MAGAZINES & FANZINES

In this wing of the Treasury you will find galleries featuring every periodical connected to Tunnels & Trolls, from the worlds greatest RPG magazine to fanzine articles which should probably have never been deemed “fit to print”…

Where present in a particular zine I have included images of the Table of Contents, the Introduction or Editorial page, and the first page of any adventures (Solo and DM).

Supernova

This zine was produced by Flying Buffalo and originally edited by Lew Pulsipher. Supernova is not included on T&T lists I have seen yet it should be! Issues 25 and prior were “pre-T&T” but Tunnels & Trolls came into the Flying Buffalo fold by issue # 26 (October 1975) and was mentioned at the very bottom of the very last page of the issue, and very briefly at that! However, Ken St. Andre took over as editor with issue # 27 and, not surprisingly, more and more T&T content appeared, including regular “News from England” by Lew Pulsipher which heavily featured UK RPG updates. Not only did Supernova contain a constant flow of T&T plugs and updates as new products were released, but it had actual T&T articles by the greats like Ken St. Andre and Mike Stackpole and even a few comics illustrated by the legendary Liz Danforth. Supernova expressly gave way to the great Sorcerer’s Apprentice with a stated “final issue” # 33 in September of 1978.

Sorcerer’s Apprentice
(Flying Buffalo)

Published by Flying Buffalo, Inc., Sorcerer’s Apprentice was the Tunnels & Trolls magazine. In Ken St. Andre’s editorial in the first issue (Winter 1978) the magazine was described as a “‘zine based around T&T specifically and fantasy role-playing in general”. Sorcerer’s Apprentice ended its run under Flying Buffalo with issue 17.

Sorcerer’s Apprentice
(Bob Liddil)

With rights acquired from Flying Buffalo, Advanced Graphics (Bob Liddil) picked up the torch right where Flying Buffalo left off (issue # 18). The issues started off more fanzine level quality and content but over time veered more towards fiction and away from T&T to other games. Bob Liddil took the zine to at least issue # 37 but the final issue # is uncertain.

TnT Zine

Produced by the legend himself, TnT Zine was all T&T all the time. It ran for an impressive 32 issues, however there were a lot of double issues and even a quadruple issue at the end! TnT Zine was the birthplace of The Infinite Adventure and spotlight for many other Solo and DM adventures. The earliest issues displayed here are actually Ken’s “master” copies and much original artwork from those “master” copies (and others) is on display in the Art Gallery.

Grim Reaper

Geraint Davies…are you out there? Someone get me in contact with Geraint, please!
The original British, all T&T fanzine was produced by Geraint Davies for a total of four issues.

Raven

The first British, all T&T fanzine after Grim Reaper, Garen Ewing produced Raven for its three-issue run. Each issue had a solo adventure and issue # 3 also had Gristlegrim’s Dungeon. /bow

Burning the Midnight Oil

Created by Geraint Davies, this was more of a single page “newsletter” for Tunnels & Trolls. Through lore & legend it would seem there were at least a few issues but I have found none beyond issue # 1.

The Tunnels and Trolls Information Service/
Tunnel Talk/Demon Issue/Pandemonium-TT

The Pulp Fiction of the T&T ‘zine world, these T&T classics each had great stories of their own but eventually their stories weaved together as they became the power couple of T&T fanzines. The Tunnels & Trolls Information Service was a 2-page newsletter created by Simon Hanks with a 2-issue run. It was renamed to “Tunnel Talk”, as suggested by Geraint Davies, for another 2-issue run. Around this time, Demon Issue was created by Garen Ewing. Demon Issue was re-named to Pandemonium at issue # 8. There was even a Pandemonium/Chronicles of Chaos team-up issue. Matthew de Monti took over at issue # 10 and incorporated Tunnel Talk for issues 13-16. Pandemonium finally ended its run at issue 21.

Runes & Digits

Self-categorized as a “microzine”, most issues of Runes & Digits are just essentially a single, double-sided page of primarily news and reviews. However, there were solo entries sprinkled across the issues. We have the first 7 issues on display here but were there more???

Take That You Fiend

Produced by John Harrington, Take That You Fiend (or TTYF) was primarily a postal gaming fanzine but many issues contained T&T content. Take That You Fiend ran for a noteworthy and impressive 63(+?) issues, of which I have only been able to acquire the 7 specimens exhibited here.

Orc Torc

Produced by Tony Ellis, Orc Torc was not dedicated to T&T but the editors seemed dedicated to it as T&T was featured prominently in the articles and adventures. I haven’t seen any information on the full run beyond issue # 6.

The Sorcerer’s Scroll(s)

Produced by Cliffhanger Games (Tori Bergquist), The Sorcerer’s Scroll (renamed to The Sorcerer’s Scrolls as of issue # 3) was the longest running T&T-focused fanzine and it was based in the U.S. Originally primarily focused on T&T, the focus did move further and further away from T&T over time. Issues in the 20’s tended to carry about 60% T&T content, issues in the early-mid 30s tended to carry about 40% T&T, and the last issue with any T&T content was # 42.

Hounds of Avatar

Produced by Avatar Productions (Paul Kershaw and James McDermott). I have not found any issues beyond issue # 3.

Quasits & Quasars

Produced by David Hulks and Neil Hopkins, Quasits & Quasars ran for ten issues. The tenth issue was a double-issue with DragonLords. Many but not all issues featured T&T; only the T&T issues are presented here.

Fire and Water

Does anyone have any of these? I do not! But, as I understand it, this fanzine started out heavy T&T so consider this a placeholder until one of you trades or sells me some or I strike gold out in the wilds…

The Wanderer

Produced by Martyn Henderson and Alex Kells, this fanzine aimed to cover RPGs beyond D&D and, thankfully, they covered just enough T&T to warrant their own exhibit. One source believes there were four total issues but as far as I know the ones displayed here are the only ones that contained T&T content.

Mystic Crystal

According to the Tome of Treasures website this fanzine was created by Jason Kingsley, who is currently CEO of Rebellion (owners of Tunnels & Trolls). This fanzine was not dedicated to T&T but many of the articles and adventures accounted for T&T through pertinent stats (MR, proper weapon stats, etc.). Tome of Treasures also says there are only 2 issues, of which you can view both here.

The Trollish Tribune

Produced by Bill Ferrero, this fanzine was based in the U.S., primarily dedicated to Tunnels & Trolls with a focus also on Car Wars. The Trollish Tribune was one of the very few US-based T&T fanzines ever produced. The fanzine ended its run at issue # 5.

Tuatha De Danann

Produced by Simon Sarginson, this fanzine was dedicated to Tunnels & Trolls but may have been a “one-shot” from the outset (at least that is my interpretation of the “handwritten” note on the Table of Contents page). I have found no information on this fanzine beyond this single, eBay UK purchase I was able to make.

Doomed Dwarves’ Journal

Produced by Gavin White, Doomed Dwarves’ Journal covered many RPGs but, most importantly, it had a Dungeon Master adventure for T&T which crossed over 2 issues. I believe there are T&T spotlights in other issues but I have only found the one exhibited here. Full disclosure, as cool as the cover looks, the dungeon itself was really bad (came off to me more as a spoof or intentional nonsense, like the Caveman movie, except I liked that movie…).

Dungeonier Digest

Originally “a digest dedicated to Advanced Dungeons and Dragons”, legend/memory has it Dungeonier Digest was purchased by James Shipman (Outlaw Press) from a gaming friend (poker?) that needed some cash. Outlaw Press quickly transformed Dungeonier Digest into a T&T zine. Early issues were very sparse (small pages and not many of them, and using relatively large font), focusing mostly on additional T&T spells and magic items. Issues lengthened by the late teens, primarily to include fiction and articles. By issue 20 every issue contained at least 1 Gamemaster Scenario and many also included a Solo Adventure or even a second Gamemaster Scenario. By the late 20’s the articles and scenarios/adventures could also be in the “new Khazan” (future/sci-fi) setting or even the superhero setting. Outlaw Press re-released many of their products with different bindings and cover art; material samples are included in this exhibit.

The Hobbit Hole

Dedicated to T&T and produced by Outlaw Press, early issues were relatively short and varied (size, binding, etc.). Issue 6 begins a consistent run (up to the 25th and final issue) of deep and varied T&T content, almost always containing at least one and often two adventures (Solo and DM). Many of the adventures became stand-alone books (also published by Outlaw Press). A veritable “who’s who” of T&T contributed: Ken St. Andre, Liz Danforth, Mike Stackpole, Bear Peters, James Shipman, AR Holmes, Brian Penn, Mike Hill, tori Bergquist, Lewis Pulsipher, Tom Loney, Mari Volmar, Michael Eidson, Jeff Freels and pretty much anyone else you have ever heard of associated with T&T!

Elder Tunnels

Produced by Peryton Publishing and its driving force Tom K. Loney, Elder Tunnels content was primarily adventures but not all T&T. One issue was published pdf only (Halloween 2020).

TrollsZine

A magazine created by and for fans of Tunnels & Trolls (specifically, the
members of Vin Ahrr Vin’s TrollBridge, a web forum devoted to discussing all things
Tunnels & Trolls). This magazine, started in 2010, was loaded with talent and content from the start (50+ pages) and only grew from there. The TrollBridge trolls keep regenerating and generating more and more content (16 issues and counting!). So far there has been only 1 printed publication in the series but all issues are available at DriveThruRPG.

Twibbit 13

Another one I don’t believe you will find mentioned anywhere else, this fanzine appears to have been a very local distribution amongst the Phoenix Gaming Circle. Was there ever actually a second issue? Who knows!

One-off Adventures and Articles

Here we have a wide assortment of Tunnels & Trolls solo adventures, DM adventures, articles and fiction across a variety of publications (Pegasus, Different Worlds, Games & Puzzles, White Dwarf, Imagine, The Gamer, Tortured Souls, Adventures Unlimited, Misers Hoard, Dragon, Fight On!, Coffeeroom).