In this newsletter | Severed Books| Arcane Sword Press| Ham & Egg Publishing | Get Haunted Industries |
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Justin Sirois, Severed Books VAMPIRE FARTS launches in May from Severed Books! |
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In this fast and tense press your luck game, you are a vampire who must eat a well-rounded meal to fart the most succulent fart imaginable. You will be feasting on different people of varying “taste” (number values). At the end of each round, the vampire with the highest value meal wins. That is, if you don’t ruin your night by feeding on the same type of human twice.
Beware, rival vampires are also out to sabotage you. During your night hunt, you may steal other vampire’s meals, block them from hunting, and even end their night completely. Play smart and you’ll be the one to rip the juiciest fart and win. Welcome to Vampire Farts. | | |
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| | Arcane Sword PressMagazine Madness continues! This week – Imagine Magazine by TSR UK |
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I honestly struggle to think of anything notable beyond that it is aggressively Mid. Nothing outstanding, but nothing bad either! Which is a disappointment because I was honestly looking forward to this one. I looked at a couple of issues from the beginning, middle, and end of its 30 issue run to help give me an insight into its lifetime (April 1983 – October 1985.) | | | I honestly struggle to think of anything notable beyond that it is aggressively Mid. Nothing outstanding, but nothing bad either! Which is a disappointment because I was honestly looking forward to this one. I looked at a couple of issues from the beginning, middle, and end of its 30 issue run to help give me an insight into its lifetime (April 1983 – October 1985.)
I think most notably, there were featured articles with new AD&D classes and rules written by Gary Gygax that were later compiled into Unearthed Arcana two years after they were in Imagine (three years after they were in Dragon Magazine). And just like Dragon, the majority – if not all of the issue’s table space was devoted to D&D content such as adventure modules, rule clarification editorial called Dispel Confusion (great name!), a bi-monthly article about play-by-mail called Chainmail (another great name!), plus the occasional review about films, books, plus other gaming magazines. In fact- there is a lot of focus on reviewing other magazines and fanzines, oftentimes being a bit too critical or even punching down on a teen doing their best.
| | | What about game content beyond D&D? Well, it’s pretty slim but when I saw something written for runescape or traveller, it would be paired with AD&D and Star Frontiers respectively. So there seemed to be some editorial control on supporting systems outside of TSR USA’s interests. In fact, it seemed like TSR UK was doing its best to compete with the established juggernaut of White Dwarf by the time Imagine came around that Gygax probably treated it as an afterthought and merely as an advertisement platform for the UK scene. Which White Dwarf was doing just fine releasing their own AD&D classes and adventures.
Finally, I’d like to point out one thing that feels very contemporary – An article called A Beginners Guide to Role Playing that goes over aspects of playing an RPG and an associated comic strip called The Adventures of Nic Novice that is set up as an introduction to learning how to play D&D. Look at it! | What about game content beyond D&D? Well, it’s pretty slim but when I saw something written for runescape or traveller, it would be paired with AD&D and Star Frontiers respectively. So there seemed to be some editorial control on supporting systems outside of TSR USA’s interests. In fact, it seemed like TSR UK was doing its best to compete with the established juggernaut of White Dwarf by the time Imagine came around that Gygax probably treated it as an afterthought and merely as an advertisement platform for the UK scene. Which White Dwarf was doing just fine releasing their own AD&D classes and adventures.
Finally, I’d like to point out one thing that feels very contemporary – An article called A Beginners Guide to Role Playing that goes over aspects of playing an RPG and an associated comic strip called The Adventures of Nic Novice that is set up as an introduction to learning how to play D&D. Look at it! |
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| | | | That looks like it’s from a zine I would have picked up recently at a convention or find on Itch.io! This strip continues for many issues and was a joy to come across every time.
In summary, Imagine is like a literal mid-point between Dragon and White Dwarf, serviceable and technically good, but not memorable as the prior two.
Next week – Adventure Gaming Magazine by Manzakk Publishing!
Oh, before I forget- Game Submissions for ArcaneCon are open! Submit your games before May 30th so you can get a discount on your badge! I have also updated the ArcaneCon webpage with all of the current info about the new location, states, and more!
Until next time!
-Bryan | | |
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Ham & Egg Publishing Fugazi: The Albini Sessions | Ahoy! Hambone here, and whilst I have nothing to promote, this was the coolest thing I heard about this week, and I could not wait to share it with you all. Fugazi, the legendary D.C. post-hardcore band, has chosen to release their shelved “In on the Killtaker” sessions, originally recorded with the late great Steve Albini, to support Letters Charity. I have included an excerpt from the article, and you can read the full story on Bandcamp in its entirety. It is worth checking out. |
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| | From Bandcamp: “In the fall of 1992, the members of Fugazi were deep in the process of finishing up the songs that would eventually come out as the “In On The Killtaker” album the following year. The band had been working on the songs for a couple of years and had gotten as far as recording a few of them at Inner Ear as well as making numerous practice recordings, but by late October, they seemed to have hit a bit of a wall. In an attempt to shake things up, it was decided that they would take up Steve Albini’s standing invitation to do a free recording at his Electrical Audio Studio, which at the time was located in the basement of his house on North Francisco in Chicago.”
“In those three or four days, 12 songs ended up getting recorded and mixed –the entirety of the eventual “In On The Killtaker” album. During playbacks in Steve’s upstairs mixing room, everyone was very excited by the results. However, once the band was driving back home to DC with cassettes of the rough mixes to check out, it was clear that this was a session that wasn’t going to be released. The two vehicles met at a rest stop in Ohio, and there both sets of band members realized they had come to the same conclusion independent of each other. It’s difficult to explain the issue, but, for as incredible as things felt while at Electrical, the songs sounded flat in subsequent listens. A few days after returning home, Albini wrote to the band with a similar opinion, and it was decided to nix the recording.”
“To honor Steve, who died in 2024, and to support the work that he and his wife, Heather Whinna, have done with the non-profit Letters Charity organization, Fugazi has decided to make Steve’s entire original mix officially available for the first time in transfers pulled directly from the master tapes.” |
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Stillfleet Studio If You Dig Indie RPGs, Tune Into Why We Roll |
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Do you play, GM, or even create indie TTRPGs? Eyyy, so do we! In fact, Stillfleet Studio hosts a biweekly stream/podcast all about indie TTRPG game design.
Each episode of Why We Roll with Christopher Pickett and Wythe Marschall is an in-depth hour-long peek into the mind of a leading contemporary designer.
We’ve been lucky to interview some truly amazing designers, including Daniel Kwan, Luke Gearing, Mark Diaz Truman, Laurie O’Connel, Spencer Campbell, Kayla Dice, Michael Sands, Jenn de la Vega, Will Jobst, Tanya Floaker, Adam Vass, and Analog Union’s own John McGuire! (Expect more AU crossovers…).
By focusing on RPGs × history and politics as well as the biz side of indie gaming, Why We Roll is a perfect entry point for new creators. Plus, we take questions in the chat during our streams! Roll with us~ | | | | | | |
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Get Haunted Industries Keep Going — Responsible Momentum as an Indie TTRPG Maker |
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Look, pals—I’m no business expert. I’m just running Get Haunted Industries from a workbench in my basement. Making games is how I express myself and feed the muse. It’s great therapy, and I’ve met incredible people through it. But if I want the zines to keep flowing, I have to think about three things: money, my abilities, and forecasting. | | | Money Zines cost money to print. Simple as that. I’m not great at asking for it. I love giving books to friends, and I’m a pushover at the con table. I want my games in people’s hands so that I can get loose with pricing. But when it’s time to hit the “Pay Now” button on Mixam, reality kicks in. So let’s say it out loud: it’s okay to charge people for your work. Getting paid is what allows you to make more things and get them into more hands. Take the money, leave the cannoli. | | |
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My Abilities I have zero graphic design training. I work with a computer and a phone. Instead of fighting that, I use it to my advantage Use YouTube. Pick a simple, free program and learn the basics. I started with GIMP and Microsoft Publisher. Since Publisher is going away this year, I switched to Affinity and spent a week watching beginner tutorials. That was enough to keep moving. You don’t need mastery. You just need momentum. Refinement happens as you grow and experience. | | |
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Forecasting I have a million game ideas. Late-night Tubi binges keep adding more. That’s great—but you can’t make everything at once. So for now, I’m focusing on building around WHPA. Think of it like the old razor/razorblade model. The Razor: a core product that’s cheap and easy to get into. Get it out there however you can. The Razor Blades: supplements. In my case, every supplemental zine is $10 so customers know exactly what to expect. The goal is one release every three months—steady momentum without overwhelming people. This also means restraint. If you’re like me, you want to release everything immediately. Instead, I’m planning releases on a calendar like a big boy and trying to keep two finished projects in the can so the schedule stays consistent. Last thing: Print Runs. I never know how many copies to order, so I keep the numbers low. I can always print more. That’s better than stacks of dead stock collecting spiders in the basement. Platforms like Etsy help too—people can save an item and get notified when it’s back in stock. Everybody gets what they want. Keep it small. Keep it steady. Keep going. |
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| | ModCon 2026 Northampton, MA – May 30th |
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Game submissions are open now, and badges are on sale for the first-ever ModCon.
It’s happening May 30th at the beautiful Smith College Conference Center in Northampton, MA. ModCon is a one-day convention dedicated to the modern-era genre of TTRPGs.
That includes games like…321 RPG • Call of Cthulhu • World of Darkness • Cyberpunk • Shadowrun • Marvel Super Heroes • Mutants & Masterminds • Delta Green • Savage Worlds • Burn 2d6 • Neon Lords of the Toxic Wasteland • WHPA and more!
It’s going to be a great day of gaming, dedicated to all kinds of settings in the 20th and 21st centuries, in worlds both like our own and very, very different. Sign up below, and we’ll see you there! |
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ArcaneCon Northampton, MA – October 16th & 17th |
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ArcaneCon is returning October 16th & 17th, 2026. Join us in a celebration of indie, old school, and old school-inspired RPGs, miniature games, board games, and more! ArcaneCon is Western Massachusetts’s premiere tabletop hobby convention! Game submissions will go live on March 1st! See more information at Tabletop Events. |
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Your editor this week has been Joey Royale of Get Haunted Industries
Keep on emailing us at hello@analogunion.com to let us know what you’d like to see more of, less of, or just ideas you’ve got. If you like the Analog Union newsletter, please tell your friends to sign up at AnalogUnion.com. See you next week! -Joey Royale |
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