Fanzines & Creativity

The Amateur Hobby Press
The Gongfarmer's Almanac describes itself as "A Free and Unofficial Zine for DCC RPG" and is a continuation of a traditional form of amateur press that predates the original role-playing game. Often referred to as "fanzines" such newsletters and digest sized periodicals have been popular with hobbyists interested in wargames and science fiction and fantasy literature since the age before the internet. Such printed correspondence provided the hobby with a means to share news and ideas and to establish contacts with others who shared a similar interest. Although less prevalent today perhaps, they do still exist.
The Gongfarmer's Almanac is has been around a few years, I have compilations of the Almanac from 2016, 2017 and 2018. Each compilation contains the volumes from that year and includes additional material that can be used with the old school inspired Dungeon Crawl Classics Role-Playing Game (DCC RPG) published by Goodman Games. Included are additional character classes, adventures, rule suggestions, interesting character sheets, maps and artwork, monsters, patrons and deities, all tailored for use by the DCC RPG player.
The booklet pictured above, Volume #5, 2019 of The Gongfarmer's Almanac, is devoted to playing a weird western (Mythos inspired) version of the DCC RPG. The volume includes some setting specific rules for adapting the DCC system to an old west setting and for playing a more horror style of game. New character classes include the Gambler, the Occultist and the Gunslinger and eight others. New rules introduce Madness and a Poker Deck for adding spell like effects to certain new player character classes. In true DCC RPG tradition a zero-level funnel is included to get things started.
Grassroots creativity, a do-it-yourself approach and shared enthusiasm for the hobby is evident on nearly every page of The Gongfarmer's Almanac. It brings to my mind memories of by-gone amateur publications in an era of self publishing of hobby related content meant to be freely shared and enjoyed. In many ways the internet continues to serve a very similar function, but for me there is something nice about the physical copy held in my hands. The Gongfarmer's Almanac is aimed precisely at one particular game, but a quick search will turn up other amateur zines, both digital and print available "at cost", that support our hobby interests and promote the sharing of our collective creativity.
And if you are not familiar with the term "gongfarmer", a quick web search will inform you. Hey, it's what I had to do!