Goodman Games Gazette

Dispatches From the Dark Master!

“Greetings, disciples! The Goodman Games Gazette takes its inspiration from the Judges Guild Journal, first published nearly 40 years ago. At that origin point of role-playing, there were no game stores per se, only craft, toy, and hobby shops that added RPG inventory as a sideline. The Judges Guild did much of its business through mail order and conventions, selling direct to gamers with no intermediaries.

Over time, the industry evolved dedicated retailers and distributors, and the era of the Judges Guild Journal, shipped to every subscriber with each Judges Guild installment, waned into obscurity. Yet industries are like empires, a wax with every wane, and the fortunes of game distributors and retailers have changed. Gone is Dragon Magazine, faded is the empire of Borders Books, and the halcyon RPG selection of the FLGS of yore has been supplanted by the long tail of Amazon, Kickstarter, the iPad, the Kindle, and RPGNow.com.

And yet: the Golden Age of RPGs is upon us, presenting an astounding selection of role-playing options rising from the ashes of distribution. And what steed do they ride? The steed of direct sales: via mail order and electronic distribution, a direct relationship between the publisher and the end consumer. Just like…the Judges Guild of 1976.”


Issue #1, Vol #1 can be found in the Peril on the Purple Planet boxed set. It includes interviews with the writers of the Purple Planet, a preview trap from Grimtooth’s Ultimate Traps Collection, Archmage Abby, and more!

Issue #2, Vol #1 ships out with copies of Grimtooth’s Ultimate Traps Collection and  The Monster Alphabet. It includes an interview with Monster Alphabet creators Jobe Bittman and Michael Curtis, advice from Jim Wampler about how to run the Hypercube of Myt and other 0-level tournaments, Archmage Abby, and more!

Issue #3, Vol #1 arrives with Fifth Edition Fantasy #3 and #4, and can also be picked up at Gen Con 2015. Joseph Goodman discusses the lessons he learned moving from third edition to  fourth edition to fifth edition, authors Chris Doyle and Michael Curtis talk about writing Fifth Edition Fantasy adventures, and Jim Wampler gives us a new monster for DCC RPG! Plus a Q&A with artist Peter Mullen!

Issue #4, Vol #1 arrives with the 4th printing of DCC RPG. It’s all about art! There’s an essay from Joseph Goodman about the art of Appendix N, plus you’ll hear from Stefan Poag, Erol Otus, and Bradley McDevitt. As always, Archmage Abby makes her presence known too.

Issue #5, Vol #1 was available at Gary Con VIII. It features columns from Bob Bledsaw II of the Judges Guild and from Col. Lou Zocchi the dice man. There’s a mini-funnel adventure from Grimtooth the Troll, and an expanded encounter table for DCC #88: The 998th Conclave of Wizards. Archmage Abby tells you how to invoke her as a patron.

Issue #6, Vol #1 arrives with the print edition of Age of Cthulhu 9. It features an interview with AOC author Jon Hook, thoughts on horror adventures in DCC, DCC stats for three mythos monsters, more insider dice tales by Col. Lou Zocchi, and more!

Issue #7, Vol #1 arrives with the print edition of Metamorphosis Alpha: Epsilon City. It includes memories of Metamorphosis Alpha games and an interview with creator James M. Ward, as well as a new MA encounter by Mr. Ward himself. It also includes more inside dice tales by Col. Lou Zocchi, a new column on Appendix N literature by Michael Curtis, and more!

Issue #8, Vol #1 shipped with the launch of the 2017 road crew.

Issue #9, Vol #1 shipped with Mutant Crawl Classics and includes new creatures, encounters, and a complete mini-adventure!

Issue #10, Vol #1 recaps Gen Con 50.

Issue #11, Vol #1 shipped with Tales From The Magician’s Skull.

Issue #12, Vol #1 launched the 2018 road crew.

With issue #13 we started a new look and Volume 2!

Vol 2, # 1 (or #13 in the old numbering) shipped with DCC Lankhmar.

Vol 2, # 2 launched the 2019 Road Crew.

Vol 2, # 3 shipped with The Cthulhu Alphabet.

Vol 2 #4 launched the 2020 road crew. It replaced Dispatches From The Dark Master with Harley’s Haverings

Vol 2 #5 shipped with three Kickstarters: DCC Empire of the East, DCC Greatest Thieves in Lankhmar, and Metamorphosis Alpha Doom on the Warden.

Vol 2 #6 is a giant-sized issue shipped free with DCC First Time Fan Kits in 2022. Designed for new fans, this huge introductory issue has a lot of content and includes a huge 11×17 character sheet, etc.