Alarums and Excursions

Alarums and Excursions (A&E) is an amateur press association started in June 1975 by Lee Gold (at the request of Bruce Pelz, who felt that discussion of Dungeons & Dragons was taking up too much space in Apa-L, the APA of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society).[1] It was the first publication to focus solely on role-playing games.

Each issue is a collection of contributions from different authors, often featuring game design discussions, rules variants, write-ups of game sessions, reviews, and comments on others contributions. It was a four-time winner of the Charles Roberts/Origins Award, winning "Best Amateur Adventure Gaming Magazine" in 1984,[2] "Best Amateur Game Magazine" in 1999,[3] and "Best Amateur Game Periodical" in 2000[4] and 2001.[4]

Although game reports and social reactions are common parts of many A&E contributions, it has also, over the years, become a testing ground for new ideas on the development of the RPG as a genre and an art form. The idea that role-playing games are an art form took strong root in this zine, and left a lasting impression on many of the RPG professionals who contributed.

The July 2013 collation of Alarums and Excursions was #466.

Over the years, contributors have included:

The role-playing game Over the Edge was inspired by discussions in A&E.

"Alarums and excursions" is a stage direction for the moving of soldiers across a stage, used in Elizabethan drama.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Bretts RPG Magazine and Zine Index, entry on Alarums & Excursions, retrieved September 2007
  2. ↑ The Charles Roberts Awards 1984, retrieved September 2007
  3. ↑ Origins Awards 1999, retrieved September 2007
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Origins Awards 2000, retrieved September 2007
  5. ↑ alarums and excursions - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

External links