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Let's talk a little about #d36Zine - specifically, let's talk about some of the things that influenced it and made me decide to put this project together.
But first, go click Remind Me so you'll know when it goes live in #ZineQuest3. I'll wait. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/loottheroom/d36-a-strange-rpg-zine
But first, go click Remind Me so you'll know when it goes live in #ZineQuest3. I'll wait. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/loottheroom/d36-a-strange-rpg-zine
d36 was very heavily inspired by three things: Penicillin, Codex, and McSweeney's Quarterly Concern.
Today I want to talk about Penicillin.
Today I want to talk about Penicillin.
Penicillin (by @micaholism et al) describes itself as a weird, eclectic RPG zine. And I don't have words to express how much I love it.
It's got random tables, it's got Troika! backgrounds, it's got weird dragon game stuff, it's got stuff that might not be games at all.
It's got random tables, it's got Troika! backgrounds, it's got weird dragon game stuff, it's got stuff that might not be games at all.
Issue three (that's the one with the crab monster on the cover) contains one of my favourite things I've ever seen, a haunted house game that's also a comic by @kayleerowena https://twitter.com/kayleerowena/status/1296972257668091904?s=20
I read these things over and over again. This is exactly the kind of thing I want in a zine, stuff that gets my brain going and my juices flowing and - more than anything else - puts me in a dice mood and makes me want to just fucking sit down and play.
But it does more than that, too. It asks questions about the nature of games, and the nature of play, and why we tell these stories in the way we tell them. A lot of the material in Penicillin exists in this liminal space where you're not sure if it's games or not.
It's hugely inspiring to me. And the layout is fucking incredible, too. Every issue hangs together beautifully, and these are zines that I take out just to look at. You *need* them in print.
I'm deliberately not showing off any of the insides of these books, because it's not my work to share and I think you should pay for it rather than have me splash it all over Twitter. So I'm going to give you some links, and I want you to use them.
You can get Penicillin digitally from @/micaholism on itch -
https://micah-anderson.itch.io/penicillin-issue-1
If you're in the US, you can get the print editions from @SpearWitch here: https://spearwitch.com/products/penicillin-1
https://micah-anderson.itch.io/penicillin-issue-1
If you're in the US, you can get the print editions from @SpearWitch here: https://spearwitch.com/products/penicillin-1
In the UK and Europe, the print editions are through @JellyMuppet https://soulmuppet-store.co.uk/products/penicilin-vol-1
Penicillin is one of my favourite things happening in RPGs at the moment and if it didn't exist, I wouldn't have had the push I needed to make #d36Zine happen. My biggest hope for this project is that it can be as good as Penicillin.
Luckily, the writing that has been turned in by the creative team on issue 1 is INCREDIBLE. I'll talk more about that in future, but for now I'm going to leave this here.
Go buy Penicillin. It's incredible.
Go buy Penicillin. It's incredible.
Then go click over to Kickstarter and set a reminder for d36. You're going to want to get in on it, I promise. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/loottheroom/d36-a-strange-rpg-zine
That's all I've got for today. At some point in the next few days I'll talk a little about how Codex and McSweeney's have influenced this thing as well, and then I'll introduce you to the team who are working on it and show you some of the layout I've been doing.
Here's that link again, and now I really am done.
Thanks for reading. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/loottheroom/d36-a-strange-rpg-zine
Thanks for reading. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/loottheroom/d36-a-strange-rpg-zine
