCR program isn't
going to do the job.
too rough for sighted folks to read chances are good the OCR program isn't
going to do the job.
John Geoffrey
Sep 9, 2012, 6:48:36 PM9/9/12
to
somehow if you don't live in USA? I never saw an example of the zine
and I'd be very interested in it.
Nicole Massey
Sep 9, 2012, 11:28:34 PM9/9/12
to
news:20120910004836....@gmail.com...
I haven't contacted them yet, as I'm going to index them at some point -- it
is the longest running gaming magazine in the field at this point, predating
even the big boys like The Dragon, Dungeoneer, Different Worlds, and White
Dwarf.
is the longest running gaming magazine in the field at this point, predating
even the big boys like The Dragon, Dungeoneer, Different Worlds, and White
Dwarf.
John Geoffrey
Sep 15, 2012, 1:38:09 PM9/15/12
to
few different ones): http://homepages.bw.edu/~jcurtis/modules.htm
The Diary of the Doctor Who Rolepaying Games.
I don't know if this one really is so interesting for you (it's an
ezine), but it does seem active and it already reached number 18, so
there is a lot of material in here.
Nicole Massey
Sep 15, 2012, 5:24:48 PM9/15/12
to
news:k32edu$335$1...@speranza.aioe.org...
Ugh, Forgot that there were role-playing games for one of the shows I
dislike the most. I'll have to suffer through those or find someone else to
go through them.
dislike the most. I'll have to suffer through those or find someone else to
go through them.
John Geoffrey
Sep 15, 2012, 6:49:42 PM9/15/12
to
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Ah, and the Terra Traveller Times I just remembered. Altough that one
>>>> is available for free online as well it's a bit bad as 1) the whole
>>>> thing was xeroxed badly and then scanned in, and 2) did not have too
>>>> much content anyway. So what is there is not really readable.
>>>> But hey, at least it's freely available. A lot of other fanzines can't
>>>> really be tracked down anymore.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Yeah, even though I have a very good OCR program, if the source material
>>> is
>>> too rough for sighted folks to read chances are good the OCR program
>>> isn't
>>> going to do the job.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Oh, and here is another one, this time for Doctor Who RPGs (there were a
>> few different ones): http://homepages.bw.edu/~jcurtis/modules.htm
>> The Diary of the Doctor Who Rolepaying Games.
>> I don't know if this one really is so interesting for you (it's an ezine),
>> but it does seem active and it already reached number 18, so there is a
>> lot of material in here.
>
> Ugh, Forgot that there were role-playing games for one of the shows I
> dislike the most. I'll have to suffer through those or find someone else to
> go through them.
>
>
everything. It's like Rule 34 just less naughty: "Someone wants to play
it. No exceptions."
A friend of mine plays in a Warhammer40k/Sailor Moon crossover. Just
saying...
Nicole Massey
Sep 15, 2012, 10:38:59 PM9/15/12
to
news:k330m6$ep8$2...@speranza.aioe.org...
The guy who ran a Gamma World Star Frontiers variant tried hard to convince
me to play in his D20 Grand Theft Auto RPG. I was so far less than not
interested that I couldn't properly experess how low his chances were of
getting me into the game.
me to play in his D20 Grand Theft Auto RPG. I was so far less than not
interested that I couldn't properly experess how low his chances were of
getting me into the game.
John Geoffrey
Sep 16, 2012, 7:30:17 AM9/16/12
to
it? Someone plays it, but that doesn't mean that we have to like it. I
gave up on World of Darkness soon after playing it a few time with some
dedicated WoD people, because it wasn't what I wanted from a game. And
I most likely will never manage to play some games with people because
I am the only one interested in them.
The Doctor Who RPG is something of interest to me and my group because
my whole group likes the series (in fact last time when we got tired we
just watched a few more episodes of it). But that doesn't mean everyone
will like it. It's not like I would be interested in a Star Trek game
too much, or a Buffy game, actually even a Doctor Who game is nothing I
would like for more than a one-shot. Licensed properties are like that.
Anyway, want me to index that fanzine for you?
Nicole Massey
Sep 16, 2012, 8:52:14 AM9/16/12
to
news:20120916133017....@gmail.com...
Yes, that would be great.
What I'm doing is this:
I'm doing all of this in Excel, bcause it just makes sense to keep such
information in an easily sorted medium. The columns are as follows, in
order:
ID#
This is simply the order in the magazine where the article shows up. I have
this to keep articles in order when there's multiple articles or objects on
a page.
Category
This is what the article is about, in either a single word or a short
phrase.
Title
Author
Page
Issue
System
In this case it will most likely be the Dr. Who RPG, though there might be
some crossovers.
Location:
Where the magazine can be downloaded or bought.
So it's rather simple all told.
Most of the World of Darkness leaves me cold -- I was very over vampires
long before they started sparkling instead of exploding in sunlight, and
most of the other games left me flat too. Mage was the exception. I had fun
playing FASA's Star Trek RPG in the past I'm actually a bit surprised that
no one has released a Pirates of the Caribbean RPG yet, especially since
pirates are popular RPG subjects. (We have a big article about them coming
out in Issue 3)
I agree that regular gaming groups like the occasional diversion. Toon was
pretty much custom made for it, and WotC tried to make Gamma World fit that
bill most recently. (which annoyed a lot of GW players and referees)
But now I'm starting to think about ST:RPG magazines, and I suspect that
it'll be a bit difficult to find them just from a search, as all of the
other Trek zines will clutter the search. I'll need to find someone who uses
the system to locate good ideas of the amount of content.
What I'm doing is this:
I'm doing all of this in Excel, bcause it just makes sense to keep such
information in an easily sorted medium. The columns are as follows, in
order:
ID#
This is simply the order in the magazine where the article shows up. I have
this to keep articles in order when there's multiple articles or objects on
a page.
Category
This is what the article is about, in either a single word or a short
phrase.
Title
Author
Page
Issue
System
In this case it will most likely be the Dr. Who RPG, though there might be
some crossovers.
Location:
Where the magazine can be downloaded or bought.
So it's rather simple all told.
Most of the World of Darkness leaves me cold -- I was very over vampires
long before they started sparkling instead of exploding in sunlight, and
most of the other games left me flat too. Mage was the exception. I had fun
playing FASA's Star Trek RPG in the past I'm actually a bit surprised that
no one has released a Pirates of the Caribbean RPG yet, especially since
pirates are popular RPG subjects. (We have a big article about them coming
out in Issue 3)
I agree that regular gaming groups like the occasional diversion. Toon was
pretty much custom made for it, and WotC tried to make Gamma World fit that
bill most recently. (which annoyed a lot of GW players and referees)
But now I'm starting to think about ST:RPG magazines, and I suspect that
it'll be a bit difficult to find them just from a search, as all of the
other Trek zines will clutter the search. I'll need to find someone who uses
the system to locate good ideas of the amount of content.
John Geoffrey
Sep 16, 2012, 9:31:51 AM9/16/12
to
>
> Most of the World of Darkness leaves me cold -- I was very over
> vampires long before they started sparkling instead of exploding in
> sunlight, and most of the other games left me flat too. Mage was the
> exception.
not really get into appropriate mood. I thought those experiences were
just bad examples, but then I was part of a longer campaign for Vampire
Dark Ages, with players that had played that game for years. But it
didn't make any sense to me. I was studying medieval history at that
point, and then my fellow players played a game set in exactly that
period. Oh, that would be cool, wouldn't it be?
The problem is no, it wouldn't. In the end it was just your regular FRP
game, just the characters were superpowered and couldn't go out during
the day, and what amounted to Greyhawk or Waterdeep was called
Constantinople.
I still think the World of Darkness was a nice concept, I just never
met anyone who ever played it as it was presented. Meaning: Dark and
gothic.
>I had fun playing FASA's Star Trek RPG in the past I'm
> actually a bit surprised that no one has released a Pirates of the
> Caribbean RPG yet, especially since pirates are popular RPG subjects.
> (We have a big article about them coming out in Issue 3)
already has a game to play pirates with. 7th Sea would be the most
obvious one, but I also saw D&D supplements for that, or an extension
for Call of Cthulhu, and a few other supplements for other games.
I guess the problem is the same as with the lack of pirate movies:
pirates are not in the public imagination anymore. I grew up with Errol
Flynn movies on TV, but younger people didn't. And there is a
conspicuous lack of pirate movies around besides the Pirates of the
Carribean series. Just like westerns pirates are not as much in the
public mind as they were when I was a kid.
> I agree that regular gaming groups like the occasional diversion.
> Toon was pretty much custom made for it, and WotC tried to make Gamma
> World fit that bill most recently. (which annoyed a lot of GW players
> and referees) But now I'm starting to think about ST:RPG magazines,
> and I suspect that it'll be a bit difficult to find them just from a
> search, as all of the other Trek zines will clutter the search. I'll
> need to find someone who uses the system to locate good ideas of the
> amount of content.
in a German magazine, back when the ST:RPG was freshly translated into
that language. They made me want to play it a bit actually.
But I guess foreign language magazines would be a bit much...
Nicole Massey
Sep 16, 2012, 1:59:56 PM9/16/12
to
news:20120916153151....@gmail.com...
were defined by your use of core elements, not long written formulae. And we
got plenty dark, sometimes more than the Storyteller wanted us to. He was an
erratic Storyteller, with a very good scenario followed by a completely
trite one, but he had a long association with one of the Vampire staff --
the staff member actually played in his game for a while before going to
work for White Wolf.
The other problem with the Storyteller was that he was someone who, had I
not had a reason to play in his game, I wouldn't have spit on him if he was
on fire. He had the ethics and social skills of a hyena.
into three scenarios for it when indexing Pegasus Magazine. There's
something to be said for a system that takes into account when a ship was
last careened.
these days. Action Adventure has replaced westerns for the most part.
>> ...now I'm starting to think about ST:RPG magazines,
know with a degree in German (and French and Spanish) to do a translation,
but that sounds like making more work for myself. That said, with the vast
spectrum of ST publishing, both sanctioned and fan based, I'd be surprised
that there isn't something devoted to either the FASA or Decipher games. The
hard part is in separating the rule based systems from free form based
publications, as Trek free-form is huge.
>
>>
>> Most of the World of Darkness leaves me cold -- I was very over
>> vampires long before they started sparkling instead of exploding in
>> sunlight, and most of the other games left me flat too. Mage was the
>> exception.
> I had high hopes for Vampire, but the problem was that the players did
> not really get into appropriate mood. I thought those experiences were
> just bad examples, but then I was part of a longer campaign for Vampire
> Dark Ages, with players that had played that game for years. But it
> didn't make any sense to me. I was studying medieval history at that
> point, and then my fellow players played a game set in exactly that
> period. Oh, that would be cool, wouldn't it be?
> The problem is no, it wouldn't. In the end it was just your regular FRP
> game, just the characters were superpowered and couldn't go out during
> the day, and what amounted to Greyhawk or Waterdeep was called
> Constantinople.
> I still think the World of Darkness was a nice concept, I just never
> met anyone who ever played it as it was presented. Meaning: Dark and
> gothic.
Mage was less gothic a game, and it stimulated my imagination because spells
>>
>> Most of the World of Darkness leaves me cold -- I was very over
>> vampires long before they started sparkling instead of exploding in
>> sunlight, and most of the other games left me flat too. Mage was the
>> exception.
> I had high hopes for Vampire, but the problem was that the players did
> not really get into appropriate mood. I thought those experiences were
> just bad examples, but then I was part of a longer campaign for Vampire
> Dark Ages, with players that had played that game for years. But it
> didn't make any sense to me. I was studying medieval history at that
> point, and then my fellow players played a game set in exactly that
> period. Oh, that would be cool, wouldn't it be?
> The problem is no, it wouldn't. In the end it was just your regular FRP
> game, just the characters were superpowered and couldn't go out during
> the day, and what amounted to Greyhawk or Waterdeep was called
> Constantinople.
> I still think the World of Darkness was a nice concept, I just never
> met anyone who ever played it as it was presented. Meaning: Dark and
> gothic.
were defined by your use of core elements, not long written formulae. And we
got plenty dark, sometimes more than the Storyteller wanted us to. He was an
erratic Storyteller, with a very good scenario followed by a completely
trite one, but he had a long association with one of the Vampire staff --
the staff member actually played in his game for a while before going to
work for White Wolf.
The other problem with the Storyteller was that he was someone who, had I
not had a reason to play in his game, I wouldn't have spit on him if he was
on fire. He had the ethics and social skills of a hyena.
>
>>I had fun playing FASA's Star Trek RPG in the past I'm
>> actually a bit surprised that no one has released a Pirates of the
>> Caribbean RPG yet, especially since pirates are popular RPG subjects.
>> (We have a big article about them coming out in Issue 3)
> I guess one of the reasons might be because everyone interested in RPGs
> already has a game to play pirates with. 7th Sea would be the most
> obvious one, but I also saw D&D supplements for that, or an extension
> for Call of Cthulhu, and a few other supplements for other games.
Don't forget one of the earliest, FGU's game Skulls and Crossbones. I ran
>>I had fun playing FASA's Star Trek RPG in the past I'm
>> actually a bit surprised that no one has released a Pirates of the
>> Caribbean RPG yet, especially since pirates are popular RPG subjects.
>> (We have a big article about them coming out in Issue 3)
> I guess one of the reasons might be because everyone interested in RPGs
> already has a game to play pirates with. 7th Sea would be the most
> obvious one, but I also saw D&D supplements for that, or an extension
> for Call of Cthulhu, and a few other supplements for other games.
into three scenarios for it when indexing Pegasus Magazine. There's
something to be said for a system that takes into account when a ship was
last careened.
> I guess the problem is the same as with the lack of pirate movies:
> pirates are not in the public imagination anymore. I grew up with Errol
> Flynn movies on TV, but younger people didn't. And there is a
> conspicuous lack of pirate movies around besides the Pirates of the
> Carribean series. Just like westerns pirates are not as much in the
> public mind as they were when I was a kid.
Right. WotC would get almost no ROI in releasing a new version of Boot Hill
> pirates are not in the public imagination anymore. I grew up with Errol
> Flynn movies on TV, but younger people didn't. And there is a
> conspicuous lack of pirate movies around besides the Pirates of the
> Carribean series. Just like westerns pirates are not as much in the
> public mind as they were when I was a kid.
these days. Action Adventure has replaced westerns for the most part.
>> ...now I'm starting to think about ST:RPG magazines,
>> and I suspect that it'll be a bit difficult to find them just from a
>> search, as all of the other Trek zines will clutter the search. I'll
>> need to find someone who uses the system to locate good ideas of the
>> amount of content.
>
>
> Hmm... the only articles for Star Trek RPGs I remember were published
> in a German magazine, back when the ST:RPG was freshly translated into
> that language. They made me want to play it a bit actually.
> But I guess foreign language magazines would be a bit much...
If I had the resources for paying the guy's freight I could get someone I
>> search, as all of the other Trek zines will clutter the search. I'll
>> need to find someone who uses the system to locate good ideas of the
>> amount of content.
>
>
> Hmm... the only articles for Star Trek RPGs I remember were published
> in a German magazine, back when the ST:RPG was freshly translated into
> that language. They made me want to play it a bit actually.
> But I guess foreign language magazines would be a bit much...
know with a degree in German (and French and Spanish) to do a translation,
but that sounds like making more work for myself. That said, with the vast
spectrum of ST publishing, both sanctioned and fan based, I'd be surprised
that there isn't something devoted to either the FASA or Decipher games. The
hard part is in separating the rule based systems from free form based
publications, as Trek free-form is huge.
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