Games:
Alarums & Excursions
the world's oldest RPG magazine

On and off since 1987 or so, I've been contributing to and reading Alarums & Excursions. A&E is the oldest roleplaying magazine around, beating out even Dragon (or "The Dragon," as it was originally called). A&E is a forum for roleplaying professionals, semi-professionals, and articulate amateurs to hold ongoing discussions about gaming and topics related to gaming (especially history, religion, politics, and media).

It works like this: folks send their contributions to Lee Gold. She compiles them into a magazine and, once a month, sends the result out to everyone on the mailing list. Lee charges for postage and copying, so it's some odd dollars per issue.

A&E is like a pre-Internet discussion board. The biggest advantage that A&E has over bulletin boards, however, is that it only comes out once a month, and you have to pay to contribute. People are therefore more thoughtful in what they write and how they respond to each other. Flame wars progress at a glacial pace compared to what you get online. (Should you call them "lava wars"?)

If you like roleplaying and you want to get in on several good RPG discussions, send a check for $12 or so to Lee Gold. That will get you a couple of copies (in the US). If you want to save money, send Lee a page worth of contribution (introducing yourself and telling everyone how much you like everything I've ever written). You can send her copy-ready material, or something for her to type in. Contributors pay less for the magazine.

Several of my rants on this site originally appeared in A&E.

It's because of A&E that John Nephew learned about my Al Amarja campaign, and that's how it become my RPG Over the Edge.

A&E won the Origins Award for best amateur gaming magazine of 2000 and 2001.

The phrase "Alarums & Excursions" is the stage direction used in Shakespearean theater to indicate big battles on stage.

Alarums & Excursions
Lee Gold
3965 Alla Road
Los Angeles CA 90066

Alarums & Excursion homepage

—JoT
October 2001, August 2002

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