 Issue #1 cover | |
| Publisher | Phage Press |
|---|---|
| First issue | March 1992 |
| Final issue | 2005 |
| Language | English |
| OCLC | 972162233 |
Amberzine is a magazine that was published by Phage Press that covered The Chronicles of Amber books, the Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game, and associated material.
Phage Press released Amberzine #1 (March 1992) shortly after they published Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game . The digest-sized magazine presented material to inspire role-playing, such as character diaries and detailing elements of the setting. One to three issues per year were published from 1992–1997 and the magazine even included an original Roger Zelazny short story, "The Salesman's Tale," in Amberzine #6 (February 1994). [1] : 112–113 Matt Howarth wrote and illustrated a Bugtown/Amber comic crossover titled "Amber Raves of Pain," which was published in installments from Amberzine #6 (February 1994) through #9 (January 1997). [1] : 113–114 Erick Wujcik kept Amberzine in production until 1997, when he moved into computer games, and then published Amberzine #11 (2003) years later; after he decided not to be a publisher anymore, Phage finished with a final quadruple-sized Amberzine #12–15 (2005) to complete its obligation to subscribers and by publishing the remaining material that Wujcik had left. [1] : 114
Steve Crow reviewed Amberzine in White Wolf #38 (1993), rating it a 3 out of 5 and stated that "Overall, I've given Amberzine a three rating. For Amber players, however, I'd give it a 4.5 for useful background information, information on how to run an Amber campaign, etc. For non-Amber players, I'd give it a 1.5 as a little bit of its material can be extracted for other roleplaying games, and the Campaign Logs to provide hints on character development." [2]
In the September 1992 edition of Dragon (Issue #185), Rick Swan reviewed the premiere issue of Amberzine and commented, "As is the case with most fan publications, the writing and graphics range from adequate to amateur, but what the magazine lacks in slickness it more than makes up for in enthusiasm." [3]
Two years later, in the September 1994 edition of Dragon (Issue #209), Lester Smith called the magazine "an entertaining read, and a great source of ideas of Amber campaigns." [4]
Three issues later, in the December 1994 edition of Dragon (Issue #212), although Allen Varney singled out Issue #5 of Amberzine for reprinting The Dark World by Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore, he pointed out that the magazine "has become almost entirely game-free... and now serves more as a good but pricey general 'zine for Amber fans." [5]
The Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game is a role-playing game created and written by Erick Wujcik, set in the fictional universe created by author Roger Zelazny for his Chronicles of Amber. The game is unusual in that no dice are used in resolving conflicts or player actions; instead a simple diceless system of comparative ability, and narrative description of the action by the players and gamemaster, is used to determine how situations are resolved.
The Whispering Vault is a horror-themed role-playing game originally published in 1993. Players take on the role of "Stalkers", persons who have risen above their own mortality to act as servants of the guardians of Reality, tracking down and apprehending rogue gods who have invaded Reality and returning them to the realm of the Unseen where they are cast into The Whispering Vault.
Chill is an investigative and modern horror role-playing game originally published by Pacesetter Ltd in 1984 that captures the feel of 20th-century horror films.
Erick A. Wujcik was an American designer of both pen-and-paper and computer role-playing games, and co-founder of Palladium Books.
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The Dark World is a science fantasy novel credited to Henry Kuttner, although his wife C. L. Moore may have been an uncredited collaborator, or possibly even the author. The novel was first published in the July 1946 issue of Startling Stories, then reprinted in the Winter 1954 issue of Fantastic Story Magazine. Its first book edition was issued by Ace in 1965, followed by a British edition by Mayflower Books in 1966. A French translation appeared in 1972. The novel was reprinted in full in Issue #5 of Amberzine in 1992, and also collected in a 1997 paperback omnibus, The Startling Worlds of Henry Kuttner. Roger Zelazny, author of The Chronicles of Amber, credits this book as being one of his primary influences during his youth.
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