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 Los Angeles's SF Fandom, usually collated at 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:
- Wilf K. Backhaus
- Greg Costikyan
- John M. Ford
- E. Gary Gygax
- David A. Hargrave
- Rob Heinsoo
- John Eric Holmes
- Robin Laws
- Steve Marsh
- Phil McGregor
- Dave Nalle
- Mark Rein·Hagen
- John T. Sapienza, Jr.
- Edward E. Simbalist
- Jonathan Tweet
- Erick Wujcik
- John Nephew
- Spike Y Jones
- Doc Cross
- Scott Bennie
- Ken Rolston
- Nicole Lindroos
- Terry K. Amthor
- Wes Ives
The role-playing game Over the Edge was inspired by discussions in A&E.[5]
"Alarums and excursions" is a stage direction for the moving of soldiers across a stage, used in Elizabethan drama.[6]
References
- ↑ Bretts RPG Magazine and Zine Index Archived October 24, 2006, at the Wayback Machine., entry on Alarums & Excursions, retrieved September 2007
- ↑ "The 1984 Origins Awards - Presented ad Origins 1985". GAMA. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- ↑ "The 1999 Origins Awards - Presented ad Origins 2000". GAMA. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- 1 2 "The 2000 Origins Awards - Presented ad Origins 2001". GAMA. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- ↑ Shannon Appelcline (2014). Designers & Dragons: The '90s. 3 (2 ed.). Evil Hat Productions. p. 55. ISBN 978-1-61317-084-7.
- ↑ "alarums and excursions". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.