Protodimension Issue 13 Now Available

A forum for discussing both the new The Dark Times modern conspiracy horror fanzine and the now defunct Protodimension fanzine.
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Morthrai
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Protodimension Issue 13 Now Available

Post by Morthrai »

We are pleased to announce that Protodimension Magazine issue 13 is now available for your reading pleasure. This time around we have another complete new RPG system as well as an adventure to go with it, both by Jeffrey Moeller. There's some Cthulhu goodness from Dave Schuey, and some excellent artwork, poetry and the customary short fiction from Tad Kelson. Worth a look-see, yes?

As usual you can download all this from the website for the grand total of nothing!

http://www.protodimension.com/zine/?page_id=101

Cheers!
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Re: Protodimension Issue 13 Now Available

Post by Linden »

One of the chunkiest issues for a while and in terms of design one of the best looking. My congratulations to all concerned. As far as I can tell you don't seem to get much thanks, I rarely see any replies to Lee's announcements on various forums, but your efforts are appreciated by me at least (and no doubt by the other members here).
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Re: Protodimension Issue 13 Now Available

Post by ReHerakhte »

To echo Linden's sentiments, hell yes I love to see the new issues of Protodimension! I know at least two of the downloads are from friends of mine who are fans.
Issue 13 was certainly a broad grouping of material but in that, it was indicative of the wide range of material that's available for the genre. I particularly liked the Sons Of Albion and the Clifton Magna articles. I'm looking forward to issue 14.
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Re: Protodimension Issue 13 Now Available

Post by Morthrai »

Well thanks for the kind words chaps :)

Linden's right of course, we don't get a lot of feedback at all. However, what we do get is always complimentary or has been so far. Norm and I would rather have negative but constructive criticism than nothing at all, so if all we get is positive we must be doing something right!
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Re: Protodimension Issue 13 Now Available

Post by ReHerakhte »

I know there's been requests for feedback on the old Protodimension forum whenever an Issue was published but I wonder if asking people to write up some feedback is particularly effective?
Specifically I'm thinking that people might respond to a "rate the following articles on a scale of 1 to 5" type of thing more than "send us your feedback on the latest Issue".

I'm thinking particularly of the old Challenge magazine where they asked readers to send in a form rating the cover and articles on a number scale and all the reader had to do was tick off whichever number corresponded to how good/bad they thought the article was. The form was provided by Challenge magazine itself and listed all the various sections and articles.

Anyway, just some idle thoughts on my behalf!
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Re: Protodimension Issue 13 Now Available

Post by Linden »

Mate of mine's got a theory that gamers are a fairly passive bunch as a whole and only ever get stirred up when they want to give something a right good slagging. Bit unkind maybe but a grain of truth in it?

I'd like to specifically say thanks for doing a good job on the Clifton Magna map - converting my childlike daubings into something that looks like an image from Google Earth. Very nice indeed.
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Re: Protodimension Issue 13 Now Available

Post by ReHerakhte »

I think your mate's generally right Linden, gamers do seem to have a habit of "waiting" for things to happen rather than making them happen. I wonder if that's got any connection to the notion of the Players passively waiting for the GM to give them the game rather than the Players chasing up the GM for a game?
Obviously some Players do chase up their GMs but many of them seem content to wait for the GM to say "Hey I have a great idea for a game" or some such.

More idle thoughts from me...
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Re: Protodimension Issue 13 Now Available

Post by Linden »

ReHerakhte wrote:Obviously some Players do chase up their GMs but many of them seem content to wait for the GM to say "Hey I have a great idea for a game" or some such.


I definitely think you can divide gamers up into those who are willing to have a crack at being GM, and those who are quite happy as players. Certainly been my experience anyway, although I'd say the majority I've met are willing to take a turn at running a game.
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Re: Protodimension Issue 13 Now Available

Post by Linden »

Not a criticism but I found the Sons of Albion quite sinister, they reminded me of those right wing private armies from the 1970s e.g. Civil Assistance and GB75. I'd be tempted to use them in a British DC campaign but as recurring antagonists for the PC's group. The enemy of your enemy isn't always your friend... :wink:
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Re: Protodimension Issue 13 Now Available

Post by Morthrai »

Linden wrote:Not a criticism but I found the Sons of Albion quite sinister, they reminded me of those right wing private armies from the 1970s e.g. Civil Assistance and GB75. I'd be tempted to use them in a British DC campaign but as recurring antagonists for the PC's group. The enemy of your enemy isn't always your friend... :wink:

Quite seriously I am glad someone picked up on that aspect of the group! Whether one uses the Republic of Britain setting or not, the fact is that in the DC world there's a bunch of posh and/or rich boys charging around with weapons in a country where the divide between rich and poor is ten times worse than it is now...well, there's certainly going to be some sort of friction :twisted:

Also, those families have been de facto Minion Hunters for centuries, so they aren't necessarily going to react too kindly to the "new wave" who are stepping up against the revived Dark Incursion. I would suggest that, out of the group members, probably only Vincent and Lambton would be anything like receptive to other cells on first meeting.
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Re: Protodimension Issue 13 Now Available

Post by Linden »

There was always something faintly risible about these reactionary old buffers hurrumphing into their brandies down their gentlemen's club, perhaps best exemplified in contemporary sitcom Reggie Perrin and its spin off Fairly Secret Army. But when you get a group like that which is well resourced and armed to the teeth, suddenly it's not so funny anymore?

Morthrai wrote:Quite seriously I am glad someone picked up on that aspect of the group!
Whether one uses the Republic of Britain setting or not, the fact is that in the DC world there's a bunch of posh and/or rich boys charging around with weapons in a country where the divide between rich and poor is ten times worse than it is now...well, there's certainly going to be some sort of friction :twisted:


I'd be inclined to play up the class divide, especially given the Prole/Mike origins of a lot of Dark Conspiracy PCs.
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Re: Protodimension Issue 13 Now Available

Post by ReHerakhte »

You know, I didn't pick up on the more sinister side of the Sons of Albion. Maybe it's because here in Australia we're so far removed from the traditions of the aristocracy that we don't see between the lines? We don't have the level of class divide that still exists in Europe.

I did pick up that they were elitist and probably wouldn't "play well with others" and that there was inner turmoil but yeah, the darker aspects of the class divide flew right by me :(
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Re: Protodimension Issue 13 Now Available

Post by Morthrai »

ReHerakhte wrote:You know, I didn't pick up on the more sinister side of the Sons of Albion. Maybe it's because here in Australia we're so far removed from the traditions of the aristocracy that we don't see between the lines? We don't have the level of class divide that still exists in Europe.

Fair play mate, you're better off without it :D

I have to say that as I remember it now, I just put down the basic material. I didn't write that in deliberately, it just turned up of its own accord. Norm added the detailed write-ups of the people involved. I'm glad it stands up so well; we wrote it and the adventure for submission to Demonground so those files had been hanging around for almost a decade! :?
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Re: Protodimension Issue 13 Now Available

Post by Zvezda »

The Issue is great as always. Somehow the The D'Ampton Worm was playing in my mind throughout the issue. I have no idea why.

Returning to the SoA, GB75 and the Civil Assistance I like those a lot, as gaming material. I have used a very similar organization ( I use a lot of human opponents in our campaign) which sometimes helps sometimes hinders the pcs but always manipulates them. I did some research on the UK and secret societies with would work for DC and I came across one thing I could not find any information on. I don't want to discuss politics. A link or a book title would be good. I read that the UDA in Ulster was a legal organization till the early 90s and I wondered since the UK has very strict gun laws, can some you tell me what was the legal status of the guns those private armies stocked was? Is it like the organization was legal but the guns were illegal? Or did they get special permits for those arms? This would be interesting to me for in our Republic of Britain setting guns are generally illegal.
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Re: Protodimension Issue 13 Now Available

Post by Marcus Bone »

Zvezda wrote:The Issue is great as always. Somehow the The D'Ampton Worm was playing in my mind throughout the issue. I have no idea why.
Oh man I haven't seen that movie in years. your link made me find the old Video cassette my day made from the movie being shown on TV.

I have to say that as a 15 year old The Lair of the White Worm was great, as someone closer to 40, that song was definitely a stronger point of the movie:P

As an aside, I can't believe my father let me and my mate watch that movie. It is full of sex and violence, although I suppose it is so cheesy as to be overlooked for those aspects!
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