Internet Info 1997 December/Internet_Info_CD-ROM_Walnut_Creek_December_1997.iso/faqs/uk/games/roleplay/[uk.games.roleplay]_Frequently_Asked_Questions

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From: Phil Masters <[e-mail]>
Newsgroups: uk.games.roleplay,rec.games.frp.announce,rec.answers,news.answers
Subject: [uk.games.roleplay] Frequently Asked Questions
Followup-To: uk.games.roleplay
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 1997 08:45:12 GMT
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Summary: This posting describes the purpose and usage of the
         newsgroup uk.games.roleplay, and provides answers to
         common questions relating to the subject of the
         newsgroup, including suggestions for further sources
         of information.
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Archive-name: games/roleplay/uk-faq
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Last-modified: 1997/09/05
Maintainer: Phil Masters <[e-mail]>

UK.GAMES.ROLEPLAY
Frequently Asked Questions

Introduction
    This file has now received formal approval, and thus should henceforward
appear in the "answers" newsgroups. Further comment is still very welcome -
feel free to e-mail me at <[e-mail]>, or post to the
newsgroup.
    The file was originally drafted by James Wallis; once again, many thanks
to him for kicking it all off and doing most of the work.
    A couple of sections - specifically those concerning magazines,
publishers and fanzines - are still a bit cumbersome for a FAQ, but people
seem to want them here. If any altruistic soul feels like maintaining this
information on a WWW page, that would be terrific. In the meantime, this
file is now appearing in HTML-ised form on the WWW, at
<http://www.granta.demon.co.uk/rpgfaq.html>. Many thanks to Sheila Thomas
for her work on this, and for the hospitality of her 'Web space.
                                   Phil Masters

Changes
    Changes to the file since the last posting are indicated by a "|" in the
left-hand margin.


CONTENTS
1.    What is uk.games.roleplay?
2.    What is the group's charter?
3.    Are there any common courtesies I should follow?
4.    Is it okay to sell things via this newsgroup?
5.    How do I learn to play these games?
6.    Where can I find out about local games shops?
6a.   What about second-hand/out-of-print games?
7.    Where can I find out about local games clubs?
8.    Where can I find local LRP groups?
9.    How do I run a play-by-e-mail game?
10.   Where can I find out about conventions?
11.   Where can I find out about UK and Irish RPG magazines?
12.   Where can I find out about UK and Irish RPG publishers?
13.   Where can I find out about UK and Irish RPG distributors?
14.   Are there any other good sources of RPG information I should know
about?
15.   What about Net resources?
16.   What's a fanzine?
17    People in my area are attacking RPGs as dangerous/corrupting/satanic.
What can I do about it?
18.   What are my chances of getting a job in the adventure games industry?
19.   How do I publish my own game?
20.   Is role-playing in decline? What is the future of roleplaying?
21.   How do I get a new section added to this FAQ, or correct any mistakes
in it?


Q1.    What is uk.games.roleplay?
A1.    uk.games.roleplay is a newsgroup for the discussion and dissemination
of information about "table-top" (and possibly some "freeform" or "live
action") role-playing activity in the UK and Ireland, or matters concerning
gaming in those places.
    It is not a venue for discussion of computer games, card games
(collectible or otherwise), board, miniature or wargames, or family games.
There are better groups in the uk.games.* hierarchy for these subjects.
    NOTE: This is NOT a binaries newsgroup. Posting encoded binary files of
any type (graphics, programs, word processor files, etc.) is against basic
netiquette, and will earn you a hostile response from many people. Merely
flagging such postings as "long" is not a defence; some users don't employ
header-based filtering, and others, knowing this to be a small, specialised
discussion group, assume that they can download everything that appears here
with minimal trouble and expense. Please respect others' time and budget,
and familiarise yourself with the conventions of Usenet.
    ALSO NOTE: As this is a discussion newsgroup, debate here may
occasionally become a little heated. Usenet is like that, and most people
put up with it. However, a lot of people do think that arguments over
personal taste in RPG systems and styles are a little futile, and in any
case, there is already a newsgroup rec.games.frp.advocacy, which may be a
more appropriate place for this sort of thing.


Q2.    What is the group's charter?
A2.    'The newsgroup will be used for UK (and visiting) role-playing
addicts to meet and arrange games throughout the UK. Also it can be used for
(but not limited to) the discussions of new and old games, rules, large game
meetings (i.e. GenCon).
    'It will be used for all types of role-playing, including (but not
limited to) Live Action (i.e. Amber, V:TM), Play By Mail, Dice (i.e. AD&D,
Shadowrun).
    'Lengthy and/or off-topic advertising posts will not be welcome. Short
announcements of RELEVANT products, services and events, inviting e-mail
inquiries or suggesting URLs for further information, will be allowed.'


Q3.    Are there any common courtesies I should follow?
A3.    When posting to this newsgroup please try to state what the post is
about. It helps if you place a short code (no more than 5 letters) at the
beginning of the subject line. Sample codes are:
    AD&D     Advanced Dungeons and Dragons
    AMBER    Amber
    CP       Cyberpunk
    DISC     General discussions.
    EVENT    Use this for any events you know about, which anyone is welcome
to attend.
    FAQ:     This will be used for the FAQ, and for any discussion about it.
    FFORM:   Freeform; a semi-live-action game, usually indoors and often
without much in the way of costumes or rules.
    FS:      For Sale (see Q4)
    L(A)RP:  Live (action) role-play
    PBM:     Play-by-mail
    PBeM:    Play-by-e-mail
    SR       Shadowrun
    WOD      White Wolf's  'World of Darkness': Vampire/Mage/Werewolf/etc.


Q4.    Is it okay to buy and sell games via this newsgroup?
A4.    Despite the charter above, the general opinion seems to say yes; but
you shouldn't make a habit of it. However, frequent, repetitive or
irrelevant commercial postings are frowned upon. Treat the newsgroup as a
notice-board rather than a billboard, and people won't complain.


Q5.    How do I learn to play these games?
A5.    The best way is still to learn by doing, and for that you need to
know someone who already plays. Good games shops will have a notice-board
where clubs and groups post information about their meetings. Crap games
shops won't.
    Although most games contain some information directed at newcomers to
the hobby, distressingly few are designed with the beginner in mind. The
best may be West End Games' 'Star Wars Introductory Adventure Game', which
leads new players a step at a time into an RPG set in a familiar and popular
setting; it's fully compatible with West End's full Star Wars game, which is
pretty straightforward itself. For fantasy settings, TSR's 'Firstquest' does
the job reasonably well, and this is linked to the ever-popular AD&D. The
'Dungeoneer' RPG published by Puffin as part of the 'Advanced Fighting
Fantasy' series is surprisingly good - and British to boot. 'Feng Shui'
(Daedalus Games) is also aimed at new gamers, while 'Everway', from Rubicon
Games (originally from Wizards of the Coast) could be good (if expensive)
for anyone with a taste for high fantasy, mythic characters, collectible art
cards, or story-telling.


Q6.    Where can I find out about local games shops?
A6.    The only major chain of RPG stockists worthy of the name is the
Virgin Megastore chain; most branches have some kind of games section, and
even the ones that don't stock RPGs can order stuff for you. If that's no
good, try looking in Yellow Pages, under 'Toys' or 'Hobbies'. Anything that
describes itself as a 'specialist' or 'hobby' games store is probably a good
bet. If that doesn't bring any joy to your heart, you may get some pleasure
out of the following URL:
  <http://www.i-way.co.uk/~janthony/rpgshops.html>
    If none of those yield any fruit, you can always ask on the newsgroup if
anyone knows of a shop in your area. Or, as a last resort, find a shop that
deals in mail-order: there are several that advertise in gaming magazines,
and I believe one or two of them have made it onto the Net as well.
    One common question on the newsgroup comes from people who are visiting
London for a day or two, and who want to locate a good games shop there.
Virgin have a large Megastore on the corner of Oxford Street and Tottenham
Court Road, complete with a hobby games department, but unfortunately the
stock and floor-space allocated to games has shrunk noticeably in recent
times. (The one thing to be said for them is that their prices are sometimes
so eccentric that you can find some real bargains.) A much better bet in
Central London is Orc's Nest, at 6, Earlham Street, just off Cambridge
Circus (on the left, in the direction of Seven Dials, if you're heading
south). HMV at the Trocadero Centre is also said to have a small games
section. However, many people's favourite London shop is a tube ride from
the centre; Leisure Games, at 91 Ballards Lane, Finchley, is close to
Finchley Central station (on the Northern Line), and has an impressively
comprehensive stock.
    Also - if you can't find a physical shop, there's always mail order
(many shops who advertise in the games press will do this) or the internet.
Magpie Games have a 'net presence; see Q15 for details.

Q6a.   What about second-hand/out-of-print games?
A6a.   Good question. Unfortunately, the UK RPG hobby barely seems big
enough to support decent shops carrying *new* product. There don't seem to
be any *specialising* in out-of-print stuff - although plenty of provincial
RPG shops have old material that they've never cleared off their shelves. A
few will buy and sell second-hand stuff, but not usually systematically;
larger outlets with direct connections to the distribution system may also
have old stuff tucked away in back of their warehouses. (Larger shops also
tend to be happy to sell by mail order.)
    There have been good reports of Under One Flag, in Nottingham, a games
shop which apparently has a decent second-hand/out of print section, and
which does mail order; their number is [phone]. Otherwise, your best
bet is likely to be specialist mail order outfits; try 2nd Games Galore
(01234-823873), Caliver Books (01702-73986; e-mail
[e-mail]), Vantage Infosystems in Portsmouth (01705-
851645), or look for adverts in the RPG press. (Note; this is another topic
that really deserves a home-page or something to itself.)


Q7.    Where can I find out about local games clubs?
A7.    If a local club exists, any half-way decent local games shop should
be able to point you in the right direction. In fact, any half-way decent
local games shop should be running a discount scheme for club members. Local
universities and colleges also often have games societies, and many welcome
outsiders.
    If that's no good, try a copy of 'Valkyrie' or 'Games Games Games', both
of which print excellent directories of games clubs in the UK and Ireland,
and all over Europe. It's not complete or exhaustive, but it's the best
there is at the moment.
    Or, of course, you can ask in the newsgroup.
    Elenor Maclaren maintains a WWW page with a listing of clubs in the UK
and Ireland:
  <http://www2.brunel.ac.uk:8080/~xxsubgs/rpgclubs.html >


Q8.    Where can I find local LRP groups and events?
A8.    Set your browsers to the heart of the sun:
  <http://www.eirias.demon.co.uk/>
- which should give you all the information you need about groups in the UK.
    For the UK there is an Events Guide on The Net, at:
   <http://www.netlrp.uk.com/larp/aldebaran/Events/index.html>
This list only covers the UK.  If you would like your event listed please
| mail the information to <[e-mail]>.
    You might also want to look at the FAQ for rec.games.frp.live-action:
  <http://www.upl.cs.wisc.edu/~chaos/LARP.html>
    (This is maintained by Marcus Hill <[e-mail]>; ask him to e-
mail you a copy if you can't get through to the WWW site.)
    One of the longest running lists of LRP events on the 'net is Shade's
LARP list, available on:
  <http://www.coil.com/~zargonis/shade.html>.
- You can add your group to the list by e-mailing Joe Santocildes at
<[e-mail]>.


Q9.    How do I run a play-by-e-mail game?
A9.    The Irony Games WWW site has some info on running PBeM games:
  <http://www.pbem.com/>
    This also lists new PBeM games starting and needing players as well as
links to already up-and-running games on the Web.
The 'How to run a play-by-e-mail game' section can be found at:
  <http://www.pbem.com/pbem-howto.html>
    (This has lots of useful links.)
'Intro to PBeMs'/'What's a PBeM' is at:
  <http://www.irony.com/pbem.html>

Q10.    Where can I find out about conventions?
A10.    I (Phil Masters) maintain a WWW page with listings of forthcoming
British conventions:
  <http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Phil_Masters/rpgcons.htm>
    Convention organisers should e-mail all relevant information to
<[e-mail]>.
    Magazines like 'Valkyrie' and 'Games, Games, Games' maintain lists of
forthcoming conventions. Don't bother with the one in 'Dragon'; when last
seen, it had a notable bias against anything that's not in the USA or
Canada.
    Mark Baker's WWW Convention Diary used to be updated regularly, and had
world-wide coverage, but it has now become moribund, mostly because Mark
lost his Internet access, and it is now long out of date. However, it may be
revived at some time. The URL is:
  <http://www.io.com/~lange/conctrl/conventions.html>.


Q11.    Where can I find out about UK and Irish RPG magazines?
A11.    We had some hopes of a resurgence in British RPG magazines a little
while ago, but the disappearance of the fully professional 'arcane', and the
non-appearance or irregularity of some others, has rather taken the shine
off that. The following are the titles which may still be around and which
qualify as professional or semi-professional. For information on fanzines,
see later.
    NOTE: The information on many of these titles is getting a little old
now, and I've not seen many of them in the shops recently, if at all. I'd
appreciate it if people who know more than me could bring me up to date.

THE ADVENTURER
Dedicated to LRP. No other details known.
Address:    The Adventurer's Guild, 11 Foxhall Road, Nottingham, NG7 6NA

AFTER REALITY
A start-up magazine. They seem to know what they're doing.
Address:    87 New Road, Woodston, Peterborough PE2 9HD

ELSEWHERE
PBM and RPG magazine, heavy on the enthusiasm. Bi-monthly.
Address:    47 Leopold Street, Southsea, Portsmouth, Hants, PO4 0JZ
E-mail:     [e-mail]
WWW:        http://www.amorte.com/elsewhere/elsewhere.html

FUTURE ROLEPLAYER
A somewhat irregular magazine, oriented towards computers, SF, and the
technophile end of the hobby generally. Declared to be on hold as of January
1997, but the editors hope to have it going again "within two to four
months".
Address:     8 Woodsetts Road, North Anston, Sheffield, S31 7EQ
E-mail:      John Baker <[e-mail]>

GAMES GAMES GAMES
Stalwart of the UK games scene, and useful information resource for gamers
of all colours. Monthly.
Address:     42 Wynndale Road, London E18 1DX
E-mail:      [e-mail]

INTERACTIVE FANTASY
A serious magazine about all aspects of role-playing and storytelling games,
in the mould of an academic journal. Officially thrice-yearly, but currently
on indefinite hold.
Address:     Andrew Rilstone, 22 Avonmead House, 40-48 Stokes Croft,
Bristol, BS1 3QD
E-mail:      [e-mail]
WWW:         http://www.aslan.demon.co.uk/if.htm

MILLENNIUM
A start-up magazine with high aspirations.
Address:     ?
E-mail:      [e-mail]

THE POWER
A new magazine that covers RPGs, CCGs, computer games, rock music, and,
apparently, whatever else the editors are vaguely interested in this
morning. It does have the advantage of being published by part of the
Hobbygames Ltd Group, giving it a direct connection to the UK games
distribution system, and it claims to be planning to appear monthly - in
which case, it could become a useful source of information about new and
upcoming games material.
Address:     MJM Publishing Ltd, Unit S4, Rudford Industrial Estate,
             Ford, Arundel, West Sussex, BN18 0BD.
E-mail:      [e-mail]

TALES OF THE REACHING MOON
Runequest fanzine, with production values putting most pro-mags to shame.
Schedule unknown.
Address:     21 Stephenson Court, Osborne Street, Slough, SL1 1TN
E-mail:      [e-mail]

TOMB: MIDNIGHT FEAST
From what I've seen and heard, this newcomer (dedicated to White Wolf's
Vampire games, RPG and CCG) is another fanzine with seriously impressive
production values - and also professional distribution. Quarterly.
Address:     ? (Try games shops or distributors.)

VALKYRIE
Traditional-style games magazine in the WD/GM mould, heavy on the hardware.
Nominally bi-monthly, but extremely irregular; fairly widely available when
it does appear.
Address:     Partizan Press, 816-818 London Road, Leigh-on-Sea, Southend,
Essex, SS9 3NH
WWW:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com:80/homepages/d_renton/homepage.htm
             (inactive when last checked)
e-mail:      [e-mail]

WHITE DWARF
Games Workshop's house magazine. Included here for Warhammer Quest players.
Monthly, and found in every W.H.Smiths.
Address:    Games Workshop Design Studio, 16 Castle Boulevard, Nottingham,
NG7 1FL
WWW:        http://www.games-workshop.co.uk

ARCANE was Future publishing's entry in the field; its current official
status is 'suspended', on the off-chance that someone will buy and re-launch
it (but don't hold your breath). There are also hopes that part of the
'Futurenet' web page (run by an organisation associated with Future
Publishing) will become an on-line RPG 'webzine', inheriting something from
the paper magazine; keep an eye on
   <http://www.futurenet.co.uk/>

And those we remember: Adventurer; Black Sun; Concepts; Diceman; Fantasy
Chronicles; Games International; Games Review Monthly; GM; GMI; Imagine;
Last Province; Red Giant; Reviewer; Role-Player Independent, Warlock; and
many more. Some sadly missed. Others not missed at all. A couple barely
remembered.


Q12.    Where can I find out about UK and Irish RPG publishers?
A12.    There aren't many. Those we know about are listed below, with
contact information:

CAWS
Products:    Animouch!
Address:     38 Carshalton Road, Camberley, Surrey, GU14 4AQ
E-mail:      [e-mail]

CRUCIBLE DESIGN
Products:    The 23rd Letter RPG; QABAL RPG; SpaceNinjaCyberCrisis XDO RPG
Address:     13 Prospect Park, Lisburn, N. Ireland, BT27 3HR.
WWW:         http://members.tripod.com/~CrucibleDesign/index.html
E-mail:      [e-mail]
Tel:         (9-5 + answering machine)  [phone]

DIGITAL ANIMATIONS
This company has acquired the rights to 'Tales of Gargentihr', an off-beat
RPG originally published by Sanctuary Games, who sadly ceased trading in
1995. Digital Animations have published at least one scenario for Tales...
on computer disk, and may yet do something more with this game-setting in
some form - computer, text-based, or both.
WWW:         http://www.digital-animations.co.uk/tog/

DISENCHANTED GAMES
Products:    Casalana (generic fantasy sourcebooks)
Address:     115 Curly Hill, Ilkley, W. Yorkshire, LS29 0DT

EQUILIBRIUM GAMES
Products:    West Point - Extra Planetary Academy
Address:     31 Lysons Road, Aldershot, Hants, GU11 1NH
E-mail:      [e-mail]

GAMES WORKSHOP
Products:    Warhammer Fantasy Battle; Warhammer 40,000; Talisman; Warhammer
Quest; Necromunda; Space Hulk
Address:     Chewton Street, Hilltop, Eastwood, Nottingham, NG16 3HY
WWW:         http://www.games-workshop.co.uk

HERESY
NOTE: Heresy were promising product in 1996, but they have gone very quiet
lately; reports suggest that they hit funding problems, and that their
planned "Victoriana" RPG is currently being sold in a home-produced form as
a stopgap. Their 'Web page also seems to have disappeared.
Products:    Victoriana RPG (forthcoming?)
Address:     3 Peel Close, Hampton in Arden, Solihull, B92 0AL
WWW:         http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/heresy (inactive)
E-mail:      [e-mail]

HOGSHEAD PUBLISHING LTD
Products:    FRUP (possibly forthcoming); Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay
Address:     29a Abbeville Road, London, SW4 9LA
E-mail:      [e-mail]

PJB GAMES
A new outfit; more information gratefully received.
Products:    Timeline 5
'Phone:      [phone]

PROFANTASY SOFTWARE
Products:    Campaign Cartographer
Address:     Enterprise House, Cathles Road, London SW12 9LD
WWW:         http://www.profantasy.com/profant/
E-mail:      [e-mail]

TSR LTD
Products:    TSR Ltd doesn't actually produce anything; it acts as the
distribution arm of its US parent. Current circumstances, following the
take-over of the US parent company, are unclear.
Address:     120 Church End, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge CB1 3LB

VENTURE PRESS
Products:    Frenzy RPG
Address:     The A.I.C., Muirfield C.E.C., Brown Road, Cumbernauld, G67 1AA

WASTELAND GAMES
Products:    Killing Ground; Point Blank; MAJI; Heretics; El Paso; Ad Astra;
STOCS Lite
Address:     67 Eglinton St, Portrush, N. Ireland, BT56 8DZ
WWW:         http://indigo.ie/~waste
E-mail:      [e-mail]

WIZARDS OF THE COAST UK
Products:    Like TSR Ltd, WotC UK doesn't produce anything, it just
distributes and publicises.
| Address:     P.O.Box 61, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 1FX
| 'Phone:      [phone]

This is probably also the appropriate place to mention MARCUS ROWLAND, who
publishes his own roleplaying game, 'Forgotten Futures', as 'shareware' in
the form of plain text files on computer diskette. Marcus does NOT operate
as a commercial publisher, and he is NOT in the business of publishing other
people's work, but he is British, and he is really selling a real (and
interesting) RPG.
Address:     22, Westbourne Park Villas, London, W2 5EA
WWW:         <http://www.ffutures.demon.co.uk/>
That page currently holds large parts of his game; there is at least one
site that may hold even more:
  <http://www.tierzucht.uni-kiel.de/~sma/forgottenfutures/>
E-mail: [e-mail] (or [e-mail] or
[e-mail] for general mail).

Nightfall Games was absorbed into Wizards of the Coast UK in 1994, and its
game 'SLA Industries' seems to be in limbo at the moment. Information on the
fates of Nightfall and other UK-based RPG companies would be welcome.


Q13.    Where can I find out about UK and Irish RPG distributors?
A13.    Distributors are the people who supply games shops with games: they
order from the manufacturers, import the goods into the country, and ship
stuff to the shops. Their names and addresses are commercially sensitive,
and you're unlikely to be given a complete list of distributors just for the
asking. Try asking games retailers which specialist distributor they use, or
ask a games publisher if they can help. And some of them do actually
advertise in magazines like 'Arcane' and 'Valkyrie'.


Q14.    Are there any other good sources of RPG information I should know
about?
A14.    Yes; there's the British Roleplaying Society (BRS). This operates
via a mailing list, which you can join by sending a message with the word
'Subscribe' in the subject line to: <[e-mail]>.
Messages to the list itself are sent to <[e-mail]>


Q15.    What about Net resources?
A15.    I'm hoping that the friendly readers of this newsgroup will forward
me their suggestions. FTP or WWW sites don't have to be in the UK or Ireland
- the nature of the Net makes physical location mostly irrelevant - but
anything of direct relevance or interest to UK or Irish role-players would
be greatly appreciated. That can include club and shop homepages, details of
forthcoming events, indexes of UK-produced gaming magazines, the CAMRA
homepage ... whatever. 'My D&D page' is not UK-specific enough to this FAQ
for inclusion.

As noted above, Future Publishing (the people behind 'arcane') and their
sister company Futurenet have a good WWW site with a section given over to
role-playing games; this was originally associated with the magazine, and
may now become a commercial venture in its own right. It has its own
discussion area and news items of UK and Irish interest. Go to:
  <http://www.futurenet.co.uk/>
and follow the signs from there.

The UK Masquerade is a newly formed society, mainly based in the south of
England, that deals with White Wolf's 'Vampire: The Masquerade' game. They
have a WWW site at:
  <http://www.cyberenet.net/~sten/vampire/index.html>
    This hold both IC & OOC information, including who's who, status list,
newsletters, contact points, and a WoD Time Line, listing lots of important
events in the WoD, currently 25 pages long.

Warhammer FRP is a British-written and British-published game, so I'll pass
on the following two URLs that were sent to me:
    ftp://ftp.pvv.unit.no/pub/warhammer/wfrpmags.htm
..apparently covers all those articles relating to the game in various
prozines and fanzines, and...
    http://www.cs.odu.edu/~gonding/WD/WDindex.html
..gives a breakdown of all articles that ever appeared in White Dwarf (up
to about WD206).

We've recently seen the launch of a British (Edinburgh-based) company
offering mail order with a 'Web/'net presence. It will be interesting to see
how Magpie Games do with this.
   homepage : http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/magpie/
   e-mail   : [e-mail]

There's also an admirable library of material at monosys.com, accessible by
e-mail. For information, send an e-mail to <[e-mail]> with
a Subject line containing just the word "info" (no quotes).

MUDs (online multi-user dungeons) are slightly off-topic for this group, but
may be of interest; the following sites have been recommended to me. I claim
no personal knowledge of this topic - I'm just passing on what I've been
told:

Vampire Wars is apparently a UK MUD based loosely around Vampire the
Masquerade, and their site is said to have a useful FAQ on MUDs in general:
   homepage : http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~joker/
   telnet   : vampire.flirble.org.uk 4000
   contact  : [e-mail]

And for a list of MUDs with machines located in Britain:
   contact  : rec.games.mud.british
   homepage : http://mudhole.ehche.ac.uk/~tnt/others.html

Lastly, polyglot gamers might want to look at the FAQ for the German
counterpart of this group, de.rec.games.rpg.misc, at:
   http://www.informatik.uni-oldenburg.de/~henry/spiele/RPG-FAQ/

See also many of the company and magazine home pages mentioned above; they
are interesting both for themselves and for the links they may include.


Q16.    What's a fanzine?
A16.    A fanzine is an amateur-produced magazine, typically with low
production values and more enthusiasm than technical proficiency.
Nevertheless, fanzines are a traditional seed-bed of gaming, teaching people
publishing skills and the dynamics of the game industry, and many of today's
professional games creators and publishers emerged out of the fanzine hobby,
including Marc Gascoigne, Ian Marsh, Andrew Rilstone, Jake Thornton and
James Wallis.
    For the moment, this FAQ will contain a listing and contact details for
all the UK or Irish role-playing fanzines it knows of. If you know of any,
or if you edit one yourself, then please send details. I'm hoping that
someone will spin this section off into a separate FAQ or WWW page, and thus
save me the trouble of having to collate all the information.

Beaumains
Dedicated to 'Pendragon' and Arthurian stuff generally.
Gareth Jones, 69 Atherley Road, Shirley, Southampton, SO1 5DT

Borkelby's Folly
Dedicated to the off-beat RPG 'Skyrealms of Jorune'; 40 to 45 A4 pages, with
card covers. 2 pounds for a single issue or 5 pounds for three.
Ray Gillham, 22 Mirador Crescent, Uplands, Swansea, SA2 0QX
E-Mail: [e-mail]

Carnel
General RPG fanzine. Other details unknown, but a letter to the editor will
doubtless get you something.
Robert Rees, Copley, The Close, Spittal, Nr Haverfordwest, Dyfed SA62 5QH.

Delusions of Grandeur
General, intelligent games fanzine.
Paul Duncanson, 446a Garrett Lane, Earlsfield, London, SW18 4HL

Fnordly World News
General games fanzine and newsletter of the Irish Games Association.
Sally Beth Roche, P.O. Box 4345, Dublin 1, Ireland

Games Gazette
General magazine of games previews and reviews.
Chris Baylis, 67 Mynchens, Basildon, Essex, SS15 5EG

Imazine
Very influential thinking-person's zine, edited by Paul Mason, and highly
recommended. Last I heard, primarily available on the WWW, although there
have been rumours that Paul was moving back to paper.
   <http://ourworld.compuserve.com:80/homepages/panurge/imaz1.htm>

Ivory, Peacocks and Apes
A very well-produced and enjoyable 'zine, with high editing standards.
Gavin Greig, 4 North Carr View, Kingsbarns, by St Andrews, Fife, KY16 8SX
E-Mail: [e-mail]

The Jawa Melting Pot
A new 'zine dealing exclusively with the Star Wars RPG. The news staff at
Arcane seemed quite impressed; 60 B&W A4 pages for 3 pounds an issue, all
apparently pretty good quality.
John Greenhalgh, 1 Masefield Avenue, Radcliffe, Manchester, M26 3GZ
E-Mail: [e-mail]

Nightflyer
Fanzine produced by the Oxford University RPG Society.
Doesn't have an address on it. Hmm.

PBMzine
A totally indicative title. But it's all part of the RPG hobby, isn't it?
Jamie Lang, 53 Scott Road, Sheffield, S4 7BG
E-Mail: [e-mail]

Random Writings
A non-system-specific 'zine, produced approximately bi-monthly and "very
cheap, if not free". The editor is a regular on the newsgroup.
Justine Rogers, Ganapati Kumari, Pinmill, Ipswich, IP9 1JW
E-Mail: [e-mail]
| 'Web Page: http://www.pepin.demon.co.uk/rw

Visions
A newcomer, primarily covering RPGs, but also dealing with other games and
media (I'm told).
David and John House, 8 Eythrope Road, Stone, Aylesbury, HP17 8PG

Warpstone
Dedicated to Warhammer FRP.
John Keane, 75 Headstone Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 1PQ.
E-Mail : [e-mail]

Q.17    People in my area are attacking RPGs as
dangerous/corrupting/satanic. What can I do about it?
A.17    First of all, stay calm. Flying off the handle never helps.
|     Secondly, check out the WWW, if you've got time; there are various
| sensible pages containing suggestions and useful hard facts you can use
| defensively. (Unfortunately, the best page I knew has now gone off-line,
| but do have a look at the relevant section of:
|    <http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Phil_Masters/rpgs.htm>
| for some links. Others would be appreciated.)
    Thirdly, write a calm and considered letter to the local paper, simply
| stating that RPGs are just games. Use evidence gleaned from WWW pages or
| wherever to support your case. Invite anyone interested - including
reporters from the paper - along to a club night or convention, so they can
see the truth about RPGs for themselves.
    Fourthly, contact the company whose games are being attacked. Usually
this will be TSR, but more recently Steve Jackson Games, Chaosium and
Metropolis have all come under fire. Most companies have e-mail addresses
these days, and they will almost certainly be just as worried as you about
the attacks on their products.
    And finally, if the attacks persist, drop an e-mail to the following
people, letting them know that there's a problem. They all have experience
in dealing with the media, and because they're involved in the games
industry in this country their voices will carry some weight with the press.
They are:
    Andy Butcher, Future Publishing <[e-mail]>
    Andy Jones, Games Workshop <[e-mail]>
    James Wallis, Hogshead Publishing <[e-mail]>
(If anyone has an e-mail address for TSR (UK) Ltd, it would be very welcome)


Q18.    What are my chances of getting a job in the RPG industry in the UK?
A18.    Pathetically tiny, frankly, unless you're prepared to move to the
USA or start your own company. It is possible to make some money from
working as a freelance writer and designer in the RPG business, and a
handful of hardy souls around the world earn a living from it. You might do
better to regard RPGs as just a part of a career in writing or journalism.
Contact as many games publishers and magazines as you can think of, and ask
for their submission guidelines.
    We have been asked to point out that some RPG publishers aren't as on
the ball professionally as you might hope, and you should prepare yourself
for disappointments and delays - although this applies to every other field
of publishing too.


Q19.    How do I publish my own game?
A19.    The answer's far too big for a FAQ - James Wallis says that he could
write a book about what he's learned in the last two years, and probably
another book about his previous five years as a freelancer. But this will
cover the major points.
    The fact is that it's very hard to make a go of a UK- or Ireland-based
games company. The total UK and Irish market for RPGs is tiny compared to,
say, the European or American market; and while you might be able to sell a
few hundred copies of SMITHQUEST, by John Smith, published by Smith Games,
your chances of becoming the next TSR, FASA, GW or WotC are severely limited
by geography. However, it is possible to be British and challenge the world,
as GW has proved. It's just a hell of a lot of work.
    The most important thing you need to think about is the scale of your
operation. If you're only planning to print 300 copies of a 40-page booklet
and sell them via local shops and conventions, then you'll probably do okay
whoever you are. If you're planning a 200-page book and a print run of 3000
copies, then be aware that you're putting your product up against AD&D,
Vampire, Rifts and Shadowrun, and you're going to have to be frighteningly
businesslike and together to survive. It may not look it, but in crucial
areas, the RPG industry is just as slick and professional as any other
industry. It eats amateurs alive.
    One model that you may wish to consider is the self-publishing/computer
file shareware route taken by Marcus Rowland (see Question 12). This will
not make you rich - it isn't a full-time job for Marcus - but it will get
your game published, relatively cheaply, and on your own terms, which may be
what you actually want.
    Prospective serious games publishers need to bear the following major
points in mind:

1.    Games design, writing and editing
Who's going to write your games for you? Are you sure you/they can write
games material to a commercial standard? Do you have time to run the company
and write the games as well? Do you have any experience of editing and
proof-reading, or do you know someone who does?

2.    Layout
The days of typed RPGs are long gone: these days you need at least a high-
end word processor and probably a slick DTP program to make a game look
commercial. If you can't operate one, learn. If you don't have a computer
that can run such a program, get access to one.

3.    Artwork
If you're going for the big market, your game will need professional-quality
b/w art inside, and a colour cover on the outside. (Well, can you name a
single successful RPG with a two-colour cover? No, neither can I.) If you
really can't afford full-colour, go for black, red and white - take a look
at the STOCs books produced by Wasteland Games for an example of this done
well. A lot of distributors won't even look at a publication that doesn't
have a full-colour cover.

4.    Printers
Get as many printing quotes as you can, and always ask to see examples of
the company's previous work. Be aware that printing prices in the UK are
high; if you're ambitious, check out printers in Spain and Italy. Or do what
Hogshead does: use a printer in America, to be closer to the biggest RPG
market in the world. It's cheaper, and means you can write off trips to the
USA as a business expense.

5.    Warehousing and shipping
Don't leave these out of your calculations - and if you're doing a large
print run and are planning to store the books at home, you'd better have a
huge garage. Books are bulky and heavy. And remember that you may be
shipping them all over the world, so make plans for that. A hint: American
distributors hate importing material from Europe, but European distributors
don't mind importing stuff from the USA.

6.    Distribution
Get in touch with games distributors at least four months before your game
is due to come out. Talk to them about discounts and delivery dates, who
pays shipping costs, promotional budgets, how you can help them and they can
help you. Distributors will typically expect to pay about 40% of the cover
price of the game.

7.    Europe and America
The UK games market is piddly in comparison with the two big markets: Europe
and the USA - so piddly that if your business plan is based only on sales in
the UK, you will go bust. We say that with total certainly. You should be
thinking about how you're going to sell your game in Europe and America from
Day One of planning.

8.    Publicity and Support
How are you going to let people know about your products? Advertisements?
Press releases? WWW pages? Publicity leaflets or posters sent out to
retailers? Attending conventions? Attending trade shows? Catalogues? The RPG
market depends a lot on impulse purchases, but people like to be aware of a
product's existence before they buy it.
    Have you got your release schedule mapped out? Can you be sure you can
keep to it? Distributors, retailers and fans like to know that a game will
be properly supported before they plonk down their cash for it.

    There are a gazillion other tiny fiddly little points, such as acquiring
ISBN numbers, getting listed in Books In Print and so on. To find out more
about them, buy copies of 'The Small Press Yearbook' (published by the Small
Press Group) and 'Writers and Artists Yearbook' (published by A.C.Black),
which will fill a lot of the gaps in your knowledge.
    Also: contact James Wallis <[e-mail]>, or any of the
other British games companies. Almost everyone in the biz will be happy to
give support and advice to new publishers. They all started out somewhere,
and if they can help you avoid making the same mistakes they did, so much
the better. Another young games company going bankrupt doesn't help anybody.


Q20.    Is role-playing in decline? What is the future of roleplaying?
A20.    At any given time, by whatever measure you consider important, role-
playing may be in decline. Even if it is, this does not necessarily mean
that people are not still enjoying it. Define your terms before asking this
question on the group, and do not expect a useful answer from anybody.
    Well, okay - to be honest, there are some seriously unhappy signs about
the RPG industry at the moment. When TSR, the original and biggest pro RPG
publisher, gets taken over by Wizards of the Coast, who make their money
from card games, the situation has gone beyond a joke. The disappearance of
'arcane' magazine, partly because of the loss of TSR advertising revenue,
shows that the UK side of things is not immune. How serious things are, how
long the problems it will last, and what solutions may be possible, are
matters that can be discussed on the group. But don't expect general
agreement.
    As for the future; no-one on the group is psychic. Probably, some people
will continue to play, and (we may hope) to enjoy these games. Many people
also think that a high degree of diversity in the games that people play
(and enjoy) is a good thing. All of this, however, is a matter of opinion.

Q20a:   Don't be stupid; the future of role-playing is...
A20a:   ...Don't tell us - it's your favourite game or approach. The chances
are that you have just discovered this game or approach, and you are feeling
very happy with it. Good for you. However, the chances are also that it will
remain just one part of a complex (if not massively popular or fashionable)
hobby. Some people will even tell you that this is a good thing. But please
phrase these "questions" as questions in future. (And do remember that
rec.games.frp.advocacy may be a better place to express your personal
preferences in RPGs.)


Q21.    How do I get a new section added to this FAQ, or correct any
mistakes in it?
A21.    You e-mail me at the address below, with your ideas. All
contributions gratefully received: I know a fair amount about bits of the
hobby, but I don't know it all.



The current intention is for this FAQ for uk.games.roleplay to be re-posted
monthly. It was originally drafted by James Wallis, and is currently
compiled and maintained by Phil Masters <[e-mail]>. Additional
information and assistance supplied by Stephen Bates, Jonathan Burt, Brian
Duguid, J.H.T.Fattorini, Marcus Hill, M.D.Horrill, Peter Lowe, Elenor
Maclaren, Justine Rogers, Ashley Southcott, and Sheila Thomas.

Last update: 5th September 1997