Thursday, February 20, 2014

The Zine Scene, #1



I recently picked up the first issue of Metal Gods of Ur-Hadad, which is compatible with Dungeon Crawl Classics.

It is most definitely Metal.

We start off with three pieces of setting info: The Metal Gods; Ur-Hadad, The First City; and Assassins of Ur-Hadad. All three are written by Adam Muszkiewicz. These writings tell us of the time before Metal, in the land of Ore: humans warred alongside Dwarven allies against the Elder Races. We learn of "bone ziggurats and calcified gardens." We are told of the nonexistent assassins of Ur-Hadad; the random table for assassin guild creation is pretty wild. Muszkiewicz follows that up with an article about mercenary life, written in-character by Captain Chogrun Versk.

Edgar Johnson contributes Street Kids of Ur-Hadad, an adventure that kicks of with a roll-all-the-dice generator for creating neighborhoods, and another one for the gangs. These tables are governed by rules that turn the entire experience into a mini-game. Since DCC is full of gonzo dice (d16, d24), you may need a die-roller app -- unless you've already got d14s on hand.

[Noteworthy: the majority of proceeds from PDF sales of the zine go to StandUp For Kids, a secular and nonpartisan organization. Pretty damned decent, if you ask me.]

The adventure itself is a funnel (described as a "meat grinder") designed to cut the number of PCs down to a more manageable figure. Judging from the Just Another Day in Ur-Hadad table, I'd say it'll work.

The zine is illustrated by Wayne Snyder, who worked on Jack Shear's Devilmount; the images are all quite kickass and metal. Snyder wraps up this issue with Cave of the Maggot Witch, a one-page dungeon with instructions on how and when to plug it into an existing campaign.

When all is said and done, this is true Metal. You can pick it up here:

http://www.kickassistan.net/p/metal-gods-of-ur-hadad-zine.html

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