Welcome to the first issue of Tales from the Smoking Wyrm, a DCC deluxe fanzine drawing from the history of zines.
Issue 1
The Wyrm is big fan of gaming zines of all stripes, and we hope to bring you the same high-quality content for a DCC audience! Our first issue contains 8 features, usable by players and judges alike!
- Paladins—A new take on an old class
- Cthulhu as Patron—Why choose the lesser of neutrals?
- Culpepper’s Herbal—Herbs for your game
- The Silver Ball—A mysterious way to add and remove characters to and from the game
- Telepathic Rats—Expanded rules for a plucky companion
- Rites & Rituals, Part I—How taking the long road to power can reap huge benefits
- Onward Retainer—An adventuring comic in an old-school style, starring the Legion
- Wyrm Words—A crossword puzzle of all the Gygaxian words in the first issue
Further, the book features real latin Anathema to protect against theft or risk the punishment of higher beings. As Todd Bunn of the infamous Gateway Games & More, Cincinnati, OH, says, “This is the fanciest fanzine ever!”
Issue 2
Tales from the Smoking Wyrm, a DCC fanzine, returns with a second issue of hand-crafted articles, comics, and puzzles for DCC fans of all ages!
The Wyrm is big fan of gaming zines of all stripes, and we hope to bring you the same high-quality content for a DCC audience! Our first issue contains 8 features, usable by players and judges alike!
- King of Beasts as Patron—Bonding with the wild side gives you distinct advantages!
- Dwarven Jäger—A subclass of dwarf with a very useful skillset.
- Ritual Magic, Part II—A close-up look at three rituals aimed at those of religious bent. Want to know why unholy creatures burst into flames when they cross the threshold into holy ground—this will tell you, along with other mysteries. Includes rules for Pious Deed die.
- Culpepper’s Herbal—More herbs for your game. We continue building out an herbal catalog that all adventurers can take advantage of, even in the darkest of times.
- The Shoggoth—A classic monster from deep in our adventuring subconscious finally flexes its full muscles! Also includes a Find Familiar spell for Cthulhu cultists to gain Shoggoth familiars!
- Wyrm Words—A wordfind puzzle of all the Gygaxian words in the second issue—this way, a definition is never in doubt!
- Onward Retainer—Starring the Legion—The second installment of an adventuring comic in the old school style
Every issue features real latin Anathema to prevent your friends from stealing your copy for themselves!
Issue 3
This issue features:
- Dor Nyvs—a new elemental patron
- Cullpepper's Herbal—three new fungi to help keep adventurers alive
- Rites & Rituals, part III—the last in our series on adding rituals to DCC
- The Tentacular—a new beast to strike terror in the heart of adventurers
- You too Can Gongfarm—mixing up occupations for all species
- Tentacular Kin—a throwback all the way to The Dungeoneer #2, brought fresh for a new generation of players!
- Onward Retainer—a comic in the old school vein
- Wyrm Words—a word scramble of all the Gygaxian words in the third issue
Issue 4
Tales from the Smoking Wyrm is a fanzine inspired not just by the roleplaying game Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC), but also by the wondrous fanzines of the past 40 years! While we focus on DCC, the material produced can be easily translated into any Old School Renaissance (OSR) system, or even 5th edition D&D!
The fourth issue will contain eight features, usable by both players and judges:
- Trolls—We delve deep into Scandinavian lore to explore the troll folklore and myth. Trolls are so diverse a group that we had to build not one, but three classes to fit them all in! Trolls are fae in nature and make wonderful PCs for any group!
- On Luck: Trolls—We a start a new regular series with this issue, On Luck! DCC RPG features the wonderful Luck mechanic, and here we delve into ways to hack it, and make it even cooler! This issue we pair this piece with the troll class and investigate how trolls might use luck differently than other classes.
- Familiars—We hinted at them in issue 3, but they are finally here—two new familiar types, elemental motes and jinn!
- Cullpepper's Herbal—More herbs for your game! This time, we feature two herbs—Black Alder and Angelica are all waiting for you to delve into! No adventurer should be without these!
- Organizations—The beginning of another series where we explore the concept of organizations in roleplaying in general and discuss the salient features an organization needs to really be used effectively in any roleplaying game. To top this article off--we explore three different organizations, breathing some depth into two organizations presented in the DCC RPG and offering up a new one on top of that!
- Ponteverdian Potted Meat—You're deep underground, without easy access to the surface and the fresh markets above. How do you survive? Ponteverdian Potted Meat covers 6 different preserved products, and how they can help prolong your life in the hardest of places to find nourishment! Come join us for a truly delectable discussion about something every character needs—FOOD!
- Onward Retainer, starring the Legion—The fourth installment of our adventuring comic in an old school style, brought to you by Joel Phillips! The tension mounts in the pages we present in this issue!
- Wyrm Words—A word puzzle of all the Gygaxian words in the fourth issue—this way, a definition is never in doubt! Also included are the answers to the third issue's Wyrm Words.
Issue 5
Tales from the Smoking Wyrm is a fanzine inspired not just by the roleplaying game Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC), but also by the wondrous fanzines of the past 40 years! While we focus on DCC, the material produced can be easily translated into any Old School Renaissance (OSR) system, or even 5th edition D&D!
The fifth issue contains nine features, usable by both players and judges:
- Beastmaster Class—You lived the dream in your youth—the ability to connect to beasts of all sorts and work with them. Now, live that dream in this well-rounded character class! Stare down a ravenous bear, befriend a silky panther, and spend a little time hunting for treasure with some weasel friends!
- Patron Missions: Dor Nyvs—Nick Baran asked, and we delivered! Seven great Dor Nyvs patron missions, ready for your adherent to carry out as they ask for greater power from this behemoth from the plane of earth! Complete with details for the judge, and rewards for the player!
- Cullpepper's Herbal—More herbs for your game! This time, we feature two herbs: Amaranthus and Anemone. Make the most of the wilderness you travel through!
- Organizations: The True Power of Organizations in Roleplaying Games—We continue our series devoted to DCC organizations with a short essay to discuss how organizations can function as movers and shakers in your game, tying together community and society.
- Organizations: The School of the Tree—An entire organization devoted to cutting things with (and trying not to be cut by) really big swords. What could go wrong?
- Cthulhu Idols—Idols are amongst the most iconic of items in H. P. Lovecraft's The Call of Cthulhu. In this article, we provide rules for making them truly align with the DCC stars—with motivations, and a few nifty powers of their own to drive the most wary of adventurers a little mad.
- Onward Retainer, starring the Legion—The fifth installment of our adventuring comic in an old school style, brought to you by Joel Phillips! Tension mounts for our plucky band in this 3-page installment!
- Smoking Wyrm Luck Tokens—We summarize all our custom Luck tokens in one single article.
- Wyrm Words—A word puzzle of all the Gygaxian words in the fifth issue—this way, a definition is never in doubt! Also included are the answers to the Issue #4's Wyrm Words.
Issue 6
Tales from the Smoking Wyrm is a fanzine inspired not just by the roleplaying game Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC), but also by the wondrous fanzines of the past 40 years! While we focus on DCC, the material produced can be easily translated into any Old School Renaissance (OSR) system, or even 5th edition D&D!
The sixth issue contains ten features, usable by both players and judges:
- Tentacular Nest Generator (article)—a complete set of tables to develop a tentacular nest in just minutes! Your groups can experience the dangers of being hunted by tentacular youth on their home turf no matter what their level. This grind house/killer maze will put your party to the test as they try to avoid being murder-hoboed by young tentacular eager to consume their souls! Requires use of the tentacular adversary generator found in Tales from the Smoking Wyrm issue 3 for fullest effect!
- Example Tentacular Nest—a pull-out from this issue—a complete tentacular nest, ready for you to torture your players with! Contained in a handmade, two-foil hit pocket.
- Soul Eater Class—Soul Eaters are a new class of people who consume magic, internalize it, and can use it to their advantage!
- Patron Missions: Cthulhu—Now a regular feature while we fill out all the patrons so you can provide some quid pro quo love! Seven great Cthulhu patron missions, ready for your adherent to carry out as they ask for greater power from this outer worldly monstrosity imprisoned below the sea! Complete with details for the judge, and rewards for the player!
- Cullpepper's Herbal—More herbs for your game! This time, we feature two herbs: Alexanders and Barberry. Make the most of the wilderness you travel through!
- Nekromilo's Bauble—This artifact updates the Fist of Emirikol to DCC standards, outlining the powers such an ancient artifact can bring to the table, and introducing the struggle between Nekromilo and Emirikol. Now updated to a d30—you too can wield awesome power!
- Dwarven Luck—We explore the luck of dwarves, introducing new ways dwarves can use the luck mechanic to provide increasing species differences between those who toil beneath the earth and other characters.
- Onward Retainer, starring the Legion—The sixth installment of our adventuring comic in an old school style, brought to you by Joel Phillips! Tension mounts for our plucky band in this 2-page installment!
- Coordinated Efforts—A short article that outlines how we house-rule helping others. Easy to introduce into your own games—push that dice chain by helping someone out today!
- Wyrm Words—A word puzzle of all the Gygaxian words in the sixth issue—this way, a definition is never in doubt! Also included are the answers to the Issue #5's Wyrm Words.
Issue 7
Tales from the Smoking Wyrm is a fanzine inspired not just by the roleplaying game Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC), but also by the wondrous fanzines of the past 40 years! While we focus on DCC, the material produced can be easily translated into any Old School Renaissance (OSR) system, or even 5th edition D&D!
The seventh issue contains seven features, usable by both players and judges:
- Hero Crawl Classics—James Michael Spahn brings you the DCC variant you didn't know you needed but will love exploring! In this article are all the random tables you need to modify your game to mimic the more heroic fiction of Appendix N! This is a massive article and full of crunch for players and judge alike!
- New Patron: Caenv—A whole new patron! Caenv is devoted to riddling through the mysteries of the universe and helps those who hurtle through darkened corridors of intrigue, deception, and betrayal navigate a very dangerous world! Inspired by the darker areas of Appendix N, and a healthy dose of modern TV thrown in for good measure. This rather large article covers all the strangeness of Caenv in one place!
- Patron Missions: Caenv—Since we introduce Caenv in issue 7, we thought we would include Caenv's patron missions here as well! Seven short missions for adherents of Caenv to undertake when they owe their patron after invoking assistance! This is the third installment of our ongoing series of missions for adherents of different patrons.
- Cullpepper's Herbal—More herbs for your game! This time, we feature two new herbs: Balm and Barley. Make the most of the wilderness you travel through!
- Onward Retainer, starring the Legion—The seventh installment of our adventuring comic in an old school style, brought to you by Joel Phillips!
- Angsty Warlocks—Got a warlock who doesn't want to play nice with their patrons? A short piece of advice for judges stuck in the situation where characters aren't living up to their end of the patron bargain...
- Wyrm Words—A word puzzle of all the Gygaxian words in the seventh issue—this way, a definition is never in doubt! Also included are the answers to the Issue #6's Wyrm Words.
Also, how cool is it that we have a seventh article of a seventh issue!?! Makes me want to sing Iron Maiden's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son all day long! Honestly though, Caenv and Hero Crawl Classics are just brimming with juicy goodness, prophecy, and other coolness!
The Team:
Written by Brian Gilkison, Steve Harmon, Trevor Stamper, John Olszewski, Joel Philips, Christina Bennett-Stamper, James Spahn and more.
54 pages, 2-color print, 5x8 inches, Saddle stitch zine. Does not include PDF.
